Hazelnut Cacao Bombshell (dark choc version)

Today was the last day with my favorite class. Decided to make something for the kids. Thought about cheesecake(vegan, of course) but decided to make something easier (yes, I was feeling very lazy-not my fault-such a cold winter day). Had medjool dates(10), hazelnut meal(1 cup), cacao(1/4 cup-yeah super rich).  Put them in a food processor, sprinkled water when needed until they came to 'Yeah okay, we will stick together' consistency. Added broken bits of cashews (10), 2 tbsp of desiccated coconut, shaped them, dusted them with hazelnut meal and supposed to refrigerate them for an hour. I did not refrigerate them cos it was super cold outside :P. Took me 20 mins to make them.

I know what you are thinking. Not great shape but they were amazing :)

Sundal

I made quinoa mujadara yesterday. You know how you eat something again and again,  and you are like 'Man, why cant I eat something else'. I reached that state with quinoa. I promised myself not to eat quinoa for like 2 days. I love it so much that I cant live without it. Anyways,  I had some leftover lentils, decided to make 'sundal'. A popular dish in south India - it is a lentil stir fry with coconut and onions. The main seasoning for a sundal is asafoetida. It is an awesome spice with so many benefits.  It boosts metabolism, Google for more benefits :) . To make sundal, you need boiled lentils. Not dal consistency but the ones that can be picked out individually like chickpeas,  black eyed beans etc. I used the flat brown lentils you use for mujadara.

Ingredients: 

• A cup of lentils - boiled


• Black Mustard seeds-1 and 1/2 tsp


• 10 curry leaves


• 1 tsp rice bran oil


• Salt-to taste


• Asafoetida- 2 pinches


• Coconut-3-4 tbsp


• Red chilli powder- 1 tsp(vary this based on your spice limit)

Method:

• In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil, add mustard seeds, once it pops, add curry leaves, asafoetida. If you like taste of onions, you could add onions now and fry them with it.


• Add the boiled lentils, chilli powder, salt, coconut and mix them together.


• Awesome as an evening snack. You could omit coconut if you don't want it. But then, onions must be added then.

Sundal

I made quinoa mujadara yesterday. You know how you eat something again and again,  and you are like 'Man, why cant I eat something else'. I reached that state with quinoa. I promised myself not to eat quinoa for like 2 days. I love it so much that I cant live without it. Anyways,  I had some leftover lentils, decided to make 'sundal'. A popular dish in south India - it is a lentil stir fry with coconut and onions. The main seasoning for a sundal is asafoetida. It is an awesome spice with so many benefits.  It boosts metabolism, Google for more benefits :) . To make sundal, you need boiled lentils. Not dal consistency but the ones that can be picked out individually like chickpeas,  black eyed beans etc. I used the flat brown lentils you use for mujadara.

Ingredients: 

• A cup of lentils - boiled


• Black Mustard seeds-1 and 1/2 tsp


• 10 curry leaves


• 1 tsp rice bran oil


• Salt-to taste


• Asafoetida- 2 pinches


• Coconut-3-4 tbsp


• Red chilli powder- 2 tsp(vary this based on your spice limit)

Method:

• In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil, add mustard seeds, once it pops, add curry leaves, asafoetida. If you like taste of onions, you could add onions now and fry them with it.


• Add the boiled lentils, chilli powder, salt, coconut and mix them together.


• Awesome as an evening snack. You could omit coconut if you don't want it. But then, onions must be added then.

Almond chia buckwheat crispbreads

With portion control diets, you have to snack at least twice a day. With high energy, it has to bridge gap between two meals.  This is one  awesome snack. Keeps your tummy full for at least 2.5 hours :)

Ingredients 

• Natural Almond chia spread -1/2 tbsp


• Buckwheat crispbreads -2 nos

Method

• Spread 1/2 tbsp spread on one crispbread. Keep one on top ( Like a sandwich)

Serves:1 person

Vegan buckwheat crispbreads with tomato salsa

Vegan buckwheat crispbreads with tomato salsa

Losing weight is very depressing if you are with broccoli and greens all the time.  Especially, if you love food, it could be really hard to diet. Over a long run, diets are not going to work. How long can we count calories? Portion control, is a better choice. 5-6 meals a day, you never go hungry and you start to appreciate food much more. So I try to pick different things I have never had before. This is what I found in the supermarket, buckwheat crispbreads :)



Topped these crispbreads with tomato salsa and this turned out to be the best snack I have had in a while.

Ingredients for Salsa

• Onion-1/4 chopped fine


• Tomato-1 chopped fine


• Cucumber- 2" piece-chopped fine


• Macadamia nuts-3 nos-chopped fine


• Chickpea, peas, groundnuts (boiled) / any kind of boiled lentils


• Coriander leaves- 2 strands-chopped fine


• Chilli powder- a pinch


• Chat masala (got this from Indian grocery shop-usually used in Indian street food)


• Salt-to taste, Lemon-optional

Method

• Mix all the ingredients together and salsa is ready to be topped up on buckwheat crispbreads. Yum :)

Serves:2 people