How to make for a full Vegan dinner or lunch

Greetings and blessed love for 2016! 

I wish you all much love success and conscious evolution to higher self this gregorian new year.  

As requested by a Sistar on Instagram I am making a post on how I create a vegan meal daily.

So basically I have a vegetable dish, a salad dish, a pea stew and a grain. Sometimes I even have no peas. So for example I may have quinoa, pigeon peas and stir fry greens with a salad or sweet potato or fried plantain on the side.

To start my meals I always do the flavour first, chopping: 

1 onion

3 pimento peppers

3 cloves garlic

Chives

 I also add other herbs and spices I may have. I am sure you have your own flavoring preferences! I divide these seasongs into three for my dishes.

For the Taste of  each dish I always add

Turmeric

Cumin

Ginger

Oregano

Tomato paste 

Sea salt

Powdered coconut milk 

And on occasion I use soy sauce, the best is Braggs liquid aminos,  but I try not to use soy products. I know I wrote a while back that I was giving them up, but I, on the occasion and I mean like once or twice a month the most, do have a soy burger or tofu since other family members still enjoy such. 

Part 1 the Grain

As I posted before, I make my grains like I would rice. The grains I eat are millet, quinoa, amaranth, couscous and on occasion I have basmati brown rice. I also have the Natures Earthly Choice Three Continent Blend which has wild rice, brown rice, two quinoa types and amaranth, so delicious.  I also buy organic brown rice or quinoa pasta instead.

Ingredients

Grain

Water

Sea salt

Powdered turmeric, ginger and  cumin and coconut milk

Optional chopped onion, pimento, garlic.

I usually use a ratio of 1 cup of grain to 2 cups of water. I usually combine the water and grain and I use about three dashes each of salt, cumin, turmeric and ginger and coconut milk. I don't use measurement, just throw it in.if you find grains to be bland definitely use the powdered spices I mentioned. I also add a few pieces of onion and garlic.

I let that simmer with the cover on until water Is gone, basically like rice.

Part 2 the Peas

For peas sometimes I use the can but generally buy the dried or even frozen form. If I use can I take out the water and rinse the peas. I use pigeon peas, chick peas, red beans, lentils and black eyed peas, on occasion black beans too but not as often.

If using them dried, first soak the peas in water. If using lentils I do it for a few hours before cooking. If like chickpeas or the others which are quite hard, soak overnight with a dash of baking soda in it. Another alternative is to soak them in boiling water and b. soda if time is short.

So in the pot I put a little coconut oil and a drop of blackstrap molasses and I let then bubble up. Then I add my onion, garlic, pimento and mix around. Then I add the peas and mix up. I also put the same spices and salt but usually use a generous amount of cumin.  Cumin and peas go together perfectly.

I then add the water. If using canned peas, I only put enough water to the level of the peas. If using dried peas which have to cook for a while I would fill more. When coming to the end I add a spoon of tomato paste and coconut milk powder, again about five dashes. 

Part 3 veggies

As I have shown, I steam, stir fry or bake or eat raw, my veggies. It depends on my mood.

Either way if they are being cooked I do so for as little time as possible.

Stir fry requires a non stick frying pan or wide deep pot  or wok if you have one. Sometimes I put oil but mostly I just use a little water to sauté my onion etc first. Then I drop in the veggies and add seasoning like oregano, ginger and chives, and sometimes turmeric and cumin. I stir fry for no more than five minutes. When cooking pumpkin and cho cho or christophene, don't cook until soft, but semi soft, when the pan is taken off the fire the veggies continue to cook in the steam. I have my recipes for baked veggies here already. You can use soy sauce as your only flavoring as well. Like if u r making cabbage and string beans stir fry.

Salad, plantain and sweet potato I won't bother to explain as there are recipes here for that as well. But I bake my sweet potato in skin, seldom do I boil. Only if gas or time is short.

I hope this helped those of you who want to get better at cooking vegan! Remember less salt and soy, more herbs and spices to season.

Give thanks for life!

Ila 

How Ila Uses Coconut The Superfood

Greetings Family,

As I promised, just a simple post about how I use coconut, as I recommend you do too because it really is a superfood filled with so much nutrition as an oil, as water or as "white meat" - coconut is the real white meat! Very sweet and filling too.
Now this is just my biased opinion - there are raw vegans who don't use coconut because they believe it has the wrong balance of sugars. But again to each his or her own. Coconut water is so pure it can be used for blood transfusions and it still provides hydration for the cells - although the argument is also that a raw food diet without an dehydrating foods like Nori and cocoa will require little water. 

                                           

First of all coconut water is the bomb! As often as I can get them off the tree I have it. Sometimes we buy from vendors. It hydrates and cleans the body and blood instantly. Makes you feel happy and ready to go on the inside. It is just the perfect boost. It is best to drink young coconut water because when it ages it gets very fatty and sweet. I don't mind this though because I like it to use as a natural source of fats, healthy fats. 

                                        

Daily I use coconut oil. I use it for oil pulling, which is an ageless method of dental care, naturally. In the morning I take a mouthful, not too full though, and I swish it around and gargle for about twenty minutes. You will get saliva added in with the oil as you swish so don't take too much oil to begin, a tablespoon is enough. I usually swallow it when I'm done as a vitamin. But apparently I am ingesting toxins the oil is removing, so I guess it is up to you - you can spit it out in the toilet trash or in the garden.
 For smokers this is a great practice to have once or better twice a day, because it freshens breath and protects against gum disease. I recommend you look it up for better tips on how to oil pull.

It is good otherwise to just drink a spoonful of the oil for a vitamin, it hardly has a taste so don't be apprehensive! If you can't do that then you can try eating it with food.

I also add the coconut oil, which is specifically cold-pressed not cooking oil, to what I'm eating. When I make my salad dressings, I always include this oil, again to add more healthy fats to the meal.

 I also stir fry my veggies or make my peas or beans with it.

A popular trend that I myself have tried and will do again is making marijuana coconut oil. It involves heating and steeping for four hours, the marijuana in the oil. It must be a very low temp. Crock pots are mainly used to do this. the herb is lightly toasted first. But do check on YouTube for a variety of DIY videos.

My whole family uses this coconut oil for our hair and body too. I put it on when InI natty are still damp because the hair absorbs it better. I use it for scalp itch. I also used it for my babies in the diaper area. Coconut oil can also be used as a safe all natural lubricant for king and queen - but please do not mix with latex!

I love eating the white jelly of coconuts, so delicious and very filling! I also use the dried white meat in the shredded form. I blend it with water for milk and strain that, add a little cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. You can use this with oats to make smoothie bowls of cereal.   My kingman puts that in his oats punch too. I love to put the shredded coconut in my salad too, again to add fats. I also eat it plain as a substitute for unhealthy chocolate snacks. The reason being is that raw foods which I eat until dinner, makes you lose weight, that's why most of these raw vegans online do it to begin with. But I'm not trying to lose weight skinny as I am! I'm just trying to heal and become truly Ital and balanced, so I don't want to lose weight at all, so nuts seeds coconut and avocado and oils are the foods I eat for maintaining weight.

Coconut meat can also be used to make yogurt - i have done it but not with the added probiotics. If you want it to taste like yogurt these healthy gut bacteria must be added and allowed to stand overnight I believe. I would like to try one day.

I have recently bought coconut flour but I haven't figured out how I will use it vegan yet, as it will require trial and error. Cause they say it needs a lot of eggs and liquid to make it work. I have only used it to make bliss balls, which are just dates, nuts and gluten-free flour blended and rolled together into a ball.

So I hope this post gave you a few leads to check up on, do your coconut research and make it fit into your daily routine for better health! And don't forget to link RastaWifeLine on IG, reasoning to soon come I know ones are wondering what has happened, but it is all in the works! Bless!

 Love!

Ila

Date Paste: Your New Raw Snack and Sugar Substitute

Blessed Love

So many times I have wanted to post but alas I get sidetracked and then I forget! So today I made the effort to just post something short and quick. I've got  a backlog of recipes to share but I am also toying with making a small recipe book that you can simply download or print to have on hand whenever you need inspiration to eat healthy, or tips for maintaining a TRULY ITAL Livity. Soo...

Dates.

They are very sweet! High in fructose, but rich in iron, magnesium, manganese and B Vitamins! 

I don't know how people can sit an eat a whole bunch because of how sweet they are, but I appreciate how great a sweetener it is, and the fact that it is great for IRON and ENERGY because eating mostly raw foods everyday sometimes I feel very crash, like I just didn't get enough calories or carbs.

So I decided to try date paste since so many raw vegans rave on about it. And they were right, it is pretty rawsome! It really makes snacking in between or breakfast, have a great boost in nutritional value and taste.

Many people use the Medjool dates from the Near East But there are also California dates. I have seen both in Xtra Foods here in Trinidad, for about $20.00 TT or more for a pack which is not bad. Dates can last for eight months to a year in the fridge so don't worry About them spoiling once they are properly sealed.

Basically to make date paste you take a handful of dates and put them in a jar. Cover them with water, just a little over the top of the dates is fine. And just let it soak an hour. Pour off the water and blend the dates, using just 1 1/2 tablespoons of the date water.

And presto voila! You have date paste. Just store in the fridge in a Sealed container. 

I add a dollop to cucumber, apple and pineapple slices, the size of the dollop varies by what I am having. It tastes fabulous!

Now for the water left over I used it to sweeten freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and a smoothies, and it was effective!  So I think it can work for lemonade and limeade, passion fruit juice, whatever you need to sweeten! Now your natural juice can really be natural. It can replace cane juice and those syrups which are not raw or very healthy. If you need a specific amount of date water for your recipe just add the measurement to the dates when you are soaking! 

You can also add the dates to your green smoothies directly to mask the taste or lack of great taste green juices tend to have! I have done it before, but with just two dates, other people use way more, but again it is about how sweet you like your foods to be.  How about using it to sweeten almond milk? 

Or using the date paste instead of applesauce or bananas, when baking? I am eager to try that! 

How about blending them with banana to make nice cream? I see lots of raw vegans use dates and bananas together in green smoothies.

I think the possibilities are endless. 

So just remember, dates are high in fructose but the other nutrients they carry make them a great natural, raw food to add to fruit and vegetable snacks. Just don't overdo it. I'd say a dollop of paste is like 2-3 dates tops.

If you have other interesting ways you use date paste let me know! The children will probably love it!

Remember, it is great for energy boosting and keeping that iron up as women, we need that for outer cycles.

 Next post is on how I use coconut oil!

Ila

Ila's Vegan Veggie Pizza with Spelt and ChickPea Flat Crust

Blessed Love to the I,


Before I share my ultimate vegetable, vegan, dairy-free, wheat-free pizza (yay!) I want to remind you to link with my page on Instagram if you use IG of course. - it is no longer @italafrika, but @rastawifeline....I changed the name but the same page, as it was more fitting for the blogspot to have the title of the page. so on the IG I share pics of what new recipes I try before they actually reach the blog. And when I am finished with some other projects I will be posting on more than just food, but branching into other areas. You can actually see my IG feed from my website www.iloveafrika.com under the page ILA NEWS. Feel free to use the hastags #WombWellness and #RastaWifeLine to share your meals and tips as well, this needs to be something that InI Dawtas can use to share and inspire one another to be healthier and happier.



So, I really miss pizza, and I have finally finally found the perfect wheat-free crust, so that I can have a guilt-free pizza anytime I feel like it! And the bonus is that it doesn't take long to make. The vegetable prep is the same as making a salad or food, and the dough is quite simple with mixing it all together and rolling it out. A simple and perfect and better alternative to regular pizza that usually has wheat, table salt and dairy in it, which cause cramps, pain and other PMS problems.

Remember that my aim is to share "Period Friendly Meals" here which are vegan or Ital. Foods that will cause I and I to have smoother moon cycles without being sick and out of it. Though the spelt and garbanzo flours maybe on the expensive side, at least you can get good uses out of them over time, the key is to also cut down on any recipe that involves flour as such will still break down to sugar and affect sinuses and periods or whatever issues you have with mucus in the body. Spelt is like a parent relative to wheat. It is a whole grain that has not been genetically modified like all wheat that we get in our flour, and it is also not bleached or enriched with any unnatural products. These flours can be substituted for others such as whole wheat and corn flour if you don't have any other. You can also try quinoa or almond flour if they have a texture like wheat, corn, spelt or garbanzo. I am yet to try these two types of flour myself. I have also done this pizza using breadfruit flour which is available in Barbados, so you can try that as well if you ever see it on the shelf.

Flat Crust Vegan Vegetable Pizza

1 ½ cup garbanzo/chickpea flour
1 cup spelt flour (plus extra for kneading)

Or for a gluten-free, corn-free option try:
2 cups Breadfruit flour or 2.5 cups garbanzo flour

¾ cup slightly warm water
1/4 cup Coconut or olive oil with extra for pizza pan
1.5 tsp baking powder (or 1 tbsp flax)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano


Pizza toppings

Seasonings:

3 stalks chive,
1 onion,
3 pimento peppers or the like
5 clove garlic
1 big leaf of shadon beni

All finely diced.

And any combination of vegetables you have, for example:
3 sliced  Tomatoes
1 cup sliced Pineapple
1/4 thinly sliced Eggplant
3 leaves chopped pakchoi or other greens
1 cup each shredded or grated pumpkin, carrot, zucchini and beet

3 large spoons full Tomato paste (Matouks in the jar)


Pizza pan
Baking or wax paper

large bowl



Combine dry ingredients well with spoon: flour, salt and dried seasonings

Add the oil to flour. You will add 1/2 cup of water to this and mix with a spoon first and then use your hands when the flour is all wet. Add a little more water if you need it. Add sprinkles of spelt to make the right consistency as you start with your hands. It doesn’t take too long to knead. It should be smooth, soft and moist but not wet or too dry (add more spelt or water if you need to). 

I use my hands and make a flat circle and just set it aside in the bowl with a towel over it, while I put all the ingredients away.

(Note you can make mini pizzas by rolling dough into balls)

On your counter top, place a sheet of baking paper. Flatten the dough onto baking paper in a nice flat circle using your four fingers. knead all cracks. Cover that dough with another sheet and start to make a circle with rolling pin. When the circle has gotten a little wider and flatter it will stick to the paper, so take off the top sheet slowly and finish getting the circle bigger and evenly spread with the rolling pin. You shouldn’t need to add flour to dust. This is not that type of dough that you need it all floured up, it should not be sticky, but soft and smooth and very very firm.  keep kneading all cracks

Using the bottom baking sheet flip the circle onto the greased pizza pan and carefully peel the baking sheet off the back. Use your hands to further press dough around the pan. In my photo you can see what happens when you try to sprinkle flour, it doesn't blend in!
Do not bake with paper or it will stick -learned that the hard way!


Spread tomato paste on first with a large spoon.

Cover that paste with the finely chopped onion garlic chive pimento.

Evenly spread the vegetable toppings. I start with the pumpkin, carrot and beets, then the tomatoes and greens.


Bake pizza at medium heat of 150 C for 25 minutes or til edges are golden brown. 

Voila!

Grate my vegan almond nut cheese over everything when it comes out and allow to cool a bit before slicing and serving.
Makes four big slices or eight smaller.

 

My favourite part of this pizza is the crust. It's soft and yet has a slight cookie texture as well because of the chickpea flour.

Do try! and keep up with my Ital recipes also on Pinterest @iladesigns in the board "Ital with Ila"


Rastafari!
Sis Ila

Raw Almond Cheese and Eggplant Mini Pizza

Greetings!

I wish to share a recipe for a very simple nut cheese that I came up with when making veggie pizza. Now unfortunately this cheese will not melt because it has no liquid in it like water or almond milk, so while I call it a cheese, it is more of a topping, that reminds me a lot of coconut flakes in texture. Now I personally don't think vegetable pizza actually needs cheese, the way I make it (a recipe to followup very soon as I plan to give it a second test tomorrow) so if you are looking for a melting cheese you can try what I have put below which is what I did in my cashew cheese recipe. I have to try it also to see how it will melt. You can also check some other vegan bloggers.

This almond cheese goes perfectly with salad or even a sandwich as a topping. If I still ate tofu eggs I'd definitely add to my omelet. The added bonus is that you can use as much as you would like and not be overpowered in flavour (because of the soaking).



ALMOND CHEESE

TOPPING
1 cup almonds raw
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp dried basil (optional)


Soak almonds overnight in the water or at least 6 hours. Make sure they are well covered. Peel off the skins when time is up. A lot of people do not soak their almonds to retain the great oils and flavour, be that as it may, almonds unsoaked will not digest in the tummy because the blocking enzymes have not been neutralized by soaking.

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor until it becomes I thick paste that is soft and spreadable.  You have to mix and stop constantly because it is a very dry mixture, it just requires a bit of patience especially if using a plain ole blender.

It will still be grainy in a very fine texture but with no visible chunks of almonds.

Scrape it all into a bowl and mash around with a spoon.

Mould into a ball and place in a ziplock bag. Freeze for at least 2-4 hours.

It should be hard enough to grate over pizza.

The crumble will not melt.


For a cheese that can spread try adding these ingredients:

2 tbs apple cider vinegar or juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic

two stalks of chive
1 cup Water (slightly warm to help the almonds blend)
Blender or food processor

2 tsps nutritional yeast

If you want a mild taste leave out chive and garlic. nutritional yeast just for flavour it is not necessary.

Now for a recipe that will put your new almond cheese to great use!


EGGPLANT PIZZA

This is the same concept as baking or grilling seasoned eggplant slices, but with some fresh grated and chopped veggies on top.

1 eggplant
Turmeric powdered
Cumin powdered
Dried basil
Dried Italian seasoning
Dried parsley
Baking tray
Coconut or olive oil

small piece pumpkin
small carrot
small beet
1/2 sweet pepper
2 medium tomatoes



Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thin circles.
Grate pumpkin, beet, carrot; and chop sweet pepper and tomato. I actually used the veggies from my rainbow salad to whip up these pizzas to show how easily they can be prepared!

Put half in a big bowl and sprinkle all the seasons on the pieces. If it is dry sprinkle a little water to help the seasoning to stick.
Do the same to the rest of the eggplant. 

Transfer to greased pan with or without foil, it is up to you. Cover each piece of eggplant with the vegetables prepared. 

Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes on medium heat around 150 C.

Pull out and allow to cool 15 minutes.

Serve with grated almond cheese on top.
Two bites and they’re gone! Lovely little mini pizza substitutes. 

Will not be a favorite of anyone who doesn’t like "mushy" eggplant however.


Stay tuned for more to come, now that I have internet, I will be able to keep things going here on RastaWifeLine and InI YouTube channel.

Ital Cauliflower Rice Recipe

Selamta Family,

Give thanks for the Rastafari Ilah Days or feasts April18-21st and other Binghi groundsing days, honoring the Coming of the Messiah to His People, InI Afrikan descendants of the Caribbean,. This time pays homage to the union of King and Nation, the groundsing that occurred between State and Dreadlocks, the strong bond that formed between the two, the renewal of InI as Ethiopians, Rastafari acceptance by Ethiopia.

I wish to share my version of one of the latest vegan fads on Pinterest, Cauliflower rice, which is a great substitute to brown and white rice. I have recently learned that wild rice or black rice or the only types not genetically modified, they are safest to eat. So rice is another food to be on the look out for. I will post more about the foods we as vegans or italists still consume that are hybrid, but overall you can look at the Electric Foods list from Dr. Sebi.

You will need

Cauliflower Rice

1 head cauliflower or more if it's a big family (serves four)

Stalks of Chive

Sprig of small leaf Thyme

1 Small onion

1 pimento

Thumb ginger

Dried oregano leaves, 'Italian' seasoning, seasalt

Thumb Tumeric and 2 clove Garlic (these foods are said to be hybrid by Dr Sebi so this is optional)

Coconut oil for stir frying

Stir fry pot if not having it fully raw

Blender

Wash cauliflower and separate the florets I soaked mine in vinegar water to clean it.

Allow to fully dry in the fan or in the sun. Pat them dry and turn them often to speed the process.

  

Dice all the seasoning ingredients and set aside.

When dry place cauliflower in three batches into your blender. Press grate. You will need to push the cauliflower down onto the blades as the bowl is dry. It requires starting and stopping the blender a lot to keep things moving.

 Empty each batch into a bowl. 

Don't over blend as it will get moist. The point is to keep the cauliflower dry so it is more rice-like.

You can grate by hand if required.

When all grated  combine the seasonings and cauliflower in the stirfry pan with a little coconut oil and stir for five minutes. 

As you see I still had a few chunks in there but most of it became fine like rice! 

Full joy with my other recipes!

Give thanks for life!

Ila 

Baked or Roasted Vegetable delights for Womb Wellness Livity

Greetings my Sistren,

I really have so much I want to reason about but my time is as always, hard to come by. And I have no internet at home so I can't load my website or blogspot to  update them, yes I sis Ila too can't always manage the bills good and so we go without for a while. But that doesn't get me down, I can still make these small connections to spread some positive vibes with InI, I have good food to eat daily and a happy home because I work hardest on having these things and I hope that no matter what you have or don't have right now, that you too know the value of what is and still find joy and blessing each day. 

I wish to share two baked veggies recipes which are ideally the same steps. While it is good to eat raw salad daily it is also good to have warm foods when on the period cycle as the body itself when losing fluids, needs extra warmth. it. is good to wear a sweater and socks when on the flow to protect the womb structure form excess cold.  So teas and soups and baked veggies are good along with salad and juicing, I personally eat less of any grains like wheat and rice and focus on these more during the seven days before and during the cycle. I have found that no sugar, wheat and soy on the whole are best. No sugar drinks and snacks, I drink my beet juice instead.

Oven baked vegetables (and potato)

Select your vegetables and cut them into cubes, I choose from

Carrot

Squash or pumpkin 

Beans

Okra

Eggplant

Cabbage

Broccoli 

Christophene or chayote

Zucchini and so on

Cube the red potatoes if you are having. Or use sweet potato or omit potato 

In a large bowl mix the veggies with powdered tumeric, "Italian" seasonings, cumin, ginger, seasoning salt. I usually add some, mix well, add again and mix til everything is nicely coated.

Spread foil on a baking dish with depth, spread the veggies flat, cover with foil again 

bake at about 150 c or a medium flame for 25-30 minutes.

Baked eggplant

Slice the eggplant in circles about 1/4 inch thick

Repeat the bowl dressing, mixing the eggplant well with the seasonings

Spread them on a flat sheet like a pizza pan, on foil 

bake ten minutes til brown underneath, flip and bake another five minutes and remove.
You can also try this with potato and sweet potato - it is so delicious!

These dished make great sides with quinoa, peas, or just a salad and sweet potato! I love the eggplant plain too! The bonus is that the kingman will love it!

I wish my Sistren health, success and positive feelings of self love and strength. Whatever you go through, you can overcome. Believe in yourself and Jah's favour and love.

Ila