Sweet & Sour Vegan Meatballs PLUS My first Baby Quilt!

-       Apples
-       Plain Pasta
-       Soda Crackers
-       Cucumbers
-       Doritos

This was my life for almost two months. Having no appetite and throwing up almost everyday.

OH THE JOYS OF PREGNACY.

You guys know me as a foodie, a lover of food and making new and fun dishes to share with you. Well that all changed in December when I was taken over by my baby. I stopped wanting to eat almost all together, well anything with real nutritional value, and the stuff I wanted to eat were things that I didn’t even really care for. But hey the baby gets what they baby gets!

This was my brain before the baby

Spring rolls…….. salad……….carrots…….. smoothies…… bananas………tomatoes……stir fries……good healthy food.

This was my brain on baby

………………..apple………………..crackers………………DORITOS…………pasta……….DORITOS……….apple.................

GET THOSE BANANAS OUT OF MY HOUSE AND DON’T EVEN TALK ABOUT CHICKE PEAS!

I had to take almost two weeks off of work because I literally couldn’t get off the couch, I lost 10 pounds in a week and felt like I was dying. Again, the joys of pregnancy. Luckily that is all behind me and can now eat smoothies and salads and all of my favourite foods again. It feels so good to feel normal again, because there were times where I honestly didn’t think I ever would again.

So I apologize for being MIA the last couple of months, I just haven’t felt inspired lately to make fun and delicious foods. But today is my first post since the beginning of January and I thought I would give you guys both food and fabric!

First for the food!

I was looking through the cupboards for a snack and saw a can of pineapple, and that's all it took to spark my appetite for some Sweet & Sour Vegan Meatballs.

My brain started putting together everything that I would need to make this amazing supper and awesomely enough I had everything to make this except the sauce. I thought about making one from scratch but I was feeling a little lazy and ended up just buying one from Safeway. I think next time I make these I am going to try my hand at a scratch made one, and bake them in a slow cooker. Mmmmm.

Easy Sweet & Sour Vegan Meatballs

Vegan Meat Balls

1 can of chick peas

¼ cup cashews/pecans

3 sprigs of fresh parsley, de-stemmed

½ lemon, juiced

Dash of liquid smoke

½ cup GF quick oats

Salt and pepper to taste

1 jar of Sweet & Sour sauce

1 can of pineapple, diced (drain liquid)

2 red peppers, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsp coconut oil

In a large frying pan, on medium heat, melt coconut oil and sauté the onions and peppers. While those are cooking combine all of the ingredients except the oats into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Then stir in the oats by hand until well combined.

Form into balls and place in the frying pan with the onions and peppers, brown each side. Pour in the sauce and the pineapple and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Pair with your favourite rice, serve and enjoy!

Now the FABRIC!!

As soon as I found out I was pregnant I knew I wanted to make multiple baby quilts for our newest edition, but where do I start? We aren't finding out the sex of the baby so that limits the themes of baby quilts I can make. If I knew we were having a baby girl I would make a Cinderella themed one, or something really flowery, but I guess I will have to wait!

So what kick ass, gender neutral baby quilt idea did I come up with? HARRY POTTER!!!!!

I am completely obsessed and like most Potterheads I have read and reread the books, and watched the movies a thousand times. AND whats even more awesome, my sisters are throwing me a Harry Potter themed baby shower. I cant fricken wait!!

Vegan Fondue feat. Cheezy Bites in Vegan Beer Batter

This Christmas my husbands family decided to celebrate a little early so everyone could be together. With families growing its hard to all get together at Christmas time. So we celebrated on Sunday night with an extra twist to tradition, instead of the typical turkey dinner we had a fondue party!
My mother in law has been hosting fondue parties since she was 19 years old, so we all knew that it would be well stocked with different types of fun dipping sauces, meats and cheeses, with of course a chocolate and caramel for dessert.

Now being vegan I wasn't participating in any of this, but non the less I was still excited because I was getting my very own pot this year! One that I could experiment with and try some new and fun things. I haven't got to fondue since I turned vegan so this was a pretty big deal to me, because for those of you who have fondued you know how fun they can be.
Sadly, we got to Devon's parents for brunch and ended up munching all day, which can be great but not when you have a huge fondue feast waiting for you that night. So by the time supper rolled around I was still very full from the days festivities so I didn't get to experiment like I wanted to. BUT! I did get to try the cheese balls, something that I knew I had to try. Devon's mom Mary B. already had a batter recipe that was tried and true so I just subbed out the eggs for a flax egg and voila vegan batter!

When I tasted my first bite of this cheezy goodness, I actually was on the brink of tears. For I haven't had something that good in a long time.... something so heavenly, so gooey, so melty, so amazingly non-vegan (but vegan!!!) cheezy goodness that it was definitely cry worthy. I made about 7 of them and had to call it quits. I should have stopped at one, but seriously who would do that?

So if you have a deep fryer, or are headed to a fondue party soon, I HIGHLY suggest you try these bad boys out, you wont be disappointed!

 

Vegan Beer Batter
3/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 flax eggs: 6 tbsp. water, 2 tbsp. ground flax
1/2 cup beer
Mix together all dry ingredients. Let your flax eggs sit for about 10 min to set before adding them into the dry mixture, then add beer. Mix until well combined. Best if you can let the batter sit for 1-2 hours before using.

The vegan cheese I used was a block of Daiya in cheddar flavour. I cut it up into 1/4 inch blocks, dipped them into the batter and fried them for about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Like most fondue/deep frying, let them sit for a minute or two because the insides will be hot!

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

 

 

 

Le Pizza Fries

Muhahahah I have suckered you in to another pizza recipe! You maybe wondering "is this woman mad? This is the like 20th pizza post!" Why yes, I am mad... mad about pizza!
I didn't even like pizza back when I wasn't vegan, it was just another supper idea that didn't really catch my attention. But ever since I turned vegan I am addicted! I love creating new fun ways to eat pizza, some healthy like my spaghetti squash pizza boats found here, or some not so healthy like my newest post...PIZZA FRIES!!!
Yes I said pizza fries. Two of the greatest foods ever, combined into one amazing dish that will have you wondering why you never thought of this before. I know I did!
Well its simple, bake fries in the oven until toasty brown.
Top with your favourite vegan pizza toppings, like:

• hot peppers
• tomatoes
• olives
• mushrooms
• mock meats
• onions
• pineapple

Sprinkle with some Daiya Mozzarella, broil it for 5 mins (be careful you don't burn it like I did!)
Heat up some pizza sauce to dip in and viola you got yourself supper! Or a snack, or maybe ever breakfast! This would be the perfect college breakfast!
If you are feeling generous you could even share this dish at a party with your friends. If not eat this in the car before you go in and blame your dog for eating it while you were getting ready (if you don't have a dog, I cant help you).

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

Autumn Calling Soup

October is such a great month, I know I have said this before but it really is. Not only is there the changing of the leaves, my birthday, Halloween but it’s the perfect time to eat the squashes and pumpkins that come straight from the garden. I unfortunately do not have a garden because my backyard is a) too small b) gets little to no sunlight because of the trees c) my dogs would tear it apart!! So I rely on the wonderful farmers market on River Street. Its not huge but it fits the needs of us Moose Javians very nicely by supplying us with a great assortment of veggies and some fruit. 

The last time I was there (picking out the pumpkin and butternut squash for this soup) it was there final get together because here in Saskatchewan it gets pretty cold in October. This news makes me so sad, because I now have to go back to eating grocery store cucumbers and tomatoes, which just are SO NOT the same. Oh the hurdles I have to face on a day to day basis. *cue in the song Don’t Cry For Me Argentina* its really a horrible day for my taste buds to have to eat the grocery store knock offs, they do not taste anything like the real thing!

But I digress. Back to this amazing soup. It is so earthy, creamy, rich and warm that it just gets down to your bones and makes you feel all good inside. Soup is truly the ultimate way to ward off the winter time chills, because not only does it warm your hands by holding the bowl, but your face, mouth and your tummy. Plus if you are like me it really fills you up because you end up eating half of the pot in one sitting (its that good!!!)

Autumn Calling Soup

1 small pumpkin – I used a sugar Pie pumpkin, if they are out of season you could use a can of pumpkin puree too.

1 butternut squash

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

7 stalks of celery, diced

3 carrots, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

6 cups of water (you can add some vegetable broth if desired)

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp coriander

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt pepper to taste

Pre heat oven 450 degrees.

Split the pumpkin and squash in half and de-seed each. Using the melted coconut oil brush on the insides of the squash/pumpkin halves. Place face down on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 25 mins, or until fork tender.

While those are in the oven, dice up your veggies and in a large soup pot fry them in the left over coconut oil on medium/high heat for 15 mins.

Pour in coconut milk and spices and cook for 5 mins, letting the flavours all meld together.

Remove the squash/pumpkin from the oven and using a knife, cut away the skin. Be careful these will be hot!!! You could wait until they cooled but I am impatient so I just used a oven mitt.

Throw the squash/pumpkin and the water into the pot and stir in. cooking for another 5 mins, again letting the flavours all meld together.

Finally blend the soup in a high speed blender until smooth! Serve with roasted pumpkin seeds on top and enjoy!

Thanks for reading 

xoxo -N

A Very Vegan Thanksgiving: As seen on Global TV Regina

I am super excited to announce that Ashley Clark from Naturally Ashley featured my Quinoa Stuffing recipe on Global Regina News this morning . Ashley was brought on to the show to talk about how to veganize your Thanksgiving meal this holiday season. Her recipes included my Qunioa Stuffing and her raw vegan pumpkin pie.

With the holidays are upon us you start to get excited about spending time with your family and eating a ton of amazing food. However, some of us get stressed out in the kitchen trying to get the food all done on time, while others are relaxed because they know they just have to bring buns to moms house and everything else will be made for them. Well, this year my sisters and I plan on helping out my mom in the preparations of this huge meal and the stress that can come with it. So we divided up the dishes and took some of the responsibilities off my momma (aren’t we great kids!) Plus it doesn’t help that all three of us are vegans, with Ashley being gluten free/raw vegan and Chelsea being gluten free/vegan, it can make for a lot of bowls on the table.


So what were we going to bring?
Ashley – salad, raw vegan pumpkin pie
Nikki – vegan/gluten free stuffing, vegan gravy, S’more Pie
Chelsea – mashed potatoes, cranberries 

I am most excited for my stuffing, cranberries and my sisters raw vegan pumpkin pie. Those are definitely the three top things I crave when Thanksgiving comes around. Before we discovered quinoa my mom would always make a rice stuffing for my gluten free family members, it was good and everyone like it, but I thought it was missing something. So last year when quinoa came to my attention I just knew that it would take gluten free stuffing to the next level. 
Then there is my sisters raw vegan pumpkin pie. Something that may not sound as good to you,  but trust me when you try it you will fall in love with it! It is rich, creamy and perfectly spiced just like a cooked pie is, the only major difference is the fact that it has to be served cold. To find the recipe for this awesome pie go to Naturally Ashley's blog found here. As for my stuffing I have re posted it along with some helpful tips to make your Thanksgiving vegan friendly this year!


Tips and Tricks to Make your Thanksgiving Vegan
- Mashed Potatoes: instead of using milk or butter, use almond milk and Earth Balance
- Make a mushroom gravy instead of a poultry based one *see recipe below
- Buy a mock meat substitute if you want to keep up the turkey tradition 
- For appetizers go with hummus or salsa with chips and veggies for a dairy free snack option 
-Salads are usually vegan, all you have to do is choose a dressing that is vegan and voila you got yourself a vegan side dish!
- Try to keep the meat/dairy/egg dishes away from the veggie ones, you could even prepare some of the veggie ones the night before to elevate stress 




Gluten free Vegan Stuffing
·         1 cup of quinoa
·         2 cup s of water
·         1 cup of wild rice
·         4 cups of water
·         1 white onion, diced
·         2 medium carrots, diced
·         5 stalks of celery, diced
·         1 small pkg mushrooms, diced
·         2 tbsp of coconut oil
·         1 clove of garlic, minced
·         1 cup vegetable broth
·         3 tsp of sage
·         2 tsp of cumin
·         Salt and pepper
.
First you will need to clean your wild rice and quinoa. A simple way to do that is to put it in a strainer and run cold water over it.

To make the wild rice: combine rice, the 4 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for approximately 45 minutes, until the rice has opened and fluffed out. Strain out any excess water. Or if you have a rice cooker use that instead, it’s a lot easier!

To make the quinoa combine quinoa and the 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat for approximately 20 minutes, until the water has all evaporated.

Next dice up the mushrooms, carrots, onion, and celery into bite size pieces, and place the mushrooms aside for later. Heat up a medium/large sized frying pan on Medium/High heat, add your oil and sauté the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery for about 15 minutes, or until they are soft. Add the mushrooms and broth, spices and quinoa/rice mixture to the pan,  and continue cooking for another 10 minutes.
Serving bowl and enjoy!  

Gluten Free Vegan Gravy
1 medium Onion, diced
1 cup of Mushrooms, diced
1 tsp of Coconut Oil
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1/4 cup of gluten free Flour, I used Quinoa Flour
1 cup of Vegan Broth
2 tsp of Soy Sauce, Vegan Gluten Free 
1 tsp of Worcheshire Sauce, Vegan Gluten Free

In a small sauce pan saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms in oil until soft. Gradually alternate adding flour and broth to the onions and mushrooms until there are no clumps. Add the soy sauce and the worcheshire and continue to cook for another 5 mins. If the gravy is too thick then add more broth/water until you get your desired consistency. I like my gravy to have a smooth texture so I blended mine in my Magic Bullet until smooth. However, if you like the chunky texture then exnay the blender.

Mini Vegan Lasagna's

I love my husband! I seriously bagged one of the good ones and I say a little prayer every day that I have him in my life. Not only does he love me for who I am, he also understands me and accepts me for the way I live my life. And I couldn’t be more grateful for that because it is truly one of the hardest things in life to find.

One of the most recent examples of his awesomeness is on Sunday the Riders were playing and we were going over to our friends house to watch the game. Devon had gone golfing in the morning and I had gone to get groceries for the week. While I was there I called him and asked if he wanted any game time snacks, and usually its just chips of some sort or a drink. However this time he asked if I would pick him up dry ribs….dun dun dunnn. As the main grocery-getter in the family and a vegan he knows that I do not pick up meat or eggs unless asked, I might get cheese for him but that’s where I draw the line. Most of the times he come with me to pick out what he wants for meat products (which is rare), so I don’t have too.

So I reluctantly say yes and go to the death (meat) section to find them and get out ASAP. Well with my luck they are no where to be found and I am caught in the viscous cycle of wandering around trying to find them. With no one around to help me, I start to have an slight anxiety attack and got that feeling of just wanting to get the hell out of the section. So I grabbed chicken wings instead and literally run to the living (produce) section.

When I got home one of the first things I said was “Please understand how difficult it was for me to pick these up…” then I started to cry my eyes out (I'm a crier!!)  Instead of him asking why I was crying or telling me to stop, he just pulled me in for a hug and said “I will never ask you to get those again, I can pick them next time” THIS IS WHY I LOVE THIS MAN! He is understanding and loves me! So thank you to the powers that be for bringing him into my life.

So in light of this event I thought it was time for something amazingly vegan, and one of Devon’s favourite meals. Mini Vegan Lasagnas! Every time I make my vegan lasagna he so kindly reminds me that it is amazing and that it can hold up to any meaty lasagna out there. Another great reason why I love him, he knows how to compliment a lady!

I have been meaning to make these for about two months now but I just haven’t been inspired to do so, until this weekend. They are cute individual sized lasagnas that are cooked in a muffin tin and enjoyed by all! I'm not too sure what was drawing me to make these but they seemed so much fun to make and it was a fun twist on a traditional meal. Plus I wanted to see how the quinoa tasted instead of using regular lasagna noodles.

I was a little wary because I wasn’t sure if they would hold their shape after they were removed from the tin, and that was one of the reasons why I liked them. They were mini lasagnas! Basically anything mini is so much better! And as you can see by the pictures they came out beautifully and tasted amazing!

I truly and utterly feel that the reason why these taste so great is because of the cashew cheese. If you plan on altering my recipe please do not omit the cashew cheese, trust me when I say that it is worth the extra step!

Mini Vegan Lasagna’s

2 cups quinoa, cooked

1 jar of vegan pasta sauce

2 medium zucchini, sliced thinly lengthwise, for 12 servings you will need 24 slices
1 tbsp of coconut oil

½ of medium onion, diced

1 cups of mushrooms, diced

2 red bell pepper, diced

4 cups of fresh spinach

2 cups of Daiya Cheese, mozzarella flavour (optional).

Cashew Cheese

1 cup of cashews, soaked overnight

1/2 cup of fresh basil

¼ cup of fresh lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp of nutritional yeast

¼ cup of water or vegan broth

Place all of the ingredients into a blender or a food processor and blend until smooth.

**While you are cutting up and cooking your veggies and making the cashew cheese, place the sliced zucchini on a baking sheet and put in the oven on the lowest temperature. That way you can cook off some of the excess water that they contain. I happened to do a load of dishes while cooking these so I would say I left them in for about 25 mins and they turned out perfect. If you don’t have time for this step, don’t worry because the quinoa will absorb some of the moisture too!

Sauté all of the veggie in a large frying pan until fork tender. Grease the muffin tins with some coconut oil so they are easier to remove. Then layer each muffin tin like so:

1)    2 zucchini slices
2)    1 large tbsp of Quinoa
3)    1 large tbsp of veggies
4)    1 large tbsp of sauce
5)    1 large tbsp of cashew cheese
6)    Optional - top with some Daiya

Take the ends of the zucchini and fold over until completely covered. I used some cashew cheese to secure the ends down if they kept popping up. Heat up the remainder of the pasta sauce and put aside.

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 mins and serve with the left over sauce! Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo -N

Fresh Rolls with Low Fat Lime Peanut Sauce

I am on that mission again! Trying to find another sauce that holds up to my fresh rolls original peanut hoisen sauce. I swear it is my lot in life to try as many dipping sauces as I can, yes I am that addicted. And this new Lime Peanut sauce is pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. I am really satisfied with the results, especially since its low fat!

As usual I was craving fresh rolls for lunch while at work and I was thinking of that sweet and salty sauce that accompanies them. Which got my brain thinking about how I can adjust my original sauce to make it low fat. Cue in zucchini and you got your self a Low Fat Party! Zucchini is really the best kept secret in the cooking world. It can be used in so many ways its ridiculous.

Low Fat Lime Peanut Sauce

1 zucchini peeled

1 tbsp peanut butter

1 lime juiced

1 handful cilantro

½ clove garlic

Salt to taste

Puree in a high speed blender until smooth and serve with your favorite fresh rolls. My recipe can be found here!

Summer Fresh Vegan Grilled Cheese

This past weekend I was lucky enough to find some fresh garden tomatoes at the farmers market, along with cucumbers, a Cajun spice mix, beets, carrots, beans, potatoes and purple garlic. Of course I was happy to bring home all of my vegetables but I was mainly happy about the tomatoes! For me there is nothing better than a fresh tomato out of the garden. It literally is one of those simple pleasures you can only experience a couple months out of the year here in Saskatchewan, so when they are in season I really try to eat as many as possible because I know it’s going to be short lived.

When I got home I was contemplating what to eat for lunch and then I remembered that I had just bought a new kind of Daiya from Safeway, the Swiss Cheese Slices. And what better way to use them but in a grilled cheese sandwich. I got out the bread, the Daiya and some coconut oil and got to making my lunch, but then I thought “what could make this better?” I searched around my fridge and couldn’t really think of anything to put on top, but then I spied the tomatoes I had just got from the farmers market and that sparked the idea of a tomato, spinach grilled cheese.

After I decided what to put on my jacked up grilled cheese, I wasn’t too sure how this was going to turn out with the spinach and tomatoes. Would the tomatoes make the bread soggy? Will the spinach be too wilted and turn into mush? I wasn’t totally positive this was going to be a hit, but I like to cook dangerously and I was willing to take the risk. And I am really happy I did! Not only did the bread not turn soggy, but the spinach and tomatoes were cooked just right and the cheese was melty!

The tomatoes and spinach really brought this typical sandwich to another level for me. The freshness of the garden tomatoes with the earthiness of the spinach really brought this typical sandwich to another level for me. It going to be really hard to go back to just eating a just plain grilled cheese again because this was one of the best grilled cheeses I ever had.

Summer Fresh Grilled Cheese

2 slices of Bread

2 slices of Daiya Swish Cheese Slices or any other Daiya cheese your prefer

1 tomato

Baby spinach

Coconut oil

I like to layer the sandwich with the cheese on the bread then the spinach then the tomatoes. You want to keep the tomatoes as far away from the bread as possible so it doesn’t get soggy. Also when making a Daiya grilled cheese you kind of have to be a little inventive. Daiya doesn’t melt as quickly as dairy cheese, so when making something like a grilled cheese you have to be a little patient and watchful or else you could end up burning your bread or not having a completely melted sandwich. So what I do is turn the stove onto about medium high and cook the one side until golden brown (about 2 minutes). Then when I flip the sandwich over, I take it off the heat, cover the frying pan with a lid and let it sit for another 2-3 minutes. That way the steam is trapped and helps melt the cheese.

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo -N

This is what I found when I cut open the tomato I was using! Gotta love life's little messages!  

Spicy Cajun Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes have become very popular in the last couple years in both households and restaurants. I normally would only see this vegetable on holidays whipped with butter and brown sugar and topped with marshmallows (not the healthiest way to eat this amazing root vegetable) but now they are everywhere. From restaurants serving them deep fried with some sort of dipping sauce to moms now substituting them out for potatoes on a regular basis at home.

Ever since I got my Actifry I have loved making sweet potato fries because I find that they come out crispier than baking them in the oven, plus I get to use less oil too. So that got me thinking about what else I could use this thing for and I thought “well they don't have to be fries all the time do they?” I could make thick wedges or even just cube them up like a hash.

So for a snack one day I cubed up 2 sweet potatoes and I was just going to put salt on them but while reaching in to the cupboard I noticed this Cajun spice that we had. Light bulb! Cajun Sweet Potatoes! What a perfect combination! So I tossed the cubed potatoes into a bowl and put two tbsp of this Cajun spice on top and tossed them around. The smell was amazing but I felt like I could go one step more into making these perfect. That’s when I grabbed the cinnamon. It would be the perfect complement to the spiciness of the Cajun while also bringing out the earthy flavours of the sweet potato. 

Results? Of course amazing! It was the perfect twist to one of my favorite snack foods. They weren't too spicy that you wanted to stop eating them and that cinnamon really packed an aromatic punch, especially while cooking. It kind of reminded me of Thanksgiving! A holiday that I can wait for, because I am really enjoying our summer! 

Spicy Cajun Sweet Potatoes

2 sweet potatoes

2 tbsp of Cajun spice

1 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp of cumin (optional)

1 tbsp of coconut oil – Actifry – cook for 20 mins or until tender and crispy

3 tbsp of coconut oil – Oven – bake for 30 mins, or until tender and crispy

Low Fat Vegan Pad Thai, with Raw Vegan Option

I am a huge fan of Thai food. I love the spices, the creamy sauces, and the heat that comes with most meals. Also I love the fact that they tend to stay away from using meat in most dishes. They love using lentils, beans and vegetables to make up most of their dishes, something that I am very familiar with!

I have wanted to make a Pad Thai for a very long time, but never felt the drive to go for it. Knowing that the Pad Thai I used to eat was amazing, I was a little apprehensive on making a vegan version. But that all changed when I got a major craving for it and just had to make it for supper!

I have seen multiple recipes online for vegan and raw vegan versions and none really stuck with me. They all looked pretty but the ingredients didn’t really entice me to make them. So surprise, surprise I came up with my own! Wanting a challenge I really wanted to make this as low fat as possible. Knowing that anything with coconut milk, peanut butter and noodles tastes great. So I really thought about what was going into this dish and how I could substitute out the high fat things for low fat things!

The first to be subbed out were the noodles. I knew from the beginning that I was going to make mine with zucchini and skip the rice noodles. Not that they are bad for you, just that the zucchini noodles are a healthier choice! Next was the sauce. Traditionally Pad Thai sauce is made from oyster and fish sauce, two things that we vegans cannot eat! So what would give that taste?..... *light bulb* Nori papers! They have that fishy taste because they are made from seaweed and they would blend really nicely into a sauce without changing the texture. Now to give the sauce some substance! I wanted to go for a creamy version of Pad Thai and skip out on the Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce and anything else high in salt and unknown ingredients. Well why not use another zucchini? That would make it creamy without having to add any non-dairy milk.

Results? Fantastic! It had a great nutty flavour, with a hint of spice right at the end from the red pepper flakes. But what is really awesome about this dish is that it can be raw too! So you now have the option of having a raw dish or a cooked one. Two for one here folks!

Low Fat Vegan Pad Thai

-       1 medium zucchini, spagettified with a mandolin or spiralizer

-       2 carrots, shredded

-       2 cups bean sprouts

-       1 cups broccoli, chopped

-       2 green onions, chopped

-       crushed unsalted peanuts

-       lime juice, garnish

Pad Thai Sauce

-       2 limes, juiced

-       1 nori paper

-       1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

-       2 tbsp peanut butter

-       1 clove garlic

-       1 small zucchini

-       2 tsp Red pepper flakes

Place all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth.

In a large skillet steam the carrots, broccoli and onions with a little water until almost fork tender (about 7-10 mins) toss in the zucchini, sprouts and sauce and cook for another 10 minutes. Add crushed peanuts and lime. Enjoy!

Raw version!

Don’t cook any of it! Use your favourite raw nut butter and raw nori paper in the sauce. Toss all ingredients together and enjoy!!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo -N