The Veggie Gal

This is a great recipe that I got from Dr. McDougall’s website in the newsletter archive section.  I made it with corn tortillas which fell apart pretty easily when scooped out but were very good anyway.  I’m sure using wheat tortillas would have helped them hold up better but I enjoy that corn tortilla taste and if you are gluten free you need to stick with them.

I did change the enchilada sauce a little by blending the sauce up with my hand blender so the onions were not big.  I also did not need to put the cornstarch in because my sauce was just perfect so you may need to make your own little adjustments as well.  I used rice milk in the potatoes because that is what I had and it worked great.  Here is his exact recipe, ENJOY!

Potato Enchiladas
Servings:  6-8

12 medium potatoes, peeled and chunked
1 cup soy or almond milk
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped green chilies
12-14 whole wheat or corn tortillas(or more as needed)
6 cups Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada Sauce:
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons water
1  28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1  4 ounce can chopped green chilies
2-3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce (you can make it soy free by using tamari)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ cups water
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Put the potatoes in a large pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain, place in a bowl and mash with the soy or almond milk until creamy, adding a bit more milk if desired to reach the proper consistency.  Stir in the green onions, corn and green chilies.  Set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the enchilada sauce.  Place the onion and garlic in a large saucepan with the water.  Cook, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes until onion softens.  Add the tomatoes, green chilies, chili powder, soy sauce, cumin, and one cup of the water.  Mix well, cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.  Mix the cornstarch with the remaining ½ cup of water.  Stir into the sauce and continue to cook and stir until thickened.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread about 1 ½ cups of the sauce over the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish.  Spread a line of potatoes down the center of each tortilla.  Roll up and place seam side down in the baking dish.  Repeat until all potatoes are used. Pour the remaining sauce over the tortillas.  Cover with parchment paper and foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.

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Tags: Dinner, Dr. John McDougall, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Potato enchiladas, Potatoes, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

These are rich and creamy yet have a kick of spice from the scallion.  As appetizers they go fast so make extra because you can’t eat just one of them.

It is best to buy the thin scallions to keep the heat of the onion down to a minimum.  Put the cream cheese on as high up as you like it but I usually go only just above the white part.  I like Diaya vegan cheese the best for these but use what ever vegan cheese you like best.

Cream Cheese Scallions Rolled in Cheese

Scallions (green onions)
Vegan cream cheese
Vegan cheese

Clean your scallions, cut off the white roots at the end and if you want to you can cut some the top off since it won’t be eaten.  Dry the scallions completely for the cream cheese will not stick to them.

Scoop about a teaspoon of cream cheese into your fingers and roll it around the scallion, going up as high as you want and adding more if needed.

Roll in your favorite vegan cheese and slightly squeeze to make it stick.  That’s it!  ENJOY!

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Tags: Appetizers, Easy Vegan, Quick and easy, Vegan appetizers, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

These are not low fat but they are high protein and a very delicious treat!  You can make them more healthy by using organic, no sugar or oil peanut butter.  You could also use other nut butters such as almond or cashew.  The ground flax adds some fiber, omega-3’s  and other goodies.  You can make them more naughty by adding a handful of chocolate chips to the blender.  My little ones love these and can down two or three a day if I let them.

Did You Know!?

• Bananas can help if you get heartburn because they have a natural antacid affect in the body.
• Click here to read more food facts

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

serve 1 big or 2 small glasses

You have many options for making these by what you have on hand in your house.  These are 3 options and I’m sure you could come up with even more. 

Option 1:

1 banana

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1-2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 -1 1/2 cups chocolate soy milk (depending on thickness desired)

Blend all ingredients in your Magic Bullet or Blender.  ENJOY!

Option 2:

1-2 bananas

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1-2 tablespoon peanut butter

1-2 tablespoons ghiradelli sweetened chocolate powder

1 -1 1/2 cups plain rice or soy milk (depending on thickness desired)

Blend all ingredients in your Magic Bullet or Blender.  ENJOY!

Option 3:

1-2 banana’s

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1-2 tablespoons peanut butter

1-2 tablespoons unsweetened, powdered coco

1-2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 -1 1/2 cups plain rice or soy milk (depending on thickness desired)

Blend all ingredients in your Magic Bullet or Blender.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie, Gluten Free, Quick and easy, smoothie, smoothie recipe, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

This is the last post for the food portion of my Master Cleanse.  I have not posted in a few days because I ended up getting a flu and was out of commission for a while so I am playing catch up.

I did try the soy in the my Cheezy Vegetable Lasagna recipe and other than some mild gas I felt fine.  I was fine the next day as well (it was the 3rd day I got the flu and had it for 5 days).  I tried some sugar the next day since I caved in and bought some creamer to have a cup of coffee.  I bought the  extra tasty coconut creamer that is vegan and soy free but has sugar in it.  It was amazing!  I just don’t think I can give up that one cup of coffee a day and I don’t seem to lose any weight when I don’t drink it and I’m so darn tried without it so I’m going to say I am happy to be hooked to one cup a day!

I did feel a little icky after the coffee and know that I am sensitive to sugar (even though I love it) and I’m sure the caffeine being reintroduced to my cleaned up system was a bit of a jolt too.  I know sugar and I don’t get along and I need to figure out how to get around that one (I already do agave and other pure sugars but even those cause issues for me).  For me if I research something long enough and find enough bad things about it I usually can give it up so we will see with that one.  I love sweets so I don’t know!!  I have a friend who has a husband and two teenage girls and the whole family can take or leave sugary foods easily.  I have gone over to their house months after a candy type of holiday like Easter, Valentines Day or even Halloween and they will have tons of it left over and offer to give it to us.  They can have sweet cereal in their house until it goes stale.  WEIRD!  I think it is wonderful and weird and I am envious of that for sure!  I wish I could just leave sugar untouched and not dream about the Chocolate Chip Cookies sitting in the kitchen and struggle to walk past a bowl of Carmel popcorn or eat only one peanut butter cup but I can’t! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

After all of this I will conclude that I do not have any major food reaction issues but that I do have issues with sugar and should keep all the foods that are processed to a minimum and make sure whole foods the biggest portion of my day.  Some days I do great with that concept and other days I am super lazy and anything packaged is what will get eaten before anything that has to be washed or cut or cooked.

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Tags: Master Cleanse, Vegan

This is my own version of vegan lasagna.  My husband says it is my best “fake” anything.  He usually does not like anything pretending to be anything else (like fake cheese or fake meat) but thinks this is one of the best things I make.  The fact that my children clean their plates and ask for more shows that he is right.  You can have seconds without feeling to guilty because it is packed full of nutritious foods that your body will thank you for.

I add or subtract vegetables by what I have in my fridge or what I decide I wanted in it for that batch.  Spinach is a great way to get in some extra iron, vitamin K and fiber among other things in and the kids won’t even notice it is there. For the recipe below I did not add spinach because I did not have any on hand at the time but you can easily add a few handfuls of fresh spinach between each layer and it will be even healthier for you while still tasting great!  I am normally not a mushroom fan (I’m trying though) so I use a smaller amount than most people do but feel free to use the whole container of mushrooms and type of mushrooms you want.  Also daiya cheese would probably be amazing on this too but my husband is not a fan so I make it without.

This can easily be made gluten free by using brown rice lasagna noodles.  You can lower the fat even more by using low fat tofu and finding the lowest fat spaghetti sauce you can.  The type of spaghetti sauce you chose can make a big difference in the taste so choose wisely! You can make your own sauce too but for me lasagna is already pretty time consuming so making sauce in the same day is a bit much.  I might get brave and make a big batch of sauce and freeze it for my lasagna but that would require an extra cup of coffee in my day

Did You Know!?

• 1 cup of cooked broccoli contains 74  mg of calcium which is as much calcium in a 4 oz glass of cow’s milk but without the fat or cholesterol.
• There are over 100 different varieties of carrots varying in size and color ranging from orange and white to purple and red.
• Click here to read more food facts

Cheezy Vegetable Lasagna
serves approx 8 (great for leftovers!)

1 box oven ready lasagna noodles
2 jars of spaghetti sauce (good sauce matters!)
1 container of firm or extra firm tofu (drained and pressed of extra water)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
4-6 cloves of garlic minced
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper (you can use Cayenne if you like the spice)
1 onion chopped
1 head of broccoli chopped finely
1/2 tub mushrooms chopped finely (or chunky if you like it that way)
1 carrot peeled and finely shredded
2 thinly sliced tomatoes
1/4 cup cashews ground into powder (use a magic bullet or coffee grinder)

Steam onions and broccoli  with a little water on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes.  Add mushrooms to the onions and broccoli and cook for 5 more minutes.  Remove from heat, add shredded carrots, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, mix and set aside.

Crumble drained tofu into a bowl and mash with a fork.  Add garlic, nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper and mix until completely combined and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Pour approximately 3/4 of a jar of spaghetti sauce evenly into the bottom of a deep baking dish (you can choose size by what you have, a 9 X 13 works well).  Cover the sauce with lasagna noodles.  Cover the noodles with all of the vegetable mix and spread out evenly.  Top vegetable mix with more lasagna noodles and top those with the rest of the first jar of sauce and then about 1/2 of the second jar.

Top the sauced noodles with all of the tofu mixture and spread out  evenly.  Top the tofu with another even layer of noddles and the rest of the sauce.  Cover with tinfoil and bake for 50 minutes.

While lasagna is baking slice the tomatoes and grind your 1/4 cup cashews into powder (use a magic bullet or coffee grinder) and set aside.

After 50 minutes uncover lasagna and top with 1/2 of the ground cashews and top that with the tomatoes and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes so it sets up well.  Serve with remaining ground cashews as a Parmesan substitute topping.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Dinner, Gluten Free, Healthy Meal, Pasta, Vegan, Vegan Lasagna, vegan recipe

This is a simple, homemade toothpaste that you can make in about 5 minutes.  It is a cheaper and healthier alternative to traditional store bought toothpastes.  There are not any preservatives, artificial colorings or harmful chemicals such as fluoride or SLS (sodium laurel sulfate) among others things in it.

The salt, baking soda, and peppermint oil keep your teeth clean, white, healthy and your breath fresh for hours. The abrasive nature of the salt and baking soda makes your teeth feel like you just got a cleaning at the dentist (again without the harmful chemicals that they use).

Homemade Toothpaste
2 Tablespoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 teaspoons vegetable glycerin (adjust to get the paste consistency you like)
10-12 drops of pure peppermint oil (or oil of your choice, see below for ideas)

Mix the ingredients together adding more flavoring or glycerin to your tastes and constancy liking. Store in a wide mouth container with a lid. Stir every couple of days to remix. It is best to make individual containers for each family member to avoid spreading germs.

Homemade toothpaste does not foam up like regular toothpaste but that is good because a chemical is what causes that foaming! It tastes best after sitting for about 6 hours to let the flavors mix well but still can be used right away. If using right away it will taste a bit more salty than it will once it sits. You can adjust the salt down a little if you want to.

Additional flavoring ideas;
If you need it to be a little sweet for the kids (or yourself) use a few sprinkles of stevia (makes a huge difference in the taste for sure).
You could make a cinnamon flavored toothpaste by adding a little fresh cinnamon along with some stevia.
Oil flavorings: clove, spearmint, wintergreen, lemon, vanilla. Get creative once you get the hang of it to find what you and your family like.

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Tags: Homemade Toothpaste

These simple sandwiches can be easily made using leftover Oatmeal Waffles.  The waffles get soft after being stored in a Tupperware or can stay slightly crisp if left out from breakfast.  The waffle packets hold a good amount of PB&J and are  slightly chewy which makes these delicious sandwiches a texture treat.  I now always make extra waffles just to have some left over for these sandwiches because they are such a great change from regular bread.

PB&J Waffle Sandwiches
serves 2

1 leftover Oatmeal Waffle
Your choice of healthy peanut butter (you can use almond butter or other nut butter spread too)
Your choice of healthy jelly spread

Tear the waffle into 4 squares.  Spread peanut butter on one side making sure to fill the squares.  Spread the jelly on the other side again making sure to fill the squares so you get a hearty sandwich.  Slap those babies together and ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick and easy, Quick vegan, Vegan, Vegan sandwich, Vegan Waffles

For breakfast today I tried a new raisin bran cereal that did not have any preservatives or sugar in it and it was nasty.  It went soggy with in a minute of the rice milk touching it.  I tossed it out and ate a pear instead.  I have decided through buying that cereal, finding it nasty and being annoyed that I just wasted almost 5.00 on a box of gross cereal that I am going to start doing a product review on this website.  I know that we all have different tastes but my family tries a lot of the foods that I do and I am always excited to try new things so I can at least share what we think about them.  Maybe through doing this you all can not waste money buying gross cereal or what ever else you might be curious about.  I will start a collection over the next couple of weeks before I start posting and then I can be ahead a bit to keep it coming.

For lunch I threw some refried beans on a corn tortilla and then topped it with another corn tortilla and salsa.  Very simple but very good.  The kids love this lunch and my 5 year old will eat two of those (I can’t even eat two of them!)

For dinner I made an AMAZING Black Bean Soup that even my husband loved!!!  I ended up eating two bowls of it because it was so tasty!  I had no cravings for sweets after dinner.  Tomorrow I will try soy again in a lasagna and after I see how I feel I will stop posting on this cleanse.

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Tags: Master Cleanse, Vegan

This soup is so completely delicious that you will want more than one bowl!  It is hearty and filling and can be a meal all by its self or you can make some nice Corn Bread or Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins to go along with it.   My husband loved it and said I could make it everyday, he is one picky eater and normally does not even like soups.

I have put my own spin on my black bean soup and you can adjust what you like or don’t like from the ingredients.  I make mine kid friendly so feel free to use hotter hot sauce, more chili powder and add chipotle seasonings or Tabasco sauce if you like more heat and flavor.  The type of vegetarian broth you use can make a difference in how much flavor it has and you will have to adjust the spices according to its strength.  Taste test as you go along!

I don’t drain or rinse one of the three cans of beans to add that flavor to the soup but if you don’t want the added sodium you can drain and rinse all three and add your own amount of salt if you want it.  The picture of the ingredients shows salt which I actually don’t use when I don’t drain one can of beans and because of the type of broth I use.

Did You Know!?

• One green bell pepper contains twice as much vitamin C as an orange!
• Regular consumption of onions has been show to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure.
• 1 cup of black beans has as much protein as 2 glasses of milk but there is no fiber in milk!
• Click here to read more food facts

Black Bean Soup
Serves 6-8

3 15oz cans of black beans (drain and rinse 2 cans and use all of the juice and beans from the 3rd can)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup salsa (use desired heat strength-I used mild for the kids)
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon chili powder (I used less for kids you can increase per your taste
1 green pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 avocado chopped
vegan sour cream (if desired-I like it without)

Chop onion and green pepper and then steam in 1/4 cup of broth until soft and the broth is completely cooked out.  You can add more broth if needed until they are cooked through.

Combine beans (remember 1 can is not drained or rinsed), 2 cups of vegetable broth, salsa, corn, and spices in a large pot and cook on medium until peppers and onions are ready to add.  Add cooked peppers and onions to the soup base and cook for another 5-10 minutes to combine flavors.

Blend the soup with a Hand Blender or transfer to a food processor and blend to your desired consistency.  I like mine slightly chunky and my family likes it completely blended so I take mine out half way through blending.  Top with avocados and vegan sour cream if desired.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Quick and easy, Vegan

This morning I made Oatmeal Waffles and fried potatoes for breakfast.  It is amazing to me how the oats in the waffles keep my full as long as a big bowl of oatmeal does but it really does!  I actually was full through lunch and then ate dinner at the normal time.  My husband felt the same way from them and fortunately he loves those for breakfast.

For lunch I had some left over rice noodles from a stir fry I had made and my son was eating some chicken flavored ramen noodles that looked good so I decided to experiment to make my own.  I used a vegan broth cube that i dissolved in hot water then I just added the cooked noodles and since they are so thin they warmed right up in the hot broth.  OMG it was amazing! YUMMMM  It is a new favorite snack.  I shared it with my two little ones and they ate almost more of it than I did and we shared 2 bowls.  I am going to the store to buy more supplies.  It is cheap too but not as cheap as ramen but who cares it is at least better for me than those things are.  I will experiment further in the future with adding some veggies and make a nice soup out of it.

For dinner I decided I would challenge wheat so I made pasta (with a no sugar added marinara sauce) on wheat noodles.  I also made wheat blueberry muffins using agave nectar instead of sugar.  I did not use whole wheat on either of these since my family would not touch that but still made from wheat.  I did get a very mild headache an hour after dinner and a little grumbling in my stomach with some gas but not extreme like with the soy.  I will see how I do tomorrow in the morning and if I am fine I will eat it again tomorrow and see if I feel ok.

I think I will post for a couple more days on my food until I try soy again and then end because I am almost back to normal eating again.

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Tags: Master Cleanse, Vegan