My partner is Persian, not only that but my in-laws are from Shiraz. So here are 5 tips that I think would make the salad better based on what I’ve learned from them: 1) if you want to add tofu or chick peas, season with sumac and roast it, then add it to the salad. 2) the salad is missing za’atar. Always put za’atar in your salad Shiraz. 3) use lavash bread instead of pita, it’s better. 4) add hummus AND tzatziki. 5) the violife feta is perfect for this kind of salad.
I really appreciate your honesty when rating these recipes. I could tell they weren't really recipes for me until you made suggestions to improve them. I don't spend a lot of time on TikTok, so your videos are really helpful to me. Are there any good vegan Thai recipes lurking out there?
a lot of thai recipes are vegan friendly if you omit fish/oyster sauce and shrimp paste! (and obviously replace any meat/egg). they already prefer coconut milk to dairy in most curry dishes, and common noodle sauce recipes are soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar based.
So many things going through my mind! 1. Merle, you just rock for always supporting other peoples channels!! 2. These dishes look so good and I am SO LAZY so thats my kinda stuff! lol 3. I would add nooch to the noodles I think. NOOCH ALWAYS!!! hahaha
Even better, for me anyways, is red miso which has a bigger flavor punch, plus some toasted sesame oil. Another staple in my pantry is mirin (I use the Eden brand which is not doctored up with sugar) - it is used a lot in Asian cooking and I found, for instance, it added what was missing from my teriyaki sauce to make it taste like it does in the restaurants.
Don't like the coconut, either, except in a curry or something that is actually supposed to have a coconut flavor profile. Some folks still seem to think that coconut milk/cream is the only good substitute for dairy or cream in a recipe, but there are many dishes where that coconut undertone is very off-putting. There are other ways to add a little creaminess, like just throw in some softened cashews and a little oat/soy milk. The silken tofu basically does the same thing, you could also just use a medium or firm tofu, for that matter. Love noodle dishes - as you pointed out, you can easily add almost anything to them that is laying around in your pantry, fridge or freezer with very little effort.
I made the sesame noodles tonight with veggies. I used more tahini and less cornstarch and added a little hot sauce in there... it was yummy!! Love the quick meals.
My reactions as you were making each meal : 1) that's way too much Cornstarch and no veggies + could use tofu or a protein ✅ 2) that needs some chickpeas, vegan feta, and maybe a whole grain; skip the Pita ✅ 3) 🚫 nope to coconut milk as the cream in an Italian themed dish ✅. It was funny to see you came to the exact conclusion every time. 😄 Check out Sam Siftons take out sesame noodles for a great alternative to the fitgreenmind one.
You could also add nuts and seeds to the salad; it's classic across the middle east, and I often add beans, or nuts and seeds, or cheese, or some combination thereof, to make it feel like a meal. 🙂
*Korean silken tofu* is the perfect easy, quick and high protein dish. Would love to see you try it! More people should know about it Have it on its own or with some rice on the side :)
The salad needed fat. Some Mayo would be good added to it , otherwise some olive oil & just add Mayo or sour cream to the pita to keep the salad fresh longer. Its Greek inspired so some falafel would be a nice protein addition.
I completely agree that the Violife feta is a great replacement for goat cheese. It’s one of the best vegan cheeses, IMO. Follow Your Heart feta is too. They’re both great.
If you add some chopped green bell pepper to that pita filling you get a nice Cyprus salad. There is also a really nice vegan Feta cheese which would go really well with that and your bacony flavour shredded tofu (which I just watched)
i challenge you to make a video with three 15-minute recipes that aren't pasta or noodles 😁 love your vids btw, i'm just looking for lunch inspo and don't want pasta 💓
Agree on the Coconut Milk substitute with #1 Soy Milk, #2 Oat Milk, or #3 Almond Milk. The later three, in my area, are half the price and are my GO TO's for any recipe that calls for milk or Coconut Milk. I THINK? that coconuts require more intensive farming? Thanks
I know myself and i would waste my entire life being addicted to tiktok so i absolutely refuse to download it. so THANK YOU soo much for making these videos so i can continue living without tiktok but i can enjoy these recipes ❤ I'm 100% with you about coconut milk to creamify pasta sauces. I followed a similar recipe once and the coconut was WAY TOO POWERFUL. I think italian food doesnt have enough flavor to balance the coconut (like Thai food, for instance). Anyway, I had to put in a whole tube of tomato paste to counteract it. Very upsetty
Love our reigning vegan queen as always. As an extremely picky eater, I'm usually like, nope, not for me, haha (nothing personal, haha, totally my fault). But I still watch every single one of your videos, haha!!❤❤ But these did look soo good! I especially liked the second one! I might have to try that one, ngl. Anyway, love as always and can't wait for the next one!! Thanks, Merle! And it is also soooo good to see Aria in these. Even if just for a quick moment 🥰🥰. Ciao for now!! 🎉💅
Even just from the video clip I could tell that the first noodles had way too much cornstarch and looked slimy. I think less cornstarch, more veggies, and it would be way more palatable
Girl you still have dull knives 😂 if you have to wiggle it through an onion or scrape it across a tomato’s skin, she still dull! Look at Global knives. Very affordable for great, long-lasting quality!
Adding water then corn startch to the first meal doesn't make sense to me. Just ditch both altogether. Prepare the sauce without the two then add them to the hot noodles and you'll have a better dish
If you make edutainment (educational entertainment) you need to post on all media platforms to get across to your entire audience. If it were 20 years ago that would just be tv or radio but now theres tiktok, youtube, ig, facebook, steaming services etc….
Ok, pasta? What's the big deal. Also - what's the point of eating vegan if it isn't healthy - how much sodium is in that sauce, that's made of...sauce. Lame.
I’d rather watch you than TikTok . Good stuff!
So much more entertaining. I can't stand those snap shot videos. They do nothing to actually show how to cook or give any sort of personality.
I love your videos. I love your channel. I just had to leave a comment. ❤❤❤
Truly honored
Literally same. ❤
My partner is Persian, not only that but my in-laws are from Shiraz. So here are 5 tips that I think would make the salad better based on what I’ve learned from them:
1) if you want to add tofu or chick peas, season with sumac and roast it, then add it to the salad.
2) the salad is missing za’atar. Always put za’atar in your salad Shiraz.
3) use lavash bread instead of pita, it’s better.
4) add hummus AND tzatziki.
5) the violife feta is perfect for this kind of salad.
great rec's (except roasting chickpeas >15min)
even a simple tahina w/lemon would be a quick fix imo
I really appreciate your honesty when rating these recipes. I could tell they weren't really recipes for me until you made suggestions to improve them. I don't spend a lot of time on TikTok, so your videos are really helpful to me. Are there any good vegan Thai recipes lurking out there?
a lot of thai recipes are vegan friendly if you omit fish/oyster sauce and shrimp paste! (and obviously replace any meat/egg). they already prefer coconut milk to dairy in most curry dishes, and common noodle sauce recipes are soy sauce, garlic, and vinegar based.
So many things going through my mind! 1. Merle, you just rock for always supporting other peoples channels!! 2. These dishes look so good and I am SO LAZY so thats my kinda stuff! lol 3. I would add nooch to the noodles I think. NOOCH ALWAYS!!! hahaha
NOOCH FOR ALL
Little Sesame is my fave hummus too, the herby jalapeño is my go to❤
have you ever looked at pick up limes? sadia who runs it is a vegan RD. they have some of my absolute fave, go-to vegan recipes.
Love that channel smmmm
Add white Miso to your sesame noodles.. yum
Even better, for me anyways, is red miso which has a bigger flavor punch, plus some toasted sesame oil. Another staple in my pantry is mirin (I use the Eden brand which is not doctored up with sugar) - it is used a lot in Asian cooking and I found, for instance, it added what was missing from my teriyaki sauce to make it taste like it does in the restaurants.
Don't like the coconut, either, except in a curry or something that is actually supposed to have a coconut flavor profile. Some folks still seem to think that coconut milk/cream is the only good substitute for dairy or cream in a recipe, but there are many dishes where that coconut undertone is very off-putting. There are other ways to add a little creaminess, like just throw in some softened cashews and a little oat/soy milk. The silken tofu basically does the same thing, you could also just use a medium or firm tofu, for that matter. Love noodle dishes - as you pointed out, you can easily add almost anything to them that is laying around in your pantry, fridge or freezer with very little effort.
Same
I made the sesame noodles tonight with veggies. I used more tahini and less cornstarch and added a little hot sauce in there... it was yummy!! Love the quick meals.
Wonderful!
I would swap out the coconut cream with greek style unsweetened plain vegan yogurt for creaminess.
Omfg YUMMM
Yes! A little tang would work so much better than the sweet coconut flavor!
My reactions as you were making each meal : 1) that's way too much Cornstarch and no veggies + could use tofu or a protein ✅ 2) that needs some chickpeas, vegan feta, and maybe a whole grain; skip the Pita ✅ 3) 🚫 nope to coconut milk as the cream in an Italian themed dish ✅. It was funny to see you came to the exact conclusion every time. 😄 Check out Sam Siftons take out sesame noodles for a great alternative to the fitgreenmind one.
You could also add nuts and seeds to the salad; it's classic across the middle east, and I often add beans, or nuts and seeds, or cheese, or some combination thereof, to make it feel like a meal. 🙂
*Korean silken tofu* is the perfect easy, quick and high protein dish. Would love to see you try it! More people should know about it
Have it on its own or with some rice on the side :)
SOLD
Part of what is missing is toasting the pita! I would also recommend adding falafel and some tahini if you don’t want to do any Tzatziki
Nice ideas!
PS I'd love a video tour of your spice cupboard's contents.
The salad needed fat. Some Mayo would be good added to it , otherwise some olive oil & just add Mayo or sour cream to the pita to keep the salad fresh longer. Its Greek inspired so some falafel would be a nice protein addition.
I completely agree that the Violife feta is a great replacement for goat cheese. It’s one of the best vegan cheeses, IMO. Follow Your Heart feta is too. They’re both great.
That pita sandwich looks refreshing. I would add also some seasonings and sprouts! Great video ❤
Recipe #2 add the Trader Joe’s marinated chickpeas in the short cans
Great idea!!
If you add some chopped green bell pepper to that pita filling you get a nice Cyprus salad. There is also a really nice vegan Feta cheese which would go really well with that and your bacony flavour shredded tofu (which I just watched)
The "ancient relic" garlic was amazing. 😅 Awesome recipes! 👌
@@heatherhopf8466 😅
Love quick recipes. I would add olives or sun dried tomatoes to the pita recipe.
@@lp7931 sundried tomatoesssssss
i challenge you to make a video with three 15-minute recipes that aren't pasta or noodles 😁 love your vids btw, i'm just looking for lunch inspo and don't want pasta 💓
I'm watching 15 minutes of Merle videos😂
Soon I'm going back to full time job (😢) so I need quick meals😊 thaaanks!
instead of soba, i was thinking you could use shredded yuba (tofu skins) as a high-protein, gluten-free noodle option. looks delicious!!
Agree on the Coconut Milk substitute with #1 Soy Milk, #2 Oat Milk, or #3 Almond Milk. The later three, in my area, are half the price and are my GO TO's for any recipe that calls for milk or Coconut Milk. I THINK? that coconuts require more intensive farming? Thanks
I would definitely put some of that vegan feta into that cucumber, tomato, and onion salad.
I make a sauce similar to the first one all the time, but with peanut butter instead of tahini!
I know myself and i would waste my entire life being addicted to tiktok so i absolutely refuse to download it. so THANK YOU soo much for making these videos so i can continue living without tiktok but i can enjoy these recipes ❤
I'm 100% with you about coconut milk to creamify pasta sauces. I followed a similar recipe once and the coconut was WAY TOO POWERFUL. I think italian food doesnt have enough flavor to balance the coconut (like Thai food, for instance). Anyway, I had to put in a whole tube of tomato paste to counteract it. Very upsetty
For the pita, add vegan feta and olives for a Greek vibe.
The Shirazi salad would be good with Falafel 🥙
Thank you, I hate cooking, so these recipes are amazing for me. Funny, I love to watch cooking videos, but hate cooking itself 😅
@@anwiel watch and cook along 👀
Love our reigning vegan queen as always.
As an extremely picky eater, I'm usually like, nope, not for me, haha (nothing personal, haha, totally my fault). But I still watch every single one of your videos, haha!!❤❤ But these did look soo good! I especially liked the second one! I might have to try that one, ngl.
Anyway, love as always and can't wait for the next one!! Thanks, Merle! And it is also soooo good to see Aria in these. Even if just for a quick moment 🥰🥰. Ciao for now!! 🎉💅
I think toasting the pita would have made it tastier.
Even just from the video clip I could tell that the first noodles had way too much cornstarch and looked slimy. I think less cornstarch, more veggies, and it would be way more palatable
Girl you still have dull knives 😂 if you have to wiggle it through an onion or scrape it across a tomato’s skin, she still dull! Look at Global knives. Very affordable for great, long-lasting quality!
4 18..... Are soba noodles buckwheat noodles? I'm still trying to find gluten free buckwheat noodles.
I would use a chopper to chop my veggies🤷🏾♀️
That salad needs some oil in the dressing!
100000
That's why I don't like the coconut flavored cheeses. So many are coconut based.
Adding water then corn startch to the first meal doesn't make sense to me. Just ditch both altogether. Prepare the sauce without the two then add them to the hot noodles and you'll have a better dish
❤
❤❤❤
Cashew milk
olive oil and chickpeas or white beans???
I vote for all of the above
@ that’s my girl Merle☺️Much🫶🏼 and☮️ from Upstate NY, Hudson Valley
I thought you were singing for a living.
we gotta address the elephant in the room. where is aria??
What do you mean
Literally right in the video at 5:42 - here ya go, even got the timestamp for ya
This isn’t a couple channel. Just because someone isn’t being filmed doesn’t mean they aren’t around. It’s really none of our business.
Ciao, why are you all doing Videos from tiktok? only to be famous?
She IS famous already 😁
If you make edutainment (educational entertainment) you need to post on all media platforms to get across to your entire audience. If it were 20 years ago that would just be tv or radio but now theres tiktok, youtube, ig, facebook, steaming services etc….
@@justinguitarcia i'm happy not to be at tik tok and all this things, personally i don't need this things.. tanti saluti a tutti..
Ok, pasta? What's the big deal. Also - what's the point of eating vegan if it isn't healthy - how much sodium is in that sauce, that's made of...sauce. Lame.