Vegan Banana-Oatmeal Pancakes & Sunday Breakfast

These pancakes are: dairy-free, egg-free, oil-free and vegan. A few ingredients and you will get fluffy and fiber filled pancakes.

You might be wondering...what about the eggs/milk and butter necessary to make tasty pancakes? Well, bananas are great substitutes for eggs and oil/butter. Almond/soy/rice milk are great substitutes for milk.

Here's a quick guide for easy substitutes:

1 egg =
 1/3 cup applesauce
 1 small banana
 1 tbsp ground flax seed in 3 tbsp warm water

1 c butter/oil =
1 banana
1/2 cup Greek/plain yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce

You really don't need butter or eggs or milk to make these pancakes and they are much healthier for you (they have oats and cinnamon and bananas).

You'll need

• 1 1/4 cups oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 bananas 
• 1 cup almond milk

- Blend dry ingredients (oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt) until the oats look like flour.

- Add the bananas and pulse or blend on low speed for 1 minute.

- Add the almond milk and vanilla extract and blend 20 seconds.

- Batter should not be too runny and should look somewhat like this:

 - In a griddle, or a skillet, heat some oil spray on medium-high heat until pan is hot enough for the batter.
- Make small pancakes and flip after 1, 2 minutes (until you see a lot of bubbles).
- Serve with honey, maple or agave syrup and some bananas on top.

We had "brunch" on Saturday so we paired the pancakes with a "sweet potato hash."

Quick recipe for the hash:

- Cut sweet potatoes and carrots into small cubes/pieces.
- Toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika to taste.
- Roast on a baking sheet n at 400 F for 30-40 minutes.

 Once the hash is ready, sauté some mushrooms and add to the potatoes.

Fry a couple of eggs (or poach) and serve.

Pam & Oscar

Buddha Bowl

Some of you may have heard about "buddha bowls." Basically, they're just bowls of food composed of 3 things:

1. grains as a base (brown rice, quinoa, millet or barley)
2. vegetables
3. a vegan sauce/gravy (cashew based, tahini based, peanut sauce, etc).

This time, I used the vegetables I had on hand and chose to steam them so they could still have a little bit of crunch left. I love to make cashew-based sauces because they just taste creamy and cheese-like. I've seen some buddha bowls with almond-based sauces that are amazing. Peanuts are good too.

You can choose to put some raw vegetables on top to make it even healthier (maybe some shredded carrots?). Anything you like would probably work here.

I made a miso-based cashew gravy. You can buy the miso paste at any supermarket (Whole Foods, obviously, always has it on hand). Miso is made out of fermented brown rice and soybeans. Great for you.

For the bowl

• 1 head broccoli
• 1 package mushrooms (baby bella, shiitake, etc)
• 1 zucchini 
• 1 cup green beans

For the miso based sauce

• 2 tbsp miso paste (i used yellow paste)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 cups cashews
• water (to cover)
• salt and peper to taste
• 1/2 tsp paprika

- Make quinoa, brown rice or other grain according to package directions or use frozen packs.
-  Steam the vegetables: boil water in half of the pot and then put vegetables in the basket. Steam for 5 minutes (exactly). (Zucchini is best stir fried and not steamed).
- Set vegetables aside.
- Sautee mushrooms in 1 tsp olive oil. About 4 minutes. Set aside.


- Make the sauce: Mix ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and paste-like.

- Assemble the bowl: grain first, then vegetables and top with sauce. Also put some pumpkin seeds on top for crunch.

Pam & Oscar

Homemade Fettuccine with Pesto or Vegan Alfredo

Making homemade pasta is super easy. A few ingredients and the dough is ready. It's also easy to store the dough for a few days in the fridge or freezer.

You can make the fettuccine with any type of pasta maker but I have the KitchenAid attachment (makes my life so much easier).

We had this with some homemade pesto but you can also make a vegan Alfredo sauce that is amazing. I am putting both sauce recipes on here!

You'll need:

• 3 cups of flour (+ 1 cup for dusting, adjusting dough)
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp salt

How to make pasta

- Put all ingredients (3 cups of flour, 4 eggs, 2 tbsp water and salt) in a bowl and mix on speed 2 with the "paddle" attachment on the KitchenAid mixer. If not, mix on speed 2 with any mixer/blender.

- Add more water in 1 tbsp increments if the dough is too dry. Alternatively, if too liquid add more flour.

- Mix for 1 or 2 minutes.

- Change the attachment to the "dough hook" and knead dough in the bowl for 2 more minutes. If you don't have a stand mixer then knead the dough by hand for 4 minutes.

- Let the dough rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.

- Cut the dough in 3 pieces and flatten out each piece to be used in a rectangle shape. Use flour to prevent the dough from sticking (and add flour as necessary). 

- Go piece by piece and put the dough through the pasta attachment (the sheet roller) and roll the pasta dough through the roller on the #1 setting. Fold pasta in half and run again through #1 setting (do this twice).

run pasta through sheet roller

- Set roller on #2 and run pasta through there (repeat same step as before but on #2). Do this with #3 and #4. 

- If you want thin fettuccine do it on #5 too. If you want a thicker one just leave it on #4.

- Adjust and add flour to each side of the dough.

- Once the pasta is rolled place the sheet somewhere flat and change the attachment to the fettuccine pasta cutter. 

- Run the sheet through there and cut in half if noodles are too long.

fresh fettuccine

- Once you do all of the pasta dough - boil for 3 minutes or until al dente. 

Making Pesto

 You'll need

• 1/3 cup whole walnuts (raw unsalted)
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

- Just blend or put ingredients in a food processor until sauce is ready.

**oil free pesto: instead of oil use almond/soy milk (1/3 cup) or water and add more nuts and basil.

Vegan Alfredo Sauce

You'll need:

• 3/4 cup + 3 tbsp almond milk.
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• pinch nutmeg
• 1/3 cup cashews

- Mix ingredients in a blender until ready and creamy. Adjust consistency by adding more cashews or more almond milk.

pasta?

- Heat sauce up in a saucepan for a few minutes and serve with hot pasta.

Pam & Oscar

Coconut Tofu and Vegetable Curry

This is a great vegan curry dish that will fill you up without added oils. Generally, you have to be careful with tofu because it can be GMO. I used sprouted non-GMO tofu from Trader Joes (they also sell it at Whole Foods). 

You can use any mix of vegetables...whatever you have on hand. This time I had: potatoes, broccoli, carrots and eggplant. The curry would work perfectly with red or green bell pepper and pumpkin too.

I used light coconut milk to cut the fat and used vegetable stock (low sodium). You can serve this curry over rice (white or brown) or over quinoa like I did here. For tips on how to make quinoa you can click here. 

Husband approved.

You'll need:

• 1 package firm tofu (cut in big chunks)
• 1/2 eggplant (cubed)
• 1 big red or russet potato (peeled and cubed)
• 3 carrots (peeled and cubed)
• broccoli (half a head)
• coconut milk (1 can)
• 1/2 onion (finely chopped)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• basil leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:

- Drain tofu and pat it dry. Cut into big chunks.
- Heat a big pan on medium heat with some oil spray or a couple tablespoons canola oil.
- Pan-sear tofu chunks until brown on each side  (about 5 minutes). Set aside.
- In a food processor make the curry paste: add onion, garlic and spices and puree until a paste is formed.

make the curry paste in a food processor or blender

- Sautee the curry paste on a teaspoon of oil (same pan). After a couple of minutes, add the carrots and potatoes and 1 cup of vegetable stock. Add salt and pepper. 
- Cover and simmer for 15 minutes on medium-high heat.

sautee potatoes and carrots in curry paste

 - Add eggplant and broccoli. Simmer 6-7 minutes in medium-high heat. 
- Add tofu and coconut milk. 
- Finally, after a few more minutes, test the sauce and adjust seasoning as needed. Add some chopped basil leaves.
- Serve over quinoa or rice.

ENJOY!!

is dinner ready yet?

Pam & Oscar

Grilled halibut tacos with creamy cashew coleslaw

I was in the mood for some fish tacos today so we stopped by the market and grabbed some fresh wild caught halibut. I love coleslaw on top of fish tacos but it's not a very healthy meal. This coleslaw, however, has no mayonnaise and no oil; cashews and water make the sauce.

This is a very healthy meal and a good way to eat fish. Nowadays, I'm only eating fish or chicken once or twice a week.

*cashews are rich in magnesium, dietary fiber and healthy oils (that can reduce risk for cancer and heart disease)
*cabbage is rich in fiber, folic acid, vitamin C and some B vitamins

You'll need

• 1 lb of white fish (I used wild halibut)
• 1/4 head of red cabbage (shredded)
• 1/4 head of green cabbage (shredded)
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 onion (chopped)
• 3 limes
• 1 jalapeño (seeded and finely chopped)
• 1 big tomato or 2 small roma tomatoes (chopped)
• a few cilantro leaves
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Fish
- Before grilling the fish, pat the filets dry with a paper towel.
- Season fish with cayenne pepper, paprika and salt and pepper.
- Put fish back in the fridge for a few minutes.

Cashew cream sauce
I recommend starting the sauce off first because you have to wait 50-60 mins for the cashews to be ready. While the cashews soak, make the coleslaw.

- Soak cashews in hot (boiled) water for 50-60 mins.
- When cashews are ready: put them in a high speed blender with 1/2 cup water, juice of 1 lime, half of the chopped onion, half of the jalapeño and the honey.

Water, cashews, onion and jalapeño 

Sauce should look creamy

- Set aside to use as a sauce. 


Coleslaw
- Start off by washing the cabbage heads and cutting the core. Take out some of the leaves (these are very dirty as they protect the inside). 
- Cut in quarters and store the rest in the fridge.

Mix in shredded cabbage with lime juice

- Shred the cabbage with a mandolin or just finely julienne chop them. 
- Put shredded cabbage in a bowl with the juice of 1 lime and let it sit for a few minutes.
- When the cashew cream sauce is ready (see above) mix in half the sauce and add chopped cilantro to the cabbage. 
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve in a bowl

Tomato Salsa
- Chop the tomatoes 
- Chop some cilantro
- Mix chopped tomatoes, cilantro and chopped jalapeño in a bowl
- Add juice of 1 lime, salt, pepper and cumin.
- Serve in a bowl.


Finally, grill the fish about 5-6 minutes each side when the coleslaw and tomato salsa is done. 

Cut/shred fish in small pieces to serve with tacos.

Assemble tacos: coleslaw first, then the fish pieces, some tomato salsa and an extra dollop of cashew sauce.

You can add avocado too (I didn't have any this time). Hope you love this!

Oscar waiting for his taco

Pam & Oscar

Power smoothies!

More than a year ago, I started drinking power smoothies (green & superfood smoothies) everyday. I feel "clean" and everything in my body works perfectly. It improves your immunity, mood, skin, hair, etc! It's a good way to get vitamins. I also stopped drinking cow's milk (it was not making me feel good at all and I'm not lactose intolerant). I make smoothies with almond milk and coconut water.

I have a Vitamix blender which is AMAZING. I highly recommend it! It's pricey but completely worth it. Smoothies come out super smooth and silky. You can make juice in it too (it's that powerful) by putting whole oranges or whole apples. Invest in one and you'll be thankful.

Some of my favorite smoothie recipes here:

Green smoothie

- 1 bunch spinach

- 1 leaf kale

- a few basil leaves

- 1 orange

- 1 banana (if you don't like banana: mangoes or papaya work well)

- 1 lime or lemon

- coconut water

- chia seeds (a teaspoon) or hemp seeds

- 4-5 ice cubes

**blend all of the ingredients and enjoy**

Variations: add berries or pineapple or maca powder too

Power berry smoothie

- frozen or fresh blueberries, raspberries or strawberries (or all three)

- almond milk (about 1/2 cup or 1 cup)

- 1 banana

- ice cubes

**blend all of the ingredients and enjoy**

Vega-smoothie

- 1 scoop Vega One energizing smoothie blend or nutritional shake powder (chocolate or vanilla flavor)

- 1 banana

- 1 shot espresso 

- ice cubes

**blend all of the ingredients and enjoy**

Morning oatmeal smoothie  (this will fill you up for a few hours its amazing)

- 1/4 cup raw rolled oats

- 1-2 tbsp peanut butter

- 1 banana

- agave syrup or honey (2 tsp)

- 1/2 cup to 1 cup almond milk (eyeball it)

- 4-5 ice cubes

Options: add raisins and cinnamon to make oatmeal-raising cookie smoothie

**blend all of the ingredients and enjoy**

Maca green smoothie

- almond milk or coconut water 

- 1 bunch spinach

- 1 tablespoon maca powder 

- 1 tablespoon flax seed meal (ground flax seeds)

- 1 mango or banana (frozen or fresh)

- any combination of berries

- 4-5 cups ice

**blend all of the ingredients and enjoy**

Pam & Oscar

How to make quinoa

Quinoa is an amazing grain and superfood. It's originally from Peru/Andes Mountains where it's called "the gold of the Incas."

In the past few years, the demand for quinoa has increased in the US and around the world because of its benefits. Here are some:

1. It's gluten-free (good for celiac disease or your body doesn't digest gluten very well).
2. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
3. Good source of magnesium.
4. Great source of manganese (45% DV)
5. Good source of protein.
6. Good source of fiber.
7. Contains iron.
8. ETC...

So, quinoa is one of the best grains out there. Use it instead of rice or couscous! Research has shown that quinoa might be an anti-cancer food because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. 

Finally, it's really easy to make!

You'll need:

- 1 or 2 cups of white, red or black quinoa.

- Water

- Salt to taste 

How to make it:

- Rinse the quinoa (this will remove the bitter tasting coating it sometimes has).

- For every 1 cup of quinoa, use 2 cups of water. 

- Bring water and quinoa to a boil and then lower heat to medium/low for about 10-15 minutes. 

- Quinoa will be ready when you see a "curly" tail (germ) separating from the seed. It will be fluffy.

1 cup of uncooked quinoa = about 3 cups of cooked quinoa!

Oscar waiting for some quinoa to fall on the floor

Pam & Oscar