Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Smoothie

I drink tons of smoothies and have one for breakfast almost every day.
I switch between green smoothies, protein smoothies and oatmeal smoothies. This is one of my favorite smoothies.

One glass of this drink has 10g of fiber! (thats about half your daily intake). It's filling and good for you. It has both types of fiber: soluble and insoluble as well as a lot of protein. Additionally, it's high in magnesium and iron.

More benefits:

Raisins are also a good source of fiber and antioxidants.

Cinnamon is a great anti-inflammatory food and can help prevent blood clots.

Bananas are a great source of vitamin B6, vitamin C and potassium.


This smoothie is very easy to make and tastes literally like an oatmeal raisin cookie! yum!

You'll need:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 banana
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more according to taste)
• 4-5 cubes ice

1. Just put everything in a high-speed blender and mix until smooth. I have a Vitamix blender and it takes me about 30 seconds. You can probably blend for a minute.

Enjoy!

Pam & Oscar

Amazing Vegan Chocolate Chunk Brownies

I know it's hard to find a great vegan chocolate brownie recipe. There are many out there. Yes, it's hard to make a brownie taste good without cream, eggs and butter or tons of white sugar.

Today I was really craving brownies...and did not want to eat an unhealthy brownie that would make me feel like crap (dairy is doing that to me lately). So, I scoured the internet for every vegan chocolate brownie recipe out there. I spent about 3 hours "researching" and also tweaking recipes here and there. I researched whether flax eggs, chia eggs or applesauce were the better substitutes for eggs and oil...I also looked for comparisons between using baking soda or baking powder and whether to use chocolate chips, etc!

Finally, I came up with a single recipe that encompassed the best of the best and I think these brownies are the best so far. They're fudgy, chocolate-y and cake-y at the same time. SO GOOD.

I will continue to make this better by trying other ingredients and amount variations.

Try them and let me know what you think!


You'll need:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 3 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 flax eggs (2tbsp flaxseed meal needed see below)
• 1 shot of espresso (or very very strong brewed coffee)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened, dark)
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (vegan or normal)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease and flour a brownie pan (8 by 8 usually or 9 by 13)

2. Make 2 flax eggs (put 2 tbsp of flaxseed meal with 6 tbsp warm water in a bowl and let sit for 2 minutes until it becomes gel-like).

3. Mix sugar, almond milk, canola oil, apple cider vinegar and flax eggs in a bowl with the espresso and vanilla extract.  

4. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. 

5. Add wet ingredients to dry mix. Stir until all incorporated. Add in chocolate chips and walnuts if using.

6. Bake for 17-20 minutes (depends on oven).

7. Let brownies cool for 10 minutes at least before serving or cutting up.

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Estos brownies son veganos...asique no tienen leche, huevo o mantequilla (nada animal).  Se pueden preparar con harina blanca sin prepar o tambien  serian mas nutritivos hechos con harina "whole wheat" (trigo entero). 


Ingredientes

• 1 taza azucar morena (ojo: lo hice tambien con 3/4 de taza y salio bien)
• 1/2 taza leche de almendras (o de soya)
• 3 cucharaditas vinagre de manzana 
• 1/4 taza de aceite vegetal (o si quieren pueden usar 2 cucharadas con el mismo efecto)
• 2 cucharadas de linaza molida + 6 de agua filtrada
• 1 shot de espresso
• 1 cucharadita de vainilla
• 1 taza harina sin preparar blanca (o de trigo entero)
• 1 cucharadita de polvo de hornear
• 1/4 cucharadita sal
• 3/4 taza de cocoa (para postres - sin azucar)
• 1/2 taza de chips de chocolate dark
• 1/2 taza nueces o pecanas picadas (opcional)
• *opcional: azucar en polvo para espolvorear encima de los brownies

1. Pre-calentar horno a 375 F (190C).

2. Engrasar (con aceite o mantequilla) un molde rectangular de 8x8 o 9x13 pulgadas (saldran mas delgados con 9 x 13).

3. Preparar los "huevos de linaza" -- mezclar 2 cucharadas de linaza molida (usar licuadora) con 6 cucharadas de agua filtrada. Dejar en un bowl por unos 5 minutos hasta que parezca un "gel" o se cuaje. 1 huevo es el equivalente a 1 cucharada de linaza molida con 3 de agua (asique estamos usando 2 "huevos").

4. Mezclar en un bowl: azucar, leche de almendras/soya, vinagre de manzana, "huevos de linaza", shot de espresso, vainilla y aceite. 

5. Mezclar en un bowl aparte la harina, la cocoa, el polvo de hornear y sal.

6. Incorporar los ingredientes liquidos con los secos poco a poco. 

7. Agregar los chips de chocolate y las nueces/pecanas (si se desea).

8. Hornear por 17 minutos y dejar reposar por lo menos 15 minutos antes de servir.

Enjoy!

Pam & Oscar

Mushroom "Quinotto" (Quinoa Risotto)

Hi there!
It's been a few days since my last post.  My husband and I went to NY to visit family and I got a friendly visit over Labor Day weekend. It's been a busy couple of weeks but I am back in Houston cooking away!

NY was amazing...as always. I got to try the famous "Candle Cafe" Vegan restaurant (I think it's one of the most famous in the US). It was good but we had a lot of food. I did get somewhat inspired by the food and will be making/recreating some of them soon!

For now...I leave you with a mushroom quinotto. It's very very good for you and tasty. We know the benefits of quinoa are endless so it won't hurt to try this as an alternative to regular risotto. I used almond milk and olive oil instead of cream and butter.

I used some amazingly strong saffron that my parents brought back from Istanbul (if you have some strong saffron please be careful as it can be too much!)

I hope you love it!

You'll need

• 1 cup cooked quinoa (check out this post on how to make it)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 4-5strips saffron (or 1/4 tsp ground saffron)
• 1/2 white chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped portabella mushroom  (or any mix of mushrooms)
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup almond milk (or if you don't want to make it vegan use cream)
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley (fresh or dried whatever you have)
• parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Cook quinoa and set aside.

2. In a pot, saute garlic and onion in olive oil on medium heat. Then, when onions are translucent, add in the saffron, nutmeg and mushrooms. Stir for a few minutes.

amazing saffron from Istanbul

3. Add in the wine, almond milk (or cream if using). Add in salt and pepper to taste (adjust if necessary).

4. Add in cooked quinoa to the pot. Stir and add in more milk if necessary to get that risotto texture. 

5. When ready to serve, add about 3 tbsp parmesan cheese and adjust seasoning.

6. Serve with parsley and parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy!!

Pam & Oscar

Veggie Burgers

There are a lot of veggie/vegan burger recipes out there but some don't turn out as good (they fall apart, they're too soft, etc). This recipe is adapted from the Engine 2 Diet cook book. It's a vegan burger with no oil and it's super healthy for you. It's also tasty, obviously....

I paired it with some oven roasted sweet potato fries. Super good!

For the burgers

• 1 can black beans (drained) or cooked black beans
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes (drained)
• 2 carrots (peeled and chopped)
• 2 cups oats
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 stems green onion (chopped)
• 1/2 cup parsley 
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp flaxseed meal

For the sweet potato "fries"

• 2 big sweet potatoes (peeled and cut in strips)
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. 

2. Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet (don't overcrowd or they will get soggy). Put in the oven (tossing sometimes) for about 20-30 minutes or until crispy and brown.

 Make the burgers!  

3. Put the beans, tomatoes, garlic, carrots, green onion and spices into a food processor (or blender) and chop/slowly blend for a few seconds until mixed through.

4. Put the contents into a bowl (or a stand mixer) and add in the oats and flax seed meal.

5. Check for consistency: adding more oats or more canned tomatoes if needed.

6. Form patties and pan-fry on medium heat in a sprayed skillet. About 5-6 minutes on each side (both sides should be browned and firm).

7. Build your burger! We did not have "burger buns" this time and just used regular sliced bread...with some lettuce, avocado, mustard and tomatoes. We've had these with caramelized onions and they're amazing!


Enjoy!!

Pam & Oscar

Lemon/Lime Fat-Free Yogurt Cake with Warm Blueberry Sauce

Recipe dedicated to my friend Theresa :)

I adapted this recipe to make it fat free but have made it before with 1/2 cup canola oil and it came out great too (I would use the oil if you're going to eat it between a few people...but if it's just two of you then might as well reduce the oil content)

This is so good and easy to make and you just need a few ingredients.

You'll need:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup + 1/3 cup white sugar
• 3 large eggs (cage free-organic)
• 1 1/4 cups fat free plain greek yogurt 
• 3 tbsp apple sauce   (if using canola oil: 1/3 cup, don't use applesauce and only use 1 cup yogurt)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• zest of 2 big lemons or 3 limes
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• half pint blueberries
• 2 tbsp water

Make the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Grease and flour a loaf pan.

3. In a big bowl mix the eggs, yogurt, applesauce (or oil if using-see above), vanilla extract, lemon/lime zest and 1 cup of sugar.

4. In another bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.

5. Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

6. Pour batter into prepared pan and put in the oven for about 40-50 minutes (check for doneness and golden brown color).

7. Make the lemon glaze: simmer 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup remaining sugar in a small pot on medium heat until "glaze" forms (should look syrup-like).

8. When cake is ready, let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan. Then, pour the lemon-sugar mixture while still farm and let it soak in (I keep the cake in the pan and just pour the mixture..eventually it soaks in and becomes moist).

cake should be golden brown after 40-50 minutes

9. Make blueberry sauce: rinse blueberries in colander, mix in with water for 5 minutes on medium heat. When ready serve on the side (if you pour it all on top you probably want to eat it soon if not it might become soggy).

That's it!! Enjoy

Pam & Oscar

Aji de Gallina: Chicken in Yellow Chili Sauce [healthier version]

I think I mentioned before that I eat chicken/eggs or fish about once a week. Saturday night, I decided to make a Peruvian dish.

Typically, this recipe is relatively unhealthy as it has a lot of cream or whole milk, a lot of cheese and white bread. I made it a little healthier (albeit not completely) by making simple switches. For example, instead of using white bread for the sauce, I used quinoa. Instead of using whole milk or cream, I used almond milk.

I did not use oil either.

You'll need the "aji amarillo" sauce or chilies. I couldn't find the actual chilies (sometimes available frozen at specialty latin stores) but I found an organic aji amarillo paste at Whole Foods:

It came out great!! My husband love it and couldn't tell the difference. He devoured it...

You'll need:

• 2 chicken breasts (I used organic, pasture raised chicken)
• 3 tbsp aji amarillo paste
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup "queso fresco"
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup almond or soy milk (if you drink regular milk then regular milk will do)
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 chopped white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 gold potatoes
• pitted kalamata olives
• 2 boiled eggs
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil water in a small stockpot and cook potatoes for about 20 minutes (until soft inside)

2. Make 1 cup of quinoa according to package directions (you can find how to make quinoa here)

3. Make some white or brown rice (typically this dish is served over white rice)

4. In another pot, boil chicken. Boil water and then place chicken breasts in the pot. About 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool down. When cooled down - shred chicken by hand.

5. In a big sauce pan, sauté onion in olive oil. Add garlic and simmer until onion is translucent. 

6. Add aji amarillo paste (3 tbsp). 

7. Simmer and add 1/2 cup vegetable/chicken stock. Lower heat a little bit.

8. When quinoa is ready, put in a blender with almond milk, queso fresco, parmesan cheese and nutmeg. Mix until a puree is formed. About 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste and more milk if too dry.  Set this puree aside.

9. Add puree to the pan, mix in with the onions and aji amarillo paste. Add the turmeric powder. Mix well and simmer on low heat. 

10. Add shredded chicken to the pan and add more aji amarillo if needed (it is not that spicy so try it out first). Also, add salt and pepper to taste. 

11. Sauce should look creamy. Add more stock if necessary to loosen it up a bit.

12. When its ready, serve over sliced boiled potatoes and white rice. Also, put some pitted kalamata olives on top and a boiled egg sliced in half.

Enjoy!!!

Pam & Oscar

Tempeh Tacos

Tempeh is a fermented soy product highly popular in Indonesia. It's a great source of protein and fiber and low in fat and cholesterol. Tempeh is less processed than tofu but is not tasteless.

Eating less meat and dairy is definitely good (at least increasing meatless meals) because it reduces cholesterol and saturated fat intake.

For this recipe, I used non-GMO tempeh I found at Whole Foods.

You'll need:

• 1 package tempeh
• 1 bell pepper - sliced
• 1 onion - sliced
• 1/2 cup frozen roasted corn (or freshly roasted corn)
• cilantro (chopped)
• 1 lime
• 1 tbsp tamari (or if you don't have it, soy sauce)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• whole wheat or sprouted tortillas

1. In a grill pan or saute pan, cook peppers and onions. If grilling, stir for 10 minutes until softened but slightly charred. If sautéing, cook with little oil so that the onions don't "sweat" much and they don't become soggy (also 10 min approx).

2. Cook corn (in a pan with 1 tbsp water if frozen) for 5 minutes. If using fresh corn, roast or grill for a few minutes.

3. Steam tempeh (in a steamer for 10-15 minutes). If you don't have a steamer then just pan fry until brown. I highly recommend steaming the tempeh because it will allow for more flavors to soak in.

4.  Marinate tempeh with paprika, chili powder, tamari, cumin, and salt & pepper.

5.  Cut tempeh in half and sauté or grill (I grilled it) for a few minutes.

6.  Cut tempeh in cubes (so as to resemble chicken). Serve with sautéed/grilled vegetables.

7. Steam tortillas in the microwave (roll in paper towel and heat for 15 seconds).

8. Serve with homemade guacamole and cashew cream sauce (fake sour cream).

9. Chopped cilantro on the side.

Enjoy!

Pam & Oscar