Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Vegan Banana Green Smoothie

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Now that my iron level is a bit low I eat a lot of vegetables (spinach, sorrel, parsley, broccoli, Savoy cabbage, sauerkraut, etc.) that have a high level in iron and I take natural iron supplements (like this Feroglobin B12).

The lack of iron can create a low haemoglobin. Signs of being iron deficient can include excessive tiredness, lethargy, lack of motivation and feeling irritable and weak than would normally be expected. Low iron levels do not uniformly cause these symptoms, but do increase the risk for anemia and the risk of becoming symptomatic during periods of emotional or physical stress.

The iron requirements go up significantly when you’re pregnant. Iron is essential for making hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to other cells. During pregnancy, the amount of blood in your body increases until you have almost 50 percent more than usual. And you need more iron to make more hemoglobin for all that additional blood. You also need extra iron for your growing baby and placenta.

I think vegetarians or vegans who eat a varied and well balanced diet are not at any greater risk of iron deficiency anaemia than non-vegetarians. A diet rich in wholegrains, vegetables, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, iron-fortified cereals and green leafy vegetables provides an adequate iron intake. Vitamin C and other organic acids enhance non-haem iron absorption, a process that is carefully regulated by the gut. (More information: here.)

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Vegan Banana Green Smoothie

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 500 ml (2 cups) almond milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
– 1 banana
– 1 big handful of fresh spinach

Method

Place all ingredients in the blender and process for 5 minutes, until smooth. If you find it too thick, add more almond milk.

Superfood Breakfast: Vegan Sugar-Free Almond Cashew Walnut Coconut Porridge

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Sunday was all about snow. The whole city was white and pretty so we decided to walk around in the City Park and take winter photos.

City Park (Városliget) is a public park in Budapest, close to the city centre. It is located in the 14th district of Budapest. Its main entrance is Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere), one of Hungary’s World Heritage sites. The first trees and planified walkways were established in 1751 and after the public park was created in the first decades of the 19th century the present-day name, Városliget was accepted and it became the first public park in the world.

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City Park was the main venue of the 1896 millennium celebrations of Hungary, by which time Andrássy Avenue, Millennium Underground and the Grand Boulevard were built. City Park has the largest artificial ice surface in Europe; and it is also the home of the Vajdahunyad Castle, the Gundel Restaurant, the zoo and grand circus and the famous Széchenyi Thermal Bath.

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The park was calm and quiet. We could only hear the snow crackling under our feet. I don’t know why but I love this sound.

Our mission was (in addition to take photos) to visit the city park lake and feed the ducks. The lake has warm thermal water so during winter it is the home for these cute birds. I knew that feeding the ducks with bread, chips, crackers or popcorn can lead to excessive weight and malnutrition for the birds as well as many other problems. To avoid this you can buy proper duck food from a machine next to the lake.

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It was so much fun to feed the birds who were brave enough to come out of the lake and get closer to me.

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Back to the superfood breakfast… This is a ‘must try’ porridge. I have to tell you… you can’t live without trying to make and eat it. It’s so healthy, nutritious, delicious and a good source of antioxidants. And something else… it is not only sugar-free and vegan, it’s gluten free and paleo too.

Don’t miss it! I promise, you will love me for this recipe! 🙂

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Vegan Sugar-Free Almond Cashew Walnut Coconut Porridge
(Recipe inspiration: Against All Grain)

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 1/3 cup walnut
– 1/3 cup almond
– 1/3 cup cashew
– 1 ripe banana, peeled, cut into slices
– 1 cup coconut milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
– 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon salt + pinch of salt

Method

Place the nuts in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon salt. Fill the bowl with water until the nuts are completely covered and soak overnight on the kitchen counter.

The next morning drain the nuts and rinse them a couple of times until the water is clear.

Place the drained nuts into a food processor, add sliced banana, coconut milk, desiccated coconut, cinnamon and pinch of salt. Blend all together until it is smooth (about 8-10 minutes). If you find it very thick, you can dilute with a bit more coconut milk. You can serve as it is or put the porridge in a pot and heat over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped almond, cashew and coconut chips.

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Pearl Barley And Roasted Almond Patties

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I love making and eating nut roasts and vegetarian patties. I have cooked and baked several types. The base for most of them is any kind of grain, spices, herbs, nuts and vegetables.

Great-tasting vegetarian patties are easy to make and more healthfully prepared when you use your own wholesome ingredients. Patties tend to be delicious things you make for a picnic or for a grill party or just for a simple lunch or dinner with a big bowl of salad and yum sauce.

Pearl barley is nutritious and chewy (although its outer husk and bran layers have been removed not like with hulled barley). I didn’t have to use an egg to “stick” the ingredients together so these cute little patties are vegan.

Pearl Barley and Roasted Almond Patties

Ingredients (makes about 20 but it depends on the patties’ size)

– 200 g pearl barley
– 150 g potatoes, peeled and cubed
– 80 g almond, roasted and chopped
– 1 onion, chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
– salt, pepper
– whole wheat breadcrumbs
– olive oil for cooking

Method

Roast the almonds in a dry non-stick pan for 6-8 minutes, chop them and set aside to cool.

Cook the pearl barley according to the instructions on the packet (usually 2 times more water than barley, a little bit of salt, boil in a pot, reduce heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes). Set aside to cool.

In a small pan cook the potato until tender. Drain and mash it with a fork. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl mix together: roasted almonds, chopped onion, garlic and parsley. Add mashed potato and cooked barley. Season with salt and pepper and mix until everything combined.

Form pingpong ball sized balls from the mixture, flatten them with your palm or a spoon. Transfer the patties to a place of breadcrumbs and press them firmly to coat on both sides (this breadcrumb coating becomes golden and crisp when they’re baked or cooked). Place the formed patties on a tray. Heat 3-4 teaspoons olive oil in a pan, add patties and cook for about 7-10 minutes until golden brown. Flip the patties and cook them on their other side until golden. Cook the remaining patties too. (Instead of cooking you can also bake them on a baking sheet in the oven at 170-180C ~ 338-356F for about 25-30 minutes. Don’t forget to sprinkle them with olive oil and turn the patties to their other sides at half time!)

Almond Butter Red Currant Popsicles – Guest Blogging At Vegan "Miam"

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I’m so glad to be a guest blogger on Rika’s amazing blog, called Vegan “Miam” (did you know that miam means yummy in French?). What an honour! We got to know each other through Twitter and I had a chance to meet her personally in Budapest last summer.

I brought an easy to make yum popsicle recipe for Rika’s readers. During the very sweltering Hungarian summer (temperatures 36-40C) I didn’t turn on my oven often. I bought popsicle molds and I discovered the homemade popsicle world. There are so many great ingredients (fruits, chocolate, nuts, herbs, spices) to use and within a few hours you can cool down yourself with an icy dessert. See other popsicle recipes here.

To get the recipe visit Rika’s blog.

Vegan Banana Bread With Almond & Chocolate

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Oatmilk in little bottles

I’ve already baked banana bread before (and different kind of “bread cakes”) but not in a vegan way. Banana bread is one of those things that is great on it’s own or with a cup of coffee/tea or next day for breakfast. You can add different kind of fillings, like chocolate, fruits (blueberry, strawberry, etc.), nuts (walnut, hazelnut, almond, etc.) and seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, etc.).Using different flours in the batter also makes it rich and filling. Bananas create a very soft, moist, not too sweet, cake-like quick bread that you just simply can’t stop eating.

Did you know that banana bread first became a standard feature of American cookbooks with the popularization of baking soda and baking powder in the 1930s?

Vegan Banana Bread With Almond & Chocolate

Ingredients

– 1 cup whole wheat spelt flour
– 1/2 cup white spelt flour
– 2 teaspoon baking powder
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 2 evőkanál ground flaxseed + 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
– 1/2 cup oatmilk (you can use rice milk or soy milk)
– 1/3 cup cane sugar
– 3 ripe bananas, mashed
– 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
– 1/2 cup almond, roasted in a dry pan, then roughly chopped
– 1/2 cup chocolate (70% cocoa content), chopped

Method

In a small bowl mix together the ground flaxseed with the water to make a “flax egg” – let the mixture sit for a 6-8 minutes until thickened. Preheat the oven to 180C (356F).

In a bowl combine the dry ingredients: flours, baking powder and salt. In another bowl mix together the oatmilk with the cane sugar and mashed bananas. Add the vanilla and the flax egg and pour these wet ingredients mixture into the dry one, stirring until just combined. Fold roasted almonds and chocolate in.

Pour it in a 25 cm (9,75 inch) long loaf pan and bake it on 180 C (356 F) for about 40-45 minutes. It’s ready when the cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.