Easy Chickpea Kale Bowl

We take a break from our regularly scheduled Thanksgiving updates to give you this yummy bowl. 


Vegans seem to eat things in bowls- just lots of stuff piled together in a bowl and it makes a meal. When we were staying with my family for a couple of months, my mom commented that it was a bit weird, but I've been vegan for 3 years and I mostly eat at home, where other people aren't looking, so I hadn't really noticed. But it is a little weird. I'll have to remember to share my favorite bowl with you guys sometime. I keep forgetting and I don't have any pictures. This one's really good though, and super healthy.

I also want to start sharing more of what I actually eat every day. Sure, I make a few recipes a week and generally live off the leftovers of big batches of soup or whatever, but I also make other, super simple meals. I'm sure other bloggers can relate to me on this-- there are just some meals that don't seem photo- or recipe-ready, or you don't want to bother with clearing off the table just to take a picture of your super-simple-but-super-yummy oatmeal. But I'm beginning to think it's worth it, and I remember particularly that daily food sharing forums from Veggie Boards and What I Ate Wednesdays really helped give me some good ideas when I was starting out-- they still do! So here is one of those quick posts-- it's super simple, not really a recipe, but yummy and I remembered to take a picture! You could really change up the ingredients endlessly, but this is what I had for lunch (and dinner, rolled up in a tortilla) yesterday. It was delish.

Chickpea Kale Bowl

Also, you can go check out my Pinterest page for ideas-- I pin stuff from here but mostly a ton of other things including a massive Vegan Recipes the Inspire Me board full of ideas and recipes!

Here goes!

2 Servings
Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp or small drizzle olive oil
• 5ish baby portabella or cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 celery rib, sliced or diced, your preference
• small bunch fresh parsley
• 2-3 big sage leaves or other fresh (or dried!) herbs
• 3ish cups of ready-to-go kale, or other green, or chop and wash your own
• 1 can of chickpeas (my favorite, but your could use any bean
• balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

•  Drizzle tiny amount of oil into a relatively large pan-- I used my stockpot but I think the big skillet would have worked.
• Drain your chickpeas in a colander and run water over them until they are fresh-looking and don't have that bubbly, gooey can juice on them anymore.
• Slice or dice your veg and add to the pot, turning it on medium.
• I love parsley and the amount I use is a small handful, about 1/4 cup once chopped. Take the tops off of your parsley by pinching or cutting. Slice your herbs thin. Then chop it all up together, alternating directions and re-scooping your pile until it's all finely chopped. Or you don't have to and just leave it chunky.
• Add to the pot, then immediately add your greens.
• Let them cook a couple of minutes, add some salt, pepper, and olive oil.
• Add your chickpeas and cook a couple or more minutes 'til they're warm.
• Finish off with a drizzle of balsamic--  taste as you go because it can get real crazy real quick-- and more salt and pepper, and voilà! Yum.

Note: If you use spinach as your green, add it last so it doesn't cook too long.

Also, I haven't been putting nutrition info on here because I wasn't counting calories for a while, and then I changed the program I used and the info format is different, but I know some of you liked that and I'm tallying again so here you go! 

cals (using 1.5 tsp oil) per 1/2 recipe: 286kcal | fat: 7.80g | carbs: 43.78g | prot: 15.26g

Super Quick Warm Salad with Popped Snap Peas

This salad is super yummy and super quick. I'm working on the house today and don't have a ton of time to cook, but I wanted something warm and super healthy. That's where this salad comes in. And I love the way sugar snap peas sound when they're snapped, more of a round "pop" than a snap, so that's what I'm calling them -- popped snap peas! Using pre-washed greens and washing your tomatoes when you bring them home from the store makes this a super quick meal. Also, these pics are bit bit blurry because of the whole, not a lot of time today thing. But, you get the idea, and I'll retake them eventually!

Warm Salad with Popped Snap Peas

3 cups greens -- I used baby spinach and mixed spring greens
handful of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
drizzle of olive oil
several turns of fresh pepper
handful of grape tomatoes
juice and zest of one lemon
handful of sugar snap peas, "popped" in the middle

Tear your greens into a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice to a warm skillet, cover and cook on high just for a couple of minutes until your chickpeas are a bit browned. Add the lemon juice and let cook for a minute to reduce the acidity and increase sweetness. Pour contents of skillet over your greens and top with more olive oil and pepper, if you want. Enjoy!

Chickpea Florentine Tart with GF Breadcrumb Topping

Here's another one out of Cooking for Isaiah. I've modified it quite a lot to replace the eggs, and what I've ended up with is a deliciously hummus-y florentine tart that both me and Sam can eat! Yay!

1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 T tahini
1 tsp egg replacer powder (optional, I think)
1/2 tsp garlic powder or onion powder
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper, to taste
1 package spinach, thawed
1 T olive oil, to grease the pan

2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced and lightly sprinkled with salt
1/2 cup rice cereal crumbs
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, grated
more olive oil, for drizzling

Add everything from the first list except the spinach and oil to a blender. Blend for a couple of minutes, until thick and smooth. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix spinach with bean mix. Grease a cast iron skillet (a pie plate would probably work too) with the olive oil. Use the whole tablespoon, to create a nice crust.

Spoon the mixture into your skillet, top with the tomatoes, and place in the oven for about 50 minutes.

Process a bunch of rice cereal (Chex), into a breadcrumb texture. Reserve 1/2 cup, and save the rest in an airtight container-- trust me, you'll want some more later, the topping is the best part! Put the 1/2 cup back into the food processor, grate a garlic clove in there, and add 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. Pulse. When your tart is finished, and looks golden around the edges, take it out, top it with the crumb mixture, and drizzle pretty liberally with olive oil. Broil for about 3 minutes. You can totally eat this hot from the oven, but it will slice and serve much better if it cools to at least room temp and can be served cold. Enjoy!

Meatless Mondays!

Okay, every day is meatless for me, but my husband has decided to join me for Monday night dinners! I am so excited about this! It is a bit of a challenge because he is allergic to nuts, coconut, and fruit unless it's been cooked. And he wants to stay low on soy. So far I've come up with a couple of options, and the one we had last week he said he'd eat again-- yay! So last Monday we had Black Bean Sliders with Sweet Potato Fries. I already knew he liked the sweet potato fries. Those are one of those things that I've never blogged about because it seems too simple or plain, but when I'm able to cook, we have them a couple of times a month, they're that good. So now I'm sharing!

Black Bean Sliders
makes 8-10ish patties

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 red bell pepper
Tony's Creole Seasoning, to taste
3 tablespoons wheat germ
Oil, olive or vegetable, to cook
Slider buns
Earth balance MindfulMayo or other vegan mayonnaise

• Broil the red pepper while it's whole, until the skin begins to bubble
• Chop the pepper finely-- Sam said a little more chopped would be good next time, so chop to your desired fineness.
• Add the pepper and beans to a mixing bowl and smoosh the beans somewhat with a glass or other smooshing device.
• Mix in the seasoning and wheat germ-- I used about 1.5 tablespoons seasoning I think.
• Add about 1 tablespoon oil to a skillet and allow to heat to medium high for a minute or two.
• Using a spoon to scoop and your hands, form the bean mixture into slider-sized patties.
• Fry four or five at a time, adding more oil if needed, a couple of minutes on each side, until browned.
• Serve on slider buns with mayo and sweet potato fries (below).
• Notes: 
• Sam didn't like the buns toasted, how I tried them at first, but you can do toasted if you want. Just brush with some vegan margarine (I used Smart Balance Light) and put the buns straight onto the baking rack in the oven for a couple of minutes while your fries are cooking.
• MindfulMayo is my favorite vegan mayo. It's super tasty, uses brown rice syrup as the sweetener, and is soy-free! Sam even gave it his approval, and he doesn't generally like new products, so that was a bonus for us!

Sweet Potato Fries
makes one big baking sheet of fries

1 big sweet potato-- I only used half of mine this time
Light drizzle of olive oil
Paprika

• Cut the potato into fry shapes.
• Pile onto a cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, and use your hands to work the oil onto all sides of the fries.
• Arrange the fries in one layer on the baking sheet and stick in the oven set to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bake for about 35 minutes, turning each fry halfway through. Once turned, sprinkle with paprika-- you don't want to add this too soon or it will burn.
• Finish cooking -- they're done when you can poke your tongs or a fork into them easily.

Qdoba

Just a quick post to share my lunch! Qdoba is one of my favorite restaurants because vegans can eat everything there except the meat, cheese, and sour cream. Everything else, all the rice and beans and everything is vegan- woo hoo! And since I had a coupon, it's like my birthday came a week early. 

Lentil Mushroom Burgers and Bunny Fries

Oh, blogland, I have so many things I want to talk to you about! I've had some fantastic BLT's lately (more on that later, but really you just need vegan bacon and mayo and I'm sure you can figure it out). I've made some crazy-good cookies, probably the best cookies I've ever made. I promise I'll share soon, but a girl can (should) only eat so many cookies and I've been recipe-testing. I've also made some fantastic protein shakes which I'll get around to posting in a bit too. Hubby and I have been going on lots of walks and playing catch in the backyard (back-strip-of-dirt?), which has been pretty awesome. It's kinda hot today though. Anyway, I've got to get ready for church, so I'll get down to it. My dinner was pretty awesome, so I'm sharing!

No, these fries aren't made of bunnies - they're carrots (obviously?). I really love carrot fries, probably more than sweet potato fries, I really wanted some for dinner, and since Easter is coming up, I thought the name fit. And I made a new (onion/garlicless) veggie burger. So yummy! I really love homemade veggie burgers and often, though I've gotten out of the habit lately, make a batch to eat throughout the week. This recipe is a bit on the moister side, so if you want you can add some breadcrumbs, more flax, or less tomato paste. They taste really great though and can also be made into a veggie loaf super easily. Without further ado, the recipes:

Lentil Mushroom Burgers/Loaf:
Makes 8 patties or 8 slices lentil loaf

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry lentils, simmered in 2 cups of water until water evaporates
• 8 oz. button mushrooms, chopped
• 1 small can tomato paste
• salt, pepper
• 1.5 tablespoons sunflower seeds (maybe more next time?)
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/4 cup milled flaxseed

Directions:

• Cook your lentils. Cook your chopped mushrooms in a large pot or skillet with a little salt and pepper on low heat until they release their moisture and turn a little darker in color.
• Add the rest of your ingredients and mix really well.
• Form into patties (about 1/2 cup each) or scoop into a loaf pan.
• Spray a skillet (the same one you just used works) or swirl a little oil in the bottom. Cook your patties on medium heat, being careful not to break them. You can just smoosh them back together if they fall apart though. It might be a good idea to add a little extra flax, some breadcrumbs, or use less tomato paste if you're making patties. They were a little too wet to work with. Come to think of it, if you coated each patty in panko breadcrumbs before cooking, that would be amazing.
• If you're making a loaf, smoosh down the top of your mixture so it's smooth, and pop into a 350 degree (Fahrenheit) oven for, I don't know, about 40 minutes. You want the top to be a little dry and browned.
• Go make your bunny fries and enjoy!

Bunny Fries:
Serves 1 but you can multiply to make as much as you want!

Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots, cut into fry shapes
• 1 teaspoon olive or canola oil (may not need more oil, even if you use more carrots, not sure)

Directions:

• Toss your carrot fries in the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake at 450 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until browned in places, turning once.
• It's important that these get browned! That's what makes them sweet and delicious, more like a fry and less like a carrot!
• You'll probably want more, just so you know.

 

Old Bay Seasoning

With my new venture into onion/garlic free cooking, I've definitely hit a few roadblocks. But, today I have good news! Old Bay Seasoning doesn't have garlic or onion powder! They do have some other flavors, but their Original and 30% Less Sodium Original mixes don't include these pesky things!

A couple of days ago, I wanted a sandwich for lunch and didn't have a ton of ingredients in the kitchen. (By the way, Lightlife makes a vegan lunch "meat" without garlic or onions -- their Smart Deli Ham is g/o free! The turkey is not, though). I did have Vegenaise and great northern beans at home, my preferred bean for "chicken" salad type sandwich stuff. I didn't know what I was going to season it with, though. I couldn't cut up onion for the mix or use garlic or onion powder, so for a minute I wasn't sure what I would do.

Then I remembered that I have a pretty huge tin of Old Bay Seasoning in the pantry (does a teeny tiny upper corner cabinet count as a pantry if that's what I use it for?). Anyway, I don't know what made me check, because I kind of assumed it had the no-no's in it, but I did and here's what the ingredients say: celery salt (salt, celery seed), spices (including red pepper and black pepper), and paprika. So, initially seems okay but I a bit skeptical of the "spices" label. I went ahead and made my sandwich, which was super savory tasting, but didn't seem to taste like garlic or onions. You can really taste that celery seed!

The "recipe" is just 

• 1/2 can (or about 3/4 cup) great northern beans, rinsed
•  1 tablespoon vegenaise
• few shakes of Old Bay - about 1/2 tsp
• and a few turns of fresh pepper 

Then just smoosh the beans a little, pop some bread in the toaster, spread the beans on, and slice up a tomato if you feel like it. Super yummy and a complete protein, too!
So, after lunch, to make sure,  I emailed McCormick and this is what they said:

"Dear Ms. Bisset:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate your interest in our Old Bay 30% Less Sodium Seasoning and welcome the opportunity to be of assistance to you.

At this time there is no garlic or onion products in our Old Bay 30% Less Sodium Seasoning.

If we can be of further assistance, please call us at 1-800-632-5847. If you wish to respond to this note by e-mail, please include your name and e-mail address.

We hope to have the continued pleasure of serving you.

Sincerely,
Jaclyn
Consumer Affairs Specialist

Ref # 1801177"

Woohoo!!! Now I have a savory replacement that will hopefully work for soup! I already have a vegetable soup that includes quite a bit of this stuff. Last time I made it, it had an onion in it, but hopefully this would be enough of a kick on it's own.

Check out that spice!

This is actually the regular stuff, but I prefer the 30% Less Sodium kind because I find the Original a bit too salty for me. It's still super awesome though!

Mmmmm, sandwich.

Mac and Cheese, St. Patty's Day Style!

 

May you always have...
Walls for the winds
A roof for the rain  

Tea beside the fire
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all your heart might desire.

And green vegan macaroni and cheese for St. Patrick's Day, if that's what you desire!

So, I talked about my new mac and cheese the other day, and here it is! You can make this sauce as is, or, like I did today, you can make it green! This would be a perfect dinner to have with kids for St. Patrick's Day! Or lunch by yourself at your office. Or at home, like me! This cheesy sauce is also great on nachos!

 You can take it to go for lunch -- or just pack individual jars for easy prep.

Alrighty, down to the nitty gritty.....

The original recipe for this sauce comes from Bold Vegan. I was looking for a new cheesy sauce, since my other one, from Fat Free Vegan, includes onion and garlic powder. It really is delicious though, so try i if you can! Anyhoo, this one from Bold Vegan originally included onion, too but I think it's super tasty this way. I've made a couple of changes to make it to my taste -- a bit thicker and more healthy.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups potato, roughly chopped
• 1 cup carrot, chopped
• 2.5 cups water
• 0.5 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons oat flour, to thicken
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 0.5 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 big handfuls (about 4 cups) fresh spinach, if you want it green!

Directions

•  Add your water, potatoes, and carrots to a pot, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
• When they're done, add the whole bit to a blender (including the water). Add the rest of the ingredients (except the spinach) and blend until super creamy, about 2 minutes.
• If you want it green, add the spinach and blend until smooth -- I did this in 2 steps: one handful, blend, 2nd handful, blend. 
• You really can't taste the spinach, which makes it great for kids! If you're sensitive to how vegetables taste, you may notice a bit of "green" but it's really good, I promise! The spinach will make it a bit more thin, so you can decrease the water or increase the oat flour if you want. I used about 3/4 cup of sauce for 2 cups of cooked pasta.

And here it is without the spinach. Perfect, cheesy color! (The little specks you can see are because my blender is on the fritz, it's normally completely smooth)

Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day celebrations everyone!

Southwest Eggrolls

You guys, I don't even know what's been up with me. I've wanted to write a new post for so long and it just hasn't happened! I've gotten out of the habit of taking pictures and of writing up posts, but at least there's one for you today. And it's awesome.

These bad boys are inspired by Chili's southwest eggrolls.  They are so tasty since they're baked, they're pretty darn good for you, too!

 

Southwest Eggroll Ingredients: 

• 1 tube vegan chorizo - I used Cacique
• 3 cups frozen spinach
• 1.25 cups frozen corn
• 3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 11 vegan eggroll wrappers (or however many it ends up taking to roll up your ingredients!)

Directions:

• Ok, so here we go: brown the chorizo, thaw the spinach and drain it in a colander to remove excess moisture. Thaw the corn and drain and rinse your beans.
• Mix all of that together and set it at your work station. Also prep 2 baking pans (I think, maybe just 1) with cooking spray.
• Set out your wrappers and a small glass of water and make a little space on a plate or cutting board to role up your eggrolls.
• I know all of that sounds ridiculous but it's really ok! It's not too bad once you get used to the rolling process!
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Here's a diagram: Take your wrapper and lay it out in front of you. Add about 3 tablespoons (one big scoop with a spoon), and wrap according to the diagram. Wet your fingers in the cup of water, use them to wet the corner (the top corner in the last drawing) and finish rolling-- this will seal the edge.

  

  http://dunkincookingthesemi-homemadeway.blogspot.com/2009/12/turkey-stuffing-egg-rolls.html

• Continuing.... Line all of your little rolls up on the pans, spray the tops of them with a little more spray, and sprinkle with salt if you wish.
• Bake for.... I think about 18 minutes, until golden on top, then flip and bake until golden again.
• Make the ranch while its baking!
• Make sure to reheat these in the oven, so they aren't too soggy -- unless you happen to like them cold, which I do.

Nutrition info for the eggrolls -- per eggroll (1/11th of recipe):
cals: 135kcal | fat: 2.30g | carbs: 21.13g | prot: 7.20g

Avocado Ranch Ingredients:

• 1 avocado 
• 1 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 dash cayenne
• 1/2 tsp dried dill

 Directions:

•  Blend everything but the dill in a blender, add the dill and pulse to mix slightly. That's it! Not too bad, right?

Nutrition info for 1/4 cup dressing: cals: 44kcal | fat: 3.79g | carbs: 2.74g | prot: 0.66g

Check out that nutrition info! 44 calories for a whole 1/4 cup -- that's craziness!

Check out this yumminess! Hope you guys enjoy!

Chickpea and Leek Soup

This yummy soup comes from Jamie Oliver. I've simplified it, veganized it, and made it several times-- that's quite a testament, because there are many things that I only make once or twice. I love the combo of butter (margarine) and olive oil and it's all just very tasty. And so quick and easy that it's perfect for these days when we're never sure if it'll be chilly or not. Without further ado... the recipe:

Makes about 8 cups
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
•  1 clove garlic (optional)
• about 4 cups sliced leek (about 2 leeks)
• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups vegetable broth (I use Swanson Flavor Boost packets mixed with water bc they're cheaper and take up less room)
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions:

• Prep your leeks: remove tough green parts, rinse the outsides, and slice into thin rings. Rinse very well in a colander or salad spinner. Lay on a towel to somewhat dry if using a colander, spin the thingy if using a salad spinner. This can be done a couple of days in advance if you want. Also, whatever I don't use in the soup, I freeze in baggies and it's so easy to just scoop a 1/2 cup or so out for stirfrys, pasta, or whatever you're making later.
• Add leeks, margarine, oil, and minced garlic to a pot. Cook over medium heat until leeks are fragrant.
• Add chickpeas and cook until slightly toasty.
• Add veggie broth and water and bring to a boil.
• Add nutritional yeast if you want (I think it enhances the taste).
• Eat a bowlful, curled up on the couch-- or at a table if that's your thing.
• Enjoy!

Per cup: cals: 155kcal | fat: 3.85g | carbs: 27.98g | prot: 7.57g

Avocado Fries

Crispy, crunchy, creamy, vegan baked avocado fries. Is this too good to be true? Nope. Dangerous? Yes. These are crazy-ridiculously good.

I've had the idea for these kicking around for awhile, but I couldn't figure out how to make the coating stick-- mustard is the perfect solution and adds great flavor (this method is also great for tofu nuggets, but more on that later).

Makes 16 fries-- with cal info for each one individually, so you can decide how many you want!
 
Ingredients: 

• an avocado
• 1/4 cup mustard-- any kind you like, I've used dijon and spicy brown
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs 

 Directions:

• Slice your avocado into 16 slices-- I find if I cut it into 4's I can peel the skin off and keep the avo intact.
• Using a fork and your fingers, coat each piece in mustard, scraping a bit off so that it's not too thick.
• Then coat it in the breadcrumbs, patting it down to ensure good stick-age. At this point, remember to use one hand for wet (the mustard) and the other for dry (the breadcrumbs), or you'll end up with a crazy battered claw-hand.
• Also, panko breadcrumbs are sold in the Asian or baking section, and they're lighter and crispier than regular breadcrumbs and they don't have any cheese in them, which so many breadcrumbs do.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes, flip, and bake for another 5 minutes.
• These lose their crisp after a while, so warm up in the oven if you store them for later.
• These are super great on their own, no dipping sauce required (for me, at least). Eat up!

Per fry: cals: 31kcal | fat: 1.71g | carbs: 2.72g | prot: 0.49g

 

Check out that creamy center and crispy exterior, and if you look closely, you can see the mustard sandwiched in between!

Mushroom Soup

This soup is my new go-to for a decadent-feeling treat. It's creamy, earthy, and at 49 calories per cup it's really, really low-calorie-- woohoo for that!

It's also really, really easy to make. That makes it just about the best soup ever. But don't take my word for it-- try it and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup diced onion (I like to dice up a large onion when I get back from the store and just keep it in the fridge in tupperware for use throughout the week-- just don't store it in a plastic baggie or your entire fridge will smell/taste like onions)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2-3/4 pound cremini, button, or portabella mushrooms, sliced thin (about 5 cups)
• 2 cups veggie stock (I like Swanson Flavor Boost mixed with water for a super quick, cheap stock)
• 4 cups Original Unsweetened Almond Breeze Almond Milk (or any other plain, unflavored milk)

Directions:

• Add onions and oil to a soup pot. Turn heat to medium low.
• Once the onion start to color just a bit and get fragrant, add the mushrooms. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
•  Turn heat up just a bit and stir occasionally until the mushrooms release their moisture. They'll get smaller and browner-- this is what you want. The pan shouldn't dry out or burn but if it gets dry, add a little water and keep going.
• When you think your mushrooms are done, add the broth and milk and bring to a slow boil.
• Add a bit more salt and pepper!
• Once it starts boiling (don't let it get too fast or you'll curdle your milk-- it'll just make the appearance a little less creamy, it's not really a big deal) turn it off.
• Transfer about 1/2 of your soup to a blender and blend away (this could take a couple of minutes).
• Transfer it back to the pot, stir, and check and adjust your seasonings.
• Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh cracked pepper.
• Makes about 7 cups.

Per 1 cup: cals: 49kcal | fat: 2.82g | carbs: 5.08g | prot: 2.22g

 Also, it can be made with unprocessed ingredients if you make this with homemade veg stock and almond (or other) milk!

Kale, Chorizo, and Beans

This recipe is pretty easy, pretty yummy, and pretty well... pretty-- look at those hearty fall colors!

It makes 3 big bowls of comforting, cozy yum. I use vegetable flakes in this, but you could totally substitute a cup of veggie stock if you can't find them.

Ingredients:

•  1 package soy chorizo (the kind I use is by Cacique and it's only $1.08 at Walmart for 5 servings-- woohoo!)
• 5 tightly packed cups of kale (I use the kind that comes in a big bag and just go through it to pick out the stem-y parts and wash it)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable flakes, re-hydrated in 1 cup warm water
• 1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:

• Brown the chorizo according to the package directions in a non-stick skillet or wok.
• Add the kale and beans and the veggie flake water.
• Cover and simmer a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until kale is bright green and everything is warmed through.
• Enjoy with a piece of crusty bread-- so yum!

For 1/3 recipe: cals: 306kcal | fat: 7.81g | carbs: 39.86g | prot: 22.29g

Buffalo- Style Cauliflower and Ranch!

This is one of those recipes that take a little longer than a normal  dinner (a normal dinner for me is reheat some potatoes and add some broccoli and sauce!) but is soooo worth it! I've seen this whole cauliflower "chicken" thing around for a while, starting at one of my favorite blogs, Chocolate Covered Katie. For this buffalo-style cauliflower, I used this recipe and I used the ranch (or Sanctuary Dressing) from Appetite for Reduction-- a modified version can be found here. This ranch is super good (and this from a former ranch addict), and is just the perfect hing to cool down the spicyness of the "wings". You can also use gluten free flours for the cauliflower! As always, I've modified both recipes a bit for my tastes and what I have on hand. I'm really excited to make it again when my MIL is here next week, this time with rice flour! And now for the recpies!

 

 Check out the awesome texture on these!

 Buffalo-Style Cauliflower

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into chunks
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon agave

 Sauce

• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 1 cup hot wing sauce

Directions

• preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
• mix the flour, milk, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper in a bowl (preferrably with a lid)
• add about 1/2 of the cauliflower to the bowl, put the lid on and shake shake shake until all of the pieces are covered
• take the pieces out with a fork and place on a greased baking sheet, trying not to let the pieces touch
• repeat with the remaining pieces (I used 2 baking sheets)
• if you don't have a bowl with a lid, just use a fork and your fingers to cover each piece, let the excess drip off, and place on the baking sheet-- this just takes a little more time
• drizzle with the agave (this is my addiction and gives it a yummy caramelized flavor!)
• bake for about 15-20 minutes, flipping once
• while that's baking, melt the margarine and mix it with the wing sauce
• when the cauliflower is done and crispy, brush on the sauce and bake for another 5-10 minutes

 

Tofu Ranch (Appetite for Reduction Sanctuary Dressing)

Ingredients

• 15 oz. firm tofu (she uses silken, but my store doesn't carry it and this works!)
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 cubes vegan bouillon
• 3 tablespoons vegan mayo (I'm in love with Mindful Mayo!)
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1.5 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp sugar (or agave, I was out of that)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground back pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried dill

Directions

• put everything but the pepper and the dill into a blender and blend away, scraping the sides and pushing it around as needed until creamy
• add the dill and pepper and pulse until mixed through (this leaves you with bits and pieces instead of a murky-colored dressing!)

Eat the cauliflower with the dressing and enjoy! SO yum!

Mmm, spicy "wings" and creamy dressing

Mmm, Mocha Coconut

It is the season of the Mocha Coconut Frap at Starbucks. I don't go often (a couple of times a year probably) but ever since I tried this flavor, my plan is to try to go at least once in the summer for the Mocha Coconut. I actually hadn't tried it until I went vegan, but I was looking up Starbucks vegan options last year on veggieboards.com and found that people love it! I'm not normally a mocha or coconut fan, so I was surprised it even sounded good, but I tried it and I was hooked! Just make sure to order it with soy milk, without the whip or chocolate drizzle to make it vegan!

They have a coupe of vegan snack options too, like roasted nuts, fruit chews (yes, they're vegan!) and some crazy-good salt and pepper popcorn. So this morning I'm hanging out at Starbucks, blogging, and enjoying my Mocha Coconut Frap and popcorn!

Pureed Beet Soup

I found this recipe a long time ago on marthastewart.com and it's one that I go back to again and again. I just swapped out the chicken broth for veggie stock, lessened the onion a bit, and added more water, since I like it thinner. The result is a sweet, low-calorie soup that can be eaten hot or cold, and it's one of the only ways I'll eat beets! I'm really picky about my beets-- I really love beets in this soup and in chip form, and in green juices, but other than those, I haven't found another way for me yet-- I'd love to hear how you like your beets! This soup is especially good with simple accompaniments, like the kale and polenta in the photo-- I just cooked the kale in 1/2 tsp olive oil until it was the wilti-ness I wanted and used about 1 tsp of oil, plus salt and pepper for the polenta and just cooked that over medium high until crispy on the edges.

Here's the recipe!

Pureed Beet Soup

makes 9.5 1 cup servings

Ingredients:

•  1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 large beets, peeled and diced (about 7.5 cups)
• 2-3 boullion cubes or 2-3 cups veggie stock
• 6-9 cups water

Directions:

• Add  the oil and onions to a soup pot and saute on medium high, adding a little salt and pepper.
• And the beets, veggie stock, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beets are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Blend with an immersion or regular blender, in batches if needed, making sure to vent the lid and cover with a towel to allow the heat to escape but so that it doesn't splash you with hot soup if using a regular blender.
• Serve with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. So yummy and really healthy too!

 cals per 1 cup: 70kcal | fat: 1.93g | carbs: 11.06g | prot: 2.75g

Look at that pretty beet-pink!