Some days you just need easy, and tasty! Well this right here is both, this is what “fast food” should be! My family loves fajitas and this is a way to cut down on the aftermath (mess) and get to sit down and enjoy the meal with the fam. Fajitas are a great choice for plant based meals, as they already highlight our veggie friends, I used tofu in ours, but seitan would also be great, of course you could use shrimp or any other meat in this and it would be great, also great for a group you could make a few pans with different proteins to please everyone’s taste!
1 lb. firm tofu sliced into strips (or sub protein of choice)
2 hatch green chilies, seeded and cut into strips, feel free to sub green bell pepper
2 sweet tooth red peppers, cut into strips, same as chilies, again sub red bell pepper if you like
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp. Bragg’s liquid aminos, or soy sauce
Juice of one lime
1 Tbsp. cooking oil, I used raw camelina
2 Tbsp. Cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In a 13 by 9 inch pan place all of your ingredients, mix with your hands, until all veggies and protein evenly coated. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with tortillas of choice, I used whole wheat…..but corn would be great. Serve yours with your favorite toppings, I for one recently have been obsessed with Valentina, it’s a red chili sauce from Mexico that is mildly spicy and packs some serious flavor, find it in your international food aisle or at a Mexican market. I think the ease of preparation and minimalist appeal of this recipe will make it a favorite, whether you are a bachelor in a hurry or a busy mom of six (in that case make double…haha!) I think this recipe will become a weeknight staple that is tasty enough to serve at a dinner party.
Mushroom “Bacon” B.L.T.
There is a reason bacon is called “The gateway meat”, it’s that damn good. So of course I would have to find a plant based replacement for this……well I think I have found one, and it stars our umami pals….MUSHROOMS! I was reading a science article, and this food scientist guy was talking about making mushrooms taste like bacon, he had quick and easy way to make them, he used shitake, but I got some amazing locally foraged trumpet mushrooms so I used those, and I tell ya, I don’t care you if eat meat, don’t eat it, like to wear a furry suit….if you like the taste and texture of bacon you will love these!
½ lb. Wild mushrooms, sliced thin
2 tsp. cooking oil, I’m currently in love with Camelina oil, high in omega 3’s, super high smoke point. Soooo sexy! Haha
2 tsp. bragg’s liquid aminos, or soy
Heat oven to 350 degrees, toss mushrooms with oil and bragg’s until coated, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cook one hour, turn half way through. Use however you would use bacon, I made a classic B.L.T. pretty sure everyone knows the ingredient list for those, lettuce, tomato, bread, you know the drill. Trust me this will blow everyone’s mind. You’re welcome.
Open faced cauliflower “steak” sandwich, with raw hazelnut Romesco, arugula, olives, capers, and red pepper
Plant based eating has been anything but boring for me, it’s actually a fun new way to look at food composition. I blogged my cauliflower “steak” Oscar already and used that way of cooking cauliflower to be the highlight of this sandwich. Romesco is a traditional Spanish sauce, its tomato and garlic based and totally delicious, especially with cauliflower, so that was a no brainer. I picked up a delicious loaf of whole grain bread from Fleur de lis bakery at the Farmer’s market today, along with some spicy arugula! Easy to assemble, you can mix and match your favorites and I promise you won’t even miss the meat or cheese common on a traditional sandwich.
Ingredients:
2 roasted cauliflower steaks recipe here:
½ cup arugula
4 tbsp Romesco sauce
Recipe:
¼ cup raw hazelnuts
¼ cup sundried tomatoes (fresh are good too)
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic
¼ cup water
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend ingredients, can be stored in a jar in the fridge for 1 week.
2 thick slices rustic bread, about the same width as the cauliflower
Toppins amount is based on how much you want to eat:
Sliced olives
Red pepper slices
Capers
The possibilities are endless!
Assemble sandwiches as you like, I like to put a small amount of sauce on the bread, add some arugula, roasted cauliflower, a bit more sauce, more arugula and top with toppins! Delicious take on sandwich, unconventionally delicious and healthy!
Hippie love buffets (no bake granola bars)
I don’t know about you, but I often wonder what would be served at a hippie love buffet. A love buffet being a gathering of likeminded lovers of the same stuff. In college I used to call our group of friends a “hippie love buffet”, drum circles, guitar playing, turtle whistles, and cheap beer. Give me a break, we were in Utah, but seriously there are some super crunchy liberals up at the University of Utah! I was just a dork participating in the fun….but that memory has spurred a healthy treat that if I could revisit myself from the future (haven’t you always wanted to do that?) I would give to myself to serve to my patchouli posse as food of the future. Was that taking it too far? Perhaps, but that is how I roll, these bars are so easy and healthy that you will soon forget those store bought ones and you will dump all the chemicals, and sweeteners! Ready to get psycho? I mean psychedelic? I thought so, feel free to substitute stuff you like, and what is available in your area. Kids love these, a great treat that also sneaks in the healthy stuff!
2 cups kashi 7 whole grain puffs
1 cup puffed brown rice cereal
1 cup quick oats
1/3 cup dried cranberries
½ cup almond butter
½ cup melted marshmallows (Dandies brand are vegan)
¼ cup melted coconut oil
2 tbsp. flax meal
2 tbsp. chia seeds
1/3 cup chocolate chips, melted
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mix well, press into a 12 portion muffin tin. Chill 10 minutes. Donzo! Makes about a dozen. Easy right? Now invite over some friends and dial up the reggae mix on Pandora…….it’s time to get munchy.
Banana brulee pancakes
My kids love pancakes, my daughter especially, I do want to feed my kids the stuff they like….but on the nutrition chart, your run of the mill pancake recipes are basically void of anything but fat, carbs, and more carbs. So in an attempt feed my kids something they like, but something that has some nutritional balance I came up with today’s recipe. Drum roll please (snare drum rattle) I am making banana pancakes, with oats, flax, and FLAVOR! What? You say? This cannot be! Well it is! I might add there is nothing animal based either. No extra salt, but it has a lil’ camelina oil, if you haven’t heard of it, you should check it out, contains the most omega 3’s of any cooking oil and has a smoke point of 450! Bananas are cool because when heat is applied they crisp and caramelize up on top, reminded me of Crème brulee, hence the name. Shall we begin?
You will need:
Batter
½ Cup whole wheat flour or spelt
½ Cup quick cooking oats, preferably ground, you can also use a hand blender or regular blender
2 Tbsp. flax meal
2 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. rapid rise yeast
½ tsp. baking soda
1 Cup coconut milk
¼ Cup water
1 Tbsp. Camelina oil, or oil of choice
1 tsp. good quality vanilla
In a mixing bowl combine all the above ingredients, mix well, let sit at room temp for two hours (so the yeast can work its magic). Refrigerate overnight, I know this seems odd but this gives the pancakes a great flavor and rise without using eggs. Remove from fridge check consistency, the oats and flax suck up a lot of water so adjust to a batter consistency, maybe 2 to 4 Tbsp. warm h2o.
Slice a banana or two.
If you have a griddle that is the best route, for the rest of us, use a non-stick skillet, rubbed with little oil on a paper towel, or use cooking spray, you don’t need much, just a light coating, heat on medium, add batter about 4 Tbsp. or so I eye it, add some banana slices to the top, when the sides bubble up, flip, and cook other side till the center puffs, plate banana side up! Repeat 6 times or so, eat em! I topped ours with low sugar apricot preserves and just a sprinkle of powdered sugar, the kids love that! Try these, I think you will find that you don’t need butter or eggs or milk to make great pancakes! Tres bien mon amie!
Red chard stew with chickpeas, kidney beans, and Israeli cous cous
Onto week three eating plant based, and aside from a couple slip ups (goat cheese and pesto were the culprits), it has been quite easy to follow, I am down a solid 8 pounds, which is nice, my complexion is more even, and I feel good. I still think I need to get more non-cooked stuff into the mix, but it’s a change of habits, so as I pick up more knowledge I’m sure I will get the right balance. I had some beautiful locally grown, red chard, and it’s a bit overcast today, so I figured a soup was in order, even when it’s hot I totally like eating soup though….but I am kind of a weirdo. This soup boasts loads of health benefits, no oil, and with just a half cup of cous cous, is a great way to get the family their dose of veggies, plus I bet you have most of the ingredients for it already.
You will need:
1 bunch chard, or kale or spinach, get what is available and the best in your area
1 onion, diced small
2 carrots, peeled, diced small
2 stalks of celery, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash, or other salt free seasoning
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tbsp. bragg’s liquid aminos, or reduced sodium soy sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes, I used the organic S&W at Costco
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 palm full of dried porcini mushrooms
6 cups water
½ cup Israeli cous cous
Nutritional yeast for sprinkling on top of soup (optional, but if you can get some it adds tons of flavor, my new favorite seasoning, think non-dairy parmesan or pecorino).
Method:
In a large pot, add all ingredients EXCEPT chard, nutritional yeast, and cous cous, bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat, cook 15 minutes, add cous cous and chard, cook 10 more minutes. Top with nutritional yeast and serve! Seriously a plant based, vegan, one pot meal o’ awesome! Serves 8, freezes well, also a great way to dip your toe into a plant based dinner, or a meatless Monday!
Vegan chocolate chip muffins with flax, oats, and dried cherries.
So the ice cream van keeps playing their annoying song on our street, every day, every hour. My 6 year old goes nuts every time she hears it and insists on getting a treat, I keep telling her no, so today I tried to find a sweet and healthy alternative to the afternoon Ice cream truck. I made these muffins today, and when the van came by blaring its obnoxious theme, Ava didn’t even notice! Victory for mom! Well I made these for the kids and hubby, since I’m trying to adhere to Dr. Fuhrman’s stricter regimen I technically shouldn’t really have these, but they are a great way to get a lot of healthy in a sweet treat. I ate half of one and honestly I couldn’t believe how good these ended up considering there is no added salt, minimal sugar, no butter or oil, eggs and no refined flour.
What you’ll need:
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup flax meal (I used Spectrum brand we love how nutty and delicious it is
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ cup coconut sugar, or a less refined sugar of choice
¼ cup dried cherries or raisins
½ semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used ones with soy instead of cocoa butter)
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup almond butter (I love marathon brand, only contains almonds)
1 tbsp. Vanilla extract or inside of a vanilla bean
1 cup almond milk
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, line a muffin tin with 12 liners, I was out so I just used parchment paper squares. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients, add the wet ingredient and stir till evenly moistened. Do not over mix. Fill muffin cups ¾ full, bake 20 minutes. They will puff up, brown, and spring back when touched. I was actually shocked at how easy these were and how great the results were, I basically looked at some old recipes I had, and just substituted healthier choices. Next time I might add some cinnamon and ginger to spice them up, but in total for my first attempt at vegan bakery, I was impressed, my vegan baked good skepticism is gone, and you don’t need any of those nasty fake butter products that are marketed as “healthy”….they are not, if fat chains have to be modified in a lab….you don’t need it in your body.
Chile Verde with black beans and kale
So plant-based eating is such a deviation of the norm for me in many ways, but after a full week I already feel better! A few minor ailments I’ve had, no longer vex me, I feel light(er) and energized! I have however, really wanted some Mexican food! One of my favorite dishes is chile verde usually served with pork and thicken with a roux, it is not on the plan. So I decided I would do a version of it with black beans, and some kale. Tomatillos are in season so grabbed those today at the farmer’s market, along with some cilantro, garlic, peppers and other goodies, then I went to the kitchen and began my experiment. It ended up fresh, hearty, and spicy! Served with some whole wheat, flax tortillas it curbed my craving.
You will need:
1 lb. Tomatillos, husks removed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 Jalapeno or serrano chilies (depending on how hot they are, and your preference)
1 carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 bunch kale, I used lactinato
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 ribs of Celery, chopped
6 cups Water or stock
2 cans black beans drained and rinsed
Salt to taste
In a medium sauce pan, add tomatillos, tomatoes, onion, chilies, ½ the cilantro, garlic,and celery. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, cook 15 minutes, then blend half of this in a blender or use a stick blender, be sure to leave a little texture. Add Kale, and beans, cook 15 more minutes, add the rest of the cilantro and serve over rice or with tortillas! Ole’ frijole!
3 ingredient, no cook, chocolate + chia seed pudding
So after educating myself, by reading “Eat to live”, I got me some chia seeds and some flax. My kids always want ice cream or sweet stuff, so I did an experiment, my hypotheses was that if it has a little sweetness and chocolate they will eat it. Well I was right! Not to mention this recipe is so ridiculously easy a trained or not trained chimp could make it! Therefore, it will hopefully do well on pinterest…….I’m joking…im joking….kinda. Anyway, chia are totally cool they have the consistency of tobiko (tiny fish eggs) and can be used as a natural thickener that totally makes you feel full!
You will need
½ cup chia seeds
2 cups chocolate soy milk, or you can use almond, I used Silk chocolate soy, for consistency and so I wouldn’t need to add any extra sugar.
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean, scraped of its inner beauty.
Method:
In a bowl mix all those things…..fridge it for a few hours….donzo…yes seriously. I topped ours with a lil’ ground flax, totally taste like ground nuts! Super good, super easy, super healthy!
Makes 4 servings
Vegan miso ramen with brown rice + buckwheat noodles and mushrooms
Well, already on day five of doing my plant based cleanse and I feel really good and am down 4lbs! The one problem I have is that after reading “Eat to live” I found the recipes pretty blah….of course I like to expand on the basics and trying to feed my family the same thing I eat, I had to innovate. So today’s recipe is based on things my fam already loves, while sticking to Dr. Furhman’s advice. I went to the Vietnamese market by my house and found all kinds of great stuff! If you do your homework, you can find amazing and healthy Eastern products on the cheap. Asian cookery is a good one to look on when one is pondering a vegan lifestyle, as they don’t really eat any dairy, and they seem to have vegetarian products really dialed. Like in the China study, eating plant based is necessity in some regions, and a side effect is great health plus Asian cultures been doing it a lot longer than Western diet experts were preaching it, that is for sure. Plus going to the Asian market is fun, the kids love it, and it’s almost like travelling to another place, depending on how deep routed the community is, that your store is located, mine happens to be awesome, like “I don’t know what this is” awesome. Try it and this, I think you’ll like em!
You will need
1 package or four bundles buckwheat noodles, mine had brown rice added, never had em’ thought I’d try them. If you aren’t familiar with these noodles google it, they are loaded with health benefits.
4 Tbsp. Miso paste, I used Japanese Nagano, and it is a blend of both white and red.
8 cups of water
1 Tbsp. Soy sauce
4 large shitake mushroom
½ lb. firm tofu, sliced
1 bunch enoki mushrooms, if you can’t find these use a different variety, these are just super cool, and can be added on top without cooking
4 green onions, sliced thin
1 cup shelled edamame, I get mine at Trader Joe’s already cooked and shelled.
Optional stuff: Sesame seed, nori, carrots shredded, or use anything you like to add on top. All my toppings were vegan of course.
Method:
First things first, I did not use dashi stock which is traditional in miso soup, it’s totally delish, but it contains bonito, which is dried tuna flakes, so I left it out to maintain vegan status. I first cooked my noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes, rinsed with cold water and set aside. Next, in a medium pot, I put my water with the soy, shitake mushrooms, and white parts of onions, bring to a boil reduce to medium, add tofu and cook 10 minutes. After researching I learned that miso should never be boiled, it will reduce its nutritional power, I never knew this, so make sure if you have anything that needs to be boiled to add that first. Add your miso, making sure that it all gets dissolved. In four bowls, divide noodles evenly, take mushrooms out of broth and slice, add those to bowls, add tofu, and other toppings of choice, with a bit of prep this is an incredible meal, which can be done in 30 minutes or less! Domo arigato Mr. roboto!