Recipes

Curry dishes must be some of my all time comfort foods, I grew up eating curry on a regular base, the perks of coming from a multi cultural family, and every time I eat a delicious curry it takes me back. One thing I just can’t seem to ignore is that (in my opinion) the most delicious curries are not shy on oil. Now I’m not gonna nit pick and say I’ll never eat oil again, cause this will be a lie, but there ain’t nothing wrong with cutting back a bit, right!? 

Not gonna lie, when deciding to make this dish without oil, I was a bit skeptical, because normally I’d sauté the onion and garlic in oil, and if I’m feeling a bit extra might even fry the eggplant and potatoes before adding them to the dish, but nothing’s more fun than playing around in the kitchen.

The recipe came out quite delicious, if I say so myself. It can’t compete with its oily counterpart, but that’s just my personal preference, and to each their own. Still this dish is a success in my books, it’s comforting and if you’re strict on your oil intake and want an easy & delicious oil free eggplant curry, this will be exactly what you need!

Eat this with some rice, flatbread or however your heart desires. You can even go all out and add a dollop of cashew cream, who knows you might take this dish to new levels! And if you don’t care even the slightest about your oil intake, then why not use some oil, remember this is your dish, no judgments. 

Let me know if you liked the recipe in the comments below and if you decide to recreate this dish feel free to tag me on Instagram as I’d love to see your creations!

One Love,

A.J.

Oil Free Eggplant Curry

A warming and delicious curry recipe, without any oil!

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Course Main Dish, Side Dish

Cuisine Fusion, Indian, Surinamese, Vegan

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 eggplant cubed
• 1 onion chopped
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 3 tomatoes minced
• 2 medium potatoes cubed
• 1 habanero/adjuma pepper or whatever hot peppers you like
• 2 1/2 tbsp curry powder
• to taste salt

Instructions

 

• Start by adding a little layer of water or veggie stock to your pan and turn the heat to medium/low. Once the pan is hot add the onions and garlic. Keep adding water or veggie stock when most of the water is evaporated, to scrap down the brown bits and prevent the onions and garlic from sticking until they're brown, not burnt.
• Add the tomatoes and curry spices to the browned onions and cook this with the onions and garlic for about 5 minutes. Now add the remaining ingredients and cook for another 5 minutes, you might want to add a but of water.
• Now add enough water to cover all the ingredients and let it simmer until the potatoes get soft. Add salt to taste. tip: If you want you can cook the potatoes down until they get mushy, this will thicken the sauce. Enjoy with some rice or flatbread.

Rainbow bowl, my latest and greatest obsession! I could eat them every day, but as much as I like a dish I can’t eat the exact same meal too many days in a row, or I’ll start disliking it. Since I think it’s important to eat as simple and vibrant as possible I decided to make some variations on one of my favorite type of bowls. You can use any type of noodle to make this bowl with, but trust me nothing beets unicorn noodles, thats a fact! To find out how they are made go over to this post….

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Chia parfaits are my go to lazy breakfast meals, they require little to no prep and are convenient since they can be made ahead of time. Not only is it an easy breakfast, but it’s also a filling and healthy way to start the day. Just don’t forget to check your teeth afterwards, chia seeds love hiding away between your teeth, they love it!

For this parfait I used home-made my own chocolate cashew mylk, but feel free to use store-bought plant milks. If you can find a vegan chocolate milk just add cacao powder and a sweetener to the chia pudding, I left the measurements in the recipe below.  I’ll make a post on how to make your own plant milks from scratch, it’s super easy. Feel free to adjust the recipe to your own liking, try adding different fruits or maybe topping it with some coco whip, no ones judging you, treat yo selves!

I had these with a bunch of citrus fruits and called it a breakfast. I’ll be working on more different easy and affordable breakfast ideas asap, I mean chia seeds are great for the bod, but since they’re such a “super” food not the cheapest. Always feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below. 

Also I’d love to see your recreations, so feel free to tag me in your pictures on instagram.

Enjoy.

Sunset Parfait - Raw Vegan

A raw vegan meal to start the day of great!

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Course Breakfast, Rawfood

Cuisine Vegan

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

Chia Pudding

• 1 cup plantbased milk
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 3 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 tbsp agave or more for a sweeter pudding

Parfait

• 2 banana
• 1 handful blueberries
• 2 ripe persimmons
• 2 passion fruit

Instructions

 

Chia Pudding

• To make the chia pudding simply add everything to a bowl or jar and mix well. Place it in the fridge and stir it one more time after about 15 minutes. Now let it rest overnight.

Parfait

• To make the parfait I first added a layer of the chia pudding in a glass, topped it with blended persimmon and a banana blueberry smoothie, which consisted of 1 bananas and a big handful frozen blueberries. I topped the parfait with some passion fruit. Enjoy.

As I’m incorporating more “clean” foods in my diets and taking out the processed foods, I’ll of course be sharing fun and healthy recipes with all of you! To be honest I never really post smoothie or salad recipes as I consider them to be too simple, so no one would be interested. If it weren’t for one of my close friends, hi jazz, or my mom asking me for some inspo and telling me to share some recipes I thought, why not!?

Of course I can’t send you away by telling you to blend 2 bananas and a date, no this is not your regular smoothie, this smoothie requires a specific taste. I added black pepper and turmeric to not only give it a gorgeous colour, but this combination has many health benefits as well.

Another ingredient added to this smoothie might not be for you, but for me it’s a staple, it’s hot peppers, and in this case chili peppers. I added half a chili, simply to try a “mild” version which many people could enjoy, but since I’m partly dragon I would normally throw in a whole chili, seeds included. The flavors of the chili, turmeric and black pepper mingled perfectly with this green smoothie consisting mango, banana and spinach.

Now to the last and most notorious ingredients of all, CBD oil which is extracted from cannabis, and no it doesn’t make you high. I’ve been using CBD oil for the past couple of months, and never used it in one of my recipes, but today I thought, why not!? There are many discussions concerning the health benefits of this oil, but since I’m not an expert I’d recommend watching some documentaries or reading some studies. Also I’d like to note that CBD oil isn’t legal in every country, so you might not even be able to get your hand on it, no problem, just skip it! 

This might not be your taste but since I’ll be focussing on eating more whole foods than ever before you, should stay tuned because there will be more smoothie recipes coming your way.

Have a blessed day and let’s start blending shall we!

One Love,

A.J.

Spicy Green Smoothie - W/ a few drops of CBD oil

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Course Breakfast, Rawfood, Smoothies

Cuisine Vegan

Ingredients

  

• 2 bananas
• 1 handful frozen mango
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 dash turmeric
• 1 dash black pepper
• 1/2 chili pepper
• 1 date
• few drops CBD oil optional

Instructions

 

• this recipes is as simple as throwing everything into a blender and pulsing it a few times. Now do just that, you might want to add a little water for a thinner consistency. Enjoy

Move aside cinnamon rolls, there is another roll in town, one that can definitely hold it’s own against you, a much loved dessert! But for real though, I am a huge lover of cinnamon rolls, but it’s about time to switch things up. So let me introduce to you, the bounty roll! The name is quite self explanatory, these perfectly golden buns are filled with a coconut, cacao mixture and instead of using vegan butter as a filling, we of course used extra virgin coconut oil. I was planning on sharing this recipe about 10 months ago when I served them at my birthday, but you know what they say, better late than never, right!?

These rolls are perfect to bring to a holiday dinner or to serve on any other occasion to be honest, I often make these for family and friends, trust me, it’s a crowd pleaser. 

You can eat these bun’s straight out of the oven as they are or top them with whatever frosting you like. For this batch I made a simple vanilla “butter” cream frosting, by whisking about two heaping table spoons of vegan butter with powdered sugar, vanilla with a pinch of turmeric and spirulina for colour. 

I also decided to top them with some crushed pistachios, goji berries and desiccated coconut for that extra festive look. 

You know what’s funny, I’m just now noticing that lately the recipes have been sweet treats, don’t worry I’ve got something savoury coming your way! 

really hope you like this recipe, now let’s get to it! Feel free to leave a comment below or to tag me in your recreations on Instagram and don’t forget to like my Facebook page.

One Love,

A.J.

Bounty Rolls

Fluffy rolls filled with coconut and cacao, it's a crowd pleaser!

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 18 mins

Total Time 1 hr 38 mins

Course Baked Goods, Dessert/Snack

Cuisine Vegan

Servings 10 rolls

Ingredients

  

Rolls

• 1 cup non dairy milk
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 pack instant yeast
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 1/4 cup flour this can vary
• turmeric

Filling

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/4 cup cacao
• 1/2 cup raw cane sugar could also use brown or coconut sugar

Instructions

 

• Start by blooming the yeast by adding the sugar and yeast to warm plant based milk. Note that the milk has to be warm and not boiling hot. After about 5 minutes the yeast should bloom and at this point you can add the melted coconut oil, turmeric and flours. When adding the flour add half a cup a time and kneed until you get a nice and firm dough that doesn't stick to your hands. Now place the dough ball in a bowl and cover it so it wont dry out while we're letting it rest for about 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size. Let it sit at a warm place.
• Once the dough has doubled in size you can make the filling. Melt the coconut and add all the ingredients to a bowl, mix it well and set it aside. Now roll out the dough into a rectangle and spread the filling mixture on top, leaving an inch from the bottom empty, this will make it easier to close. I also sprinkled some extra desiccated coconut on top of the mixture. Roll it up into a log and cut it into even slices. Grease a baking dish and you can optionally dust the bottom with sugar and then cacao. Now place the rolls in the dish and cover it to let the rolls rise for another 45 minutes on a warm place. Now preheat your oven to about 175 degrees celcius
  
• After the rolls have doubled in size you can pop them in the oven to bake them for about 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. You can easily eat them as is or top them with a frosting. Enjoy!
  

Since I’ve been doing some major indulging lately I’m planning to do a massive cleanse to reset my body. We’re still in the middle of the holiday season I’m giving myself a pass, meaning I’ll start my cleanse in January! Since I’ve still got two weeks of indulging ahead I thought why not try some more “healthy” versions of super indulging recipes to prepare myself for detoxification. So here it is a gluten and nut free recipe for brownie bites.

Fun fact: this recipe was actually a fail that I tried saving, and thus turned into a win!

This recipe asks for only three ingredients and no baking. Yes you read that good, no nuts, wheat flour and dates were used, just plain Ol’ dark chocolate. You might ask yourself “How is this not indulgent?”, well they are indulging treats, but a lot healthier than regular brownies that have tons of oil and extra sugar. Now is this as moist and rich as a regular brownie? No it’s not, but considering the facts, it’s a damn good brownie!

Since you can top it with whatever your heart desires these are perfect if you want to make something festive for the holidays!

I added ground cardamom to the batch, but keep in mind that cardamom has a very distinctive taste, that’s not very subtle. So you might want to leave it out, it’s totally optional. Also go wild with whatever toppings you like. I went with:

• Desiccated coconut 
• Crushed Pistachio 
• Dried strawberries 
• Dried Mango
• Goji Berries
• Dried Figs
• Golden Chrysanthemum Flower

You can also choose to add other dried fruits, dried flower petals, nuts and seeds of choice. Also if you do not like cardamom but do want to spice it up you can add cayenne pepper, chai spices, cinnamon or maybe some pumpkin spice. Go wild and do your thing!

I really hope you like this recipe, now let’s get to it! Feel free to leave a comment below or to tag me in your recreations on Instagram and don’t forget to like my Facebook page.

One Love,

A.J.

No Bake Festive Coconut Brownies - Gluten & Nut Free

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Prep Time 15 mins

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Course Dessert/Snack, Pies and cakes

Cuisine Vegan

Servings 10 pieces

Ingredients

  

• 200 grams dark chocolate
• 7 tbsp non dairy milk
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 tsp cardamom (optional)
• toppings of choice

Instructions

 

• If you're adding toppings, prepare those first. And line a small baking dish with parchment paper. Now over a double boiler melt the chocolate with the non dairy milk and ground cardamom (optional). Once it has melted add the coconut powder and whisk to well.
  
• Add the chocolate mixture to the parchment paper and add another piece of parchment paper on top to spread it out. Now add the toppings and use the other piece of parchment paper to press it all in. Now put it in the freezer for 45 minutes and you're ready to have yourself a slice! Enjoy!
  

Let me start by saying that the moment my family laid eyes on this parfait and had their first bite my mother took the initiative to immediately add this dish to our official Christmas family dinner menu. You can imagine how pleased I am that my vegan dishes are making its way to my very non vegan family’s dinner table. This one’s a winner! And you know what, after all those cupcakes and other indulging treats, this has to be the healthiest. Let’s call it a guilt free dessert/treat  super food!

Also this coconut whipped cream couldn’t be more…

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