Nothing particularly festive about this, other than the fact that it’s a Bank Holiday. Hurrah! And a particularly lovely one at that, which means only one thing – barbeque and dips. Hummus is piss easy to make but I am going to ask you to do one slightly tedious thing – peel your chickpeas. All of them. This might sound stupid but it will honestly take only 10-15 minutes and will make your hummus super silky smooth. Worth it.

Makes one cereal bowlful

1 tin of chickpeas

Half a 340g jar of tahini

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt

Paprika

Chilli powder

1. Peel your chickpeas. Do his by squeezing them between your thumb and index finger, the chickpea will just pop out and you’ll be left with the slimy little skin.

2. When they’re all peeled, blitz them in a blender until powdery. Then add the tahini, lemon juice and garlic and blend to a thick paste. Now add enough water to make a nice smooth hummus – about 4 tbsp or so.

3. Then add salt (quite a bit, at least 1 tsp), paprika and chilli powder to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

This recipe is adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and when I made it last night it was the yummiest thing I’d eaten in aggggessss!

Turkey Meatballs with a Flowery Chickpea Salad (serves 4)

Turkey meatballs:

500g Turkey Mince

Large pinch Black Salt (or any salt, but this is what I used)

Pepper

Good handful of  toasted sesame seeds and fine breadcrumbs

1 egg

4 tbsp water

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp ground corriander

1 crushed garlic clove

Flowery Chickpea Salad:

1 tin drained and rinsed chickpeas

1 crushed garlic clove

Handful of edible fresh flowers (I used bluebells and wild garlic flowers because they grow in my back yard and the alley up the road)

Juice from one lemon

Salt and Pepper

Fresh Parsley

4 toasted pitta breads (divide each into two and then half down the middle, coat in salt and pepper and grill until slightly brown)

To make meatballs:

1)Set the open to 200 degrees C and line a baking tray with parchment paper

2)Add all meatball ingredients into a large bowl and squidge together with a fork

3)Roll each meatball into an “eye” shape using a golfball sized amount of mix

4) Fry off the meatballs in batches until browned all over and bake in the oven for 15minutes, turning halfway through

For the salad:

Combine all salad ingredients (bar pitta and flowers) in to a large serving bowl and gently press open some of the chickpeas with the side of a fork. Then arrange pittas around the edge of the bowl and sprinkle with flowers and some olive oil

………

Serve with seasonal veg such as purple sprouting brocolli and enjoy!

I love the roasted vegetable couscous recipe I uploaded yesterday, as a potential recipe in my ‘living below the poverty line on £1 a day challenge’, but as I mentioned there are a few things I would do differently if I were not trying to cut corners and make this recipe as cheap as I possibly could.

I understand and appreciate that there are people in our country who are not as fortunate as I perhaps am, and would only just be able to afford my 59p recipe never-mind this slightly more indulgent recipe.  But yesterday I was thinking to myself what the cost of a bottle of water is in my local supermarket (approx. 89p) and what I paid last week for a lemon water drink (£1.95) when I was gasping for a drink in central London and it was all I could find.

I was actually pretty shocked at this and thought if I am paying £1.95 for a drink which lasted me half an hour and simply quenched my thirst, then surely I could spend a little more to make this lunch even more healthy, nutritious and enjoyable whilst still only spending a pound or so a day for my lunches.

I have friends who pop to Pret each day for a sandwich, drink and bag of crisps, this must cost around £7 each day?  And, I know others who pop to our local salad bar at lunch for a £4.50 a day salad.  None of these my budget will allow for, but this recipe with a few additions it will, so by goodness I am going to go all out!  Get ready folks we are about to get a little more jazzy with the couscous…

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

MAKES: 4 portions

COST: £1.07 per portion – which is quite a significant difference to my £0.59 recipe, but it is still much better than buying one drink for £1.95 or lunch for £4.50.  Eating this for lunch for 4 days would be do-able and actually it would make for a cheap lunch, in comparison to what you could be paying for this in a restaurant.

INGREDIENTS:

• 250g couscous – this costs £1.25 in Tesco’s for 500g, so although you would need to buy the whole bag, you would only need half of it, which would make it 63p . Try to find the whole-wheat version for a slightly healthier version.
  
• 1 and a half red peppers – now this cost me 80p per pepper as I bought it from my local Sainsbury’s.  You could shop around for this and get it for a lot cheaper in a local grocery shop or market stall (the bowls of peppers for £1 will get you 3 or 4 peppers). Mine cost me £1.20.
• 2 red onions – look through all the bags/onions and ensure you get a large one if they are all the same price, this is what I do!  60p
• 2 courgettes – I bought a packet with 2 courgettes in for £1
• 1/2 a tin of chickpeas (200g) – I shopped around for these a little and found them at Asda for 62p.  I think these may be cheaper to buy somewhere like Aldi.  It is much cheaper to buy these dry and soak them yourself, though this will add some extra time to the preparation of this recipe, as they will need to be soaked overnight. So these cost me 36p.
• 1/2 a lemon – it was 30p for a whole one (again shop around and you will get this cheaper!) 15p
• 2 cloves of garlic – the bulb was 20p so approx. 2p
• 1 stock cube – it was £1.09 for 8 stock cubes so this makes it 14p per stock cube
• 300ml boiling hot water – this one you can have for free as we all have the right to water and I am sure you can make it hot (there has to be some cutting of corners here)
• 80g of vintage/aged feta cheese – I have choose a vintage version of this as it will have a deeper/stronger flavour and therefore you will need less cheese to get the flavour and consequently it will be slightly healthier.  Feta cheese is quite expensive, but the cheapest I have found was in Waitrose (ummmmm I know!) for £1.69 for 250g, so for this recipe I spent 54p
• 15 mint leaves – very specific I know, but if you roll these up like a cigar and then finely chop them, they are an excellent flavour enhancer, but too much and we have mint couscous and nothing else.  A bag of mint leaves was 80p, so use about 1/3 of this and it will cost approx. 26p
• 1 tbsp olive oil – this is a general store cupboard ingredient so we aren’t going to cost this one (as I am also running out of money!)
• 2 tsp chilli flakes (again a store cupboard ingredient!)
• 2 tsp paprika (store cupboard ingredient)

HOW TO MAKE THE ROASTED VEGETABLE COUSCOUS…

First we need to make the couscous, so make up the stock using boiling water and dissolving the stock cube in this.  Then weigh out the couscous, place in a large bowl and pour the stock over the top.  Cover with a clean tea towel and place to one side.

Wash the vegetables and then chop them into slices… they can be left quite large at this stage.  Peel the garlic cloves, peel the onion and chop into quarters and leave in its quarters (otherwise it will burn).  Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp chilli flakes and 2 tsp of paprika and rub together to ensure all the ingredients are coated in spices and oil.

Roughly chopped vegetables coated in olive oil, paprika and chilli flakes.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until all the vegetables are soft, slightly brown/golden but definitely not burnt.  Allow them to cool, whilst you use a fork to break up the couscous, mix this well and then we can ‘mince’ all of the vegetables.

… beautifully roasted vegetables – even if I do say so myself!

Mincing is a chopping technique, so place all your vegetables (and garlic) onto a chopping board and then, using a large knife ‘rock’ the knife over the top of them in different directions, until all the vegetables are finely diced/minced.  Add these to the couscous.

My roasted vegetables once ‘minced’… look at those fabulous colours. YUM!

Now we are going to make the dressing, so in a small bowl zest 1/2 the lemon, then roll it on your chopping board using the palm of your hand to release the juices.  Chop in half and squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon into the bowl.  To this add 1 tbsp olive oil and mix well.  Roll your mint leaves into a cigar shape and then finely chop these, you can use the rocking technique to make them even smaller and then add to the olive oil and lemon mixture. Pour this over the vegetables and the couscous, then open your tin of chickpeas, drain, add to the mix.

Finally crumble your 80g of feta cheese into the couscous, mix well and then we are DONE!  Now you can enjoy this lovely hearty roasted vegetable couscous…

From humble beginnings to a delicious, nutritious meal with all of our food groups… dairy, carbohydrates, protein, fruit and vegetables; and a little fat/sugars, but good fats from the olive oil. DONE!

Toast with gooseberry jam, fruit

Lunch

Hummus bagel, crisps, fruit, couple of biscuits

Hummus and salad makes a sterling filling for a vegan sandwich.  Adding some Mediterranean veg helps to bulk it out and you can get nice roasted peppers in a jar. If adding olives, I would suggest black ones as I think their flavour is more subtle. Today I added a generous stuffing of green olives and found the end result a little salty!

Dinner

Jacket potato, Mediterranean bean salad, chickpea and grape salad.  Dessert: cranberry flapjacks

This is where Tesco comes in. They have started doing a really good vegan cheese, which was great on a jacket potato and even won the approval of a non-vegan. It’s part of the free-from range in the chilled counter.

The Mediterranean bean salad is really speedy and tastes great. You just need some runner or French beans, one garlic clove, a vegan stock cube, a couple of lemons and some basil:

1. Chop the beans and simmer them in about 300ml veggie stock (I like the Kallo cubes) plus a crushed garlic clove. The beans won’t be covered but I find that cooking them like this results in a better flavour.

2. Simmer the beans until they are tender, stirring regularly. This should take about 10 minutes.

2. Drain the beans, rinse them under some cold water, then place them in a dish. Add a good bit of olive oil, the zest of 2 lemons, the juice of half a lemon and some basil leaves.

The chickpea salad is even speedier. It’s refreshing and filling at the same time. You just need a tin of chickpeas, a handful of grapes, half a cucumber and a bit of parsley. Just drain and rinse the chick peas, place them in a bowl, then chop the rest of the ingredients and mix everything together.

Flapjacks give you a lovely syrupy reward for spending hardly any time in the kitchen. The cranberry version is great for an energy boost, as they’re packed full of dried fruit and golden syrup. Back in the Autumn, I did a long distance charity bike ride and I don’t think I would have made it without a generous supply of them! If you never have time to bake, vegan flapjacks are generally pretty easy to get hold of.

Ingredients:

-50g vegan margarine

-65g brown sugar

-1 heaped tbsp golden syrup (or more)!

-115g porridge oats

-1 1/2 tsp mixed spice (i.e. a good sprinkle)

-A generous handful of dried fruit e.g. cranberries and sultanas

Method:

1. Grease a baking tin and preheat the oven to gas 4/180 C.

2. Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan over a low heat, stirring constantly.

3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and press the mixture into a tin. Bake for about 15 minutes and take them out while they are still soft. They’ll harden as they cool, then you can cut them into  slices.

… of the foods I make, how much do they actually cost per portion?  If I were to do this would I in effect be ‘dieting’ slightly?  Could this challenge be beneficial to my health?  I may eat more vegetables than I normally do? Other people have to do it, so why can’t I?  Could I help others who are have to live off £1 a day by providing some recipes? … and so it continued.

Having plagued myself with questions about the ‘living below the poverty line challenge’ for the last 2 weeks I have decided it may not be so bad after all and maybe, just maybe I could forgo some meals out with friends.  It would also help me save a little money on food and it would definitely be healthier, as I would not be able to eat very much cheese or cake and would need to use more vegetables and lentils.  So, when cooking dinner at home over the last week I have been pondering some of the more ‘simple’ recipes I make and really enjoy when times are getting slightly harder.  Such as my roasted vegetable couscous salad, pitta bread pizzas, quick pasta dishes and my all time favourite healthy/cheap meal in its self – soup.

I have decided to set myself the challenge of creating some healthy, meat free meals over the next few weeks, so I am going to be collecting a few of my favourite quick, easy and cheap recipes and trying them out, here, with you.  Ultimately some may not work and yes, I will be eating the resultant meal for the next week, but hey… we are living on a budget aren’t we folks?

If this all goes swimmingly and I find some lovely recipes (some will have to be desserts as I cannot live without the odd sweet treat) then I will complete the challenge myself in July and see if it is indeed possible when living in London, trying to be a sociable and seeing friends for drinks/dinner and simply enjoying life.  I think it may well be…

Without further ado, lets have a look at this little ROASTED VEGETABLE COUSCOUS recipe I love…

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes

MAKES: 5 portions

COST: 59p per portion (this is quite expensive, more so that I thought when embarking on this challenge… I am a little disappointed).

INGREDIENTS:

• 250g couscous – this costs £1.25 in Tesco’s for 500g, so although you would need to buy the whole bag, you would only need half of it, which would make it 63p
• 1 red pepper – now this cost me 80p as I bought it from my local Sainsbury’s.  Part of this challenge is definitely about where we shop, so perhaps we could shop around for this and get it for a lot cheaper in a local grocery shop?
• 1 red onion – look through all the bags/onions and ensure you get a large one if they are all the same price, this is what I do!  30p
• 1 courgette – I bought one as the ones it packets all seemed smaller but more expensive, buying items when they are loose is definitely best for the budget, so this cost me 33p
• 1 tin of chickpeas – I shopped around for these a little and found them at Asda for 62p.  I think these may be cheaper to buy somewhere like Aldi or Liddle.  It is much cheaper to buy these dry and soak them yourself, though this will add some extra time to the preparation of this recipe, as they will need to be soaked overnight.
• 1/2 a lemon – it was 30p for a whole one (again shop around and you will get this cheaper!) 15p
• 2 cloves of garlic – the bulb was 20p so approx. 2p
• 1 stock cube – it was £1.09 for 8 stock cubes so this makes it 14p per stock cube
• 300ml boiling hot water – this one you can have for free as we all have the right to water and I am sure you can make it hot (there has to be some cutting of corners here)
• 1 tbsp olive oil – this is a general store cupboard ingredient so we aren’t going to cost this one (as I am also running out of money!)
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (again a store cupboard ingredient!)

HOW TO MAKE THE ROASTED VEGETABLE COUSCOUS…

First we need to make the couscous, so make up the stock using boiling water and dissolving the stock cube in this.  Then weigh out the couscous, place in a large bowl and pour the stock over the top.  Cover with a clean tea towel and place to one side.

Wash the vegetables and then chop them into slices… they can be left quite large at this stage.  Peel the garlic cloves, peel the onion and chop into quarters and leave in its quarters (otherwise it will burn).  Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1tsp chilli flakes and rub together to ensure all the ingredients are coated in chilli and oil.

Roughly chopped vegetables coated in olive oil and chilli flakes.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until all the vegetables are soft, slightly brown/golden but definitely not burnt.  Allow them to cool, whilst you use a fork to break up the couscous, mix this well and then we can ‘mince’ all of the vegetables.

… beautifully roasted vegetables – even if I do say so myself!

Mincing is a chopping technique, so place all your vegetables (and garlic) onto a chopping board and then, using a large knife ‘rock’ the knife over the top of them in different directions, until all the vegetables are finely diced/minced.  Add these to the couscous.

My roasted vegetables once ‘minced’… look at those fabulous colours. YUM!

Now we are going to make the dressing, so in a small bowl zest 1/2 the lemon, then roll it on your chopping board using the palm of your hand to release the juices.  Chop in half and squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon into the bowl.  To this add 1 tbsp olive oil and mix well.  Pour this over the vegetables and the couscous, then open your tin of chickpeas, drain, add to the salad and we are DONE!  Now you can enjoy this lovely hearty roasted vegetable couscous…

Roasted Vegetable & Chickpea Couscous… DONE!

EVALUATION:

Overall the recipe looks and tastes great.  I am not sure I felt ‘full’ after eating this, but I think that, that is a feeling I will just have to get used to on the £1 a day diet.  If I were making this normally for my lunch/dinner I would probably have a little feta cheese with it (no more than 20g) or I would serve it alongside some chicken/fish (without the chickpeas).  So, it was a little odd eating it couscous alone for my lunch, though the chickpeas bulked the recipe out, filled me up a little more than just the vegetables and couscous would have done and added some much needed protein.  The flavours from the lemon, chilli, garlic and roasted vegetables really made this recipe tasty and delicious.

The overall cost has upset me… 59p per portion really is not good, as that leaves me 41p for the rest of the day.  I would have to ensure my dinner was very cheap (I am thinking a simple soup) and that my breakfast was a porridge without fruit.  I do however think that if I shopped around a little I could make this recipe much cheaper, so tomorrow I am going to pop to a fab little grocery shop near work and see if I can beat this budget.  I will update this recipe in due course.

I shall see if I can get all these ingredients cheaper and when/if I do, I shall update the recipe costs below.

Recipe one done!  Now… what next…

Todays lunch is going to be a bulgar and quinoa bolognaise, with wholewheat spaghetti.

But, I’ve made a very special sauce as shown above with 1 Avacado, some olive oil jar sundried tomatoes and a good handful of chickpeas. Don’t forgot a dash of lemon or lime.

Don’t be afraid of Avacado’s; they are fatty yes but packed full of good unsaturated fats. Great filling fuel for the day.

Today we are cooking Kibbeh Harira Recipe.  Harira is the traditional soup of Maghreb. It is popular as a starter but is also eaten on its own as a light snack. Enjoy the good taste of Arabic Food and learn how to make Kibbeh Harira.
Preparation time :     10 minutes
Cooking time :     40 minutes

Ingredients

Serves: 6 persons

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small whole chicken or 800 g, cut into pieces and skin removed
2 medium onions or 300 g, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 medium tomatoes or 500 g, chopped
4 stalk celery or 150 g, chopped
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1½ teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried ginger powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup chick pea, dried or 200 g, soaked and drained
2 cubes MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon or 20 g
4 cups water or 1 liter, hot
¾ cup dried green lentils or 120 g
½ cup coriander leaf, chopped
½ cup vermicelli or 75 g
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons lemon juice
18 pieces ready-made kibbeh or 600 g
½ cup vegetable oil, for frying

Preparation

1. Heat Vegetable Oil in large soup pot and brown Chicken pieces, add Onion and sauté until soft. Add Tomato Paste and sauté for an additional 2 minutes on medium heat.
2. Add Tomatoes, Celery, Spices, MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon , Water, and Chick Peas and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add Green Lentils and simmer until Chicken is done and Chick Peas are cooked.
3. Remove chicken pieces, shred into small parts and discard bones
4. Add Coriander, Vermicelli noodles and allow to simmer until soft.
5. Return Chicken to the Soup, whisk in Eggs and Lemon Juice.
6. Fry Kibbeh in a frying pan or roast in an oven.
7. Gently add cooked Kibbeh to the soup and allow soup to thicken up by simmering un-covered for 10-15 minutes.

Serve hot with flatbread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray pan with non-stick spray
• Combine all ingredients and mix
• Use hands to need into a dough
• Place in fridge for 30 min
• Divide dough into four even balls
• Flatten to about 1/2 inch thick
• Place on pan and bake in oven for 10 min, flip burgers, and bake for another 10 min
• Remove and cool patties

Adapted from: http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/pumpkin-chickpea-burgers-fid-256038

Chickpea, Olives & Dried Herbs

Margee Smith introduced this recipe to me through the cookbook by Patricia Wells, Bistro Cooking.It is very similiar to the Chickpea recipe I posted last month. Here I experimented with kalmata olives and oil-cured olives, fines herbes and herbes de Provence, chianti red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Each combination tastes great. Fines Herbes is a dried combination of four: parsley, chives, chervil & tarragon. Herbes de Provence is more floral and contains a variety of flavors. Both mixtures are French, so they are delicious! If I had to make the choice I would use the fines herbes, balsamic vinegar and kalmata olives

In a medium bowl combine:

1 -15-oz can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup finely minced onion

1/2 cup pitted olives cut into 1/4′s or 1/6′s, kalmata or oil-cured

5 cloves garlic, minced

In a small bowl whisk together:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, aged or red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon dried fines herbes or herbes de Provence

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper or more

Pour marinade over chickpea mixture. Mix well, cover and refrigerate 1-2 days before serving. Stir several times.

Serve at room temperature.

Watermelon, chicken and sprouts salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 cups watermelon, peeled and cubed

100 grams fetta, cubed

1 cup crunchy tri sprouts

1/4 cup sliced olives (I used kalamata)

200 grams shredded/sliced cooked chicken (optional)

pepper

Dressing

1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Steps

Mix all salad ingredients together.  Mix dressing together and pour over salad.  Easy as that!

This recipe sounds amazing. Falafel is TOTALLY one of my favourite foods of all time. I’m constantly looking for a low fat/oil falafel recipe which has the right texture to totally fullfill my craving.

“Falafel Sliders with Avocado Hummus
Serves 4

Make-Ahead Tip:
Uncooked Falafel Sliders can be made in advance and kept refrigerated until ready to cook. Tahini Sauce can be made in advance and kept refrigerated.

FALAFEL SLIDERS
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, divided
½ red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, quartered
5 sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
½ cup packed fresh Italian parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup garbanzo flour (or other flour of choice)
2 tablespoons olive oil

AVOCADO HUMMUS
¼ cup chickpeas, reserved from sliders
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1/3 cup packed fresh Italian parsley
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne

TAHINI SAUCE
½ cup tahini
½ cup water
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt

14 mini buns or dinner rolls sliced in half, toasted
2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced

To make the Falafel Sliders: Reserve ¼ cup chickpeas for the Avocado Hummus. Place remaining chickpeas, onions, garlic, tomatoes, parsley, cumin, coriander, salt, and flour in a food processor and pulse until combined, stopping frequently to scrape down sides. Using the palms of your hands, form mixture into 2-inch by ½-inch patties.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and pan-fry patties in batches, letting cook about 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Do not crowd the pan. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

To make the Avocado Hummus: Combine ¼ cup chickpeas, avocado, parsley, oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne in food processor and puree. Adjust seasoning to taste.

To make the Tahini Sauce: Puree tahini, water, garlic, lemon juice, and salt until smooth.

To serve: Layer the Falafel Sliders, Avocado Hummus, Tahini Sauce, and sliced tomato on the buns.”

Source:

Vegan Recipe: Falafel Sliders – YouTube.

The best thing is: It takes less than 10 min!!

 All you need is:

• 2 cans of chickpeas
• Couscous
• Worcester Sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• 50 ml of cream (or more if you like)
• vegetable seasoning mix like ‘Vegeta’

This is how you do it:

• Pour the cans of chickpeas (incl. the chickpea water) in a pan
• Add  so much couscous that it is  covered by the chickpeas
• Bring the mix to boil
• Add vegetable seasoning mix, salt, pepper and a few splashes of Worcester sauce (if you like Worcester Sauce add more)
• When the water has evaporated and the couscous is soft, add the cream and let it simmer for about a minute
• Enjoy!

Tip! Adding chives in the end will give the chickpea couscous a nice and fresh flavour!

Are you familiar with The Dish column in the Toronto Star?

They routinely give the nutritional stats of local eats based on laboratory analysis. Not surprisingly, most meals get a failing grade.

Salad King’s Chicken Pad Thai: 1114 calories and 3479mg of sodium

Burrito Boyz’s Steak Burrito: 1000 calories and 1452mg of sodium

Veggie options are not usually any better:

Gandhi’s Spinach and Paneer Roti: 1482 calories and 3360mg of sodium

a1 Sweet’s Indian veggie thali: 1690 calories and 2134mg of sodium

And what about vegan eats? Not any better.

Urban Herbivore’s sweet potato date muffin (just one! one muffin!) is 986 calories and 689 mg of sodium.

And supposedly “healthy” restos? Depends on what you order:

Fresh’s Buddha Bowl (brown rice bowl with peanut sauce, tofu cucumber, tomato, cilantro, bean sprouts and peanuts) is 1168 calories and 1076mg of sodium

And Fresh’s Green Goddess Bowl (steamed bok choy, kale, swiss chard and broccoli with grilled tempeh, pickled ginger, toasted sunflower seeds, tahini sauce, toasted nori and ginger tamari sauce) is only 687 calories with 647mg of sodium.

Moral of the story? If you are eating out, be mindful of your portion sizes and the amount of non-veggies…. and preferably, only eat half your meal.

The portion sizes are so huge at my beloved Hot Beans that it is equally wise to share a meal there, too.

This always encourages me to try my hand at making the food at home, more in tune to my regular portion sizes. The culprits for the giant calorie counts are mostly due to the sheer amount of food, including heaping portions of rice and rich sauces. Fresh’s Green Goddess Bowl is lighter because it is filled with less caloric dense green veggies.

And yes, because I still couldn’t get Hot Bean’s peanut miso sauce out of my head, I made another version.

Last time, it was just chickpeas and broccoli but this time I went more extravagant by adding spaghetti squash, shallots and sesame seeds to the chickpeas and broccoli. I also wanted to test my theory of a thicker sauce by using some toasted sesame oil with the peanut butter and miso dressing.

Compared to my last attempt, this dressing was thicker, coating the veggies nicely. This version also had a more pronounced sesame flavour from the toasted sesame oil. In fact, a little of the sauce goes a long way. Big bold flavours means you don’t need to use as much. If you like it to cover everything, thin it or make a double batch. Both dressings were good, though. Side-by-side, I preferred the first dressing (I like dressings a bit more tart) whereas Rob preferred this one, but it was close.

This is my submission to this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Elena, and to Cate for Anyone Can Cook Vegetarian legume dishes.

Broccoli and Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowl
Adapted from The First Mess

1 medium spaghetti squash (2 lbs)
2 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained if canned
4 cups coarsely chopped broccoli florets
1 shallot, thinly sliced, soaked in water for 10 minutes, then drained
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Peanut-Miso-Sesame sauce (see below)

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place rack in center of oven. (I prefer to roast it whole and cut it later, but if you are fancy, try smearing a halved squash with garlic, oil and salt and pepper first). Pierce the spaghetti squash multiple times with a fork or knife. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate squash and bake another 30 minutes or until the shell feels soft. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. Once the squash has cooled, cut it in half and remove and discard the seeds and scrape the strands of squash out with a fork. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, prepare your sauce (see below).

3. Prepare the rest of your ingredients: slice and soak the shallot (I find soaking it relieves some of that bite). Toast your sesame seeds. Chop your broccoli.

4. Just prior to wanting to eat, steam broccoli for 2 minutes, or until slightly al dente and a brilliant green.

5. To serve, plate spaghetti squash. Top with chickpeas, broccoli, shallots and sesame seeds. Drizzle with dressing.

Serves 4.

Peanut-Miso-Sesame Sauce
Adapted from Your Bella Life

3 tbsp peanut butter
1.5 tsp white miso
1 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp Aleppo chili flakes
1/4 cup water, to thin to your desired consistency

1. Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. It will thicken once cooled.

(I prefer more flavourful dressings in moderation, so thin further if you want to drench your noodles, or make a double batch)

Ahh this is the second time I’ve tried to write this post (my browser crashed last time without saving)! Even at my first attempt, it was 2 months late and now I think it’s almost been 3 months since I visited Clover! However, I still think this is appropriate because May is here and food truck season is in full swing. At least in my mind. Plus, this food is so bright, fresh and perfect for the warm weather. I ate at the Harvard Square location when I took these photos, but now I really want to pay a visit to a truck. Should be easy to find – they are everywhere!

I remember when we were here, it was really cold and gloomy. I was so happy to walk in and enjoy some colorful, summery food and drinks. This place is called a food lab for good reason. They are always trying out new ways to make health food super tasty. I actually didn’t even realize the place was vegetarian until after I ordered because I saw words like ‘barbecue’ and ‘BLT’. The menu changes seasonally and as they concoct new things, but the really good stuff stays put. The order dude was pretty honest and told us that some of the seasonal drinks were fun to try, but not the best, like the maple soda. We stuck to some tried and true favorites (according to him) and got the chickpea fritter. I’m sure you guys can tell how absolutely huge this thing is. Even though it was messy and too big for me to finish, I really enjoyed it! Very satisfying without feeling too heavy because all the ingredients taste so fresh.

I really like the idea behind this place and the fact that they pay so much attention to where their ingredients come from. I love any place that can make me happy to eat healthy because goodness knows I’m a sucker for cheese and carbs when it comes to eating out (and eating in general). I want to eat healthy so bad, but I can’t quit the cheese! Eating at Clover was really fun. I like the open atmosphere that lets you watch the assembly process and they had a band playing too. It Seemed like a fairly popular place for those Harvard kids to study…I mean, not only do they serve brain food, but they also serve beer. So yeah, heh heh.

Hibiscus and some kind of fruity lemonade. I’m not sure what drinks they have now, but these were pretty refreshing!

Too. full. for. fries. But I still ate some and liked it.

A monster.

Watching them work. You can also watch from the seating area above them.

Harvard kids love to color. Fun!

]]> http://juliecatinthekitchen.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/mid-week-mystery-dinner/ Thu, 02 May 2013 02:57:56 +0000 juliecatinthekitchen http://juliecatinthekitchen.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/mid-week-mystery-dinner/ Tonight is one of those nights where things just happen to figure themselves out in the kitchen.  I bought groceries today, but I bought them in mind for a dinner I’m planning tomorrow.  So…what do we do tonight?  Cereal again sounded pretty sad (hey, cooking doesn’t always happen around here!).  I did what I usually do in this tiny kitchen of mine, I started throwing things together in hopes of a  “winner”.  I think it came pretty close to that tonight; hope you agree!

So, this is what I call a Greek-inspired hamburger helper.  I know, I’m really setting the bar high here with this description, but it’s the first thing that came to me.  Nothing fancy, but it’s tasty and super quick!  Here’s how it goes:

Gather you ingredients:

- 1 lb. Ground Beef

- 1 Fennel Bulb: quartered and sliced into 1/4″ pieces

- 1 Can Chickpeas

- 1/2 Red Onion: chopped into 1/2″ pieces

- Olive Oil

- Dill

- Salt/Pepper

- Smoked Paprika

- 1/4 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

- 3 Large Garlic Cloves: finely chopped

- 3 Green Onions: chopped

Toss the ground beef into a pan with some olive oil and a sprinkle of dill and smoked paprika.  Brown the meat for a few minutes, then add the red onion and fennel.  Saute for about 10 minutes.  Add some salt and pepper.  Add the chickpeas, garlic and green onions and saute for just a couple minutes.  Add the Greek yogurt to the mixture and stir.  Top with a little more dill.  This would be pretty good with some warm pita bread if you’re unlike me and plan ahead.  Enjoy!

-

1 1/2 to 2 cans chickpeas (or about 3 cups fresh)

6 cloves garlic

juice from 2 to 2 1/2 lemons (start with less and add if mix isn’t blending or to taste)

2 – 3 heaping tbsp tahini

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

about 1/2 tsp salt

about 1/2 tsp garlic salt

Put all of the ingredients in the blender or food processor and blend for 15-20 seconds.  Turn your blender up to the highest setting for at least 20 seconds more.  If the mixture isn’t blending, add more olive oil or lemon juice until it comes together.

You can garnish with freshly chopped parsley, mint, chives, or red pepper flakes.  Always run a thin drizzle of olive oil in a circle along the top for presentation.

Normally Sunday is my day to make my lunches and breakfasts for the week. I usually eat the same thing for a week and then switch it up for the next week. I spoil myself by using good ingredients and making healthy, balanced meals I will look forward to.

Unlike my typical weekend, this weekend I spent figuring out this whole blogging thing. Before I knew it, it was late Sunday night and I didn’t have any breakfasts or lunches…. Time to improvise.

This made me think… I’m sure plenty if people can’t (or don’t want to) plan their meals like I do. So, I thought I’d share a few quick tricks I have for eating healthy at work… Without planning.
Full disclosure… I basically have a pantry of groceries at my desk that I keep for just this reason. I have nuts, raisins, GF oats, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, hot sauce, flaxseeds, cinnamon, lemon juice packets, can opener, napkins, utensils, and Tupperware. Those are just the staples I always keep… Other items come and go with cravings. But these are there to help me eat healthy and create my own quick meals at work. I know… I’m that person. But it works for me.

Here are the nuts I’m obsessed with right now for snacking(Kateri Foods Dill Seasoned Almonds that I got at Lunds)…  I have a post coming reviewing quick snacks that are out there… stay tuned.
I am also lucky to have a store right by my office that I can run to for the necessities. If you don’t, you could include these ingredients in your typical Grocery shopping and bring them into work with you. Yesterday I went over to get something for the week. Here is the breakfast I came up with:

Yummy yogurt Parfait:

• 1/4 cup Planters fruit and nut mix
• 2% Fage yogurt
• 1 tbsp Flaxseeds (I keep these at my desk to add to snacks)
• cinnamon(also keep at my desk)

Nutrition info:

Calories: 369 Carbs: 27g Fat: 18g Protein: 26g Sodium: 84g Sugar: 19g

Just mix all ingredients together and enjoy!  When I’m not as hungry, I’ll just sub out the Planters nut and fruit mix for a banana (cuts out about 60 calories).  There is already fat and protein in the yogurt and flaxseeds so you will still stay nice and full for a while.

And for lunch I made:

Balsamic chickpea and Avocado Toss:

• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 cup chickpeas
• 1 tbsp+ balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Nutrition info:

Calories: 374 Carbs: 39g Fat: 23g Protein: 8g Sodium: 370 Sugar: 4g

Even though this meal is not substantial in size, it is satisfying and keeps me full for a long time.  The key for me at work is to eat smaller meals that are still well balanced (meaning they have protein, fat, and fiber). This chickpea salad would be super good with lettuce too if you wanted to add a little more bulk to it!

Then I had chopped pineapple on the side for a little dessert.

Next week I’ll plan better and let you know what I make!

Enjoy!

Try with our lunch combo today!

Sugar and Plumm‘s flagship store is on the Upper West Side, but they have a patisserie on Bleecker Street.  There, they have their signature chocolate pumps and purses that look more like the real thing than like chocolate.  They also have these divine little cookies from Vivel Patisserie in Dubai.  My two favorites are the Caramel and the Nocohi.  The Caramel consists of almond slices caramelized in honey and saffron.  Nocohi is a chickpea cookie that is soft as sand with a dash of cardamom.  The Nocochi white is a chickpea flour cookie with cinnamon, walnuts and white chocolate.  This had the chickpea flavor of the nocochi with this lovely spicy hint of cinnamon.  The Noir is a hazelnut biscuit filled with raspberry jam.  At first glance, I thought this would be my favorite.  But it wasn’t.  I’m a big fan of jam cookies, and this was not one of my favorites.  The Almond Rock is an almond biscuit topped with pistachios.