The Hungry Bites

Mediterranean Food Blog

Vegan Greek superfood breakfast (or dessert) bowls – Koliva

These Greek traditional superfood bowls are the perfect plant-based breakfast (or even dessert) full of antioxidants and health benefits

These vegan Greek superfood breakfast bowls are called Koliva. Koliva is a simple but amazing recipe full of superfoods which provide you enough energy and nutrients to start your day right. Wheat berries, raisins, almonds, sesame seeds, walnuts, pomegranate, cinnamon, and chickpea flour are all foods known for their many health benefits and for being rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and healthy fats. Traditionally, koliva is made with icing sugar as the sweetener but you can use maple syrup (or honey for non-vegans) for a more healthy option. Moreover, they’re so versatile, you can eat them for breakfast, snack or even dessert. And if you’re like me and think that hiding superfoods inside your desserts is a great idea, then you’ll find this olive oil babka bread with goji berries, saffron, and white chocolate filling very interesting!…

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Creamy Greek salad pasta recipe

This Greek salad pasta is a healthy, meatless recipe that’s best served cold. Greek yogurt adds extra protein and makes it creamy and refreshing.

Creamy Greek salad pasta recipe 3Everyone loves a good pasta dish, especially if it’s also a meatless, vegetarian and healthy recipe. This creamy Greek salad pasta is all that, and even more! This is mostly a summer recipe, not only because the vegetables used in Greek salad are in season during the summer but also because every bite is so refreshing! But if you happen to find some good tomatoes and cucumbers any other time, please do make this! Except for the raw vegetables, which provide plenty of phytonutrients, the olive oil used here also remains raw, providing good-for-your-heart monounsaturated fats, and the Greek yogurt offers protein and probiotics. Use whole-wheat pasta to make this salad even healthier! :-)…

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Mediterranean leek, fennel and barley pie (Vegan)

This healthy leek, fennel and barley pie can also be made with wheat berries or rice. And it’s so versatile that can be served as a lunch, side, or dinner.

Mediterranean leek, fennel and barley pie (Vegan) 2b

Did you know that barley is actually one of the oldest consumed grains in the world? It is also a big part of the Mediterranean cuisine and especially in Crete, you can find some amazing rusks made from barley flour. In this healthy, plant-based and vegan pie recipe, barley is used whole, and it is part of the filling which among other things includes a lot of leeks and some fennel fronds and stalks. The crust is made of phyllo dough which gets brushed with olive oil in order to brown beautifully and become extra crispy. Eat this pie for lunch, or serve it during dinner as a side dish (one small piece) or as a main (two pieces should be enough)….

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Greek Easter sweet bread with olive oil (Tsoureki)

This Greek Easter sweet bread with olive oil is light, fluffy and stringy. Ground mahlepi makes it extra fragrant and irresistible.

Greek Easter sweet bread with olive oil (Tsoureki)

If you ask me, tsoureki is one of the best inventions of humanity, it is the bread of all breads,  and the food I would choose to eat if I had to survive only on one thing. Tsoureki may be the classic Greek Easter sweet bread but it is needless to say that you can (and should!) bake it any time of the year! I love tsoureki so much that I have tweaked the traditional recipe and made a Black Detox Vegan challah bread with olive oil and a goji berry, saffron, and white chocolate babka. The first is extra fluffy, fragrant, healthy and detoxifying while the second is more rich, healthy-ish, stringy, and with a very flavorful filling made with tart goji berries and sweet white chocolate….

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Beet, basil, and olive oil mini bread loaves

This beet, basil, and olive oil bread rolls recipe is one of the best ways to use beets! Plus, they make healthy and tasty sandwiches!

Beet, basil, and olive oil mini bread loaves 5

The first time I made these beet and olive oil bread rolls (or mini bread loaves if you like) was for New Years Eve dinner. In fact, I thought that having some color on the table would enhance the festive spirit, so I went all the way and made three different types of dinner rolls, each with a different color. Using the recipe for this carob and whole wheat flour bread with walnuts I made a few black ones and at the same time I also made these moist and fluffy pumpkin dinner rolls with a nice yellow color. Lastly, I made some rolls with beet puree, thyme, olive oil and feta cheese. Feta adds a nice contrast to the sweetness of the beets, but I omitted it here because I wanted to make these mini loaves vegan and suitable for Lent (since now is a period when many people in Greece refrain from eating meat and dairy due to “Sarakosti”, a 40-day Lent before the Greek Easter). With the feta missing from the recipe I decided to add some basil, something that proved to be a very tasty addition! 🙂

And for all of you who don’t like beets: The dough for these loaves may have one cup of pureed beets but they don’t taste like it. They’re delicious, promise!

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