Are you ready for this? Vegan butter chicken sauce? Ahhh my gawdd! It was so so so delicious and so so easy! I will be making this again again! My only regret is that I didn’t make more! I had a number of friends stroll in the day I made this vegan butter chicken sauce and everyone of them loved it (and none of them are even vegan). 🙂
I want to make this again and eat this right now. 🙂
The picture here doesn’t look super saucy but not to worry! I’ve adapted the recipe to double the sauce and that’s what I have shared below.
1 tsp of sugar, optional (I didn’t add this but “traditional” butter chicken often includes this)
Directions for Vegan Butter Chicken Sauce
Soak the cashews (you can do this for however long you like. I have a high powdered blender so I usually skip the soaking process entirely but if you don’t have a high powdered blender, you can soak the cashews overnight or for a minimum of 30 minutes). Place the soaked cashews in a food processor / blender, add the coconut milk and blend them until they are completely smooth. Set aside.
Drain tofu and prep tofu. I usually do this by placing it between 2 plates, putting something heavy on top, and letting it sit for about 10-20 minutes. If you would like a “meatier” tofu texture, you can then bake the tofu after it’s drained on a greased baking sheet/parchment paper. Bake it for in about 30 minutes on 400 degrees, flipping mid-way through.
Heat the olive oil (or vegan butter) in a large pan over medium heat.
Add the green cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon.
Add the tomato puree, red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, and fresh chillies, if using.
Increase heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil (you can add more water if you find the mixture sticking to the pan. I did not do this though).
Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the tofu and simmer for another five minutes or so. Add the coconut milk & cashew mixture.
This paleo coconut flour naan was such an exciting discovery! I LOVE naan and grew up with amazing Afghani naan courtesy of the countless Afghani shops in our neighbourhood (thank you Toronto!). Since trying to cut down on the grains though, I am always experimenting with grain free versions of my favourite grain-filled stuff. I was surprised of how easy this paleo coconut flour naan turned out!
Paleo Coconut Flour Naan | happygut.ca
Directions for Paleo Coconut Flour Naan
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch (also known as tapioca flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 tsp cumin, optional
1/4 tsp garlic powder, optional
*4 chia eggs (4 tbsp of ground white chia + 1/2 cup water)
1/4 cup full fat coconut milk (Full fat coconut milk from the can works best. Almond milk will also work though you may need to add more water and will have a stronger chia taste, I haven’t tried any other dairy free milks yet.)
oil, for frying
*You can use black ground chia as well but it will have a stronger chia-like taste. If you don’t have chia and are not vegan, you can use regular eggs instead. I haven’t tried it with regular eggs but I assume it will work.
Directions for Paleo Coconut Flour Naan
Combine the ground chia with the 1/2 cup water and set aside.
Meanwhile, combine the coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices (if using) and mix well.
Add the dairy free milk and the chia mixture and mix well. The dough/batter should be easily spreadable but not as liquidly as pancake batter. Add some more milk/water if it’s too thick.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
When the pan is hot, use a 1/3 measuring cup and slowly pour the naan batter in the pan.
Use a spoon to spread out and pat the batter in a circular motion making sure to cover any holes in the batter. We want a complete naan. 🙂 Don’t spread it out too thin or else it will be like a crepe / may break. I spread my batter out to be about 1/8 inch thick.
Wait 3-6 minutes before you flip the naan to make sure it cooks completely. Wait another 3-6 minutes for the other side and continue flipping until you get some nice dark brown spots.
Remove from pan, coat with some oil, if desired and serve hot.
I am always looking for breakfast smoothies for protein and so I was so excited to write this post!
I searched far and wide for the best breakfast smoothies with protein that were also vegan. None of the recipes require protein powder (ain’t nobody got time for that! :P) and all of them are raw.
Note: The recipe makes two 16 ounce glasses. The protein of 10g is per glass.
The 10g of protein includes the 2 tbsp of chia seeds (optional in the recipe)
This vegan mushroom pate recipe is off the wall! I hosted a crazy New Years partaaay (and by crazy I mean, we had tea, meditated and had nice food 🙂 ) and made a ton of appetizers.
I got this recipe years ago from a friend and loved it when I made it but hadn’t made it in since – the audacity of me! I made it again for our New Years party and I remembered why I loved it so much in the first place. 🙂
It was a hit! Note that it does have a pate texture so be prepared!
Serves 8-10
Ingredients Vegan Mushroom Pate Recipe
4.5 cups slicked or shopped mushrooms (any type will do)
1 cup almond butter
¼ cup olive oil
1 small onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon thyme
black pepper to taste
1/2 – 1 tbsp Braggs or soy sauce (you can use salt if you don’t have either of those hand), to taste.
Directions Vegan Mushroom Pate Recipe
Heat olive oil in large frying pan/skilled on medium heat.
Add the chopped onions, garlic, mushrooms, and the 1/2 tsp salt, thyme and blackpepper
Cook it until the onion is translucent and most of the juices have evaporated.
Remove from heat.
In food processor, add the nut butter.
Add the mushroom mixture and Braggs (or substitute), add a little at a time depending on your salty preference.
Alright folks, this recipe for chocolate pudding made with avocado is a good one! It was my brother’s birthday this past Friday (Happy Birthday Zeshan!) and so I wanted to make healthy dessert (God knows there was going to be a sugar-filled cake). Irfan, my partner in life and crime, is also currently on a paleo-ish diet. I say “ish” because he’s a vegetarian and so he’s doing paleo without the meat but with the addition of beans and lentils. I wanted to make something that he could eat as well.
I bought avocados, cocoa and added some maple syrup. BAAM! A delicious avocado pudding! My brother, who is not known for his healthy eating ways loved it! So did my 11 year-old nephew. A healthy dessert for all friends! 🙂 So many exclamation marks!!!
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients for Recipe for Chocolate Pudding Made with Avocado
Meat from 2 large avocados (or 3-4 small)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup maple syrup
optional: tsp of vanilla, tsp of cinnamon
a few splashes of dairy free milk if needed (I used almond milk)
Directions for Recipe for Chocolate Pudding Made with Avocado
Throw all ingredients into your food processor and go to town!
Add more maple syrup if desired (1/2 cup maple syrup was the perfect amount of sweetness for me, but you may like more)
This vegan apple crisp coconut oil recipe is a  keeper friends! My cousin Saarah, aka my sista from another motha (my aunt actually!) came over during the winter holidays for our annual sleepover.
Seeing as Saarah is my cousin, I’ve known her for her whole life (I used to change her diapers!). She is 10 years younger than me and so we have only recently become close. The deal was sealed when me, my Mom, Saarah and my aunt (Saarah’s Mom) all took a mother daughter trip to Dubai. It was so much fun!
Saarah and I shared a hotel room the for the whole 2 week duration of the vacay and so we basically learned everything about each other. She is super cool! Way cooler than I was at 20. Anywho, Saarah and I learned that we love each not only because we are family! Woohoo! It’s always a pleasure when you genuinely like your family.
I genuinely like Saarah. 🙂 Haha, this post is basically devoted to my love for Saarah! You’re welcome Saarah. 🙂
Anywho, back to the sleepover and the vegan apple crisp. Saarah is currently in her 3rd year of undergrad at McMaster University, in Hamilton, ON. She studies way to hard if you ask me (just joking! 😛 she will do something amazing in life!) and so we barely see each other during the school year. She was off for the winter break and so we had a sleepover. This is how our winter sleepovers go: make fire, make food, eat food, drink tea, make more food, eat more food, drink more tea. 🙂
For dinner we had my Vegan Tempeh Sandwich and had this vegan apple crisp for dessert. It was a hit! Super quick, easy and incredibly satisfying! Some vegan coconut ice cream on top would also be a super delicious addition. 🙂
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients for Vegan Apple Crisp Coconut Oil –Â Apple Filling
6 apples, cored and chopped
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2Â tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Ingredients for Vegan Apple Crisp Coconut Oil –Â Crumble Topping
pinch of salt
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
Directions for Vegan Apple Crisp Coconut Oil
Preheat oven to 350
Combine all apple filling ingredients in one bowl
Combine all crumble topping ingredients in another bowl
Oil an oven safe pan with coconut oil
Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.
Bake in the oven for 20-30Â minutes until the crumble is browned.
Sigh, vegan winter salads….the best type of salads! I love salads and eat them all year round. Eating salads is the summer is super easy and refreshing. Having salads in the winter though is not always awesome. My criteria for vegan winter salads: it has be warm and complete with protein (and, of course, delicious and easy).
I was invited to a potluck a couple of weeks ago and decided to bring a salad. In my search for vegan winter salads, I came up with so many delicious options that I decided to bookmark and share with you. 🙂
See below for my roundup for the best vegan winter salads.
All of the salads are complete with protein. The first section of salads calls for lentils, the second section has tofu and the last section has some other type of veggie protein.
This green smoothie recipe with spinach & almond butter is ah-mazing! This is how the creation came to life: I was at home, hard at work and, as per usual, I forgot to eat lunch and it was 2pm – yikes! I didn’t have a lot of time and needed something to fill up my belly quick. I had the following ingredients in the fridge: spinach, almond milk & almond butter. I whipped them together and voila! So simple and SO SO VERY delicious!!
The combination of apple and almond butter is the best! My body doesn’t like peanut butter so I always use almond butter in anything that I would use peanut butter in and it never disappoints! (Aside: apple + almond butter also makes a super quick and protein packed snack).
If you are nut free though, use sun butter (or any other nut free “peanut” butter). My nephew is severely allergic to peanuts so nuts are a big no no at my brother’s house. Whenever I’m at their place, I eat sun butter as my almond butter replacer and it tastes great! (I think almost exactly like peanut butter). So, in case you are nut free, feel free to replace the almond butter with sun butter and I’m sure it will taste super. I’ll be trying this recipe with sun butter instead of almond butter the next time I go to my bro’s house.
I’ll definitely be making this again and again. 🙂
Serves: 1
Ingredients for Green Smoothie Recipe Spinach Almond Milk
1 cup almond milk
1 apple, cored
2 handfuls of spinach, washed
2 tbsp of almond butter (or a nut free version, like sun butter)
1-2 tbsp of maple syrup (or any other sweetener), optional
1-2 tbsp hemp seeds (gives an extra 10.6 grams of protein!), optional (if you have it handy)
Directions for Green Smoothie Recipe Spinach Almond Milk
Throw all the ingredients into a blender (I used a Blendtec) and mix it up!
This is by far the best tandoori tofu recipe. I have tried many over the years and this one takes the cake! (or tofu, hehe).
My aunt who is a fabulous cook uses this recipe for chicken, I just replaced the chicken for tofu and it was delicious! Not only that, but it was incredibly easy to make – the perfect quick weekday meal.
Ideally, you will want to prep this the night before.
Ingredients for Tandoori Tofu
1 block extra firm tofu, sliced
1 cup yogurt (use vegan yogurt if you’re vegan)
2 tbsp fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2-2 tsp red chilli powder (I use 2 but I like it spicy!)
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions for Tandoori Tofu
Combine all the ingredients, except the tofu, into a bowl
Add tofu slices to the sauce mixture and ensure that all the tofu is covered with the sauce
Marinade overnight in the fridge (or a couple of hours)
Pre-heat oven to 400 on bake
Oil a baking tray and place tofu onto tray (you will have excess sauce, use it as a dip if you please!)
Cover baking dish with foil and bake for about 40 minutes
Remove the foil paper and broil each side for about 5-10 minutes
This breakfast kale smoothie is one of my staple detox breakfast recipes. Not only is it incredibly nutritious, packed with kale and other superfoods, but it is also so delicious! I look forward to this breakfast from the moment I wake up. I throw a lot of things into my breakfast kale smoothie but feel free to use the recipe as a template and eliminate/add whatever else you fancy. 😉
I think a good baseline for the breakfast kale smoothie would be kale, apple, almond milk (or any other type of dairy free milk) and some protein like nuts/nut butter. After that, it’s fair game!
Serves 1-2 (one large glass, or 2 smaller glasses, as shown in the picture above)
Ingredients for Breakfast Kale Smoothie
1 large or 2 small kale leaves
1 small-medium sized apple, cored
handful of walnuts
1 tbsp of almond butter
1/2 cup almond milk (or any other dairy free milk)
1 tsp flax seeds/ground flax
1 tsp chia seeds/ground chia
1 tsp hemp seeds
1 tsp spirulina (I’m low in iron and spirulina helps me with my daily intake of iron)
4 apricots (also high in iron and naturally sweet)
sometimes I also add a tsp of macha powder / maca powder
Directions for Breakfast Kale Smoothie
Throw all ingredients into a high powdered blender (I use my Blendtec) and blend until smooth.
Enjoy! 🙂
Let me know if you adapt the smoothie and how it turns out – I love hearing about cool kale smoothie ideas! 🙂
