Four Seasons Inspired Vegan Lunch

Today I had a delicious, healthy, and colourful vegan lunch that was also super easy to make. There's four parts to it inspired by the different seasons. Here's how to make each of them.

Spring - Cucumber Avocado Rolls
Slice a regular size cucumber lenght wise with a potato peeler to get those thin long layers. On the side, smash one to two avocados and add lime juice, salt, chopped parsley, and pepper to taste. Mix it all together and spread on the long cucumber layers individually. Roll them up and enjoy!

Summer - Tomato and Peppers Salad
This one is the simplest part of the dish but it adds a pop of colour and a lot of freshness to your meal. Simply chop two tomatoes and four sweet peppers of different colours and mix. They're so good by themselves, no dressing is needed!

Fall - Fried Tofu with Sea Salt
Slice tofu in small cubes, about half an inch in height and one inch on the sides.  On a frying pan at medium heat, add some canola oil so it covers the whole surface. Wait until the oil is hot to pour the tofu pieces. Wait between 10 to 15 min on each side or until golden before taking them out to dry on a paper towel. I like pressing them against it to remove the extra oil. Sprinkle with some sea salt to finish!

Winter - Lemony Mushrooms
Pour a bit of vegetable oil on a frying pan and add sliced white mushrooms. Let them cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. Squeeze a medium size lemon on top (or half if its really big), and sprinkle some salt, pepper,  parsley, basil, and onion powder to taste. I also add a little bit of olive oil at this point. Mix and let it continue cooking on low for another 5 to 7 minutes. You can serve them with a lemon wedge on the side.

Bon appétit!

Avocado Blackberry Salad

This was my super delicious vegan and healthy lunch today, which I made in 5 minutes, literally. To make it, just make a baby aurugula base (which you can replace with baby spinach, lettuce, mixed greens, etc), add 1 yummy sliced avocado, 1 sliced mini cucumber, and blackberries, almonds, and toasted sunflower seeds to your taste. Finish with your favourite dressing, I used a raspberry infused vinagre, and you're done. Enjoy!

Exploring Reykjavik

My fiance and I decided to take a short pre-honeymoon to Iceland for a week. Reykjavik is a beautiful city filled with colourful houses, sea side views, and kind people. We found the cutest café with vegan food (yummy chili and carrot cake for dessert), which made our first day even more special.  Below are some Instagram photos from our first day, but there are many more to come!

Vegan (Duck) Apple Pie

There's no ducks involved in this recipe, except for the cute ones made of crust covering the top of this delicious vegan apple pie. It is one of my most coveted recipes, and I must say every time I make this pie it disappears within hours. I also make it with whole wheat flour and minimal sugar, so it ends up being healthier than most!

This recipe is good for three small pies (9" diameter pans). You will need:

For the crust,
- 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
- 2 sticks (16 tbsp) of Earth Balance
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Ice-cold water

For the filling,
- About 9 medium apples, any kind, although I like honeycrisp apples
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Cinnamon
- Whole wheat flour

To make the crust,

Mix all the crust ingredients thoroughly except for the water in a large bowl. After you have a nice consistency, slowly pour some of the cold water and mix. This will help the dough become more sticky and less dry. Add more water as necessary until you have a nice doughy consistency. Divide the dough in six equal parts and put them in the fridge for one hour.

To make the filling,

In the meantime, peel and slice your apples in nice thin wedges and put in a bowl. Sprinkle them with a bit of nutmeg, cinnamon, powdered cloves, and the whole wheat flour. Mix lightly until all apples are covered with some of these ingredients.

Now combine,

Preheat your oven to 425 °F. Take one of the pieces of dough and flatten in a circular shape. This will be the bottom of your pie. Place it in one of the 9" circular pans and make sure it covers all its surface, from the centre up to the borders. Place a third of the sliced apples inside in a nice concentric way, starting on the outside and making your way to the center. Then take out another of the pieces of dough, flatten, and using a cookie cutter in any shape (I used ducks -above- and stars -below-) start cutting the dough and placing it on top of the apples. Keep flattening and re-using the dough until you use it all up. Repeat these steps with the other four pieces of dough and extra apple slices to make two more pies. Sprinkle the top with a bit of brown sugar before placing in the oven for 45 minutes or until golden. Once it is done, let cool for about 10 minutes before you dig in. Enjoy!

One of the Greatest Smoothies Ever

I cannot take credit for this delicious smoothie, because the recipe was passed onto me by a friend. However, it is my duty to make sure everyone can enjoy this delicious healthy smoothie. It is actually quite simple to make, just mix orange juice, kale, some baby spinach, apples and mangoes in a blender and voila! You can also try adding apple juice or mango juice instead of the actual fruit, but it is better if you get the natural fruit. The orange juice is also preferably natural, none of that sugary stuff.

One of the best benefits of this smoothie, besides being delicious and a great snack or after-workout drink, is that it includes two of the best greens out there, kale and spinach. A lot of people don't like this taste, but the orange juice camouflages it quite well. The smoothie is actually more on the sweet side, and it can be a great way to get kids to drink it and take advantage of all the vitamins. You can also freeze it and make it into popsicles for the summer. It is a nice and healthy dessert. Also, if you are iron deficient like myself, this is a great drink for you. The high iron levels in the kale and spinach get absorbed better in the company of vitamin C, which there is plenty of because of the fruits, especially the orange juice.

Even this guy seems to like it!

Delicious Vegan Lunch

Just wanted to share how easy it is to have a nice, healthy, simple, and VEGAN lunch every day. Today my lunch consisted of a super-fast-to-make salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and yummy avocados), a baked portobello mushroom with salt and herbs, sauteed french beans, and a mix of wild rice, brown rice, and quinoa (I usually cook enough for the week and then just warm up in the microwave!). All prepped and cooked in under 20 minutes.