Nicola Yvette

#Vegan #Gluten-Free Beet Carpaccio with Mint Dressing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thinly slice beets with a mandolin, food processor or if you have mad skills take it under a knife. The key is the thin slices so the bites melt in your mouth. Lay the beets flat on a rack in a deep baking dish so that the juices don’t over saturated the beets. Cook for 40-55 minutes. The beet juice will steam the beets from underneath the rack. I have modified this recipe from Epicurious to be friendly to my diet. 

Ingredients:

6 large beets (you will have leftovers for your salads the next day!)

Mint Dressing (place ingredients in a food processor and let marinate while beets cook):

12-15 leaves of fresh mint 

2 TBSP of minced shallot

1/3 cup of rice vinegar

4 TBSPs of olive oil (add more if you like a thinner dressing)

1 TSP of fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 TBSP of raw sugar

1 TSP of sea salt

Lay out the beets on a plate, place #vegan cashew cream cheese in the center and pour on the mint dressing. It’s a great appetizer for a party but also perfect for dinner. I had leftovers so I added beets to my salad and got creative with them for a few days. The dressing is so delicious you can add it to whatever needs to extra flavor.

Happy eating!

#Vegan Raw #Gluten-Free Daikon Pappardelle with Arugula Miso Pesto

Pappardelle noodles are my favorite, unfortunately the flour in the noodles doesn’t love me back. Even gluten-free pastas make my tummy unhappy. I needed an alternative to the floury goodness for which I used to indulge; enter daikon radish strips.

This meal takes 20 minutes to make and was inspired by Why I Consume Art Blog . She has beautiful food and healthy recipes.

Ingredients:

1-2 Daikon Radishes 

Arugula Miso Pesto:

2 Cups of arugula 

1/2 Cup of sunflower seeds 

2 Cloves of garlic

2 TBSP of white miso

2 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil

1 TSP of rice vinegar

Sea salt, lemon, red pepper flakes and pepper to taste

Daikon Radish Prep:

1. Wash and trim the top root

2. Peel the radish by starting on one side, peel from top to bottom, repeat 4 times and then rotate the radish one quarter. Continue to rotate and peel until you are done. 

3. Soak the radish in a bath of cold ice water for 20 minutes while you prep pesto. Then strain and add pesto.

Arugula Miso Pesto:

1. Toast the sunflower seeds in a pan on medium heat. I spray the pan with minimal olive oil and watch the seeds turn from grey to a lightly toasted brown color. Takes 3-7 minutes.

2. Mix the arugula, toasted sunflower seeds, garlic, white miso, olive oil and rice vinegar.

On the bottom of the plate, I prepped a bed of brown rice and green lentils just to add some texture. You can make quinoa or add nothing at all. This dish is packed with flavor. It is a Japanese twist on an old Italian favorite. It is pungent and very strong. I really liked how easy it was to make and the flavor is like nothing I have ever had before. Leftovers don’t turn out well with a dish like this so make only enough for the evening. Mix the pesto and daikon radish noodles together, sprinkle with red pepper, sea salt and pepper. Garnish with raw sunflower seeds and lemon wedges. ENJOY!

Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes with Fruit Salad

I woke-up Sunday craving pancakes, since I am gluten-free internet recipe research was required. I always search for recipes that have the most natural ingredients (preferably nothing with xanthan gum) and whatever I can use in my kitchen. I came across this recipe from Cookie+Kate and modified it slightly. Long story short, this recipe makes the best pancake I have ever had. 

Here is what I changed:

Instead of 3 bananas, I used 2 and then 1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce to the mixture.

I also added Fruit Salad which makes it taste oh so good.

Fruit Salad Recipe:

1 Pink Lady Apple (or whatever is in season) chopped into bite size pieces

1/2 Avocado chopped into 1/4 inch squares

1/4 cup unsulfured apricots, sliced into thin pieces

1 TSP of flax seeds

1 TBSP of fresh mint leaves chopped

1 TSP of fresh lemon juice

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and serve it on top of the pancake. Adds texture and helps flavor the entire dish. 

Enjoy!

Quinoa Pineapple Bowls

After my yoga retreat in Ojai, my friend and I concluded the event at a Vietnamese restaurant in West Hollywood where we devoured an amazing pineapple rice bowl. The dish inspired me to make it at home because WOW! The dish is so fresh, healthy and perfect for summer. Here is my initial attempt to repeat the magic.

Creates 2 pineapple bowls, takes about 30 minutes.

1 pineapple (cut lengthwise and gutted of fruit with an ice cream scooper)

2 cups of red quinoa (you’ll have some leftover!)

1 white onion (cut 1/4 inch)

6 celery stalks (cut into 1/8 slices)

10 sprigs of fresh cilantro

5 slices of fresh ginger

3 TBSP of curry powder

2 TBSP of Bragg’s Amino Liquid 

* Prep the pineapple after the quinoa is cooking. Cut it from the bottom to the top of the leaf part, this will be your bowl. Grab your ice cream scooper and scoop the fruit. I cut the scoops into smaller pieces and placed it into a bowl until Step 3. 

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the quinoa on medium-high and add a dash of olive oil to prevent sticking, 1 cup quinoa to 2 parts water, reduce heat to simmer after it boils for 1 minute. Takes about 15 minutes to cook thoroughly.

2) Pour 2 TBSP of olive oil to a large pan on medium-high heat, add ginger and then saute onions. After 3 minutes add curry powder to create the base of flavor. Coat the onions in the curry and don’t let the onions soften, keep the firmness.

3) After 7 minutes add in this order celery, quinoa, pineapple chucks and juice, cilantro and Braggs. Mix well and transfer into the pineapple bowls. 

4) Bake the pineapple bowls for 10 minutes.

Enjoy! Easy, healthy and delicious. Its going to become a staple around this house.

Spring Cleanse Drink

My spring cleansing routine is the simplest drink combining water, fresh ginger and apple cider vinegar. I continue to eat healthy foods and just add this into my diet; I don’t endorse dieting or detoxing that is not something I can get behind. This drink cleanses your palate, while at first the taste/smell is pungent but it becomes so refreshing you might want some pre-made for a post workout drink. The benefits of apple cider vinegar are numerous (Google it!) and wow do I feel more energy after I drink it. 

Here is the recipe:

4 cups of water

2-3 TBSP of Apple Cider Vinegar (unfiltered)

2-4 TBSP of freshly grated ginger (peel the skin off)

Add a few drops of lemon for freshness

Let the contents mix steep for 2 hours in your refrigerator. Make sure you buy natural unfiltered apple cider vinegar; Bragg’s is a common store brand. I buy mine at the Union Sq. Farmers Market and it rocks. If you want less pungency add honey to sweeten it (2-4 TBSP). When I first started drinking it, I needed the honey but eventually it become so refreshing I didn’t need to add the sweetness. 

Just planted my urban herb garden, using recycled egg cartons and quarter roll paper. Wish em luck finding the sun!

I made this gluten free vegan banana bread, its so delicious that there is almost none left. I modified this recipe from the Ambitious Kitchen. Its relatively healthy and great for a snack or breakfast.

Ingredients (as modified and taken from Ambitious Kitchen):

3 cups of oatmeal 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp sea salt

2 frozen overripe bananas

1 TBSP olive oil

1/3 cup of turbinado sugar

1 tsp of vanilla extract

2/3 cup of raisins

1/3 cup of chopped walnuts

2 TBSP flax seeds

Instructions:

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

1) Put the 3 cups of oatmeal in a food processor, turning it into flour. Place the oat flour into a mixing bowl and add baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.

2) After oat flour is cleared out of the food processor, peel and mix the frozen bananas with olive oil, sugar and vanilla. Once the mixture is creamy and whipped thoroughly add it to the oat flour.

3) Fold in the raisins, walnuts and flax seeds. Pour the mixture into an oiled bread pan add a topping of oatmeal and sugar on top for flavor. Cook for 35 minutes. 

I dunked mine in coffee, really delicious.

My winter moisturizing mask is ground oatmeal and honey. It takes my skin from dry to glowing. Here is the recipe:

2 TBSP of oatmeal 

1 heaping TBSP of honey

Take a small bowl and pour hot or boiled water directly into it, let it warm while you prep the oats. Turn the oats into powder by using an old school mortar and pestle (yay for old school green-style!) or with coffee grinder, blender, food processor etc. I am sure anything with blades will do. Dump the water out of the bowl and then mix the honey and oats together in a bowl. The warm bowl will help everything congeal better.

Put it directly on a clean face for 10-20 minutes. My nose was so chapped, due to tissue usage, so I placed this on my nostrils and no more chapped skin. My entire face feels so much better. When the weather is cold, your skin dries out so add this to your skin care regime once or twice a week. Your face will thank you!

(Source: tmblr.co)

Green Recipes for Household Cleaners

I imagined that going green would inhibit my current lifestyle however the reality has been quite the opposite. It has been more of a downsizing and reorganizing effort more than an overhaul. There are simple ways to ease into ‘green’ without cramping your style. The easiest one starts with the departure of chemical household cleaners.

Household cleaners purchased from stores are not necessary. Many of us have come to equate the smell of bleach with sterile cleanliness but there are more natural ways to achieve the same results with less harm to the environment. Purchase the following items to get started on a green mission:

Spray bottles (or recycle the ones you already have)

White Vinegar

Dr Bronner Pure-Castile Liquid Soap (choose your favorite scent, I like peppermint)

Hydrogen Peroxide

Baking Soda

Rubbing (isoprophyl) alcohol

Lemon 

Reusable cloths (I bought great ones from MU kitchen)

Making your own household cleaners is easier than going to the grocery store and a fraction of the cost. Purchase the materials up front and you’ll notice that you only have to replenish your stock once every six months (if that!). Here are my favorite recipes to replace your current household cleaners with more environmentally friendly ones.

All-Purpose Cleaner

¼ cup white vinegar

¾ cup tepid water

½ juiced lemon

1 tsp Doctor Bronner’s Castille Soap

Mix all the ingredients in a spray bottle, in the proposed order and shake. I use it for bathroom cleaner, tile, sinks and kitchen surfaces. Dr Bronner’s soap mixed with just white vinegar creates a waxy substance that congeals, so add the soap last and shake the bottle to mix it around.

Window and Glass Cleaner AND Whitening Whites

¼ cup white vinegar

¼ cup tepid water

or

¼ cup hydrogen peroxide

¼ cup tepid water 

For windows and glass, mix ingredients together in a spray bottle. Both recipes are incredibly effective and streak free. I bought a terry cloth specifically made for cleaning windows so there is no left over fuzz or streaks. Its an inexpensive investment and makes the glass gleam. For whitening whites add 1/4 cup to one load of laundry.

Powdered Cleanser (replaces Comet or Ajax)

¾ cup baking soda

3 TBSP of tepid water or enough to make a thick paste

 Mix together in a bowl until it’s a thick paste. This can be used on grout to remove mold, apply it with an old toothbrush and gently scrub. It’s gentle on stainless steel and seems to cut through any dirt, mold or soap scum.

Stainless Steal Cleaner

Rubbing (isoprophyl) alcohol – on cotton ball or terry cloth

I recommend using the All Purpose Cleaner on large areas that require cleaning-up spills but for grease that won’t go away this works like magic. It makes grease and fingerprints disappear.

The simple task of making my own household cleaners has allowed me to depart with chemicals in my house. This has changed the way I look at products in general. Why should something meant to clean our house be harmful to the very environment we live in? It shouldn’t be and that is why its so important to know what we use. I will keep posting what I replace this year and how to keep traveling down this road of healthiness. 

Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by practicing unity, the yoking of community through yoga. We shall practice for those who cannot and in doing so we cultivate loving kindness for ourselves and others. See you on the mat at Laughing Lotus, for the 2:30pm class. The class is donation based with all proceeds going to charity; pay-what-you-can. 

History by Langston Hughes

The past has been a mint
Of blood and sorrow.
That must not be
True of tomorrow.