A record of what Devine & I eat, everyday, for a period of 2 weeks. All recipes are portioned for 2 people, except breakfasts (we don't eat the same thing).

Day 1

Breakfast

Lunch

Bring a pan to high heat, add some vegetable oil and 1/2 chopped yellow onion, cook until browned, then add 2 minced garlic cloves. Cook for 1 minute, add 1 grated carrot, 1 grated potato and 113g (1/4) grated block of firm tofu. Cook for 5 minutes, add some ground cumin, black pepper and salt, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer veggies to bowl, process into a paste with an immersion blender or food processor, add 1/2 cup of powdered oats (quick oats that are ground into a powder). Shape into patties, and cook into a pan with a bit of oil until browned on both sides. Makes about 6 patties.

Dinner

Day 2

Breakfast

Lunch

Warm lentil salad:

Cook lentils with vegetable broth (for better flavor). Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, pour over lentils.

Roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts:

Heat over to 220˚C (425°F). Cut stem and remove outer leaves from brussel sprouts, cut in half. Cut sweet potatoes into thin wedges. In a bowl, mix olive oil, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, mix well. Add cut sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts, mix until well coated. Spread the veggies on a baking tray, and bake for 30 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients together, and season with salt and pepper.

Dinner

Day 3

Breakfast

Lunch

Wholegrain wheat linguine pasta with a roasted beet sauce.

Dinner

Made spicy stir-fried chickpeas. Served up with some crackers I made with left-over buckwheat groats from buckwheat tea I'd saved. I swapped out the oats in the recipe for the buckwheat.

Day 4

Breakfast

Lunch

Wholegrain linguine with spicy garlic sauce

Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add pasta and cook until al dente (6-8 minutes). Drain pasta, but reserve some of the cooking water, as it will be re-used to create the sauce. Don't rinse the pasta.

Heat pan to medium. When hot add 15 ml (1 tbsp) of olive oil. Add firm tofu (chopped into tiny cubes for more surface area) into the pan. Pan-fry for 3-5 minutes, then add brocoli florets. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Transfer to another bowl for later. In that same pan, add more oil (about 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil) and 3 smashed (not minced) garlic cloves. Sauté 1-2 minutes. Remove garlic, minced it, and reserve it for later. Add red pepper flakes to your pan to infuse the olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Add cooked pasta, minced garlic tofu and broccoli, and toss to coat. Remove from heat, add salt and black pepper to taste.

Dinner

We ate out! We went to a Sichuanese and Thai cuisine restaurant in town. Shared 4 plates (for 3 ppl) consisting of:

Day 5

Breakfast

Lunch

Deconstructed pate chinois. This a type of 'sheperd's pie' i like to make that isn't baked, i just prepare ingredients invidually and them just throw them in a bowl together. I vary the dish a lot, depending what I have available. I used cauliflower, but sometimes I use sweet potatoes, white potatoes etc. Instead of scrambled chickpeas I sometimes used tofu (grated, seasoned and sauteed with onions) or brown lentils.

Cut the white cauliflower into small flowers. Steam in a basket over a pot of water for 5 min or so. Then process into puree with a handstick blender. I like plain cauliflower with a bit of salt, but if you want more flavor you can add a bit of vegan butter.

Add a layer of corn to the bottom of two bowls, add the scrambled chickpea, add the pureed cauliflower and then the marinated eggplants. Season with black pepper and top with some spicy marinades! I used some spicy marinated eggplants.

Dinner

Lasagna with sunflower seed parmesan.

Pour hot water over 140 g (1 cup) sunflower seeds, let soak for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse and transfer to a bowl. Add these ingredients to the bowl: 340 g (1 pack) of soft tofu, 45 g (3 tbsp) nutritional yeast, 5 g (1 tsp) garlic powder and 1.25 g (1/4 tsp) of salt. Mix, and puree using a handstick blender (or food processor).

To make marinara sauce, bring a pan to medium heat with a bit of olive oil. Add 3 minced garlic cloves cook for a minute, then add 5 g chili pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add one 795 ml can (280 oz) of diced tomatoes (no salt or spices added), 1 diced (cubed) zucchini, 30 g soy protein, 5 g (1 tsp) dried oregano and 15 g (1 tbsp) of tomato paste. Bring to high heat, then lower to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Finally, mix in 45 g (3 tbsp) of nutritional yeast, fresh basil and salt.

Preheat oven 176 C (to 350 F). Cook lasagna according to package instructions. Coat bottom of 9X13 baking dish with marinara sauce, then add sheets of lasagna. Add another layer of sauce, then add the sunflower/tofu 'cheese', then more lasagna. Repeat until you have 4 layers of noodles. For top of lasagna, add a layer of sauce and top with some Sunflower seed parmesan. Place lasagna on middle rack of oven, bake for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Day 6

Breakfast

Pancakes!

Mix soy milk with apple cider vinegar to create 'buttermilk', let stand for 5 minutes. Add vanilla extract, mix well.

Mix dry ingredients together, then add soy 'buttermilk'. In a pan, heat 5 ml (1 tsp) of vegetable oil (or vegan butter) at medium heat. When pan is hot, add 30 ml (~2 tbsp) of batter into pan. Help spread into wider circle using the back of the spoon. Cook until bubbles form on the top, then flip, and cook for another 2 minutes. Repeat for rest of pancake mix and serve with maple syrup!

Lunch

Had rice noodles with peanut sauce.

Cut tofu into small cubes. Put 15 g (1 tbsp) of cornstarch in a bowl, add tofu cubes and toss until well-coated. Keep aside.

Mix sauce ingredients (except for the water) in a bowl. Then add the water and mix until well incorporated. In a pan, heat some oil at high heat. When hot, add the minced garlic and the chili flakes, cook for 30 seconds, add zucchini and bell pepper. Add the tofu, cook until outside of tofu has crisped up. Add noodles, then add the sauce overtop. Cook for 1-2 minutes until sauce starts to thicken. Serve in two bowls.

Dinner

Ate left-over lasagna from Day 5.

Day 7

Breakfast

Lunch

Today we had one slice of lasagna left over from day 5, we split that in two and served it with steamed brussel sprouts and hearts of palm salad.

Hearts of palm salad

Rinse brussel sprouts, cut stems, remove outer leaves, and cut in half. Place in steam basket over pot of water, steam until tender. I like to eat them as is, but you can season them with salt/pepper, vegan butter etc.

Cut hearts of palms into slices. Mix the salad dressing ingredients together until well incorporated, then add hearts of palm and mix until well-coated. Serve brussel sprouts, hearts of palm salad and lasagna into two bowls.

Dinner

Vege pate over slices of spelt bread, with spicy marinated eggplants, sauerkraut and veggies on the side. I made vege pate a month ago. The recipe makes 4 blocks, so I unfroze one this morning to thaw for dinner. My parents have a bread machine, so today I made some spelt sandwich bread with it. Started it after lunch and the loaf was ready for dinner.