Salad deserves more praise then it gets...

So yesterday I spent my day making a great variety of raw food dishes. And while it's really fun and interesting to slooooowly roast things into the perfect consistency and blend up delicious snickers-like pies (that one tasted divine, just saying) it often gets very heavy. Lots of nuts, seeds and coconut oil. Which are all really great but not really a meal on their own. When I have my raw food days I tend to eat a lot of healthy desserts (not that I don't do this otherwise but still…) which leaves me with insane cravings for greens and vegetables during the evening. So after a day filled with indulgence (also know as "heaps of chocolate in all it's raw forms") I whipped up this salad…

Or well I didn't whip it… I chopped, peeled and tossed it. So much greens, so much vegetables! And pine nuts, because they are really crunchy and yummy!

I served this with copious amounts of water and a dressing made with avocado, garlic and lemon juice! A very fresh and crispy ending to a great day!

Now I am a salad enthusiast and eat it in some form every day. But the salad in itself, the spinach, rucola, lettuce, kale and all the other leafy greens out there deserves so much more praise then they're getting! They are so good for you and there is a leafy green for every occasion!

If you have a hard time getting enough leafy greens then I strongly recommend throwing some spinach in your morning smoothie! Easy way to get a cup or so first thing in the morning!

Have a great easter everyone!

Zucchini Lasagna

When I got back from university today I was insanely hungry and before I knew it I had sliced up a zucchini that we had laying around. Since I am not the biggest fan of zucchini I had to take a step back, eat some grapes & nuts then really think about what I could make out of this. And then it hit me! I wanted to make a lasagna! Because it was such a long ago since I had any type of lasagna! But I also wanted it to be vegan & super-duper healthy of course! Meaning that it was time for a compromise! Because I refuse to give up on great flavor in order to eat healthy!

This recipe doesn't taste like traditional lasagna (according to both me and my sister it tasted better) so if that's what you're looking for then this recipe is not for you! But if you're ready to try something new & divinely delicious then this is without a doubt something that I think that you would enjoy!

Zucchini Lasagna (serves 4)

The base
      1 zucchini
      1 tbsp olive oil
      salt
      pepper

The "sauce"
      2 1/2 dl cashew nuts (about 1 cup)
      1 tbsp dill, either fresh or dried
      dash of coriander
      dash of cayenne pepper
      dash of herb salt
      water as needed (I used about 150 ml)

The "meat"
      450 grams of extra firm tofu or cooked chickpeas
      10 sundried tomatoes (that has been soaked in hot water for about 30 minutes)
      2 1/2 dl water (about 1 cup)
      1 onion
      spices to your liking

Directions
Set your oven to 180 °C (about 360 °F).

Slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips, then place in a bowl. Pour the olive oil over the strips & add the salt & pepper. Place them in a medium sized baking dish & place them in the oven for about 15 minutes.

The sauce is really simple to make, simply add all the ingredients to a food processor & mix until smooth. Add the water little by little so that it doesn't end up too runny. Pour into another container & wash of the food processor because you'll be using it to ground up your "meat".

Chop up your onion & put it in a frying pan with some olive oil or cooking spray. Place your meat substitute (the firm tofu or the chickpeas) in the food processor & mix in quick pulses until it has the consistency of ground meat. Place it in the frying pan with the onion. Time to mix the tomatoes! Put them in the food processor (no need to clean in between) with the water & mix until smooth. The scoop the mixture out into the frying pan. Fry everything until it's evenly coated with tomato mixture & it looks ready to be eaten.

Arrange the zucchini strips so that they cover the bottom of the baking dish then add your tofu/chickpea mixture & top it off with some of the sauce. Place the rest of the zucchini strips on top then add the last sauce & smooth it out evenly.

Place it in the middle of the pre heated oven for about 30 minutes & when it's done serve it with a leafy salad!

Here is the nutrition label, which certainly doesn't look too shabby! I love when recipes turns out amazing & filled to the brim with taste while they're still soooo good for you! I guess that what I am trying to say is that healthy, wholesome food makes me happy!

     

Colorful Chickpea Salad

Just as I promised! Here comes the recipe for this insanely colorful salad! This is basically what happens when I throw together a bunch of all the wonderful fruits & veggies that we have at home! Lots of color & lots of flavor! Which is what I love about healthy food!

Colorful Chickpea Salad (serves 2)

      2 1/2 dl mini tomatoes (about 1 cup)

      2 1/2 dl seedless grapes (about 1 cup) 

      1 dl mango (about 1/2 cup)
      1 small avocado
      5 dl chopped baby spinach (about 2 cups)
      1 red onion
      200 grams of cooked chickpeas

Directions:
Cut the mini tomatoes into either halves or fourths then place them in a big bowl. Half the grapes and throw them in the bowl as well. Slice the mango into dices or if you use frozen mango thaw it carefully so that it doesn't get soggy. Place in the bowl together with the tomatoes & grapes. Slice up the onion really finely and put it in the bowl. Cut the avocado into pieces, make sure not to cut it too finely since this will make it mushy. Throw in the cooked chickpeas. If using canned chickpeas then rinse throughly before. Chop the baby spinach a bit (or leave it as it is if you have very fine leaves) then put that into the bowl and mix carefully. When everything is combined it's time to plate up and devour!

This salad goes really well with a spicy dressing since it's so very sweet on its own, so if you have any good recipes for that then please do share! Dressings really isn't my thing so I usually just drop on some tabasco or eat as it is!

I figured that since it's so quick & easy to make nutrition labels nowadays I'd throw one in!

Enjoy!

A great weekend!

So the weekend started with a very needed sleep in & after that a wonderful breakfast consisting of banana pancakes! Which pretty much is my standard breakfast whenever I am not making green smoothies! They turned out a little like this...

That looks pretty good now doesn't it? The recipe is suuuuper easy but I will probably put it up on the blog at some point!

I spent my Saturday waddling around a mall & eating a vegan (delicious) potato salad! I will definitely make that again (and then remember to take pictures of it). I bought some new clothes, all very cheap because I spend most of my money on food! Got some great deals in a second hand store which made me really happy!

We also visited the absolute top floor where they had these amazing little things! Enabling us to take a look at what was going on in Denmark. The sun was on its way down though so we didn't see that much after all! 

Sunday morning also begun with banana pancakes which were later followed by chocolate ball making & studying. Then we packed some of the chocolate balls and went for a two hour walk by the river. I carried the camera around until the battery gave up, but managed to get some great pictures before that!

I love that all the flowers are starting to show up here and there, because it means SPRING which means PLANTING SEASON! Which means a happy Trisha who really wants to buy a green house!

I didn't take pictures of only the flower but also the scenery in general, even though it's still kinda brown just about everywhere. But give it a few more weeks and the forrest will be overflowing with color! 

We stopped by the river about halfway and ate some chocolate balls, using a fallen tree as a mossy bench. They tasted even better out in nature!

When we had finished our long walk we felt hungry even though we had stopped for snacks in the middle, I guess we're just constantly hungry! I quickly chopped up a fresh salad for two with lots of fruits because they're just so darn good! The recipe for that will be up later tonight because for once I actually wrote stuff down!

So yeah, wonderful weekend! But the evening will go to studying which is less fun but oh so necessary! So I better start my studying so that I can come back & publish the recipe for this beauty!