vegan – Page 12 – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

Summer’s End Tomato Crumble

August 28, 2019by Rebecca1 Comment

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Every summer around this time, I make a version of this crumble. So much so that I can’t help but get to late-August and start to crave it when I’m inundated with too many tomatoes.

Also every year, we go to the coast for a family reunion over Labor Day weekend. When we get back and September has arrived, the light begins to change dramatically and the fall colors soon set in. So this is the last week of true summer.

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And thus it’s a proper time to make a savory dinner crumble, filled up with the season’s best tomatoes and enjoyed on one of these still-long, slow evenings.

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Summer’s End Tomato Crumble, serves 4-5
I love to add just a bit of non-dairy cheese to the crumble topping. I think it adds a nice flavor complexity that the otherwise simple ingredients need. Also, I’ve made this so many times and it’s quick and easy to get in the oven, but sometimes corners are cut and I can tell in the result. For instance, fresh herbs really make the seasoning. Use oregano, thyme, or even rosemary, minced quite fine. Add arrowroot flour to the tomato and bean filling if using large slicing tomatoes, but feel free to skip if using smaller cherry varieties. The flour will thicken it up when the tomatoes are extra juicy.

1 1/2 pounds / 700 g ripe tomatoes
1 tsp coarse sea salt
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups cooked white beans such as flageolet or small lima beans
1/4 cup arrowroot flour (optional, see notes)

1 1/2 cups / 140 g rolled oats, gluten-free as necessary
6 tbsp almond flour
1/2 cup / 25 g grated vegan parmesan or cheddar cheese (I prefer Vtopian aged cheddar)
4 sprigs fresh oregano or thyme, leaves picked and chopped
1 pinch sea salt
1/4 cup / 55 g coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
Rinse the tomatoes and cut in halves if using cherries, or dice if using large slicers. Place in a 9-inch pie pan or baking dish and toss with sea salt, apple cider vinegar white beans, and arrowroot flour if using.
Prepare the crumble in a separate bowl. Start by thoroughly mixing oats, almond flour, grated cheese, oregano and salt. Add the coconut oil in small pieces. Use your hands to mix until large crumbs begin to form. Pour the crumble filling evenly over the tomatoes. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the tomato juices are bubbling around the edges and the crumble is firm and browned.

Journal, Summertime

Mushroom and Black Bean Enchiladas

July 31, 2019by Rebecca4 Comments

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Have you ever had days or weeks or seasons where you’re putting a lot of effort in and not seeing much results? And then when you stop trying or put your focus just a little to another direction and stop caring so damn much, the results show up in their own way and on their own timing?

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I think this is simply God or the universe’s way of telling us to trust and go with the flow a bit more. There’s a Chinese proverb that states, “Don’t push the river, it flows by itself.” I love this one. It generally seems to apply, always.

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This is all to say, I had a very different blog post and recipe planned for this week but after many drafts and recipe variations, I’ve accepted it simply wasn’t ready to come out. On the other hand, I wrote down mushroom and black bean enchiladas in my blog ideas journal recently and with putting hardly any effort in at all, this recipe worked itself out in my head and then in the kitchen, and it came out so completely to perfection in one easy go that it became clear this is the recipe and message to be shared this week instead.

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So if enchiladas with mushrooms and black beans, zucchini and a coconut, cilantro and lime drizzle sound delicious, go make them. They’re tasty. And if not, go ahead and think about applying that proverb to whatever you need to. Or join me and do both.

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Mushroom and Black Bean Enchiladas, serves 3-5
This is a recipe that comes together with a little prep ahead. Most of the seasoning comes from the Spicy Tomato Sauce and the Creamy Black Beans. You can of course skip these and opt for ready-made enchilada sauce and canned black beans, but just understand the flavorings will be a little flat in comparison. After 10 years of blogging in this space, my Creamy Black Beans are the one recipe that I make from the blog most often and they have ruined our household of all other black beans, so if you have some time to prep and let them simmer ahead, they’re worth it. Otherwise, I used light coconut milk in the coconut lime sauce but a full-fat version would be a tasty and decadent alternative to top these enchiladas with. Enjoy!

coconut oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium sweet pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced and seeded
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 large handful of shiitake mushrooms, sliced (about 1 1/3 cups or 100 grams)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cups Creamy Black Beans
salt to taste
2 cups Spicy Tomato Sauce, see below
10 6-inch corn tortillas
Coconut lime sauce, see below

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Make the enchilada filling: In a large skillet, heat a little oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it’s soft, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes or a little more.
Stir in the garlic, cooked black beans, spices, and salt. Remove from the heat.
Brush a 9 × 13-inch baking dish with a little oil, then spread a heaping 1⁄2 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish. Fill each tortilla with about 1⁄2 cup of the enchilada filling. Roll the tortillas and place them seam-side down in the baking dish. Pour the remaining 1-1/2 cup sauce over the enchiladas, down the middle, leaving a bit of the edges dry. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.
While the enchiladas are baking, make the cilantro lime sauce, below.
Let the enchiladas cool slightly, then drizzle with half of the coconut lime sauce. Top Serve with the remaining cashew cream on the side, as desired.

Spicy Tomato Sauce
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 tsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried coriander
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. black pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat. Saute garlic until just beginning to brown, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the tomatoes and spices.
Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium-low. Simmer for about 45 minutes to thicken a bit and have flavors develop. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. At this point, the sauce can be pureed if you’d like a smooth sauce, but I opted to leave it slightly chunky.

Coconut Lime Sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 garlic clove
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp. sea salt

In a high-speed blender, place the coconut milk, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and salt and blend until smooth. Chill until ready to use.

Nutrition + Health, Summertime

birthday pancake cake, all the toppings, and an essential Brazil nut butter

June 21, 2019June 21, 2019by RebeccaLeave a Comment

For my birthday this year, I decided to go the way of non-tradition and make a big pancake cake complete with chia berry jam, nut butter, coconut cream, and a pile of fresh berries. It was absolutely the best and may become a new tradition.

That was last month. When the Recipe Redux announced their June birthday and the end of a long season of monthly themed recipe challenges this month, it became obvious a pancake cake and a tasty homemade Brazil nut butter is a good way to celebrate the end.

For the past couple years, I’ve been periodically buying a few cups of raw Brazil nuts, roasting them slightly, and then grinding them into a rich and creamy nut butter. Compared to other nuts, they tend to be a little higher in fat and so turn into a nut butter much faster than other nuts and seeds, and without the really high-powered equipment. Additionally, Brazil nuts are one of the best sources of selenium, an essential trace mineral. Selenium content in foods is directly related to soil-mineral levels, and at least in my part of the country, the selenium content in soil is low. Growing up raising sheep, we had to give new lambs a selenium shot to ward off a selenium-depletion muscle disease. Even amongst Brazil nuts, selenium content will vary by location, but they do still tend to have a lot of it compared to other foods.

Selenium is primarily part of a master antioxidant enzyme in the body, meaning it neutralizes free radicals and dampens inflammation. It also plays along with other antioxidants, vitamins C and E, and helps them to reuse (recycle) themselves. Selenium is important for a healthy immune response, making it especially significant for immune conditions such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, healthy aging, and is absolutely essential for activation of the thyroid hormones.

For many individuals, a Brazil nut a day, or even a couple a few times per week, or periodically slathering your celebratory pancakes with decadent Brazil nut butter, will meet one’s selenium needs.

Beyond focusing just on selenium and Brazil nuts, all the nuts and seeds have differing and essential vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats, and this is why I always encourage rotating nuts, seeds, and their butters routinely in the diet.

For this pancake cake, I doubled my favorite go-to pancake recipe, made extra large pancakes, made a quick berry chia jam, and scooped the solids off the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk, whipped it along with a little orange blossom water, and of course, added that Brazil nut butter. I then put a different layer of filling between each pancake and topped them off with extra chia berries. This recipe was inspired by a Pancake Cake in Green Kitchen Stories new family cookbook, but I definitely spun it in my own direction. I encourage you to do the same.

Birthday Pancake Cake with All the Toppings and an Essential Brazil Nut Butter, serves about 4
my favorite pancake recipe (or yours)
whipped coconut cream
Brazil Nut Butter (see below)
Berry Chia Jam (see below)
fresh sliced berries, as desired

Prepare and make all the various components above. Then layer one filling between each pancake and top with additional berry chia jam or fresh berries.
Cut into cake wedges and serve with additional berries, jam, coconut cream, and nut butter.

Brazil Nut Butter, makes about 1 cup
2 cups raw Brazil Nuts

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add to a high-speed blender or food processor. Process for about 5-8 minutes, until the mixture becomes creamy and thin. Scrape down the sides as needed throughout.
Store extra nut butter in a glass container in the fridge.

Berry Chia Jam, adapted very slightly from Little Green Kitchen
2 cups fresh or frozen berries
2-3 dates, pits removed and chopped
2 Tbs. chia seeds
a splash of water

Add the berries and dates to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add a splash of water and stir in the chia seeds. Bring back to a boil, then turn off the heat, stir again and allow to sit for about 15 minutes to thicken up. Stir a couple times throughout to keep clumps from forming.