Vegetarian / Vegan / Raw Archives - Soren's Purple Plate

QUINOA VEGGIE CUPS

March 14, 2017 by Natasha 2 Comments

This week I’m very honored to be a guest at #HealthyKidsCommuity. If you don’t know, it’s an amazing INSTAGRAM community of parents who put healthy meals for the family and especially children at the top of their priority list. You can find lots of healthy recipe and food ideas. These people are very creative. It’s my constant source of inspiration.

Unfortunately, instead of loosing myself in creativity over a superb family meal (the theme of the week), I have been dealing with winter and the entire family being sick. Happens to all of us, right? Not having much time on hand, I prepared these tasty quinoa cups that everyone can enjoy: kids for dinner and parents as an appetizer or even dinner if you throw in a little salad.

When cooking quinoa, I added a tablespoon of turmeric for extra immunity boost and, of course, color. Leftover quinoa is an ideal way to prepare these little cups as it really won’t take you much time at all.

They are absolutely delicious when warm but held up the flavor pretty well when reheated the next day.

QUINOA VEGGIE CUPS

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These super healthy quinoa cups are a fast and easy dinner for children. Add a teaspoon of turmeric to quinoa for extra immunity boost and color.

Author: Natasha @ Soren's Purple Plate

Ingredients

2.5 cups cooked quinoa
a few broccoli florets
2-3 spring onions
1 small zucchini
2 eggs
½ cup shredded mozarella cheese
⅓ tsp dried basil
Salt/pepper

Instructions

Wash and chop all the vegetables. Combine them with quinoa.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs by hand and add salt, pepper, dried basil, and cheese.
Pour the egg mixture over quinoa and mix well.
Bake in muffin tins (using either silicone or paper liners) for 20-25 minutes at 350F.

Notes

I have a convection oven so everything cooks faster there. You might want to cook yours a little longer in the regular oven.
Also you can use any cheese you like instead of mozzarella.

Vegan French Lentils with Rice

September 16, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

This simple vegan dish used to be my go-to dish when I was just starting Baby Led Weaning with Soren (what is Baby Led Weaning?) Luckily, he liked almost anything I put in front of him in those days. Now that he is nearing his second birthday, he is still a very good eater but he is definitely more selective than he used to be. Nevertheless, whenever I make lentils, he is eager to eat them at least once. He can refuse the same dish if I offer it again the same or the next day.

Lentils and Rice are considered a complete protein. What is it? Keep reading.

A Complete Protein

Simply put, our body needs a full range of amino acids (building blocks of protein) to function properly. 12 of them we produce ourselves but 9 additional ones, which are called essential amino acids, we need to get in adequate amounts from food. Animal protein is usually considered a complete protein, meaning it contains all 9 of the essential amino acids. In the plant world, quinoa and buckwheat are among the few vegan complete proteins. Many other plant food contain several essential amino acids but not all 9 in one plant. It is easy to achieve a complete protein if you combine legumes and grains. It’s a generalization but the idea is that: rice and beans make up a complete 9 amino acids that we need.

On to the recipe…

If you make a dish like this, you can skip meat and rest assured that you kid is getting all the protein he/she needs. Adding as many vegetables as you have will make it into a sort of nutrition powerhouse. I used mushrooms, celery, carrots and onions. This dish doesn’t have sophisticated flavors but it makes for a nice, healthy, earthy, and a satisfying meal.

Ingredients:

1 cup french lentils
1/2 cup rice (white or brown)
1/2 yellow onion
3-4 garlic cloves
3 celery stalks
3 carrots
5-8 mushrooms (of your choice)
Optional but good: 1 tbsp of butter

Method:

In a medium pot, heat up a little oil (I used avocado oil). Sauté finely chopped onions and garlic for 5-8 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms. Continue sautéing for 5 more minutes. I like seasoning a little with salt and pepper at this point and adding the butter.
Add finely chopped celery and carrots ( I like cutting in circles). Stir. Sauté for 5 minutes.
Add french lentils, very well rinsed. I don’t usually soak lentils but you can (for 2 hours minimum) to speed up the process a little. Pour enough water to cover the lentils by an inch. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Then add the rice. Continue cooking everything on low heat for 25 minutes. If you feel like the water is evaporating too soon, add a little more. Season with salt. Turn off the heat and let sit under cover for 5-10 minutes.

NOTE: Don’t season with salt while cooking as it will make lentils hard.

Vegan French Lentils with Rice

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If you make a dish like this, you can skip meat and rest assured that you kid is getting all the protein he/she needs. Adding as many vegetables as you have will make it into a sort of nutrition powerhouse. I used mushrooms, celery, carrots and onions. This dish doesn't have sophisticated flavors but it makes for a nice, healthy, earthy, and a satisfying meal.

Author: Natasha @ Soren's Purple Plate

Ingredients

1 cup french lentils
½ cup rice (white or brown)
½ yellow onion
3-4 garlic cloves
3 celery stalks
3 carrots
5-8 mushrooms (of your choice)
Optional but good: 1 tbsp of butter

Instructions

In a medium pot, heat up a little oil (I used avocado oil). Sauté finely chopped onions and garlic for 5-8 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms. Continue sautéing for 5 more minutes. I like seasoning a little with salt and pepper at this point and adding the butter.
Add finely chopped celery and carrots ( I like cutting in circles). Stir. Sauté for 5 minutes.
Add french lentils, very well rinsed. I don't usually soak lentils but you can (for 2 hours minimum) to speed up the process a little. Pour enough water to cover the lentils by an inch. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Then add the rice. Continue cooking everything on low heat for 15 minutes. If you feel like the water is evaporating too soon, add a little more. Season with salt. Turn off the heat and let sit under cover for 5-10 minutes.

NOTE: Don't season with salt while cooking as it will make lentils hard.

Cashew Raspberry Mousse

January 19, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

This dessert/snack is Baby Led Weaning appropriate from 7 or 8 months if you skip maple syrup (provided there are no nut allergies in the family). I was nervous the first and second (and third) time I gave nut butter to Soren when he was around 7 months but everything turned out ok. Our pediatrician encouraged me to give him everything (except honey) right from 6 months. She said the latest research actually indicates that the sooner you start introducing foods that are thought of as allergens the better (again, only if you don’t have history of allergies in your family). I think Mom’s intuition will guide you best.

If you are craving something sweet but have committed to a healthier diet this year, try this easy 3-ingredient homemade cashew mousse. Cashews are an abundant source of essential minerals (tons of copper, selenium, magnesium, phosphorous and zinc), which are necessary for a proper function of our body from the production of red blood cell to the brain development.

This creamy sauce can be eaten as a mildly sweet mousse when chilled, added to your oatmeal in the morning, you can dip pancakes in it or add it to smoothies. It lasts about 3 days in the fridge. I made it for Soren and I to snack on.

You can control the sweetness by how much maple syrup you add. The recipe below makes a mildly sweet mousse.

SOAKING CASHEWS:

Below you can see that cashews that have been soaked for 3-4 hours expand and become whiter. They also soften, which is perfect for blending and making all kinds of sauces and mousses.

Soaking nuts is very important. I won’t go into details on why since I’m not a nutritionist and many other sources can demonstrate it in depth. All I will say is that by soaking nuts and seeds you increase the amounts of nutrients your body can absorb since soaking breaks down the substance that usually inhibits the absorption.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of cashews

1/2-1 cup fresh raspberries

1 tbsp of maple syrup

A pinch of salt

METHOD:

1. Cover cashews with plenty of water and soak overnight in the fridge.

2. Drain cashews and place in a blender with fresh raspberries. Add a pinch of salt and maple syrup. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy (no pieces of nuts or berries).

3. Spoon into ramekins or small cups and chill for 4 hours.

Cashew Raspberry Mousse

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This creamy sauce can be eaten as a mildly sweet mousse when chilled, added to your oatmeal in the morning, you can dip pancakes in it or add it to smoothies. It lasts about 3 days in the fridge.

Author: Natasha

Recipe type: raw, vegan, dessert

Ingredients

1 cup of cashews
½-1 cup fresh raspberries
1 tbsp of maple syrup
A pinch of salt

Instructions

Cover cashews with plenty of water and soak overnight in the fridge.
Drain cashews and place in a blender with fresh raspberries. Add a pinch of salt and maple syrup. Blend on high until the mixture is smooth and creamy (no pieces of nuts or berries).
Spoon into ramekins or small cups and chill for 4 hours.

Almond Sweet Potato PURÉE

January 19, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

If by the end of the week you are, like most people, exhausted and don’t have the energy to think of what to make for dinner, here is a simple idea. Make a healthy sweet potato purée with almond milk. Throw in a piece of fish or chicken or salad and you are good to go.

That’s what we are having for dinner here.

TO BAKE SWEET POTATO:

Scrub and dry a couple of sweet potatoes with paper towels. Pierce all over with a fork (be careful not to hurt yourself) and bake in the preheated oven at 375F for 1 hour. You might need to bake a little less or more depending on the size of your potatoes.

TO MAKE PURÉE:

Cool off the potatoes (or bake them ahead of time), scoop the potato out of its skins and place in a bowl. If very soft already, just add 1/2-1 cup of almond milk (depending on how many potatoes you a using), a pinch of salt and mash with potato masher to mix well.

If you want the purée extra creamy and silky, then place the ingredients in a blender and give it a spin for 30 seconds.

Butternut Squash Rice Balls

January 17, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

I think a life of a mom is so much easier if you have roasted/steamed vegetables in the fridge at all times. I roasted a butternut squash yesterday to make pasta sauce and to use for snacking. With the leftover half, I came up with these cute-looking snack balls. Spoon-feeding is certainly not as fun as eating with your hands. Add a little crunch with brown rice crisps (sugar-free) and your babies and toddlers will certainly approve.

I bought Whole Foods brand plain, unsweetened brown rice crisps. The package listed only one ingredient, which is a good product in my book.

If you have butternut squash already roasted then these snacks will take you 5 minutes to make. Not even.

HOW TO BAKE BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Honestly, just a year ago I had no idea how easy it was to bake whole butternut squash. I used to ruin my fingers trying to peel the quash and cut it into chunks before steaming or roasting.

Preheat oven to 350F. Wash the squash. Dry with paper towels. Cut lengthwise. Place cut side down on parchment paper. Roast for 1 hour. In the middle of roasting, add a little water to the baking tray. That’s it.

Butternut Squash Rice Balls

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This is an ideal healthy snack for kids and people of all ages. Making it with leftover butternut squash will take you 5 minutes to prepare.

Author: Natasha

Ingredients

Just 2 ingredients:
Roasted butternut squash
Brown rice crisps
Optional: coconut flakes

Instructions

Scoop the chilled squash out of its shell.
Mash it with a fork (it should be very soft).
Add as many rice crisps as necessary to make the mixture stick to together.
Form little balls with your hands and roll in a bowl with coconut flakes.

QUINOA BROCCOLI CROQUETTES

January 17, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

Today on Soren’s plate: salmon baked with lemon (BLW from 8 months – skip salt), cucumbers and leftover quinoa-turned-broccoli croquettes.

TO BAKE SALMON:

In a bowl combine olive oil, salt, pepper and juice of half of lemon. Whisk until well combined. Rinse salmon under cold water, pat dry with paper towels and coat well with the oil mixture. Bake at 350F for 13-20 minutes max, depending on the size and thickness of your fish.

THE CROQUETTES

These little nutritious balls turned out really yummy and could easily be enjoyed by babies 10 months and older. They are perfectly soft and could be handled well by the little ones. The reason I suggest 10 months and up is because they have cheese in them. Cheese by definition is a processed product, which usually contains a lot of salt. It’s not a hard rule to avoid cheese but I was hesitant to give it to Soren before he was 10/11 months. If you are ok with cheese, go ahead and share with your little ones even earlier.

These vegetarian croquettes can be made from scratch or using leftover quinoa and broccoli, which I did. They taste best when warm but can also be stored in fridge for 2 days. Note that they will harden in the fridge so if you are planning to give them to small babies, you can warm them up a bit so that the cheese melts and softens the balls.

Enjoy them as a side dish, in a pita just like you would falafel or eat as a main dish with some salad on the side.

The more cheese you put, the flatter they will come out (which is not bad at all; actually yummy).

INGREDIENTS (makes a large batch):

2 cups of cooked quinoa

2 large steamed broccoli florets (about 2 cups chopped)

1/2 cup of apple sauce

3 eggs

1.5 cup of grated cheese (I used Italian blend, already grated)

1 garlic clove (minced)

METHOD:

1. Line the baking tray with parchment paper (not foil because it will definitely stick; I tried)

2. Chop up the broccoli. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Form medium balls in your hands and place them on the tray.

4. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F. Once the edge start turning golden, the croquettes are ready.

QUINOA BROCCOLI CROQUETTES

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These vegetarian croquettes can be made from scratch or using leftover quinoa and broccoli. They taste best when warm but can also be stored in fridge for 2 days. Enjoy them as a side dish, in a pita just like you would falafel or eat as a main dish with some salad on the side.

Author: Natasha

Ingredients

2 cups of cooked quinoa
2 large steamed broccoli florets (about 2 cups chopped)
½ cup of apple sauce
3 eggs
1.5 cup of grated cheese (I used Italian blend, already grated)
1 garlic clove (minced)

Instructions

Line the baking tray with parchment paper (not foil because it will definitely stick; I tried)
Chop up the broccoli. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper.
Form medium balls in your hands and place them on the tray.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F. Once the edge start turning golden, the croquettes are ready.

Apple Banana Muffins

January 16, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

BLW appropriate from 7 months: just cut into tiny pieces and let your baby explore it. The recipe has an egg but if you don’t have any family egg allergies, I wouldn’t hesitate giving eggs. We started early with whole eggs following our pediatrician recommendation. Use your judgement and follow your intuition. I was impatient to introduce a lot of new ingredients into my son’s world and I just had a sense that he would be ok. Mama knows best.

I would say that last year of all the recipes, I used this one the most. These muffins are just a perfect healthy snack for babies and toddlers. There is no sugar of any kind; just apple and banana as a sweetener.

Pomegranates are in season now. Buy as much of it as you can. It’s an amazing source of vitamins and minerals among other things. The crazy person that I am, I used to squeeze spoonfuls of pomegranate juice using garlic press but now I give to Soren just like that for a snack and he loves eating the little bright sweet seeds. It’s fun to play with it too.

The recipe makes 12 mini and 6-8 large muffins.

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup melted coconut oil (if you don’t have it, the recipe works just fine without it)
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas (mashed)
2 small apples, grated (with or without skin works. More fiber with skin)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon (put more if you love it)
1/2 cup wholewheat flour
3/4 cup instant oats
Optional: raisins, nuts, chocolate

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 325F. Hand beat eggs with coconut oil in a bowl. Add mashed bananas, baking powder, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix. Add apples. Mix. Add flour and oats. Stir well. Pour half a batch in a lightly greased muffin mold for babies. Then add raisins, chocolate and any other goodness you like to the adult batch. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool off.

Apple Banana Muffins

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These muffins are just a perfect healthy snack for babies and toddlers. There is no sugar of any kind; just apple and banana as a sweetener.

Author: Natasha

Recipe type: muffins, baking

Cuisine: healthy baking, healthy snacks

Ingredients

⅓ cup melted coconut oil (if you don't have it, the recipe works just fine without it)
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas (mashed)
2 small apples, grated (with or without skin works. More fiber with skin)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp cinnamon (put more if you love it)
½ cup wholewheat flour
¾ cup instant oats
Optional: raisins, nuts, chocolate

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F.
Hand beat eggs with coconut oil in a bowl. Add mashed bananas, baking powder, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix. Add apples. Mix. Add flour and oats. Stir well.
Pour half a batch in a lightly greased muffin mold for babies. Then add raisins, chocolate and any other goodness you like to the adult batch.
Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool off.

Eggplant Sauté with Vegetables

January 15, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

We love eggplant here. This is a healthy vegetable sauté that is made with whatever you have in the fridge. You can substitute anything in the list of ingredients. Just follow a basic principle of cooking hard vegetables first (parsnips, carrots) and adding softer ones after (broccoli, zucchini).

Cook some quinoa or rice on the side and you are good to go for a few days without entering the kitchen.

❗️BLW TIP – if cooking for a family with babies under one:

1) avoid salt (you can add separately later)

2) cook for longer. With the suggested cook time, the vegetables will be a little crunchy. Continue cooking until the carrots are very soft. You can definitely offer it to babies 6-7 months old in a deconstructed way – pieces on the tray.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large eggplant

4-5 carrots (I used rainbow)

A bunch of spring onions (or 1 yellow onion)

1 cup chopped green beans

5-6 crimini mushrooms

2 medium tomatoes (or a bunch of cherry tomatoes)

Parsley fresh

Thyme fresh

1 large garlic clove

METHOD:

1. Wash and chop all vegetables: peel and cube the eggplant, chop spring onions, peel and cut the carrots into circles, chop mushrooms, half or quarter tomatoes depending on the size.

2. Heat a little olive oil in a deep pan. Sauté carrots and onions for 5 minutes. Add eggplant, green beans, mushrooms, and thyme. Stir, cover with the lid and cook on medium heat stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. At first the veggies will appear dry but soon they will release juices so do not add water.

3. Add the tomatoes, parsley and chopped garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10-15 minutes to develop more flavor.

Eggplant Saute with Vegetables

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This is a healthy vegetable sauté that is made with whatever you have in the fridge. You can substitute anything in the list of ingredients. Just follow a basic principle of cooking hard vegetables first (parsnips, carrots) and adding softer ones after (broccoli, zucchini).

Author: Natasha

Recipe type: lunch, dinner, main dish

Cuisine: vegan, vegetarian

Ingredients

1 large eggplant
4-5 carrots (I used rainbow)
A bunch of spring onions (or 1 yellow onion)
1 cup chopped green beans
5-6 crimini mushrooms
2 medium tomatoes (or a bunch of cherry tomatoes)
Parsley fresh
Thyme fresh
1 large garlic clove

Instructions

Wash and chop all vegetables: peel and cube the eggplant, chop spring onions, peel and cut the carrots into circles, chop mushrooms, half or quarter tomatoes depending on the size.
Heat a little olive oil in a deep pan. Sauté carrots and onions for 5 minutes. Add eggplant, green beans, mushrooms, and thyme. Stir, cover with the lid and cook on medium heat stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. At first the veggies will appear dry but soon they will release juices so do not add water.
Add the tomatoes, parsley and chopped garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10-15 minutes to develop more flavor.

Kale Avocado Bean Hummus

January 11, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

Kale Bean Avocado Dill hummus on top of a steamed sweet potato. This can be a snack for a toddler, an appetizer for adults or a full meal for a small baby.

It is ideal for baby led weaning starting from 6 months. My super duper healthy pesto-hummus thingy is obviously on a very healthy-tasting side so if your baby protests for whatever reason, add an apple or any other sweet fruit to make it more appealing. I added no fruit, instead – just a tiny bit of raw garlic. I really want to expose Soren to as many flavors as possible before he becomes picky in toddlerhood. I, of course, hope he doesn’t and starts cooking with me and for me as soon as he can hold a fork (yeah, right mama, hope away).

Now, let’s admit few of us steamed veggies daily before having kids (unless you are vegan, in which case you are a pro ?). A couple of my friends, whose babies are just entering the realm of real foods, asked me how I do it. I have a tiny kitchen and I don’t like the clutter so I use an old-fashioned stainless steel steamer basket (you can see an edge of it on the picture). It costs about $5 on Amazon (click here to buy) and folds to nothing. That said, any steamer would work. Every vegetable takes different time to cook. In this case:

?Vegetable: kale and sweet potato
?Cook time: 10-12 minutes
?How: pour an inch of water in a pot. Put the steam basket so that the bottom of it is not touching the water. Place veggies on top. Close lid. Steam until the fork goes through easily.

If you always have a few steamed veggies in the fridge, then you will never be stressed about what to feed your baby.

PESTO

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup steamed kale
1 cup Red kidney beans
1 avocado

small bunch of dill
⅓ cup olive oil
Optional: garlic, salt, pepper

METHOD:

Blend all the ingredients in a blender or any food processor. I use Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor for smaller portions and Vitamix for large portions and smoother consistency.

The proportions really don’t matter; you can use as much or as little of each ingredient. I like adding garlic and dill because it makes this pesto very fragrant and adds vitamins. Add more olive oil for more liquid consistency.

HOW TO SERVE IT TO BABIES:

Just as you see in the picture but cut up into small pieces. Have a messy fun!

Hearty Green Smoothie

January 9, 2016 by Natasha Leave a Comment

BLW from 6 months (omit nut butter until 7/8 months). I was nervous to give peanut and almond butter to Soren but my pediatritian assured me that the earlier the better so I finally became brave and offered it to my son when he was 7-8 months. He was fine and loved it.

Recently I have been inspired by a few Instagram moms whose kids drink fresh juices and smoothies every day, I decided to up my game and start making more smoothies myself.

My kitchen is very small and I often feel lazy dragging the blender out (I use Vitamix) and washing all the veggies but hey, healthy eating deserves a greater effort! ??????.

This smoothie is very satisfying and doesn’t taste “green”, for those of you who are not fans of drinking their greens.

INGREDIENTS:

3 large kale leaves

3 celery stalks

1 apple

1 tbsp of almond butter

1 banana

1/2 cup almond milk

Water and/or ice cubes

METHOD:

Wash and chop all the ingredients and blend on high for 30 seconds if using a Vitamix or longer if using a less powerful blender. Add 1/2 cup of water first and then see how liquid it is. Add more if needed. (I didn’t use ice today).

Hearty Green Smoothie

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

1 min

Total time

6 mins

Author: Natasha

Recipe type: smoothie

Cuisine: healthy, vegan, vegetarian

Ingredients

3 large kale leaves
3 celery stalks
1 apple
1 tbsp of almond butter
1 banana
½ cup almond milk
Water and/or ice cubes

Instructions

Wash and chop all the ingredients and blend on high for 30 seconds if using a Vitamix or longer if using a less powerful blender.
Add ½ cup of water first and then see how liquid it is. Add more if needed. (I didn't use ice today)