Snobby Joes (from Veganomicon)

After many food discussions with my good friend Hollee, she introduced me to this recipe.  Her husband and my husband are both meat free for health reasons.  This was one recipe she promised would go over well :)  And she was right!  I have always said "ew" to Sloppy Joe recipes...you know, the normal kind with a pound of fat laden ground beef and a can of "seasoned sauce".  Yeah-ew!

This recipe, in my opinion, was not even comparable!!  It was a great, homemade low-fat vegan dish that now has a place in my recipe card recipebook! :)  It was super easy, and took about 30 minutes to prep/cook.  Served with typical bbq type sides, and you have an easy summer meal.  We had corn, pickle spears, cherry tomatoes, and (organic, baked) tater tots!




Snobby Joes Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked green lentils
4 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 green pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard


4-6 whole wheat buns for serving
Condiments for topping (mustard, relish, KETCHUP!, etc)


Directions:

Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.  Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld. 

This recipe can also be frozen/microwaved, and from what I have heard, gets better each day!  Like I said, definitely a keeper!  I spooned the snobby joe mix on my bun, then topped with a thick layer of organic ketchup.  This gave it a tad more sweetness, and a lot of extra flavor!  

Black Bean Extravaganza

Ingredients

2 cans no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained 
1 to 1 1/2 cups water or reduced-sodium vegetable broth 
1 tablespoon liquid aminos 
1 teaspoon salt-free chili powder 
2 to 3 tomatoes, chopped 
1 bunch green onions, chopped 
1 can water chestnuts, drained (We didn't use water chesnuts...not a fan!)
1 cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned 
2 bell peppers, any color, seeded and chopped (We used red...)
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and chopped 
1 avocado, peeled and sliced 
3 cups cooked brown rice 
Salsa or tamari to taste 

Instructions:

Heat the beans with water or broth, liquid aminos and chili powder. Place the chopped vegetables and cilantro in individual bowls. To serve, place several big spoonfuls of brown rice onto large plates and ladle beans on top. Add generous handfuls of chopped vegetables, cilantro, and avocado on top of the beans. Add salsa or tamari to taste.

Easy Lunch Idea: Mini Veggie Pizzas

Ingredients:

Ezekial brand English Muffins, cut in half
1 can of fat free (or  low fat) pizza sauce
VEGGIES :)
Nutritional Yeast

If muffins are frozen, defrost in microwave until they are thawed.  Add a layer of sauce, and then let your taste buds do the rest.  If your kids are like mine, they are more likely to eat foods if THEY help make it!  So-have the kiddos top their pizza with topping of their choice.  Top the pizzas with nutritional yeast to get your B12 in :)

Bake for 15-20 minutes until veggies are hot and slightly cooked.
These were a great Plan B lunch.  Paired with a big kale salad and fruit, it left me very full and I got my veggies in!

Yay for no cooking!
Happy Mother's Day :)

Kids=corn and mushroom
Ours=Mushroom, red bellpepper, baby spinach
All topped with nutritional yeast!

My Lunch :)  

Dinner Review: Gardein Mandarin Chicken

While following this diet (which I still can't figure out what to call...not quite vegan?  vegan leaning vegetarian?  95% Plant-Based?), one of the harder things for us has been those nights when you need a "quick fix".  Before, ordering fast food or take out would have been a simple solution.  I still have every take out place on my cell phone speed dial!

These days?  Not so much.  Take out options are severely limited.  We do occasionally eat sushi (crab/shrimp) but try to only go once a month or so for the time being.  We can get vegetarian options at the Mexican restaurant down the road (beans, rice, veggie fajitas) but it is so darn SALTY!  I do order a cheese free pizza loaded with veggies, but once again-not something I want to depend on.

We ended up switching around 2 dinners from the meal plan, and decided to try this.  It was around $4 at Whole Foods.  It is a package of thin sliced frozen "chick'n" that you saute and add a sweet Chinese sauce.  We served it over brown rice and topped it with green onions.  Also added edamame and broccoli (steamed).  It was amazing.  The kids loved it, which is always our big test.

Like I said earlier-we try to eat as "plant based" as possible, and I don't like to add a whole lot of processed foods, but there are just nights that it helps out SOOOO much to have things like this on hand.  It makes me feel better to think that it is still better than a Happy Meal from McDonalds.  

Veggie Burgers?

I have always loooooved a good hamburger.  Like-really loved them.  I never ate a whole lot of other red meat, but I do love burgers.  I decided to try the Boca Vegan burger the other day, and was really surprised at how good it was.  It has a different texture, but the flavor itself is really good!  I paired it with Alexa onion rings, EEK! non-Vegan Annie's bunny macaroni, and Tofutti sour cream topped red potatoes.  It was a filling, easy meal that let me use up some of our "old diet" foods that were still in the pantry :)

So-if you are hesitant to try the Boca burgers, don't worry!  They are really good :)  Just make sure to check that they are "Vegan" on the box.  Some often use eggs to bind the ingredients, and can also include meat.

I topped mine with Veganaise, romaine lettuce, and about a tablespoon of Daiya cheddar cheese shreds (soy).  Very tasty!

Products I Love: Pampered Chef Pineapple Slicer

This thing is the greatest!  Pineapple is my all-time favorite fruit, but it can be so darn hard to cut and slice.  This tool makes it a snap!  We probably eat 1-2 pineapples a week, and this really helps us.  Not only is it safer to cut the pineapple with, but I feel it also saves $$$ because you only cut off the inedible pieces, leaving more fruit to eat!  

Slice the top and bottom off with a knife, and use this...similar to an apple slicer, but WAY bigger LOL

 Thick, chunky slices and the inedible core

 Addison approved :)

Linkadoo to Stacie Thomas's Pampered Chef Website!

Quick Fix Dinner Idea!

Dirty Rice, BBQ Beans, Potato Salad! 

This meal was good, easy, and 99.9% vegan.  We still eat honey, and I used it to help "doctor" up canned vegetarian beans.  Also-my beloved Worcestershire sauce is technically not vegan.  It contains a tiny amount of anchovy in it!  I had a full bottle in the pantry, and rarely use it...We will finish this bottle and then try to find a vegan version to use.

Dirty Rice 

2 c cooked white rice (cooked and cooled)

1/2 package Boca crumbles

1/2 green bellpepper, 1/2 white onion, 1 large celery stalk, 1 garlic clove-all chopped and    sauteed

1 tsp Tony's seasoning

Worcestershire sauce-to taste (Gonna see if I can find a vegan version at Whole Foods)

Saute veggies/garlic, add Boca "meat" crumbles and heat.  Add Tony's and Wor. sauce.  Stir meat and rice together.  I let mine sit in the fridge, and reheated several hours later so the flavors could blend.  Is GREAT for leftovers!

BBQ Beans

1 large can vegetarian baked beans (Bush's are great!)

several drops of liquid smoke 

2T honey (*technically not vegan, but not an animal product.  I love honey!)

Potato Salad

3 organic Russet Potatoes-I peeled 2, and didn't peel the last to keep some of the nutrients

1/4 cup Veganaise

2T yellow mustard

S&P to taste

4 baby kosher dills pickles, chopped

Chop potatoes, boil, and drain.  Mix ingredients and chill :)  Easy peasy!

Recipe: Mock Tuna Salad

Warning!  New Favorite Lunch Alert!  This is AH-MAZ-ING! 

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)

1/4 c vegan mayonnaise (I used Veganaise)

3 baby kosher dill pickles (chopped)

1/32 c baby carrots, finely diced

S&P to taste, Sprinkle of Tony's cajun seasoning

Coarsely mash one can of chickpeas in a bowl.  Dice carrots and pickles, and add to bowl.  Spoon in mayo and stir together!  Enjoy with crackers, on a bed of baby spinach, or on a sandwich!  Wonderful stuff :)  

*I may try to add some finely diced celery next time...maybe some apple (I like both in tuna salad...)  It is a very close substitute for tuna.  Similar in taste and texture, but not fishy (obviously! LOL)  We will be making this often!

ReThinking: Pizza Night!

No-i'm not taking credit for making this.  I absolutely detest homemade pizza!  No matter the toppings, I just don't like it.  For take-out pizza, we started by just getting cheese instead of my favorite:  pepperoni+sausage+steak.  (This was a few months ago)  After awhile, I began getting mushroom and cheese, since I looooove mushrooms.  Kyle and the kids only like them.

After we decided to give up dairy, I got my regular mushroom pizza, but selected the "Light Cheese" option.  Now they only added a couple tablespoons of cheese instead of a thick, greasy layer.

Today, we wanted pizza and decided to go "cheese free" from Dominos.  Now, I know they still use dairy in the crust and in the garlic topping, but I felt much better about it not having an inch of cheese on top.  I can also tell a difference in the way my taste buds work.  Foods that used to gross me out actually taste AMAZING these days.  For example, I am in love with red bell peppers these days!  I have never liked bellpeppers much!  One of the toppings that is offered is roasted bellpeppers, and O-M-G!  They are great! Also added baby spinach and mushrooms, since I know I like them.  In a pinch, this was a good meal and very cheap/filling for us.  Add a big salad and some tea, and you're set!

Recipe: Tofu "Chicken" Fingers

Today started our first day of Easter break!  It is so nice to be able to sit and have lunch together with the whole family...yay for no school! LOL

I recently made a veggie lasagna with tofu "ricotta", and had about half of the block left over.  I've seen several friends and websites post about baking or pay frying breaded tofu, so I decided to give it a try.  The result?  The kids ate the WHOLE pan!  I think we have a keeper :)

Ingredients:

1/2 block of extra firm tofu (I used Naysoya organic brand) sliced into blocks or "fingers"

1/2 cup of bread crumbs seasoned with garlic powder, parsley flakes, salt, and nutritional yeast.  

Roll sliced tofu pieces into breadcrumb mixture, and coat thoroughly.  You can also dip the tofu in soy sauce first for a little extra flavor!  I will try this next time...

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, turning once!  Dip in maranara or ketchup!

 Served with organic ketchup, almonds, cucumbers, a juice box, and a frozen mango sorbet!

 3 happy plates for 3 happy kiddos!

Re Thinking: Sushi

     If there is one food that I have grown to LOVE, it is sushi.  There is nothing better than a girls night, with sushi and plum Fuki to bond over :)  For the last few weeks, as we have cut out all meat and dairy, we did continue to eat sushi.  

     After reading "Food Revolution", I am to the point where I  am ready to commit to no meat, fish, or dairy period.  None!  That book has opened my eyes so much!  I would recommend it to anyone thinking of changing their eating habits to a plant based diet.  I got to the section last night titled "Fishful Thinking" and actually had to put it down.  I KNEW that if I read that section, I wouldn't want to eat salmon or sushi again.  I picked up my Kindle, and put it back down again.  Finally-I just got it over with and read through it.  Glad I did!  It is scary to learn about all the toxins found in our oceans and rivers.  Even scarier was the section about fish farming.  One year ago, when I starting to clean up my diet, I clung to my salmon, happy to know I was making sure to get my omega fatty acids.  Now-I question how much benefit it was!  Now-I did make sure to buy wild salmon (instead of farmed), but there is not telling what else I consumed with it :(

     Anywhoooo, long story short, Saturday is our "sushi day".  We go to one of our favorite sushi restaurants, and just enjoy it all.  Especially my favorite roll, which is deep-fried with lots of "bad for you stuff" in it. LOL Today I tried to change it up, and rethink what I could do to keep the tradition, but make it better in a plant based diet.  We found that it was actually pretty easy to eat veggie at a Japanese restaurant!  

    Because of time, I ended up calling in an order "to go".  They offered 3 vegetable rolls.  One was full of marinated peppers/carrots/avocado/cucumber/tofu, and was DELICIOUS!  I can't believe I didn't try it before now.  The other 2 were very basic, and "meh"...I spruced those up with soy sauce and eel sauce :/  They were just a basic cucumber roll and a basic avocado roll.  I paired the rolls with a bowl of organic Miso soup that I got from Kroger, and some steamed edemame from the freezer.  Total meal for the 2 of us was a little under $15.  Not bad from the same couple that easily spends $80 on one sushi meal!  

     And, since my kids were not in the mood for sushi, I kept the theme and rolled them some "Peanut Butter Sushi" with peanut butter, chopped peanuts, and raisins in an artisan wheat/corn blend tortilla.  Added some fresh carrots and blueberries :)

     

Quick Fix: "Fast Food"

This was my answer to my Chick-fil-A craving :)

Whole Wheat hamburger bun
Spicy Boca Chikn Patty (these are my favorite....they are now vegan and non-GMO) with Vegenaise and romaine
Grape tomatos
Roasted potatoes with Tony's
Onion Rings with organic ketchup

Yes-sandwich is "processed", but it is STILL better than going through the drive through on my way home!

Quick Fix: Mexican

There are just those days when you need dinner is less than 15 minutes!  This is one of those LOL  It was REALLY good!  Used a Spanish rice mix, and lettuce is chopped romaine.  Also threw together some pico de gallo for the tacos to give it a little extra flavor.  I'm still adjusting to no cheese :)