Vegan/Vegetarian Side Dish

What helped me lose 30 lbs?? Eating well!

Eating healthy was instrumental in helping me to lose 30 lbs! Meals like this are very low in Sodium, Dietary Fiber, protein, Thiamine, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorous and vitamin K.

This is a shredded cauliflower blend (with carrots, broccoli) and edamame.  I put this over lettuce, and add an entire sliced avocado and balsamic vinegar.  I also enjoy this as a side dish with a serving of pinto beans.

This would also be fantastic over a baked potato with butter, or baked firm tofu, or as a side dish with a meat dinner.

How do I make it?

• 1 16oz. package of pre-shred cauliflower/carrot/broccoli mix
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen edamame
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 diced garlic clove
• Medium size frying pan

Turn stove burner on high.  Heat up the olive oil. First toss in garlic, then toss in bag of cauliflower blend. Turn heat down to med/high, stir in the edamame. Stir entire time, so food doesn’t burn.  Let mixture cook for 1 minute, then turn off the heat and cover.  At this point you could add cheese or a flavored sauce such as teriyaki, sweet/sour, whatever strikes your fancy! (Salt and pepper to taste.) Texture should be firm, slightly crunchy and NOT mushy.

Enjoy and stay healthy! xoxo

 

 

 

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Bean & Avo Salad With Lemon Dressing

Sorry-my pictures are a little blurry. This was so yummy though!

Salad
1 1/2 cucumbers, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
1 small bunch of cilantro
1 can of garbanzo beans, drain out liquid
1 4oz container of feta cheese

Dressing
1/2 olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp spicy mustard

Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl. Whisk dressing ingredients together, pour over salad. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss and eat!

Vegan Chili with Sweet Corn Muffin

Cucumber & Avocado Sandwich with a Cream Cheese & Dill Spread

Many non-vegetarian people people that we veggie people don’t like food. Or sometimes they think that we don’t eat yummy & fantastic things, so wrong…..

Spread the cream cheese/dill spread.

Add thinly sliced fresh, crisp cucumber slices. A sprinkle of black pepper and salt, to taste.

Layer on top the slightly firm avo’s. It can be a bit messy, so I don’t cut the sandwich.

EAT!

Cream Cheese Spread:
1 tub of whipped cream cheese
1/2 tsp dill

Put both in a bowl and mix well. Then it’s ready to spread!

You could also add sprouts or lettuce 🙂

Vegan Lentil Loaf

If you are a meat eater, this dish probably isn’t going to look too appetizing to you. But, for us veggie’s, this is a little piece of heaven. Regardless, my carnivorous eating family enjoyed the dish. I’m not vegan, but this recipe happens to be such. Easy to make, serve with a side salad or bowl of soup.

Here’s how to make it:
1 1/2 cups lentils
3 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth (I used broth)
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups pre-cooked rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup ketchup or bbq sauce
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Pre-heat oven to 350 F degrees.
In a large soup or stock pot, simmer the lentils in water or veggie broth until cooked, about 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly then mash the lentils until they are half mashed.
Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil for 3-5 minutes, or until soft.
Combine the onions, garlic and olive oil with the mashed lentils, rice, salt, sage, ketchup and Italian seasoning.
Gently press the mixture into a lightly greased loaf pan (I used a 9×13 dish). Drizzle a bit of ketchup and bbq sauce on top.
Bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly before serving, as this will help the lentil loaf to firm up. Serves about 6 adults.

Poppy Seed Cake

Moist, dense, and delicious! This is worth every calorie 🙂

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
13 fluid ounces evaporated milk
1/4 cup poppy seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and add eggs, vanilla, oil and milk. Mix well and fold in the poppy seeds. Pour into a 10 inch tube pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Place cool cake on a pretty plate or cake stand. Using 1/2 container of store bought frosting (vanilla), place frosting in microwavable measuring cup and heat for approximately 20 seconds. Drizzle over cake. I added a few extra poppy seeds on top for decoration.

Eat and enjoy!!

Pho!

Pronounced “Fa”, pho is a warm and cozy treat. I’m vegetarian, so no meat in my soup. But it did have tofu, bean sprouts, broccoli, carrots, basil, cilantro, bok choy, and a splash of lime 🙂

Spaghetti in Browned Butter and Myzithra Cheese

What you will need:

Spaghetti-16 oz box/package
Basil-fresh, chopped, 1/2 cup
Garlic-crushed, 1/2 teaspoon
Butter-1 stick (1/2 cup)
Myzithra cheese-grated, 4 oz

Cook one 16 oz. package of spaghetti, follow directions on box.   Drain, put back in pot, set aside.

To brown the butter and add cheese takes only about 5 minutes.  In a white frying pan place 1 stick (or half a cup) of butter. Don’t use margarine or butter substitutes. Keep heat on medium heat, stirring constantly. It takes only a couple of minutes, you will start to see the butter turn brown. Once a medium brown, take off heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic, and 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, pour over pasta. Stir, mix thoroughly. Last step, pour all 4 oz of cheese into pot, toss pasta. Serve and enjoy!

A nice soft roll or French bread would be nice with this. I would also serve a fresh vegetable on the side. 🙂

Chai Tea-Original recipe

Only 7 ingredients!
4 cups water
Loose tea- 2 tablespoons
3 cups milk (I use 1%, but you can use any milk, even soy or almond)
Whole cloves-6 to 8 whole cloves
Anise seed-1 tablespoon
Whole cardamom-5 to 6 seed pods
White sugar, depending on how sweet you want it. I tend to use about 1/4 cup

Here are some pictures. Instructions are posted at the bottom of the page 🙂

1 tablespoon whole anise seed.

1. Using a 2 quart saucepan, heat 4 cups of water on the stove (high heat), toss in loose tea.
2. Meanwhile; crush the seeds and cloves in a stone bowl or smash with a rolling pin on a cutting board, toss into the water. Turn down heat to medium.
3. Slowly pour in 3 cups of milk, stirring.
4. Next Put in white sugar. The amount is up to you. I generally use about 1/4-1/2 cup, depending on my mood. Start out with just a little. See how you like it and add from there. Turn up heat just long enough to warm tea back up.
5. Turn off and immediately pour through a sieve directly into a carafe.

ENJOY!

This is my original recipe. To make this tea even happier, I enjoy adding 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, just toss it in. I have used fresh orange rhine as well. Play with the recipe, and have fun!

Soft Ginger Cookies

What you will need:
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves (Yumm!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 cup butter or margarine (I use margarine. If you use butter, the cookies tend to spread)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions below, after pictures 🙂

Here are some pictures

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place foil on cookie sheet. No spray or oil is needed.
2. Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in molasses and eggs. Gradually stir in vanilla, flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Form balls by spooning dough out of bowl. Dab ball of dough into sugar on a plate. Place on baking sheet. Note: the sugar on the plate is not included in the main recipe. Just scoop out about a 1/4 cup on the the plate or bowl for dunking 🙂
3. Bake 14 minutes. Remember-everyone’s oven is different! I always check my cookies around 8-10 minutes in. If you want softer cookies bake around 10-12 min, for more of a cake texture, bake closer to 14-15 min.
This is an easy, fool proof recipe. Great for new bakers and children. 🙂