Lunch for Mum

As you all know, I think my Mum is Superwoman! Whilst Hubby and I were ill she did so much for us both. So as I was feeling a little better I decided to make her lunch yesterday. Because we still haven't been shopping though I had to make something out of nothing!

Once again, I raided my 'tardis like' store cupboards and came across a packet of falafel mix, which was way past its 'best before' date, but I figured it would be fine. I also came across a small tin of chick peas hiding at the back of the cupboard, so the protein side of lunch was sorted. Houmous and falafels, it was a shame I didn't have any parsley, because I could have made tabbouleh to go with it. 

However, also hiding at the back was an old packet of Mediterranean couscous and after checking the ingredients were suitable, it soon became a part of the lunch. Plus, it was easy to rustle up.

I also had some wholewheat pasta and an avocado so I made Angela's avocado pasta again, but used chives again instead of basil.

To finish the lunch off I chopped up some beetroot and made a simple salad of chicory leaves, chopped spinach, cucumber and carrot ribbons and added a bowl of seeds to sprinkle over the top.

Mum really enjoyed the lunch, especially as it was her first all vegan lunch. 

Cold Sore Busting Smoothie 2

I used all of my remaining strawberries yesterday so I had to use something else in my cold sore busting smoothie today. After doing a little more research I found that pineapple is an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese. It is also a good source of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, folate, copper and dietary fiber.

So I replaced the strawberries and apple with half a pineapple, the result; it looked the same but tasted a little sweeter and I preferred it.

A quick recap, the smoothie needed to contain Lysine, Zinc, Vitamin C and Bioflavonoids to combat the cold sore outbreak and nourish my skin with essential nutrients:

Beetroot - Lysine
Spinach - Bioflavonoids
Tofu - Zinc
Pineapple - Vitamin C

Not that long ago I would have cringed at the thought of including vegetables and tofu in my smoothies, but its amazing how your taste buds change over time. I don't bat an eyelid these days.

Cold sores; the good, the bad and the ugly!

Yep cold sores are all those things bar 'the good'! 

It seems my run of bad luck in the health department is ongoing, I now have a bottom lip full of cold sores! Yep it hurts to talk, eat and drink and I'm really starting to feel very sorry for myself now!

I've been googling what foods I should be eating to combat cold sores and it appears that foods high in arginine should be a no no and foods high in lysine are recommended. So what foods contain these two amino acids:

Arginine

• Chocolate
• Nuts including peanut butter
• Oats including porridge
• Seeds
• Grains

Lysine

• Milk
• Yoghurt
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Brewers yeast
• Sardines
• Cod
• Chicken
• Beef lamb

As you can see from the two lists above, my first research into what foods to eat wasn't looking too promising as none of them were vegan! Even worse the foods I should be avoiding were regulars in my diet. But I carried on with my research and I did find that most vegetables are also high in Lysine, especially:

Vegan Lysine

• Apple
• Apricot
• Avocado
• Beetroot
• Fig
• Mango
• Papaya
• Pear
• Tomato

My research also informed me that I should also be nourishing my skin with essential nutrients to help ward off the cold sores. It is recommended that you ensure you are getting plenty of zinc, vitamin C and bioflavonoids. These will help you protect, nourish and strengthen your skin. 

Apparently zinc is not found in large amounts in plant foods, but the best, common plant sources of zinc are legumes, nuts, seeds, and oatmeal. Which if I believe the research I've undertaken so far are mainly foods to avoid because they also contain arginine. However, legumes aren't listed as an arginine food so I figured they need to make a larger appearance in my diet. 

Bioflavonoids, are also sometimes referred to as “Vitamin P,” and they are super-antioxidants found in many natural foods. Apparently bioflavonoids are found in many of the same foods that contain vitamin C, which is good news for me.

Zinc foods not containing arginine

• Tofu
• Chick peas
• Pinto & kidney beans
• Lentils
• Corn, peas and broccoli

Vitamin C

• Fresh fruit, especially, oranges, kiwis, papaya, strawberries
• Leafy vegetables; kale, spinach, mustard greens, garden cress, lettuce, bok choy
• Bell peppers and red & green chilli peppers
• Thyme and Parsely
• Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts

Bioflavonoids

• Bell peppers
• Citrus fruits, oranges, lemon and lime
• Tropical Fruits or Exotic fruits, like mangoes and papayas
• Strawberries, peaches and nectarines
• Broccoli, spinach and brussel sprouts
• Garlic
• Black and Green Tea

So I now knew what foods I should be eating and what I should be avoiding, the dilemma was to cook something up with food I had at home as the last thing I felt like doing was going shopping! To top things off, hubby is in bed with a chest infection and cold, so he didn't feel like shopping either. Because its easy to drink through a straw at the moment I decided the first thing I would do is whip up a cold sore beating smoothie.

Ingredients

100ml Beetroot juice, I used 'beet it'

Handfull of Spinach

85g Tofu (drained weight)

1 Apple, peeled

5 Strawberries, hulled

100ml Cold water

Method

Add all ingredients to the blender in the order above and blend until smooth. Easy!

Ready Steady Cook Challenge 1

A few days ago I asked readers to either facebook me or leave a comment on the blog which listed three ingredients and I would post a recipe which I believed showcased these ingredients. Now I haven't had hundreds of people suggesting three ingredients, phew, but I have had a couple and the first person to challenge me was Kiera.

She listed the following ingredients:

• Tofu
• Chickpeas
• Beetroot

She also told me that she wasn't a huge fan of tofu and wanted something to tempt her into trying it again. The only time she had tried chickpeas was in houmous and beetroot didn't tempt her at all! This was a hard challenge, I needed to make something tasty which included three ingredients that Kiera wasn't very keen on.

Now, you will recall that I have been reviewing ready made vegan burgers and I decided that I should be making my own instead of buying processed food. So I thought I could roll the two challenges into one and make a burger with the ingredients Kiera had challenged me with. Everyone likes a good veggie burger don't they? The ingredients may not be showcased as such in this recipe but I thought to tempt Kiera back to the wonderful world of tofu we had to take fairy steps.

Well, Kiera here is the recipe that I hope tempts you to try tofu again.

BCT Burgers - Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Small onion, thinly sliced
150g Tofu, pressed and grated
1 Cooked beetroot
80g Mushrooms, chopped and fried
50g Chickpeas
½ Carrot, grated
1 Garlic clove
2 Tbsp Garam flour (chickpea flour)
1tsp Smoked Paprika
½ Tsp Dried thyme
½ Tsp Chilli flakes
2 Slices jarred jalapenos
Salt and Pepper


Method
Fry the thinly sliced onions in the olive oil until they start to turn a caramel colour, add the chopped mushrooms and continue to fry until they have released their liquid and cooked through. Meanwhile grate the beetroot, tofu and carrot into a bowl and add the spices, garlic, herbs and salt & pepper. Mash the chickpeas and add to the bowl along with the cooked onion and mushrooms. Sprinkle over the garam flour and stir to combine thoroughly. The mixture should start to form a dough like ball, if not add more flour. With damp hands shape the mixture into two large patties and place on a greased baking tray. The mixture does make two very large patties so you may choose to divide the mixture into three or four patties. Bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes turning once.

Beetroot Houmous

Almost three weeks ago I blogged about my houmous salad sanga and I told you that I would be pairing up beetroot and houmous sometime soon as I thought they were a perfect match.

Today, I did just that, let me introduce you to beetroot houmous............

Using two thirds of a can of chickpeas make a standard houmous using chickpeas, tahini, garlic, cumin, lemon juice and chickpea water. 

Remove half of the houmous to a pot and keep for another day. Add 1 chopped beetroot to the food processor and blend. The houmous goes a lovely pink colour, great to use as part of a valentines dinner. I also added about 10 basil leaves which I chopped finely and added to the processor and gave it another quick blend

If you look closely you will see little flecks of green. The flavour was just as I imagined it, the basil balancing out the beetroot.

Use on a wrap with other salad ingredients or as a dip with crudites and enjoy!

  

Houmous Salad Sanga

Readers of my blog will know that I used to be a cheese addict and since turning vegan I have tried many vegan 'cheese' but nothing has taken me by storm. However recently I ordered Teese after hearing about how good it was and how well it melted. I will update you all on my findings once I use it.

My cheese replacement however, is houmous! Today I enjoyed houmous on a granary baguette with lettuce, tomato, spring onion, beetroot, pickled gherkin, olives and vegan garlic mayonnaise. Delicious!

I think houmous and beetroot are the perfect partners and I need to experiment further with these two ingredients. Watch this space..................