Vegan Philly Cheesesteak

Original recipe from Natashaskitchen.com.

Vegan Philly Cheesesteak

(makes 1 sandwich)

 Ingredients

1 vegan steak or Portobello mushrooms thinly sliced (I used Meati Steak)

1/2 sweet onion, (large), diced (I thinly sliced)

2 slices vegan provolone cheese (I used Follow Your Heart)

1 Vegan GF Hoagie Rolls (I used Little Northern Bakehouse bread)

1 Tbsp unsalted vegan butter, softened (I used Miyoko's)

1 garlic clove, pressed (I chopped and mixed with butter)

2 Tbsp mayonnaise (I used Follow Your Heart)

Pinch Sea salt, or to taste

Black pepper, or to taste

Method

In a small bowl, stir together 2 Tbsp softened butter with 1 pressed/chopped garlic. 

Spread garlic butter onto the cut sides of 4 hoagie roll. Toast the buns on a large skillet, flat cooktop or griddle on medium heat until golden brown then set aside. I just broiled for 5 minutes, watching closely.

Add 1 Tbsp oil to your pan/cooktop and sautee diced onions until caramelized on low-medium heat then transfer to a bowl.

Increase to high heat and add 1 Tbsp oil. Spread the super thinly sliced steak in an even layer. Let brown for a couple of minutes undisturbed then flip and season with salt & black pepper. Sautee until steak is fully cooked through then stir in the caramelized onions.

Top with 2 slices of cheese and turn off the heat or put on low so the cheese will melt.

Spread a thin layer of mayo on the toasted side of each roll. 

Place a toasted bun/bread slice over the cheese and use a spatula to scrape the cheesy beef into your bun as you flip it over onto a plate. 

Serve warm.

Vegan Chicken Katsu

Vegan Chicken Katsu

Ingredients 

2x Vegan crumbed chicken fillets of choice or crumbed tofu (I used Meati Crispy Cutlets.

Rice of choice (cooked, I used left over sushi rice)

Katsu Sauce 

4½ Tbsp Vegan Worcestershire sauce 

2 Tbsp vegan sugar/brown sugar

5 Tbsp ketchup 

2 Tbsp vgean oyster sauce/mushroom (or Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce)

Method

Cook chicken as per instructed. Mine just went in the air fryer but if using processed vegan chicken cook as per instructions and if you use tofu you can crumb or coat in potato or corn starch and shallow fry or bake for 15-20mins in a 425F/218C oven, lightly coated with oil and flipped halfway through.

For the sauce add all ingredients into a small saucepan and cook at a medium heat until sugar is melted, lightly mixing during process.

Slice vegan chicken on the bias and serve on rice with Katsu sauce drizzled over the top.

Can also be served with greens such as broccoli, bok choy or choy sum. 

6 Months of Weight Training

I am very new to weight training. I've been doing some arms with dumbbells and machines for years but never got serious about full body. Now in my 40's I realise how important lifting weights is as we get older and we start to lose muscle tone and bone density. I did a bit of research and found a fantastic YouTuber, Cheryl Coulombe or "Lift with Cee" (@ceelifts on IG). She targets exercises for over 40's and since she started lifting in her 40's and at 59 looked absolutely incredible and I was sold to at least try out her workouts. My biggest fear was not knowing where to start or injuring myself further.

So having said that, this is my 6 month account of doing her weight training videos. I have a lower back injury so I started with core exercises and followed her beginner lifting videos for the entire 6 months, deciding I would only start a new workout after the 6months. I could increase the weights if I felt like I need it though. She has some great introduction videos here too. I love that she talks about "fat loss" over "weight loss" since as we gain muscle we may not see a big difference on the scales but certainly will in how our body looks, feels and burns energy.

This is what my workouts looked like;

7 days a week - 8,000+ steps (Cardio), moved to 10,000 steps a day in October

2 days a week; 

• July - Started with Beginners lifting 
• August - Moved to Full Body Workout 30mins  (these are great when I don't have time for the full 60mins)
• September-December - Moved to 30min Upper Body + 30min Lower Body 

In the beginning I added in 3-5 days a week - 10 min Core exercises (Core) because my back needed the core strength. Probably for a couple of months I did this.

And here are the results by month (July 10 - Starting stats);

	July 10	Aug 8	Sept 30	Oct 23	Nov 10	Dec 10	Jan 9
Weight	146.5lbs	147lbs	146lbs	145lbs	146lbs	145lbs	144lbs
Biceps	12"	11.5"	11.5"	11.5"	12"	12"	12”
Chest	38"	37.5"	37.5"	37"	38"	37"	38”
Waist	35"	35.5"	35.5"	33.5"	34"	34.5"	34”
Hips	40.5"	41"	40.5"	39"	40"	39"	39”
Thighs	22"	22.5"	22"	21.5"	22”	22.5”		22"

So it's December and I have to say I feel amazing. As you can see from the results on paper though it doesn't seem like a dramatic change and with not much difference on the scales I see how one would get discouraged but the weight shifts from fat to muscle. I want to eat more and yet and not gaining weight, I definitely see the changes in my body, how my clothes fit, how my muscle is developing and how strong I feel. Bonus is my back pain has been diminished quite a bit. I'll do a 12month progress post but I'm definitely sticking with it.  People have been noticing and commenting on how good I look. I definitely noticed the saddlebags diminished and my butt is higher from all the squats LOL

Toward the end I found her "30-Min Full Body Workouts" the best option, three times a week ideally. Consistency is key and giving yourself a realistic goal like 6 months. I've even upped my weight a couple of times and am closer to the weights she uses in the videos.

Purple Carrot - Meal Delivery Review

 This is my "take 2" on the Purple Carrot review. The first time around I didn't have the greatest experience but a year on I decided to try again and was pleasantly surprised that many of the kinks have worked out. I like to prepare meals myself so they are slightly cheaper than the ready made meals. This was always a temporary "over the summer" thing for me. It's still a little pricey, the cheapest the dinner meal being $11 a serve (if you get four servings). I decided I liked it so much this time that I ended up keeping it but trying to get it every second week. You can easily skip weeks.

What I will say that I like is that if you opt for the four servings it still comes packages in two serve bundles so you don't have to cook all four servings at once which I love. I still love that they have the colored recipe book and don't have many pre-made ingredients so you can easily recreate at home on your own budget. I also love that they display the calories and nutrition at the bottom of each meal. Delivery was much more reliable than last time and there are plenty of GF options. 

I like the "pantry" option too so you can take on a couple things to make free shipping (over $100). What I thought worked best economically beside the four serve option was to skip every second order and in the order I was getting a couple of extra meals. It means I'm spending less per week plus ensured free shipping.

My only real issue is that there is no Eastern hub so everything is shipped from the North West so by the time it gets to Florida I almost have to eat everything the same day because a lot of the greens are on their way out. I also hate the GF wraps, they crumble and are very average. I use my own store bought ones. They give you an occasion free box to send to someone which is great but they definitely should set up incentives for customers to recruit other customers. I've sent two free boxes to friends who became subscribers so it would be more motivating to give something back, Purple Carrot are you listening??

Thanksgiving 2023!

 Thanksgiving 2023 already behind us! We had our plans change last minute but here's what I was able to get together on a coupe days notice!

Rebel Cheese (ordered from Purple Carrot) - Balsamic Fig and Smoked Cheddar

Picked up this Meati chicken made from mushrooms (very low processed - hardly any ingredients). Surprisingly had a very similar texture to chicken. Bought from Sprouts.

Green Bean Casserole is always a must! 

The Full Spread; Garlic Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Onion Gravy, Stuffed Mushrooms, Southern Collard Greens, Cranberry Sauce, Agave Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts and Carrots.

Of course, Pumpkin Pie!! Use a premade Wholly Wholesome GF vegan pie crust. Tru Whip Vegan for optional topping.

Also had Chocolate Pie, using premade vegan GF by Mi-Del.

Chocolate Pie

 I found this recipe that didn’t use tofu, because I didn’t have any. I used a premade vegan GF graham cracker crust I had got on sale and the filling took all of 5-10mins to make. Just needs a few hours to set. It was ma HUGE hit! Tasted like chocolate mouse :)

Original recipe from One Lovely Life. Original Graham Cracker Crust recipe from Sugar Spun Run.

Chocolate Pie

Ingredients

3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

4 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot

1/3 cup coconut sugar (or white sugar)

1 (13oz) can full-fat coconut milk

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

Premade Graham Cracker Crust (recipe below)

Toppings (optional) 

Dairy-Free Whipped Topping (Like CocoWhip, TruWhip Vegan, or Reddi-Wip almond or coconut)

Dairy-Free Shaved chocolate, chocolate chunks, or mini chocolate chips.

Method

In a medium saucepan, whisk together cocoa powder, cornstarch, and coconut sugar. Pour in coconut milk and almond milk.

Bring the mixture up to a boil, whisking constantly to help avoid lumps.

Boil 2-3 minutes, or until mixture is visibly thicker. (You want it to really thicken.)

Remove pudding from the heat and add chocolate chips, vanilla, and salt.

Whisk to combine until the chocolate chips are completely melted. (Mixture will be quite thick now.)

Remove pie crust from the refrigerator and pour in your chocolate cream filling.

Cover the pie with plastic wrap or the cover from the premade crust and chill until completely chilled through and set, at least 2-3 hours. (I love making this pie even further ahead–8-12 hours.)

When ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator and uncover. Top with whipped topping and shaved chocolate, as desired. Note: the surface of the pie may crack as it chills. This is totally fine. That’s what whipped cream is for!

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

1 ½ cups (170 g) vegan GF graham cracker crumbs (or 11 graham cracker sheets pulverized to crumbs in a food processor)

2 Tablespoons vegan sugar

1 Tablespoons vegan brown sugar packed

7 Tablespoons (100 g) vegan butter melted

Method

Pulverize graham crackers in food processor until finely ground into crumbs (skip this step if starting with graham cracker crumbs). 

Stir together graham cracker crumbs and sugars in a medium-sized bowl.  

Add melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well until crumbs are all moistened.

Pour mixture into pie plate or springform pan.  U

se the bottom of a measuring cup to firmly pack crumbs into the bottom of the pan and (if using a pie pan) gently press up the sides.  

Use your fingers to pack crumbs tightly into the sides of the pie pan.

If the crust needs to be pre-baked, bake on 350F (175C) for 10-13 minutes and allow to cool before filling. 

If using this crust as part of a different recipe, bake according to your recipe's instructions.  

If this crust is for a no-bake recipe, refrigerate or freeze for 10-20 minutes before filling.