Vegan Tropical Smoothie(Mango, Papaya & Pineapple)

The ignored and tainted coconut has become the new super food and is every where in all different forms coconut milk, coconut flour, coconut oil. Even main stream restaurants offer smoothies with coconut milk in their menu. People are reinventing the wheel and coconut is in the lime light. At least now I hope the dietitians keep themselves updated and advice their patient to avoid coconut!!! Now coming to this smoothie recipe, I saw it in a restaurant menu card and fell in love with the ingredients used. So delicious and nutritious and a great way to kick start the day.

But if some one is on a diabetic diet, fruit smoothies are not advisable as the sugar in the juice form easily and quickly spikes the blood sugar. So if you are looking for a low sugar beverage go for any of this Almond Butter Milk shake, Ash gourd & Cilantro Smoothie, Chocolate Truffle Shake, Almond Milk, Cucumber Cilantro Smoothie, Almond Saffron Milk Falooda.



Preparation Time - 10 Minutes

Cooking Time - Nil

Serves - 4





Ingredients



Coconut Milk - 2 1/2 Cups (Chilled)

Papaya pieces - 3/4 Cup

Mango pieces - 3/4 Cup (Fresh or frozen both will work great)

Pineapple pieces - 3/4 ( All fruits washed, peeled and cubed)

Xylitol or Honey - 1 Tbsp or per taste(once again use the sweetener of your choice, but honey gives a lovely tropical flavor to this drink)

Vanilla extract - 1/4 Tsp

Ice cubes - 1/2 Cup



Method



1) Place the papaya, mango and pineapple pieces along with honey, vanilla extract and coconut milk in a food processor and blend till smooth.



2) Add the ice cubes and blend one more time and serve immediately.



Note - Using a good quality food processor will eliminate the need to filter and discard the fiber. Fruits and vegetables are eaten for their vitamins and fiber and do not filter and discard the fiber and lose the health benefits.

Event

This energizing smoothie goes to Sizzling Tastebuds Vrat Ka Khaana.

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Mango Mania - Eggless Sugar Free & Guilt free Mango Ice Cream using Xylitol

Mango season would surely be incomplete without mango ice cream, but  I don't use refined sugar at my home and substitute xylitol instead of sugar in all the recipes. When I had some guests  coming over and staying with us for few days, couple of weeks before, I wasn't too sure if an ice cream with xylitol would be welcome by them. But I was flying in clouds when the youngest guest who is a very picky eater said this is one of the best Ice Cream he has ever tasted and tastes much better than the store bought one. I don't think one can expect any appreciation better than this. So if you love mangoes and are looking for guilt free ice cream, do try this out and let me know how you liked it.



Preparation Time - 15 Minutes

Cooking Time - 10 Minutes





Ingredients



Heavy Cream - 3 Cups

Half & Half - 1/2 Cup

Milk - 1 1/2 Cups

Mango pulp - 1 Big Mango

Xylitol(powdered) - 1Cup

Agar Agar flakes - 3 Tbsp



Method



1) Soak the Agar Agar flakes in little bit of water(around 1/4 cup) and let this sit for 20-25 minutes.



2)  Once the agar agar flakes are softened add them to the milk and simmer for 5-10 minutes till the milk becomes hot, now add the cream, xylitol and half and half and simmer till the agar agar flakes is all dissolved.



3) Cool this and let this sit in the refrigerator for an hour and then add the mango pulp to this milk mixture and in your blender blend till smooth and the mixture is well combined.



4) Now pour this mixture in the ice cream maker and process as per instructions. Once this is done, keep the ice cream in the freezer over night and serve with chopped nuts and cut mango pieces.



5) Enjoy!!!

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Mango Mania - Vegan Whole Wheat Mango Cake

Even though my house hold is gluten free and I am moving more towards Almond flour for all baking needs. I do get requests to make certain cakes from my other  family members and this is one of the cake which I made for my Parents couple of weeks before I went on vacation.  Very easy to make and was liked by everybody for whom I made this. So if you are not on a gluten free, grain free diet do try this out.  I am sure you will like this.

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 1/2 Cups

Mango Puree/ Pulp home made - 1 Cup

Raw Sugar - 1 Cup

Sunflower Oil - 1/2 Cup

Baking Powder - 1 Tsp

Baking Soda - 1/2 Tsp

Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 Tbsp

Salt - 1/4 Tsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 Tsp

Nuts - Handful

Method

1) Sieve and combine the dry ingredients Whole wheat flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and keep this aside.

2) In a wide bowl add the mango puree, raw sugar, sunflower oil and combine thoroughly with a whisk.

3) Preheat a oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit and grease and flour a 8 * 4 baking pan.

4) To the wet ingredients add all the dry ingredients and using a spatula fold the batter without over mixing other wise the cake will be very hard. Now add the apple cider vinegar and combine thoroughly one more time.

5) Pour in the baking pan, top with the handful of nuts and bake for 35-40 minutes till a tooth pick inserted at the center comes out clean.

6) Cool in a wire rack and slice once cooled completely.

Recipe adapted from Champa's Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen.  Thanks Champa for the wonderful recipe.

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Mango Quinoa

Know what you Eat - A recently rediscovered ancient "grain" native to South America, quinoa was once called "the gold of the Incas," who recognized its value in increasing the stamina of their warriors. Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa's amino acid profile is well balanced, making it a good choice for vegans concerned about adequate protein intake, also quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients. Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, this "grain" may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis. The raw mango is a valuable source of vitamin C. It contains more vitamin C than half-ripe or fully ripe mangoes. It is also a good source of vitamin B1 and B2 and contains sufficient quantity of niacin. These vitamins differ in concentration in various varieties during the stages of maturity and environmental conditions.

Quinoa has become a staple in our house over taking rice. So when you have to cook and eat a grain every day, you have to be innovative to come up with different dishes so that you don't get bored. So what ever dishes are possible using rice like mixed rice varieties i do all of them using quinoa. This is one of them.

Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 15 mins
Serves - 2

Ingredients

Cooked Quinoa - 2 cups
Grated raw mango - 1 cup (firmly packed)
Peeled and grated ginger - 1/4 cup
Curry leaves chopped - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Roasted Peanuts - 1 handful
Chopped coriander - handful for garnishing
Salt to taste

Curry powder

Channa Dal(Bengal gram) - 2 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Coconut - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 2 or to taste

Method

Cooking Quinoa
1) Soak Quinoa for atleast 30 minutes and rinse thoroughly otherwise you will get a bitter taste out of the cooked quiona.
2) Add 2 measures of water to 1 measure of quinoa and cook till it is soft and fluffy. I normally pressure cook till 1 whistle and switch off.
3) Let it cool completely( if possible cook quinoa the previous day and refrigerate it).

Curry Powder
4) Dry roast channa dal, coriander seeds and red chilli. Once the raw smell is gone and the ingredients are slightly brown in color add grated coconut and switch off. The heat in the pan is enough to roast the coconut, if you are planning to keep it for a few hours or use the curry powder next day roast the coconut nicely. Keep this aside to cool completely. Once cooled, dry grind into a coarse powder

Final Touches
4) Heat oil add mustard seeds and leave till it splutters completely.
5) Now add the curry leaves and the grated ginger ,mango, salt, turmeric powder.
6) Saute on a low flame for 10 minutes once cooked completely add curry powder and cooked quinoa and stir thoroughly so that all the spices are mixed evenly.
7) Switch off and add the roasted peanuts and garnish with chopped cilantro.
8) Serve with raita of your choice. You can have this power food for breakfast or lunch.

Event Participation

1) This goes to Mango Mela hosted by Srivalli.

2) This goes to EFM June Breakfast series hosted by Srish.

3) This dish goes to Original Recipes - Monthly Round up Event hosted by Lorie.

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Cracked Wheat and Fruit Kheer(Pudding)

Know What You Eat: Cracked wheat carries a great deal of nutrition and fiber since it includes the fiber and nutrient rich outer bran and germ of the wheat.

There are two types of cracked wheat available in Indian stores, one is just the broken wheat in which the grains will be little big and other one the grains will be small and it is a combination of the wheat germ and bran. The second one cooks faster than the first variety, if you are using the broken wheat double up the cooking time.



Preparation Time : 10 mins

Cooking Time : 20 mins

Serves: 4



Ingredients

Cracked wheat - 1/2 cup

Milk - 3 cups

Water - 1 cup

Saffron - few strands

Jaggery or raw sugar - 1/2 cup or to your taste

Chopped banana and mango - 1 cup



Garnishing

Ghee - 2 tsp

Chopped nuts and raisins - 1 table spoon

Elaichi powder - 1/2 tsp





Method





2) Now add 1 cup of water and let the cracked wheat cook for 5 minutes.

3) Now add 2 cups of milk and few strands of saffron to the cracked wheat and leave it to cook completely, stirring in between

4) Once the cracked wheat is completely cooked add the powdered jaggery and leave it for 1-2 two minutes till the jaggery dissolves completely.

5) Let this pudding cool for few minutes, this will become little thick so add the remaining 1 cup of milk and the chopped fruit pieces(mango and banana).

6) Heat the ghee and roast the cashew and raisins and elaichi powder and garnish the pudding with the roasted nuts and raisins.

7) You can serve the pudding immediately or refrigerate without adding the ghee roasted nuts and raisins as this will taste much better absorbing the sweetness and flavor from the fruits and just before serving garnish with ghee roasted nuts and serve.

1) Dry roast cracked wheat till you get a slight aroma.

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