When we do one-day hikes, we often get hungry in the late afternoons. We like to have a meal that not only reminds us of real dinner but also gives us energy. At the same time, it has to be easy to carry and eat.
This dish is a perfect match. Serve in pita bread and you can have a healthy dinner ready in minutes.
Bulgur wheat is an excellent source of protein, low-fat and low in calories, perfect for an active person.
This recipe is a basic Tabbouleh, add your won favorites, we like
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Leafy greens
Herbs
Lemon juice
You can substitute the bulgur wheat with quinoa, wild rice or even chickpeas.
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Photo Credit: Alpha
It is so good for you, full of fibre and beta-carotene, but it seems sooo uninteresting.
The taste is nice but you can't just toss it in everything and hope for the best, can you?
Well, the answer is that you almost can!
I was searching for new ideas on how to use it. And hopefully in a kid-friendly too, and stumbled on this pot of gold: None less than 30 ways to sneak the green little leaf in your food.
All the way from Avocado,Kiwi, Spinach smoothie, to spinach, lentil, ragout.
Just be aware that the recipes are vegetarian and not vegan (most are though) so be sure to use a vegan alternative to cheese and pasta among other things, or just get inspired to use it in the dishes you already make, like I did.
Cool as a Cucumber – this drink is great for hot afternoons and evening. Cucumbers is a great source of Vitamin B and are 95% water, keeping the body hydrated while helping the body eliminate toxins. Cucumbers have most of the vitamins the body needs in a single day.
Cucumbers are a good source of potassium. Drinking cucumber water helps your body get more potassium, potentially helping to lower your blood pressure.
Cucumbers are high in vitamin K. In fact, one cup of sliced cucumbers has about 19 percent of the recommended daily value. Your body needs vitamin K to help form proteins that are needed to make healthy bones and tissues as well as to help your blood clot properly. What better way to get this vitamin than through refreshing cucumber water?
We have just had a week with loads of rain showers and today the sun was shining & it means that the forest is full of mushroom and berries. So we packed the backpack with coffee and smorgas! – we are from Scandinavia – after all 🙂 Put on our hiking gear and off we went as merry dwarfs to the forest.
On our way to the forest we did see wild strawberries and blueberries, tasted just a few, we wanted to go further away from the road before starting to have a feast in wild berries.
In the forest we were not disappointed; wild strawberries in abundance and loads of blueberries – we had to walk another hour's time before we saw the first mushrooms “chanterelles” and picked two big handful each, enough for two generous servings of Chanterelles Stew.
We always use the same recipe, the season is fairly short, so we just make our favorite. The original recipe calls for butter and full fat cream but it is easy to replace with vegan ingredients as we have done for years by now. We serve with rye bread again we are from Scandinavia, so a natural choice. You can use the bread of your preference, only thing is don't use a sour bread with a too sourish taste, it ruins the mild taste of the musrooms.
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Photo credit: the top photo “Chanterelle Cantharellus cibarius“. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Photo within recipe by Susanne Flø
Tapas are appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They come in a wide variety, and may be cold or hot. It is fairly easy to make vegan versions. Here’s a fine recipe, which is even cheesy. Tapas don't get much better than that. Well, maybe they are even better when they are vegan and raw – and you can store them in your fridge for a few days.
I love Italian vegan sausages, and they are great to take on picnics. I pack and take them along with other lunch goodies on hikes in the forests where I like to roam with my hubby. But I cannot buy vegan sausages in Finland where I live at the moment. So, I did a search and found a great website: http://www.theppk.com
I will make them from the recipe below, and post an update on how they panned out.
1/2 cup cooked white beans (great northern or navy), rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil *or* 1 tablespoon tomato paste (tomato paste is a great fat replacement)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon granulated garlic *or* 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely grated
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed *or* 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Several dashes fresh black pepper
Before mixing your ingredients, get the steaming apparatus ready, bringing water to a full boil. The rest of the recipe comes together very quickly.
Have ready 4 square sheets of tin foil. In a large bowl, mash the beans until no whole ones are left. Throw all the other ingredients together in the order listed and mix with a fork. Divide dough into 4 even parts (an easy way to do this: split the dough in half and then into quarters). Place one part of dough into tin foil and mold into about a 5 inch log. Wrap dough in tin foil, like a tootsie roll. Don’t worry too much about shaping it, it will snap into shape while it’s steaming because this recipe is awesome.
Place wrapped sausages in steamer and steam for 40 minutes. That’s it! You can unwrap and enjoy immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.
