Quick Raw Carrot Salad

This recipe makes for an on-the-run lunch or snack that gets better the longer you let it sit. If you know you can’t make it out of the office for lunch or need something to help you power through the afternoon, you can make this salad the night before or morning of and can rest assured knowing it will taste even better later – the orange juice soaks into the carrots and raisins and the flavor of the dill becomes stronger.

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I have carrots in some form every day, and for many glowing reasons:

Carrots: lower the risk of breast, lung and colon cancer due to their falcarinol content, are packed with vision-improving vitamin A and beta-carotene, prevent heart disease, reduce the risk of stroke, nourish the skin and can help to treat acne, possess anti-aging properties due to its antioxidant beta-carotene, and are natural abrasives that can help clean your teeth and contribute to dental health.

Quick Carrot Dill Salad

by Aylin @ Glow Kitchen

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Keywords: no cook lunch snack side dish raw vegan vegetarian carrots dill orange cumin

Ingredients (Serves 1)

  • 1 large carrot
  • 1/4 red onion
  • 1 small handful dill
  • Handful of raisins (about 1/4 cup)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp hot red pepper
  • Dash of salt and pepper
  • Juice of 1/2 an orange

Instructions

Shred the carrot, dice the quarter red onion, stem and chop the dill, squeeze the lemon, and combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

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Serve for one.

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The raisins give more texture and density to the dish, while the fill and orange keeps this light and zesty. The cumin tones down the sweetness of this dish, giving it a Moroccan twist.

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Enjoy!

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Bon Appetit!

xo Aylin

Carrot Cake w/ Fig Cream Frosting

Okay, I think I’ve outdone myself with these. It’s always difficult to wing it while baking, as measurements are extremely important to get the texture and taste just right, but luck was on my side this morning. I wanted to create a sugar-free, fat-free, egg-free, and dairy-free whole-wheat carrot cupcake without anything bizarre in it, even a flax-egg or almond/soy milk. Simple does it. And boy did simple do it good. Mmmmmmmmm…breakfast, snack, or dessert…who cares.

Carrots: prevent cancer by virtue of compound (almost exclusive to the vegetable) falcarinol, improves vision with its high vitamin A and beta-carotene content, prevent heart disease with its carotenoids, lower blood cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of stroke, nourish the skin, helps slow the process of aging, and contributes to dental health.

Vegan Carrot Cupcake with Fig Cream Frosting

by Aylin @ Glow Kitchen

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients (12 cupcakes)

For the Cupcake

  • 2 cups whole-wheat flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1.5 cups shredded carrot
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup chopped dried figs
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup water

For the Frosting

  • 5 figs, soaked and drained
  • 2 tbsp molasses or carob syrup
  • 1/2 can (7 oz) of coconut milk (the thickest part)

Instructions

For the Cupcake, combine the cinnamon, raisins, and chopped figs in a saucepan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes. The water will evaporate, leaving behind the dried fruit infused with cinnamon taste and slightly caramelized aroma.

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In a bowl, pour the hot dried fruit mixture over shredded carrot. Let cool and then add 1/3 cup of orange juice. Fold all the ingredients together until well combined.

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Combine all the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. fold the dry mixture into the wet dried fruit mixture. Add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of apple sauce and mix until all the ingredients are evenly combined.

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Scoop the cupcake mixture into greased muffin tins, either sprayed with canola oil or lightly coated with coconut oil. This recipe will yield 12 muffins.

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Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins have browned and the center has set (check that a toothpick comes out clean).

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For the Fig Coconut Frosting, food process five figs that had been soaked and softened in lukewarm water for at least 30 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of molasses (or carob syrup) and 1/2 a can of coconut milk (only the thickest part of the can, which collects at the top).

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Blend until smooth.

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Oh. My. God. I’m surprised this lasted long enough to make it to a cupcake. It tastes soooo guilty – caramel-like with a creamy texture. Unreal.

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Top the muffins with the cream.

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Garnish with leftover shredded carrot and raisins.

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So moist, rich, creamy…

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You will beyond love these!

xo Aylin

Vegan Brown Rice Burger

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The challenge with making a vegan, or any plant-based burger for that matter, is the texture. You want the bite to be firm, but juicy and tender. Many vegan burgers come out too soft and mushy, and that’s not cool. Brown rice is a perfect base for a meatless burger because it gives the satisfaction of having eaten a filling burger without the red meat and still strikes the right balance between chewy and soft. This recipe is foundational, and you can get creative with your choice of veggies, spices, and condiments as long as you keep the veggie to brown rice to bread crumb ratio intact. Enjoy!

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Vegan Brown Rice Burger

by Aylin @ Glow Kitchen

Ingredients (15-20 patties)

  • 2.5 cups of cooked brown rice
  • 1.5 cups of bread crumbs (whole-wheat or gluten-free)
  • 1.5 cups of mixed vegetables (carrot, zucchini, red onion, and mushrooms)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil for cooking

Instructions

Chop the veggies into small pieces. Grate the carrot to make chopping easier. Add the pieces to a large bowl.

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Fold the rice (cooked according to package instructions) into the veggies.

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Toast 2 to 3 pieces of whole-wheat bread and then food process until they resemble bread crumbs (to make 2 cups). Fold the bread crumbs into the vegetable and brown rice mixture.

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Time to use your hands! With clean hands, massage all the ingredients together so they are evenly distributed and hold together easily when packed.

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Make 3/4-inch thick patties about the length of your palm.

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Cook in oil until both sides are browned (about 2 minutes per side).

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Serve atop leaves and fresh tomatoes and any other toppings of your choice. You can roll the leaves around the burger for a healthier bun.

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Pair the burgers with homemade ketchup! Enjoy!

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Bon Appetit!

xo Aylin

Quinoa Cakes & Flax Egg Tutorial

Have you ever made a flax egg? Sounds kind of strange, but many vegan recipes call for a flax egg to replace a real egg. I’ve never made one until very recently and it had always sounded weird and complicated to do, but it takes a mere minutes and the process comes in handy whenever I want to up the glow of any dish I’m making. Like quinoa cakes with homemade ketchup!

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Before we get to the quinoa cakes, let’s get the glow down:

Flax seeds: fight diabetes, has a high amount of cancer-protective compounds lignans (up to 800 times the amount as in any tested plant food) and alpha linolenic acid, fights constipation with its soluble and insoluble fiber content (one ounce of flax provides 32% of the US daily allowance of fiber), combats inflammation with its Omega-3 essential fatty acids, prevents menopausal symptoms with its estrogen-like phyoestrogens, fights heart disease by reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol, boosts the immune system, improved Alzheimer’s symptoms, and helps brain function and overall mood.

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Quinoa Cakes

Before preparing the quinoa cakes, make yesterday’s recipe. For the quinoa cakes, all you have to do is add 2 more ingredients to the Rainbow Quinoa Salad: 1 flax egg and 3 tbsp of oat flour.

For the flax egg:

Take one tablespoon of flax seeds, grind them up, put them into a bowl with 3 tablespoons of water. Let sit for about 5-10 minutes.

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You will notice that the water congeals and becomes jelly-like. Almost like an egg white.

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That was easier to do than I thought!

For the quinoa cakes:

Add the flax egg to the Rainbow Quinoa Salad.

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Fold in the oat flour. If you have oats, simple food process the oats until they are fine like flour.

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Mix the quinoa thoroughly with the other ingredients. Shake into little palm cup-sized patties. Place delicately on a baking sheet, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until the patties hold together and are crispy on the outside.

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When they are finished cooking, they should look like this:

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Serve on a plate with some homemade ketchup to dip. Enjoy!

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Grab and dip!

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Bon Appetit!

xo Aylin

Rainbow Quinoa Salad

This is a quick chop-chuck-‘n-chew recipe that I make all the time, depending on what grain and vegetable leftovers I have. I chop the vegetables small, toss with cooked quinoa (or any grain for that matter) and fold in a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. It’s a fresh, light, and satisfying way to get rid of veggies on their last leg and put to good use otherwise bland grains.

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Its glowsomeness revealed:

Quinoa: is a protein powerhouse (one cup has 9 grams), containing all  of the essential amino acids and is thus a complete protein, is rich in fiber and digests slowly as to provide a feeling of fullness, acts an an internal cleanser and helps keep you “regular”, contributes to liver health with it vitamin B and folate content, builds bones with his good calcium content, and offer 15 percent of the U.S. recommended daily allowance of iron in just one cup, helping to deliver oxygen to the blood and boosting energy and brain power.

Keeps you sharp, thin, and strong. Make sure you get some!

Rainbow Quinoa Salad

by Aylin @ Glow Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 yellow red pepper, diced
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Instructions

Begin by chopping the veggies into fine pieces. Grate the carrot.  Add to two cups of cooked quinoa.

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For the dressing, whisk together salt, pepper, olive oil and juice of 1/2 a lemon. Fold into quinoa mixture until all is evenly coated.

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The dressing helps break down the toughness of the raw vegetables, evening out the textures and making for an awesome bite.

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Serve and enjoy!

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Bon Appetit!

xo Aylin