Recipe Post: Broccoli Chedd'r Mini-Quiches + A Place for Pleasure Foods

Some days you wake up bursting with ideas, and you just have to see them through, or you feel like you'll actually burst. Today was one of those days.

I've always loved the combination of broccoli and cheddar cheese; something I've frankly missed since going vegan. I've been happy to see an influx of vegan-friendly plant-based cheezes arriving on the market. While they may not all have the most nourishing profile of ingredients, there is something to be said for nourishing nostalgia.

I read an interesting post on the Coach Calorie blog yesterday about how those who wish to lose weight (or get healthy, or any number of health goals) first eliminate their favourite foods, as though deprivation and misery are the keys to success.

And I will echo the point: They're not.

Satiety and satisfaction, though very similar, are not necessarily one and the same. Satiety is a response in the body that tells you it has achieved physical fullness and nutrient balance. It is meant to keep us from eating in excess and signalling that our body has what it needs for now. Making sure a meal is macronutrient-balanced is a great way to achieve satiety.

Satisfaction, however, runs on a deeper level. A meal can be perfectly macronutrient-balanced, but if it tastes bland, has an unpleasant mouthfeel, or is otherwise awful to consume, it's not going to be satisfying on an emotional level. Food should taste good and be enjoyable to eat, if not all the time, then at least the majority of the time. This is also obviously not to say we should eat cake for breakfast, a bag of chips for snack, pizza for lunch, *a healthy dandelion salad for dinner*, and then ice cream for dessert.

We should endeavour to learn how to cook food with spices, not be afraid of healthy amounts of fat, add a dash of sea salt here and there. And of course, we should not feel like we need to put a moratorium on all of our favourite foods. Being adventurous in the kitchen and trying alternative ingredients to replicate your favourite flavours can be healthful in its own way; not just physically, but in appealing to your inner child, your hidden chocoholic, your secret cheese junkie.

So circling back to vegan cheezes. I woke up this morning wanting to do *something* with chickpea flour, *something* with broccoli and cheez. LIGHTBULB MOMENT! and I whipped up these Broccoli Chedd'r Mini-Quiches. I'll be honest, it was about an hour of deciding what to put in the bowl - would this really taste good? should I add more of this? what will this do to the colour? - and wondering, once it was in the oven, whether it would turn out at all the way I wanted it to.

But that was also part of the fun. Learning to cook and drawing on that experience; plus feeling adventurous and drawing on foods-loved-past; leads to a fascinating alchemy of nourishment for health and nostalgia.

Plus, the results are in: Tasty, nutritious... and not only satiates my body, but satisfies my secret cheese junkie. (Full disclosure: I ate three once I got them out of the oven.)

Savoury Vegan Broccoli Chedd’r Mini-Quiches

A vegan, gluten-free twist on a classic flavour combination. Chickpea flour, or besan, is a versatile, high-protein, gluten-free flour that is well worth making a pantry staple. Its cooked texture and flavour lends itself perfectly to replacing eggs for making scrambles, omelettes, and of course, quiches. Nutritional yeast (“nooch”) adds a cheesy flavour while also providing an additional protein and B-vitamin boost. These broccoli chedd’r mini-quiches are beautiful for a brunch, or as a quick grab-and-go breakfast. Serve au naturel or with a favourite sauce, such as vegan hollandaise, sour cream, or for a spicy kick, hot sauce or sriracha. Makes 12 mini-quiches.

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen organic broccoli florets

Coconut oil for the muffin pan OR paper cupcake liners

1½ cups chickpea/garbanzo bean flour (besan)

1 tsp. GF baking powder

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (increase to 3 Tbsp. + more for sprinkling if not using vegan chedd’r)

¼ tsp. organic ground turmeric

¼ to ½ tsp. sea salt (you may wish to use a little more if not using vegan chedd’r)

¼ tsp. organic chili powder

Pinch each fresh ground black pepper and red chili flakes

Optional: pinch black salt, to taste

1¾ cup unsweetened hemp or almond milk OR water

⅓ cup vegan chedd’r shreds, such as Daiya or Earth Island, plus more for sprinkling, optional (or use more nooch as indicated above)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375˚F. Grease or line your muffin tin.

In a pot with a steamer basket, steam the broccoli until just cooked (it should be bright green). Transfer broccoli to a strainer and run cool water over it to stop cooking. Allow to drain off as much moisture as possible. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, nooch, and spices). Whisk to mix.

Add the hemp milk or water and whisk to mix.

Add the ⅓ cup chedd’r, if using. Gently fold into batter.

Start spooning the batter into the muffin tin, about half-filling each compartment. You should still have some batter left after. Distribute the broccoli into the compartments. Spoon the remaining batter evenly over the broccoli. Sprinkle extra chedd’r or nooch on top of each mini-quiche.

Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until just firm. A toothpick inserted in the middle a quiche should come out clean.

Allow to cool slightly before removing mini-quiches from the tin. You may need to use a butter-knife to lift the edges away from the sides neatly if not using liners. Transfer to a plate and serve. Alternatively place the mini-quiches on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before storing them in containers or sandwich bags for grab-and-go breakfasts or snacks.

This recipe also appears on SaraGalipeau.ca in Recipe of the Month Archive, April 2016. Get the pdf here.

New to Juicing - What To Do With All This Pulp? A Recipe is Born!

It's no secret that I love kitchen gadgets.  From my multi-temperature kettle and my combination coffee-espresso maker, to my milk frother, to my citrus reamer and my apple corer.

Fresh resolve (let's say due to the onset of sunnier days and the promise of warmer temperatures) inspired me to take the plunge and add a masticating juicer to my lineup.

I've been a fan of Booster Juice's Ginger Hammer for some time - I especially love it during cold season - and it was naturally the first juice I attempted to make with my new contraption.  I was pleased with the result, and the potency of the juice's flavour (especially that of the ginger - wow!).

My version:

Organic Ginger Power Juice
- 1" piece peeled organic ginger root
- 2 to 3 medium-large organic carrots
- 1 organic granny smith apple

This is the basic recipe.  Since my first go at it I've added to it with whatever I had on hand: a handful of fresh organic wheatgrass here, a third of an organic cucumber there, maybe a rib or two of organic celery.  It makes about a cup of juice - just the right amount for my needs as a juicing noob.

Now, I knew going in that I would be left with a lot of vegetable fibre.  I also knew from reading various posts on various health-oriented blogs and Facebook groups that one can use the fibre to augment soups, sauces, and smoothies.  I added about half of my first "batch" of pulp to a green smoothie that same morning.  Note that if you do add the pulp to a smoothie, you'll more than likely have to add extra liquid.  That stuff is absorbent.  Let's just say that first smoothie was quite thick, filling, and honestly, kind of hard to get down.  Live and learn.

I'd also read that the pulp can be used in baking.  I knew I wanted to attempt baking with my homemade "Ginger Hammer" pulp, so though I made different juices, I mostly saved the pulp from the aforementioned cocktail until I either found or came up with a recipe.  I had collected about 4 juices' worth of pulp, and was starting to worry it would all go bad before I got to bake with it.

I did a little searching online and in my cookbooks, but didn't really find anything I wanted to make, or could make with what I currently had on-hand.

So I adapted another recipe of mine, and hoped for the best.

The original recipe is one that my mother gave to me - a simple oatmeal muffin recipe that came from a school home-ec cookbook, circa her high school years.  Being vegan, I've since adapted that recipe to suit, and from there it morphed into my Banana Chai Chocolate Chip Muffins.

I wanted hearty, filling muffins that would do for a quick breakfast or snack.  Since the banana chocolate chip version uses 2 bananas and ½ cup chocolate chips, I decided to try replacing one of those bananas with ⅔ cup pulp, and the chocolate chips with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  Then I hoped for the best...

...And was pleased with the result!

So here's the recipe.  If you don't have a juicer, but want to try these muffins, check out some alternative suggestions for juice pulp at the end of the recipe.

Carrot Seed Ginger Power Muffins

These muffins are loaded with fibre and healthy fats, great to start your morning on the right foot.

 

-          1 cup organic whole spelt flour

-          ¾ cup organic oats

-          ½ cup organic coconut sugar

-          3 tsp. (1 Tbsp.) baking powder

-          1½ tsp. (½ Tbsp.) baking soda

-          ½ tsp. organic cinnamon

-          ¼ tsp. organic ground ginger

-          ½ tsp. sea salt

-          ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds

-          ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

-          1 banana

-          ⅔ cup Ginger Power juicer pulp*

-          ¼ cup organic coconut oil

-          1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Preheat oven to 400ᵒF.

In a medium-large mixing bowl, stir together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder & soda, spices, and salt until well-combined, then add in seeds and stir until just mixed.

In a smaller mixing bowl, mash the banana.  Fold in the juicer pulp.  Add in the coconut oil (it’s okay if it’s still solid) and mash with banana and pulp.  Pour in the milk and stir well.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until well-combined.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cups of a regular muffin tray about ⅔ full.  Tip: Silicone or paper muffin cups can be used in the tray for easy cleanup.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let cool about 10-15 minutes before removing from tray.  Makes 1 dozen muffins.

*Make enough juice to yield approx. ⅔ cup pulp.  This juice recipe usually makes a little more than that. 

If you do not have a juicer, try this instead:

½ cup finely grated carrots

½ cup unsweetened apple sauce (use instead of banana), OR 1 small diced apple, mixed in after combining wet and dry ingredients

½ tsp. organic ground ginger (instead of ¼ tsp.)

Superfood Spotlight: Raw Cacao

It's no secret that I love chocolate.  Ask me what my favourite food is, and pretty much without missing a beat, I'll say "chocolate" with a big smile on my face.  Sure, there have been other contenders for the top spot on my ever-evolving list of favourite foods, but my heart unwavering belongs to chocolate.  And the (chocolate) icing on the (also chocolate) cake?  Chocolate - real chocolate, raw cacao, not the processed, cheap crap that commercial chocolate-flavoured candy bars are made of - is loaded with health benefits.

First, raw cacao scores high on ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) lists for antioxidant activity.  Antioxidants fight free radical damage that can play a role in the development of health issues such as atherosclerosis, inflammation, premature aging, and even cancer.  Raw cacao is high in antioxidant polyphenols, particularly flavonoids.

Second, it's high in minerals iron, calcium, magnesium, copper, and zinc.  Iron forms the backbone of hemoglobin in red blood cells.  Calcium regulates muscle contraction, buffers acidity in the body, and makes up bone and tooth tissues.  Magnesium tends to be an underrated mineral, even though it performs over 300 functions in the human body, including regulating muscle contraction in conjunction with calcium, alkalizing tissues, balancing absorption of calcium, cleansing the blood, and fighting migraine and muscle pain by causing blood vessels to dilate.  Copper and zinc need to be in balance in the body, affecting mental and reproductive health - possibly why it's considered an aphrodisiac, and a symbol of fertility in ancient cultures!

Third, it's a good source of the amino acid tryptophan, which aids in muscle repair, as well as converting to the neurotransmitter serotonin.  Serotonin is one of your feel-good, happy, calming neurotransmitters, and acts as a natural antidepressant.  Further, serotonin converts into melatonin, which is needed to help regulate your circadian rhythms and tell you when to sleep.  The catch: cacao is also high in stimulant caffeine, which can help improve focus and mental clarity during the day, but inhibits sleep, so it's best to indulge earlier in the day.  The good news: if you do have trouble falling asleep when you need to, indulging in tryptophan-rich foods like raw cacao earlier in the day (i.e. morning and early afternoon) can help your body produce enough serotonin to convert to melatonin when it's supposed to, meaning sleep should come easier when you do try.

So, other than a high-quality organic dark chocolate, let's look at some great ways to include raw cacao in the diet.

Raw cacao nibs (Camino, organic)

1) Smoothies.  Add 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. raw cacao powder to your morning green smoothie for chocolaty flavour, as well as energy and antioxidants.  If your blender can handle it, try cacao nibs instead.  One of my favourite combinations:
PB Cup Smoothie
- 1 organic banana (fresh or frozen)
- handful organic leafy greens (e.g. baby spinach, spring mix, kale...)
- 1 to 2 Tbsp. peanut, sunflower seed, or almond butter
- 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. organic raw cacao powder or nibs
- ½ tsp. organic cinnamon
- 1 to 1½ cups unsweetened almond or coconut milk
- 2 to 3 ice cubes (optional if using frozen banana)

2) Baking.  Replace regular cocoa powder with raw cacao to give your baked treats an extra health boost.  Brownies, zucchini bread, muffins, cookies... yummy!  Add raw cacao nibs instead of nuts or chocolate chips for crunchy chocolate flavour combo.

3) Cooking.  One of my favourite chili recipes calls for a tablespoon of cocoa powder!  Cocoa adds an earthy depth to cooked dishes.  Why not use raw cacao for an extra dose of minerals?  Other ways to use cacao in your cooking include stews, mole sauces (these are very complex traditional Mexican sauces), and marinades or rubs for protein entrees.

Banana Nut Bread Oatmeal

4) Oatmeal.  If you haven't checked it out yet, my recipe for Banana Nut Bread Oatmeal uses cacao powder and optional nibs for a chocolaty craving-satisfying breakfast or snack.

5) Chia pudding.  Chia pudding is made by adding chia seeds to a liquid or plant milk and allowing it to set in the fridge.  Add a spoonful of cacao nibs to the initial mixture.  If you want to add cacao powder to your chia pudding, do so after it has set, and add the powder with a little bit of extra liquid to help it mix in smoothly.

6) Trail mix and energy balls.  Add a handful of raw cacao nibs to your bag of raw nuts, seeds, and organic sulphite-free cranberries to make a delicious energy-packed trail mix.  Add a spoonful or two of raw cacao powder and/or nibs to a batch of Coco-Cranberry Energy Balls or Raw Brownies for a tasty pre- or post-workout snack.  Now hit the trails!

7) Hot beverages.  The next time you stop in at your favourite cafe, top your plain latte with a sprinkling of cacao powder for a mocha flavour without adding sugary flavoured syrup.  A little goes a long way!  And did you know that "chocolate" as we know it was once an unsweetened beverage, spiced with chilis and enjoyed either hot or cold, as a health elixir for stamina and energy?  I love to make my own version of spiced hot cocoa in the colder months - so much so that my recipe for Spiced Hot Cocoa is the November Recipe of the Month on my website!

What are your favourite ways to enjoy cacao?

September has Arrived: Nourish Your Busy Day with Oatmeal

With the end of summer comes the return to routine for many.  Your kids are going back to school, and your work schedule may change to fit.  Or you may be returning to teach or take classes of your own.  Things can get pretty hectic – and unfortunately, eating habits may suffer.  You may have already noticed that kids (and adults) who don’t get a good breakfast can have problems with learning, maintaining good behaviour and attention span, experience fluctuations in energy levels and mood, and diminished overall performance during the day.

But what do I mean when I say they don’t get a good breakfast?  This can mean they’re having a poor breakfast of too many sugary and artificially-flavoured/coloured/preserved food products, not enough food, or no food at all.

Let’s first look at the scenario where no breakfast is eaten.  When you first wake up, your body’s levels of the stress hormone cortisol begin to rise.  This leads to a release of insulin and a drop in blood sugar, in turn triggering hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin.  Once you eat, blood sugar and insulin levels should return to normal, and cortisol should come down as well.  If you don’t eat, cortisol remains high, blood sugar levels remain low, and insulin stores fat instead.  Translation: increased sensitivity to stress, low energy, and weight gain.

But it must be better to eat something instead of nothing, right?  

Yes – and no.  

Yes, because it balances the hunger-hormones and gives you energy to start your day.  No, because the type of food you eat is also important.  

Let’s say you start your day with a bowl of brightly-coloured, sugar-coated cereal in skim milk with a glass of fruit juice.  Because this breakfast is so sweet with little to no fat or protein, it causes a spike in blood sugar levels, and the insulin response produces a quick drop in those levels.  This means a spike in energy (the “sugar high”), and a crash soon after.  Not long after that, you’ll be hungry again, and probably sleepy, too.  In addition to the sugar, those brightly-coloured O’s are getting those colours from artificial chemicals such as tartrazine (yellow #5) and red dye, and the juice may contain preservatives like sodium benzoate.  These chemicals have been shown to produce a response in children that shortens attention span and may spur undesirable behaviour such as tantrums and defiance.  On top of that, there may be undiagnosed food sensitivities to some of the other ingredients in that breakfast – milk and wheat, for example, are ranked high among the top allergenic foods today – that can also contribute to behavioural fluctuations.

So what is a good breakfast?  And how can you make sure you and your family are getting it on these busy days?

A proper nourishing breakfast should consist of a balance of the macronutrients – protein, carbohydrates, and fat.  The carbs, as I already mentioned, are important for providing energy, while the protein and fat help sustain the release of that energy over a longer period.  Choosing complex carbs over sugary ones contributes to this sustained release.

A classic, easy-to-make example of a balanced breakfast is oatmeal made with nuts and seeds.  The oats provide soluble fibre, which is an easy-to-digest complex carb, while the nuts and seeds provide protein as well as healthy fats like omega-3, omega-6, and plant-based saturated fat.  Steel-cut oats take a little longer to cook than rolled or “quick-cook” oats, and tend to be higher in nutrients like fibre, iron, and B vitamins, but quick-cook oats are still a good choice.  Check out my recipe for Banana Nut Bread Oatmeal to get some ideas.  Be sure to get plain organic oats, rather than the single-serve, sugar- and flavour-laced “instant” packets.  You can then control the toppings and create your own delicious, healthy oatmeal recipes.  That said, if you choose to go the “instant” route, choose organic varieties like Nature’s Path for a healthier packaged option.

If you want to get the goodness of oatmeal, but are still pressed for time in the mornings, try making oatmeal for yourself and your family in a slow-cooker overnight, or combine your ingredients in a jar and put it in the fridge to make it into a raw overnight cereal parfait that you can just grab-and-go. 

Some cafés have started offering their own individual cups of oatmeal with your choice of toppings so you can get it on-the-go.  If you go with this option, try to choose nuts or seeds as a topping, and either skip or go easy on sugary toppings like brown sugar, which you may receive in a packet that can contain upwards of a tablespoon of the stuff.  Instead, hit the milk bar and sprinkle on cinnamon and nutmeg, honey or cane sugar, even a splash of cream if you like.  If you're dairy-free, you may be able to ask the barista to pass you the soy or almond milk from behind the counter.

For those who are gluten-sensitive, -intolerant, or celiac, you may find that you tolerate certified gluten-free oats, which are becoming easier to find in grocery stores.  Bob’s Red Mill and Only Oats are a couple of brands to look for.

Other ways to get the goodness of oatmeal into your morning without making porridge:

-         Make breakfast cookies.  Stick to recipes that don’t call for much sugar.  I like Sarah Kramer’s recipe for Simple Oatmeal Cookies in her cookbook “La Dolce Vegan!” – I use blackstrap molasses instead of sugar and coconut oil instead of vegan margarine in this recipe.  The cookies come out flavourful but not too sweet.  Add dried cranberries or goji berries, shredded carrots, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and spices to make an easy morning treat.

-          Make oatmeal muffins.  Again, you can cram a lot of goodness into an unassuming oatmeal muffin.  Check out my recipe for Banana Chai Chocolate Chip Muffins for inspiration.

-          Add oats to a breakfast smoothie.  I like this Apple Pie Smoothie posted on the Vega website.  The flavours of fall in a cup!

You now have no excuses.   Get a good breakfast and go take on your day!