I'm Indian and my dad would make this chickpea saag that was SO delicious and actually pretty simple. He sometimes would add a small bit of cream to it, but when I went dairy free I added coconut cream instead. However, I bet you could absolutely use silken tofu and cashews instead to amp up the protein. Just another variation on a high protein chickpea curry. Indian teaspoon measurement so more like an actual small spoon: • Two bunches of fresh spinach (about 400 gms) • 2tsps of chopped garlic • 3-4 small tomatoes (diced into small pieces) • 2 15.5 ounce chick peas cans • Tomato paste 2 tbs (optional) • 2 tsps methi leaves • 8-10 green chillies chopped (or as you like) • ¼ tsp white pepper powder • 6 red chillies • 4-5 tsps salt • 1/2 tsp chili power • cilantro • 2 tbs spoons light cream (optional) Blanch and grind the spinach. Fry the aromatics, then spices, tomatoes and salt, add spinach and chickpeas and cook for like 20 min. Personally I would add more than 2 tbs of cream than the recipe calls because the tomatoes make it pretty acidic, but it's all to taste.
So, I'm dealing with some major depressive issues that I probably shouldn't talk about online, but I just want to say thank you for your content. You crack me up and it helps so much. I am also going to try all of these.
thank you for the love and for letting me know that you feel like this is a safe space. Be gentle with yourself and know that there is so much light and love and happiness awaiting you, just keep taking it day by day. Don't forget to spoil yourself because you really do deserve it. You will come through the other side of this
For me, the "sad"/difficult part of trying these viral recipes (which looks delicious): in the most cases, they're crazy expensive… 🤣 the amount of nutritional yeast (even half recipe) is crazy, where I live it's so expensive. And don't even get my started with cashews (waaaaaaay expensive, sad 🤣 ).
@@emilyfeldman8788 not really; where I live nutritional yeast isn't a common ingredient; it became available just a few years ago and it's imported so… very expensive.
@vitorhugolab do you have access to tahini? I love tahini instead of cashew cream. And chick peas or lentils can be used instead of white beans. I don't really like nutritional yeast, so... I probably wouldn't add it myself. Yes the substitutions will make it taste a little different, but you really just want a creamy garlic sauce with a roasted vegetable and it will be good.
Merle, I’ve been watching your videos when I can’t fall asleep or am feeling overwhelmed. And I immediately feel a sense of calm and ease. Thank you for your videos. So appreciated 💛
Hey, my sister runs a project that knits/ crochets climate data to show climate change. They exhibit these pieces to museums and colleges and run workshops at these locations to teach people about climate data. They sell kits so people can make their own. It's called the Tempestry Project. I am very proud of her.
I know it's hard to cope with existential dread and feeling out of control, but I wanted to say that 1, your content really helps me feel more hopeful about being able to make small changes in my own life, 2, helps me feel more in control, and 3, keeps me from depressive spirals at times! I go back and rewatch some of your vegan reviews when I'm in a funk and it genuinely helps, even if it's only a little bit some days :) I know that's not much but I hope you can take comfort in the fact!!! For some positive news, I'm applying to apartments and trying to get into a better situation location-wise for my mental health and a ton of the buildings I'm looking at have community gardens! It's so exciting!!!
Thank you so much for sharing, that does make me feel better and like I'm putting some good out into the world. I'll remember what you said next time the dread creeps in. Excited for you and your move , good for you for prioritizing your mental health!
I’m Indian and I just want to say one thing, don’t worry too much about “authenticity”. The concept I feel is slightly overrated and you keep mentioning it loads in all your videos like this one. It’s ok, there are a 1000 diff versions of curry across India anyway. Maybe say it once if you feel the need to and it’s totally fine. The curry looked awesome btw!
Merle I just stopped to think during this video, man I love watching your videos, it’s an instant click. Love your personality and how much of a foodie you are, but i equally love your specific food ratings and you still have high standards for how good a dish can be! Keep em coming!!
You can up the protein in your dishes by using black rice. #1 It is D E L I C I O U S! Kind of nutty in flavor. #2 The nutrition is superior. It has 6g of protein per cup compared to white rice which has like 3g per cup. The only downside is it can be pricey and hard to find. I just source mine on Amazon.
I'm commenting to support you Merle.. you're a beautiful soul! I'm miserable but i feel good when i watch your videos.. I worry about things that don't even exist for me.. I'm a student and my life's almost breaking apart ...but you're a breath of fresh air.. You always make my brain 🧠 smile.
Hi Merle! I totally get you dude, I recently moved back in with my parents bc of inflation and they're not vegan and it's just been really hard going from living with my vegan partner for 5 years and then coming here. I am very grateful that I am living here, it just was difficult for my mental health. Anyway, I started volunteering for an organization called Brigada Animal in Mexico and it's helped my dread so much! We can't change the world by ourselves, so we have to think about the little stuff we can control and let go of other stuff if we can. If we get paralyzed, then we're not helping anybody
Just found out about your channel today! You’re so funny! Great recipes too! Thank you! It’s been an intense couple weeks (a loved one is passing over ❤️🌈❤️) and watching your video is the first time I laughed in a couple weeks. Your puns are so funny! You are such a joy! You’re awesome! Thank you for your videos!
Thank you so much for your kind words and I am sending you and your loved ones a big hug. I'm honored to be able to offer you a little bit of peace during this time.
So we use dry beans in our house and what we do is we soak them overnight and then pressure cook them the next day for about 20-30 minutes. They get the perfect texture! Hope this helps ❤
thank you for helping me find more plant based recipes ☺ i have been able to eat a lot cheaper as a result of eating more plant based (not fully vegan yet, but hope to get there someday) and appreciate it as a college student
DAMN THOSE CURSED DRY BEANS!!!!!!! I feel that existential dread too. Excited for your new series. When you eat your zucchini, courgette, baby marrows, etc you're gonna have a gourd time!
Merle, I love these high protein series - please never stop. Also LOVE sophplantkitchen - tried a couple of her recipes in the past! Saw a comment of yours saying you may try more affordable high protein recipes, which I'm fully down for ❤
I worked as a chef in a vegetarian restaurant for years. It’s not you it’s butterbeans. Every other bean cooks fine every time. Butterbeans fall apart about half of the time even doing nothing wrong, so very very often the menu would change from having a butterbean salad on it to having an x-vegetable and butterbean soup on the menu. And a butterbean pâté…. 😅
Ok, let me change your life: My go-to weekly ritual is to take all my veggie scraps from the week and make them into a broth! You CAN do this AND still compost it! Basically, I keep a plastic bag in my freezer and once it's full of veggie scraps, I add herbs, cover in water, and boil/simmer them until reduced by a significant amount (prob like a third?) strain out the veg (puuush all that good juice out!) then return the liquid to the pan, add salt, and boil/reduce a little more. Throw veg bits into compost. BOOM! The best broth ever and it's practically free. I use it all week for recipes and whatnot!
I can't wait for the new series. I love long informative video essays, and to know there is one coming from you? I know its going to be well researched.
I love this and I love that you actually plated the food! I have such a problem with portion control, so it drives me nuts on tiktok to watch these videos about like "quick healthy vegan meal!" and it's the biggest pan of food you've ever seen in your life and the creator is dipping in and eating right over all of it but then they'll say it's 4 servings. It's like body dysmorphia for food.
Haha okay first of all, I’m glad I’m not the only one who uses my tofu water rag to wipe up afterwards. Second, I made this butter bean recipe and added miso to the cashew cream mixture and it really helped deepen the flavor profile! So good with crunchy sour dough!
They all look delish! 🤤 A little "hack" that I've been doing for a while is keeping a bag in the freezer where I add all my veggie scraps. When you have enough you can make a nice veggie soup or broth. Just an idea for people that don't have a composting bin 😊
It’s too low unless she is using a convection oven. I tried this recipe a while ago and it was terrible bc I don’t have a convection oven. Mushy, watery zucchini 🤮
One way I feel like I'm helping is we signed up for Ridwell. They are a plastics recycling company. They turn plastics into useful products like decking and plant pots. I also have bamboo toothbrushes. 2 small things make me feel like I'm helping a bit. ❤❤❤
Love u Merle!!! My good news: I did my first tattoo at my apprenticeship!! :) it was a skull, on myself. Something that’s helped me with the climate stuff is honestly… logging out. I simply leave those issues to those better equipped mentally. I just don’t believe I have to mentally suffer under the weight of constant knowledge and bad news if I’m truly doing my best to be kind to the planet and other people. And… if the crisis IS as dire as it seems, I wouldn’t want to spend what time we have in panic or depression. I have to find a way to personally live life despite how horrible things seem, and to become joyful no matter what. I think that’s really saved my life… I also try my best to remain moderate/apolitical on most issues (as in- I don’t feel my opinion is needed. That DOES NOT MEAN I won’t stand up for the people in my life that don’t have a voice or are marginalized. It just means I don’t put a political belief behind it, because the message is heard better by everyone when politics are removed and we humanize the situation rather than continuing to talk about it like it’s a public forum debate and as if one person is causing every issue to ever exist just because they’re a dick. Yanno?) life is beautiful whej I focus on MY life. And what I can do for the people right in front of me, and for my backyard and community. This way of life is not for everyone! Some really enjoy and benefit from using their voice and platform for issues. Me personally, I can’t handle it mentally. And nobody can make me handle it, when I know I can’t. Love y’all, stay kind 🩷🩷🩷
I love these videos where you test other people's recipes and give your take on them. I would love to see you test some Thai vegan recipes this way. Thanks for all you do!
Curry doesn't have a specific taste. It's just a mixture of spices in a gravy/sauce and the spices can change. It's a word the Brits made up but it looks good just the same (I say this as if I'm not a Brit myself and just found this out about curry lol). I'll definitely try out these recipes. Edit: I like to use veggie scraps to make broth. I have a big bag I keep in the freezer that I refill. Zucchini doesn't have much flavour but you could use the scraps anyway. I also recently learned frozen zucchini is good in smoothies. It makes it healthier but you can't taste it at all. It's like adding ice to the smoothie.
I'm not a full vegan, but I love watching these recipes! I swap out a veggie recipe a few times a week... baby steps? I've been super proud of buying eggs from local farmers instead of the grocery store. I know those little chicas are being well taken care of :)
Hey Merle! Sprouts sells a super super firm high protein tofu that has 14 grams of protein per serving, it’s 5 or 6 servings I think! They are always sold out and I am one of the people that buys all of that specific tofu. It’s become a serious staple in my home because my boyfriend and I are vegan/vegetarian! If you haven’t tried it, please do! It will help so much with protein intake! I love you and love when you post videos! Thanks so much for all your time and energy! :)
I choose a few things to worry about in the world, bc otherwise it's gets too depressing. So maybe try doing that, one of the Green brothers gave me that great tip.
Tip 1 - When cashews are too expensive: If sunflower seeds are cheaper, you can actually use those instead. In a lot of cases, it also help reduce CO2 footprint :) Tip 2 - Maybe switch from rice to something else? Rice is really pointless from a nutritional perspective and is pretty bad for the environment. Also has lots of issues regarding heavy metal contamination. Maybe get something that grows locally and is better for you and the environment? We switched to cooking spelt as "rice". As for good news: Phew. Well, at least in my personal "range", I see a lot of change towards plant based and even some veganism here and there. It feels like we are moving forward as a community. Which is nice.
Definitely going to try all 3 of these, I think I'll have to add more to the zucchini dish though to make it a full meal, maybe a potato topping? Trying to think of happy climate things... I work for a company that is planning/ trying to get to carbon net zero, which is great 😀
Merle, I was in LA last week for the first time and my husband asked me which celebrity I hope i see, and I was just like "honestly, I hope I see Merle doing a review of someplace. That would be so cool." Unfortunately, I didn't but next time!!
Hey Merle! I wonder if in one of your deep dive episodes, you can talk a bit more about farming in California specifically. I’m jealous a bit about the year round produce you guys get, but I imagine that comes at a price? Migrant workers picking, climate change (drought) vs. the water needs for growing said crops. Perhaps many other nuances I’m not mentioning. Maybe it’s something!
Good news is that we have handled many smaller crises in the past. Talking about the ozone layer used to be a big deal, now no one talks about, because we basically fixed. And importantly it was done not by lots of individuals “doing the right choose” or shaming and expecting people on an individual level to solve a global problem. It was done by regulation and intentional collaboration. And now the ozone layer is basically recovered and back to good. During the pandemic we saw that pretty much all nations around the world were willing to act quickly, collaborate and do drastic measures even if it would have a big effect on the economy short term. We are actually really good at reacting and doing what needs to be done, when things get bad. The problem is that we are really bad at acting quickly when we need to do a preventative measure to make sure it doesn’t become a problem. So eh good news bad news. But people and more importantly world leaders willingness to act and do bigger actions is very likely to happen when consequences for different climate crises becomes bigger. Australia has gotten a lot more active for advocating for working against climate change, after their wild fires. And I think we will see similar things in other nations. So it’s likely things will need to start to become noticeably bad like say the wild fires in Australia, but with more countries having it in “their backyard”, but once it does it’s likely it will lead to very quick and drastic measures (which would be way smarter if they were just done now, for a million reasons). Covid showed we can do it, and prioritise something really important over other stuff, for the sake of humans and saving lives. We can collaborate and solve big problems together. We have done so in the past. Also demand your politicians to take action. Get those regulations in place.
Based on how the tofu looked in the last guy's video it looked like he used Superfirm tofu (either the Wildwood or Trader Joe's brand)n which give 15 g per serving or about 37 g for half the container. Regular firm tofu will not give enough protein.
Thank you, Merle for another fun and yummy looking video. :) Yesterday while my dog and I were enjoying an unseasonably warm day in Ohio, we watched a pollen coated Honeybee working hard gathering from the new buds on my shrubs; can't "Bee-t" that for feeling positive toward the climate change b/c the bees are still trying! ;)
I'm a 17 year old from India and your recipes and more so your philosophy really help me stay on my path of vegetarianism 🤩. Us Gen Zers really need to stick to a more plant based diet in the face of the climate catastrophe!
hi merle I love your videos so much! 💛about the beans.. apparently if dried beans are more than 2 yrs old they dont get soft anymore because they start to produce lignin, which is the same stuff thats in wood.
I got a composting bin and it's going well :D Also my husband and I bought a full electric car this year and my city is next to a waterfall so a huge portion of our electricity is supplemented by hydro power! Yay!
Have been eating plant-based for years now and don't have a fancy, expensive blender.There's only two of us, so I make so much of our stuff in the Nutribullet that I have had for years - rarely need to haul out my old, cheap blender. The bullet is inexpensive, has different size containers, is lightweight, easy to clean and makes really smooth sauces in just a couple minutes - what's not to love?
The main protein source vegans / vegetarians are missing are seeds. My favorite are hemp and pumpkin seed protein powder. They aren't isolates, they are cold pressed (raw), and they are packed with minerals that are harder to get on a plant based diet like magnesium, zinc, and iron. The are essentially seed flours. You can add these powders to baked goods, home made pasta / bread, smoothies, oatmeal etc... for a protein / mineral punch.
Just started my summer garden and recently got into mushroom growing. Highly suggest north spore sells little kits for oyster mushrooms and lions mane.
@MerleONeal yes they sell mushroom in a box kits that don't need a lot of room. Additionally, Back to the Roots has a similar product and sells at lowes or Amazon.
I use a lot of apple cider vinegar in my cooking and after the bottles are empty I keep them and reuse them as water bottles, I compost regularly, we also have multiple fruit trees growing on our lawn. Also went vegan about 6 years ago and have no intention to stop.
you can also use damp paper towels to put under your cutting board so the board doesn't slide around! very nice looking recipes, you definitely made me wanna try the first one!
I love the high-protein recipe videos!! especially the ""trying viral TikTok, Instagram, high protein" etc. type vids! Maybe like a "high protein snacks, desserts, lunches" type video, "trying vegan recipes under 10 minutes", or "trying vegan recipes under x amount of dollars"!! Also, I love the informative climate change video idea as a vegan myself. Great vid!! :D
I use silicone resealable sandwich bags to reduce plastic waste, really focus on eating down my left overs to reduce food waste, and I use as little water as possible when washing dishes to reduce over usage of water (and even go turn down the water when my husband is washing dishes because he lets it GUSH out lol) I also get and cook meatless options whenever I can!
The Zucchini Beanie Delight over some rice would be 😍 Now I want crusty bread. “Hey, it’s Merle on the move..” new video series title! 😂 Also, that panning shot at 18:07 was BEAUTIFULLY done.
Yay! Love watching your videos! Question-is there a nut that you think would work in place of cashews in these type of recipes? Although I love cashews, I am allergic...
Whether or not you make an episode your response and the comments on my comment have given me some inspiration for my very limited diet ❤ iv been a fan for countless yrs... I love seeing you do your own thing... I feel so special so I can't thank you enough for the response and it means so much ❤
As you were using maple syrup I was thinking “I’ll use agave, because I don’t have maple syrup”.😅 So it was nice to see that is what was used in the original recipe.❤
I’m loving watching you!! We call pins Jerry jokes as that is my dad’s name and we have heard the same puns for over 60 years!!! LOL In fact we say they are 2/3 rds of a pun - PU!! Love Beth in Sarasota
On the tofu thing, I watched the original video and it looks like what would be super firm tofu in the US (tofu firmnesses go by different names in different countries). This is the tofu that comes vacuum sealed, and is much higher protein. Furthermore, he appears to use two pretty large blocks of it (standard package size also varies). I used the Sprouts brand for reference, but trader joes and nasoya make similar products. Each block contains 70 grams of protein, so assuming four servings from 2 blocks, thats around 35 grams. Assuming slightly bigger blocks, and the small amount from the rice, this puts the protein at the 40 grams suggested. There seems to be a pretty big difference on what is meant by different tofu firmnesses in different places, and i think this leads to a lot of confusion. When you see a really dense dry block, its usually super firm, even if they call it extra firm. Hope this helps someone!
that tofu was bomb! i also made the zucchini dish, changed it up a bit by making it in a pan and used it as a sauce for some lentil pasta. was also very good 🥰
Hi Merle! I love you and you are so goofy! I miss you singing in the vids 😞 anyways you should do a Mexican vegan recipe. I am Mexican and vegetarian but would love to see vegan recipes ! Love your content keep it up!❤
Having a severe cashew allergy really makes eating vegan difficult sometimes! Basically all my protein is from soy because I'm also allergic to all tree nuts plus seeds
for the topics to discuss , what about how clothes nowadays are mostly polyester!! 😬 great vid btw i might make these this week,,, half of the reason is to combat my homesickness/depression 🤣
You want to hear good news? My husband and I live in a housing co-op in Toronto Canada and he’s on a green energy committee. They’re working on getting government grants to retrofit our co-op with heat pumps, solar panels etc to reduce our emissions. His committee is working so hard and having some success so we’re very hopeful we’ll get there. It’s very exciting.
Hey Merle! Maybe you have already, but did you try brining the beans? According to Cook's Illustrated, they say that brining dried beans in salted water overnight can help with splitting and crumbling.
I just got around to watching "Breaking Boundaries" on Netflix. I'm not sure if that would bring any optimism... but I think the conclusion is... there's still hope!
