New Adventures in Plant Based Eating and the Wonder that is Chickpeas.

I'm sitting here eating the most delicious wrap and it dawned on my that I should share it.  I've take to eating a more plant based diet.  Note I did not say Vegan.  I already ate ethically and with consideration for the environment.  I'm making this change for my health.  I wasn't focused enough on my veggie intake and something is bothering my system.  I suspect it's dairy but removing dairy, eggs and meat is helping me ensure I have properly pinpointed the culprit. It's very common for Celiacs to have issues with dairy and eggs.

I made this decision before Christmas and have been easing into it. I have one animal protein day and one fish day per week.   Not only does this give my diet balanced, it also prevents the dreaded "deprived" feeling that so many of us impose on ourselves after the holidays.  Why do we punish ourselves?  Oh wait, because marketing folks and the media tell us to... Stop listening!!

And I was ahead of the game when the new Canadian Food Guide came out.  Did you see the half plate of veggies and fruit?!

I ate half of this before I thought to get a picture.  Keep in mind the gluten free wrap tends to fall apart so it's not pretty but holy, moly was it tasty!

That's tofu bacon on top.  I'd share a recipe but I wasn't thrilled with the recipe I used so I'll leave you to google your own.

Chickpea Salad for 1

1/2 cup of chickpeas, canned
1 tbsp regular or sriracha mayo
1/4 avocado
1 tbsp vegan sour cream or more mayo if you don't have sour cream on hand.
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Sprinkle of salt if needed
1 green onion.

Mash the chickpeas with the mayo, avocado and sour cream.  Add in the green onions.

Chickpea Salad Wrap

1 Gluten Free wrap (if GF is required, otherwise for the love of god, use a regular wrap!)
2 slices of tofu bacon (I made my own, google 'tofu bacon' and you'll find lots.  It keeps for a good week or more)
Chickpea salad
Slices of tomato
Baby spinach
Cilantro leaves.

Assemble your wrap with some warmed tofu bacon slices, the chickpea salad, tomato, spinach and cilantro.

Frozen Tofu and Wrapped White Fish

First let me tell you about my frozen tofu. Last time I bought tofu it was too much for a meal so I froze half of the block. I had read some interesting reviews about frozen tofu. Mostly that the texture changes. I used mine last night. I defrosted it, pressed it under a heavy weight to get the moisture out ( I have discovered this step helps whenever using tofu in stir fries or when sauteing or barbecuing - see my simple tofu recipe) then barbecued it as per simple tofu recipe. Perfect! So freeze away!

I wanted to touch upon a simple, tasty and kid friendly fish recipe. I have talked about wrapping up fish before. Tonight I did it again and realized I hadn't proclaimed the wonder of such a simple act in a while. I'm a huge fish lover so when I meet someone who isn't I always feel a little sad. This simple dish may get the most ardent anti-fish lover eating the healthy stuff!

I had a piece of cod, sprinkled on some parmesan and wrapped it in some prosciutto. 375 for 15 minutes. Perfect. Try any cheese/meat combo on any of the white fish types, sole, haddock, tilapia, etc. My goddess it was good! Next time I might try havarti and ham....