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.
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| 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
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.
Super quick post time! I found this dried okra at my grocery store -- United Market Street, if you're curious. It's super yummy and great for when I need something to snack on while making dinner or whatever. I don't know if you can find this near you, but there are plenty of dried veggies I've seen at other stores, which I'm sure are delicious too. Just thought I'd share!
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.
