One Pot Mexican Quinoa

One Pot Mexican Quinoa

Prep instructions: 7 servings for 420cal each, 

14 servings for 210cal each

To Sauté first w/ veggie broth:

1 cup vegetable broth

2 small red onion, chopped

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 orange peppers, chopped 

2 red peppers, chopped

1 jalapeño, diced (optional)

Step 2:

2 cups quinoa

3 cups vegetable broth 

6 cups canned diced tomatoes w/ green chilies 

3 cups black beans – no salt added  

4 cups frozen corn

2 tbsp paprika 

1 tbsp cumin

black pepper to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

Step 3:

2 limes, juiced

4 green onions

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 of an avocado per serving (not included in calorie count)

Over medium heat, add 1 cup of vegetable broth and chopped onion, bring to a simmer, and cover. Allow the onion to cook for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic, peppers, and optional jalapeño. Cover again and cook for another 2-4 minutes. 

Next, pour out any excess vegetable broth and then add all of the remaining ingredients except lime juice, green onions, parsley, and avocado. 

Turn heat to medium, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. 

Once cooked, mix in the lime juice then divide evenly into 7, or 14, containers. Top each evenly with green onions and parsley (if desired).  

Lemon Basil Couscous

Lemon Basil Couscous

Prep instructions for 4 servings

Original Recipe:

1 1/3 cup dry couscous (or sub 1 dry cup quinoa)

1 large organic cucumber, chopped

5 fresh organic basil leaves, chopped (or more to taste)

10 organic cherry tomatoes, quartered          

1 can (15 oz) organic Cannellini beans

1 organic lemon, juiced

1 package extra firm organic tofu, drained & cubed

Tofu Marinade:

3 organic lemons, juiced

5-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 teaspoon pure raw honey

First, drain and set the tofu to press while you prepare the couscous and veggies. 

Pressing the tofu: This step helps to remove the excess water from the tofu and allows more flavor to be absorbed. Pressing tofu can be done by using a tofu press (found on Amazon), or by wrapping it in a kitchen or paper towel and by placing weight upon it. You could place it in-between two baking sheets or plates, and add a heavy book on top and let sit for 5-10 min. Ideally, you want to press it enough to drain the water, but not so much that it looses its square shape or that it turns to crumbles. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the marinade and set aside.

Once the tofu is drained, cut it into cubes and let it marinate for at least 20 min, or even overnight.

While the tofu is draining/marinating, cook the couscous according to directions on package, but omit the salt and olive oil if the packages calls for them. While couscous is cooking, prep all of your veggies. 

Once the couscous is cooked, allow it to cool, and then add all your veggies, lemon juice, and basil and mix together. Then, simply divide everything evenly into 4 separate containers. 

Cooking the Tofu: For a soft, flavorful tofu, add the tofu and all of the marinade to a pan and let simmer on low until most of the moisture is gone. For a crispier tofu, using a non-stick pan, cook just the cubes over very low heat, rotating occasionally until all sides are light brown. You can also just add the tofu uncooked to your dish as well. 

Divide the tofu evenly into the same 4 containers, and refrigerate until ready to eat. 

The BEST Vegan "Crab" Dip Ever.

This may easily be one of my favorite dips of all time. 

Adapted ever so slightly from PractiGantic's recipe, 

you won't be able to stop making this and sharing it with everyone you know. 

Best if prepared the night before, or has a few hours to sit before serving.

Vegan Crab Dip (takes about 25-30 min to prepare):

28 oz heart of palm (found canned near canned artichokes etc.)
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

16 oz vegan cream cheese, softened (Kite Hill highly recommended for best taste)
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise 

1 red bell pepper diced small

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 cup red onion, diced small

3 tbsp green onions, diced

4 oz pimiento, drained and diced small
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of freshly ground sea salt
a few dashes of Old Bay Seasoning

First, mince the garlic, then drain and chop the heart of palm into varying shapes and sizes to act as the crab in the dip. Don't worry if some starts to shred, as you sautee it this will happen to some pieces and that is perfectly fine.

Next you're going to sautee the garlic and heart of palm in the olive oil over low heat until the heart of palm browns. Keeping the heat low, allow this to occur as you prep the remainder of the dip, stirring with a spatula occasionally.

For the next steps - if you're short on time, you can just add all of the ingredients (except Old Bay) together in a bowl while the heart of palm sautees. But, I find doing it in the following order allows the seasonings to flavor the cream cheese and mayo base the best. 

First add the cream cheese and mayonnaise to a large mixing bowl and combine together. Then add the Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice and mix well.

Next, add all of the dry ingredients (except the Old Bay) to the dip, mix together well, then set aside to marinate while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Dry Ingredients: paprika, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, freshly ground sea salt.

Head back over to the heart of palm, add a light dash of Old Bay Seasoning and a grind of pepper, stir together well, and continue to let brown.

Next, dice all the veggies (red bell pepper, red onion, green onion, pimientos), and add them to the dip as well and stir together.

By now your heart of palm should be almost ready. Add another dash of Old Bay and continue to sautee until ready. Then remove from the heat and let cool.

Once cooled, fold the heart of palm into the dip and mix together well. I enjoy serving this dip cold after it's had the chance to sit for a few hours first, or overnight, but sometimes it's just too hard to wait! Enjoy!

Crunchy Veggie Medley with Fresh Lime

This fresh pop of flavor is great as a snack, on tacos, 

as part of a salad, or anything you can think of! 

Crunchy Veggie Medley with Fresh Lime:

1 organic cucumber

1 organic red yellow pepper

1 organic green pepper

2-3 organic celery stalks

1 organic lime

Optional: fresh spearmint and a variety of other crunchy veggies like red peppers!

Dice the veggies to the size of your liking (I think the smaller, the better), combine them in a bowl, and top with the juice from the lime to taste. That's it!

Healthy Life Tip: prep this at the beginning of your week and separate into several different grab-and-go servings for an easy snack! 

Pairs excellently with these BBQ Seitan Skewers 

and may also want to check out this Pepper & Lime Salsa:

         

Teriyaki Seitan Bowl

Teriyaki Seitan Bowl

4 servings organic rice

4 generous servings cubed seitan

Vegan teriyaki sauce. my favorite is Soy Vay's Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce

1 pound organic white mushrooms, largely chopped

1 organic green pepper, largely chopped

1 organic red pepper, largely chopped

1 organic yellow onion, largely chopped
1 tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- feel free to add additional vegetables such as snow peas, baby corn etc.


Drain and lightly rinse the seitan, and if needed cut into bite-sized cubes. I like to leave them on the larger side. Very lightly squeeze out just some of the moisture and place them in a mixing bowl, then cover with teriyaki sauce and set aside.

Next, set the rice to cook according to direction.

Chop all veggies, and add the peppers to a large pan and begin sautéing over low heat in the olive oil. When peppers begin to soften, add the onion and continue sautéing. Once peppers are mostly cooked and without the onion browning, add the mushrooms. During this time, you will need to add moisture to the pan, do so by adding a few tablespoons of water at a time, not more oil. I also find it beneficial to allow this process to take some time, keeping the heat low and adding a cover over the veggies to trap in heat and moisture once I've added some extra water.

Once the mushrooms begin to cook and shrink in size, add the seitan, without the marinade they've been in. Add some new marinade (about 1/4 cup max) and mix everything thoroughly. Increase heat to medium and allow to simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

Once the rice and seitan are done, add a serving of rice to the bowl, top with seitan and veggies, and enjoy!!


Healthy Life Tip: This meal is loaded with protein and is great left-over. Make more than you will need in one setting and save for extra meals throughout the week like lunch, dinner, or even to have as great snack after work.

Tofu Breakfast Bake

Pepper, Mushroom, and Onion Breakfast Bake: 

2 packages organic extra firm tofu, drained well

1 organic yellow onion

1 organic green pepper

1 lb organic white (or portobello) mushrooms

8oz chopped green chilies, mild or hot - your choice
1 cup shredded vegan cheese (optional)
2 tbsp organic turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon organic onion powder

1/2 teaspoon organic garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon organic paprika 

5 twists organic black pepper

2 twists freshly cracked sea salt (pink himalayan is my favorite!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

First, drain the tofu then crumble into a bowl. Don't drain all of the water out, just most of it. Retaining some of the moisture will help while it bakes.  

Chop the pepper, mushrooms, and onion and sauté until soft. I like to sauté using water, instead of oil or butter not only because it's healthier, but once the veggies are done, there will be some flavored water left over that I like to add to the dish for extra flavor. I would use about 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed when sautéing. When sautéing with water, I also use a lower heat for slightly longer to avoid burning off all of the water. Once the veggies are soft, remove the pan from heat and set aside.

While the veggies are cooking, add the dry spices to the tofu and combine well with the tofu continuing to crumble the tofu as needed. I like to use my hands for this so that the spices really get mixed in with the tofu, but make sure to either use a glove or a plastic baggie as the turmeric will turn your hand/nails yellow.

Once the veggies are cooked, add them and the remaining water they are in to the tofu and mix together. Finally, fold in the shredded cheese.

Once mixture is complete, add to a deep glass baking pan. Using the back of a spoon, compress the mixture together firmly (this is critical to it remaining as a bake when complete so you can cut it into pieces, and not have it crumble). 

Cover with foil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. If you want a crispier top, after the 25 min, broil as desired.  

When finished, remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. I love to prepare this dish a day in advance, as I feel the flavors tend to enhance and blend together overnight. This dish also reheats very well! 

Either way, enjoy! Great for serving to a group! 

Healthy Life Tip: Make this on a Sunday and box individual servings for breakfast (or even lunch) to have throughout the week!