Kale, Quinoa & Falafel Salad

Have you seen mini kale in your supermarket or farmers market lately?
I have found these little kales in Coles, and not only are they super cute, but they are really delicious too. 
They don't have the same grassy taste that regular kale does. They have a subtle sweetness to them.
We have been enjoying them the last few months.

They are called "kalettes" and Coles has described them as a combination of kale and brussels sprouts with a nutty flavour.

I think that is a very good description.

Here's a quick and easy way to add them to a eye-pleasing salad:

KALE, QUINOA & FALAFEL SALAD

You'll need:
1 cup quinoa
1 punnet of kalettes
Approx 20 pre-cooked falafels
1 red capsicum


Dressing:

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 Tablespoon sweet chili sauce
2 Tablespoons soft tofu
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Place the quinoa in a microwave safe dish with 2 cups of water. Place a lid on and cook in the microwave for 12 minutes or until quinoa is clear and cooked through.
Allow to cool slightly.
Remove the woody ends from the kalettes and steam for 3-4 minutes.
Slice the capsicum.
Combine all the above in a salad bowl along with the falafels.
You can make your own falafels, or use packet ones. (Click on this link to see my preferred packet brand.)
To make the dressing, simply combine all the ingredients in a blender with 2-3 Tablespoons of water and blend til smooth. You can add more water if you prefer a thinner sauce.
Pour over the salad.

Can be served warm or cold.

*You can use regular kale if you can't find kalettes. Just steam and chop into rough pieces.

Question of the day:
Have you seen kalettes in the shop?

Kids Lunchbox Club - Quick Mexican Quinoa Salad

My daughter has decided that she quite loves quinoa! This is thanks to her testing out a Dreena Burton recipe. So this means now she requests it for her lunchbox salad. We don't often eat quinoa, but I had a batch made up this week and with a few leftover bits and pieces from a Mexican-inspired meal we had prepared earlier in the week this delicious salad was created.
Nevermind the kids! I reckon this lunchbox meal would please any adult too!

QUICK MEXICAN QUINOA SALAD

To serve one you'll need:
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 Tablespoons of salsa
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup corn kernels
1/4 small capsicum - chopped
1/2 small avocado - diced

Stir a tablespoon of salsa into the quinoa and mix well. 
Add the other ingredients and stir through. Top with the remaining tablespoon of salsa.


 

Submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays
You can add your recipe on these blogs:
Vegan Dollhouse 
Rock My Vegan Socks

Mexican Lunch Muffins

With Term 3 starting back this week, my daughter is missing her warm lunches that she got on holidays. She asked me to share this recipe.
Created by herself, it's a simple meal that she can easily make while Mummy is working from home.
So here you have it, Miss Vegans favourite school holiday lunch.

MEXICAN LUNCH MUFFINS

What you need:
Wholemeal English Muffin
Mild Salsa
Avocado
Refried beans from a can
Tofutti "Cheese" Slices

Split the muffin in half and toast it in a toaster.
Spread the muffin with the salsa, avocado and refried beans.
Put a slice of tofutti on top and then bake it in the oven until the cheese is melted.
Serve warm.

Question of the day:
Are there any simple little meals that your school age children can make themselves without needing your help?

Mixed Bean Burgers

I am a BIG fan of bean burgers! I'm yet to find a type that I don't like. But these ones were particularly tasty. Even my hubby who is not a bean burger fan thought these ones were ok.
 

Mixed Bean Burgers

You'll need:
2 cans lentils
1 can butter beans
1 batch okara -or other plant milk pulp (approx 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 Tablespoon garlic
1 Tablespoon Italian herbs

Drain all the canned beans & combine in a large mixing bowl.
Mash the beans together and then add the remaining ingredients.
With wet hands shape the mixture into patties and place on a lined baking tray.
Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 40 mins until golden brown and firm.

These burgers need to cook for longer than other burgers as the okara adds quite a bit of moisture to them. Don't worry they won't dry out being in the oven that long - they will just brown nicely and be cooked through and won't fall apart.

 

Alternatively you can fry them in a frying pan. Approx 7 minutes each side. Be gentle when flipping.

Makes 12 burgers

Roasted Vegetable Roll

 

 

We all know how great baked veggies can be :-)

They seem to be the perfect accompaniment for all kinds of meals.

However, I really don't like it when the veggies are smoothered with oil. Not only is it not good for your health, but why destroy the natural taste of the vegetables?!?

Here's another way to have them that our family totally enjoy and I hope yours will too!

Place chopped veggies of choice on a lined baking tray.

Sprinkle with paprika and sage.

Bake in a preheated 200C oven for 40minutes, until tender & cooked through.

Serve in a bread roll with hummus and salad leaves.

Comfort food plus!

Great weekend cooking- when the smell of roast veggies will warm the home all morning, fill the stomach at lunch, and leave you perfectly satisfied all afternoon! 

Kids Lunchbox Club - Pizza Sandwich

All kids love pizza right?!?

But they aren't exactly the most convenient thing to take to school the next day when there is leftovers...

That is...... until you make a pizza sandwich!

I know this isn't a real recipe - its more of an idea! A great idea if you ask me! 
The kids will love it and its far less messy!

Slap two slices of pizza together (make sure they are roughly the same size) and then wrap them up ready for the lunchbox!

They won't bring this 'sandwich' home from school uneaten that's for sure ;-)

Couscous with mushrooms and green beans

I love a warm lunch!

This was so quick and easy to make and totally filled the spot!

You'll need:
1/2 cup wholemeal couscous
6 mushrooms, sliced
100g green beans, topped and tailed
1 shallot, chopped
juice of half a lemon
1 Tablespoon soy sauce

Soak the couscous in 3/4 cup boiling water, cover with a lid and allow to stand while the rest is cooking.
Put the mushrooms, beans and shallot into a frying pan. Gently stir until the mushrooms start to brown. Add the lemon juice and soy sauce. Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Serve the vegetables mixed into couscous.

 

 

Submitted for Healthy Vegan Friday.
You can add your recipe at these blogs:
carrie on vegan           veggie nook        greenthickies  

Pumpkin and Kale Soup

Its not easy being green in winter!
Summer naturally leans towards delicious green smoothies and tasty salads but when winter comes I find my greens sit in the fridge for longer than they should.....

This is a great way to incorporate greens into your winter lunches :-)

You'll need:
1/4 of a whole pumpkin
1/2 onion
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon stock powder
leaves from 4 steams of black kale (or other green leafy as desired)

Chop the pumpkin into small pieces and scoop out the seeds.

Place in a large saucepan with the chopped onion, sage and stock powder.

Pour in enough water to just cover the pumpkin pieces.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.

Remove from the stovetop and blend with a stick blender until smooth.

Return to the heat and add the torn kale leaves.

Cover and continue to cook on low heat for 7-10 minutes until the kale leaves have slightly wilted.

Serves 2

Lunch Veg & Noodles

As the days are getting cooler I am thinking more about warm lunch options.
This is a great option! So quick and easy. You could whiz it up before work, or take 5 minutes to prepare it there if you have kitchen facilities :-)

To serve one you'll need:
90g of soba noodles (the packets I buy come in 3 parts - each part is 90g. But you can use as much or as little as you like!)
Soak the soba noodles in boiling water while you prepare the veggies.

1 carrot
1 onion
2 spring onions
100g snow peas (tops and ends trimmed)
1/4 large green capsicum
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon mince ginger
1 Tablespoon each: soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, BBQ sauce, sweet chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Preheat a wok. Chop the onion, spring onion and capsicum. Chop the carrots into long strips. Toss them into the wok with the snow peas. Gently toss around the wok for a few minutes. Add the garlic and ginger. When the veggies are cooked to your desired texture then add the sauces and the allspice. Mix well. 

Serve on top of the drained noodles.

Green and Gold Tofu Scramble

When I first went vegan I was so nervous to try tofu scramble! I kept reading about it but I couldn't convince myself to give it a try. The great news is that when I finally got up enough courage to give it a try, I never looked back!

There are so many different variations to tofu scramble out there. 
This is how I enjoy it the most.  Maybe because the colours make me feel like I'm being a true "Aussie" ;-)
I love to add lots of veggies to the mix and a few flavourings. 
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

To serve 2:
300g firm tofu
4 button mushrooms
4 kale leaves
1 shallot
1/2 large capsicum (any colour you choose)
1 Tablespoon soysauce
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast

Chop the tofu into bite size pieces and place in a frying pan. Put just enough water that the tofu doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan but not so much that the tofu gets soggy - that may be a few tablespoons, depending on your pan. 
Chop the mushrooms, shallots and capsicum and add to the pan.
Remove the leaves of the kale from the stems. Break into small pieces and add to the pan. You may want to add a little water along the way just so the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Top the mixture with the soysauce, turmeric and nutritional yeast and stir well. 
Stir frequently for about 5 minutes until all the veggies are tender.

Serve over toast or by itself.

Easy Kale Lunch Wrap

It occurred to me this morning as I was thinking about what I would have for lunch that I have had this for the last 2 weeks on Friday and was planning on having it again today. Sounds like a perfect contribution to Health Vegan Fridays if you ask me!!!

You can add your link to Health Vegan Fridays on either of these blogs:
   -  the veggie nook
   -  carrie on vegan 

Thanks ladies for hosting :-)




Place in a warmed frying pan 4 sliced button mushrooms, torn leaves from 2 kale stems, 1/2 chopped red capsicum & 1/2 cup water.
Cover with a lid & allow to heat for 10 minutes.

Serve in a heated wrap with BBQ sauce & a sprinkling of nutritional yeast!

Roll up your wrap & eat - YUM! 

So simple and yet so incredibly tasty! :-)

Potato Waffles

BEST ALTERNATIVE TO HOT CHIPS EVER!!!

These are so easy to make.  They don't take long and they can be served in so many ways.
Enjoy by itself, with tomato sauce, in a bread roll (who doesn't love a hot chip roll!!!???) served with salad, as a side or use them as a 'sandwich' to mix and match your veggies between 2 waffle potatoes!




Place potatoes in the microwave for 10 minutes with enough water to cover them completely. Drain the water and make sure the skin is dry.




Place a potato in a preheated waffle iron.


 






Press the lid til completely closed. The potato will squash down.

Heat for approx 4-6 minutes per potato.
You can press more than one potato at a time if you like. This will depend on the size potatoes you choose. 

Do not lift the lid if you think the potato is going to stick, it means it's not cooked enough yet. This will pull the potato apart. If in doubt, wait a bit longer! 

They will just get more crispy!

Cauli, corn & cannellini bites with tangy dipping sauce

Looking for a quick & easy lunch that isn't another sandwich?!?

You can get these done in less than 15 minutes!

Ingredients:
1 corn cob
4 cauliflower forets
1/2 can cannellini beans, drained
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
2/3 cups plant milk
1 teaspoon ground sage
black pepper, to taste

Cut the cauliflower into tiny pieces, and remove the corn pieces from the cob.

Drain the beans and add all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.

Dry fry small spoonfuls of the mixture. Flipping when lightly browned - approx 3 minutes each side.

 









To make the tangy sauce:
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon chili
Combine in a small dish & mix well.

* Warning - this sauce has a real bite to it! If you can't handle heat you can reduce the chili and mustard or just omit them completely.*
 
Serve over a bed of salad leaves, by themselves, with couscous or in a breadroll ;-) You can pour the sauce over or just serve in on the side.

These carry well making a great addition to lunchboxes or perfect picnic treats when you're after hand-food.

Lunchbox Makeover

Do your children ever get tired of having a sandwich every-single-day?

What about you??? Do you have to take lunch to work everyday but looking for some ideas that aren't just different sandwich fillings?

I am SOOOOOO excited to share with you all that I recently WON A LUNCH PACK! YAYYYYYYY who doesn't love to win a prize?!?!?
It was a competition for something healthy that your children enjoy to snack on. I shared my recipe for Soy-tella and the many ways that it can be used. I LOVE turning treat-food into health-food!
It was sooooooooo exciting to find out that I had won!!!

Here's the AWESOME pack that I received - thanks to Smash Enterprises and the awesome website Weighitup.

 

Now that box calls for some name labels ;-)

I have to say that these lunchboxes and snack containers are truly awesome! I definitely recommend getting some not only for the kids but for yourself too! They are available at Big-W, Woolworths, Coles or you can just buy them online directly from their website.

I think its always exciting to open a box up that's not just a piece of fruit & a sandwich.
Here's some lunchbox ideas that I've made for my daughter:

Chocolate pancakes, spinach wrap with lentil bolognese & avocado, sesame crackers, kiwi

Orange, date & cashew bar, vegan "chicken nuggets" with BBQ sauce, ginger logs, grapes

Sesame snaps, avocado sushi with soysauce, apple, oreo's, dried banana chips

Wrap with PB carrot and raisins, honeydew melon, home-made doughnut, sesame snaps

Butterfly snacks (dried fruit & nuts with a twist tie), corn chips with tomato paste and soymince (cold nachos),  chocolate spiders, orange

Button mushrooms, carrot stew with raisins, ginger logs with soytella, sandwich with tofutti cream cheese, strawberries & coconut

Okara 'meatballs' with tomato sauce, strawberries, chocolate coated veggie pulp cookies, mandarin

Leftover pizza???
Slap 2 slices together for a pizza sandwich!
The kids will LOVE this idea.

If all else fails, everyone loves oreo sandwiches!