Meatless March Day #16: Broccoli, Macaroni & Cashew Cheese Bake

This was a hit and really easy!  I used the cashew cheese that I made for the creamy cauliflower recipe and just added broccoli and noodles and turned it into a bake.

 Note: We had about 1/2 oz. of daiya cheese left from Friday's pizza so I threw that on top, in case you are wondering what that is in the picture.

Ingredients:
cashew cheese to coat nicely
1 lb. frozen broccoli florets
4-6 oz. of whole grain noodles (I used spirals)
2 slices of whole wheat bread 
2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Steam broccoli according to package directions.
Cook noodles according to package directions. 
In a small food processor, add bread slices and Italian seasoning and process until you get crumbs.
In a large bowl mix broccoli, noodles and cashew cheese.When all is well coated and mixed, pour mixture into casserole dish and add breadcrumbs on top.  Bake 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy this super simple, healthy, kid friendly dinner!

-Nicole

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Meatless March Day #15: Easy Healthy Spaghetti

After a couple weeks of trying so many new things...Spaghetti! Yay!

Kind of a crazy week this week and I did not have any sauce previously made from scratch and wasn't up for doing it today.  I have found a good organic and additive free sauce at Trader Joe's that we like, so I got some of that when I went to the store this morning to do the shopping for the week.  I also picked up a pound of mushrooms and some chopped spinach to add.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp veggie broth
2 jars of additive free, organic, spaghetti or marinara sauce (or use my from scratch recipe!)
1/2 lb frozen chopped spinach
1 lb chopped mushrooms (my kids eat them better chopped)
1 onion, chopped
4 oz. whole wheat spaghetti noodles
4 medium zucchini, shredded

Directions:
In a large skillet over medium heat add veggie broth,onion and mushrooms and saute over medium heat until most of the juices from the mushrooms have cooked out. Add spinach and stir for a few minutes. Add sauce and simmer, covered over medium low heat, stirring occasionally.

Cook noodles according to package directions.  Shred zucchini, with a cheese or vegetable shredder and put in a small saute pan with a couple tablespoons of water and cook covered on medium high until it reaches soft desired texture.

I prefer all zucchini, but Nate and the boys like noodles with theirs!

This took such little effort that while it was cooking, I also made another batch of hummus, and boy was Nate happy about that!

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Meatless March Day #14: Pomegranate-Glazed Portabello Steaks

This, I thought, was absolutely SO yummy and I would have it all the time, except for the fact that Nate did not particularly care for the textures in it.  Seriously?!  It almost never happens that we are on such opposite ends with our opinion of dinner, but none the less that was the case.  I would love for you to give this one a try and let me know who you agree with!!

For the glaze:
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 tbsp xylitol or raw sugar or stevia powder
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp coconut oil

Other Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine or a substitute
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp sea salt (if mushrooms are thin, do a little less salt)
4 portabello mushrooms
2 lbs fresh spinach leaves
1 lemon
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
handful mirogreens or sprouts for garnish (I didn't do these)

Directions:
To make the glaze, combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.  It should thicken. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, red wine, red pepper flakes, garlic and salt.
Snap the stems off the portabello caps and discard.  Brush both sides of each mushroom cap thoroughly with the marinade.  Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and place the mushroom caps inside, ribbed side facing up. Pour any remaining marinade over the mushrooms in the pan.  Cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 5-7 minutes, flipping sides halfway through cooking.

While the mushrooms are cooking, wilt the spinach by either steaming lightly, or simply heating in a spearate non-stick pan fpor a minute or two until just wilted. Toss with the juice of one lemon and season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble, place a bed of spinach on four plates.  Place mushroom on top of spinach.  Drizzle the top with pomegranate glaze, then sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and add sprouts.

Please let me know what you think!!
-Nicole

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Meatless March Day #10: Massaged Kale Salad - my favorite salad!

So, Day #10!!  We are surviving very nicely! Who knew?!  Day 10 was a Wednesday and as discussed before that is our on the go day, so we will probably most often have something cold like a salad on that day.  The pizza they serve at church smells so good, but we have set a clear boundary and that is so important for me!  It really makes is a lot easier.  I don't even have to think, maybe just a bite or just 1 piece, because there is a clear boundary there.


Anyway, I packed Nate and I my favorite salad!  Massaged Kale Salad.


Did you know that kale is an  anti-inflammatory, low in calories, full of antioxidants, low in carbs, high in Vitamin K, Calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Potassium, Lutein. Per calorie, Kale has more iron than beef, more calcium than milk and 10% more vitamin C than spinach! 

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 green apple, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar/balsamic vinegar
*optional goat or gorgonzola cheese if you are a dairy eater

Directions:
-De-stem kale by pulling the leaf off of the stem. Wash and dry the kale leaves. Stack leaves, rollup and cut into thin ribbons. Sometimes you can find it already washed and trimmed and skip this step.
-Put kale and salt in a large bowl. Massage salt into kale with your hands for about 2 minutes or until it looks wet and broken down.
-Put kale in a fresh bowl and discard any leftover liquid.
-Stir in onion, cranberries, apple and sunflower seeds.
-Dress with oil and vinegar and toss.
-Add cheese if desired.

But beware this will give you major onion breath! :)

-Nicole

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Meatless March Day #6: Spaghetti & Quinoa Mushroom Balls

Saturday for breakfast we had Shakeology and we had company visiting for lunch, so I baked 2 loaves of bread and gave a choice of natural PB& fruit spread or turkey and cheese (a chance for us to get rid of the temptations that were still lying in the fridge :) ).  I also made a large spinach salad and fruit, which is what Nate and I ate.  Snacks are requiring a little more time and creativity than before, but we will get there.  It is snack time that has created the moments of "there is nothing that I can eat here, maybe I will go out in the yard and chew on some sticks!" So...just having to do a little more planning so my darling husband has something other than sticks to chew on when he needs a snack! :)

Although it does take some time and prep work, it is a good make ahead dish too. I recommend doubling the sauce and meatless ball recipe so you can get more than one meal out of your work.  Just freeze half or stick it in the fridge for next time. Leave the meatless balls separate from the sauce until you get ready to serve.  We had a bunch of family here this weekend and so Friday night I made 70 of the balls and put them in the fridge. I was hoping for some left over to eat for a meal next week, but apparently they liked our meatless food pretty good because they all got eaten! :)  The sauce, I like to make huge batches of and freeze, so I will have some whenever I need it, but you can actually get some pretty good organic jar sauce if you look for it and be sure to read the ingredient list.  Then just add some frozen spinach and maybe chopped mushrooms or onion to it to jazz it up.

Ingredients for Sauce:
4-5 large tomatoes, largely cut & most (good to leave some) of the seed removed
fresh herbs, I use basil, sage, & oregano
3 oz. tomato paste
salt & pepper to taste, I use about 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper
pinch of sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Directions for Sauce:
In your food processor add, tomatoes, herbs, tomato paste, salt, pepper and sugar. Run food processor until desired smoothness is reached.
Pour olive oil in a large skillet on med-low heat. Once oil warms and starts to shine, add onion and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes until fragrant and the onion is tender. 
Add tomato mixture form the food processor to the garlic and onions in the pan. Stir and let simmer on med-low to low heat until it is time to eat dinner. The longer it simmers the better it taste, but I have served it after only 15-20 minutes and it was still really good.


Ingredients for Meatless Balls:
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper
8-12 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped-I put in my mini food processor to save time!
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (can use flax seed egg as a substitute here for vegan)
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/3 cup  nutritional yeast
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus more for garnish

Directions for Meatless balls:
Cook the Quinoa with the water according to package directions.
Place a large frying pan over medium heat and coat with the oil. When oil shimmers, add the onion, salt and pepper, and cook until soft. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the mushrooms and continue to cook until lightly brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and scrape into the quinoa. Set aside to cool, at least 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, and parsley and mix thoroughly. Dampen hands with water and then measure out 1 tablespoon portions and roll into 30 to 32 (1-inch) “meatballs”.  If you have a cookie spoon, that works great to keep you hands from getting messy! Just dampen it every couple scoops.
Arrange “meatballs” on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with oil, and bake at 350 until warmed through, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Noodles:
I usually eat zucchini noodles without the regular noodles but I do mix them together for the rest of the family. To make the zucchini noodles, I shred the zucchini lengthwise with a vegetable shredder or cheese grater. Then put them in a pan with a little bit of water and put the lid on. Remember, they will cook down too, so cook at least 2. Cook with medium heat for a few minutes until they become translucent and they are done!  Of course if you use regular noodles too, be sure they are 100% whole wheat!

Enjoy!

-Nicole

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Meatless March Day #5: Peanut Noodle Stir Fry

This recipe really reminded me of the shocking comparison between the way I used to eat and the way I eat now.  This was pretty impressive!  It also reminded me of those THAI dinners that have the powder mix with them in the box, not in the quality or way it tasted but just because that was the way that I used to get Asian style food.  That used to be my definition of cooking!  Like noodles, powder and meat, if you were lucky there may be some dried and processed pieces of vegetable in the powder.  I had never even bought the actual foods-onions, tomatoes, celery, carrots, spinach or garlic before!  Now these are without a doubt things that stay on my grocery list!  So anyway, lesson here is to season your food with actual food! :)

Ingredients:
8 oz. of rice noodles, cooked
1 lb. broccoli, steamed
2-3 cups carrots, shredded
4 green onions, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced or chopped
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup Bragg's liquid aminos (can sub. soy sauce)
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Cook the noodles and chop all your vegetables.  In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, orange juice, soy sauce and red pepper flakes and set aside. In a large skillet, saute the carrots, mushrooms, celery, broccoli and onions until they begin to soften.  Takes about 5-7 minutes.  Add the sauce and saute for another few minutes.  The add the noodles and saute until everything is nicely blended.  Remove from heat and serve immediately or refrigerate for later.

Enjoy!  Feel free to comment with your favorite vegan recipes or advice.  We really appreciate everyone's support!

-Nicole

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