Christina Najjar

Zucchini Fritters: A protein rich snack (vegan)

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I tried making zucchini fritters when I had a bag of ten zucchinis from Costco in the fridge. I used a recipe that I found online, but found it quite disappointing. So, I decided that I wanted a better recipe. I improvised a recipe using some of my favourite ingredients instead. These turned out quite tasty the second time around – I put too much garlic salt in my first batch. These would go well with a tahini sauce.

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that’s underrated. While it’s not as nutrient dense as, say, broccoli or kale, it does still contain essential nutrients. It’s a great way to boost your daily intake of vegetables in subtle ways. For instance, it can be added to smoothies and juices without adding flavour, can be spiralized or julienned to use as noodles, or can be integrated into chocolate cakes to make them moist and dense.

A little known fact about zucchini is that it’s mucilaginous. Big word! What it means is that it has a “slippery quality”. This makes it easier to digest for those who have digestive issues. Additionally, those who suffer from ulcers may find mucilaginous vegetables soothing.

Zucchini fritters

Zucchini Fritters (vegan)

Ingredients
1 zucchini
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp water (optional – see directions)
Oil for frying

Directions
Shred the zucchini using a julienne peeler or a mandoline. Then, add the other ingredients and let sit for a few minutes. The salt will “sweat” the zucchini to provide the needed liquid. If it’s not enough, add one or two teaspoons of water to blend the ingredients.

Heat a bit of oil on a frying pan over medium heat. Drop patties by tablespoonful and flatten them a bit. Cook the patties for a few minutes, and then flip them. Cook for a few more minutes, then remove from the heat.

Chocolate Puffed Rice Squares (vegan)

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Sometimes, my inspiration for recipes comes from things I ate when I was younger and really enjoyed. I never let me food sensitivities limit me in what I can eat. Instead, I figure out all kinds of alternatives. That’s what I did with these chocolate puffed rice squares.

I lived in Lethbridge, Alberta between the ages of 8 and 15. There, I went to a tiny French school. At lunch time, two students would run the canteen, but it was more like a plastic bin of snacks. Every once in a while, my mom would give me 50 cents to get myself something I liked. There were these squares I really liked.

I didn’t actually know what they were until recently, when I took to the internet. I was disappointed to find out that they contained wheat puffs and corn syrup.

There was a bag of puffed rice sitting around in the pantry for a while. Over the week end, the bag was staring at me. I tried one single puffed rice. The taste brought me back to those puffed wheat squares, and so I set out to make an allergy friendly version.

I was surprised to find that my allergy friendly recipe turned out very much like the wheat and corn syrup squares. This works well as a last minute potluck item because the work is done in 5-10 minutes, and then simply needs to cool down.

Chocolate Puffed Rice squares

Chocolate Puffed Rice Squares (vegan)

Ingredients
5 cups puffed rice
1/4 cup Earth balance buttery spread
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (thick syrup is key!)
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar or alternative
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Grease a square pan (about 9×9) and set aside.

Combine all the ingredients except the puffed rice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix well and bring to a boil. Do not remove it before it boils. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and mix in the rice puffs until evenly coated. Transfer to the greased pan. If you need it to set quickly, you can put the pan in the fridge (though you need to be careful about rapid temperature changes if you’re using pyrex). This makes 9 servings, but the recipe can easily be doubled.

Curry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (vegan, paleo)

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If you need to know anything about my cooking, it’s that I like to curry everything. I especially love to curry things that you wouldn’t expect to see curried. It’s my chance to be creative and make something “new”. Since I’ve never had curried pumpkin seeds, I thought this would be an awesome thing to experiment with.

Curry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I’ve been so busy lately that Halloween snuck up on me. Every year, I get really excited about Halloween, I plan my costume way ahead of time, and I make sure to have a pumpkin carving date with my friend Sylvie. On Sunday last week, I realised that it was the week before Halloween and that I hadn’t planned anything Halloween-y. So, my friend came over on the Tuesday for pumpkin carving. She turned hers into an alien.

The store didn’t have any smaller pumpkins, and I wasn’t going to dig a knife through pumpkin flesh two inches thick, so I decided to etch my design. Little problem… I don’t have the tools for it. In the end, I used a flat screwdriver. I had to figure out a way to get creative, right? This is how it turned out:

Carved pumpkin (roast the seeds with curry for a healthy snack!)

I was really tired by the end of decorating my pumpkin. This doesn’t look very difficult to do, but without the right tools, it’s exhausting. Anyway, I got two pumpkins’ worth of seeds, so I roasted them and coated them with curry spice.

Curry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (vegan, paleo)

Ingredients
2 larger pumpkins’ worth of seeds*
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp each: garlic salt, cumin powder, turmeric
1/4 tsp each: onion powder, ground coriander

*If you use one pumpkin, the flavour will be stronger but just as good – or you can cut the recipe by half.

Directions
Preheat oven to 325F.

Rinse the seeds really well. There should be no pumpkin strands left on the seeds. Drain them and dry them off a bit. They don’t need to be completely dry. The oven will take care of that for you. Blend the spices in a little bowl and then add to the pumpkin seeds. I did this directly on the baking sheet and mixed it all with my hands.

Then, lay the seeds out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 20 minutes, give or take a couple of minutes. Watch them near the end to make sure they don’t burn. Remove them when they’re done to your liking.

Chai Spice Cookies – updated (vegan, paleo, sugar free)

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UPDATE – 10/13/15 – After a few people commented that these chai spice cookies flattened out completely for them and after experiencing that myself, I edited the recipe. I also decided to include a starch free version using xylitol.

I started making these fantastic little chai spice cookies a year or two before posting the original version of this recipe on my food blog. Then, when I found out that I was going to be working in a wellness clinic where many people with Lyme disease come through, I decided to make a Lyme-friendly version of this recipe.

Chai spice cookies

Chai Spice Cookies – updated (vegan, paleo)

Ingredients
2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup tapioca starch (or arrowroot starch)
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup coconut oil (in solid form)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix in the oil, maple syrup, and vanilla until completely blended.

Drop the cookie dough on a cookie sheet. These cookies won’t flatten a whole lot when baking, so make sure to press down the top a bit.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. These cookies will not look golden when they’re done. Makes two dozens.

Chai Spice Cookies (vegan, low carb, sugar free)

Ingredients
2 cups almond meal
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup xylitol
1/4 cup coconut oil (in solid form)
1 1/2 tbsp dairy free milk alternative
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix in the oil, dairy free milk, and vanilla until completely blended.

Drop the cookie dough on a cookie sheet. These cookies won’t flatten a whole lot when baking, so make sure to press down the top a bit.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. These cookies will not look golden when they’re done. Makes about 20 cookies.

Note: xylitol can cause bowel sensitivity. If you don’t regularly consume xylitol, eat sparingly to avoid being glued to the toilet or having unpleasant bloating.

Orange Almond Chocolate Biscotti (vegan, paleo)

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Homemade orange almond chocolate biscotti

Oh, sweet vacation time. I’d say it was well deserved, too. Here’s a summary of what I’ve done in the last two days: lunch with my family, being a lazy bum. I slept 10.5 hours one night and 11.5 hours the other night. I know I could still sleep a long time during the rest of my vacation.

Since none of the things I’ve made so far during my vacation have been particularly bloggable, I bring you this biscotti. The pictures didn’t turn out great, but it tasted good, and that’s what counts. Truth be told, I don’t actually like biscotti, but my mother does. Her birthday is in a few days, so I did a trial run of the biscotti to make sure I’d get it right. We had lunch for her birthday yesterday while my sibling is in town. Because of how things have been at work, I didn’t get a chance to make it for her yesterday, but I told her I’d bring her a batch of biscotti sometime soon.

I based it off of this recipe.

Orange Almond Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups tightly packed blanched almond meal
1 tbsp arrowroot powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp orange juice (from a fresh orange)
Zest from one orange
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or cocoa nibs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Spread the dough in a nice rectangle, about 2-3 inches wide at most. Bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool completely (about an hour). Then, preheat the oven to 250F. Slice crosswise into pieces no more than an inch thick. Turn the pieces so the cut side is flat. Bake for 10 minutes, turn them over and bake another 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the biscotti sit in the oven while it cools down.

10 Minute Coconut Date Balls (vegan, paleo)

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Snacks often seem to be a concern for people who switch to gluten free diets.  These coconut date balls come together fairly easily. They’re great for potlucks, or for hosting gifts when you just don’t want to bring a bottle of wine.

I know medjool dates are rather expensive. When I see recipes with medjool dates, I often wonder if I can just use regular cooking dates instead. If you’re going to make these, I recommend splurging. The medjool dates will be much easier to chop and will give you nicer results all around.

These coconut date balls take additions quite nicely. I sometimes add almond meal to give them a less date-y texture. You can also add some lemon zest and/or a bit of lavender to give these a bit of extra oomph.

10 minute coconut date balls (vegan)

10 Minute Coconut Date Balls (vegan, paleo)

Ingredients
1 cup medjool dates (about 12 dates)
Boiling water
1 tsp melted coconut oil
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
More shredded coconut for coating (optional)

Directions
Pit and chop the dates using a sharp knife. Transfer them over to a large bowl.

Boil water and pour over the dates, enough to cover them. Let sit for 30-60 seconds, and then drain. Add in the coconut oil and shredded coconut. If using, pour the extra shredded coconut (about 1/4 cup) in a small plate.

Mix the ingredients with your hands until everything is well combined. Form balls with your hands, and then roll them in the shredded coconut on the plate. Then, place the coconut date balls in a single layer in a container. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to solidify.

Easy Tapenade (vegan, paleo)

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I had the day off on Wednesday. I spent almost the entire day cooking. I ended up making sweet and sour pork tenderloin, peach meatballs, a trial for something I’ve never made before but intend to give as a gift (update: it was a biscotti recipe), a snack (update: it was coconut date balls), and this tapenade.

Easy homemade tapenade

You won’t find me eating anchovies willingly. I didn’t even know tapenade was supposed to have anchovies until I started looking it up online recently (I’m a fan of appetizer parties). Thankfully, you can change it up to include different flavours, and it can still be quite tasty! So, I did just that. No anchovies in this tapenade.

This recipe is, of course, for olive lovers. I would like to say that there’s such a big difference between olives you buy in a can, and olives sitting in oil. Not only are the olives in oil much better for your health, but they also taste infinitely better. I like to buy the ones that I can scoop out myself because I can choose how much oil to include. I also find that most grocery stores offer a bigger variety of olives that way.

Easy Tapenade

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pitted black olives
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp capers
1 clove garlic
1 cup flat leaf parsley, stems removed (NOT packed down)

Directions
Roughly chop the garlic. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until it looks as chunky or pureed as you like it.

Lemon Garlic Kale Chips

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Lemon garlic kale chips

Farmer’s market goodies tend to go in one day, maybe two if a larger quantity was bought. When I bought kale, I was debating between two flavours of kale chips. I settled on lemon garlic this time, but I’ll probably make the other flavour sometime soon. I’m excited for this other one. Are you excited? *suspense*
These turned out well enough that when doing groceries today, my partner asked me if I could make kale chips again tonight (the ones from this recipe were made a week ago). He doesn’t dislike veggies, but it can be difficult to get him to eat all his fruit and veggie portions for the day, so whenever he asks me for something with veggies, I make sure to make it.
All I had on hand for these was bottled lemon juice, but I’m sure fresh lemons would be ten times better.

Lemon Garlic Kale Chips

Ingredients
1 medium bunch green kale
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Rip the kale off the thick stems. Cut it into pieces (similar size as for salads). Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients on the leaves and mix it all together using your hands.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, turning them halfway through.

Soft Vegan Banana Buckwheat Cookies

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Great breakfast idea: banana buckwheat cookies

The more I experiment with buckwheat flour, the more I realise it’s pretty fool-proof. Most recipes don’t call for buckwheat flour, so the bag I have just sits there and stares at me whenever I’m in my kitchen. If you’ve tried my banana buckwheat pancakes, you know that bananas and buckwheat flour go really well together. For that reason, I decided to combine the two in a cookie recipe.

The reason I say buckwheat flour is fool-proof is that, in addition to not requiring any gums, you can forget to add baking soda to your cookie recipe, and the cookies will still be just fine. It only occurred to me while I was spooning out the cookie dough that I’d forgotten to add baking soda. I decided I’d see how the first batch turned out before adding it. Omitting it gives the cookies a really soft texture, almost like bread in cookie format.

Soft Vegan Banana Buckwheat Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour – I use Only Oats flour
3 tbsp almond meal – the coarse stuff
1/2 cup sugar
3 bananas

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mash the bananas. Add in the dry ingredients and mix well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon out the cookie dough. It won’t shift much during baking so you may have to smooth out the dough if you want perfect looking cookies.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

3 Ingredient Vegan Sugar Free Strawberry Ice Cream

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3 ingredient strawberry ice cream (vegan)

There’s something really peaceful about doing nothing on a nice spring day. Next to me is an open door that leads to my partner’s backyard. I can hear the birds and the rustle of the new leaves. Something about it makes me want to cook anything just so I can go take food pictures outdoors. This is precisely what I did for the strawberry ice cream, except these pictures were taken in my own backyard (for a lack of better term). Oddly enough, it had never occurred to me before to go take pictures outdoors. The nicer weather has been around for a few weeks, and I’ve still been taking pictures indoors.

At my current apartment, the backyard is also a shared parking for the tenants, with tons of student balconies overlooking it. I do feel kind of shy going outdoors to take pictures because there’s almost always someone around (usually drinking). My partner and I will be moving to a new apartment in July with our own backyard. I’m excited to see what kinds of new photography possibilities it will allow. Or I could just sit outside, eating homemade strawberry ice cream.

This strawberry ice cream is so easy to make. Lots of recipes call for an ice cream maker, which can be rather disappointing when you don’t have one. Or, in my case, you have the bowl for the ice cream maker to add to a stand mixer that you don’t actually own. Because my current freezer isn’t the best, I can put the bowl of ice cream in the freezer and come back to it at any point without having to worry about thawing it a little bit first, though I’m not sure how what will be needed with other freezers. If you try out the recipe, let me know how it works out for you.

3 Ingredient Vegan Sugar Free Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients
3 very ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1/4 cup full fat coconut milk

Directions
Blend all ingredients together. I used my immersion blender to blend the ingredients I’d placed in a bowl. You can also use a blender or a food processor. Freeze for at least an hour before eating.

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Christina Najjar - Natural Nutrition

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