Meatless March Day #20: Taco Salad (Vegan style!)

Taco Salad is one of our favorites! and the favorite meal of our 11 year old too! So, I was a little nervous about doing a meatless version of it, but it turned out very good!  This has a very fresh taste to it from the cilantro, which I love!

I forgot to take a picture, but this is what it looked like!!

 Ingredients 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernals, thawed
4 large tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain brown rice (see Tip)
1 15 ounce can black, kidney or pinto beans, rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup prepared salsa
2 cups shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
2 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled tortilla chips
Lime wedges for garnish

1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese (optional-we did without)

Directions:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and corn; cook, stirring, until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

Coarsely chop 1 tomato. Add it to the pan along with cooked rice, beans, chili powder, 1 teaspoon oregano and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato cooks down, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Coarsely chop the remaining 3 tomatoes. Combine with cilantro, salsa and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.

Toss lettuce in a large bowl with the bean mixture, half the fresh salsa and 2/3 cup cheese if using. Serve sprinkled with tortilla chips and the remaining cheese, passing lime wedges and the remaining fresh salsa at the table.




ENJOY!!


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original recipe from EatingWell

Meatless March Day #8: Creamy Cauliflower & Tomatoes

Today was definitely and experiment! but it was one that Nate described as delicious, so I guess it didn't turn out half bad! :)

For the cream sauce I used about 1/2 cup of a cashew cheese recipe from Color Me Vegan.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 head cauliflower
1-1/2 lb. tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
4 oz. whole grain pasta noodles, cooked
1/2 cup cashew cheese

Directions:
Chop cauliflower into small pieces and steam with about 1/2 cup of water.
Heat oil in a large saute pan and add chopped tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes and add cauliflower, parsley, noodles and cashew cheese.  Cook for a few minutes until well combined and flavored. Salt to taste. 

  
Recipe for Cashew Cheese
Ingredients:
1/1/4 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 canola oil
1/4 cup light (yellow or white) miso paste
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

Directions:
Add the cashews to the large bowl of a food processor and using the pulse button, finely grind the cashews.  Don't allow the cashews to turn into a paste.  Add the nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, adn white pepper.  Pulse three more times to blend in the spices.

Combine the milk, cornstach, and oil in a heavy saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over high heat.  Decrease the heat to low-medium, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the cornstarch is dissolved.

Withe the food processor running , gradually add the milk/oil mixture to the cashew/nutritional yeast mixture.  Blend for 2 minutes or until very smooth and creamy.  Next, blend the miso and lemon juice.

The cheese will keep for 4 days, covered and refridgerated.

Meatless March Day #3: Dinner on the Go...!

So, day 3, being a Wednesday church night presented the challenge of eating away from home and veering off the menu.  I had originally planned to cook but because of Nate's commute home after work and then back to church, we don't have time to eat at home. So, we typically meet at church or the park to eat.  We don't really eat out for a number of reasons, so that isn't an option. At church, they serve Domino's pizza and a drink for $1.  That is tempting and I won't lie, we have done it before.  But, we just decided not to anymore because we felt yucky after eating it and now of course it isn't meat or dairy-free, so it wasn't even an option.

So, I threw together salads for us and gave the kids the choice of pizza or salad, they chose pizza. So...yes we had to smell it and on the off chance they didn't finish theirs, which they did, we had to prepare ourselves to throw any leftovers away.  I wanted to make a salad that would be filling, tasty and healthy in addition to meat and dairy free, so here is what I came up with.

1 bag of Spinach & Arugula mix greens
3 Tbsp raw almonds, sliced
3 Tbsp pistachios
3 Tbsp sunflower seeds
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
3 Tbsp Balsamic Italian dressing from Trader Joe's, wanted to make my own dressing but ran out of time!

I tossed everything in a big bowl and then divided into 2 containers.  Don't forget the plastic forks, like I almost did! I also packed a clementine and bottle of water for everyone.  It was pretty filling but I do think we like all spinach better, rather than the mix of greens. Also, a bag and a half of spinach will be much better for our appetites next time.  As we are adjusting to no meat I am having to get used to seriously bumping up our portions of the veggies.  Like on day #2 with the 2 lbs.of broccoli! :)

But overall, we are feeling great and the biggest challenge has been still having the meat and cheeses in the house, because we didn't want to throw out what we had and figured we had company that was coming this weekend that would eat it...so, there it sits, waiting to be eaten...but not by us!! 

-Nicole

Meatless March Day #2: Broccoli Stir-Fry

So, today was day 2 of our meat and dairyless month and it is going good!  I wasn't sure about this one because it seems so plain and a recipe we developed from a chicken recipe, but it was actually very filling and good!  Nate and I both felt surprisingly satisfied!  The kids ate it too!

For breakfast, I had 1 1/2 slices of homemade whole wheat bread with a tablespoon of almond butter, for lunch was Chocolate Vegan Shakeology and snacks were an apple and a homemade lara bar (recipe not posted yet).

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Bragg's liquid Amino Acids (or soy sauce)
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 lb. broccoli florets (we use frozen)
juice of 1 small lemon
2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 cups of cooked brown rice

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together liquid aminos, 3 Tbsp water, vinegar, honey, garlic, and crushed red pepper.

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook broccoli and lemon juice, tossing often until broccoli is bright green, about 3 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of water; cook until broccoli is tender, about 6 minutes, maybe a little longer if using frozen.

Add liquid amino and vinegar mixture to pan. Stir and add cornstarch mixture.  Bring to a boil; cook stirring until thickened, 1 minute. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Add brown rice and stir.  Serve.