Tag: vegan

Veggie Bowl with Easy Peanut Sauce (Gluten-Free & Vegan)

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Easy Veggie Bowl with Peanut Sauce

This is one of my favourite quick dinners to make after the gym with my girlfriends. With a few of us doing the chopping and cooking it takes less than 30 minutes to prepare a healthy, fresh and delicious dinner. This recipe is also great on work nights because it makes the best lunches.  It’s always a combination of rice noodles or rice, veggies and a quick peanut sauce we make with whatever we have on hand. The recipe below is general because these bowls are all about making something delicious and quick with what you have in your kitchen. There are many recipes for the best peanut sauce online but the two methods are super easy and delicious. To me this is the perfect indulgent but healthy gluten-free dinner that is almost too easy to make.

Quick Veggie Bowl

  • Prepare your rice or noodles (We used these amazing Brown Rice and Wakame Noodles).
  • Pan fry your tofu or protein of choice. We fried our tofu in sesame oil and added some gf tamari once it was getting crispy.
  • Prepare your veggies. We usually keep most of our veggies raw (julienning the peppers and grating carrots). We steamed the broccoli. Also great with brussels sprouts, bean sprouts, spinach, bok choy, mushrooms etc.
  • Prepare your bowls and add the peanut sauce.
  • Can be served with green onions, chopped peanuts, fresh herbs, sambal olek and limes on the side

Quick Peanut Sauce

In a pot combine about a cup peanut butter with half a can coconut milk  (you can add more coconut milk depending or thickness and preference, I usually don’t measure).  Bring it to a simmer over medium heat then lower heat. Add gluten-free tamari (or gluten-free soy sauce), sambal olek or hot sauce, a squeeze of lime, a little brown sugar, ginger or garlic to taste. All of these ingredients are optional. An alternative method if you are missing the coconut milk is to combine all the ingredients except  for the coconut milk and add boiling water until you reach your desired consistency.

That’s it!

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Easy Veggie Bowl with Gluten-Free Peanut Sauce

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Gluten-Free in Montreal: Café Verdure (Currently CLOSED)

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Gluten-Free Veggie Burger

Gluten-Free Veggie Burger

Café Verdure is a great little gluten-free vegan cafe on Mackay, right on top of Crudessence. It’s super affordable and everything I have tried so far is delicious. I couldn’t believe a place serving gluten-free veggie burgers was right near my work and I had no idea! I was very happy to have my delicious burger that was so good I had to double check it was gluten-free!

I have tried the bagel and “cream cheese”, the cupcakes and the veggie burger and all has been great so far. I definitely recommend this place for a quick bite if you are downtown.

https://www.facebook.com/CafeVerdure

Café Verdure

2159 Rue Mackay

(514) 842-2212

Accommodates gluten-free: Yes

Price: $

Gluten-free menu: Yes, everything is gluten-free

Delicious Vegan and Gluten-Free Cupcakes

Delicious Vegan and Gluten-Free Cupcakes

Lots of Celiac Friendly Sweets

Lots of Celiac Friendly Sweets

Gluten-free bagel with vegan cream cheese

Gluten-free bagel with vegan cream cheese

The Easiest & Best Baked Beans Recipe (Gluten-Free & Vegan)

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Baked Beans (Gluten-Free & Vegan)

This recipe has all the essential attributes of a GFBFF favorite. It’s super easy, calls for basic ingredients, doesn’t require any real measurement, feeds a crowd, always leaves you with plenty of leftovers and is shockingly delicious. What else could you ask for? Oh yeah, it’s gluten free 😉 I will now allow my friend Neil to take over as he is a control freak and wants his moment in the GFBFF Sun.

Hello Glutenless Glutonesses, I am Neil. The following is a detailed account of how to make my moms Lima Beans. It is a Greek recipe and probably fueled the fire of the warriors at Thermopylae. This is a hearty dish of comfort food that can accompany any meal, from meat and poultry to fish/seafood and or vegetables. Kris likes to serve it over rice…a starch on a starch…why not! These beans are so simple and take such standard ingredients you won’t believe what will come of them. What I also love about this dish is its versatility. You can add bacon or parmesan cheese. I added the chilli flakes to the recipe but they should always be included in my opinion. Feel free to take them out if you can’t take the heat. Try them with different herbs. Have fun with these beans!

Baked Lima Beans

Prep time: 10 minutes / Cook time: around 1 hour

Preheat your oven to 375 F

  • 1 can whole tomatoes -roughly chopped up with kitchen shears
  • 3 cans large lima beans- drained and rinsed
  • 1 red onion roughly chopped
  • 4-6 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 bunch parsley chopped
  • Approximately 2 cups extra virgin olive oil (this may seem excessive but the original recipe calls for 4. I make sure that my beans are almost covered by the oil with just the tops poking out, when they are done you can drain the excess oil into a jar and cook with the most delicious oil you can imagine afterwards). You can put less oil but they may dry out and get hard.
  • a few pinches of chili flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a large baking dish (the wider the dish the better, around 1 inch will leave you with a nice crispy crust on top). Bake for about an hour, longer if they look like they need to get a little crispier on top.

If you are baking for a big crowd these beans can easily be adapted to sate the hunger of even the most populated of pot lucks. Add another can of beans and you will need at least a half cup more oil, maybe a bit more of everything else. these beans are versatile, flavor packed, buttery magic for your mouth. And they’re Vegan. Almost unbelievable, I know.

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Gluten-Free in Montreal: Crudessence Restaurant

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With two locations, one in the Plateau and one near Concordia, Crudessence is a great go to for a healthy gluten-free meal or veggie juice. While I am not always in the mood for raw food, Crudessence has a great menu that is 100% gluten-free and all the desserts I have tried have been amazing (actually amazing- vegan or not).

My go to for lunch is the Exceptional wrap with chipotle quinoa wrapped in a nori and a rice sheet with avocado, lettuce, sprouts, red pepper, carrot and onion. To go with my wrap I ordered the Vert-dur juice with kale, parsley, fennel, apple, celery, lemon and ginger.

My other go to is the Lasagna with layers of sliced zucchini, fresh basil, sun dried tomato sauce and macadamia ricotta, served with caesar salad.

This restaurant is not for everyone, but almost everyone. If you don’t like things that taste “too healthy” this might not be the place for you. But if you are open to new things I would definitely try it and make sure to order the brownie with “ice cream” for dessert!

They also sell their own products, offer delivery and host cooking classes.

Crudessense

There are two locations. I always go to the one on Mackay near Sherbrooke.

2157, Mackay St.
Montreal, QC H3G 2J2
514.664.5188

105, Rachel St. West
Montreal, QC H2W 1G4
514.510.9299

http://www.crudessence.com/

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Avocado Cream Sauce- Perfect with Gluten-Free Pasta

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Avocado Cream Sauce

This vegan/raw “cream” sauce is super easy to make, ridiculously fresh tasting and will be your best friend if you are a big fan of avocados and lemon. This is one of those recipes that I can see people being very divided over. If you like the simple ingredients listed I guarantee this will become a go to recipe. If you aren’t crazy about avocados you might want to stay away. It tastes like a light and lemony creamy pasta without the dairy. Since it is basically just avocado you will have to eat it up right away, I can only imagine it will be an ugly colored mess the next day.

You will need:

  • one ripe avocado
  • juice of approximately half a lemon
  • handful of fresh basil (other herbs should work)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1-2 TBSP olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Combine it all in a blender (I used my magic bullet) and served it on your favorite gluten-free pasta. I served mine on my go to gluten-free fettuccine. It’s almost too easy!

This recipe feeds two. Or one, if you are like me and eat the remainder on gf toast immediately.

Original Recipe: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/31/15-minute-creamy-avocado-pasta/

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Coconut Sugar Cookies (Gluten-Free & Vegan)

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Gluten-Free Coconut Sugar Cookies

These sugar cookies are amazing, simple and not missing a thing. No one will ever know these cookies are gluten-free and vegan. They are great with or without the icing and would make great Christmas cookies. They are perfect for anyone who has a sweet tooth, as the cookie itself is on the sweet side and the icing is basically pure sugar. While gf and vegan, be warned these are decadent little sugar bombs (I think my sugar tolerance has been lowered by all the healthy baking). Also, this icing recipe is a great go to. I had no idea you could make icing with coconut oil, vanilla and icing sugar and no mixer.

Since this recipe is perfectly explained and I made no changes I decided to just share a link. Make sure to try this recipe.

http://www.yammiesglutenfreedom.com/2013/12/chewy-coconut-sugar-cookies-gluten-free.html

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Cashew Cream Sauce (Gluten-Free & Vegan)

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Gluten-Free Pasta with Cashew Cream Sauce

If you love cream sauce and cashews there is little better than this easy sauce served with your favorite roasted veggies and pasta. I had put off making this sauce forever thinking it was complicated and my best friend showed me that it is the easiest recipe ever. All you really need is a high powered blender. This recipe really is a lazy, gluten-free, vegan cooks dream. This is a great go to healthier alternative to dairy based cream sauces. While it is amazingly delicious, no one will mistake this for a classic alfredo sauce. I almost think it’s better, but that’s coming from a cashew obsessed vegan food lover.

BTW- That Parma Veg alternative “cheese” is delicious and 100% gluten-free.

Cashew Cream Sauce

  • 1 1/2 cups raw plain cashews
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (gluten-free)
  • a few pinches of chili flakes to taste
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard (gluten-free)
  • 2 cloves garlic (one if you prefer it less garlicky)

Place all the ingredients in a high powered blender (we used a NutriBullet)  and combine until it makes a sauce. About 30 seconds. It’s that easy. You can add more water if you want a thinner sauce, more nutritional yeast if you want it “cheesier” and or more spice if that’s how you like it (we added sriracha).

We served ours with pasta and roasted veggies (mushroom and broccoli roasted with oil, salt and pepper for about 20 minutes). You can bake the finished product in the oven for 15-20 minutes to make a kind of baked macaroni if you want, but we served it as is. The sauce stores well in the fridge for a few days.

Adapted from this recipe by Tara Stiles

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Healthy Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal (Gluten-Free & Vegan)

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2014-01-28 15.09.15I have been dying to try this simple recipe for baked cookie dough oatmeal that I adapted from one of my favourite healthy baking websites. The original recipe made them look like cakes but because I am inpatient and insist on eating my food hot mine worked out better kept in the ramekin. This recipe tastes like a decadent cookie but is super easy to make, pretty healthy and makes a great breakfast, snack or dessert. It is also really easy to play around with the ingredients and try different combos, baked oatmeal is hard to screw up. In my books anything that is this yummy, easy, comforting and falls into the healthy column is a definitely a winner.

How have I gone my whole life without trying baked oatmeal!?!?

Ingredients

These proportions make 3 to 4 small ramekins full of oatmeal. You could also bake it in one large dish.

  • 1 cup certified gluten-free rolled oats (I like Cream Hill Estates)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 3 or 4 TBSPs maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup milk (any kind) or water
  • a few handfuls of semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet chocolate
  • Optional: chopped nuts, coconut flakes and cinnamon (pecans and almonds worked well)

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and distribute into 3 or 4 ramekins (depending on their size). It is not necessary but you can coat the ramekins with a little coconut oil or vegetable oil. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until set and then increase the heat to broil for several minutes for a crispy top or just continue cooking them for a few more minutes (the cookie time really depends on your oven and how crispy you would like your top to be).

Enjoy this filling and delicious treat right out of the oven. Perfect for this cold weather we have been having. It can also be made ahead. I kept mine in the fridge for 24 hours before baking and they tasted exactly the same.

Note: If you would like it to come out as a little cake make sure to coat the ramekin with a little oil (I prefer coconut) so it will release once cooled.

Inspired by this great blog Chocolate Covered Katie that features amazing healthy version of almost every dessert imaginable, many being gluten-free.

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Simple Roasted Savoy Cabbage

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2014-01-05 17.24.58-1What to do with that 1/2 cabbage you have left from that other recipe? Roast it! Roasting is always a great way to cook left over veggies and savoy cabbage is surprisingly good this way. I know this is a super easy recipe but it’s just a little reminder to eat your veggies, particularly the ones that are being ignored in the back of your fridge.

Ingredients

  • Savoy cabbage, cored and thinly chopped
  • A few drizzles of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Optional: lemon, nuts, gf tamari…

Heat oven to 400 F.

Spread cabbage on a baking sheet (not over crowded) and with your hands coat leaves with olive oil, salt and pepper. If you are using tamari you can add it now. Cook for about 15 minutes, checking and mixing it half way. You can season it with a squeeze of lemon or garnish it with chopped nuts.

I served mine with tofu and quinoa.

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Post Holiday Detox: Cannellini Bean and Swiss Chard Soup (Gluten-Free & Vegan)

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2013-12-28 13.51.58One of the effects of having so many great GF BFFs is that I get spoiled with gluten-free treats over the holidays. After many gluten-free Birthday and Holiday dinners, sweets and macarons I needed some healthy soup with lots of greens.

This is a basic soup that can be adapted many ways once you find the flavors you like. I would try kale, spinach and gigante beans. It’s super easy to make, has lots of flavor and makes for a great lunch or detox meal.

Ingredients

  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly diced
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly diced
  • 2 leeks, well cleaned and thinly chopped
  • 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 cups GF vegetable stock or chicken stock (I used organic GF cubes)
  • 2 TBSPs olive oil
  • 1 bunch swiss chard, stems discarded and chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy bottomed large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the leeks, onion and garlic for about 10 minutes until softened and starting to brown. Season with salt and pepper. Add the broth and beans and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove 2-3 cups of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Add the pureed soup to the remainder of the soup in the pot. Increase the heat and add the swiss chard, cooking the soup for about 3 minutes until the swiss chard wilts.

Serve immediately. I served mine with a drizzle of olive oil.

Adapted from It’s All Good. I love this cookbook featuring healthy and gluten-free recipes.

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