There’s no denying I love a good stir fry. It’s easy, speedy, and it transforms any left overs you have in the fridge. One night, it occured to me that I haven’t had fried noodles for a while and I had this sudden craving for the sweet mee goreng I used to have as a child when I was growing up.
So I created this noodle recipe inspired by that memory. I wanted to create something as delicious but I wanted something better, healthier and more nutritious. Most stir-fry noodles are dripping in oil which makes me cringe sometimes.
This recipe only uses two tablespoons of oil for four servings. It’s a cross between soba noodle salad and mee goreng and it’s full of the colours and flavours I love from the stir fry noodles in my childhood.
Vegan Soba Mee Goreng With Teriyaki Tempeh
Recipe Type: Lunch
Cuisine: Vegan
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A comforting but healthy fried noodles that is slightly sweet, slightly salty, fragrant, substantial and every bit delicious.
Ingredients
1 bunch baby broccoli, roughly chopped
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sweet soya sauce
250g tempeh*, cut into cubes
2 bundles of buckwheat noodles
8 okras, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Ground pepper
1/3 cup tbsp teriyaki sauce
Instructions
Melt 1 tbsp oil in a wok on high heat, fry marinaded tempeh for 1 minute, flip and cook until golden brown, set aside.
Cook buckwheat noodles according to packet instruction.
Melt 1 tbsp oil, add sliced onion and sauté until soft. Add garlic and fry for about 1 minute. Add chopped broccoli, stir for 30 seconds.
Add 1/3 cup of water into the wok and stir for 10 seconds.
Add sliced carrots and okras.
Add soy sauce, sweet soya sauce, and sesame oil. Toss all ingredients to combine.
Season with ground pepper.
Garnish with sesame seeds and serve.
Notes
Tempeh is a delicious health food made from fermented soy bean. It’s rich in protein and is a perfect substitute for meat.
3.2.2929
https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/P1310405.jpg20481536Kerenhttp://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/KN_LOGO_C-W-copy1.pngKeren2015-02-26 06:00:162017-02-27 11:24:46Vegan Soba Mee Goreng With Teriyaki Tempeh
I’ve only started using purple leaves or shiso leaves (also known as perilla leaves) a few months ago when I discovered this interesting looking plant amongst all the familiar herbs in the vegetables section. It has a very fragrant smell and it has this striking purple colour on one side of the leaf and a deep green colour on the other side. If you’re familiar with Japanese or Korean food, you may have come across this item without realising it (which I did). It is very popular in Korean cuisine in particular and is usually served pickled.
It tastes somewhat like coriander (has a fragant note to it) but not as strong. At first, I didn’t know what to use it with so I experimented a fair bit. It seems to work on a lot of things. At the very least, it never ruined anything to which I added the shiso leaves. It adds an interesting flavour to Chinese stir-fries and it gives any salad I make a nice herbaceous twist.
It turns out that shiso leaves are rich in dietary fibre, essential minerals such as calcium, iron and potassium, and vitamins A, C and riboflavin, and the leaf components are undergoing research for potential anti-inflammatory properties. Needless to say, there are many reasons to try this delicious herb.
One night recently I was rushed for time and had to make something quickly for dinner. So I made pumpkin and lentil salad with shiso leaves (among a few other things) and I was really surprised with how well it turned out. There’s not much preparation involved with this. Just roast the pumpkin (you can even leave the skin on if you can’t be bothered peeling it), cook the lentils, chop the shiso leaves, and combine everything in the bowl with olive oil and some seasonings. It is a great salad to have when you need something quick but more substantial than just salad greens.
Roasted pumpkin and lentil salad with shiso leaves
Recipe Type: Salad
Cuisine: Glutenfree, sugarfree, vegan and paleo
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A delicious and comforting salad that equally light and satisfying. It’s low in fat, high in fibers, vitamins and minerals and full of fresh flavours and aroma.
Ingredients
Half of butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into big chunks
4 sprigs of shiro leaves (about 10 medium size leaves)
1 cup of green lentils, rinse well
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/3 cup of roasted pinenuts (optional but highly recommended)
Sea salt
Cracked pepper
Instructions
Place pumpkin onto a nonstick roasting pan. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and generously sprinkle with sea salt. Toss to mix. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 25 minutes or until cooked (if you can pierce it using a fork, it’s done).
Meanwhile, transfer the lentil into a pan and cover with water, add 1/2 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Turn down the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain and rinse in cold water
When the pumpkin is cooked, remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes until cool enough to handle. Chop into cubes.
Pick shiso leaves from the sprigs. To chop the leaves,stack them on top of each other, roll them into a cigar and then slice thinly.
Transfer all ingredients into a bowl, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Devour!
Notes
To roast pine nuts:[br]You can roast them in the oven for 15 minutes at 170C but the quickest way is on the stove. Heat a dry non-stick pan (no oil, no nothing) over medium heat for a couple minutes and add the pinenuts. Allow the pinenuts to toast for 30 – 45 seconds and then toss them in the pan. Repeat this process every 30 seconds until you start seeing them just turning brown, then remove and let them cool.[br][br]Be careful not to burn them. They can go from nicely browned to burnt very quickly, so keep an eye on them.
3.2.2885
https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Pumpkin-Salad-3.jpg20481536Kerenhttp://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/KN_LOGO_C-W-copy1.pngKeren2015-02-20 06:09:382016-10-07 16:30:50Roasted pumpkin and lentil salad with shiso leaves
Here’s another ‘superfood’ with which you should get acquainted. Açaí (ahh-sigh-ee) is a berry harvested from palm trees found in Brazil and Peru in Central and South America. It has become really popular due to its varied health benefits, as it is high in antioxidants, minerals, healthy fats, and vitamins.
Açaí berries come in several forms such as dehydrated in capsules, in frozen pulp, or as freeze-dried powder. I have only used the freeze-dried powders but I’m keen to try the frozen pulp form as it has a stronger taste, texture, and higher nutritional content. Though the freeze-dried form is very convenient to have laying around as you can add it to juice, smoothies, porridges, desserts, and pretty much anything which takes berries, to instantly boost the nutritional content of your meal.
I can be quite elaborate in the kitchen. Not on weekdays, because I’m usually busy with work but weekends – I can spend hours in the kitchen, making a 3 course meal for dinner, testing new recipes, experimenting with different ideas, ingredients, etc. I’m a bit obsessive with trying new things. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m adventurous or if I suffer from slight ADHD. Probably both. Sometimes I feel like a failure when I can’t think off anything ‘new’ or exciting to try and make.
But lately I’ve been doing a lot of self reflection and just trying to be in the moment. To focus on what’s really important, knowing very well that I can’t do everything. Being a bit of type A personality this is very hard to accept but I’m slowly coming to terms with it. Now, instead of worrying what to have for breakfast, I focus more on making sure I make the most of my weekend with Buzz whom I only get see on the weekends and my furbaby Missa. As a result, I’m much more relax and less moody now, though Buzz might disagree with me on the ‘moody’ part. But really, it’s been pretty awesome. We now have more time in the morning because I don’t spend hours in the kitchen perfecting my healthy–vegan-gluten-free-sugar-free-paleo-(fill the blank) wafflerecipe. Now, most Saturday and Sunday morning we would go out for a run around the park or the beach one day and then workout at the gym the other day. When we get home I would make avocado and tomato on toasted sprouted or sourdough bread for our post workout meal/ breakfast. It’s our new weekend routine and we look forward to it every week.
Image credit – BessotedGrace.com
I now realised that not every meal needs to be gourmet or complicated to be enjoyed, relished and shared. A healthy and delicious meal can be as simple one, two, three. So yeah, I’m pretty proud of this breakthrough and happy to be sharing it with you.
Avocado and Tomato on (sprouted bread) Toast
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado
2 vine-ripen tomatoes
3 slices of sprouted bread
2 tsp of virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper
Method
Cut avocado in half, remove the core and score the flesh in one direction. Make sure you go deep enough until you touch the skin without going through it.
Slice the tomatoes thinly using a sharp knife.
Toast you bread and stand to cool for a few minutes.
Assemble to toast. Scoop the avocado flesh and place the slices onto the toasted bread.
Add sliced tomatoes and season with freshly cracked pepper and some sea salt.
Drizzle with some olive oil and serve.
Optional flavour and nutritional booster
Garnish with fresh mint or parsley for added freshness
Sprinkle with chia seeds or flax seed for superfood boost
Spread a bit of vegemite on the toasted bread before assembling for an interesting flavour twist and extra vitamins
https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/avocado-on-toast-3.jpg1067800Kerenhttp://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/KN_LOGO_C-W-copy1.pngKeren2015-02-10 22:21:492015-09-13 11:55:27Avocado and Tomato on (sprouted bread) Toast
James Aspey is a 28 year old vegan, animal rights activist from Sydney, Australia. He became a Personal Trainer after winning his battle with cancer, and helped others live healthier, more positive lives for 9 years. During that time he learned about the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, adopted it for himself, recommended it to others, and after learning about the horrors of the animal cruelty industry, became vegan for ethical reasons. He then took a 365 day vow of silence to raise awareness for animals and promote peace over violence, in his campaign, Voiceless365.
Can you imagine not being able to speak for the whole year? I certainly can’t. When I heard about what James was doing, I was mind-blown. I have so much respect for this guy! James speaks for the first time after his campaign not too long ago and I thought, I need to have him on the blog! He kindly accepted my interview request and man, what an amazing guy James is. I am so thrilled to be sharing his story with you. Check it out.
https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/James-Aspey-Voiceless-365-03-1.jpg960720Kerenhttp://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/KN_LOGO_C-W-copy1.pngKeren2015-02-03 07:20:062017-02-27 12:28:45Interview with James Aspey from Voiceless 365
Welcome to summer! It’s hot, it’s humid, and you know want some tropical ice-cream. Well, how about a delicious vegan mango ice cream recipe that won’t break your new year’s resolution? This recipe uses no refined sugar, no egg, and no dairy but it tastes just like normal ice cream.
The reason I made this vegan mango ice cream was simply for economical reason. When I saw how expensive dairy-free ice creams are at the shop I was motivated to make my own. Yes it does take some time to make your own ice cream but the result is totally worth it.
Making ice cream is a 2 step process with a lot of cooling time in between so it’s best to make it the day before you want to eat the ice cream, unless you don’t mind eating mango cream… which is actually pretty nice and tasty too. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of vodka which keeps the ice cream from freezing completely, giving it a smooth texture and making it easier to scoop. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to taste the vodka.
Lately, Buzz and I have been going to my local library on Saturdays. It’s the perfect place to do some work on Saturdays, especially since the weather has heated up for summer and I don’t have air conditioning at home. On these days we go to the local café (Victoria Park Cafe) for lunch and we end up getting falafel rolls each time, every time, without fail. I surprised myself with the fact that I could actually have the same food… again, and again, and again. I used to be more adventurous and would refuse to order the same thing from a restaurant as it seems like ‘wasted calories’ but it seems that as I am getting older, I’m less fussed about these things.
But one thing hasn’t changed. The foods I eat when I’m eating out still inspire me, and I still like re-creating them at home.
When we order our falafel wrap, we always ask for ‘extra tabbouleh’ (also called tabouleh or tabbouli). We both love our tabbouleh! One day, the café owner was so generous that he gave us much more ‘extras’ than anticipated and couldn’t finish our wrap. Guess there’s only so much falafels and tabbouleh one can eat in a single sitting. By the way, for those who are unfamiliar with tabbouleh, it is a traditional (and very popular) lebanese salad served as part of a mezze plate or use to fill a wrap.
Like our giant falafel wraps.
One day, back at home, I felt like some tabbouleh and decided to make my own customised version. I used quinoa to increase its protein content and I ended up accidentally making it gluten-free and wheat-free. And since there’re no falafels in the house, I added beans to the salad to make it more substantial and satisfying.
Not sure if you can get addicted to salad but it was hard to put the fork down once I started eating this.
Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
Ingredients:
½ cup of quinoa
2 large tomatoes, finely diced
1 large cucumber, finely diced
4 cups of finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to season
Method:
Cook quinoa in 1 cup of vegetable stock until tender but not too soft. Check out this post for the complete instruction on how to cook quinoa. Set aside to cool.
Transfer parsley, quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber and red kidney beans into a big bowl.
Drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Toss gently.
Season with freshly ground sea salt and cracked pepper and serve
Quinoa is one of my favourite superfoods. It’s slightly chewy (when you don’t overcook it) and it has a delicate nutty flavour. It is also easy to cook compared to rice and it’s also much more nutritious.
5 facts you should know about quinoa:
It’s pronounced ‘keen-wah’
It’s technically a seed not a grain
It’s high in protein and a good source of iron and fibre
It’s gluten free and has Low GI
It comes in a different varieties, there’s white, red and black quinoa. I think they all taste pretty much the same.
So how to cook quinoa? If you never made quinoa before, it can be a little daunting so here’s a simple and easy recipe to make perfectly cooked quinoa everytime.
Ingredients:
1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of vegetable broth (use 1 ½ of liquid if you like it slightly chewier)
Note: Vegetable broth gives quinoa a nice flavour but you can also use plain water with a pinch of salt to cook and add flavour to the quinoa.
Method:
Rinse quinoa under cold water in a fine mesh strainer and gently rub the seeds together with your hands to ensure that any residual dust and saponins have been removed. Saponins are just chemicals produced by the plant to protect themselves against microbes and fungi. They are bitter-tasting so they might make your quinoa slightly bitter if not removed properly.
Add quinoa and vegetable broth into a pot.
Cook over medium heat uncovered and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to simmer. Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes or until all the water has absorbed and the quinoa seeds have become translucent.
Rest for 5 minutes and fluff it up with a fork before serving.
Quinoa is so versatile. You can serve it so many different ways: You can make quinoa salad with roasted vegetables; you can add it to a soup or use it to replace rice. You can also cook quinoa with almond milk and serve it as a ‘power’ porridge with some chopped nuts and fruits. The choices are endless.
My favourite Quinoa and Tabouleh Salad. You can check out the recipe here.
https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/How-to-cook-quinoa.png1102735Kerenhttp://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/KN_LOGO_C-W-copy1.pngKeren2015-01-20 06:00:102016-10-24 20:42:42How To Cook Quinoa
This is diet-changing stuff. I’ve asked myself how something so creamy and yummy can also be so healthy and light. Oh, but it can. It’s called Kohlrabi.
Like most vegetables, kohlrabi is healthy and nutritious. This one is particularly rich in Vitamin C, though. Just a hundred-gram serving gives you all your daily Vitamin C requirement. And, my goodness, it is so low in calories it is almost criminal. It has the creaminess of potatoes but it has just one third of the calories.
One kilogram of raw kohlrabi has only 270 calories. To put this into perspective, that’s less than a calorie count of 100 grams of bread. Amazing, isn’t it?
Geeky science fact: Kohlrabi is actually man-made. Along with cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, and Brussels sprouts, it was created by artificial selection from the wild mustard plant (brassica oleracea). Artificial selection of a plant means the intentional selection of certain traits you like from the plant, so for example:
Brocolli resulted from the suppression of flower development.
Kale was the outcome from the enlargement of leaves
Cauliflower came from sterile flowers
Cabbage arose from suppression of the internode’s length (the bit of the plant stem between the nodes); and
Kohlrabi was the result of enhancement of the lateral meristem (part of the plant cells involved in lateral/sideways growth)
Thankfully, contrary to artificial selection and cultivation, cooking Kohlrabi is not a complicated undertaking. Here’s as perfectly basic, easy-to-make soup with a great clean flavour which you can tweak to your heart’s content – wants spice, add cayenne; dreaming of Italy, add bay leaves and rosemary; or like it exotic, add cumin powder, you get the gist.
Eat Me Skinny Kohlrabi Soup
Recipe Type: Soup
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A creamy, comforting soup, without the calories. Great to have warm or chilled.
Ingredients
1 tablespoons coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 1/2 cups almond milk
Salt and black pepper
Vegan parmesan (I use
Instructions
Heat coconut oil in a large pan. Add onions and cook gently until soft, about 10 minutes. Add kohlrabi and cook for 3 minutes.
Add vegetable stock, and almond milk to pan, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 25 minutes or until kohlrabi is tender. Let cool for a few minutes.
Using an immersion blender, bench top blender or food processor, puree soup until smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in heated bowls with freshly cracked pepper and a generous sprinkle of vegan parmesan.
Notes
Vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free
3.2.2885
https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Kohlrabi-Soup-19.jpg20481536Kerenhttp://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/KN_LOGO_C-W-copy1.pngKeren2015-01-13 06:51:392017-02-27 12:05:13Eat Me Skinny Kohlrabi Soup
Happy New Year Everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful New Year celebration.
For my first post I thought I’d cover something I’m very passionate about — Breakfast. Up until about 5 to 6 years ago I used to skip breakfast. I felt like I had no time for breakfast and I’d rather sleep in for a few more minutes rather than getting up to get myself some breakfast. My breakfast was usually a cup of coffee at work and I did this for probably about 7 years on and off until one morning, I woke up with a really sharp pain in my stomach. It was so bad I really thought I was going to die. I went to visit the doctor as soon as the pain dissipated and later was diagnosed with chronic gastritis and prescribed with some medication. I was also told to not skip a breakfast in the morning as it can result in an excessive burden on the gastrointestinal tract and cause gastritis, indigestion and other gastric diseases. Best advice I have ever received. Since then, I always make sure I have breakfast, no matter how busy I am in the morning.
Did you know that 65% of Australian adults skip breakfast, with 41% skipping at least twice a week? At least that was the result of a recent study, which also revealed that almost one million Australian adults skip breakfast because they are dieting or watching their weight. And that’s not the end of the bad news: As many as a third of Australians would rather start their day tweeting or facebooking instead of eating breakfast.[1]
Seriously?
I don’t know when it became trendy to skip breakfast. I personally think that having breakfast is a really important part of my health and so I started to do some research into this topic. I’m very pleased with what I have found thought none of them were a surprise to me: Those who consumed breakfast had a healthier lifestyle, generally speaking, than others who don’t. Having regular breakfasts also helps people lose weight – and keep it off.[2][3]
So I want to share a really good wholesome and healthy breakfast which I hope will make you want to invest the time making and eating it. Like a bowl of creamy steel cut oats porridge.
Yes! I can have this everyday.
Warm, creamy and comforting. It is also nutritious and full of antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals. You will love this.
Steel-cut oat is the second most unprocessed form of oats. They are whole oat groats which have been chopped into pieces. Steel-cut oats take longer to cook than instant, ground, or rolled oats, but I think they have more flavour than rolled oats. They’re nuttier and they are chewier. They take about 20–30 minutes to cook but you can pre-cook and then soak them the night before to make an almost instant porridge the next morning (check out Step 7 in the recipe instruction).
Steel Cut Oat Power Porridge With Goji and Cranberries
Recipe Type: Gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Thick and creamy bowl of nutrients, antioxidant and happiness
Ingredients
Power Porridge
1 cup of gluten-free steel cut oats
3 cup of water
1 cup of your favourite nut milk (I use a mixture of almond and macadamia milk)
2 Medjool dates, pit removed, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon of goji berries
2 tablespoon of cranberries
1 tablespoon of chia seeds
½ tsp of ground cinnamon
Topping Mix (optional)
2 tablespoon of goji berries (soaked in water for 5 minutes if they are hard)
2 tablespoon of desiccated coconut
2 tablespoon of nut and seed mix
Instructions
Pour water and nut milk into a sauce pan and bring it to a boil over high heat.
Add oats into the pan. Add a pinch of salt, and stir.
Return the water to a boil. This should only take a few seconds. Keep an eye on the pan as it can sometimes foam up and spill out. Take the pan out of the heat when you notice that the water is about to boil over.
Reduce heat to lowest setting and bring the oats to a gentle simmer. You should see steam coming off with a bubble or two every few seconds.
Add the rest of the ingredients (dates, goji berries, cinnamon and chia seeds)
Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (every 5-10 minutes or so) and scraping the bottom of the pan.
Cook until the oats are tender and creamy. Longer cooking makes thicker oatmeal. Option: If you want to soak your oats, this is the time to do it. Take of the heat, cover the pot and let it sit overnight, 8-12 hours. To serve soaked oats, just stir the oatmeal to recombine the oats with any residual liquid and heat over medium for 1-2 minute until the oatmeal is heated through.
Serve immediately with a few tablespoon of the topping mix.
You can also let the oats cool and then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. The oats will thicken in the fridge but you can just stir some nut milk or water into them to loosen them when reheating.
Cheers to the New Year and a good wholesome breakfast!
Keren
References:
[1] ABCMF Study, 2013, Galaxy Research. A representative sample of 1001 Australians aged 18-64 years. Conducted October 2013.
https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/20141122-Steelcut-Oats-1-2-e1430213871815.jpg831849Kerenhttp://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/KN_LOGO_C-W-copy1.pngKeren2015-01-02 14:47:472017-01-03 10:57:41Steel-Cut Oat Power Porridge With Goji and Cranberries
Quinoa is one of my favourite superfoods. It’s slightly chewy (when you don’t overcook it) and it has a delicate nutty flavour. It is also easy to cook compared to rice and it’s also much more nutritious.
