Sun-Dried Tomato, Sweet Potato, Kale and White Bean Soup

This is a power packed super dinner!! And delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, ground if you can find them that way
1 medium onion chopped,
1 medium sweet potato, cubed
16-20 oz. fresh tomatoes, diced or 2 cans
6 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp fresh, chopped oregano or 1 tsp if dried
3-4 cups of kale leaves, chopped
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
sea salt
ground pepper

Note:  I chopped the onion, the tomatoes, the carrots, and the kale (separately) in my Ninja. Saved me a ton of time!!!

Heat a few tablespoons of stock in a pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and fennel seeds.  Cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Add onion, potato and carrot, stirring for 5 minutes more. 

Add the tomatoes, stock, bay leaves and oregano.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat so that it continues at a simmer.

Add the kale, beans and sun-dried tomatoes.  Simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15-20 minutes or however long you want to leave it on low.  Salt and pepper to taste.

This is also a great crock-pot soup, if you would prefer to do it that way!

Serves 8.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories-153
Fat-0.9g
Carbs-30g
Fiber-6g
Sugars-10g
Protein-6g

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

Friend me on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/NicoleEvansFitness

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

Friend me on facebook:  www.Facebook.com/NicoleEvansFitness

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 #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

Friend me on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/NicoleEvansFitness

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.