Super Nutritious & Delicious

Ultimate Vegan Mac & Cheese

1 cup sweet potatoes, chopped

1/3 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup carrots, chopped

For the cashew cream:

1 cup raw cashews (soaked** for 8 hours prior )

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

2/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk 

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Other ingredients:

1 pound whole wheat pasta, your choice of shape

1 head of broccoli, de-stemmed and chopped

2 cups of spinach

Cut up the potatoes, carrots, and onion. 

Place in a skillet with a tablespoon of water and cover and cook for 15 minutes, check occasional to see if you need to add more water to 

prevent burning.

Cook the pasta, rinse with cold water and set aside.

Drain cashews and Place the raw cashews in a  food processor with a couple tablespoons of water until nearly smooth.

Add the rest of the ingredients for the cashew cream and the contents of the skillet and blend till creamy and smooth, ( using a high powered blender makes a big difference in texture) adding more

coconut milk if needed to thin out.

Add this mixture to the cooked noodles and then add the broccoli and spinach and stir till well combined.

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes

Just so darnn delicious!

Coconut & Mango Chia Seed Pudding Parfait Cups

Ingredients:

1 14-oz. can coconut milk

6 tbsp chia seeds

5 tbsp shredded coconut

5-6 tbsp Agave

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

fresh mango,  chilled

In a bowl, combine the coconut milk, chia seeds, shredded coconut, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined.

Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Mix once more, cover, and refrigerate for a couple of hours, if you can stand it!

Remove the bowl with the pudding from the fridge about 15 minutes prior to serving.

Layer some pudding into the bottom each of 2 or 3 serving glasses. Layer some diced fresh mango on top of the pudding layer. Alternate layers of chia pudding and freshly diced mango until glasses are filled to the top, ending with freshly diced mango.

Top with some shredded coconut and serve immediately or keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Inspired by Vegetarian gastronomy

Vegan Mozzarella

Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

This is an amazingly simple but sooo good! It makes the most amazing Vegan grill cheese sandwiches!  The best this about it, it'a not that processed, expensive vegan cheese made with oil and other stuff you can't pronounce, just natural ingredients and it's OIL-FREE!

INGREDIENTS

¼ Cup Raw Cashews

1 Cup Hot Water

2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Tapioca Starch 

1 Tablespoon of Nutritional Yeast

1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar

½ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak the cashews for four hours or overnight. Or  just boil them for 10 minutes until soft. Drain before using.

Add the cashews the hot water, and all the remaining ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth. It will be very watery.

Pour into a small sauce pan and heat over medium high heat, while stirring.

As you stir it will start forming clumps, and then all of a sudden it will become a cheesy gooey mass, all in about 5 minutes or so

 Continue to cook and stir for an additional 2 minutes to make sure it has firmed up completely.

Inspired by itdoesnttastelikechicken

Beans...Glorious Beans!

Creamy Polenta with Spicy Red Beans & Greens and Chipotle Cashew Cream

 INGREDIENTS

Chipotle Cashew Cream

½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours
¼ cup water
½ tbsp. lemon juice
1- 1 1/2 chipotle from can or chipolte powder to taste
dash salt

Spicy Red Beans

1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1¾ cups or 1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground coriander
3-4  canned chipoltes, chopped  or Chipolte powder to taste
½ cup vegetable broth
1 Bay leaf
1-2 tsp agave or to taste- Optional
4-5 collard greens, rinsed and chopped
1/4 - 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

Creamy Polenta

3 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 cup polenta
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes
up to 1 cup unflavored, unsweetened coconut milk or your choice of vegan milk

INSTRUCTIONS
Make the Cashew Cream
Place cashews and water in high power blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Add in lemon juice, salt and chipotle , and blend again until completely mixed and smooth.

Make the Beans
Heat pan over med-high heat.  Add onion and saute until soft, about five minutes. ( add water as needed to prevent sticking )
Add garlic and saute another minute.
Add beans, greens, tomato, spices and vegetable broth and bay leaf.
Bring to a simmer and cook until tomatoes and greens are tender and most of broth has evaporated, about ten minutes.
If you want it a little creamier, add some coconut milk and cook another 5 minutes or so

Make the Polenta

Place water and salt in medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil and add polenta.
Lower heat and simmer, stirring frequently, for about five minutes.
Stir in cilantro, nutritional yeast, and as much milk as needed to get a creamy consistency.
Allow to sit for about two minutes before serving.


Divide polenta into bowls.
Top with bean mixture, then with chipotle cashew cream and fresh cilantro.

Avocado Love

Creamy Avocado Noodles

This is amazingly simple but soo incredibly delicious!

2 ripe Avocados

1/4 small onion diced

1 garlic clove minced

2 Tbsp Lemon juice

 1 small jalapeno diced (or less to taste)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 small box of brown rice noodles, cooked according to directions on box.

Add first 6 ingredients in a Magic bullet or small blender. Blend to smooth, adjusting consistency with lemon juice , this should be smooth and creamy. Let sit in fridge for 3 or more hours if you can, if not just use it now.

Add mixture to hot brown rice noodles and blend. Sprinkly with a little black pepper. That's it! It's amazing

White bean Heaven

Garlicky White Beans and Greens 









Soak 4 cups of white beans overnight in plenty of water (I used great northern beans)
10-12 cups of water
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil  *** OR USE Three CANS OF CANNED WHITE BEANS


4 cups of baby spinach or dark green of your choice
2 cups of sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1 small onions, diced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 cup of tomato paste
Sea Salt and Pepper
2 Cups of veggie stock ( if your using canned beans)


Rinse and drain your beans, then add to a large pot. Add 10-12 cups of water, the smashed garlic cloves, bay leaves and olive oil.
Bring to a boil and turn down heat to a low simmer. Simmer until beans are soft and tender. How long this takes will depend on how old your beans are, and what type you are using, but it should generally take about 1 1/2 hours.


Saute onion and mushrooms in a little bit of oive oil for about 5 minutes, add garlic and cook another minute or so. 
Add tomato paste and oregano while continually stirring. Add beans to this mixture or if your using canned 
beans, then add the veggie stock, and cook for 10 minutes. Using a immersion blender,blend a small
portion of the beans to thicken soup. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook another 5-10 minutes or so.

Amazing Pasta

Brown Rice Noodles with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

1 pound of brown rice noodles
1 cup reserved pasta cooking water

1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
4 cups chopped cremini or mixed mushrooms
1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons shoyu
salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp vegan butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, minced 

3 Tablespoons all purpose flour

1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
4 Tablespoons white wine
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

2. Heat 1/2 Tbdsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Saute the mushroom until they are nice and brown with a bit of a crisp (10 minutes).  Add the rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes and saute 1 minute. Then mix in the shoyu and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 3 minutes. Remove from pan.

3. Place pan back over the flame and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil along with the margarine. When the margarine is melted add the garlic and onions and saute until the onions are fully cooked (5-7 minutes). Add the nutritional yeast and all purpose flour and mix to create a roux. Stir continuously for 2 minutes. If it’s too dry feel free to add another teaspoon or two of olive oil. Deglaze the pan with white wine while constantly stirring. Pour the almond milk into the pan. Stir until thick. Add the sauteed mushrooms back into the pan and thin out with the reserved pasta water. (You probably won’t use all the water). Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

4. Combine the mushroom sauce and pasta and serve!

Amazing Cabbage

Roasted Cabbage with Lime and Siracha Glaze

Ingredients: 

1 medium-sized head  cabbage

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp water

2 T fresh squeezed lime juice 

2 tsp. Sriracha Sauce 

1 tsp agave-optional

1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp. sesame seeds 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray or oil.  

Cut the cabbage into four same-size pieces and remove any outer leaves that are discolored or wilted.   

Then cut each piece in half to make 8 same-size wedges.  

Place each piece of cabbage on the baking sheet, arranging so the wedges are not touching each other.  Whisk together the oil, lime juice, water, agave Sriracha Sauce, and salt to make the glazing mixture; then brush the mixture over the cabbage with a pastry brush. sprinkle with sesame seeds and black pepper

Turn each piece of cabbage over and brush the other side, reserving some liquid to brush again when you turn the cabbage after it's roasted on one side.

Roast in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, or until the edges of the cabbage are starting to get brown.  Turn the hot cabbage pieces, then brush again with the remaining lime-Sriracha-oil mixture.

Roast for 20 minutes more, or until the second side is starting to brown.  Serve hot.

Vegan Kimchi Fried Rice

Amazing Vegan Kimchi Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS

1  tablespoons  olive oil

2 large clove garlic, finely minced

1/2 small onion, finely diced

1 small hot pepper, minced

6 large collard leaves washed and cut into fine pieces

16 oz jar homemade or Vegan kimchi cut into small pieces including juices

3 tablespoon soy sauce or to taste

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

3 dashes black pepper

3 stalk scallion, cut into small rounds

1-2 tsp agave optional

2 1/2 cups cooked rice ( I use half brown, half white mix)

Method:

Heat oil and  Sauté the  onion until soft for several minutes, add garlic and  hot pepper and cook another minute. add collards and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the kimchi and do a few quick stirs before adding the rice. Stir to combine well. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, agave, black pepper, and scallion. Stir a few times to blend with the rice.  Serve with condiments. ( I use pickled ginger, diced beets, and additional kimchi- but get creative and use whatever you like )

#kimchi #vegan

Miso Sesame Dressing

Miso Sesame Dressing

Found it hard to take a picture of dressing,...so I'm posting sans photos. But nevertheless, this dressing is amazing. It's my new jam right now...I'm using it on everything from salads, to roasted potatoes, to Buddha bowls, you name it....It's amazing.

1 Tbsp. minced ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T white Miso (32g)

3 T agave or to taste ( I like mine on the sweet side)

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. Sesame oil

pinch of chili powder

and water to thin out as necessary

Place everything in a mini-blender and blend until creamy and smooth, adjusting with water as necessary to get the right consistency.

Enjoy!