It’s the holiday season and coming soon is the new year!
That means celebrations and parties and lots of drinking!
Why not go green and organic with
your libations this year with CalNaturale Organic Wines!
Packaged in eco-friendly TetraPak, it’s
the best way to get your drink on this holiday!
Check out my video review below!

The holidays are here and it’s time to feast!
For vegans and vegetarians, we usually go straight for the awesome
vegan sides as our entree either consists of nothing,
some wheaty, fruity thing-a-ma-jig or a funky piece of tofu.
While some get creative and cook up a delicious wellington, some folks miss
the simplicity of the main event and Vegetarian Plus
has knocked it out of the park with the first whole vegan turkey
with gravy and stuffing, full meal holiday dinner!

Serving 8-10 people, it’s delicious, juicy, full of flavor
and compliments any of your awesome sides at your holiday table.
Their one-stop-shop holiday meal is
a great idea that was well overdue but it’s here,
in time for your holiday table and ready to be enjoyed!
While I totally understand that some veggies don’t like the idea
of a bird shaped vegan dish, I have to say it’s
just another wonderful alternative that for a lot of us,
we haven’t had for many years.
be it wellington to the whole vegan turkey by
Vegetarian Plus, I wish you very happy, healthy and eco-friendly holidays!!

Welcome to Week 2 of The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen Holiday Cook-A-Long Contest!

This week we will be featuring recipes from the following Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen Chapters:

1. Greece
2. India
3. China
4. Middle East
5. Caribbean

To Enter: Choose one or more of the recipes below, cook and upload your photo(s) of the recipe(s) to our The Healthy Voyager Facebook Page, along with your favorite holiday travel memory or wish.
Recipe photos will be voted on by our readers, with the winning recipe receiving a copy of The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen along with goodies from Daiya Cheese and Gardein!

Good luck and enjoy your international recipe!

This week’s recipes:

1) More Moussaka Please! (Vegetable and white sauce casserole)

• 1 1/2 pounds eggplant (about 2 medium sized), sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 pound zucchini (2 small)
• 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 teaspoons thyme, minced, divided
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped (1 medium)
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
• 1/2 pound seitan or vegan ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (separate out 1 minced clove)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes; peeled, cooked and mashed with a little salt and pepper
• 1 cup béchamel sauce (below)

Bechamel Sauce

• 3 tablespoons vegan butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups plain soy milk, blended with 1 large block of silken tofu
• 1 vegetable bullion cube
• Dash of nutmeg
• Pepper, to taste

Arrange a single layer of eggplant rounds on baking sheet. Sprinkle each slice with salt, turn, and repeat. Let sit for 30 minutes. Slice the zucchini into 1/4 inch, round slices. Arrange in single layer on another baking sheet.

Rinse eggplant briefly and pat dry, rinse and dry the baking sheet, then lay out eggplant rounds again.   Preheat oven to 375ºF. Combine 1 tablespoon olive oil with pepper and 1 teaspoon thyme. Brush this mixture over both sides of eggplant and zucchini, then bake both trays of veggies until softened, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in frying pan, add onions, and sauté over medium-low heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place Portobellos in food processor along with seitan, and pulse. Add to onions in the frying pan and increase heat to medium to fry, stirring occasionally, until pan is dry. Add 3 cloves garlic, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, tomatoes and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until fairly dry, about 15 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper to taste as well as lemon juice and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine bread crumbs with remaining garlic clove, teaspoon thyme, and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Arrange half of the eggplant in the bottom of a lasagna baking dish, followed by a layer of half of the seitan-mushroom mix, then a layer of half of the mashed potatoes. Continue layering with the remaining eggplant, then zucchini, then remaining seitan-mushroom mix, then the rest of the mashed potatoes. Pour the béchamel all over the top, then top with bread crumb mixture. Bake until golden brown and not jiggly, about 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

To make sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and carefully add the flour. Whisk continuously for 2 to 3 minutes, until smooth and free of lumps. Add the milk/tofu mixture slowly along with the bullion, whisking constantly until sauce has thickened. Lower the heat as much as possible and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on desired thickness. Season with nutmeg and pepper.

Yields 6 to 8 servings
2) Pakora Poppers (Fried vegetables)

Pakora

• 1 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 to 1 cup water
• Safflower or peanut oil, for deep frying (or preferred high heat oil)
• 2 white or yellow onions, sliced into rings
• Cauliflower florets
• Sweet potatoes, cut in to small cubes
• Broccoli florets

Mint Yogurt dipping sauce

• 1 cup plain vegan yogurt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 cup fresh mint
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To make pakora: Sift the chickpea flour into a medium bowl. Mix in the coriander, salt, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala and garlic.  Make a well in the center of the flour mix. Gradually pour the water into the well and mix to form a thick, smooth batter.

Over medium high heat in a large saucepan or fryer, heat the oil to 375ºF, about 2-inches deep. Coat the cauliflower, onions, sweet potatoes and broccoli in the batter and fry them in small batches until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel lined plate before serving.  Serve hot with mint yogurt dipping sauce.

To make sauce: Place the yogurt, lime juice and garlic in a blender and puree on high until smooth. While blending, slowly add in the mint, coriander, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.

Yields 4 servings

3) Some Like It Hot & Sour Soup

“Meat” & tofu

• 1 large block tofu (14 ounces), extra firm, pressed and drained
• 1/2 cup seitan

Marinade

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce or tamari
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon tapioca starch (or cornstarch)

Other

• 1/2 cup bamboo shoots
• 3 to 4 Chinese dried black mushrooms or fresh mushrooms of your choice
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup vegan chicken bullion broth (make with vegan chicken bullion)
• 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 2 tablespoons red rice vinegar, white rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• White pepper, to taste
• Hot chili oil, to taste (optional)
• Chopped cilantro for garnish

Slice seitan into thin strips. Mix marinade ingredients and marinate seitan for 20 minutes.

Cut tofu into small squares. Cut bamboo shoots into thin strips and then into fine slices. If substituting Chinese dried mushrooms, soak to soften, then cut off the stems and cut into thin strips. If using fresh mushrooms, wipe clean with a damp cloth and slice.

Bring the water and broth to a boil. When it is boiling, add the bamboo shoots, mushrooms, ginger and stir. Add the tofu. Bring back to a boil and add the marinated seitan. Stir in the sugar, soy sauce and vinegar and sesame oil. Test the broth and adjust the taste if desired, season with salt to taste.

Slowly pour the cornstarch/water mixture into the soup, stirring while it is being added. Let the broth come back to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, remove the broth from the stove. Add the green onion and the white pepper to taste. Drizzle with chili oil if desired and garnish with some chopped cilantro.

Yields 6 servings

4) Halva Piece of the Middle East (Semolina candy) 

• 1 3/4 cups soy milk
• 3 tablespoons rosewater
• 1 to 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup coarse semolina
• 3 1/2 tablespoons raisins
• 1 teaspoon slivered almonds

Heat the milk, rosewater, vanilla, ground cardamom seeds and sugar in a pan over a medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the semolina and raisins and cook, whisking continuously, for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and mix in the slivered almonds. Spoon the mixture into a deep baking tray. Set aside and allow to cool. Once cooled place in the freezer for at least 10 minutes up to an hour as this extra setting time will make it easier to slice. Remove from the freezer and cut into squares.

Yields 4 to 8 servings, depending on size

5) Jerk Un-Chicken                                                                                                      

Chicken

• 6 vegan chicken filets
• 1 lime, halved
• Pinch of salt
• 4 to 5 tablespoons of Jerk seasoning
• 8 to 12 pimento or allspice leaves

Jerk seasoning

• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons white pepper
• 1/4 cup green onion tops, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 5 small jalapenos (you may add or subtract based on spice tolerance)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Splash of rum

Put all the seasoning ingredients into a food processor and mix on high for 15 pulses.

To make the Jerk chicken, rub the chicken filets with lime and salt. Then rub the seasoning mix over them. Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours up to overnight (this yields the best results.)

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Spread the pimento leaves on the grill and grill on medium-low heat. Add the filets and grill the chicken for about 10 minutes, turning often to optimize cooking and browning. Let filets sit for 10 minutes and serve.

Yields 3 to 6 servings

Holiday parties are about to start popping up left and right
and serving up the right food is key to having an awesome seasonal shindig.
Well, an awesome nacho cheese dip
is always a big hit
and Nacheez is the best out there as they are
100% vegan, gluten free and they offer both mild as well
as spicy options!
Check out my video review below!

Join us in a Holiday Cook-A-Long Around The World Celebrating The Launch of The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen Cookbook!

Every reader who cooks along with us from November 28th through December 19th and uploads a photo of the recipe(s) they make from our list to The Healthy Voyager Facebook Page, along with their favorite holiday travel memory or wish, gets entered in our Holiday’s Around The World Cook-A-Long Contest! Each week, the recipe photos will be voted on by our readers, with the winning recipe receiving a copy of The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen and goodies from Daiya Cheese and Gardein!

Each week we will be featuring recipes from the upcoming Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen Cookbook, showcasing fabulous plant based, healthy versions of the world’s best dishes. Experience the flavors of the world this holiday season by bringing them right into your kitchen. Here are the countries we will be visiting via our kitchens this month:

Week 1

• Latin America
• France
• Italy
• Japan
• UK
• Netherlands & Denmark

Week 2

• Greece
• India
• China
• Middle East
• Caribbean

Week 3

• Germany
• Africa
• Thailand and Vietnam
• Russia
• Spain
• USA

We hope you join us in our holiday cook-a-long around the world, enjoying the healthy global recipes from The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen Cookbook!

Welcome to Week 1 of The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen Holiday Cook-A-Long Contest!

This week we will be featuring recipes from the following Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen Chapters:

1. Latin America
2. France
3. Italy
4. Japan
5. UK
6. Netherlands & Denmark

To Enter: Choose one or more of the recipes below, cook and upload your photo(s) of the recipe(s) to our The Healthy Voyager Facebook Page, along with your favorite holiday travel memory or wish.
Recipe photos will be voted on by our readers, with the winning recipe receiving a copy of The Healthy Voyager’s Global Kitchen goodies from Daiya Cheese and Gardein!

Good luck and enjoy your international recipe!

This week’s recipes:

1 ) Peruvian Land Lover’s Ceviche (“Seafood” cocktail)                                                                                                          

• 1 quart lightly salted water
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 cup oyster or Portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 cup hearts of palm, drained and finely chopped (do your best to find them palm hearts that are not canned with salt water)
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus several sprigs for garnish
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and finely diced
• 1/2 cup jicama, finely diced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 small avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Several lime slices, for garnish
• Crackers or tortilla chips for serving

Bring 1 quart salted water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Add mushrooms & hearts of palm, cover and return to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and drain water. Cover with the lid and set aside, letting mushrooms and palm hearts steam in closed pot for 10 minutes.

Drain mushrooms and palm hearts again to remove remaining liquid and put in large bowl to cool completely. Toss with remaining 1/2 cup of lime juice, cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

In a small strainer, rinse chopped onion under cold water, then shake off excess liquid. Add to mushroom and palm heart bowl along with chopped cilantro, garlic, olive oil, cucumber, jicama, tomato and avocado. Mix gently and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours. Spoon the ceviche into martini glasses or small bowls. Garnish with sprigs of cilantro and slices of lime. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

Yields about 8 servings

2) Sans Coq au Vin (Not “Chicken” in wine)

• 1 package of vegan bacon (tempeh bacon or vegan bacon slices), cut into 1-inch cubes or pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 20 pearl onions, peeled
• 3 packages (12 filets) vegan chicken filets
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups vegan chicken stock (make with vegan chicken bullion)
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 6 fresh parsley sprigs
• 1 cup button mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1/4 cup flour (keep on hand in the case that the sauce doesn’t thicken, add a tablespoon at a time)
• Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
• Rice, potatoes or noodles, for serving

Brown bacon on medium high heat in a Dutch oven or stew pot, about 5 minutes. Remove the cooked bacon, set aside. In the same pot, add the onions and the chicken. Brown the chicken well, on all sides, about 5 minutes (you may have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan). Halfway through the browning, add the garlic and sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.

Add the “chicken” stock, wine, tomato paste and herbs. Add in the cooked bacon. Lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken and onions to a separate platter. Remove the bay leaves, herb sprigs, garlic, and discard.

Add mushrooms to the remaining liquid and turn the heat to high. Boil quickly and reduce the liquid by about three fourths until it becomes thick and saucy. Lower the heat, stir in the butter. Return the chicken and onions to the pan to reheat and coat with sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste, garnish with parsley and serve hot with rice, potatoes or noodles.

Yields 8 servings

3) Italian Almond Glazed Anise Cookies

Cookies

• 1/2 cup vegan butter
• 1/2 cup vegan shortening
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 egg replacers, mixed
• 1 teaspoon anise extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Glaze Frosting

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy milk, more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or a full teaspoon of vanilla if you want to omit the almond extract)
• Vegan colored sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a double boiler or saucepan, melt shortening and butter together. Remove from heat and cool. Mix egg replacers, sugar, anise, lemon and vanilla. Blend in melted shortening/butter mixture. Add flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix well until it forms a soft dough (it will be easier to work with when cool.) Spoon dough on to cookie sheet and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, then let cool. You will get ball-like cookies as the dough doesn’t flatten out like sugar cookies do.

For glaze frosting: Mix confectioners’ sugar, milk and extracts to form desired consistency and dip half of each cooled cookie into the frosting.  You may also glaze the tops of the cookies as opposed to dipping. Then sprinkle with sprinkles while still warm. If you like, add natural food coloring to your glaze for a festive look.

Yields about 3 dozen cookies

4) Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream

• 2 cups plain soy milk
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 4 teaspoons Matcha powder (powdered green tea)
• 2 (12-ounce) boxes silken tofu
• 2/3 cups agave
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together 1/4 cup soy milk and arrowroot until well incorporated. Then add the matcha until you have no clumps. Set aside.

Blend the rest of the ingredients (except the vanilla) in a blender until very smooth. Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, remove from heat immediately. Add in the matcha mixture and vanilla, let cool. Add mixture to a container with a lid and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours then move to freezer. As soon as ice crystals begin to form, remove and mix well to break up the crystals and return to the freezer.  Repeat a few times to keep smooth, over 2 to 3 hours.

Yields 4 to 6 servings

5) Frickin’ Awesome Danish Frikadeller (“Meatballs” in cream sauce)                            

Frikadeller

• 1 cup vegan ground beef
• 1 cup seitan
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 cups soy milk
• 1 egg replacer, mixed
• 1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Vegan butter for frying

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup vegan chicken broth (make with vegan chicken bullion)
• 1 cup vegan sour cream

To make frikadeller: Put ground beef and seitan together in a food processor and pulse until combined and ground together. In a bowl, add in this mixture along with the bread crumbs, milk, egg replacer, onion, sage, salt, and pepper, mixing thoroughly. You may make meatballs or drop large spoonfuls of the mixture onto a buttered frying pan.  Fry over medium-low heat until browned and crisp on the outside.  Use a slotted spoon to turn the meatballs over and brown evenly.

To make sauce: Stir flour into the pan that cooked the meatballs, add broth and cook until thick. Stir in sour cream, heat gently.  Pour over Frikadellers and serve.

Yields 6 to 8 servings

6) Yummy Yorkshire Pudding (“Beef” flavored bread rolls)

• 3/4 cup self rising flour (or use 3/4 cup all purpose flour mixed with 1 teaspoon of baking powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup silken tofu, blended with a teaspoon of arrowroot or cornstarch (comes out to about 4 ounces)
• 3/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup vegan beef broth (use vegan beef bullion per instructions) blended with 1/4 cup vegan shortening

Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Grease a 6 muffin tin (or use a non-stick one).

Sift together the flour and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, beat together the tofu and milk until light and foamy. Stir in the dry ingredients just until combined.

Pour the broth/shortening evenly into the wells of the muffin tin (about one teaspoon in each well). Put the pan in oven and get the broth hot.  Carefully take the pan out of the oven and pour the batter into the wells, about 1/3 full. Put the pan back in oven and cook until puffed and dry, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Yields 6 servings

Ah yes, we’ve made it to the time of year where
desserts and treats flow like Niagara Falls!
But it’s hard to stay healthy when scarfing down every cookie,
brownie and cupcake we see at
holiday gatherings.
Well, with Luscious Organic Desserts,
you can gobble up these sweet
treats guilt free!
Also great for those who don’t like to bake but enjoy dessert!
Check out my video review below!

Ok, so for folks who love soda, it’s tough to kick the habit,
be it regular or diet. But everyone knows
that sodas should be had in moderation and that conventional
diet sodas are just awful for you.
Zevia to the rescue!!
An all natural, sugar free, calorie free soda  made
with stevia!
Great flavors with none of the guilt!
Soda lovers rejoice!
Check out my video review below ; )

Food allergens seem to be more prominent then ever before making snack time
quite challenging for moms and kids alike.
Finding allergen free foods that actually taste good is almost impossible
but Home Free cookies has done it!
Tasty, healthy and totally allergen free,
parents and kids can celebrate worry-free with these sweet treats!
Check out my video review below!

Bwoohaahaa!! It’s almost Halloween and one of the most popular
candies this time of year is chocolate peanut butter cups.
And how awesome is Justin’s Nut Butter for making healthy, dark chocolate
vegan versions?
Super awesome!
Check out my video review below!