veggiesandme.com

A blog for lovers of healthy and yummy food

Megan Young - Vegetarian, Home Cook, Photographer

Megan is an Australian professional photographer who lives in Sydney.

"I have been cooking since I can remember and a vegetarian almost as long. I was working in my aunt and cousin's restaurant by the age of 12 and spent many a summer holiday from school elbow deep in veg prep in kitchens around Hobart.

Growing up in beautiful Tasmania, Australia, surrounded by nature, I couldn’t help but have a well-developed appreciation for fresh, wholesome and local produce. Over the years this love of fresh produce has awakened my interest in nutrition. I am currently studying nutrition and never cease to be amazed by the power of food."

Loves: My crazy husband James, laughing till my face hurts, the feeling of warm sunshine on my back, cheesy pop country music, great Thai take away, trawling the aisles in health food stores.

Wishes: There were more hours in the day, I had my own veggie garden, there were more good vegetarian choices in restaurants.

5.19.12

Potato and Veggie Gratin with Cashew Cream

As much as I do love potato it is not a vegetable I eat frequently as there are so many other less starchy veggie options.

However… potatoes were in this week’s organic box delivery so I put together this wickedly delicious vegan spin on Potato Gratin.

Cashew cream is a really great recipe component that you can use to replace béchamel or cheese sauces. I like to flavour it up with which ever herbs I have in the fridge. Today I have used just parsley but a combination of herbs would work beautifully also. Basically, this entire recipe can be customized to accommodate any vegetables you have in the fringe. Last time I made this recipe, I layered in spinach leaves, but today I had cauliflower in the fridge so that is what is in the recipe. Simple as that!

Potato and Veggie Gratin with Cashew Cream

2 cups raw cashew nuts
water
1 medium bunch of parsley
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 medium potatoes washed but with the skins on
1 head of cauliflower
1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Soak the cashews in a bowl covered in water over night (fill so the hight of the water is 1cm above the nuts).
Blend the cashews, water, salt, pepper and herbs in a food processor until they resemble the consistency of cream.
You may need to add a small amount more water if the mixture is too thick.
Grease a large oven proof baking dish with olive oil and add a thin layer of the cashew cream to the bottom.
Slice one potato with a mandolin and spread out evenly, over the cashew cream, in the base of the dish.
Slice about a 1/4 of the head of cauliflower with a mandolin and evenly layer over the slices of potato.
Spoon on about 1/4 of the remaining cashew cream evenly over the sliced vegetables and repeat the layering process.
Continue to layer, cashew cream, potato slices, cauliflower slices but finish with a layer of potato.
Sprinkle the top with the sweet praprika and drizzle over 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Bake in a moderate oven (180 degC) for 50-60 minutes or until the potato is soft all the way through.

I served this on a plate with grilled asparagus and tofu “steaks” marinated in coconut oil, chili and tamari soy sauce.

no comments

love this - add a comment

share the love - email a friend

5.12.12

Banana Protein Bread

I have baked home made protein bars before but this weekend wanted to try a healthier option of one of the naughty foods I love! So here it is…

Banana Protein Bread

Oil to grease tin
1 cup oat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
3 scoops brown rice protein powder (like ezyprotein)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup Xylitol (natural low calorie sweetener)
¾ cup soy milk
2 eggs, lightly whisked
50g coconut oil, melted, cooled
2 large overripe medium bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Brush a 11 x 21cm loaf pan with oil so it is evenly greased.
Line the base with non-stick baking paper.
Combined the flours, protein and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Stir in the Xylitol and make a well in the centre.
Add the mashed banana to the bowl.
Place the soy milk, eggs and melted coconut oil in a medium bowl, and stir until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface.
Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Remove from oven and set aside in the pan for 5 minutes.
Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Cut into slices, toast to serve topped with your favorite spread.

no comments

love this - add a comment

share the love - email a friend

5.8.12

Versatile Chickpea and Veggie Salad

What is a great source of zinc, folate, protein and dietary fibre?… And is low is fat?

The answer: chickpeas.

I am still working on my personal fitness and nutrition quest and am packing in the vitamins, minerals and protein. Chickpea salad is a really fast after workout lunch option or an easy dinner side dish. By slicing, grilling/roasting veggies like red peppers, eggplants and zucchinis, then marinating them in good quality extra virgin olive oil and dried Italian herbs, you can create a really special salad flavour kick. These marinated veggies keep well in the fridge when the veggies are compeltly covered in oil and stored in a air tight container.

Versatile Chickpea and Veggie Salad

1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/4 red onion finely diced
1/2 a marinated roast red pepper diced
2 slices marinated grilled eggplant diced
salt and pepper

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and combine gently.
Serve as a simple salad or in a toasted rice flour wrap with hummus.

no comments

love this - add a comment

share the love - email a friend

4.29.12

Protein Packed Post Workout Stir Fry

This morning I had the first of my very tough leg workouts as part of my 12 week program. My legs have already turned to jelly and I am dreading the inevitable soreness tomorrow and the next day. To help my muscles repair (and then grow) I am going to pack in the protein for the next 24 hours. I followed my workout with a simple protein shake then a late breakfast omelet with a high percentage of egg whites and veggies. For my late lunch I very quickly through together this tasty protein packed Stir Fry.

Tempeh is one of the most protein dense foods on a vegetarian/vegan diet. It is made from whole fermented soy beans which means it is really easy for your body to digest and is all natural. One cup of Tempeh can boast 31g of protein. Once you flavour this cream coloured, veggie burger like, food it is really tasty, versatile and satisfying.

Protein Packed Post Workout Stir Fry

1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 packet of organic, non GMO, tempeh
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 stick celery
large handful of beans or snow peas
3 heads of pak choi
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon tamari soy sause

Place a large heavy pan over a high heat and spoon in the coconut oil.
Dice the tempeh into 2cm cubes and add to the pan.
Spoon in the red curry paste and stir with a spatular for 2 minutes.
Add in the chopped veggies, quinoa, water, tamari soy sauce, stir once and cover with a lid.
Cook for a further 5 minutes stirring occasionally, returning the lid each time.

Serve straight away and garnish with your favourite fresh herbs or edible flowers.

+ - 1 comment

love this - add a comment

share the love - email a friend

April 30, 2012 - 4:56 pm

megan - Hi Robyn,

Thank you so much for your message and kind words. I hope you don’t mind if I share it on the comments section of the blog.

Well done for trying something different and committing to the challenge of the Primal Blueprint (Paleo diet). You have set yourself a very hard task as there is not much left in the Paleo diet once you remove the meat.

What remains are: vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts.
What is excluded are: grains, legumes, salt, refined sugar and processed oils.

Strictly speaking soybeans and peas are legumes so that rules out soy and pea protein shakes, which are always a great option for vegetarians and vegans.

This also rules out the protein packed soy products, quinoa and sprouted brown rice protein shakes. I am a big fan of Sun Warrior sprouted brown rice protein (www.sunwarrior.com) and have also used pea protein although the flavor is not that great.

I am currently switching between rice protein and whey protein shakes.

So my recommendation would be to eat lots of veggie and egg white omelets and bend the rules to include some protein powders of your choice.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!
Megan

………………….
On 30 Apr 2012, at 00:31, Robyn wrote:
Name: Robyn

Message:

Hello,

I am a veggie currently embarking on a 21 day challenge based on the Primal Blueprint (paleo diet) and am struggling to keep my protein intake as high as I would like given my increase in exercise!! I noticed your comment about simple protein shakes are your leg workout and I wondered what protein you use?

Love your blog – plenty of healthy options for us veggies! Thanks

4.23.12

New Look Me – Personal Challenge

I guess this could be read as a sort of Manifesto or perhaps the public declaration of a personal challenge. With the new look Veggies and Me blog I thought it was time to also have a new look Me.

I have always lived a healthy life. I am a non-smoker, very conservative drinker and life long vegetarian. I enjoy clean eating and in turn this clean diet has served me well with no major physical health complained, stomach or digestion problems and good mental health.

At the start of the year I had a full set of blood tests done and my doctor outlined that I had ideal results. He even suggested that I “have a glass of red wine and some cheese more often”. I think this was his way of telling me to not take the nutrition too seriously. The truth is however, these days, I am taking my personal nutrition very seriously and have just started on a personal experiment of self-improvement.

Today sees me, one month, into a diet free of food additives and processed foods. It is also the end of week one of a twelve-week weight training programme. Last week, according to a Tanita body composition analyzer I am 30.3% body fat and have a muscle mass of 49.3kg. The healthy body fat range for women ages 18-39 is 21-33% so you can see I am well within the health range. However, I would much prefer I was closer to the centre of that healthy range.

Other interesting results include my visceral fat rating which was 4. This is the fat located in the peritoneal cavity (abdominal area) that surrounds the body’s internal organs and is an indicator for type 2 diabetes risk. The healthy range for women being 1-12.

My bone mass was 2.6kg with the average for a woman of my weight being 1.95kg and total body water was 50.1% the normal range for women being 45-60%.

From these figures you can see that I have not a lot of belly fat but unfortunately though, due to genetics, I carry excess fat on my arms and legs. So my personal challenge for the next 11 weeks is to see if with weight training, and a diet free of food additives, I can override genetics and bring my body fat percentage down.

By building a greater muscle mass I hope to better control my body fat percentage, better my posture, increase my energy levels and greatly reduce my risk of osteoporosis.

Our body sees heavy metals, chemicals and food additives as toxins, which bind with fat in the body. I am aiding the process of detoxification by eating gelatinous foods such as soaked chia seed, cucumbers and drinking aloe vera juice (thanks for the tip Hungry For Change).

Wish me luck…

… and here are some of the yummy dishes I have been eating in the past month.

+ - 6 comments

love this - add a comment

share the love - email a friend

April 23, 2012 - 3:04 pm

chloe - Good for u Megan!Well done!And the blog’s new look is fab!

April 23, 2012 - 3:31 pm

megan - Thanks for the encouragement Chloe. I am going to need it!

April 23, 2012 - 7:38 pm

Marjo Alatalo - Good luck Megan!! I didn’t think you could be any healthier than you already are!

Love the new look of the website, and nice to get reminders of Oz through your blog.

xxx

April 24, 2012 - 7:56 am

megan - Thanks so much Marjo. Hope the wedding plans are coming along well xox

April 28, 2012 - 7:50 pm

jessie - Wow! it sounds to me that your results are already excellent but good for you. Those pictures look great too, any chance of posting some recipes of those delicious looking meals? As always thank you for such an inspiring blog!

April 28, 2012 - 7:54 pm

megan - Thank you so much for your kind words. Will try and get those resipes up ASAP.

Potato and Veggie Gratin with Cashew Cream

Banana Protein Bread

Versatile Chickpea and Veggie Salad

Protein Packed Post Workout Stir Fry

New Look Me – Personal Challenge

Looking for…

Subscribe by Email

Photo feed on Instagram