Category Archives: Veggies

Apr 5

Making Peace With: Kale and Tofu

As I’m venturing along on this vegan path, I noticed that I’m still afraid to use some plant-based ingredients. It seems silly, I shouldn’t be scared of plants.  I have even avoided some foods all together, just because I didn’t know just what to do with them. I’ve decided to break out of my comfort zone, and try a few new things.

I started off at the grocery store and checked to see what was on sale in the fruit and veggie aisle. I found Tofu for $2.49, and Kale for $.99 , so I picked them both up. I had a few ideas what to do with the Kale, but with the Tofu, I had no clue.

So I took the Tofu to instagram.

I had a lot of help with recipes, ideas, and even some prep tips too. I also checked out some recipes on pinterest. It is nice having a community online that can help out with vegan meals.

So here’s what I ended up making with Tofu.

Well I decided the best way to try out Tofu was in snack form. Not the healthiest, but it was quite delicious. I whipped up a batch of Not Sour Cream but Tofu and Onion Dip. I loved it!

I added in some of the dip, along with sauteed kale into a spicy burrito bowl. It was amazingly good!

I marinated some of the Tofu in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic, and wasabi. I coated it in a little corn-starch and made a quick veggie stir-fry. The texture was fantastic, and the Tofu was very tasty.

And then I discovered Tofu Scrambles. Just in case you didn’t already know I am horribly allergic to eggs, and I love scrambled eggs. Going vegan cuts out the possibility of using eggs, and really helps my allergy. Tofu makes a mean scramble that tastes better than any egg.

I sauteed the Tofu along with Kale and Nutritional Yeast. I then proceeded to make this for just about every single meal for a week.

I made a Tofu scramble with Asparagus and Red Potatoes. It was unreal. The addition of nutritional yeast really makes the dish delicious.

The Tofu scramble is a great way to use up pre-cooked veggies in the fridge too. I could eat this dish for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, in the car as a wrap, and now I’m hungry.

I nerded out the other day when I found a coupon on the Tofu that was already on sale. Vegan win!

So let’s see what we can do with Kale…

First, cleaning it and chopping it. It needs a good swish under the faucet, and then I remove the smaller leaves, that don’t need a chop. Don’t forget to remove the woody stem. I then roll the Kale into a neat little burrito and get to chopping.

It is very versatile. You can bake with it, sautee it, stir-fry it, use it uncooked, and it blends beautifully into soup. I was surprised at just how much I really loved this green.

I thinned down a bit of vegan scalloped potatoes with veggie stock and rice milk. I added in the Kale and let it simmer. This soup was incredible.

I stewed them in a mixture of veggie stock, garlic, onions, salt & pepper, and lemon juice. I served them alongside a baked sweet potato. It was fantastic.

I added pre-cooked (sauteed) Kale into a burrito bowl. I ate a fair amount of chips and guacamole too. The Kale adds just that little hint of green, and the extra vitamins don’t hurt either.

I made some vegan French Toast and a Kale and Tofu scramble.

I also made it into a snack. I added in raw Kale to a mean and green Tofu and Kale dip. Oh man, this was really good. It was good on toast and crackers too.

I added Kale into a batch of vegan scalloped Red Potatoes. It was so good.

I blistered some tiny tomatoes, and sauteed some Kale for dinner. My kids thought it looked really good, but I couldn’t get anyone to try it… Oh well, more Kale for me.

Since I have tried both of these ingredients out, I have added them to my weekly shopping. I’m now keeping Kale and Tofu in the fridge ready to go! Vegetables are tasty, and not too scary when you give them a try.

 

 

Mar 15

February’s Veggie Meals Part 3

Here’s the last of the vegan meals from February. It was a good month to be a vegan.

My Mom brought me some tasty vegan goodies for my birthday. She brought me some delicious Flax Milk, Chocolate Almond Milk (my fave), and some Vegan Mozzarella.  I was a little nervous about trying out vegan cheese.

So what do you do with vegan cheese?!? I topped off some vegan pizza with it. And it was pretty good. It was the first time I had anything cheese related for well over a month and a half. It tasted a bit different, but I did like it.

I try to keep rice or quinoa cooked and ready to go in the fridge. It makes a quick lunch.

It also makes a quick dinner for when I really don’t feel like cooking another meal.

Just in case you were wondering, this was my breakfast. Pico de gallo stuffed Avocados! YUM!

 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Pasta is always a delicious dish.

Well, I still had a bit of vegan mozzarella to use up, and I wanted to hack another recipe. I was craving cheesy potatoes, and I thought I could veganize them.

It was a gooey-cheezy-success!!!! I made cheezy vegan scalloped potatoes with broccoli.

They were so insanely delicious, I ate the entire pan.

I finished up the month with some delicious homemade Veggie Lo Mien.

I have really enjoyed the last two months of vegan eating. I’m sticking with it through March. This month I’m making peace with vegan foods that I was too scared to try (or cook) and eating more fresh fruits.

 

 

 

 

 

Mar 13

February Vegan Meals part 2

Sticking with my vegan meals was very easy to do in February. I made a few new dishes, and baked some bread too.

Snack lunch is always a winner!

One thing I’ve missed is the convenience of sliced bread. I make all mine from scratch, so that way I know they are completely vegan. I made bread for myself at least once a week, but when it comes to the family it is about four times a week.

Well, I couldn’t find my favorite Kale & Quinoa bites at the store, so I decided to try and hack the recipe and make them myself. I made a big (really big) batch of lentil and quinoa base. I rolled half of the mixture into “meatballs” and the rest went into a Lentil loaf.

The not “meatballs” were awesome on Spaghetti!

As for the Lentil loaf, it was delicious aside mashed potatoes, and roasted Brussels Sprouts, but it made an absolutely amazing Vegan McRib!

Or as my plant-based brother named it the NicRib!

Oh my goodness! This really was fantastically delicious! I think you could serve the carnivores this dish without a single grumble.

I can’t get enough of my homemade vegan mac & cheese. I haven’t gotten the kids to try it just yet, so more for me.

Just when I think vegan mac & cheese is my favorite, then I made homemade vegan French-bread pizza, and that’s my favorite.

For my birthday, I made some super trendy Avocado Toast. It is really good. I also had a cup of coffee with Almond Milk.

James took care of dinner for my birthday, and that is a little tricky for me… We don’t have a lot of vegan options here for take-out. I called up Hot Wok, and they made some steamed veggies that were delicious!

I even ate all of the mushrooms. Which I usually don’t do, but my tastebuds have changed so much since going vegan, I couldn’t resist them.

Vegan Nachos are tasty, and clean out the veggies in the fridge!

Snow Peas were on sale at my favorite store, so that made for a very fast lunch.

I’ll have up part three of this post soon. Right now, I’ve got to go and make lunch.

 

 

Mar 10

February’s Vegan Meals part 1

Since I’m sticking with veganism, I’ve got to break up my foodie posts, or else there will be way too many photos. All I seem to be doing lately is taking a  bunch of food photos, I guess that’s due to the fact that I’m constantly hungry.

Here’s the first part of my tasty vegan meals from February. I’ll have the other two posts up soon.

Tostadas with Homemade Chips and Salsa

Avocado with lemon juice, salt, and pepper. The snack of champions!

Vegan tacos loaded with Avocados, and a bit of sliced avocado on the side.

Trying something new, Falafel and fresh veggies for lunch.

Snacks… Quinoa sticks with smashed Avocado.

Falafel and Roasted Cauliflower with Baked Sweet Potato.  I made some vegan dinner rolls for good measure.

Vegan “Mac & Cheese” one of my very favorites!

Vegan “not tuna salad” on vegan sandwich bread. I made the bread from scratch, and it toasted up beautifully.

Falafel Tacos. This dish even fooled the family.

Homemade Vegan Muffins. This batch was Cinnamon Oatmeal.

I’m going to have to make another batch of these soon. They were really fantastic.

Homemade Vegan Frenchbread Pizza. I really love this dish too.

And now I’m hungry again.

Feb 19

Veganuary Success!

When January rolled around I decided to participate in the Veganuary Challenge. It seemed like a good idea to me, and all you had to do was pledge to go entirely vegan for the month of January. Here’s where and why I decided it was time to go vegan…

I have been a vegetarian for quite a while now, but back in December I decided to take the month off and just eat whatever everyone else was eating… I ate ham, chicken, turkey, put cheese on everything that I could, drank iced coffee with actual milk, ate way too many sweets, and even indulged in take-out chicken nuggets.

And you know what?!? I felt like complete crap!

I had terrible stomachaches, brutal migraines, moodiness, zero energy, and I was sick with a non-stop cold/allergy symptoms all month long.

I started reading about the Veganuary Challenge on twitter, and I thought this would be the change that I needed.

I have tried to go vegan in the past, but I haven’t been successful. The longest I’ve ever made it was five days. This time I decided to start weaning myself off about three days before the challenge began, I reduced my cravings for all things dairy, slowly.

I enjoyed one last dairy-filled meal, chased with a handful of Lactaid.

Day one, I got to work… I had menu planned for most of the month, but I still hadn’t realized just how much extra I would be cooking.

I pretty much live in the kitchen anyway, but this was getting a little crazy. I was cooking regular meals for the family, and snacks, and breads, and desserts, and then I had to make everything for me too.

It took me about two weeks to get a system down that worked for me. I cooked ahead whatever I could. I also made Sunday my vegan baking day/veggie prep day/make a bunch of grains to have on hand ready to go day.

While I was trying out new foods and recipes, I was also sneaking them into my family’s meals. The kids were a little surprised when a lot of their favorite foods were either already vegetarian, or even vegan. Everybody was pretty good about trying some new fruits and veggies, and my kids love all of the vegan snacks that I was finding. I couldn’t keep them out of the vegan chocolate chips.

During that second week was when I really started to notice that my stomach no longer hurt. I hadn’t had a Lactaid in forever, but I was really starting to feel physically better. My aches and pains in my joints were lessening, and I hadn’t had a migraine.

I had also cut back to just one Dr Pepper a day. I no longer craved soda when I stopped eating all of the processed foods and take-out.

By the end of the month, it was just normal…

Breakfast, lunch , dinner, and snacks, all plant based, no big deal. I was also growing more and more aware of using what I had on hand, and preventing food waste where I could. I really loved the meals too. I didn’t have a bad meal all month!

I was feeling so good that I decided to carry on into February.

So, I don’t have boundless energy, and I’m not running marathons, but I’m feeling so much better. I now only have to take one allergy medication, where I was taking three. I no longer need to take Lactaid, Tums, or Pepcid for my stomach issues. I have had a few headaches (hormonal and flu), but they have been easily treated with ibuprofen.

I had a check-up with my new Doctor, as I am still experiencing a lot of exhaustion. Good news I lost ten pounds, but my bloodwork needs to be repeated after March. My lipids were high, and she wanted to see if there is a change once I’ve been vegan for a while.

She also suggested to me that I stick with it, and remain vegan for the next six months.

So here I am fifty days later, still completely vegan! I’m pretty proud that I accomplished my goal for January, and I’m going to stick with it. I am going to work on further improving my health, and work on that exhaustion. I have really enjoyed switching to a plant based lifestyle, and I’m carrying on as long as I can.