Chia Pudding Fun!

@conscious_cooking

One of my favorite power-breakfasts is a Chia Pudding Parfait. Packed with protein, antioxidants, and healthy fats (and naturally sweetened) this little treat is always a winner to provide satiety and a natural nutrient-boost. Yummy breakfasts are an essential part of my monthly 10-day Plant-powered Clean Eating Challenge. This is one of everyone's favorite recipes in the program for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. 

To celebrate this versatile, easy-to-make, and fun-to-eat meal, I started a fun little hashtag project or "party" on Instagram, inviting people to create and share their #chiapudfun. It was so wonderful to see everyone's posts, the colors, flavors and food art. I would love to see your creations too! 

Here's the recipe:

FOR THE NUT MILK
1 cup raw, unsalted nuts of choice (cashews, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, etc)
3 cups filtered water
1-2 pitted medjool dates, or 3 T pure maple syrup

• Soak the nuts overnight in plenty of filtered water. 
• Rinse and drain the nuts, discarding the soaking liquid
• Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender. 
• Blend until smooth. Note: Cashews don't usually need to be strained through a fine meshed sieve, or muslin nut bag. Other nuts, such as almonds may need to be strained to remove the meal, if you prefer a smooth milk and pudding. 

FOR THE PUDDING - PER PORTION
1 cup nut milk (as above)
3 T chia seeds, white or black
Optional: Add flavor – Cacao, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, matcha, etc

• Combine in a bowl or a jar, stirring well and let rest for 20 minutes or overnight 

Now, the fun part! 

Dress up your pudding in layers of: 

1. Fruit or Vegetables – Berries, citrus, banana, kiwi, beets, sweet potato, etc
2. Creaminess (optional) – Plant-based yogurt / cream / mousse, nut butter, etc
3. Other toppings – Good-for-you granola, puffed grains, nuts and seeds, etc

Featured below is a selection of beautiful creations from my Instagram hashtag party that some of my IG favorite accounts posted to join in on the fun. Click on each one to see all the ingredients they used! Feel free to continue the party by sharing your own creations on Instagram with the tag  #chiapudfun. 

Have fun playing with your food! Cx

@foodpicjp

@husbandsthatcook

@plantbasedartist

@thejamlab

@umamikitchen

@vanillaandbean

@wifemamafoodie

5 steps to a lifetime of clean eating

We’re constantly inundated with marketing, convenience foods, and food trends, that it’s hard to know what foods are healthy and make you feel good. As the saying goes “You are what you eat.” but do we really know what we’re eating and how it affects us? Or, we always know what we “shouldn’t” be eating, but do it anyway for lack of choice, inspiration or knowledge. It may seem like a daunting to take charge of your food choices and to eat healthy, but it can all be achieved with five easy steps.

Otto's Cassava Flour

I'm always trying out new ways to bake, and replace breads in our household. I figure because there is so much of it available everywhere, why not maintain balance and take a break from carbo-loading on refined starches whenever possible? I came across Otto's Cassava Flour on Instagram, enticed by the promise of something tasty and able to emulate the standard white flour without grains, or nuts. Cassava (yuca) is a root vegetable that is full of magnesium, copper, vitamin C and folate which all have numerous health benefits.

Bombay Tacos recipe here

Sunday is a great day to try new recipes and to also snoop in the fridge for any leftovers to make a quick meal. So here we have Bombay Tacos, using leftover dal and aloo gobi, spicy carrot greens chutney, and chopped lettuce and jalapeño, wrapped in delicious delicious cassava flour tortillas, The recipe can be found on the back of the package by Fork & Beans, and are super easy to make. These tacos looked so good, my son immediately devoured two of them!... even though he had originally said he didn't want one! ;) And no one even noticed that these were gluten free.

When I first discovered this flour, it was through a post on Instagram by @goeatyourbeets, who hooked me with the claim of having made the best glutenfree chocolate chip cookie, so I had to try! Fortunately, I had all the ingredients, so I adapted the recipe to be vegan, with Earth Balance, instead of butter, and almond milk instead of the egg, and 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk. The cookies were definitely a hit!

I also tried baking muffins with the cassava flour. These are Apple Cardamom muffins which were tasty, but a little on the dense side. I used a chia seed "egg" instead of real eggs, so there wasn't that fluffiness. Still a work in progress, but I will keep you posted! :)

A Twist on Pancakes - Glutenfree, Dairyfree, and Delicious!

This afternoon, I joined in on a great and fun twitter conversation about breakfast, hosted by the feed feed (a crowdsourced digital cooking publication and community.) As one of the most important meals of the day, breakfast is usually loaded with wheat products with little or no nutritional value. A few years ago, when I realized that all our breakfasts involved some form of wheat or dairy, I knew it had to change. So now I've switched to gluten-free, and even grain-free, options for the morning meal. Regardless of what I'm making, I always like to try to incorporate vegetables to start the day, either in a fresh-pressed juice or smoothie, or an omelette or in breakfast frittatas, or even a fried rice. Lately though, my kids are OBSESSED with these savory Scallion Pancakes which we make on out mini Lodge cast-iron skillets. They've made them so many times these past few weeks, it's time to share the recipe with you all!

Crazy for Cashews

Have I told you lately how much I am in love with Cashews? This versatile nut it perfect for any dairy replacement – As a milk, cream, cheese, it's pretty incredible! As you know, I love making my own nut milk, it's so easy to make, and tastes so much better than any store-bought version. Lately, I've been making mostly cashew milk because I've been so busy. You don't need to strain the nut meal out after blending, so it's much quicker. If I had a Vitamix, it would even be faster, as you don't need to soak the nuts before blending.

5 steps to Healthy, Happy Kids

We're constantly inundated with processed foods. I realize that in many countries there isn’t this extreme industrialization and availability of fake-foodlike products. Kids just eat what their families eat, a home-cooked meal, no big deal. But here, busy people lead ultra-busy lives, and packaged foods and snacks are everywhere! It’s all about convenience. I have parents complain to me that their kids don’t eat any vegetables; kids don’t eat dinner; kids who only will eat neutral-colored foods; kids who won’t try new foods... the list goes on and on. There could be underlying reasons for these things, but most likely the cause is all the sugar- and salt-laden manufactured things that they're allowed to eat! Honestly, in a kid's eyes (and tastebuds) how can a simple vegetable compare with the chemically-loaded, flavor-enhanced foods that scientists have developed to incur addiction? With childhood obesity and related diseases on the rise, isn't it time to break free?

Feel Good About Your Food Program

Any day Protein-packed Pancakes

As a child, I grew up looking forward to every Sunday when my dad would make us pancakes. It was always a treat, especially since he would attempt to make them into all sorts of shapes – letters ("C" is easy), animals, flowers... and, of course, Mickey Mouse! Pancakes from scratch are really just as easy as from pancake mix box. 

Make them naturally packed with protein by using nuts, chia seeds and coconut flour. Load them up with lots of fruit, nuts and/or seeds in between layers and on top with a warm fruity compote for a more nutritious (and fun) breakfast any day of the week!!!

Veggie Pan-fried Dumplings

Have a picky eater? Dumplings are a great way to get those veggies in!

I've tried a few times to move away from the traditional pork and vegetable dumplings that I've been making for years, to a vegetarian option, but haven't had much success, as those dumplings always tended to fall to pieces when boiling them. My good friend, Karen, who has been vegetarian for over 20 years gave me the tip to cook all the vegetables first in order to remove all the excess water before stuffing the wrappers. I like preparing a big batch of dumplings to have in the freezer, as my "go to", especially now that the weather is starting to cool down. While I've never had the time to make my own wrappers, I'm sure I will get there one day, making a batch of gluten-free ones. ;) The dumpling filling is definitely tastier when pan-fried or steamed, especially for these farm-fresh veggie-licious ones. 

Food-on-the-Go

THIS is BREAKFAST?
I'm guessing you eat the mint
intsead of brushing your teeth...

Food-On-the-Go doesn't have to be unhealthy, tasteless and stressful. Even when we do mini day-trips, it's guaranteed that my kids need water or a snack, so we never leave the house without water bottles and something "just in case". So every time we head out for a road trip or plane ride, along with the water bottles, I make sure to prepare foods that are substantial and convenient to eat in transit, and pack a bag of healthy snacks like fruits and nuts. 

Using any leftovers you have will also make a good meal. Basically anything you would pack for lunch works, like a sandwich, because you know that it's a disappointing choice, unless you're traveling first class. ;) In preparation for a trip, merely cook a little more of a few meals and use up all foods in the fridge so that you're not scrambling last minute to have foods AND finish everything up AND pack!!! 

Empty the fridge and bring your leftovers for a great in-flight meal

Maple Quinoa Crunchy Granola

Who doesn't love "dessert" 

first thing in the morning?

When we stayed at our friend's house for the weekend a few weeks ago, I thought it would be nice to make a different kind of breakfast (think gluten-free) for everyone, so we picked up some stuff to make parfaits. They had KIND Maple Quinoa Clusters on-hand which both my kids and I fell in love with. I'm used to making my own granola, so it was nice to try another product, especially having heard good things about this particular brand.

Of course, I needed to try to make this as one bag wouldn't even last a day in our household. ;-) My first attempt at a copycat KIND recipe came from gluten free on a shoestring tasted great, but didn't "cluster" and the taste of millet was quite strong, so I adapted the recipe a bit the second time around by grinding up some of the whole grains and adding water to help everything stick together. 

All these gluten-free whole grains are packed with protein, fiber and nutrients, making this granola a superfood super breakfast, snack or even dessert! ;-)

A Healthy Start

Sauteed mushrooms and kale on toast; Fried rice; Breakfast Parfait with fruit, granola and yoghurt  (or chia pudding) & a boiled egg.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Your body hasn’t refueled since last night’s dinner and deserves a good start. Incorporating protein with plenty of natural vitamins and minerals and a little whole grain (we’re not talking about factory-made cereal!) will keep you from snacking throughout the day and “compensating” for that light, or skipped, breakfast. 

Banana-Berry Muffins

Eating bread, cereal or a pastry every morning? You wouldn't even notice that these muffins are eggless, gluten-free and dairy-free. They're a great start to the day, a perfect snack. Making them yourself guarantees plenty of fruit, not just one or two when you buy a store bought version. These muffins I used blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. You can also use cranberries with some grated orange zest. I love that these are full of goodness. I used to bake my vegan treats by substituting the egg with applesauce, but found that it made it too heavy and dense. Flaxseed meal is just ground up flax seeds, which you could make yourself in a food processor. Very handy!

Back-to-School!

Various bits of meal prep for the week ahead

Back to school means back to a schedule of preparing breakfasts and lunches and getting the kids out the door in time. On Instagram, I see a lot of (single) people who do a meal prep for the week. I can't even fathom doing that just yet, but as a step to save time and not rush around in the morning, I sat down and wrote a rough list of foods that the kids like for breakfast and lunch. The supermarket is right next to the school, so it's too easy to go there every day to pick something up. But I would much rather try to keep that to a minimum and get most of the week's food in one go. Just having the food on-hand, like fruits and vegetables is already a great option. Washing and preparing some vegetables in advance saves that extra few minutes in the morning. I still try to focus on whole ingredients (real food), rather than stocking up on the "convenient" packaged/overly processed foods and snacks that are on the supermarket shelves. Anything homemade, using whole ingredients has got to be better than anything made in a factory!

Check out my guest blog on Box Play for Kids for yummy lunch ideas for younger kids!

Nutty for nut milks!

Originally I posted this as part of my long Juice Fast entry, but it is really so good and a regular favorite, that I thought it deserves its own post! I promise you, it is THE easiest and most impressive food/drink you can make! And 1000 times better than any store-bought version, with the exception of Lulitonix, a local NYC brand, where I got the inspiration from. 

Nut milks are a good supplement to all the vegetable and fruit micronutrients you're consuming during a cleanse, and to help satiate any hunger. These milks are high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and contain no cholesterol, gluten or saturated fats. Adding chia seeds also adds a boost of protein, calcium, iron, potassium and fiber. A great substitute for dairy, especially when making smoothies.

My Juice Fast

I never thought I could do this, as I love food so much! The other night, my friend Robert suggested we do a 3-day juice cleanse together. I thought about my recent food choices, I've been eating less and less meat and dairy, trying to cut out (or not depend so much on wheat), so it made sense to do this now and give my 40+ year old body a break! I looked up all the things that might improve going on a liquid veggie diet: aside from weight loss, immunity boost, healthy skin, better sleep, loss of joint aches and pains, clearer eyesight... the list goes on and on. That all sounds perfect, so why not give it a try? I have my trusty juicer from my Hong Kong days, let's do it!

Plane Packing

With all the air travel restrictions and cut-backs, it's another challenge altogether to pack food for the actual airplane journey. (Is this all just to coerce you into purchase water and fast food, that you don't REALLY want to eat?) In Asian and European countries, you can actually find a great meal at the airport, but it's pretty tough finding good, fresh, unprocessed meals here. Over the years, I've always brought a small bag of food for travel. It's easier, especially in keeping young children fed and happy, but it's also more delicious and nutritious. I must say I don't miss any in-flight "chicken or beef" meals, or even the special dietary needs ones. 

Here are some travel food ideas. Best to try to keep things simple – easy to eat, not so bulky, and no overpowering smells (like a boiled egg). The New York Times had an article about freezing food first and used shrimp cocktail as an example, but I'm not so sure that travels well. I imagine it would be soggy and a bit smelly for your fellow passengers....

These empanadas were
a handy, substantial meal

For short-haul flights, depending on the time of day, it's pretty easy to bring along a snack. For early morning departures, muffins, or bagels are a handy breakfast. Fruit or vegetables that travel well too (no pun intended), like apples, clementines, avocado (cut in half and the pith removed) carrot sticks are great, as long as you're not travelling to foreign lands, in most cases, eat them before you land, (Note: from Canada to the U.S. customs is before your flight, so don't bring any fresh produce for your flight.) Granola bars, dried fruits and nuts are a good and healthy energy snack for any time. For afternoon or evening flights, your favorite sandwich, empanadas or foods are fine at room temperature like a pesto pasta, or couscous with vegetables or sliced meat for more substance. A tub of chicken salad is also great. For long-haul flights, bring a bit of everything, especially if you are changing time zones. Try to eat the correct meal at the time of your destination, to get a head start on the time change. 

Most importantly, stay hydrated, we always have water bottles that are filled once we pass through security. Happy travels!

Mad about Mangoes

It's mango season, at least at our local grocery store it is! There is a mountain of champagne or Ataulfo mangos on special. The green ones are not ripe yet, choose the nice firm mango-yellow ones. If the skin is wrinkly or has black spots, it is already a bit overripe. The fruit flesh is slippery to handle and can be squished easily at the tiniest bit of pressure, it can be a bit tricky to prepare. Here is the easiest way to tackle this, and how they are generally prepared in Asia.

Free of Everything - Oatcakes

We eat a lot of bread (at least it feels that way, since I seem to always be buying it in every shape and size) and, of course, flour is in everything I bake. Lately, I have heard a lot of bad things about wheat and gluten – intolerance; allergies; feeling lethargic and puffy... It seems there are many people who are allergic without even knowing about it. I am considering seeing a nutritionist, but I thought I would try out a wheat-free, gluten-free (although there is some debate about oats), sugar-free, dairy-free option for a healthy snack or alternative to bread or toast at breakfast. Although they are very, very plain, they can be eaten on their own. Otherwise, top them with smoked salmon, peanut butter or anything you would normally eat with bread or crackers.

New Year's Dumplings

using square wrappers

Kung Hei Fat Choy! 恭禧发财! 
Happy Year of the Rabbit!
In China, jaozi (dumplings) are prepared to celebrate the new year. Shaped like ancient Chinese coins, some families cook them on New Years' Eve at midnight to symbolize bringing prosperity and luck into the new year.

Everyone has their own secret recipe (thank you Rowena for sharing some tips), traditionally, they are filled with ground pork and leafy vegetables, but the possibilities are endless, shrimp, mushrooms, tofu... Versatile also in cooking methods, they can be boiled, steamed or fried. A stash of uncooked dumplings can be kept in the freezer for easy food, at any time.