
Welcome to Friday FAQs—a new series on Oh She Glows! I’ve been meaning to start up my question and answer posts again, and since a couple of big projects are slowing down, I finally have a chance to do so. Woohoo! The questions featured in this series will be food related, so if you have any burning questions about any of my recipes, substitution ideas, cooking methods, ingredients, or tools, feel free to shoot them my way via social media or the blog! Each week I’ll select a handful to feature in my Friday FAQs post. My goal for this series is to share what I’ve learned in my kitchen over the past 8 years, and hopefully inspire you to try new plant-based ingredients, cooking methods, recipes, and more. You dig it?
Today, I’m sharing a few from social media and a few from my newsletter (I feature a Q+A in each issue). Let’s begin!
Q1: How long will your Cashew Sour Cream keep if refrigerated? I’m hoping to make your Favourite Vegan Chili Recipe. Thx!
A: Hi Michelle, The sour cream should keep in the fridge in an air-tight container for about 1 week. I recently discovered that you can also freeze cashew cream! I like to pour leftover cashew cream into a mini silicone muffin tray, freeze it, and then pop the cubes out and store them in a freezer zip bag for up to 3 to 4 weeks. This method is great for single servings. Thaw the cubes at room temperature or in the fridge overnight before using. Or throw a couple frozen cubes into a smoothie for a creamy twist!
Q2: Hi Angela, I’m wondering if green lentils would substitute well for red lentils in your Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup. Is there a difference between red and green lentils?
A: Hi Brandon, Great question! Red lentils are perfect for thickening and providing body to soups and curries (such as in my Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup and Golden Red Lentil Dal) and are also thought to be the sweetest and nuttiest of the lentil family. They break down while cooking and are not supposed to hold their shape. Green or brown lentils are somewhere in between—they do break down a bit, but they also hold their shape slightly better than red lentils while cooking (depending on how long you cook them, of course). I like to use green and brown lentils in veggie burgers, lentil loaves, and occasionally soups. While I haven’t tried using green or brown lentils in this particular soup, I do think it should work (the flavour will change a bit—green and brown lentils are a bit earthier tasting, but still delicious). French green lentils (or Le Puy lentils) are great for when you want the lentils to hold their shape and chewy texture (such as in a salad or pasta). I love using French green lentils in my Roasted Potato and Asparagus Lentil Salad (a spring fave!). I hope this helps and that you’ll be enjoying a delicious bowl of soup very soon! Be sure to let us know how it goes.
Q3: Good morning, My partner is a big meat eater and carb loader—I was wondering if you could let me know which recipes of yours you would recommend to try on him first to get him into it. Thank you so much.
A: Hi Alyce, Partner-friendly recipes…I’m all about those! If Eric doesn’t like a recipe, it doesn’t get posted on my blog. (And then I eat it all and tell him he’s nuts.) That said, below is a list of his favourite recipes (and general crowd-pleasing recipes). I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
- Our Perfect Veggie Burger
- Ultimate Vegan Lentil-Walnut Loaf
- Crowd-Pleasing Vegan Caesar Salad
- 10-Spice Vegetable Soup
- Next Level Vegan Enchiladas
- Ultimate Green Taco Wraps with Lentil-Walnut Taco Meat
- Golden Red Lentil Dal with Cilantro-Speckled Basmati
- My Favourite Vegan Chili with Homemade Sour Cream
- Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup
Q4: Hi Angela, I’m wondering if you’ve tried your Vegan Overnight Oats recipe with fruits other than banana?
A: Hi Nathalie, It’s no secret that banana tends to be my preferred fruit in vegan overnight oats due to its natural sweetness and creamy texture, but it absolutely can work with many other add-ins! You can try mixing in mashed or puréed pear (2 peeled, very ripe pears work best here), shredded apple (I like to grate the apple on a grater box and stir it in), or even mango. Also, yogurt works really well and provides a creamy, thick texture. Simply mix in a bit of your preferred yogurt (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup depending on how thick you like the oats), and then taste it in the morning and stir in some liquid sweetener if you’d like it sweeter. I hope this helps and leads you to some tasty banana-free options!
Q5: I have not tried Matcha green tea powder, but you have convinced me to try it. Where is the best place to purchase it?
A: Oh how I love Matcha. You can certainly find it many places online, and in some grocery stores. Right now I’m loving this “Do Matcha” brand. The tin lasts a long time. If you end up getting some, be sure to try it in my Green Tea Lime Pie Smoothie Bowl! It’s also lovely in a warm homemade latte or served cold with iced almond milk.
Comments of the week:
Evelyn writes, “Oh your app is so so beautiful!!! I just purchased it and I can’t stop playing with that feature where you click on a recipe, and when you scroll down the picture on top gets smaller, only to become full-screen again when I scroll upwards! Also all the new pictures, woman what a work that must’ve been! But they really glow and practically jump from my screen, and even though I just had dinner, I want to make alllll the things now. Congratulations on this beautiful app, and I totally understand why the blog has been a little quiet lately. Hell, I’m even deeply impressed you managed to make both the app and your second cookbook! The first one a friend of mine brought it from the US for me, and I can’t wait until it gets joined by no 2 :)”
Evelyn! We couldn’t be happier to hear how much you love our app!! Truly, thank you. I hope you—and everyone else who downloads it-—enjoy it for years to come.
Brenna writes, “I made your DIY Burrito Bowl last week and it was a huge success – including with two picky preschoolers! I will definitely be making this again. Thank you!”
So happy to hear this Brenna! Thanks for letting us know.
Please share your chia pancake recipe. You’ve shown many pancake pictures on Snapchat and they look amazing. Love all your recipes! Looking forward to the new cookbook in September. You amaze me, you always keep the site/recipes exciting….THANK YOU for the sharing your joy of vegan cooking with all of us.
Hi Leanne, Thank you for your kind words! I’m so grateful to have readers like you who make my work so rewarding. See ya on Snapchat! ;)
Where are you getting those delish looking strawberries in your photo? I am so dying to some fresh strawberries. It’s going to be tough waiting until June (I’m in Ontario)
Hey Terri, Well, this might make you chuckle! I actually shot this photo in the dead of winter (it’s an app recipe) due to a deadline. So I’m afraid these are from California. I know what you mean though, when they come in season here it’s such a treat!!!
Just wanted to share that I did make the Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup exactly but with green lentils instead of red becaus that was all I had – required a much longer cooking time but was fine. Still very tasty however next time I would make with red for better texture!
Thanks for sharing, Jackie! :)
There’s an app?? *runs to download*
Hahaha, I hope you like it, Melissa!
My husband is a meat eater and he is now eating about 70% plant based foods thanks to Angela’s recipes! His absolute favorite is the butternut squash with almond-pecan parmesan. I follow Angela’s recommendation to serve it with Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage sausage. I often cook up a batch of wild rice to serve along with it! Make sure to put the rice on as soon as you start the recipe because it takes a long time to cook! The meal is our all time favorite!
Thanks for the lovely comment, Raisha. It’s great to know that my recipes have helped you and your husband bring more plant-based foods into your regular diets!
Well here’s another app-loving comment: my 10 year old daughter has a rotten head cold and had a huge coughing fit this morning. I whipped up some of your Hot Detox Tonic with fresh ginger (because I had some kicking around in the bottom of the fridge) & honey rather than maple syrup (because we’re not strictly vegan & I wanted the anti-germ properties of honey) and hey presto, she drank the lot, has been asking for more & hasn’t coughed since. True story! Keep up the great work x
That’s amazing to hear, Anne! I’m so glad the tonic helped your daughter feel better. Sending her tons of get-well wishes!
Oh, I want your app so so badly! But I have an android phone and no option for an iPhone. I hope you will be able to offer an android version at some point. I would absolutely be willing to pay for the app! It sounds wonderful!
We hope so too, Dee Dee! We’d love it if our budget could allow us to expand to other devices in the future. :)
Angela I agree about the app–I love it! I wasn’t going to get it as I have many of your recipes pinned or printed and have your cookbook but I love the beauty and simplicity of it and the way the photo enlarges and gets smaller is so cool! I also have to agree that the lentil/walnut tacos are very much something a meat eater would like. We do eat meat, though not often and prefer these over meat. I do love your recipes!
Thanks so much for your support, Lisa! It’s wonderful to hear you’re enjoying the app.
Angela, thanks for the Q&A. Great to know about freezing the Vegan Sour Cream. Wanted to mention about Matcha. I have been getting mine from Encha.com since last Aug. it is very high quality and their customer serivce is superb. They are a new company-2 yrs.- and are very attentive to detail. You might want to check them out on their website- Dr. Gong’s story, recipes etc.
Thanks for the info, Barbara! :)
Ange, your app IS beautiful and major congratulations on making it to the top of the iTunes app store! I am so so proud of you and can’t believe how much you’ve already accomplished this year! I’m so glad you mentioned pears for the overnight oats because that is SUCH a great idea! I made a batch with coconut yogurt, pureed raspberries and a bit of almond milk which turned out to be amazing, but pears are totally my next test!
Hey Ange! Thanks for your kind words!! Thanks for your congrats about the app. I love your idea of coco yogurt, pureed raspberries and almond milk…sounds divine and the colour would be so pretty too. PS – I miss you and I owe you an email soon!!
I love this Q&A post. I will be waiting for the app to come out for Android.
I also wanted to add for Alyce, I get to cook for non-vegans quite a lot and the following are also winning recipes: Crispy Quinoa Cakes, Lentil Mushroom Walnut Balls,
Smoky Butternut Squash Sauce with Pasta and Greens, and many more. Good luck and just don’t say vegan to him, some people seem to have resistance to hearing that it is a vegan meal.
And Angela, I cannot wait for you next book, I pretty much went through most of the recipes already. Thank you for the amazing food!
I second the Smoky Butternut Squash Sauce with Pasta and Greens! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made it! I usually just make the sauce and keep it in the fridge and pour it on steamed veggies. So delish!
Another second for the Smoky Butternut Squash Pasta and Greens. That meal is so good!
Hi Angela! So first of all, let me just say how inspirational I find your blog and work in general -go you and thank you! Now, seeing as we’ve officially been given the go-ahead to send you questions, that is exactly what I plan on doing. Or actually, I just have two (at this point) and I’m hoping it’s okay for me to pose them, despite the fact that they are not food or recipe related…. With that being said, what I would be curious to know, is 1. whether you still use your Canon 5Diii (with the equipment linked in your FAQ section) for all of your work -including the app and your cookbooks-, and 2. what you edit your photographs with?
Again, I really hope you don’t mind me asking this. And if you do, well, then I’ll just have to accept that :)
Either way, keep up the great work & I cannot wait to see all that is to come!
Hi Pia, thank you so much for the lovely message! I’m more than happy to answer your questions. :) For the most part yes I use the same equipment! I do have a new tripod that does crazy overhead shots, but I still use the one listed in my store frequently too (mainly because it’s so mobile whereas my new one isn’t). I also have a couple artificial soft box lights which aren’t listed. For editing, I use Lightroom and Capture One. Occasionally, I’ll use Photoshop to create text overlay on an image.
Thank you ever so much for taking the time to reply to me so accurately and with such kindness, Angela. I really appreciate it – a lot :)
Good morning from Australia, Angela!
The strawberry bowl in your photo looks heavenly. Any chance you could send the recipe?
Hi Angela,
Love your recipes!
Regarding the question about which recipes would be popular for her meat-eating partner:
I love all the Oh She Glows recipes and have tried quite a few, and although I am NOT a vegan or even vegetarian, I eat healthy (and am gluten/dairy free). I eat local, “happy” meat on occasion, and I can say that many of these recipes can be modified to add some meat. (This may be frowned upon by many, but in my opinion, meat, when eaten in the right way and from the right source, doesn’t have to be a bad thing.)
I’ve added ground turkey and ground beef to the Tex-mex casserole, and it is delicious. Same goes for the immunity-boosting pasta sauce. !
Oh, thank you for your kind reply, and I can’t tell you how chuffed I am to see my own comment in this post!
I love this concept, I adore your recipes but I also love to talk about cooking at length, also the meta discussions like this. It always generates so many ideas. You’ve reminded me of the matcha powder in my fridge I should really put to good use, after purchasing it and immediately be scared off a bit by the grassy taste.
On the Man Food List I would like to add your speedy teriyaki bowl. The bf was a bit ill yesterday but nevertheless managed to chomp away an entire bowl, and has requested the recipe AGAIN today. He says he’s feeling better today so he wants to be able to enjoy it again, and now without the stomach ache battling with his greediness. You don’t hear me complain…
Hi Evelyn, Yay, I’m so glad you spotted it! And I’m so happy to hear that you like the concept for this series. I really hope it will be helpful, and like you said, generate ideas. I can’t believe we forgot to add the speedy teriyaki bowl to the list! We all really love that one around here! Thanks for reading.
So this is my fault… But I made your detox tonic for my sons cold. But. Whizzed it in my vitamix. but now my container seems to be stained green! I’ve tried everything. I put hydrogen peroxide and dish soap in it. I’ve used straight up bleach in it. Now I’m letting it sit in vinegar. But I don’t know if it’s going to help. I doubt it. Do u have any suggestions? Maybe out up a disclaimer now that you know. It is my fault for doing it. But I don’t think many ppl would know if they did that their beautiful vitamix containers would be permanently stained green. ?
Hi Karen, Oh no! That’s never fun!! I was going to suggest vinegar too, so maybe if it sits for long enough it’ll fade a bit? I would also try contacting the vitamix support. I’m sure they have some ideas for removing tricky stains!
I had turmeric stains in my Vita and I read that using a baking soda paste and a damp paper towel to slowly rub in circles on the container gets tiny food particles off the sides of the VM. Rinse with clear water. Then, set it in the sun to “bleach” and the stains will be gone. It works!! On FB there’s a great closed group called Vita-mix Enthusiasts – the Blender Lady run by Lea Ann Anderson Savage and that’s where I got this tip. Lots of OSG-ers on there. :) I frequently recommend OSG recipes there…
Hi Angela, congrats on the beautiful app and on the new baby on the way! Speaking of baby, and of Q&A; will you be resuming the “baby” posts? As a brand new mamma of an 8-week old little boy, I would really enjoy that, and I bet I wouldn’t be the only one :)
Aw, congratulations Marie!! I hope you and your new little one are doing well. :) I haven’t decided yet whether I’ll be doing the baby posts again, but it is so wonderful and flattering to hear you enjoyed them and would be interested in more! I’ll be sure to let everyone know if I decide to start them up again. Sending you and your family tons of warm wishes!
For those Canadian readers/followers, you can get matcha green tea at bulk barn. I do not know its quality compared to the online places, but it is a good place to get it if you have never tried it before. It is rather expensive to buy a whole container and if it turns out you don’t like it, it would be a lot of money to spend.
I will say that the lentil loaf is a definite partner pleaser! Mine actually REQUESTS it. Yay!! Also, thanks for the post on the overnight oats fruits…I detest bananas so subs are very much appreciated! Love my OSG app, thanks for doing that for us!
Hi Angela,
I love the app and I’m so glad the Golden Red Lentil Dal With Cilantro-Speckled Basmati made it on. It is in heavy rotation here. I love it. I would love even more Indian-inspired recipes. Have you ever tried kitchari? It’s a lot like this recipe, but with split mung beans. Flavorful, healthy, comfort food. Yum!
Congratulations and thank you for all you do. :)
Cheryl