Recipe: Vegan Tahini Pad Thai Noodles

Over the past couple of days the weather has been screaming summer with the temperature around 25 degrees everyday and the sun bringing us loads and loads of shine. These nights I couldn't really bring myself to 'cook' my dinner. With my boyfriend already complaining about feeling too hot I decided to stick to cold noodles... Now I'd say this was a success. Having recently gotten back from Spain our cupboards were quite empty I rounded up some ingredients that were lying around the house and decided to make a Tahini Sauce which would be mixed together with some veggies that both my boyfriend and I loved... And so now we are just a tad obsessed with these noodles on those days where you just want something 'cold' for a change.

Tahini Sauce

Ingredients:

- 2 Tbsp Coconut Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 4 Tbsp Tahini
- 1/3 Cup of Hot Water
- 2 Tbsp Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp of Grated Ginger

Directions:

1. Heat up a pot of Boiling Water and pour this into a large bowl.

2. Next place a smaller bowl, (I use a glass measuring jar) into the large bowl of Boiling Water.

3. Now place your ingredients starting with your Hot Water, then Sugar, then Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Grated Ginger, Tahini, Vinegar into the measuring jar and keep stirring. The heat from the Large Bowl of Hot Water should keep the sauce at a liquid temperature. Just keep stirring.

Noodle and Assembly

Ingredients:

- 1 Package of Udon Noodles
- 1 Cup Bean Sprouts
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Snap Peas
- 1 Small Hand full of Chopped Cilantro
- 1/2 Cup Chopped Red Cabbage
- 1 Block of Firm Tofu
- 1/2 Cup of Chopped Chinese Cabbage
- 1/2 Cup of Chopped Cucumbers
- 1 Clove of Garlic
- Sprinkle of Toasted Sesame Seeds (Optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the Udon Noodles in a pot of boiling water, once cooked drain the noodles under cold water and keep them in the cold water so they don't stick.

2. Cut your veggies (Cucumber, Red Cabbage, Cilantro, Snap Peas, Chinese Cabbage).

3. Dice up Tofu into Cubes.

4. Dice the Garlic and heat it up in a frying pan with 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil.

5. Once the pan is heated place the cubed Tofu into the pan and fry until it is Golden Brown on the outside, add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Now its time to assemble everything... First I drain the noodles and place as much as I would eat into a bowl, then I place in the Chopped Veggies (Cucumber, Red Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Snap Peas) and give a good toss. Next I place the Sprouts on top and layer on the Fried Tofu. Finally I pour on the Tahini Dressing, and Garnish with the Cilantro and a sprinkling of Toasted Sesame Seeds.



Now look at that! Finished and it is perfect to prep ahead of time to store away in the fridge to a night in the week where there is just no time, all you have to do is assemble the ingredients. I really hope you will give this one a try, I for one am in love with this Tahini Pad Thai.

xoxo
Coco

Coconut Goji Bliss Balls Recipe

Hello everyone! I have just recently gotten back from Spain and believe me when I say I have missed my food processor and blender oh so much, I really have. Today I will finally be sharing this recipe and I am super excited for all of you guys to try this one. These little bombs are perfect for a "Pick-me up" or I personally love having one or two with a cup of coffee in hand. They are packed full of protein, healthy fats, and will keep your body energized. I have seriously been meaning to post this recipe much earlier, since these little guys are simply divine.
Now onto the recipe...

Ingredients:

- 1/2 Cup of Almonds
- 1/2 Cup of Walnuts
- 2 Tbsp of Pine Nuts
- 1 Tbsp of Chia Seeds
- 1 Cup of Dates
- 2 Tbsp of Goji Berries
- 1 Tbsp Cacao Nibs
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1/4 Cup of Shredded Coconut

Directions:

1. Place the Almonds, Walnuts, Pine Nuts, Chia Seeds, Goji Berries, Cacao Nibs, and Chia Seeds into a food processor and Pulse well until you reach a crumble like consistency.

2. Next place your Dates (make sure your remove all pits), and Coconut Oil into the food processor.

3. Blend again until your mixture becomes sticky and when you press the mixture it sticks together.

4. Now roll your mixture into little balls and roll them in the Shredded Coconut.

5. Keep them in a container in the fridge for 30 minutes before eating.

* If they don't stick as well add in a couple more dates, or 1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup



This recipe usually makes around 8 to 10 balls, you can easily double or triple the recipe depending on how big your food processor is. For my boyfriend and I we can easily devour the whole batch in one sitting. They are seriously addictive. I absolutely love these little bombs, and I hope you will too! I will be posting other recipe and blog posts soon so be sure to check back soon and let me know how it goes!!!

xoxo
Coco

Heart-healthy bowl of Goodness

Good morning everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful week. The weather has been beautiful the past week. Here in Amsterdam we had a few days where the temperature was 18 degrees, and we were hit with an abundance of sun, which I feel "O so grateful" for. I now write to you on a much less sunnier Thursday where I am at home free of work. On these days where I am free I really like to spoil myself with breakfast. Usually during working days because I mostly active all day I cannot exactly stuff my belly to the point of where my tutu doesn't close. Besides there is absolutely no time for that during work. But work aside on these free days I love to be spoiled and take the time to sit down to a warm bowl of my favourite "Superfood Oatmeal".  Seriously this stuff makes me feel like a princess, its one of those stay in bed and cozy sweaters all day kinda comfort foods, and it is super simple to make.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup Water
- 1/3 cup Oats
- 1/4 cup Coconut Milk
- 1 tsp of Sweetener of choice
- 1/2 ripe banana (mashed)

Topping Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
- 1 Tbsp Hemp Seeds
- 1/2 to 1 Sliced banana
- 1 large handful of Blueberries
- 1 Tbsp of Almond Butter
- 2 Tsp Maple Syrup
- few dashes of Cinnamon 



How To:

1. Start with a small to medium pot, and fill it with a cup of water, bring this water to a boil
2. Add in your 1/3 cup of Oats and let that cook
3. As the Oats cook pour in 1/4 cup of Coconut Milk (Optional)
4. Prepare 1/2 of a smashed ripe banana, and incorporate this into the oats
5. Sweeten with stevia, or coconut sugar, or maple syrup (Optional)
6. Keep stirring
7. Pour into your favourite cozy bowl and now its time to make it awesome

So now that we have our Oatmeal finished, we can really start to have fun... here is where you add all your favourite toppings. The possibilities are seriously endless. I personally love to top it off with some sliced bananas, an abundance of blueberries, a generous sprinkle of chia and hemp seeds, a heaping tablespoon of almond butter,  a drizzle of maple syrup, some goji berries, cocao nibs,  and sprinkles of bee pollen. Ofcourse I don't put all these topping on in one bowl, but these are just some of my personal faves. There is no limit. Oh and don't forget a dash of cinnamon!

With a cup of coffee on the side I'd say Im all set for the morning. I really hope you give this a try, it is super simple, and adjustable to your liking. Enjoy this "heart healthy bowl of goodness" and I send you all lots of love and happiness from my bowl.

xoxo
Coco

Happy Easter!

I guess I've never really celebrated Easter until this year, you see I grew up with Asian parents who never have celebrated this holiday. I do however always think of Easter as that holiday where parents hide eggs for their young ones to find, the supermarkets shelves are fully stocked with chocolate eggs, and there are displays of bunnies almost everywhere one looks. Though Easter has become more of a commercial holiday (just like all the other holidays) it is a holiday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I am not a Christian, but that does not mean that I don't believe in "God" and it also does not mean that I cannot celebrate Easter, I think everyday is a gift and it should be celebrated as you want. And so after 20 Easter's in my life I have decided this 21st Easter was one where I would celebrate.

To celebrate I decided to make a "Superfood Energy Balls", as a replacement for the traditional supermarket milk chocolate eggs, and I made some Sweet Potato Scones, my own version of those tea time Sunday scones.

Superfood Energy Balls

Both recipes are vegan, so it makes everything taste even just that much more amazing.

For the Sweet Potato Scones, I put a spread of Coconut Oil, and Blueberry Jam on as a filling, but they are really delicious on their own as well.

Sweet Potato Scones

Apart from cooking delicious food I also caught up on some much needed sleep... Happy Easter everyone!!!

xoxo
Coco

December Days

Happy December!

Its the most wonderful time of the year again! This morning when I woke up even with a slight cold and having the fact that I need to go to work I still yet awoke in a super happy mood. This is all because we have finally entered December, my favourite month of the year. Ok… I have to admit with living in Holland the weather has been crazy with the non stop rain, and the gloomy grey clouds, but seriously its the month of Christmas, and all things wonderful.

Currently at work we are rehearsing a lot for the upcoming performances of The Nutcracker. I remember every year at school in Canada where I grew up we would have performances of the Nutcracker and this was one of the major things that reminds me of the Holidays. But other than lots of rehearsals everyday here is kinda what a day off of dancing looks like for me.

Usually our free days are on a sunday and lets pretend its a sunny sunday, since the sunny days in Amsterdam are quite limited. On our free day I usually begin the day with "Waking up Late" this is something I dream of doing throughout the whole week but seriously when I get the chance to stay in bed, I stay in bed. Finally when I can no longer stand my empty stomach demanding food I would make my way into the kitchen. Now the real fun begins. On these sundays I really love taking the time to make a fancy breakfast and that usually includes pancakes, an array of fresh fruits, baked goods, or any kind of porridge. (Hahaha… fancy) Yup when I have time breakfast pretty much looks like this…

Now that breakfast or shall I say brunch is finished I usually fall back asleep or I make a cup of coffee and then fall asleep. If I ever awake from this nap I either try to clean up the apartment a little with my boyfriend or I start to sew my pointe shoes for the next week of work.  Now if every sunday were like last Sunday then my most amazing boyfriend will make my favourite lunch… "Okonomiyaki" which is basically a Japanese Pancake made out of cabbage, flour, eggs, and either seafood or choices of meat. I normally eat completely "Vegan" but I believe that you must not deprive yourself of what you want to eat, I do not believe in harming animals, but I also do not believe in restricting yourself from what you want to eat. This is an occasional treat for me and it seriously is one of my all time favourite dishes. 

And when the late brunch or lunch is finished I love to cuddle up with a blanket on the couch and read under the sun. And yes I do fall asleep usually. If this isn't the case then I am on the computer looking up some recipes to cook, or writing a little on this blog. 

Late afternoons would definitely involve a snack or major baking of either muffins or cookies. My boyfriend and I would usually devour it all with a nice cup of coffee. This sunday we baked some "Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Muffins". 

And finally Sunday night we usually take a walk over to the movie theatre to watch a movie or we make our own 'seriously addictive' popcorn at home and sit down to a nice movie.  And of course the popcorn is gone within 5 minutes.  So Pretty much this is how a Sunday looks like for me, now reading over this post I can state the obvious… when I don't dance I usually sleep and eat.

Hope this was fun to read… 

xoxo Coco

Coco's Pumpkin Porridge

Hello hello! So with it being the end of November I thought I would share an all time favourite winter recipe that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and or dinner. Seriously I could live off of this stuff this whole winter.  It is my incredibly simple, inexpensive, yet delicious "Pumpkin Porridge".



Ingredients:
- 1 cup of white rice
- 1 cup of pumpkin purée
- 3 cups of water

Steps:

1. First rinse your rice 3 times with water to make sure its clean
2. Place your rice into a medium sized pot along with 2 cups of water with the heat on Medium
3. Keep watch of rice and make sure to stir
4. Add water as needed to create "porridge" consistency
5. Add the Pumpkin Purée and stir constantly
6. Once the consistency is reached turn off the stove and serve

* If you do not have Pumpkin Purée on hand, (I personally always make mine) all you have to do is take a cup of Pumpkin or Butternut Squash (both works) and boil it till it becomes soft then mash it with a fork or pop it into a blender.

Growing up in an asian family we would have porridge for most of breakfast, and during sick days, or the winter times. I absolutely love porridge, and it is one of those super cosy and comforting foods to me. I hope you guys enjoy this one! This Pumpkin Porridge, just adds an extra warmth on those cold winter days, it's like a warm hug from the inside.

What's Happening Coco?

So it has been quite some time… Where has Coco been?

Well I haven't had much time over the past 200 something days as when my last post was. But things and I mean many things have happened… So what has been going on?

Well, I have been changing up my diet, while visiting different places for the summer, and touring with the ballet company and dancing a gala in Italy, heading home for summer holidays, and finally on top of all this I was looking for a new apartment for this new season.  *deep breath*  If some of you may not know I am a professional ballet dancer, I live throughout the year in Amsterdam due to work reasons, and during holidays I visit my home of 13 years in Canada. 

Anyways enough about my past, and a little more about the present, and future?

Diet… Before I decided to take a break from blogging, (I didn't really decide… time was a bit of an issue) I was always feeling quite sluggish, and tired. I depended on coffee a lot of the times, and just wasn't happy with how I was feeling overall. I'd get migraines, or upset stomachs often, and would easily catch any type of viruses that was floating around. With our demanding schedule of dancing around 8 hours a day, well I didn't feel like my body was up to the challenge and I was slowly feeling more fatigue and pain as the season progressed. Along with this because of the "Sluggish" feeling I didn't feel confident in my body and as a ballet dancer it is important to have a "In-shape/fit" figure. I wouldn't say I feel fat, or chubby, but I know my body is made up of what I feed it, and so sometime in April I decided it was time to change up my routine.

So thats whats been up… In the following post I will get into further details of my current diet, and how I made the switch, but for now here is a picture of me dancing and if you guys are interested stay tuned for what really helped me feel my best.

xoxo Coco