The Veggie Gal

If you use brown rice regularly this could be a quick dish by using left over rice from the fridge otherwise it will take a little over an hour but not a ton of work. While you wait for the brown rice to cook you could make up some Black Bean Guacamole to go along with this.

I really enjoy this recipe when I cook the veggies in a little coconut oil but feel free to steam them in water to lesson the fat which is still wonderful.  I also use less spicy things in mine because I am pleasing children but experiment with this by adding as much or as little of the spicy stuff that you want to suite your taste buds.  I would probably even add a small 4 oz can of chilies to this but the kids would not like that.

Mexican Rice
makes 2 1/2 cups

2 cups cooked brown rice
1-2 Tablespoons organic coconut oil (or water to steam)
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 green pepper chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4-1/2 cup corn (frozen)
1-2 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2-1 teaspoon cumin
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro
Pepper to taste

Prepare rice according to the package directions.  While the rice cooks chop your veggies and cook in the oil or some water until tender.

Add the spices to the veggies and stir well, then cook for and additional 3 minutes.  Add the rice and stir fry for a few minutes until heated through.  Taste and adjust the spices to your liking and ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Mexican Rice, Vegan Mexican Rice, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Spring is in the air and I’m getting excited for the weather to warm up and to be able to wear lighter clothes soon.  I actually have a few flowers that just popped up in my front yard so I’m buzzing with excitement.  We all need to get ready for those summer clothes right now and salads are a great way to drop a couple of pounds.

This salad is very hearty that you can just have it alone as a meal.  The quinoa is super high in protein and satisfies a big appetite.  Add what ever other Mexican flavors you enjoy like jalapenos or red onions to make it just the way you like it.

The Ranch recipe is similar to my Cucumber Cashew Ranch just minus the cucumbers and add chipotle seasoning.  It all comes together in less than 30 minutes!

Mexican Quinoa Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Greens of your choice
1/4 cup cooked quiona-per plate (cook according to package directions-chill if desired while making the Ranch)
Handful black beans
Toppings of your choice; olives, onions, tomatoes, avocado
Top with Chipotle Ranch Dressing (recipe below)

 Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Makes approx 2 cups dressing

1 cup soaked raw cashews (NOT roasted or salted!)
Enough clean water to just barely cover the cashews once placed in the blender or food processor
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) garlic powder
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) onion powder
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) dried parsley
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) chives
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) dill weed
1/2 teaspoon(or more to taste) lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) sea salt
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) chipotle seasoning (Mrs. Dash works great since no salt is added)
pepper to taste

Make sure you soak your nuts, rinse completely and pour into your high powered blender or food processor.

Add all the rest of the ingredients in the order listed and blend until creamy.  If you are doing this in a food processor stop periodically and scrape the sides down.

Taste and adjust the spices to your liking.  If you need it to be thinner adjust the moisture with more water.

Pour into a container with a lid and refrigerate until well chilled, although it can be eaten right away if you do not mind it slightly warm.

Pour onto your salad and ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Mexican Quinoa Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing, Quick vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

To eat like my doctor hero’s (McDougall, Furhman and Barnard) recommend you need to think simple, whole and clean while staying away from added oils.  Well this Mexican Black Bean Quinoa over a Sweet Potato with Cashew Sour Cream fits that bill perfectly.

I am buying bulk food to use for long term food storage and want to be sure I can actually make something with it when the time comes, plus we need to rotate the food so it stays good.  We bought 50 lbs of quinoa and sealed it in air proof bags at increments of 2 cups a piece.  I also bought 25 lbs of beans, brown rice, oats, and raw cashews so I will need to come up with other recipes to rotate that through.  As you all may have noticed I am having no problems coming up with recipes to use cashews but will be getting creative with the rest while continuing to add to the stockpile.

This recipe works great for using the stored food but better than that it actually tastes amazing if I do say so myself.  My husband actually said if he had to he could eat this every day.  PLUS it is SUPER DE DUPER good for you and won’t make you fat!

I usually make 1 cup of quinoa while I am making it and put the rest in the fridge so I can make my Quinoa Mandarin Salad with the cold Quinoa for my next meal, makes it quick and easy and we all need to consolidate time where we can.

Black Bean Quinoa over a Sweet Potato with Cashew Sour Cream

Makes enough for 6+ (think leftovers for lunch!)

6 small sweet potatoes/yams
1/2 cup prepared quinoa (prepare according to package directions)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped (or other veggie or your choice)
1 can black beans, rinsed (or cook your own whole beans)
1/4 cup corn (organic is best with the lowest possibility of being non GMO)
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 4 oz can mild green chilies
1/2 teaspoon Oregano (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (or to taste)
Chili powder to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cashew Sour Cream recipe

Wash the sweet potatoes and bake at 400° in the oven for 1 hour or bake in the microwave until done, make sure to poke a few holes in them before cooking.

While the sweet potatoes cook, prepare the quinoa according to package directions.  Quiona should only take 15 minutes to cook.

Chop up the onion and cauliflower and steam with a little water until cooked through, add the spices and cook for a minute until most of the liquid is gone.  Add the rinsed black beans, Italian tomatoes, green chilies, corn, and cooked quinoa and stir well.  Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 15 minutes until it is very warm and flavors have had a chance to blend.  Taste and adjust the spices your your liking.

Cut the sweet potato in half and mash well, no need to add oils or butter here.  Pour desired amount of black bean quiona mixture on top of the mashed potato.  Sprinkle with a small amount of salt and pour desired amount of Cashew Sour Cream on and ENJOY!

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Tags: Dr. McDougall, Dr. Neal Barnard, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Having not eating meat in more than 26 years you would think seitan and I would be best friends by now right?  Well honestly I have not used seitan before because it just looks scary and gross to me.  I had bought a couple of packages of seitan a few weeks ago and they needed to be used so I decided it was time we became acquainted and see if we even like each other.   I went online to look at some recipes the use seitan and my husband I agreed that fajitas would be a good choice since it seemed to always be a hit and it was a simple place to start.

I have been watching my calorie intake so although I made my husband the fajita in the tortilla I decided to make myself a Fajita Salad instead and it turned out really great!  My husband tasted mine after eating his and said it was better that way so score!  I now love the taste and texture of seitan and know we are going to become even friendlier as time goes by so stay tuned for more seitan adventures.

I was so excited after I took my pics of it because I thought I had created a new, unique dish that I could share with the world.  A Fajita Salad was a great idea and I had thought of it!  Then I decide to just do a quick search on Google and waah waah waah, there are hundreds of Fajita Salad recipes, boo hoo.  Oh well, this is my version!

Fajita Salad
Serves: 2 large or 4 side salads

1 package seitan
1 small yellow squash thinly sliced
1 small zucchini thinly sliced
1 bell pepper thinly sliced
1/2 large onion thinly sliced
5-7 mushrooms thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup salsa
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3-8 sprigs cilantro, chopped
Pinch chili powder (add more if you are not serving kids to your own tastes)
1Tablespoon of water or more to desired sauce thickness

Lettuce leaves of your choice to lay fajita mix on
1 avocado thinly sliced as garnish
Cherry tomatoes as garnish
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the seitan and vegetables in olive oil until the vegetables are cooked through and the seitan is crispy.  Add the remaining sauce ingredients and adjust to taste and thickness.

Lay fajita mixture on top of your lettuce and top with avocado, tomatoes and salt and pepper.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Easy Vegan, Mexican Food, Quick dinner, Quick vegan, Vegan, Vegan Fajita Salad, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

This dip can really be 5, 6, 7 or 8 layers depending on what you want to throw into it.  I added several layers of fiber filled beans and veggies to help even out the very fattening yet scrumptious oooey gooey layers.

Most vegan 7 layer dips are almost as fattening and bad for you (minus the cholesterol from dead animals) that you still can have a mini heart attack from them or at least gain 5 lbs in a sitting.  I decided to find a way to cut that fat down enough that I would eat some of it while still keeping enough in it that my meat eating guests would eat it too and not notice it was too “healthy” or at least healthier than the traditional one.

You can fatten it up even more by adding some olives to it or you can lower the fat more by reducing the sour cream and cheese layers to the bare minimum.

I add a layer of corn tortillas in the bottom to give it a more hearty, meal feel while keeping it all from sticking to the bottom.  It somehow gives it a base to hold on to almost like pizza crust does.  When you scoop it from the bottom it all seems to stay in one nice even layer instead of falling all over the place.

7 layer Mexican dip
Serves: 6-10

2-Corn tortillas
1 can refried beans
2-3 avocados
1 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 container vegan sour cream
1/2 packet or more taco seasoning
1/2 can black beans
1/2 cup corn
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup or more vegan cheese (I use Daiya)
Low fat tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Lay 2 corn tortillas in the bottom of a medium sized glass bowl or pan.  Tear them to fit if needed. Perfection is not important.

Spread 1 can of refried beans over the tortillas and smooth out.

Mash 2-3 avocados up with lime juice  in a small bowl until well mixed.  Spread the mixture on top of the refried beans.

Mix together the vegan sour cream and taco seasoning in a small bowl .  Spread the mixture on top of the avocados.

Top with black beans, corn and tomatoes.

Spread the vegan cheese evenly on top and cover with a lid or foil and bake for 25-35 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve warm with tortilla chips.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Beans, Dinner, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Vegan, vegan 7 layer Mexican dip, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Today for Fattening Friday I have been cooking all day for early Holiday get togethers so I was lazy with what I was going to make for lunch.  I have some extra naughty standbys in my freezer and my most favorite and one of the most fattening ones is Amy’s Black Bean-Vegetable Enchiladas.

These babies are a whopping 6 grams of fat each, they break it up by serving and they consider it two servings!  COME ON who is really going to eat just one of these and save the other for later when it is packaged as a quick eat meal.  I think all companies should post the true serving size, what most people would really eat but of course that might scare some people away who don’t know how to read a label properly.  You really do have to pay attention to the serving sizes on packages because they can be deceiving if you don’t.

Amy’s is one of those really great company who makes tons of vegan products as well as gluten free products and although they make animal based products they are careful to keep from cross contamination.  Almost every ingredient they put into their products are organic and they do not add preservatives so you are getting a pretty pure product and compared to almost every other products on the shelves now days that is wonderful.

These enchiladas are either in the package shown here that comes with two enchiladas but they also offer it as one enchilada along side of Spanish rice and beans (which is less fat as a whole container).  Both of these are AMAZING in my humble opinion and I could eat them everyday for lunch but I would probably blow up like a balloon. These happen to also be gluten free so if you are living a gluten free life they are a great choice.  They are fairly spicy so if you don’t like that steer clear otherwise dig in.

I love the little tofu chunks they have in these and since I like to pick my food apart I sometimes eat those alone just because I like the texture of them.  Weird I know .  For me another great thing about these is I can get them for half of the price of most health food stores at Walmart and even some local grocery stores so look around for your best deals.  I’m sure I could go on and on about these but I will just post the pictures now for you to look at.  I do have to say, they do not look that pretty but they taste great so don’t judge the book by its cover.  I have put a little Daiya cheese on them before but honestly they don’t need it and why add more fat when you don’t need to!

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Tags: Amy's Black Bean-Vegetable Enchiladas, Gluten Free, Mexican Food, Vegan, Vegetarian

When I started blogging I haphazardly took pictures of the food I made and posted it without even thinking about it.  As long as it was not too blurry and showed the food I figured it was good.  WOW I was so wrong!  I had never taken a photography class in my life and my photography experience went as far as taking pictures of my kids playing or at birthday and Christmas parties.

Once I tried to submit my photos to some of the food sites I realized they SUCKED and that is why they were being rejected DUH!  I started actually paying attention to the photographs of other vegan food bloggers and saw that there were some amazingly talented people out there who took beautifully artistic pictures and I had a lot of learning to do.  I am still learning and have yet to go out and buy a real camera and photo box but I have learned how to use my little point and shoot a little better and try to be creative where I can.  At a minimum I at least adjust the lighting so it is much brighter and not so dark and there is not a flash .

So since those first few months I have started to retake pictures of some of those old recipes and delete the old embarrassingly ugly one.    For those of you who keep up with the new posts but don’t look at the recipe page I am going to post a few of the new photos for the old recipes here.  It sure helps them to look more appetizing and me to look like a real food blogger   I have plenty more to retake as you can see from the recipe page and will work on it but I like to make new recipes and with it being VeganMoFo I am dedicated (for now) to doing just that.  These are the most recent retakes and links to those recipes.  I will keep posting new ones as I go so check back periodically.

Almond Maple Bananas

Oatmeal Waffles

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Glazed Cinnamon Biscuits

Super Sourdough Sandwich

Fruity Smoothie

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Tags: Breakfast, Dinner, Dr. Neal Barnard, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Healthy Meal, Lunch, Mexican Food, Vegan, vegan mofo 2010, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

A friend of mine sent me this recipe (not sure where she got it from) and as usual I adjusted a couple of things to my liking and got rid of the oil as well.  This is one even my little kids will eat which I really was surprised about.  I cook everything together keeping out the chilies until it is done, pull out the kids and then add the chilies for the grown ups.

Make sure to either cook the quinoa with salt or add some at the end or it will make this dish bland.  You could easily use salted rice or pasta for this as well but I just love quiona and add it when I can.

Italian-3 Bean Chili over Quinoa
Serves: 6

1 medium red onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 15 ounce can Italian flavored diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 ounce can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen soybeans (edamame)
1 4 ounce can diced green chilies (2 cans if you like a little more heat)
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup sliced pitted black olives
2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large saucepan cook the onion and garlic in a small amount of water until softened.  Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, black beans, northern beans,  soybeans, chili peppers, water and vinegar.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom.  Add more water if needed for desired consistency.

Cook quinoa according to package directions making sure to add salt to the water or after to the quinoa so it does not steal flavor from the chili.

Stir in olives, cilantro and Italian seasoning and simmer another 10 minutes. Ladle into bowls over quinoa.

ENJOY!

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Tags: Dinner, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, Healthy Meal, Italian-3 Bean Chili over Quinoa, Mexican Food, Quick and easy, Quick vegan, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

My 18 year old son sadly is not vegan and when we go to Taco Bell he always gets the Crunch Wrap.  Besides the meat, cheese and sour cream it always looks so good.  I decided that I would make a vegan version that he and the rest of us can eat and it is a whole lot more healthy than the original version.

Of course this recipe could be changed up even more by using vegan meat substitute with taco seasoning on it as well as olives, vegan cheese and vegan sour cream but I love this simple version and usually I have all of the ingredients in my house at all times (except the tostadas but 1 package will last for a while).  Get creative and create your own crunch wrap.

Vegan Crunch Wrap
Makes: 4

1 can of refried beans
4 tostada shells (if you want to go lower fat just use a soft corn tortilla)
4 large flour tortillas
1 tomato, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
desired amount of chopped lettuce
desired amount of salsa

Spread a thin layer of beans on the inside of the flour tortilla in the size of the tostada then top with the tostada.  Spread another thin layer of beans on top of the tostada, a little bit of salsa and  then add the veggies you like.

Fold the sides down over the tostada and fillings tightly but not so tight as to rip the sides.  My tortillas were a little too small and it left a very small hole in the center so I used another tortilla that I ripped small pieces off of to fill that hole from the inside, wrapping the sides down on top of it.

Heat pan to medium heat and spray with cooking spray.  Lay the folded side down first and fry until golden brown.  Flip and serve.  ENJOY!

Vegan Crunch Wrap

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Tags: Beans, Dinner, Easy Vegan, Healthy Meal, Mexican Food, Vegan, vegan crunch wrap, vegan recipe, Vegan taco bell, Vegetarian

Here is yet another recipe from Dr. John McDougall’s many books.  His wife Mary is the one who he gives all the credit to doing the cooking and designing of all of the amazingly tasty and healthy recipes.  This recipe was a big hit in my house.  My little ones love bean burritos and it tastes like a bean burrito in a bowl.  We all had colds and sore throats and this soup is rich, creamy and very soothing to your throat and your tummy.  I decided to use half the rice and use half of the broken up (baked) tortilla chips since I love both.  It was a great combo, not too much of one or the other.  I do top it off with a very small handful of chopped avocado and tomatoes.   To my husbands I add some chili powder since he likes the spice.  This is another dish that you can have a second helping without a second thought. ENJOY!

Did You Know!?

• The natural oils in brown rice helps to lower cholesterol.
• Beans cause a slower release of glucose and they keep you full longer than some foods which can increase your effectiveness of controlling your weight.
• Click here to read more food facts

Mexican Bean and Rice Soup
Servings:  4

2  16 ounce cans non-fat refried beans
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup mild salsa

Place the beans and broth into a pot and stir well to mix.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add remaining ingredients, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Hints:  Add more vegetable broth for a thinner soup, if desired.  Omit the rice and stir in some fat free tortilla chips, or just omit the rice for a delicious bean and corn soup.

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Tags: Dr. McDougall, Easy Vegan, Healthy Meal, mexican bean and rice soup, Mexican Food, Quick vegan, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegetarian