Christina Najjar

Stuffed Peppers (Paleo)

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Hot foods, like stuffed peppers, somehow seem to make the transition into cool weather much easier. Usually, the arrival of fall means the beginning of my whining about winter. However, this year, after having had such an amazing summer and a late arrival to fall, I couldn’t help but get lost in the beauty of fall.

Stuffed peppers

Since I’ve been playing dodgeball about three times a week and been doing weight training workouts on the side, my body’s been begging me for more protein. A smoothie with 18 grams of protein just won’t do anymore. I decided to make stuffed peppers for breakfast instead. People generally tend to give me a look of “umm, okay, really?” when I eat dinner foods for breakfast, but dinner for breakfast is my absolute favourite.

I took 15 minutes last night to prepare the filling and stuff the peppers so that it would all be ready to go today. The beauty of this recipe is that it’s so quick. It can then be made in the oven or in the slowcooker while you’re at work or running errands.

Stuffed peppers (paleo)

Ingredients
4 medium or large bell peppers of different colours
Approx. 1 lb ground meat of choice (I used chicken)
1 small cooking onion, finely chopped
1 small zucchini, quartered and chopped
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp black pepper
Salt to preference

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F (unless using slowcooker).

Mix together all the raw ingredients except for the bell peppers, then set aside. Cut off the tops of the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Pack the filling inside the peppers.

Cook in the oven for about an hour or in the slowcooker on low for 8 hours. Makes 4 servings.

Can be prepared in advance and cooked the next day as long as expiry dates of all ingredients are being respected.

Mexican Spiced Chicken (Paleo)

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This Mexican spiced chicken came to be because lately, I feel like I keep eating the same meals over and over., Finding time to constantly come up with something new and palatable feels draining at times. I don’t want to buy condiments or spices for something I’ll be making one time. Then I would have to store the remainders, and I so badly want to downsize my kitchen. Every time I move, I have more boxes for all my kitchen stuff than for the rest of my apartment combined.

Mexican Spiced Chicken

Additionally, easy recipes tend to require ingredients I choose not to eat when I’m at home. Why when I’m at home? You may already know this about me, but I very much believe in an 80/20 lifestyle. 80% of the time, I eat really healthy things that makes other people cringe but that I absolutely enjoy. Then, when I go out, I’m free to enjoy anything I like, as long as it respects my food sensitivities.

This Mexican spiced chicken worked out well because I got to come up with something new to make using things I already had at home. It’s easy and quick to put together.

Mexican Spiced Chicken

Ingredients
4 chicken legs with backs, skin on, bone in
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
To taste: salt, pepper, cayenne pepper
OR use a Mexican spice blend

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F.

Rinse the raw chicken and dry with paper towels. Mix the spices together in a small bowl and spread evenly between the four pieces of chicken.

Cook the chicken for about half an hour or until fully cooked. If you like your chicken extra crispy, broil until the top is brown, but watch it closely. Serve with vegetables for a complete meal. Makes 4 servings.

Acorn Squash Wedges (vegan, paleo)

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Happy December! Thankfully, this year hasn’t been too too cold just yet, unlike last year. I am trying to eat more seasonably, though, so I’ve been eating quite a few root vegetables this winter. I had actually never tried making acorn squash until yesterday, but I figured I really should. It turns out that acorn squash is one of the easiest winter squashes to cut. The first time I made spaghetti squash, it took me about 20 minutes just to cut the damn thing open.

Acorn squash wedges

I won’t try to take credit for this recipe because there are all kinds of variations on these online. I just figured I’d make this a little more allergy friendly. I enjoy this way of spicing acorn squash. It plays with the squash’s natural sweetness and gives it that warming quality. Make sure you have a sharp knife before starting, or you may end up fooling around for a while, or cutting yourself.

Acorn Squash Wedges

Ingredients
2 acorn squashes
2 tbsp coconut oil, preferably in liquid form
1-2 tbsp coconut palm sugar (or to taste)
Salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F (or preheat it when you’re done cutting the first acorn squash).

Cut the squash into wedges. To do that, use a sharp knife to slice off the top to remove the stem. Then, slice the acorn squash where there are ridges.

Place the wedges into an oven-safe pan. Spread the oil and coconut sugar evenly between the wedges, then add salt, pepper, and chili powder.

Cook for 20 minutes. If sauce starts to accumulate at the bottom of the pan, pour it back onto the wedges. Continue to cook the squash for another 20 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes before eating, but serve it hot.

Braised Rutabagas (vegan, paleo)

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Every once in a while, I feel the need to try a new food item. Until a few months ago, I had never had rutabagas. The student-run convenience store on campus sells curried butternut squash. Inspired by that meal, my friend started making it at home. She encouraged me to do the same, so I figured I should. The beauty of it is that you can use any root vegetable. Because rutabagas are so good for you and I never include them in my diet, I figured I’d give them a try.

Once you look at the recipe I’ve posted, you’ll notice that the recipe is not for curried rutabagas. Outrage, right? I make everything curry… But sometimes, I just want to not smell like curry. So, when I made this meal today, I went through my spices and improvised this blend.

I think this is the first time I’ve used the word “braised” in a recipe title. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know exactly what braising was until today, when I was trying to figure out the right name for this dish. It turns out to be a cooking method where you lightly fry the ingredients, and then you let them cook in a covered pot.

Braised rutabagas

Braised Rutabagas

Ingredients
About 1 lb or 1/2 kg cubed rutabagas
1/4 cup veggie broth
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp herbes de provence (or other herb blend, if you can’t find it)
1/2 tsp onion powder
Garlic salt to taste
Oil for frying

Directions
Heat a bit of oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the cubed rutabagas and toss around for about a minute. Add in the rest of the ingredients, reduce to medium low, and cover. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until the rutabagas are nice and soft.

Serve over rice.

Black Bean Brown Rice Bowl (vegan)

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I wasn’t able to come up with a better name for this meal. It would be easy to put the word “Southern” in front of the dish name, but that would be false advertising. It is a black bean meal. It has brown rice. You serve it in a bowl. It is a complete protein, though, so eat up! The thing I like about this meal is that it can be eaten hot or cold. If you let it sit overnight in the fridge before serving, the flavours blend together for extra tastiness.

It looks like this summer will give me a hard time blog-wise. My apartment is on the warmer side. It’s 24C outside right now, and it already feels too warm indoors to use the oven or the stove. I guess that’s what happens when you live on the 5th floor with massive windows but only a small window opening. Let’s wait and see what happens when it’s 45 degrees in July. I do have plans to do a mostly raw detox at some point when I have more time to cook, so maybe this summer will be more about no-cook recipes.

I rushed home yesterday after work to cook this and write this post. My schedule’s been so packed. I’m still working full time (and beyond) while taking summer courses, with the hope of finishing my bachelor’s degree in July.

Black bean and rice bowl

Black Bean and Brown Rice Bowl

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 cups water
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
Approximately 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (or salsa)
1 can black beans, drained
Salt to taste

Directions
Combine rice, water, and chili powder in a small to medium pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until all the water has been absorbed.

In the meantime, chop the bell pepper and the onion and slice the mushrooms. Cook in a skillet or a frying pan with a bit of oil over medium low heat until the onion is translucent, then remove from heat. When the rice is done cooking, combine all the ingredients together and serve.

No Cook Carrot Salad (vegan, paleo)

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Today is probably the hottest day we’ve had so far this year in Ottawa. Like, carrot salad for dinner hot. While I was running around town getting a bunch of stuff done, I stopped into Starbucks to get hydrated. The barista commented that I was a in earlier than usual. When I told her I was just stopping in and that I didn’t have a blog post for today, she said, “But what about your fans?”

No cook carrot salad

So, for my readers, I went home and I made something that didn’t require the oven. My apartment is on the 5th floor, so it’s even hotter in there than outside. I seem to always have carrots and apples in the fridge, no matter how long it’s been since I’ve done groceries. In the winter, when I just couldn’t get to the grocery store, I made a raw carrot salad for dinner out of desperation a few times. It tastes good, but it won’t make a full meal if you’re looking for something protein packed.

I julienne the carrots using my trust Jamie Oliver Julienne Peeler, but you can use a mandoline or buy bagged julienne carrots. If you’re really committed, you can also just chop the carrots into juliennes slices. Let me know if you do that, because that’s pretty hardcore.

No Cook Carrot Salad

Ingredients
3 large carrots, peeled and julienned
1/2 granny smith apple, chopped (and peeled, if not organic)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp raw honey

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve immediately or refrigerate for no more than a couple of hours. If you plan to prepare the salad ahead of time, add the sliced almonds when you’re ready to serve it. If kept longer, the almonds will soften.

Comfort Food Chicken and Veggies (paleo)

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This comfort food chicken meal is the kind of dish I make when I don’t feel like making anything fancy. Those who have tried it rave about how good it is, though.  What’s great about it is that it’s a one pot meal. You can leave it on the stove and come back and check on it every 10-15 minutes to make sure it hasn’t caught fire.

Comfort food chicken and veggies

In other news, I finished my exams for the semester today. This means that I have two consecutive compressed courses left, and then I will have completed my undergrad. It’s taken me extra long to complete this degree, so it definitely feels like a relief to be getting to the end of it, finally.

Comfort Food Chicken and Veggies (paleo)

Ingredients
4-6 bone-in, skin on chicken legs/backs/thighs/breasts (choose your favourite)
2 large carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 cups butternut squash cubes
1/2-1 cup green beans
1 cup button mushrooms
1 small or medium onion, cut in half and sliced
1/4-1/3 cups chicken broth
2-3 tsp rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp oil

Directions
In a large “cooker” (like a deeper frying pan with a lid), heat the oil over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken. Place skin down into the cooker and brown for about 5 minutes, then flip it over and brown for another few minutes. Add in the butternut squash, carrots, broth and about half of the rosemary. Salt and pepper some more. Lower heat to medium high and cover for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients. You can add a bit more salt and pepper. Make sure that there is still a bit of broth in the cooker. If not, add just a bit more. It will make the chicken nice and tender, and will give you a nice gravy-like sauce at the end. Cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Not-Your-Traditional Pizza (vegan, tomato free)

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Some people may find vegan alternatives to old favourites quite disappointing. I love melted cheese, but I have yet to find a vegan cheese I enjoy (Daiya is not for me). I do love pizza, though. So how do you stop vegan pizza from being disappointing? Read closely, because I’m about to drop some wisdom… You need to stop making vegan alternatives resemble their conventional counterparts.

New pizza idea

So what does that look like, for pizza? Well, for one, you need to make the crust really tasty. I’ve had a hard time finding a pizza dough recipe that really tickled my tastebuds, so I came up with a recipe on the spot. I’m eating my pizza as I type this out, and I have to say, it’s really hard to concentrate while in pleasure-land. Yes, this crust is orgasmic. I’m more of a sweet girl than a salty girl though, so if you don’t like sweeter dough, I can tell you right now that this recipe isn’t for you.

In the spirit of making vegan pizza a new kind of pizza, I skipped the tomato sauce. Instead, I brushed olive oil with minced garlic allover the crust, and made the pizza all about the toppings. I’m not one to eat until I’m completely stuffed, but I just did. I’m finishing up the last few bites of the pizza as I write this. Yep, I ate the whole thing in one sitting.

Not-Your-Traditional Pizza (vegan, tomato free)

Ingredients
For the crust:
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour (or an extra 1/3 cup brown rice flour if you don’t like the flavour)
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp organic cane sugar (or whatever you have on hand)
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp vinegar
1/2 cup water (or less)

For the sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

Toppings to your heart’s desires – I used yellow bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, green onions, and spinach

Directions

Combine all the dry crust ingredients in a bowl. Add in the oil and the vinegar, and about half of the water. Mix well and keep adding water, bit by bit, until you can form a dough that doesn’t crumble. I found it easier to mix with my hands.

Line a baking sheet or stoneware with parchment paper. Spread out the dough to form a thin crust. Bake for about 7 minutes, then remove from oven.

While the crust bakes, mince the garlic and add the olive oil for the sauce.

When you take the crust out of the oven, pour the sauce on top and spread it out. Let the crust absorb the oil while you chop your toppings.

Now, pile on the toppings. Go on, don’t be shy. Then, bake until the toppings are done to your liking. Makes 2-4 servings.

Your pasta masterpiece – Exercise Your Creativity!

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This post is going to be a little different. Many people have recently asked me to teach them how to cook. I’m of the idea that cooking requires creativity, rather than just following a recipe. I’m a fan of adding ingredients that just feel right to me and that are in line with my cravings at the time. Pasta is an easy meal to train your creativity.

Delicious pasta meal

People often tell me they just don’t know which flavour combinations make sense. A good tip is to think of a meal – any meal – where you’ve had the flavour combination you’re about to attempt. Was it good? If so, it’s probably a safe bet. If you’re unsure about combinations in general, I recommend checking out The Flavour Thesaurus.

Your Pasta Masterpiece

What you need
Veggies – ideas: anything you would stir fry
Pasta (I used brown rice)
Just enough oil to coat – ideas: olive, sesame, truffle, avocado
Flavourful additions – ideas: sesame seeds, parsley, basil

If you have a hard time figuring out how much pasta and veggies you’ll need, try picturing it on a plate. I tend to not overdo it this way.

How to proceed
Start out by boiling the water for the pasta. Salt the water as desired. Add in the pasta when the water reaches a boil.

Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan. Throw in the veggies you want to stir fry. I add them as I chop them, so I start with the veggies that require the most cooking, and work my way to the ones that need the least cooking.

By the time the pasta is done cooking, I find that the veggies are done to my liking. Drain the pasta and coat immediately with the oil of your choice. Toss in the veggies and whatever else you would like to add. And there you go! An easy meal that’s both interesting and filling!

Spinach Dahl (vegan)

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A while back – 34 weeks ago, as pinterest tells me- I pinned The Honour System’s recipe to eventually try out. I had a bit of difficulty finding time, ingredients, and convenience to make the spinach dahl. The recipe was always in the back of my head when I bought spinach, but I always seemed to have other projects for the spinach I was buying. I also never wanted to overbuy in case it all ended up being thrown out.

Spinach dahl (lentils)

I ended up making the spinach dahl differently from the way The Honour System made it. I just went with the flow and it worked out really well for me. That’s not to say that the original recipe is any less tasty. I do encourage you to check it out and make whichever version you prefer. I was planning to add the coconut milk, but I did a taste test and decided that it was perfect as is. I’m sure it would be a great addition though!

Spinach Dahl (vegan)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups split red lentils
4 1/2 cups water (reduce this amount by 1/2-1 cup if you cover the pot during cooking)
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 package spinach (142g/5oz)
Oil for frying

Directions
Heat up the oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion and the spices and toss around for a few minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add in the red lentils and the water. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, cut the spinach into strips (make a nice big pile on your cutting board and go at it with a large knife). It doesn’t need to look perfect.

When the lentils have dissolved enough to make a nice puree 20ish minutes later, turn off the heat and mix in the spinach. Serve over brown rice. Makes 4 servings.

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