Christina Najjar

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Roasted Chickpeas (vegan)

February 19, 2013 by Christina Najjar Leave a Comment

It’s easy to find gluten-containing snacks with a crunch. Chips, pretzels, crackers, you name it. While there are gluten free versions of all of these items, they’re not always as good. Not to mention that they’re not the healthiest snacks in the world either, and they tend to cost a fortune. Some also replace the gluten with other allergenic grains. Roasted chickpeas to the rescue!

When I made these, this time, I had a bit of a cold and was looking for a vegan source of zinc. While pumpkin seeds fit the bill, I wasn’t in the mood. Unless they have the shell (i.e. when you dig them out of a fresh pumpkin), they lack the crunch I wanted. The only thing with roasted chickpeas is that they’re kind of dry, so it’s almost necessary to have a beverage handy while eating them.

I’ve provided you with a recipe to dress them up, but essentially, you can season roasted chickpeas however you please.

Roasted chickpeas

Roasted Chickpeas (vegan)

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
1/2 tsp each: salt, black pepper, chili powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 425F.

Drain, rinse, and dry the chickpeas as much as possible. I run a paper towel over them to absorb some of the water. You can add the seasoning to the chickpeas in a bowl, but I do it all directly on the baking sheet and toss them around to cover them evenly.

Bake until the chickpeas are crunchy and toasty looking. For me, that’s about 45 minutes, but it depends on the brand of chickpeas you use and how well you managed to dry them. Remove from the oven every 15 minutes to toss and then put them back in the oven.

Update: my friend followed the recipe and said that his chickpeas burned, so I suggest keeping a close eye on them after half an hour.

Filed Under: Chickpeas, Recipes, Snacks, Vegan Tagged With: corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut free, snack, soy free, sugar free, vegan

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats (vegan, no added sugar)

February 11, 2013 by Christina Najjar Leave a Comment

Overnight oats are such a convenient concept. They take just a few minutes to put together, and then time and your fridge do the rest of the work. If this is your first time trying overnight oats, I’m warning you that some people don’t enjoy the texture. Personally, I’m really picky with textures, but I really enjoy overnight oat texture.

Overnight oats are versatile too. I like apple as a breakfast flavour, but really, you can keep the milk, oats, and chia seed proportions intact and flavour it as you wish. Some of my other favourite flavours include pumpkin spice and chocolate nut butter.

You can make a few tweaks to boost the nutritional content of this recipe. Chia seeds are a great source of healthy fats, but our bodies can’t access the fats in whole chia. While this may alter the texture a bit, you can grind the chia seeds before throwing them in, making the fats more available.

Additionally, if you’re only going to eat adequate protein for one meal, breakfast should be that meal. It helps “set the tone” for how your blood sugar levels are going to behave that day. This is especially important for diabetes, hypoglycemia, and hormonal conditions like PMS, PCOS, endometriosis, and infertility. To boost the protein in these overnight oats, I like to add some ground hemp hearts or hemp protein powder.

Apple cinnamon overnight oats

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats (vegan, no added sugar)

Ingredients
3/4 cup non-dairy milk
1/3 cup gluten free oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Splash of vanilla extract
3 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 apple, chopped
Optional: maple syrup, honey, or stevia to taste

Directions
In the evening, combine all the ingredients except the apple sauce and the apple in an individual bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, add the apple and the apple sauce before serving.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Raw, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: breakfast, corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut free, soy free, vegan

Hummus in 5 minutes (vegan)

February 4, 2013 by Christina Najjar Leave a Comment

When I was little, my mom used to make authentic Lebanese hummus regularly. I’m not going to lie. I hated it. I’d put up a fight every time she’d try to feed me the smallest amount of hummus. Then, when I became a vegetarian in high school, I discovered store bought hummus. It doesn’t taste like the authentic stuff, but hell, it’s so much better!

Until recently, I didn’t know that I had a functional food processor. How is that possible, you may ask? I had a food processor sitting in a box in my apartment, but when I had tried to use it in the past, I hadn’t assembled it properly. So, when I tried turning it on, nothing happened.

Every time I wanted hummus, I would dish out the $5 for a small container of store-bought hummus. Then, last week, it dawned on me that I keep all the ingredients for hummus on hand. No need to do groceries to make it, and it’s super healthy! And this time, when I used my food processor, it worked!

I like to use canned chickpeas because it’s so effortless, but you could just as well cook them from scratch. I decided to adapt this recipe to make it taste like the store bought stuff. More lemon, less tahini. More yummy, less icky.

Homemade hummus

Hummus in 5 minutes (vegan)

Ingredients
1 large can chickpeas (19oz/540mL)
1/3 cup reserved chickpea water
5 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Drain the can of chickpeas into a cup so that you can add some chickpea water to the humus. In a food processor, add all the ingredients and process for 1-2 minutes, stopping at least once to scrape down the bowl.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Filed Under: Chickpeas, Recipes, Sides, Vegan Tagged With: appetizer, corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, main course, nut free, side, snack, soy free, sugar free, vegan

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

January 29, 2013 by Christina Najjar Leave a Comment

I always buy bananas that I can’t seem to use fast enough. They turn brown on me and then I feel like I can’t eat them. I really hate throwing food away, especially when it feels like I’m throwing nutrients away! Read Well-Being Secret’s post on the health benefits of bananas here. My baking inspiration this time gave me these oatmeal cookies.

If you’re sensitive to oats, I’m terribly sorry. Next time I post some goodies, they’ll be oat free. The good thing about this recipe is that you can add something like cranberries or whatever your favourite cookie garnish is, or you can omit the chocolate chips altogether, and it’ll still be delightful.

WARNING: These cookies are addictive, so once they’ve cooled down, put a few cookies on a plate, and lock the rest away and protect them with an obstacle course.

Banana chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (or vegan sugar alternative)
2 1/4 cups oats (I use Only Oats brand because it’s gluten free)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
2 ripe bananas
1 tbsp water
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
Chocolate chips of your choice to taste (I think I used 1/2 or 3/4 cups)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and add the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix well. Because bananas vary in size, you may need to add a bit of oil to properly blend the ingredients. Add the chocolate chips.

Drop dough by tablespoonfuls (or more) on a greased cookie sheet. If you use stoneware, you don’t need to grease it. Flatten the dough a bit with the back of the spoon.. Make sure to leave a bit of space between the cookies. They’ll expand a bit, but not as much as regular cookies. Bake for about 14 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.

Filed Under: Goodies, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: corn free, dairy free, egg free, food sensitivities, gluten free, nut free, soy free, sweets, vegan

Falafel Patties (vegan, sugar free)

January 23, 2013 by Christina Najjar Leave a Comment

Balancing school, work, and other life demands is usually quite time consuming. This is one of the many reasons I’m a fan of out-of-the-pantry recipes. I suppose they’re the equivalent of “Just add [insert select ingredients]!” mixes for those not afflicted with Belly Monsters Syndrome. Falafel patties are great for those days when I just don’t have time to get to the store.

Homemade falafel patties

I like to know I’m not eating all kinds of weird chemicals, and I have to do it on a budget. When I go to a health food store, I stock up on gluten free flours that I buy in bulk to save money. I always have lemons on hand for my daily lemon-hot water, but you could just as easily use bottled lemon juice if that’s what tickles your pickle.

While this is not your traditional falafel, you can treat it as such. I like mine with lemon tahini dipping sauce, but do as you wish. You can shape them into smaller patties or cut them up to add them to wraps.

Falafel Patties

Ingredients
1 cup chickpea flour
2 tsp parsley flakes
3/4 tsp garlic salt (or garlic granules and salt)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp lemon juice
Oil for frying

Directions
Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium or large bowl and mix well. Mix in lemon and hot water. Let sit for about ten minutes for the water to get absorbed a little. The batter should be fairly thick, but not solid.

Lightly oil a frying pan. Over medium heat, drop batter by tablespoonfuls and spread it a bit with the back of the spoon. Cook for three minutes. Flip and cook for an additional two minutes.

For my lemon tahini dipping sauce, I just mix tahini and lemon at a 2:1 ratio, but experiment and see what you like.

Filed Under: Chickpeas, Mains, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: appetizer, corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, main course, nut free, side, snack, soy free, vegan

Probiotic Sauerkraut

January 18, 2013 by Christina Najjar Leave a Comment

Homemade sauerkraut

Anyone who spends enough time with me knows how I feel about probiotics. In your digestive system, there are all sorts of microorganisms that help you stay healthy, your gut flora. Medication, alcohol, sugar, and many other factors can harm your gut flora. This can lead to all sorts of health problems. Probiotics help restore your gut flora. Probiotic supplements are available, but not all are of good quality, and the good ones can be really expensive. This is why I’m a fan of sauerkraut (the benefits, not the taste, bleugh). It cost me all of $2 for the cabbage and about $5 for the salt because all I had on hand was iodised salt. The salt will last me for many, many uses.

Now, I know you might be asking yourself why you would make sauerkraut when you can conveniently buy it at the supermarket. Unless otherwise specified, the jarred stuff you buy at the grocery store doesn’t have the probiotic benefits. So, if you’re interested, let’s get started!

Probiotic Sauerkraut

What you need
1 cabbage (red or green)
Non-iodized salt (I use 1 tbsp, but work to your tastes)
A large bowl (or two)
Jars – I reused two pickle jars
Patience

How to proceed
Quarter the cabbage. Remove the really thick ribs and the core. Take one quarter, lay it down on one of the flat sides, and slice it as thin as you possibly can without adding your fingers to the ingredients. Put the shreds into a bowl. I needed two bowls to fit all the cabbage.

Add the salt now – it will help you for the next step. Because I was using red cabbage and I didn’t want to go to work looking like a smurf, I used plastic gloves, but I just ended up ripping right through them. You might as well not bother with that.

This is where the fun begins. What you’re going to want to do now is start “massaging” the cabbage. Basically, you’ll be grabbing handfuls of shreds and making a fist with your hand, squeezing the cabbage. Kind of like when people with curly hair scrunch their hair. What this will accomplish, after you’ve repeated enough times, is squeeze the juice out of the cabbage and soften it. The salt helps speed that up. The first bowl took me half an hour because I wasn’t sure what to do, but the second bowl took me about seven minutes. You want there to be enough of the cabbage juice to cover all the cabbage once you pack it down in a jar, which is precisely what you’ll want to do at this point (unless you’re easily amused and want to keep squeezing the cabbage).

Make sure the cabbage is packed down as much as it can be in the jar so that the juice level stays higher than the cabbage level. Any cabbage which isn’t covered runs the risk of developing bad bacteria. Now you close the jar and you wait. I suggest doing other things while you wait, like going to work and sleeping, because you’ll be waiting a while. For me, that was four days. Some people say it takes longer though. Open the jar once a day to release the (foul-smelling) gasses. If your house/apartment/unspecified dwelling is too warm, you may start to see mold. You can remove a thin layer of sauerkraut without having to discard the whole batch, if that happens.

When it’s done, the finished product will be a different colour than the cabbage was when you bought it (or stole it, not that I encourage this). A few days after it’s started fermenting, taste it once a day to decide when it’s at the point when you like it. When it gets to that point, you’ll want to transfer it to the fridge.

Because I dislike the taste of sauerkraut, I add a generous amount of olive oil and black pepper when I dish it out, and it actually turns out to be quite tasty. You can cook it or fry it or whatever it is that people do with it, but that gets rid of the probiotic benefits.

Filed Under: Make Your Own, Paleo/Grain-Free, Raw, Sides Tagged With: corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, nut free, paleo, side, snack, soy free, vegan

Saturday Morning Pancakes (vegan)

January 16, 2013 by Christina Najjar Leave a Comment

The biggest chunk of my morning routine consists of delaying getting up. This leaves me little time to do everything else one does in the morning, so I end up having to choose what’s more important to me. It’s sad to say, but doing my hair is higher on my list of priorities than breakfast. I drink my cup of lemon hot water and my shot of apple cider vinegar while I do my make up, I brush my teeth, and then I’m out the door. I tell myself I’ll just eat a nut bar at work (if I had a nickel for every time I also skipped the nut bar…). As you can imagine, pancakes before work are as likely as beach weather in January.

Vegan pancakes that can be made without sugar

On the odd day, I do like to have a nice breakfast. There’s nothing like pancakes to keep you full until your next meal. I’ve experimented a lot with vegan and gluten free pancakes. It should be said that it hasn’t been an easy one to figure out. This recipe is the closest I’ve ever gotten to gluten-textured pancakes, but it’s not quite the same, so be warned.

Vegan Pancakes

Ingredients
1 flax egg – 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp warm water
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup starch – I do half potato starch, half tapioca starch
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup brown rice flour
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp corn free baking powder*
4 tsp maple syrup
1 3/4 cups non-dairy milk
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
Oil for frying

Directions
Start by preparing your flax egg by mixing the water with the flax. It needs to sit for about 5 minutes. Beat well until it looks frothy.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then, in a separate bowl (or a large measuring cup), combine the wet ingredients. Pour the flax egg and the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well. The batter will be thick, but it should be a bit runny. If it doesn’t spread out in the bowl on its own, add more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time. You still want it to be thicker than gluten-containing pancake batter.

Pour oil in a frying pan and let it warm up over medium heat (or slightly lower). Using a ladle, pour a bit of batter in the frying pan. You’ll need to spread it with the back of the ladle. After about 3-4 minutes, flip it and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

*For a more crepe-like consistency, omit the baking powder and increase the amount of milk until the batter is quite runny.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: breakfast, corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut free, soy free, vegan

Allergy Friendly Baking Powder (corn free)

January 11, 2013 by Christina Najjar Leave a Comment

Some typical ingredients for baking contain hidden sources of gluten, corn, and whatever else you might have food sensitivities to. I’ve had to research every ingredient I use because I’ve had some bad surprises in the past. I’d never really given much thought to what baking powder was until my naturopathic doctor pointed out that to heal properly, I’d need to cut out every source of corn (and other allergens), including baking powder.

Allergy friendly baking powder corn free

You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes before you die? I think that something similar happens when you find out something you love is out of your reach (baking, in this case). After my ND mentioned the concern with baking powder, Jann Arden’s “Will You Remember Me” started playing in my head, as I remembered all those fun moments in my kitchen.

Let me say this. There’s nothing that’s going to stop me from baking. I decided to look up how to make my own baking powder. Don’t let the cost of cream of tartar deter you. That small container is actually so much bigger than it seems. Alternatively, you can buy it in bulk from a health food store or Bulk Barn for much cheaper.

This recipe made one cup. I keep it in a plastic container in my refrigerator. This makes it last longer, but make sure to put deodorising baking soda in your fridge, or the baking soda in this recipe will take up that job. You’ll end up with baking powder that smells like your produce and whatnot. Anyway, here it is the baking powder recipe.

Allergy Friendly Baking Powder (corn free)

Ingredients
1/2 cup cream of tartar
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup potato starch or arrowroot powder – arrowroot is more expensive though

Directions
Combine all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Simply use this as you would in any recipe!

Filed Under: Make Your Own Tagged With: corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, nut free

Apple Kale Salad (vegan, paleo)

January 10, 2013 by Christina Najjar 2 Comments

When I buy kale, I start dreaming about all the meals and green smoothies I’ll be able to make. There’s only so much I can make with one bunch of kale though, and I don’t buy more than one bunch for fear of wasting it. This time, I went for an apple kale salad.

Apple kale salad

This salad is wonderful for so many reasons. It’s high in iron and other essential nutrients. It’s easy to make on a student budget. Also, it’s filling. And most importantly, it’s tasty.

Apples are the #1 item on the Dirty Dozen list, and kale is about to make its way onto the list (update 03/31/16: kale is on the 2015 list). If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I suggest you have a look at this. While this is the US version, it’s not very different from what you should expect in Canada. If you can use organic apples and kale, I highly recommend it. If not, wash your kale really well and peel your apple.

Apple Kale Salad

Ingredients
About 6 large leaves of kale
1 granny smith apple
Pumpkin or sunflower seeds to taste (I used about a handful)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
0.5-1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar

Directions
Cut up the kale leaves, removing the ribs. In a small bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Cube the apple into bite size pieces when you’re ready to pour the dressing on the salad. The lemon in the dressing will stop the apples from darkening. Sprinkle seeds and toss well. The kale leaves will soften up a bit after a few minutes. Serve right away.

Filed Under: Paleo/Grain-Free, Raw, Recipes, Salads Tagged With: corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, nut free, paleo, salad, side, soy free, vegan

Ginger Lemon Jello (vegan, paleo)

January 5, 2013 by Christina Najjar 4 Comments

I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a food blog for quite some time, but my lack of camera and photography skills have stopped me until now. I still don’t expect my pictures to be good for a while, but please bear with me! Putting my work on the internet feels a bit scary, but I decided to take the leap. I figured this jello would be a good place to start.

Ginger Lemon Jello

During a much needed grocery trip on Boxing Day, I had a hard time finding lemons. All that was left were bags of 8 organic lemons. If you ever buy organic food, you know that it doesn’t last as long as the alternative. Well, ever since, I’ve been making all sorts of desserts using lemons in the hopes of not having to waste any food.

This jello is both vegan and sugar free. Once in a while, I like to do a seven-day detox cleanse. Basically, I follow a vegan, gluten free, sugar free, alcohol free diet for a week. Dessert options can feel limited when you detox. Until you make this jello, that is. The ginger and lemon both help the detox and make this jello seem like a fancy dessert.

Ginger Lemon Jello

Ingredients
2 cups water
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp agar flakes (reduce to 2 tsp if using agar powder)

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring just to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into recipient of choice (single servings or one big bowl both work) and refrigerate for at least an hour to have it thicken. It won’t be completely cold so if you can leave it in a bit longer, I would suggest you try it.

Filed Under: Goodies, Recipes, Vegan Tagged With: corn free, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, nut free, paleo, snack, soy free, sweets, vegan

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