Excellent “Chicken” Salad

This is a wonderful vegan “chicken” flavored sandwich spread that is great for school or work lunches. Packed with protein, taste, and crunch it satisfies on every level. Even if you have a nut allergy, you can still enjoy this scrumptious “chicken” salad with no fear– simply substitute raw cauliflower for the nuts.

Ingredients:

1- 15 oz. can chick peas, rinse and drain

1 handful each of almonds and cashews OR an equal amount of chopped raw cauliflower.

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

4 – 5 Tbsp. Vegenaise

2 tsp. prepared mustard

1/8 – 1/4 tsp. ginger powder

1/8 – 1/4 tsp. Adobo seasoning salt

pepper to taste

1 tsp. lemon juice (optional)

Method:

Chop scallions and celery (and cauliflower if using) — set aside.

Blend remaining ingredients in food processor ( blend only enough to chop — you want it kind of chunky, not creamy).

Place blended ingredients in a bowl and add chopped scallions and celery (and cauliflower). Mix well with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.

Makes 6 – 8 great sandwiches!

Vegetarian Food Prep: Make it Easy

One of the comments I often hear is that vegetarian cooking takes so long and is so inconvenient. I agree. All that chopping, slicing, and dicing is time consuming, but YOU ARE WORTH IT, so take all the time you need to be healthy. Better health for you and your family starts in the kitchen.

I would like to share some things I’ve learned that make preparing healthy foods a little quicker and easier:

–First of all, PLEASE, don’t cook for only one meal. It is just as easy to make 10 cups of brown rice as it is to prepare 2 cups, so make a big pot and save the leftovers for future meals. If you won’t use it all this week you can easily freeze leftovers to use next week or even next month.

–The same goes for dried beans; make more than you need and freeze the leftovers. I like to freeze two cup portions in plastic freezer bags for use later.

–Cleaning and peeling vegetables is best done when you have a big chunk of time, but I like to peel a 5 lb. bag of organic carrots as soon as I bring it home so that fresh carrots are always available for juicing and recipes.

–Romaine lettuce also gets washed as soon as it hits the kitchen; separate the leaves and let them soak in the sink with cold water and a little vinegar while you put the rest of your groceries away. After draining, roll the leaves in a clean dishtowel, put it in a plastic bag, and store in the frig until you’re ready to make a salad or sandwich. You’ll be surprised how fresh and crisp it stays this way!

–Don’t be afraid to buy in bulk. Raw tomatoes (whole, cored), raw peppers and onions (chopped), and raw peas and berries (whole, washed) can be frozen with little preparation, and can make individual meal preparation go faster if you have them on hand.

–Finally, considering how mind-numbing a task chopping, slicing, and dicing is, consider multi-tasking. You can put the phone on speaker and still have both hands free. Or, USE that wasted time in front of the TV — chop the vegetables you will need for tomorrow’s supper tonight while watching your favorite show. You’ll be so glad you did this when you get home tomorrow after work, and all that meal prep is already done!

I hope these ideas to make eating for better health faster and easier are helpful to you. If you have any other time- saving ideas, please share them!

Aladdin Mediterranean Restaurant, 401 Penn Ave. West Reading, PA 19611. Phone 610-685-6677

Aladdin is a wonderful Mideastern restaurant that offers a variety of delectable foods for the health conscious. They have an extensive vegetarian menu to eat in or take out, and always use the finest fresh ingredients. It is one of our favorite restaurants in Berks County — we have never been disappointed by the food or the service. The atmosphere is very ethnic — almost like eating in a desert nomad’s tent or a Mideastern marketplace, complete with music. To add to the fun, Friday night usually features a live bellydancer.

Last night I ordered the Aladdin Makaleh which consisted of grilled cauliflower, zucchini, and eggplant along with falafel topped with shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, and tahini sauce. It was delicious (and huge)! My husband had the Falafel Salad, which is a very generous serving of falafel, hummus, tabouleh, and tahini sauce. At only $7.50 it is a bargain. I have ordered the Falafel Salad in the past and can tell you that their tabouleh is the best! Don’t let the word “salad” make you think this dish will leave you feeling hungry; it is definitely large enough for a satisfying entrée. We had fountain drinks (free refills), and did not order dessert because it was a friend’s birthday, and we had brought our own cake. Aladdin supplied plates and silverware with a smile. If you are looking for excellent vegetarian food in Berks County, then you won’t be disappointed with Aladdin. If you don’t see exactly what you want on the menu, you can make your own combination platter or ask them to alter any item to suit your preference, and they will oblige.

Aladdin is truly a gem — a wonderful compliment to the Main Street revitalization program in West Reading. Their prices are reasonable and parking is convenient. Oh, they do serve meat dishes and have a Kids Menu, too 🙂

For more information online: DineIndie.com/Aladdin

ZOUP! Woodland Rd. in The Shoppes at Wyomissing, PA 19610, 610 372-6717

Zoup! is a new franchise restaurant in town. If you follow Woodland Rd. east past the Berkshire Mall you will end up in the parking lot of The Shoppes at Wyomissing, an upscale strip mall where you will find Zoup! situated more or less in the middle of the strip.

My first impression of Zoup! was that is very clean and the staff was very helpful and answered all our questions — even offering free samples of the soup before we ordered. In appearance Zoup! is reminiscent of a scaled down version of Panera Bread; scaled down because they don’t have a bakery (or any desserts) on the premises. Zoup! offers soups, salads, and sandwiches freshly made at reasonable prices. They had four vegetarian soups on the menu the night we were there: vegetarian split pea, tomato basil, wild mushroom barley, and butternut squash (that is a larger selection than Panera, which usually only offers one, sometimes two). Any salad can be made into a wrap. Sandwiches can be ordered deli-style or grilled.

My partner and I both decided on the vegetarian split pea soup (large) and a “cali veg sandwich”, which we split (whole sandwiches are quite large). For an extra $1.99 any soup can be served in a bread bowl. We each had freshly brewed iced tea (free refills). Everything we had was delicious. With the soup you get a good-sized complimentary fresh roll (three choices: white, wheat, or multigrain), so there really is no need to purchase the bread bowl unless you really love bread.

Zoup! occasionally publishes coupons, and we had one that night for “buy one get one free soup.” That was worth about $5.50 — what a deal! With our coupon our entire bill for two, including tax, came to only $15.08. We will definitely go back to Zoup! It’s a nice place to go for a healthy lunch or casual dinner while shopping. They also have free wi-fi. See them on the web @www.zoup.com

I thought Zoup! was a great value for the money. Plus, they have free internet!

Broiled Eggplant Sandwiches

For six sandwiches:

6 large wholegrain rolls

2 lg. eggplants

1 jar of roasted red peppers

veggie mozzarella cheese (Soya Kaas works well)

pesto (you can find small jars of pesto in the grocery aisle near spaghetti sauce)

Slice the eggplant 3/4 in. thick. Salt the slices and let them drain. This takes out any bitterness. Press out excess moisture with a paper towel. Then brush eggplant slices with olive oil and broil on both sides until brown and tender. (Broiling only takes about 3 minutes on each side — watch closely or they will burn).

Then, put the broiled slices in a glass bowl or casserole with about 2 Tbsp. olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, and 1 – 2 cloves of pressed garlic. Let marinate overnight.

When you are ready to cook the sandwiches preheat the oven to BROIL. Slice open roll and spread pesto on each half. On one half layer marinated eggplant slices, then roasted red pepper strips. On the other half place a couple of thin slices of veggie mozzarella cheese.

Arrange prepared open sandwiches on a baking sheet, and broil until bread is lightly browned and mozarella is soft and browned

(These can be eaten as a meal served with soup or salad, or they can be cut into smaller sandwiches and served as out-of-the-ordinary finger sandwiches).