Tag Archives: plant-based

A rich vegan chocolate cake with green leafy vegetables

Chocolate cake with leafy greens

nutrition, , ,

Yoga Kitchen – Simple, healthy, and plant-based

This could become the plant-based rival to Black Forest cake

Choosing a plant-based diet also offers opportunities to break free from the unhealthy traditions of our conventional, animal-product-based eating habits.

In our family, the Black Forest cake that my mother traditionally made for the Christmas dessert buffet was always a huge hit. I’m working on a plant-based alternative that can rival the classic Black Forest cake in terms of taste and texture. And with the recipe below, I’ve already got a good recipe to get the cake base just right.
So here’s a rich, two-tiered chocolate cake, filled with and covered in a smooth layer of chocolate glaze – you can easily make this entirely with plant-based ingredients too. And in this case, a rather unexpected and surprising green ingredient makes an appearance.
Pak choi, avocado and fresh dates

What ingredients do you need?

Wet ingredients for the cake base

  • 10 to 12 juicy dates (e.g. Medjool or Mazafati)
  • 150 g pak choi, stalks and leaves, approx. 5 stalks (yes, you won’t believe it)
  • 150 ml soya milk (or another plant-based milk)
  • approx. 50 ml strong herbal or spiced tea (I used a yoga tea)
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 50 ml plant-based, neutral-tasting oil
  • 5 tablespoons almond butter

Dry ingredients for the cake base

  • 250 g wholemeal flour
  • 50 g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • a pinch of salt or herb salt

Ingredients for the chocolate glaze

  • 150 g dark fair trade chocolate
  • The flesh of a ripe avocado
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt or herb salt
  • 150 ml soya milk (or another plant-based milk)

    • To decorate

    • approx. 30 g chopped walnuts or pecans

    You will also need one or two round cake tins, approx. 20–23 cm in diameter.
    Ingredients for the chocolate fudge cake

    Method

    The cake layers

    1. Cut the washed pak choi into pieces and place it in the bowl of a blender together with the dates and the other wet ingredients.
    2. Blend until smooth.
    3. Place all the dry ingredients in a sufficiently large bowl and mix them well.
    4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix them into a smooth, creamy batter.
    5. Line the baking tin with baking paper and spread the first half of the batter over it.
    6. Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C (preheating is not necessary for a fan oven).
    7. Remove the first half from the oven and the tin, and leave to cool on a wire rack.
    8. Repeat steps 5 to 7 for the second half of the dough.

    The chocolate glaze

    1. Pour the plant-based milk for the glaze into a small saucepan, break the chocolate into pieces and melt over a low heat, stirring continuously.
    2. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the contents into a measuring jug.
    3. Add the chopped avocado and the salt.
    4. Blend everything with a hand blender until you have a smooth, spreadable mixture.

      5. Assembling and finishing the cake

      1. Spread a generous layer of chocolate glaze over each of the two cake bases.
      2. Place the two halves on top of each other and coat the sides of the cake completely with the remaining chocolate glaze.
      3. Finally, decorate the top with chopped nuts.

      And there you have it!
      A slice of vegan chocolate cake on a dish

      Wholefood plant-based

      Despite the healthy ingredients, this isn’t a cake you’d want to tuck into every day, given the generous amount of chocolate. It’s a cake for special occasions, for those few times a year when you really want to conjure up something special.
      Credit where credit is due:
      The original idea for this cake comes from the book “Gebak met groenten” (Pastries with Vegetables) by the Flemish entrepreneur and caterer Eveline Versluys, alias Vegamuze.
      I have adapted it considerably, however, in line with the principles of a wholesome plant-based diet.
      And with good reason.
      Traditional patisserie makes extensive use of eggs and dairy products such as butter.
      It is to Eveline’s credit that she offers an original and successful plant-based alternative in which vegetables play a key role.

      Wholefoods rather than refined ingredients

      Furthermore, many of the other ingredients are often ultra-refined: the flour and sugar, for example. Vegetable oil, too, has been stripped of the fibre and other wholesome components of the seeds or nuts.
      That is why I replaced the refined flour with finely ground wholemeal flour, the sugar with dates, and the neutral oil partly with an unrefined fat (almond paste). After all, the dates provide extra fibre (and also some moisture), and the almond paste, which is admittedly more expensive than refined oils, provides extra protein and fibre. Wholemeal flour still contains all the vitamins and minerals from the grain, unlike white, refined flour.
      The result of these substitutions has undoubtedly been very good.

      Substitutions

      Originally Substitution
      250 g white flour 250 g wholewheat flour
      120 g sugar 10 to 12 dates
      120 ml vegetable oil 50 ml oil + 5 tbsp almond paste

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Picture of two glass trays with vegan lupin spread

Lupin seeds spread

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Yoga Kitchen – Simple, healthy, and plant-based

The forgotten brother of the soya bean

Choosing to eat plant-based food simultaneously offers opportunities to break free from the unhealthy traditions of our traditional animal-based eating habits.

Lupin seeds, like soybeans and other beans, are part of the immense family of legumes.
Here is an interesting recipe for a preparation to garnish bread or toast that is both spreadable and sliceable thanks to the presence of coconut oil. In terms of flavour and texture, you can think of the result as a tasty alternative to cheese.
Personally, I believe the plant-based movement would benefit from stopping trying to imitate animal products. Because by doing so, it classifies itself as second-rate, as Ersatz, as if everything plant-based can only be an approximate copy of animal originals. While it is actually the other way around. When the first animals appeared on earth, it had long been covered by a lush, green carpet of plants. Plant-based cuisine has its own intrinsic value and immensely varied palette of flavours. It is time to rediscover and appreciate it.

What ingredients do you need?

  • 200 g dry or about 550 g ready-to-use cooked lupin seeds
  • 100 g extra virgin coconut oil
  • 6 teaspoons of nutritional yeast
  • 4 tablespoons of water or beans’ cooking liquid
  • 1 tablespoon tamari (soy sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • also 1 tablespoon of white miso
  • and then 1 or half a teaspoon extra sea salt (optional)
  • extra black pepper (optional)

The pressure to imitate cheese at all costs has the side effect that often too much salt is used in recipes for so-called “cheese substitutes”. Lupin seeds from a jar are usually already pickled. Tamari and, to a lesser extent, miso also give extra salty flavour. That’s why the last extra whole or half teaspoon of sea salt is only included as an option, which I found in the original recipe for this spread. Moreover, I myself always use reduced-salt tamari.
It is in the interest of your health to keep your salt intake on the low side.

Preparation method

First method, with ready-to-use cooked lupin seeds

  • Drain the brine from the lupin seeds and rinse them under running water.
  • Melt the coconut oil au bain marie over hot water.
  • Add all the ingredients into a food processor with an S-shaped blade and grind to a smooth yet firm texture.
  • Taste and adjust salt and pepper levels if necessary.
  • Transfer to a container that you can close with a lid and store in the fridge.

Second method, starting from dry lupin seeds

This is my favourite. The white-coloured, dry lupin seeds are preferable to pickled, ready-to-use seeds in terms of price and packaging situation.

  • Soak the 200 g lupin seeds for 24 h in very ample water. Their volume at least doubles.
  • Cook the soaked lupin seeds (without salt!) with some seaweed and savory for about 40 minutes in a pressure cooker. This yields about 550 g of cooked lupin seeds.
  • Scoop the cooked lupin seeds from the cooking liquid and let them cool.
  • Have some cooking liquid aside as an alternative to the tablespoons of water.
  • Melt the coconut oil au bain marie over hot water.
  • Add all the ingredients into a food processor with an S-shaped blade
  • Grind until smooth yet firm.
  • Taste and adjust salt and pepper levels if necessary.
  • Tranfer into a container that you can close with a lid and store in the fridge.

Done!
Of course, you can also cook the lupin seeds in a classic saucepan with a lid until tender, but that takes much longer (up to an hour and a half!). A pressure cooker is much more economical to use. It is well worth the investment if you often eat beans. The lupin seeds change colour during the cooking process, turning a deep warm yellow.
This vegetable spread keeps for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.

Taste test and health verdict

This will appeal to true cheese addicts. The result has a salty, slightly oily taste and is very filling. So this could be of interest to those having a hard time kicking off fatty, animal-based cheese.
The spread is high in protein and fat, making you feel satiated very quickly. Yet a caveat: it is the coconut oil that provides the rich fat content. Coconut oil is, quite wrongly, often praised to the skies in terms of nutritional value. But coconut oil, is made of almost exclusively saturated fats, of which it is best not to consume too much. Yes, coconut oil has a slightly better fatty acid profile than animal saturated fat. But beware, it is still better to use in moderation.
Thus, I would be more inclined to incorporate the lupine seeds into a spread with no or less added fats, along the lines of this tomato hummus.
Indeed, opting for plant-based eating offers opportunities to simultaneously break free from the unhealthy habits of our traditional animal-based eating traditions.
Picture of lupin seeds in brine and lupin flowers

Lupin and lupin seeds

Lupin flowers are sometimes known because of the brightly coloured red to purple over yellow to white torch-shaped flowers planted in gardens as ornamental flowers. In agriculture, lupin is grown as a so-called green manure crop. Because the plant absorbs nitrogen from the air and stores it in its roots. Thus, it enriches the soil. Lupin flour is made from the seeds, which is then often wasted as animal feed. For human consumption, you usually find pre-cooked lupin seeds in brine in jars in the trade. The dry seeds are harder to find. Nevertheless, there is a hopeful renewed interest in growing this valuable plant species.
As already mentioned at the bottom of this recipe for tomato hummus, legumes are good meat substitutes. With the caveat that their amino acid profile is not the same as that of animal products. Their lower levels of the amino acid methionine you can compensate for by simply eating cereal products. Legumes and cereals complement each other perfectly. And you don’t have to eat them together in the same meal.
Lupin seeds and soybeans, however, are an exception to the above rule. They are very well balanced in terms of amino acid profile on their own.
Lupin seeds are very rich in protein: some 35 g per 100 g of dry seeds. But of course you don’t eat these seeds dry. Cooked lupin still contains 15 g of protein per 100 g of ready-to-use product.

Lupin seed spread, per 100 g of product

Values are approximate and without the extra teaspoon of salt, which is optional.

Energy Carboh. Sugars Fat Sat. Fat Protein Fibre Salt
949 kJ/227 kcal 9,8 g 1,1 g 15,5 g 11,2 g 13,7 g 3,0 g 0,13 g

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Picture of a square bowl with nut balls

New Moon balls with nuts

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Yoga Kitchen – Simple, healthy, and plant-based

Nuts and seeds as part of a healthy diet

These little balls are reminiscent of the New Moon. That is the time, when the moon, at the beginning of a new cycle, is completely dark and unshone by the sun. You can easily render the surface of the balls resulting from this recipe all round and smooth.
In fact, this recipe relies on a classic combination from healthy plant-based cooking. Nuts are combined with dried fruits and one or more flavourings or spices. You could build on this recipe by using, instead of the almonds and dates featured in this recipe, other nuts and dried fruits that you have available at the time. This way, you learn to be free and creative with your food, regardless of the rigidity of sticking to recipes.
In any case, this combination is very successful.

What ingredients do you need?

This is incredibly simple. Just three things, in the following proportions:

  • 75 g peeled (white) almonds
  • 40 g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 200 g pitted medjoul or mazafati dates (about 18 pieces)

This is how to make these healthy and energy-rich snacks:

  • Cut the pitted dates into small pieces
  • Add the almonds and cocoa in a food processor with an S-shaped blade and grind them finely
  • Add the date pieces and grind further until a chocolate-coloured dough forms
  • First put the mixture in the fridge for a few hours
  • Then remove it from the fridge, cut the dough with a sharp knife first into four large, equal pieces
  • Cut each piece into 4 to 5 smaller, equal pieces
  • Roll these pieces between your clean fingertips into perfectly smooth, round black balls

Done!

How “healthy” are these almond balls?

There is no refined or added sugar in these balls. Definitely a plus. It is the sugar naturally found in the dates and the cocoa that make these balls so tantalisingly delicious.
Both almonds and dates are rich in fibre, which aids healthy digestion. Almonds contain fats and vegetable proteins. The fats from the ingredients of this recipe contain very little saturated fats. However, the fats and especially the (natural) sugars in these snacks combined do make them very high in energy, so it is best to consume them in moderation.
It all depends on your physical activity. If you are a regular (endurance) athlete, these little balls will be a great fuel for your higher energy consumption.

What nuts are also healthy alternatives to this recipe?

It is a good idea to also add a regular portion to your daily meals from the following nuts and seeds:

  • Brazil nuts
  • Cashew nuts
  • Chia seeds
  • Hazelnuts
  • Hemp seeds
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Pecans
  • Pine nuts
  • Pistachios
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Sesame seeds
  • Sunflower seeds
  • Walnuts

And to that list you can also add peanuts, although botanically speaking, these are not nuts, but legumes. These pistachios are sometimes wrongly considered as less healthy, but there is no scientific evidence for this, quite the contrary.
Eat your nuts preferably unsalted. Many salted nuts like salted peanuts and almonds, contain far too much table salt, just like potato crisps.

How big is a healthy portion of nuts?

Thirty grams of nuts, or two tablespoons of nut butter per day is a good indication of what constitutes a balanced nut consumption for an adult. By the way, nut spreads are a good base to use in sauces and soups and make them creamy.

Does eating nuts make me gain weight?

Without going into detail here, scientific research shows that it does not. Unlike animal fats such as butter and lard or vegetable edible oil, nuts do not seem to lead to significant weight gain. You can consult the scientific sources for this in the chapter “Nuts and Seeds” in the book: “How not to Die” by American physician Dr Michael Greger. That book is an eye-opener regarding the benefits of plant-based eating.

New Moon balls, per 100g product

Energy Carboh. Sugars Fat Sat. Fat Protein Fibre Salt
1445 kJ/345 kcal 59,4 g 43,5 g 14,4 g 2,0 g 8,7 g 11,3 0,05 g

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Picture of a tofu marinade and its ingredients

Three tofu marinades

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Yoga Kitchen – Simple, healthy, and plant-based

It’s the marinades that make the tofu

Plain, white tofu has virtually no flavour. You can see that as a drawback, or as a positive. Because it allows you to add any flavour to this healthy supplier of plant protein. Moreover, it allows you to add structure to your cooking habits.
If you set aside half an hour at the weekend to dice a large block of white, firm tofu and make a few different marinades, you’ll immediately be set for the week.
Here are three examples of marinades. Besides, there is no brake on your creativity and you can replace these marinades with your own favourite combinations.

Oriental style marinade with peanut butter and sesame oil

This sweet and spicy marinade is excellent with rice or noodle dishes, accompanied by grilled and steamed vegetables.
Ingredients:

  • 200 g firm white tofu
  • 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
  • one tablespoon of soy sauce (tamari or shoyu)
  • 1 tablespoon of vinegar (e.g. apple cider vinegar)
  • 2 tablespoons maple, rice or agave syrup
  • Two tablespoons of sesame oil
  • 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
  • A good chunk of ginger, grated or very finely chopped

Greek style marinade with olive oil and lemon

This fresh and sour marinade is ideally suited as a substitute for feta cheese in salads, but is also very tasty slightly warmed up.
Ingredients:

  • 200 g firm white tofu
  • 2 tablespoons of nutritional or noble yeast flakes
  • Two tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Spicy Mexican style marinade with chilli and paprika

A pungent, spicy marinade for lovers of spicy Mexican flavours. Ideally to use in wraps, with beans, vegetables and, for example, slices of fresh avocado. These are best eaten hot, by briefly frying the tofu with the marinade in a pan.
Ingredients:

  • 200 g firm white tofu
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon plain white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder or two finely chopped or pressed cloves of garlic
  • sea salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon paprika powder
  • 1 teaspoon of oregano

This is how to proceed:

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and stir in the cubed white tofu. Transfer the marinated tofu into glass jars, for instance with a span seal. This marinated tofu will keep for 1 week in the fridge.

Nutritional info: white firm tofu from the brand The Hobbit, per 100g product.

This gives a good indication of the nutritional values for firm tofu. Tofu from other manufacturers may of course differ from these exact values.

Energy Carbohydrates Sugars Fat Sat. Fat Protein Fibre Salt
503 kJ/120 kcal 2,1 g 0,5 g 6,1 g 1,0 g 13,5 g 1,4 g 0 g

Is fermented tofu better than regular tofu?

Fermented tofu looks like ordinary tofu but has undergone a fermentation process. As a result, the flavour is slightly acid. Two advantages:

  • the tofu is slightly more digestible
  • this tofu has a more distinct flavour

In fermentation processes, bacteria grow and produce acids and enzymes. The enzymes trigger the digestion process, the acids provide stability and favourable acidity for the digestion process.
Fermented tofu is ideally suited for cold preparations with tofu, for example as an alternative to animal feta cheese. Great solution if you are vegan yourself or are visiting a friend or relative who does not eat dairy products.

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Beans spread

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Yoga Kitchen – Simple, healthy and plant-based

When beans become spreadable

As a child, I had an aversion to beans. They were white beans, often in an uninspiring tomato sauce, from cans. Fortunately, we didn’t eat them very often.
Things are different now! I eat beans pretty much every day in one or other form.
Beans are an essential ingredient in healthy plant-based cooking.
They contain relatively high amounts of vegetable protein as well as a lot of fibre and useful minerals.

There are countless different varieties, many of them local. In recent years, I have been quite a fan of the multiform and multicoloured Greek beans.
For the recipe below, you can actually use any kind of bean.
I like to start from dry beans. These are very inexpensive in terms of price and you can buy them in bulk.
That’s immediately a lot less packaging waste.

For almost a kilo of bean paste you will need:

  • 200 g dried beans
  • One large carrot
  • A medium-sized onion
  • 40 g dried tomatoes
  • One clove of garlic (optional)
  • Savory, two teaspoons to one tablespoon
  • Some seaweed, e.g. a tablespoon of dried sea lettuce
  • One teaspoon of the following herbs or spices:
    • Thyme
    • Origano
    • fennel seed
    • paprika powder
    • turmeric (optional)

Picture of ingredients for a vegan bean spread
Turmeric gives your bean spread a warmer colour. Turmeric is a spice with a very respectable health reputation; among other things, it has anti-inflammatory properties. Savory is a herb that will improve the digestibility of the cooked beans.
You can of course adapt the suggested spice and herbs mix. Give your creativity full rein.

Preparation

  • Soak the dry beans in water for 24 hrs. They will swell and come to life.
  • Chop up the dried tomatoes and soak them in a little water too

This is how to cook the beans

  • Pour away the soaking water from the beans and briefly rinse them under the tap. Drain briefly.
  • Cook the beans until tender. This is best done in a pressure cooker:
    • Fully submerge the beans in water (+ 2 to 3 cm) and put the pan under fire. Do not add any salt!
    • Bring the water to the boil. Depending on the type of bean, white foam will rise to the surface.
    • Remove the foam with a skimmer until almost no foam rises to the top anymore.
    • Add 1 teaspoon of savory and 1 teaspoon of dried seaweed (sea lettuce or some other seaweed).
    • Now close the pressure cooker, bring under pressure and boil for about 45 minutes.
    • Turn off the heat after the cooking time and slowly let the pressure release.

This is how to prepare the vegetables

  • Bring a little water to the boil in a pan, sprinkle in the herbs of your choice (e.g. cumin seeds, thyme, oregano, fennel seeds …).
  • Add the finely chopped onion and garlic and allow to glaze a little.
  • Next, add the finely chopped peeled carrot and the soaked tomatoes, the latter along with their soaking water.
  • Let everything continue to simmer together with the lid on for about 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Turn off the heat and leave to cool down a little.

This is how to mix everything into bean puree

  • Bring the stewed vegetables into a food processor.
  • Add the cooked and cooled beans. Keep some of the cooking liquid aside.
  • Add two generous tablespoons of sesame paste (tahini).
  • Mix, first on low, then on high speed until you get a spreadable, puree-like texture.
  • Taste and add extra black pepper, paprika powder and a generous amount of turmeric if necessary or desired.
  • Divide the bean spread between two jars of approx 500ml capacity, close them hermetically.
  • The bean puree will keep for a week in the fridge.

If the mixture turns out too dry, add a few tablespoons of the beans’ cooking liquid until the consistency feels right to you..
It’s important to cook the beans without salt.
When you cook beans in salted water, their skin hardens, so they tend to take up to twice as long to cook until soft.
In the above recipe, you basically don’t need to add extra salt. After all, most dried tomatoes are salty on their own. That is why we also include the soaking water of the tomatoes in the recipe.
If you doubt whether your dried tomatoes are already salty or not, taste the soaking water before adding them.

The endless variety of legumes

If you do some browsing in organic shops and Asian food supermarkets, you almost fall over backwards with the sheer variety of shapes and colours of beans and lentils. What a far cry from the monotonous “white beans in tomato sauce”. The Greek and Italian regional varieties are particularly striking.
When you eat a combination of a grain and legumes (beans or pulses) every day, that in itself is a solid daily base to meet your protein needs.
If you are an intense athlete, do heavy physical work or dislike legumes, then the more concentrated plant-based protein sources such as tofu, tempeh and seitan are recommended to secure your protein intake.

Are legumes easily digestible?

As with any new type of food food you add to your menu for the first time, it may take a few weeks for your gut flora to adjust. Some flatulence may occur at first.
It is true that legumes, and beans in particular, are coated with certain substances that inhibit premature germination of the bean. These are the famous lectins. These indeed inhibit the digestibility of legumes.
Therefore, use a few simple techniques to virtually eliminate those substances:

  • Soak the legumes for at least one night and pour away the soaking water.
  • Scoop away the foam that rises to the top at the start of cooking.
  • Cook the beans and lentils long enough until they are really well cooked.
  • Chew! Chew the beans and lentils long enough before swallowing

For beans, the cooking time will be easily an hour and 15 minutes to as much as an hour and a half in a regular pan. With a pressure cooker, you reduce cooking time to 35 to 45 minutes. A little experimentation pays off!

Can you eat legumes raw?

You can sprout both lentils and beans for a few days in a sprouting jar or sprouting machine. First leave them under water for 24 h, then rinse and keep them moist. Change the water once or twice a day and rinse the sprouts under running water each time.
Sprouted beans and lentils are delicious in salads.