Overnight Oats

Got addicted to this delicious breakfast, that you almost don't need any preparation for. It's very healthy, and very satiating. Just recently came across this recipe on Angela's blog(one of my favorite blogger)- Oh She Glows. I substituted some ingredients as per my taste.
All you have to do is mix some ingredients a night before keep the bowl in the refrigerator and mix the remaining the next morning and that's it.!!
Ingredients-
For a night before-:

• Quick cooking oats/ rolled oats( I have tried both, works well)
• Soy milk(I used vanilla)
• Chia seeds(My most favorite ingredient of this recipe)
• Mashed banana

Mashed banana, oats and chia seeds!

Ready to go in the refrigerator.

The morning ingredients-:

• Almond butter/ peanut butter (I love both)
• A dash of organic maple syrup
• Dried Cranberries

Right out of the fridge!

The peanut butter, dried cranberries and maple syrup.

Method-:

• Very Simple
• Just add the night before ingredients in to a bowl and keep covered in the refrigerator overnight.
• In the morning pull the bowl out and add the morning ingredients, mix and grab a spoon.

It tastes out of this world. The sweetness of banana just kicks off my day with full of energy. The Chia seeds puff up overnight and gel well with the rest of the ingredients giving the dish a thicker consistency.

The weather is warming up here in Seattle. What better breakfast can I find to cool me down than these  overnight oats with Chia seeds.

Benefits-:

I have been eating this for my breakfast at least 3 days a week, just because it's so easy to put together and the results are astonishing. My skin feels so soft to touch like never before. My suspect is the chia seeds. According to Ayurveda, chia supports deep hydration. More benefits of chia seeds here.

Lavash Chips

Nothing like these super simple crispy baked Lavash Chips! 
If you are like me, who likes something crunchy every once in a while, then keep reading.

The whole grain Lavash wraps!

You can find these whole grain Lavash wraps at Whole Foods ( See the picture). Whenever the wraps are down to 2/3 count, I put them to a crunchy use.
These wraps come in a rectangular shape. Just cut them into squares or you can also cut them in wedges if you like and coat with EVOO, toss with the spices of your choice, sprinkle some salt for taste. Coat well. Arrange them on a baking tray. Bake until they get crispy and light golden color. I baked them for 375F for about 10 minutes. As simple as it can get.

Make sure you keep watching them, as they turn brown very quickly.

For this version I used only salt as a seasoning, but you can certainly use, cumin powder, Garam Masala, red chilly powder or any herbs of your choice.

Have a good crunch!!

Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

Greet the day with this Smiley Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie!
I love this amazing breakfast smoothie with sweetness of banana, nice heaping tablespoon of peanut butter, goodness of soy milk and few drops of maple syrup for fun..:)
Oh.. and don't forget to add a few ice cubes to the blender for making your morning a little chillier..:)


Method-:

• Cut banana in half and along with soy milk, peanut butter, ice cubes and maple syrup, toss it in a blender.
• Blend well and pour into a glass.
• Enjoy!

The Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie is headed to Chilled Delights event by Tickling Palates.

Lima Beans Curry

I always have Lima Beans in my pantry. Sometimes I also use the frozen version.Whenever I am short on veggies, my first choice is this Lima beans curry. The flavors from the tomato, onion and coconut get married so well that it becomes very hard to eat right portions sometimes..:P


If you are using the raw Lima beans, make sure to soak them in water at least for 5-6 hours and then cook them as per the instructions below. If you are using the frozen, no need to soak them. I used frozen in this recipe.


The credit of this recipe goes to Madhura of Madhura's Recipes. She has a video of this recipe here.  This is her website, which has lots of delicious recipes on it. 
Thanks Madhura for sharing the recipes. 


Ingredients-:

• Lima Beans- Frozen
• Shredded fresh coconut
• Green chillies 
• Garlic
• Peanut Oil
• Cumin Seeds
• Tomato
• Onions
• Garam Masala
• Red chilly powder
• Turmeric powder
• Asafoetida(hing)
• Coriander Powder
• Cumin Powder
• Salt to taste
• Lemon juice
• Cilantro for garnishing.

Method-:

• In a grinder add grated coconut, green chilies and garlic. Blend together and keep aside.
• Heat Peanut oil into a pressure cooker.
• Add cumin seeds, as they splutter, add a pinch of asafoetida.
• Then add chopped onions and let them turn pinkish brown, then add the coconut paste, from the grinder.
• Add turmeric powder
• After sauteing for about 2-3 minutes add coriander and cumin powder. Keep mixing everything well.
• Time to add chopped tomatoes, keep mixing until oil starts to separate. 
• Add the beans and mix well.
• Add water depending on your need.
• Add chilly powder and garam masala powder as per your taste.
• Finally add salt and mix everything well.
• Put the lid on the pressure cooker and make 2 whistles so the beans get cooked well. 
• Let the pressure go down by itself.
• Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top and sprinkle chopped cilantro. Serve with your favorite kind of bread or rice.

The Lima beans curry is headed to Zesty Palette's Love Lock Series- Legumes and Sweet Karam Kapi. Also to Healthy Diet - Vegetarian Side Dishes and to Priya's Healthy and tasty recipes.

Seitan Stir Fry

Take my word, this one is your time savor. This is for those busy mornings when you barely have time to cook your lunch. Rip open the Seitan that has already in pieces for you to go, chop your favorite veggies, throw in whatever spices and sauces you have on hand and while you do all this, just put a pressure cooker on the side, and there you have your meal ready in less than 15 minutes..:))


Ingredients-:

• Vegetables of your choice- I used fresh broccoli, carrots, cabbage, Bok choy, green bell pepper.
• Seitan- I used chicken style, which already comes in pieces, you can cut it further into strips.( see picture)
• Stir fry sauce
• Green chilly vinegar
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Soy Sauce
• Cornstarch
• Salt to taste
• Rice

Method-:

• If you have time you can marinate the Seitan strips in advance in the broth that seitan comes in, add in some spices like ginger powder, garlic powder, and some soy sauce. Keep it aside.
• In a wok or in a pan, add peanut oil
• Let it heat and then add ginger and garlic .
• Add chopped veggies. Stir them for couple of minutes.
• Add all the sauces.
• Let all flavors come together and then mix a tbsp of cornstarch into the water and add spoon by spoon  into the veggies, if it thickens add some more broth or water.
• Remember not to overcook the veggies, I usually keep them a little underdone. That way they retain a little crunch that I love.
• Adjust the salt as per taste.
• Serve over white rice or brown rice.

Vegan Pizza and Salad Night!

Who said vegans can't have that slice of pizza?

Here's to my journey towards being Vegan!! It's been 10 days that I am keeping dairy away from my diet.  I have started  leaning into it (as kathy Freston suggests). I am still away from being completely  vegan as I still consume clarified butter (ghee) on my rotis. I find the ghee to be extremely effective for my skin, and ghee is excellent in balancing Pitta dosha. I am  not really sure that any other non dairy substitute can give me the same result. Until I find the substitute, I guess I can be semi- vegan. 


Anyways, the point is my first week was fantastic, already started feeling great about me and happy to make this meaningful change in my life.


Being believers of Ayurveda, our dinners are always light. We believe that we don't need many calories at night, when our stomach wants to rest, after the whole day of work, just like our body.  Some nights we have really simple dal and rice or lentil and rice khichadi, (mugachi khichdi) at others, a quick Varan Bhat (which is cooked toor dal , mashed up well with asafoetida, turmeric powder, salt and cilantro for garnishing and served over rice, with a nice dollop of ghee) We usually grill some vegetables to go along with it.


To celebrate my week, we had a Vegan pizza and salad. Usually when I used to have pizza I used to feel guilty after eating my slice, because of the heavy calories that it contains. The after effects of this meal wasn't the same though. I felt very light and fresh after this meal, and most importantly felt extremely good that no one had to suffer for my dinner.


Hubby, who is still vegetarian and haven't started thinking about being vegan yet, also enjoyed the meal as much as I did. "Doesn't feel like this is a vegan cheese!" Those were his words after having the first slice..:)


I have tried a couple of different cheeses (vegan of course) from different companies,  I have found daiya the best.


Ingredients-:


For the pizza-:

• Whole grain Lavash- as a pizza base
• Sliced veggies of your choice for the topping- I used onions, artichokes, bell peppers, black olives
• Non- dairy cheese- I used daiya- cheddar style shreds.

• Organic pizza sauce
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Olive oil

For the Salad-:

• Chopped up Lettuce leaves
• Grilled Asparagus
• Grilled Brussels Sprouts
• Sliced carrots
• Black beans
• Lemon ginger sesame as a dressing.

Grill the veggies in the oven before tossing the salad together. I have this perforated pizza pan that I used for the first time and it really helps to crisp out the base really evenly.

I don't think this entry needs a procedure. Pictures will speak for itself. 

Ready to go in!

After Coming out!

Please don't disturb! I am too busy tossing my beans!

Almost Done!!

Slice in the Focus!

Salad in the Focus!!

Time to switch off that TV and focus on your plate!! 

Grab a "fork"!!!

Protein Packed Balls (Ladoos)

This entry is my new favorite snack time addiction!!  BEWARE it might catch you!!!

What a great way to include all kinds of nuts of your choice along with the seeds and berries and the tasteful dates. Get the protein from the nuts, antioxidents from the berries, minerals from the seeds.  If you are a sweet lover, nothing should stop you from making this delicious treat for yourself but even if you don't have a sweet tooth (like me) , take my word that this snack will make you addict.

Super simple and super quick to make, give them a try!

Ingredients-:

• Dates- pitted
• Almonds
• Dried Cranberries
• Dried Cherries
• Dried figs
• Roasted unsalted peanuts
• Toasted Sesame seeds
• Puffed Amaranth Seeds ( Rajgira in Marathi, you can these find at Indian store- see picture)
• Golden Raisins
• 1 tsp of Agave nectar
• Dried coconut shredded - to roll the balls later.

Use the ingredients of your choice, just make sure to add enough dates to bind everything together. You can also add other nuts like pecans, walnuts etc. I had Rajgira (Amaranth) vadi, that I crumbled and tossed into the the blender.

Method-:

• Toss everything in a blender except the shredded coconut and grind until everything gets mixed up well.

       (That white square in the back of the blender is the Rajgira vadi made up of puffed amaranth seeds)

• Make sure that the nuts get chopped up into small pieces.  
• Spoon out little by little and using your hands roll into rounds.
• Roll them further in shredded coconut, just to cover them from all sides.

I bet you will start snacking them right away!

This entry goes to Snacks Recipes- Evening snack recipes from my culinary creations.

Also to Kid's Delight- Easy to make snacks under 30 minutes and  Kid's delight wholesome breakfast.



Thank you for hosting the events ladies!!