Red Lentil Thai Curry

  
I’m a huge fan of just throwing everything in a crockpot. It’s SO easy! The crockpot is my answer to anyone who complains that vegan diet and/or meal prep is too much work…nope! Easy peasy! You can use whatever veggies you want, this is just a guide. 

Ingredients:

2 cups red lentils, rinsed 

2 cups vegetable broth or water

2 cans coconut milk (I used light but if you want to just live it up and use the fatty stuff! Or you could do one can of full fat and add another 1-2 cups of broth or water to even out the liquid)

3 T Thai Red Curry Paste

2 stalks broccoli, chopped and stems removed 

1 sweet potato, chopped

1 eggplant, chopped 

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 cup green beans or snow peas

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

2 carrots, chopped 

1/2 yellow onion, chopped 

2 Thai chili peppers, minced

1 T ginger, minced

3 cloves garlic, crushed 

Steamed brown rice for serving 

Chopped cilantro for garnish 

Method:

Throw everything in the crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. If you don’t have a crockpot…go get one!!!! 

Then garnish with cilantro and/or Thai Basil. You could even top with some chopped cashews or peanuts if you’d like. 

Serve with steamed brown rice 

Peach raspberry muffins

  
Makes 12 muffins. 

Ingredients:

4 very ripe bananas 

6 medjool dates (pitted)

2 scoops vanilla protein powder (Vega or Garden of Life or your favorite brand of vegan protein powder) 

2 flax “eggs” (1/3 cup boiling water & 2 T of ground flaxseed…let sit and then whisk to eggy consistency) 

1 tsp cinnamon 

2 cups oats, divided 

1 cup flour (I used a combo of coconut and buckwheat) 

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup hempseed (optional) 

1 large or 2 small organic peaches, chopped 

1 package (6 oz) organic raspberries 

Method:

Preheat oven to 325°. 

In a food processor, combine bananas, pitted dates, protein powder, cinnamon and flax eggs. Process until blended. 

Next, pulse in the flour and 1 cup oats just until combined. 

Then, pour mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in the remaining 1 cup oats and the walnuts (and hempseed if using). 

Fold in the peaches & raspberries. 

Use 1/3 cup measure to scoop into 2 non-stick muffin tins (or greased sticky ones) (12 muffins total), scraping the sides with a spatula to move the muffin to the center (it will be easier to scrape out). 

Bake for about 25 minutes or until cooked through. 

Enjoy!!! 

Blueberry protein muffins

  
This was a bit of an experiment but it was a great success!!!

Makes 12 muffins. 

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas 

6 medjool dates (pitted)

2 scoops vanilla protein powder (Vega or Garden of Life or your favorite brand of vegan protein powder) 

2 flax “eggs” (1/4-1/3 cup boiling water & 2 T of ground flaxseed…let sit and then whisk to eggy consistency) 

1 tsp cinnamon 

2.5 cups oats

1 cup flour (I used a combo of almond and buckwheat) 

3/4 cup chopped walnuts, divided

1 pint blueberries, rinsed 

Method:

Preheat oven to 325°. In a food processor, combine bananas, pitted dates, protein powder, cinnamon and flax eggs. Process until blended. Next, pulse in the oats just until combined. Then, pour mixture into a mixing bowl and stir in the flour and 1/2 cup of the chopped walnuts. Fold in the blueberries. Use 1/3 cup measure to scoop into 2 non-stick muffin tins (or greased sticky ones) (12 muffins total), scraping the sides with a spatula to move the muffin to the center (it will be easier to scrape out). Finally, sprinkle the muffins with the remaining 1/4 cup of walnuts and bake for about 25 minutes. Enjoy!!! 

Spicy bowl of Yum: sweet potatoes, black beans, tempeh & quinoa bowl

      
Makes about 6 hefty servings!

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, chopped and steamed 

1 T coconut oil

Veggie broth as needed

2 packages tempeh (8 oz each), chopped and steamed 

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Spices: Cumin, chili powder, paprika to taste, several chipotles in adobo with sauce, minced (to taste…these are quite spicy. You can find these in a can in the international section of the grocery store.) 

2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed 

1 cup dry quinoa, cooked 

Baby spinach 

Tomatoes, fresh chopped  

Toppings: fresh lime juice, chopped avocado, coconut cashew yogurt (see below) 

Method:

Begin by heating the coconut oil and adding the lightly steamed sweet potatoes. Then add the steamed tempeh, garlic and spices (including the chipotles in adobo.) Add veggie broth as needed to deglaze the pan. Sauté for a few minutes until done. Then place in a mixing bowl with the black beans, quinoa, tomatoes and baby spinach. Stir thoroughly. When ready to serve, add the toppings to each bowl to taste. Add hot sauce if needed. You can also add scallions and/or cilantro if you like. Enjoy!

Coconut cashew yogurt:

Ingredients: 

12 ounces coconut water 

2 teaspoons vegan probiotic powder (I use Bluebonnet. I have them order it for me at Whole Foods since they no longer carry it at my local store.) 

2 cups cashews, soaked in water 4 hours to overnight

1 cup shredded coconut

1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Method:

Put the coconut water, probiotic powder, soaked & drained cashews, and shredded coconut in your VitaMix or high-speed blender. Blend until smooth. Let the blender get nice and warm. Let sit overnight. Then add the lemon juice and blend with extra coconut water if needed for desired consistency. Keeps in the fridge for about two weeks. Enjoy!

You can also just make plain cashew sour cream: 

2 cups cashews soaked in water 4 hours to overnight

1/2 cup water or enough to achieve desired consistency. 

2 T fresh lemon juice 

Blend! *This will not keep as long as the yogurt so eat quickly or halve the recipe. 

Asparagus & golden beet bowl

 

When the season changes I like to keep it simple with seasonal veggies. It is finally spring and that means asparagus! This, like all of my recipes, is just a blueprint for you to tweak as you like!

1 lb asparagus

2 bunches golden beets 

2 lbs tempeh, steamed for about 15 min (or your protein of choice: tofu, chickpeas, lentils–marinated, baked, roasted, grilled, spiced/seasoned as you like, or just plain)

Baby Spinach 

1 avocado 

Baby sunflower greens 

Dressing:

Balsamic vinegar 

Fresh squeezed lemon juice

Small amount of oil or tahini to taste

(Make the dressing fancy if you like with garlic, spices, pink salt, etc. but I just kept it really simple here.)

Preheat oven to 400. Place parchment paper on a large pan. Wash asparagus and snap off the ends. Place on parchment paper and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Roast for about 10 minutes or until done to your liking. 

Chop off the beet greens (and reserve for another recipe!). Peel & coarsely chop the beets. Place them on the parchment paper and drizzle with a tiny bit of oil. Roast for about 30 minutes or until done to your liking. 

Blend the dressing ingredients. 

Assemble the bowl with the spinach, tempeh, roasted veggies, baby greens, avocado and then top with the dressing and enjoy!

Serves 4. 

 

Quinoa & asparagus salad with peanut ginger citrus dressing



Welcome, spring! Well, almost anyway! There was organic asparagus at Whole Foods so I got a little excited😛

Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa or super grain mix, prepared according to package directions

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered

1 pound asparagus, steamed & coarsely chopped

1 bunch Dino Kale, steamed & chopped 

1 bag frozen organic green peas, prepared according to package directions

1 bag frozen organic baby lima beans, prepared according to package directions

Optional toppings: avocado, green onions

Prepare and combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl.

Dressing (adapted from VitaMix recipe):

1/2 – 1 inch peeled & chopped fresh ginger

Juice of 1 orange, 1 lemon, and 1 lime

1/4 c white wine or apple cider vinegar

1/4c peanut butter 

1/4 cup filtered water

1 T mustard

1 T sesame oil 

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until combined. Mix in with salad and enjoy!!! 

Makes about 5 entree-sized servings. 

Teriyaki bowl



This is pretty spectacular. I started with this recipe. 

It has many parts to it. If I made it again I’d leave out the corn. Don’t get me wrong I love corn on the cob on a hot summer night or frozen corn in a Mexican soup or chili. But here it seems a bit out of place. And there is just so much goodness here besides that! 

Thawed frozen edamame

Cauliflower rice. I sautéed it in coconut oil, garlic & ginger as suggested in the main recipe. I also added broccoli! It was delicious, especially with the teriyaki sauce.

Teriyaki gazed sweet potatoes with homemade Teriyaki sauce. The sauce was the best part. I used the recipe as a guide but I didn’t use any sugar. I added balsamic vinegar which is very sweet, in addition to the Mirin and rice vinegar (also sweet) & other ingredients (except the sake). I ended up with 2 cups total before cooking. Once I simmered to reduce it, it was plenty sweet!!! Yummmmm!!

Top with green onions, sesame seeds & more teriyaki sauce! Enjoy. But I don’t need to tell you that. 

 

Moroccan stew



This is a yummy comfort stew from a new-to-me blog for a cold snowy March day! http://joyofyum.com/fragrant-moroccan-vegetable-stew/

I didn’t have to change much about the recipe. You can simplify it by just using veggie broth instead of the bouillon cubes and you can modify the spice topping based on what you have in your pantry. Yummmm😊 

Goodness Bowl

Use this guide to make yummy bowls and this guide for the sauces. The possibilities are endless!

This was my version:
Grain: Supergrain mix from Whole Foods (quinoa or brown rice would work great too)
Greens: Collard greens (any green leafies)
Veggies: Sweet potatoes, beets, romanesco broccoli (organic & on sale at Whole Foods… a combination of cauliflower & broccoli… super yummy!) (regular broccoli or cauliflower would also be good…and/or any of your fave veggies!)
Protein: Steamed tempeh (tofu would be good too)
Sauce: Thai Coconut Curry sauce (see link above, with red curry, no sugar)

This was so good! I highly recommend experimenting!

Lentil Loaf

I wanted to try this recipe for a lentil loaf because a. I love this website and b. It’s basically lentil stew in loaf form and I can’t get enough of lentil stew!
I made it as prescribed except for the glaze: I made it healthier by subbing tomato paste for ketchup and 3 dates for the sugar. Super yum!!!
Serve with a leafy green salad, steamed greens, or your favorite veggie side. Pictured here with steamed beet greens.