Whole Wheat Vegan Naan

& Day 2, Week 2

I am officially down 8 lbs from my starting weight!  I know I shouldnt go off of my weight day-by-day, so I will wait till next Monday to check it again.  It is just so encouraging to see such progress!  This week so far I have eaten at least one salad as a main meal a day, and I plan on continuing this for the rest of the week.

My mom and sister-in-law get back tomorrow from their cruise, and I offered to take care of making dinner for the family so that my mom didnt have to worry about grocery shopping or cooking right away.  When she called the other day while in a port, and I let her know I would take care of dinner she asked, "Can you just cook for us forever?!"  Haha, that would be fun for the first few weeks, then become quite a job!  I think Ill stick to cooking as my hobby, mom :). 

For tomorrow night I am making one of my favorite FAVORITE dishes: Indian Chickpeas and Greens.  Im making a double batch for dinner, and with it we always have rice (probably pink Madagascar rice), and naan bread.  The chickpeas and rice are nice and easy to make, but the naan takes a bit of time and care.  I decided to make my double batch of naan tonight and share the recipe with you.  It is not salt, oil, or sugar free, but for how much it makes, it isnt very much per serving.  And my recipe is vegan and 100% whole wheat.  But first, my daily log...

Food log:

• Breakfast: 2 bananas, 1 apple
• Lunch: bit of leftover Kale Mac N Sweet Potato Cheese, small cup of leftover chili, 1 apple
• Dinner: 2 smaller naan breads, and a salad with baby romaine lettuce, chickpeas, red onion, celery, raisins, apples, and cilantro curry almond dressing (inspired by this recipe)
• Extras: Dr. Fuhrman Brownie in the afternoon, 1/2 mini watermelon, Dr. Fuhrman Brownie after dinner

Exercise log:  Ok, this is almost embarrassing that I am so bad at getting my butt to the gym.  I always originally plan on going when I get home from work, but then I see a bunch of chores that need to be done, and before I know it, it is in the evening and time for dinner.  Can we count housework and cleaning as exercise?

How I feel:  I had my first real tempting moment of the 6-weeks so far.  My coworker goes to Costco about once a month to get supplies for both of the offices I work at.  She generally gets coffee creamers (Ive quit!), M&Ms for the front desks (which I have learned to tune out), and a big box of cookies (this was the difficult part).  For the Spokane office she set the cookies right at my front desk to make sure those who wanted one would see it.  At first, the sight of it didnt bother me, but the second someone cracked them open and that very slight smell came my way, I had to start pep talking myself into not even thinking about it.  In the end, I walked away without a cookie, but came straight home to have a Dr. Fuhrman brownie.  I wasnt necessarily hungry when I had it, but it is loads better than if I were to cave and have a SAD cookie.  In the end, I can say Im proud of myself and have one less food demon to face in the future.  Once I say no once and make a better choice, I know I can do it again!

Now on to the naan...

Whole Wheat Vegan Naan

Ingredients:
Single Batch (suggested):

• 3/4 cup warm water (at least 100 degrees F)
• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
• 2 tsp sugar (raw, natural, and organic if possible)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2-3 cups whole what flour, divided
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Double Batch (pictured):

• 1 1/2 cup warm water (at least 100 degrees F)
• 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp sugar (raw, natural, and organic if possible)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4-6 cups whole what flour, divided
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

1.  In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar.  Cover with a towel and let sit for 10 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.  If, after 10 minutes, the yeast mixture hasnt become foamy, your yeast may be too old of your water too cold.  Start over and try again if this is the case. 

foamed yeast mixture

2.  Whisk together the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar, set aside.
3.  Next, whisk into the yeast mixture the coriander (or cumin), salt, and 1/2 of the oil.
4.  Stir in 1 cup (2 for double) of whole wheat flour and the baking powder.
5.  Next, add the milk and vinegar mixture to the mixer.  Mix until well combined.
6.  Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together, but is still sticky.

7.  Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand, adding more flour to reach the correct constancy of firm and not sticky but still moist.

8.  Prepare a boil coated with the remaining oil and place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat.  Cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for at least one hour, until it has doubled in size.

9.  Once the dough has risen, punch it down (Kevins favorite part) and lightly knead it again.  Heat a skillet or cast iron over low medium heat and keep at a low temperature throughout cooking.

















10.  Cut the dough with a pizza cutter into balls just smaller than your fist.  Roll them out with a rolling pin to be around 1/4 inch thick.  Try not to use extra flour to do this, as it will make the final naan a bit floury and gritty to eat.

11.  Place flat down in a preheated skillet and cook on each side for 45-60 seconds, until each side has lightly browned, with bubbles browning a bit more than the rest.

12.  Cook each in the same way and stack them on a plate together to stay warm and moist.
13.  Serve with your favorite Indian recipe or use like pitas with dip. They can nicely be reheated in the microwave, oven, or stovetop. Keep leftovers in a ziplock bag for up to a week.

Amys Notes:

I made a double batch for the bigger dinner Im prepping for tomorrow, and so I could have extra leftovers, but I would suggest doing a single batch till you get the hang of it.  I have a KitchenAid stand mixer and for this recipe I use the whisk attachment at first, then the dough hook once the first flour has been added.  It is NOT necessary at all to have a mixer, this could easily be done my hand (my mom does this).  Regardless of whether you have a stand mixer or do it all by hand, make sure to knead it by hand when adding the final amounts of flour.  Actually touching it by hand will help you better gauge how much extra flour is "kneaded" (hehe), and doing it the old fashion way just works best.  My double batch ended up making 24 naan, so a single batch should make around 10 or 12.  I tend to make mine very thin (yeah, so I can eat more), so you may end up with more or less. Enjoy!

Have you ever tried naan?  What is your favorite thing to eat naan with?

This post was entered into Healthy Vegan Friday hosted by the following lovely bloggers:
Carrie @ Carrie on Vegan:  http://www.carrieonvegan.com/2013/05/17/healthy-vegan-friday-recipes-upcoming-vegan-event/
Katherine @ Green Thickies: http://www.greenthickies.com/healthy-vegan-friday-43/
Gabby @ The Veggie Nook: http://veggienook.com/2013/05/17/healthy-vegan-friday-43/

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