Category: Vegan

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Spaghetti and Lentil Meatballs

This meal came together so quickly, because I had most of it already prepared. I had the Lentil Meatballs and the Marinara already made. I just had to combine them and make some GF spaghetti.

That is what happens when you have done some batch cooking ahead of time.

Simmer the Lentil Meatballs in the Marinara Sauce until they have heated through. I have found the Marinara Sauce tends to thicken substantially because of the Lentil Meatballs, so if you do not like your sauce as thick as we do just thin it out with some vegetable broth or water.

Cooke GF Spaghetti according to the package directions. Rinse. Drain. Return the spaghetti to the pot that you cooked it in. This helps dry up some of the residual water that might be left from the rinsing- draining process.

Layer a bed of spaghetti and the Marinara Sauce and Lentil Meatballs.

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Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

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Jackfruit-Cranberry Salad

Before WFPB/Vegan eating, I would make a Chicken-Cranberry Salad quite often. This is my WFPB Vegan version that is just as good.

The key to the jackfruit, is to rinse it really well and then roast it in the oven.

  • 2 cans of jackfruit, brined, rinsed, drained, shredded
  • All-Purpose Seasoning + more for seasoning
  • 1/2 c cranberries, dried
  • 1/2 c pecans, toasted, chopped
  • 1/4 c dried onion, minced
  • 2 tsp spice brown mustard
  • Vegan mayonnaise or Cashew Sour Cream
  • 1/2 c celery, diced (optional)
  • Himalayan salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Spread the shredded jackfruit onto the the prepared baking sheet. Generously sprinkle the All-Purpose Seasoning on the shredded jackfruit.

Roast jackfruit for 20 minutes; stirring the jackfruit after to minutes. Remove jackfruit from oven and transfer to a large bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl of jackfruit and stir. Add as much vegan mayonnaise or Cashew Sour Cream as you need to achieve the desired creaminess. Taste for seasoning.

Chill Jackfruit-Cranberry Salad for at least an hour to let the flavors meld together.

Note: I have served this in lettuce cups, on gluten-free bread, in a salad with assorted greens. There are so many ways to serve this wonderful bite.

Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

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Layered Southwestern Salad

I made this salad for a gathering at church this past Sunday night. I have been dubbed the salad queen now.

  • 4 corn tortillas, cut into strips
  • 2 c corn, frozen, thawed
  • 1 recipe Tofu Sour cream of Cashew Sour Cream
  • 1/4 c cilantro + more for garnishing
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp Smokey Southwestern Seasoning + more for garnishing
  • 2 limes zested, juiced, divided
  • 6 c romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 4 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained
  • 1/2 c favorite salsa, divided (We like Newman’s Peach or Mango)
  • 1 15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed, drained
  • 3 avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the tortillas into 1/4 inch strips. Bake the tortillas strips for 7-10 minutes, until they are crispy. Set aside.

Make Cashew Sour Cream Dressing by combining Cashew Sour Cream, cilantro, garlic, Smokey Southwestern Seasoning, zest of 2 limes and the juice of one lime in a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

In a 4 quart glass bowl, layer the romaine lettuce and then the tomatoes.

In a medium bowl combine the black beans and 1/4 c of the salsa. Stir the ingredients together so that the beans are completely covered by the salsa.

Layer the black bean mixture on top of the tomatoes.

Layer the corn on top of the black bean mixture. (You can use the same bowl you used for the black beans.)

In a medium mixing bowl stir together the pinto beans and the remaining salsa. Layer the pinto bean mixture on top of the corn.

In a medium bowl toss together the avocado and the juice of half a lime together. Coat the avocado with the lime juice. (The lime juice not only adds flavor, but it also keeps the avocado from oxidizing and turning brown.)

Layer the avocado onto the pinto bean mixture.

Layer the Cashew Sour Cream Dressing onto the avocados.

Sprinkle some Smokey Southwestern Seasoning on top of the Cashew Sour Cream Dressing.

Garnish the Salad with the corn tortilla strips and some fresh cilantro. Also, sprinkle some of the Smokey Southwestern Seasoning on top of the tortilla strips.

Note: You can also make Tofu Sour Cream by combining 14 oz package of extra firm tofu, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of white/red wine vinegar into a food processor and process.

Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

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Baked Spanish Rice Casserole

This is a great dish to bring to a cookout or to a gathering. I have been thinking of making this for a few weeks. Most of the preparation is hands off and it only requires one pot. Now, how easy it that?

  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 10 oz. diced tomatoes with green chilies
  • 1 tbsp garlic clove(s), minced
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 15 oz. tomato sauce
  • 2 1/2 c vegetable broth
  • 2 tsp Smokey Southwestern Seasoning
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 c brown rice, long grain
  • 1 15 oz. black beans, drained, rinsed
  • 1 14 oz. jackfruit in brine, drained, rinsed, shredded
  • 1/2 c nutritional yeast
  • 1 c corn kernels
  • 1 c green peas
  • 1 lime zested, juiced
  • 1/4 c + more for garnish fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • Cashew Sour Cream, garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine onion, tomatoes, garlic and tomato paste into a food processor. Blend ingredients until it turns into a sauce.

Add tomato sauce, vegetable broth, Smokey Southwestern Seasoning, and bay leaves into a large dutch oven and stir. Cook sauce until it begins to simmer.

Add brown rice, black beans, nutritional yeast and jackfruit to the sauce and stir thoroughly. Cover dutch oven with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes. No Peeking. If you peek, you will let out the steam. The steam is what helps the rice to cook perfectly. So there is no peeking for 60 minutes. After 60 minutes check the rice for doneness. If rice is not done add some more vegetable broth or water and cover rice and cook a little bit longer.

When rice is done fluff with fork. Stir in corn, peas, lime and half of the cilantro.

Garnish with remaining cilantro, avocado and Cashew Sour Cream.

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Asian Vegetables with Peanut Sauce and Sticky Rice

This meal can be put together in under 30 minutes, actually more like 20 minutes. Which is a good thing when you are really hungry and want something healthy and fairly fast. With just a couple of bags of frozen Asian vegetables, sticky rice and homemade peanut sauce you are all set for a great meal.

  • 1 recipe Peanut Sauce
  • 2 bags of Asian vegetable, without sauce
  • 1 package Innovasian sticky rice
  • peanuts, garnish

First, start making the peanut sauce. Then prepare asian vegetables and sticky rice according package instructions. The  vegetables and sticky rice can be made as the peanut sauce is cooking.

In a large bowl stir together the Asian vegetable and some of the peanut sauce to coat the vegetables. Set aside.

Layer the sticky rice into bowls. Spoon some for the vegetables onto the rice. Ladle some of the peanut sauce on top of the vegetables and rice. Garnish with some peanuts, for crunch.

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Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

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Strawberry and Quinoa Spinach Salad

This salad is packed with lots of goodness. It has plenty of protein and different textures to delight the tastebuds. I had made a batch of quinoa and a batch of roasted chickpeas, which made assembly super simple.

Assemble salad and dress with the Strawberry-Vanilla Vinaigrette.

This recipe makes two servings.

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Baked Potato Bowl

One of my favorite meals for lunch is a baked potato with veggies and topped with Cashew Sour Cream.  I like to batch cook the potatoes and the vegetables. Once I have done the batch cooking all I have to do is warm things up for future meals. It makes putting together a meal easy and fast.

Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees until the potatoes can be pierced by a fork with ease. The potatoes should give at a squeeze.

Note: Use whatever veggies you have on hand. I also like Creamed Spinach on potatoes too.

Layer potato, veggies and the Cashew Sour Cream.

Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

Note: What is nice about this meal is that it can be changed up easily by what you have on hand in your refrigerator or pantry.

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Chickpea Chocolate Chip Brownies

I made these for a client, and then I made some for myself. I just could not resist. These are guilt free and made in just under 30 minutes. Now, that is a treat I can sink my teeth into.

  • 1 1/2 c chickpeas, rinsed, drained
  • 1/2 c peanut butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 c maple syrup
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray or lining it with parchment paper.

Combine of the ingredients into a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy.

Stir-ins:

  • 1/4 c dark chocolate chips
  • 1/4 c pecans

Add the chocolate chips and the pecans to the food processor. Pulse 3-4 times to incorporate the chocolate chips and pecans.

Spread the batter evenly into the baking dish.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool the brownies in the pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

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Note: Store brownies in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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Apple Spice Blender Muffins

These muffins are whole grain, gluten-free and completely delicious. the batter is madi in a blender, so there is very little clean up. They are great for breakfast, snack or a little treat. There is no guilt involved.

  • 2 c oat flour
  • 1 1/4 c almond yogurt (I used the Kite Hill Vanilla)
  • 1/2 c Date Paste
  • 1/2 c applesauce, unsweetened
  • 1 1/2 tso baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp Baking Spice Blend
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape sides as needed.

Stir-ins:

  • 2/3 c (1 medium apple – I like honey crisp, Fuji and Gala)finely chopped

Stir the apple into the batter. Pour the batter into muffin wells. Bake for about 18 minutes.

Cool the muffins in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes, Then transfer the muffins to a cooling rack to completely cool.

Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

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Creamy Primavera

This is such a simple, yet satisfying meal. With a little help from the freezer you can have a  delicious and healthy meal on the table in under 30 minutes.

Sauce:

  • 2/3 c sunflower seeds, raw, unsalted
  • 1/4 c nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp All-Purpose Seasoning
  • 1 tbsp arrowroot
  • 1 1/2 c plant milk

Combine all of the sauce ingredients into a high-speed blender. Blend for about 50 seconds, until the sauce is smooth and creamy.

Set sauce aside.

Pasta Primavera:

  • 12 oz Caserecce (I like jovial)
  • 1 lb California Blend, frozen
  • 2 c spinach, fresh, chopped
  • 1/2 c peas, frozen

Cooke caserecce according to package directions. Reserve about a cup of the cooking liquid before draining. At the last two minutes of the pasta cooking add the California Blend to the water.

Remember to reserve about 1 c of the pasta water before draining. Drain pasta and the veggies. Return the pasta and veggies to the pot. Add the chopped spinach, peas and the sauce. Stir until everything is well combined. Using the reserved pasta water, thin out the sauce to your desired consistency.

Top with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.

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Note: This recipe makes 4 generous servings.

Serve. Eat. Enjoy.

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