Veggie Minestrone Recipe

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
3/4 cup chopped onion 
3 cups water 
2 cups diced zucchini 
1 cup diced carrot, peeled
 1 cup canned cannellini beans 
3/4 cup diced celery
 1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil 
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/8 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper 
28 fluid ounces canned plum tomatoes, dice and include liquid
 2 garlic cloves, minced 
1/4 cup uncooked ditalini or 1/4 cup elbow macaroni




 Directions: 1 Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. 2 Add chopped onion and sauté for 4 minutes or until just lightly browned. 3 Add water, zucchini, carrots, canellini beans, celery, basil, oregano salt, pepper, canned tomatoes and garlic. 4 Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. 5 Add macaroni, cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. 6 Adjust spices to suit your taste. 7 Serve hot.


***This was excellent!  We actually ate it all before I remembered to take pics! LOL  Served with warm french bread from the bakery!

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!  

Recipe: Fluffy Pancakes

McDougall's Starch Solution:  "Fluffy Pancakes"

Ingredients:

1.5 C whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
Dash of Salt
1 T Ener-G Egg Replacer
1 C mashed ripe bananas (2-3 bananas)
1 C soy milk or rice milk
1/2 C sparkling water (I omitted this)
1 T Sunsweet Lighter Bake (I used 1/4 c applesauce here)
1 T fresh lemon juice

Mix together the whole wheat flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.  In another bowl, whisk the Egg Replacer with 1/4 c warm water until frothy.  Add the bananas, mixing well.  Add the milk, sparkling water, Lighter Bake, and lemon juice until well mixed.  Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients just until combined.

Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat.  When it is hot, ladle pancakes onto the griddle. When bubbles form on the surface, use a spatula to flip them over.  Cook until lightly browned.  Repeat with remaining batter.  Serve immediately.

Engine 2 Veggie Paninis

WARNING!  Blurry picture alert! LOL

Was in the mood for a sandwich, and this hit the spot!  It was different, but very filling and yummy!  We don't have a panini maker, but a griddle pan and 10 lb weight do the trick :)

Ingredients:

2T homemade hummus (recipe coming soon!)

2 pieces whole wheat bread (the denser, the better!)

1/4c baby spinach

1/4c sauteed mushrooms (used no oil)

diced avocado

thin strips of red bellpepper

green onions 

small handful of cilantro

fresh lime juice, squeezed over greens

On stovetop, heat a panini griddle pan.  Spread hummus on one slice of whole wheat bread.  Layer remaining ingredients and top with other slice of bread.  Place a dinner plate on top of the sandwich, and use the handweight to press the sandwich. Your sandwich will be thick, but the hand weight will help press it evenly!  

Heat sandwich until grill marks show up and the bread is toasted to a nice, brown color.  Flip sandwich and heat on grill pan.

I thought this was a great addition to our mealplan (the kids would not agree...*sigh*)  Took a couple minutes to whip up the hummus, but took no time to assemble the sandwich!  We will be making this again...excited to try some different variations.  

Meal Plan for April 29-May 5

Sunday:

Lunch: Engine 2 Paninis with pita chips and berries

Dinner: Easy Meatless Chili 
Monday:
Lunch:  Almond Butter and Blueberry Jam Sandwiches, yellow grape tomatoes, soy yogurt
Dinner:  Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles with Ginger Dressing Salad
Tuesday:
Lunch:  LO Spicy Thai Peanut NoodlesDinner: Quinoa Pilaf with Diced Veggies, Steamed cauliflower, Roasted Squash
Wednesday:

Lunch:  PB Crackers, baby carrots, berries

Dinner: Gardein Mandarin Chicken with Brown Rice and Green Onions, Steamed broccoli and edamame; diced pineapple 
Thursday:

Lunch:  LO Mandarin Chicken

Dinner: veggie fajitas (red bellpepper, green bellpepper, Portobello mushrooms, onions) with guacamole salad and spanish rice
Friday:

Lunch:  vegan BBQ Riblet, pasta salad, green beans

Dinner: Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread
Saturday:

Lunch:  Boca Burgers with 2x baked potatoes and carrot/raisin/apple salad

Dinner:  Red Beans and Rice (LO)

Recipe: Hearty Bean Burgers

 Recipe by Vegan Grub was found here.

This was one of the first meat replacements we tried.  Kyle really liked it, I thought it was "ok".  Given this was eaten in the first day or two of our big switch, I had steak and chicken fresh on my brain.  If I were to fix it again today, I would probably eat two! LOL

I really liked the fact that is was minimally processed.  Would a Boca Burger taste better?  Heck yeah-but those too are processed heavily.  I went into this whole thing saying I wanted to avoid a lot of processed food, and those were included.  Now, I believe they are WAAAAAAY better than a big hunk of beef, but I still don't want to get into the habit of living on Garden Burgers or Morning Star items.  In moderation, they are fine!


Hearty Bean Burgers
Makes about 4 burgers.


1 generous cup cooked kidney beans
½ cup rolled oats (not instant)
2 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce, or to taste
¼ tsp garlic powder
few drops Colgin liquid smoke (optional)
expeller-pressed canola oil, for skillet
1 small red onion sliced into rings for topping


Drain and mash kidney beans.
Add oats.
Add soy sauce and garlic powder. If using, add about 3 drops of Colgin liquid smoke.
Mix thoroughly.
Chill 20 minutes in fridge to firm up, unless beans were stored in fridge and pre-chilled.


Make patties.
Pan-fry in oiled skillet.
Brown both sides.
Top with raw or stir-fried onions.


Serve on artisan bread smothered with Vegenaise mayo and Dijon mustard or other condiments. If you’re one of those folks who thinks cayenne hot sauce should be spattered on everything, you’re right and this is no exception.


Invent dozens of new variations, such as adding chopped baby portobello mushrooms or 1 tablespoon of barbecue sauce to the bean mixture. Portobellos provide a deep, rich flavor. By using kidney beans and rolled oats as the basic foundation for homemade burgers, the possibilities are endless.

Recipe: Veggie and Stars

Don't you just love when you accidently make something wonderful?! LOL

  

This was supposed to be similar to Campbell's Chicken and Stars soup (sick kiddos), but I added too much pasta, and it came out similar to a "Rice Sides" mix.  The little noodles ended up soaking up all the broth, making it suitable to spoon on a plate as a side dish!  It will now be a permanent side dish LOL  All three kids slurped it up and asked for more :)

Ingredients:
8 oz of star shaped pasta (I found a 16oz package at Kroger for under $1.50)
6 cups water
2-3 "Not Chick'n" bouillon cubes
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 tsp each:  dried marjoram, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried basil
Sprinkle of garlic and onion powder

Bring water to a boil.  Add bouillon cubes and stir to dissolve them.  Add veggies and herbs and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add 8 oz of tiny noodles.  (I used stars!)  Simmer and stir for about 10 minutes.  Turn off heat, cover, and allow to sit for about 5-10 minutes.  This will give the noodles time to soak up liquids.

*If you want a thinner, soupier version-I would reduce the noodles to about 4-5 oz.

Recipe: Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients:

9 whole wheat pasta noodles, boiled and cooled
Large jar of organic pasta sauce (I used Prego Mushroom)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup sliced yellow squash
1 cup sliced zucchini
1-2 cups of baby spinach leaves.

1 cup raw cashews

1/2 block of extra firm tofu (8 oz or so)
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar or honey
4T nutritional yeast

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*.
In food processor, pulse 1 cup of raw cashews until fine (about the consistency of bread crumbs)  Pour into a bowl, and set aside.
Add tofu, vinegar, agave nectar, and nutritional yeast to the food processor and pulse until it is creamy and blended well.  This will serve a a faux ricotta cheese.

In a glass casserole dish, pour 1/2 cup of sauce into bottom and spread thin.  Lay 3 lasagna noodles across.  Pour another 3/4 cup of sauce and spread over noodles.  Arrange baby spinach layer across.  Layer 3 more noodles across.  Spread ricotta mixture across and spread another 1/2 cup of sauce across it.  Top ricotta with sliced veggies (mushroom, squash, zucchini).  Pour one cup of sauce across veggies.  Top with last 3 lasagna noodles.  Pour remaining sauce over the noodles, and sprinkle raw cashew crumbs.

Bake at 350* for 30-45 minutes (until sauce is bubbly)  This was very easy and yummy!  It could also be assembled and frozen for freezer cooking!

PICS!!!

Raw Cashews:  Before

 Raw Cashews:  After

Ricotta Cheese 

Ricotta and sauce blend over noodles

Veggies used:

Veggies Assembled

Top with last 3 noodles, sauce, and cashew crumbs

Recipe: Mango Banana Sorbet

This is the easiest recipe in the world.  Since no dairy=no ice cream, we are trying to find healthier COLD options as we enter these long, Louisiana summer months.  We do like coconut-milk ice cream, but sometimes a pint is over $7!  Definitely an occasional splurge...

This dessert fed 4 of us, and the cost was about $5 total.  I used one banana and 3/4 of a bag of organic frozen mango.  Frozen peach would be good too...Simply throw them together in a food processor, and pulse until it is creamy!  This dessert is super thick and rich, and healthy.  The kids loved it with their lunch today :)

Recipe: Vegetarian Southwestern Eggrolls

Vegetarian eggrolls were a hit :)  Not quite vegan, as the eggroll wrapper itself has egg whites in it (somewhere toward the end of the ingredient list...)

Ingredients:
1/2 T pecan (or canola/olive/vegetable oil)
3-5 Baby Bella mushrooms
1/4 red bellpepper, diced
2 cups baby spinach
1/2 yellow onion, diced
(I also added Pampered Chef Southwestern seasoning here...you could add a little cumin and chili powder)

Saute all fresh, chopped veggies in the oil, then stir in:

3/4 can of black beans
1/2 can green chilis
1/2 can whole kernel corn

When mixture is heated, take a package of store-bought eggroll wrappers and count out 12.  I used about 3T of mixture in each eggroll.  After trying several different folds, I found the easiest was to turn the eggroll sideways (where a corner points down) and fold the contents up like an envelope.  I sprayed the top lightly with organic cooking spray, and baked at 350* for about 15 minutes.  You don't want to undercook the wrap, but overcooking them makes the corners a little crunchy.

These were really, really good!  Some recipes called for chicken and cheese, so we just left it out.  The kids tore the eggroll wrap open, and ate the inside only.  LOL It wasn't as creamy as some i've eaten at restaurants, so I whipped up a mixture of guacamole, Tofutti sour cream, and a dash of the Pampered Chef Southwestern seasoning to use as a dip.  Also served with steamed edamame (they ARE eggrolls after all! LOL  And we had some on hand...)

Recipe: 15 Minute Black Bean Soup with Coconut Rice

I was lucky enough to get to walk in from work and have this waiting for me on the stove!  Being from Louisiana, one of our staple, "go-to meals" is red beans and rice.  A friend of mine (Yes-alot of my friends share their recipes with me...hi Nikki!) suggested trying a coconut rice topped with black beans.  It sounded great, so we tried it today.  

The recipe for the soup was found from the PETA website (this has been a great resource for foods and recipes!) and the rice part was given to me by Nikki.  Together, the taste was great!  We will be making this often!

Ingredients:

Black Bean Soup

1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup minced white onion
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. cumin
Red pepper flakes, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste4 cups vegetable stock
2 15 oz. cans black beans, drained 

   (or-you can save money and sodium by cooking your own black beans from a bag like    we did!  Instead of adding the veggie broth, we just cooked 2 cups of black beans in 4 cups water, and added 2 cubes of "Not Chick'n Broth" in with it.  It takes a little time, but it is way better for you!  If you are short on time, go the 15 minute route and just use canned beans!  It is still better for you than meat or take out)

Add sauteed onion/garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, and salt/pepper to beans as they finish cooking.  Simmer an extra 15 minutes.  You can mash beans or use an immersion blender at this point.  (We use a Pampered Chef Mix and Chop!)

Coconut Rice:

Place 1 cup of white or jasmine rice to a 2 quart pot.  Add one can of coconut milk, and 1/2 cup water.  Bring to simmer and cook until the rice is tender (It took about 20 minutes)

Spoon your beans over the coconut rice, and top with your choice of avocado or cilantro!  Enjoy!

Favorite Oil!

     As we made the switch to a non-dairy diet, one of the things that was hardest to give up was butter.  I LOVE butter.  Love it!  Unfortunately, butter doesn't love my waistline or my arteries. 


     When I browsed the Internet, I really couldn't find a clear answer for whether margarine would be a safe replacement. Yes, it is plant based, but it is also processed. On the other hand, butter is "natural", but ridiculously high in saturated fats. Luckily, I don't need to use either! We had been getting by with organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but I really didn't like the taste of it. While on a trip to Natchez, I was browsing downtown and came aross this:

     100% Virgin Pecan Oil!  I was a little nervous to try it, because pecans (in my opinion) are very strong flavored.  Surprisingly, there was NO strong pecan flavor!  It really doesn't even have a flavor! 

This nutritional information can be found on their website, as well as the pamphlet that came with my bottle of oil:  "Our Pecan Oil has only 9.5% saturated fat compared to Olive Oil with 13.5%, Peanut Oil with 17%, Corn Oil with 13.7% & Butter with a whopping 66% saturated fat."

     I will definitely purchase this again! You can visit their Facebook page for ordering/store information.http://www.facebook.com/#!/kinlochplantation

Recipe: Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles

       This is probably one of my favorite recipes!  I got it from a friend (Hi Kerri!  *waves*) who threw it together, and it happened to be magical! LOL  It can be altered a bit to suite your own tastes, which is always a plus for me and my picky children.


Ingredients

o 1/2 cup vegetable stock
o 3 tablespoons soy sauce (light is fine!)
o 2-3 tablespoons natural-style peanut butter
o 2 tablespoons honey (I use 3!)
o 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger (minced)
o 2 teaspoons ground cumin
o 1 teaspoon ground coriander
o 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
o 3-4 garlic cloves (minced)

o 1 (8 ounce) spaghetti noodles

o 1 carrot (julienned)
o 1/2 red pepper (chopped)
o 1 cup broccoli florets (small)
o 6 sliced mushrooms

Instructions:
Cook spaghetti as directed, drain, and set aside.

Saute your veggies in a skillet with a drizzle of oil.  Cook until they are done, but are still slightly crisp (I don't like mushy veggies in this dish!)

 Stir together vegetable stock, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, ginget, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes and garlic in a small sauce pan.  Heat in small skillet until honey/peanut butter are melted.

Stir veggies and sauce into noodles, and mix well! 

This recipe is 99% vegan.  The only animal protein found in it would be in the noodles.  Also-there IS honey, which we still use...Agave nectar would be a good substitute!  I just love the taste of honey :)

Recipe: Easy Fruit and Nut Oatmeal

I have never been a fan of oatmeal, but this "recipe" really changed my mind.  (Kyle made it for me this morning as I ran around, frazzled, trying to get 3 kids+myself ready for church!  He is awesome!)

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup water (or milk alternative...water was fine for me!)

Bring water to a boil, with a dash of salt.  Add oats and cook for about 5 minutes.  Top with the fruits/nuts of your choice!

I used:  1/2 tsp of turbinado sugar, fresh raspberries and blueberries, raisins and cranberries, pecans and walnuts, and diced up a quarter of a small, green apple!  I am usually starving about midway through church, but this kept me full until about 1pm!