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By Christina Lalor For the longest time when I heard “chia,” all I would associate it with would be those super fun chia pets. Man, I loved those things, still do. Those commercials were hard to forget. But now, chia takes on a whole new meaning in my life. Chia seeds are one of the healthiest nutrition sources providing tons of health benefits, plus it doesn’t hurt that they make for some pretty delicious dishes. The word “chia” is actually the ancient Mayan word for “strength,” showing you already what a great source of energy it is! Read on to learn all about how chia seeds can benefit your health, different ways they can be used and of course, to get our delicious chia seed recipe! I was first introduced to chia pudding working at a tea lounge in downtown San Francisco. It honestly didn’t intrigue me too much just looking at it, I’m a big texture eater. But then one day I was feeling a little more risky with trying out new foods and oh my goodness I am glad I did. I had it that day, then I had it the next day and the day after and the day after. It was the perfect snack- gave me the energy I needed to get through my shift, was delicious, and fun to make! What are Chia Seeds? Chia seeds are a superfood that come from the Salvia Hispanica, what we know as chia! It is a plant in the mint family, classified as sage, and is native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala. They are small, about 2 millimeters in diameter, oval and gray with black and white spots! Pretty distinguishable characteristics for a seed. Chia seeds are an unprocessed, whole-grain food that our bodies can absorb as seeds (unlike flaxseeds.) Their taste is subtle, having a nutty flavor and being a perfect complement for both sweet and savory dishes! Although we are just using chia seeds in our recipe today, it’s good to know that the rest of the chia plant provides great value as well. The leaves of the chia are also edible, they are high in protein and make for a great addition to your salad. Chia in general is high in protein, antioxidants, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids!  Small, but Mighty These small adorable seeds may be small, but they pack a lot of power in their punch. Just one ounce serving of chia seeds (about two tablespoons) contain 11 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat (5 which are omega-3s), calcium (18% of the RDI), manganese (30% of the RDI), magnesium (30% of the RDI), Phosphorus (27% of the RDI). RDI stands for “Recommended Dietary Intake” for those of you who were about to look it up. They offer five times the calcium available from milk, that’s pretty crazy since I naturally associate calcium with milk most of the time. It also contains phosphorus, magnesium and proten- meaning it’s great for helping build strong bones! This superfood also has a high amount of zinc, vitamin B3, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and potassium. These guys are loaded with antioxidants, compounds that inhibit oxidation. Antioxidants protect some of the fats in the seeds from going rancid and help fight the production of free radicals, which can damage cell molecules and contribute to aging and diseases like cancer. Nobody likes to see something high in carbs, we associate that with breads and glutens. But chia seeds’ carbohydrates are majority fiber, meaning they can absorb 10 - 12 times their weight in water (watch the coconut milk absorb into the seeds when you add them together). Chia seeds have been shown to help with weight loss. Chia seeds have an increasingly important role in diabetes treatment So chia seeds are non-processed, whole-grain, non-GMO, naturally gluten free, and usually always grown organically. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. ALL OF THESE BENEFITS IN JUST ONE OUNCE BUT ONLY 137 CALORIES! Sign me up! This makes it one of the world’s best sources of very important diverse nutrients, calorie for calorie. Easy to Incorporate So besides this one chia pudding recipe we’ll be getting to shortly, how else can one incorporate chia seeds into their daily life? Easy peasy! There’s a ton of ways and most of the recipes are super simple! Here are just 10 alternatives to chia pudding for you to try!
 Ingredients 13.5oz Can Coconut Cream ¼ Cup Chia Seeds 2 Tbsp. Honey (as sweet as you want it to be) 1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract To Taste Shredded Coconut Blueberries Strawberries Almond Butter Shredded Coconut Recipe This is a very simple recipe that makes for a great snack for 2 - 4 people or a meal for one! 1. Combine the following ingredients in a medium bowl - can of coconut cream, chia seeds, honey and vanilla extract. (add honey for the sweetness you enjoy) 2. Scoop into your Élay bowl or to-go container 3. Top with strawberries, blueberries, cinnamon, shredded coconut and cinnamon (to taste). You can scale this recipe to however much pudding you want to make and there are a ton of amazing toppings you can choose to make your pudding, well, yours! 
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 Recipe, Video and Photos by Aswini Parameswaran Written by Christina Lalor You are in for quite the treat today! We have a Vegan Semolina dish for you to try, presented by one of Élay’s talented collaborators- World of Clicks and Pix! I know, I know you are eager to get cooking. But before we get to the fun stuff, we want to formally introduce and give a warm welcome to our newest partner - World of Clicks and Pix! They are an Instagram page (that we highly encourage you to follow) sharing some delicious quick and easy recipes to try at home. I know I’ve already spotted quite a few dishes I want to try. This Instagram Food Blog is run by Aswini Parameswaran, a talented cook, photographer and videographer! We are so excited to be partnering with Aswini for a variety of reasons. Aside from the delicious, vegan and vegetarian meals she curates, she also lives in India. I don’t know about you, but I sure need some more authentic Indian cuisine in my life. Take a look at her page, and you’ll see some dishes you may not have even known about a week ago and be dying to give it a try! Our Areca Palm Plates are also from India, so be on the lookout for some of Aswini’s dishes on Elay’s tableware soon :) So how did World of Clicks and Pix (WCP) get started? Aswini gave us the full story on her journey: “I started this page as a space where I can share and store beautiful pictures. The response that I started getting for it in 2017 when I was posting consistently was very motivating. At that time I was posting random shots, some that included pictures of the food as well. The response to the food images was excellent and I understood the need here. In 2020, when the lockdown due to the pandemic started, it gave me a chance to streamline my page and its core interest. Here, in India, during the lockdown, people were spending a lot of time with their family, cooking, playing, watching movies, etc. Everyone was keen on trying new dishes. Many bachelors were stuck at places with no food delivery and access to very limited food supplies. That is when I decided to turn this space into a platform where everyone can find something to cook and eat during such days and otherwise as well. So, I started creating dishes with minimal and easily available ingredients and posted the recipe and pictures of it. It was well-liked. Finding time to cook an elaborate meal becomes quite difficult for students and working professionals. Our page gave everyone a chance to try something new without it being a time-consuming activity and yet delicious. What more can a foodie ask for, right? *wink*. So, this was the story of how the 'Quick recipe' section of our page took birth. In addition to these quick recipes, I also cook popular dishes at home which we generally eat outside here, and post pictures of them to show how easy it is to make them at home. The food styling and image capturing are done exclusively by me. All the pictures are captured from my phone. No professional cameras have been used yet. We also play games related to food on a weekly basis and hold contests. I plan to keep adding many such quick and easy recipes to the existing assortment and reach a wider audience base to serve. I hope this inspires and helps you to cook, eat, and stay healthy.”  AMAZING! And oh so relatable. Timing is my number one issue with cooking- the time it takes to get ingredients, to prep, to do the actual cooking and cleaning. Knowing that something will be easy provides a whole lot more incentive to get it done. Doesn’t hurt that it will also be oh, so appetizing! Just scrolling through my Instagram and I see one of World of Clicks and Pix’ videos on an easy dinner recipe and then bam! I know what I’m having for dinner -yes, it is that easy.
Plus, we just love how interactive this Instagram page is! Aswini has tons of competitions, games, trivia questions, and “guess that dish” posts. We love seeing such a fun interactive page relating to one of our favorite subjects - food! Don’t be shy now, go give her a follow and start interacting with her posts and games for a chance to win some surprise prizes! Not convinced yet? This dish should do it for you, I know it did for me. So what is this Vegan Semolina? Is this something you have tried before? Never heard of before? Either way, this is a great recipe for beginners or expert chefs to try out. Semolina is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used mostly in making couscous, pasta, upma, and sweet puddings. It is an incredibly versatile flour that can be used in a multitude of dishes, but yes, technically speaking it is vegan by itself. But is your job to make sure the rest of the recipe is also vegan/vegetarian! *For this recipe we used Semolina, you may also substitute that for couscous! Aside from being a vegan dish, this Vegan Semolina has tons of added benefits. All you have to do is prepare and eat the dish and boom, you’re reaping in all its glorious benefits! This dish is recommended to help with weight loss as it is a diet friendly dish- it is high in fiber making it great for digestion. Semolina also contains thiamin, an important nutrient for nerve conduction and muscle function, and selenium, a chemical element that is great for regulating thyroids! Ingredients 1 Cup Semolina (can also substitute for couscous) 2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil ½ Teaspoon Mustard Seeds 3-4 Chopped Green Chillies (according to what you think you can handle) 10 Curry Leaves 1 Medium-chopped onion 1 Tablespoon grated ginger ½ Cup chopped carrots ½ Cup Peas Salt (per taste) 2 Cups Water Recipe - Follow along with our video above to see how it’s done!
Share with us your photos and/or videos of how your Vegan Semolina came out- we are so thrilled to share this dish with you. Be on the lookout for more to come from Aswini’s “World of Clicks and Pix”! She’ll be graciously sharing some of her favorite easy recipes for future blog posts, in the meantime- give her a follow on her Instagram page!   By Christina Lalor Yes, you heard that correctly! It has happened- a vegan dish that even your meat-eating friends will love. I’m sure if they are reading this, they are rolling their eyes, thinking “no way Christina,” nothing compares to a truly cheesy, meaty lasagna. Well, don’t knock it off your list until you try a bite of this deliciousness, you won’t be disappointed. I know I wasn’t. For some context, no I am not vegan, but I value the importance of reducing my meat intake and trying dishes outside of my comfort zone. One’s diet - whether vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian or a meat-eater, is all on a spectrum. You should base your diet on what gives you the nutrients and subsistence you need, what environmental impact this diet may have, and of course, the health benefits for you. Not every diet is right for every person, play around and find out what makes you feel like your best self and is sustainable! Sustainable eating is one of the most important aspects of eating for me- meaning I am being consistent, getting the nutrients and food value I need, keeping within my budget, and having something that works with my busy schedule. Cooking can get boring when you are doing the same dish every time- I don’t know how many times I’ve made lasagna, but I can tell you I have never made a vegan lasagna until today! Don’t let all the healthy ingredients -red lentils, tofu, cashews, spinach and whole grain noodles - make you think this dish won’t be BOMB, because it absolutely is. With all these incredible ingredients, come incredible benefits! This dish is
Now this specific recipe has two parts- the lasagna and the vegan mozzarella cheese! Both recipes and ingredient lists are provided if you keep scrolling down! You can use the vegan mozzarella cheese for grilled cheeses or pizza, but I think it is absolutely perfect on this lasagna - I wouldn’t have it any other way! Benefits of Ingredients Now, for some honestly- I am not the world’s best cook. I need some easy recipes and when I try out vegan, gluten free or international dishes I am working with a lot of ingredients I may not be familiar with. I think we all know that struggle of going aisle by aisle trying to find an ingredient we have no idea what it even looks like. We now have the power of the internet to help us find what we need, tell us exactly what it is and what the benefits of it are. For this vegan recipe, I want to talk about some of the benefits of the specific ingredients- maybe you’ll be more inclined to eat them after hearing about how great they are for you, I know I was. Red Lentils: These are the sweetest and nuttiest of the lentils (green, brown or red), only taking about 30 minutes to cook up. They have 18 grams of protein per cup cooked- that’s a whole lot of protein (a great sub for not having meat in your dish). Red lentils are easiest to mix in with soups or purees rather than green or brown lentils. Cashews: Provide a variety of overall health benefits, cashews are rich in nutrients, linked to benefits like weight loss and help control blood sugar. They are rich in unsaturated fats, low in sugar, a great source of fiber and have almost equal amounts of protein as an equivalent quantity of cooked meat! Cashews also contain copper, a mineral impactful in energy production and one’s immune system! Tofu: An amazing protein source, tofu contains all nine essential amino acids, is rich in iron and calcium and contains magnesium, copper, zinc and vitamin B1! Wooh- sounds like I need some more tofu in my life. Tofu comes from soya protein, known as a bean curd, prepared by coagulating soy milk and pressing the curds into solid white blocks that we recognize as tofu! Nutritional yeast: A yeast type that helps bake bread and brew beer, nutritional yeast is grown specifically to be used as a food product. The yeast cells are deactivated during the process, leaving many B vitamins, trace minerals like zinc, selenium, molybdenum and manganese. This yeast is a fantastic source of protein as well with one tablespoon containing 2 whole grams of protein! Tapioca Starch: This one I had never heard of before, it is made from crushed pulp of the cassava root. It works similar to cornstarch in that it thickens the dish. It works best when added at the end of cooking, whereas corn starch stands well in high heat. Vegan Lasagna Ingredients: 1 cup dried red lentils 2 (25oz) jars of marinara sauce 1 cup raw cashews 16oz firm tofu (pat dry) ½ cup nutritional yeast 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp salt 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp oregano ½ tsp garlic powder 2 ½ cups baby spinach 1 box whole grain (or gluten free) lasagna noodles Instructions:
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Ingredients: ½ cup Raw Cashews 1 ⅓ cups water 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar ½ tsp salt 4 tbsp tapioca starch Instructions: While your lasagna is in the oven for 40 minutes, it’s time to get to work on that vegan mozzarella cheese- this is the cherry on top for this dish. This stretchy vegan cheese is made with just 5 ingredients!
 By Jack Hornsby Baking has become a popular hobby over the last year as the pandemic had most of us sheltering at home. We at the Green Living Blog wanted to give you guys a healthy, fun to make, vegan alternative to a regular loaf of bread that you can try out at home! “Naan” is a popular, versatile type of indian flatbread that's perfect for just about any meal! Even if you are not a vegan this recipe is as good, or even better, than other non-vegan Naan options out there! This dish is very easy to make at home, very delicious, and incredibly versatile, so there’s a million different things that you can do with this bread! Let’s jump into it! History of Naan bread Naan is a flatbread that is used to accompany meals in Northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and other surrounding areas. The first accounts of Naan go back as early as 1300 AD. For hundreds of years Naan bread was seen as a bit of a delicacy, and the only people that were evidenced of having it in their diet on a semi-consistent basis were royalty and other people in positions of power. The reason that it remained a food for royals for hundreds of years is because it required ingredients, tools, materials and techniques that were just not available to people without some form of wealth. By around 1700 however the techniques and tools required to make this dish were much more widespread. While, at this point, Naan bread was still seen as a delicacy, it was available to those without great financial means. From this point onwards the spread of this dish became more and more widespread, until you get to today and it’s seen around the world. From India to North America, Naan Bread can be made by anybody who has the time required to make this amazing bread! Different types of Naan bread There are a plethora of versions to this bread, and a whole range of sides, dips, curries, and meats that can accompany it. On its own, it’s quite a healthy snack, perfect for any health conscious, vegan individual, or anyone on any form of plant based diet. Even if you do not fall into any of these categories, there are endless possibilities of how you can make and enjoy this dish! From your basic butter Naan and garlic Naan (which we’ll be making in this recipe!), to more filling and creative variants like Paneer Naan (bread stuffed with a fresh, soft, Indian cottage cheese called Paneer) , and Kashmiri Naan (which is filled with nuts and raisins) or Keema Naan (stuffed with minced, flavoured lamb) the options for making Naan your own are endless. There’s a ton of other fun things that you can easily do with your home-made Naan bread, which include easy-to-make health conscious, vegan/ vegetarian dishes, gluten-free accompaniments, and healthy meat-based curries and sides. You really cannot go wrong with this dish, whatever direction you decide to take it! What can you do with the Naan bread? Making the Naan got me thinking about what you could do with this bread, and after a little bit of research and experimenting on my own, I wanted to share with you the ideas I liked best. First of all this garlic Naan bread is delicious on its own! It really is a great snack that can be enjoyed by itself, but if you do want to spice it up a little here’s what I recommend. If you’re vegan, and living a health-conscious lifestyle, you can easily make a vegan pizza out of it! Throw on some vegan cheese, whatever vegetables you fancy, put it in the oven until it’s all warm and melted and you’ve got yourself an incredibly easy and low effort pizza! Another medley type dish that you can make with this Naan is a wrap of any kind! Throw your chosen ingredients on top, wrap it up, and boom you’ve got a wrap of your choosing! The dish that I had along with my Naan bread was a wonderful Chicken Tikka Masala with rice, and I thought those three dishes together was an absolutely amazing combination. Finally, something that I am definitely going to try to make within the next week is making a Gyro with Naan bread. I’m still deciding if i want to go with a vegan Gyro or just a regular one (There’s a lot of amazing looking vegan Gyro recipes out there!) That all said, I'm sure any way that I spin it, having this Naan bread around will be great for further cooking experimentation, and I think anything that I make with this bread will be absolutely amazing! Is this easy to make? Actually, i did not find this recipe for Naan Bread too hard to make at all! I have personally never made any form of bread (flatbread or regular), so coming into making this was a little daunting. I have a lot of cooking experience, but next to no baking experience. Luckily this recipe requires no baking! The hardest part for me of this whole recipe was making sure that I had all the ingredients measured out correctly! Once you have your dough all made up and let it rest for a while you just need to knead and cook it up! I know cooking can be scary if you are inexperienced or have just never really worked with dough too much before, but fear not this recipe is pretty hard to mess up! Overall, I would say that this dish is easy to make, delicious, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a little extra time on their hands, and wants to try and make a pretty low effort flatbread at home!  Recommendations In this section I wanted to lay out the hard parts and pitfalls to look out for with this recipe. The actual hard parts of this recipe are as follows; making sure you knead the dough enough, and making sure you get the dough right. Actually cooking this bread is incredibly easy. You just put the dough on your cast iron skillet, let it sit there for a bit, and flip it over when ready. As for kneading the dough, you really have to make sure you get in there and knead it correctly. DO NOT skimp on the kneading! Secondly, getting the dough just right is essential to the success of cooking this Naan bread. Making sure you measure out the right amount of the ingredients, having the exact ingredients specified in the recipe, and combining them as instructed is essential to success here. Pay extra special attention to steps one through four to ensure you end up with a great tasting finished product. Finally, make sure you add the garlic! I personally cannot get enough garlic on anything, so i am a little biased, but i felt that garlic on this dish really elevated it to another level! Ingredients
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This recipe was a lot of fun to make. It’s a great recipe for anyone whose diet is completely plant based, vegan, or even someone who is not, because this Naan is just that good. To go along with this dish my family decided to do a tikka masala and this Naan bread was the perfect side to go along with it! Even if Tikka Masala isn’t a recipe you have tried before this is such a flexible dish that you can really do anything you want with it! Go take another look at my recommendations for it above, or find something else cool to do with it! I have a couple extra portions from this recipe still sitting in my fridge, so I'm excited to be able to do a lot of fun things with it!  I have always considered myself a passionate potato eater and thought I’ve had the best of the best with my grandma’s homemade mashed potatoes. But the Friendsgiving of 2020, my whole scale of potato greatness was crushed by this one perfectly executed potato dish (sorry Grandma if you are reading this). This dish is not for the lactose intolerant or faint of heart- but for those of you ready to make this, I guarantee it’ll have your belly smiling from ear to ear. If, like a few of my friends, you prefer or choose to be vegan, I have a vegan swap-out recipe that’s kickin’ despite the lack of buttery goodness I absolutely love! Are you as excited as I am to try this recipe out yet? If you are anything like me you may not want to share this dish, to which I suggest hiding it in the back of the fridge. This recipe is named after Master Chef Joel Robuchon’s signature mashed potato puree dish. Chef Robuchon was an award winning chef, restauranteur, author and mentor who sadly passed away in 2018 at the age of 73. He mentored many famous chefs including Gordon Ramsey, Eric Ripert, and Michael Cains. This dish helped Robuchon earn a Michelin star - one of the 32 Michelin Guide stars he accumulated through his career- the most of any chef in the world. Like most french dishes, this particular recipe doesn’t skimp on the butter. It’s known for its silky smooth buttery texture and taste. Now you might be wondering how your potatoes might match up to the a world famous dish which is the namesake of a world famous chef. Let me be honest- I couldn’t and I don’t expect any less than a highly trained chef to get this recipe spot on. However, I have modified this recipe for those of us who enjoy eating a tad bit more than we do cooking. After all, why should we miss out on the decadence? Our recipe is slightly altered to make it so much easier to cook without compromising on the taste. but if you wish to go all out comme des français, we’ve included the original version by Alex- French cooking guy below. I did also promise you a vegan version and I have a recipe that my vegan friends and fam absolutely love. I’ve swapped out the butter with vegan butter and substituting the whipping cream with vegan milk or buttermilk. I’ve found it works much better than cream substitutes in maintaining the smooth, silky texture. Taste wise, you do feel the lack of fats that's central to this dish, but that’s just chemistry at work. My solution is to add an extra dollop (or two, or more) of your plant-based fat till you get to the point where you go “mmm” when tasting a spoon.  Tips Make sure you use starchy potatoes. The starch is needed to give you the nice fluffy texture. Now the original recipe calls for waxy potatoes and I’m sure that’s the best way to go when you’re making this as part of a France-themed special occasion. My version prioritises ease and speed where possible so Yukon gold is the way to go! I strongly suggest using the freshest full fat and full cream butter you can find. The best advice i can give you is to buy through your local farmer's market or co-op store. You’re not only helping out your local community and supporting small businesses, I guarantee you the taste is miles better than any store bought butter you’ll find. Please do not use a low-fat version of butter. I’ve already warned you that this isn’t a dish for the faint of heart. Besides, this is a special-occasion recipe and we all deserve to be pampered once in a while. Whatever you do, DO NOT use diet substitutes for the butter or cream. If that’s what you have in mind, I’m going to have to ask you to stop right now and reassess your priorities. Now let's get this potato party started!  You only need these 4 ingredients! 4 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes 4 Sticks of Butter 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream Salt Directions Boil the potatoes until they are tender Peel them hot Run the potatoes through a ricer, mash until desired texture is reached Add the butter, 1 stick at a time Puree or whisk until butter is fully incorporated Finish with adding 1/4c dairy at a time You are now ready to enjoy this mouth-watering dish! Serve on your favorite biodegradable, Élay Products tableware, then use your Élay to-go container to store your leftovers in the fridge. When you are ready for more (no shame if it's later that night), throw your Élay to-go container right into the microwave and it'll be just as tasty as the first few bites! Check out this article from Time Magazine about Chef Joel Robuchon and this delicious dish.
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