Posts tagged vegan
Cinco De Mayo – Black Bean Soup
I’ve been hankering for black bean soup recently and saw this post http://kidtestedfirefighterapproved.com/2012/02/27/easy-black-bean-soup/ (recipe also found on www.WholeFoods.com) so you know me–twiddle and fiddle add extra spice and vegs and this is what I ended up with.
Beautiful Weather – Beautiful Food
I must admit, I’ve been limping along still - eating vegan junk and less fresh produce. School is whooping my butt! Late nights, not shopping like I should weekly for fresh foods, eating out of the cupboard, freezer, or take out. This morning I was down to the dregs. Some frozen hash browns, sweet potato fries, limp jalapeno pepper, garlic and onion. I used my well seasoned cast iron skillet spritzed with Pam, dumped them in and put them in the oven on 400. I stirred it every 5 minutes and cooked it about 15 minutes or so . I broiled the top at the end (gotta watch it closely or bye-bye breakfast). Oh yea, I threw in some drained, pressed and crumbled tofu too before baking - about 1/3 block – a sprinkle of cayenne and chipotle pepper, a dash of salt and it got me off to Curves to work out.
Then I grocery shopped, came home, and took a really O.L.D. butternut squash, cut the slightly molding skin off deeply, seeded and cut into large cubes, then tossed it in a pot with 1.5 large sweet onions, 4 large cloves of garlic and a bay leaf, then boiled it for about 30 minutes in a couple of cups of water.
When it was done, I scooped it out with a slotted spoon, blended it in two batches with a couple of cubes of that frozen cilantro, 2 tsp. ginger, 1/3 cup broth from the pan and a cube of no chicken bouillon, a healthy shake of cayenne, smoked paprika, chipotle pepper, 2 tsp. curry, a can of lite coconut milk, a drizzle of black strap molasses and maple syrup. Delish!
I served it with a Tb. nutritional yeast and chia seeds stirred in. I’ll probably eat most of it today!
Hopefully I can straighten my bad eating habits back out and return to eating nutritionally dense meals made from fresh plants again! Summer’s coming and I want to be energized & ready to play.
Spring Break – Back to Basics
I’m on break from school for a week. Why does it feel like I’m allowed to splurge, eat Easter candy (even if I find some that’s vegan), and eat/drink more than usual and the calories won’t count? Ha! It’s a psychological lie we trick ourselves with. It’s only one week. I deserve to relax, unwind, blah, blah, blah… (OK, I admit this has been going on since Christmas to some degree *sigh*).
I got on the scale today. Haven’t been on in a while, but have noticed the pants getting a little tighter. E.N.O.U.G.H! Back to basics. Unprocessed fresh foods, a healthy limit on starches, hummus, and my beloved avocados – and the chips I’m dipping in with.
Do I want to maintain my weight loss? Yes, I do!
Do I want to continue to lower my risks of getting heart disease or cancer? Yes, I do!
On a high note – I am getting to Curves daily to work out this week and have scheduled a massage.
For anyone interested in eating plant strong the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart has just begun. Jump in.
http://pcrm.org/kickstartHome/
Still craving sugar? Watch this and see if you still feel the same way afterwards:
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Hearty Mexican Soup
After a night of howling winds, flapping siding, and a bit of snow, I needed something warm and hearty. As usual, I turned to the FatFree Vegan.com for ideas. What I ended up with is a compilation of 2 recipes (links below) and what I had in the cupboard.
1 bell pepper
2 large cloves garlic
1 onion
½ jalapeño – seeded
All chopped and sautéed
Add 1 can no-salt fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can black beans with liquid
1 can water
1 can vegetarian broth
1 pack Goya (fake) ham flavor
1 t. cumin
1½ t. smoked paprika
1 t. Mexican chili powder
½ t. oregano
Add 4 c. packed chopped kale
1 bag frozen gumbo vegetables
1 cup leftover rice
Cook about 20-30 minutes.
Serve with Texas Pete and sprinkle on some crystallized lemon juice (this really makes the flavor pop).
Original recipes found here:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2010/02/tortilla-soup-with-pinto-beans.html
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/03/smoky-refried-bean-soup.html
(Just realized, I made a Mexican soup much like this once already and posted it! LOL)
Queso Scramble on Polenta
Need your sinuses cleared out or a little jump start to get warm? A hearty start to any morning. Start your hot water and add your polenta (yellow grits) per the bag’s directions. I used 1 cup water and 1/3 cup polenta. Drain, mash, dry fry with the seasonings of your choice (garlic, onion powder, hot paprika and chili powder, cumin, black pepper and turmeric). If I hadn’t been in such a hurry, I’d have sautéed some peppers and onions too.
When done, plate some polenta, top with tofu scramble…
…. then top with vegan queso from a jar or homemade.
Enjoy!
Is it Gumbo or Mexican Soup?
No matter! It’s good! I’d had a late lunch. My son was over installing new bath fans with a cool light fixture and I’d made sautéed Tofurky sausages, onions, peppers, and potatoes.
Several hours later, several loads of laundry, a trip to Lowes, more switch installation with a pop and a flash for good measure, and my dryer vent reattached I started to get hungry again.
I had in mind a tortilla soup, but I had a bag of gumbo vegetables in the freezer and the dumping began.
1 box Trader Joes no sodium veg. broth (good)
1 can no salt added fire roasted tomatoes
1 can chopped green chilis
part of a bag of leeks, chopped
1 pre-cooked baked potato chopped
1/2 c. roasted corn
3-4 leaves kale, chopped
1/2 a pack of soy chorizo
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 a jalapeno, shopped
1 bag gumbo vegs.
1 Tbs thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1 pack of Goya “fake” ham seasoning
Cook 20-30 min. Slash in some lemon juice, sprinkle on some chia seeds, crumble some tortilla chips and enjoy!
Grilled Romaine – New Addiction
OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! Can you say Holy new Yumminess discovered? Ever since I read about warm salads and grilling Romain, I’ve been hooked! This is my second one today!
OK, I give credit where credit’s due – Thanks Susan Viosin at the FatFreeVegan.com - AGAIN – for writing about warm salads when it just seems too cold to make a traditional one.
I made it even more ridiculously easy by doing it on the stove in a large non-stick fry pan sprayed with just a burst of olive oil PAM.
1 large minced clove garlic
1 heart of Romaine lettuce
Squashed under a flat lid that is smaller than the pan. I set the cast iron skillet on top.
Cut up 1 mango and toss in with some minced ginger – Squash a min. or two more.
Dash with lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, chili powder, cinnamon, a teeny bit of agave, Dijon mustard and toss.
Shake chia seeds on top – Delicious!
King of Kale Chips – Onion Flavored
It’s a cold rainy Saturday. Slept late, went to work out, bought groceries, and came home to cook. The kale I bought was already on the limp side, so I soaked and drained it thinking this was the perfect day to try a recipe Amy Ostroff passed along in her blog. The original recipe came from Brendan Brazier at One Green Planet (recipe there). I used red wine and pomegranate vinager and added some hot chili powder, but still would have liked them to be tangier. Maybe next time I add some Texas Pete instead of water! This round I just dashed my hot sauce on them in the bowl–excellent!
While I was soaking my cashews that provide the “cream” in the sour cream and onion flavored sauce, I started a pot of lentil soup.
These are so easy to make. Massaging them is half the fun! Make sure to put them in a single layer. Look at the shrinkage! I only baked them 45 mins. instead of the 1-1.5 hours they called for at 250 degrees.
Healthy and yummy. They may last for 2 weeks bagged up, but I challenge you to make them last 2 days! Loaded with vitimin K, vitimin C, calcium, and loads of other goodness.
The lentil soup has a bag of lentils 8-10 cups water and your favorite veggie boullion, an onion, 4 small potatoes, a handful of baby carrots, 2 cloves garlic, corriander, cumin, Mexican chili powder, bay leaves, and more. Cook till done (about an hour, more if you like it really soft). I threw in a bag of baby spinach when it was done, so it just wilted. More hot sauce on this too!
Sweet Potato Fafafel
When I read the fatfreevegan.com’s recipe for Sweet Potato Falafel tonight, dinner was planned! I had already roasted a spaghetti squash for a different recipe of hers, but this one yelled louder! I had black sesame seeds instead of plain.
For the sauce, I couldn’t get soy yogurt, so we used soy cream cheese thinned down with some lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cayenne and a little water (left out the ketchup). Add some tabouli, cucumbers & tomatoes in a wrap and you’re all set.
