Heather the Vegan

Knock Off Burger-Fi Garlic Aioli (Vegan)

Knock Off Burger Fi Garlic Aioli

A lot of times when I am cooking, I’m just playing. For me cooking is an activity that doesn’t require a ton of thinking, it’s intuitive. This doesn’t mean everything I make tastes delicious, or that is turns out like I had planned. But these accidents are sometimes the best recipes, and that is exactly what this roasted garlic aioli is, a delicious accident. I originally was trying to perfect a Caesar dressing, but when I went to taste test the final product I realized it tasted exactly like the garlic aioli they serve at burger fi…expect my version is vegan. You know I’m putting this stuff on everything, and I plan on having an epic burger and fry night this weekend, so that I may smother this aioli on everything. Who else eats foods for sauces?

Ingredients

1 bulb garlic

1 tsp avocado oil

1/3 of a brick of firm tofu

¼ cup cashews soaked in water

1 tbsp. maple syrup

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup water

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 430 °F. While you’re oven is heating up cut the top of your garlic bulb to expose the tops of the cloves, Place the garlic bulb on a sheet of aluminum that is big enough to wrap the bulb entirely. Drizzle the avocado oil over the garlic and wrap in aluminum.

Boil 1 cup of water and pour over the cashews. Place the garlic in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes. Drain the cashews. In a high speed blender add the cashews, roasted garlic, tofu, maple syrup, salt, and water and blend until smooth. Viola Vegan Garlic Aioli, couldn’t be easier right?

Vegan Meal Plan Week 2

This week is all about time. This week I start back to school, and between taking care of a toddler, work, and everything else on my plate I need quick and easy. For me, prepping is how I make things quick and easy for myself, and my making a big dinner Sunday night I can have leftovers for another night during the week when I don’t want to cook.

Groceries:

Produce

(2) Pints organic raspberries

(1) Pack of organic apples

(1) Big Tub Organic Spinach

(3) Heads Organic Romaine

(3) Bell Peppers

(5-6) Avocados

(1) Pack of Sprouts

(4) Large Portobello Mushrooms

(2) 8 oz packs of sliced baby Portobello mushrooms

(3) Limes

(7) Baking Potatoes

(5) Yellow Potatoes

(1) Pack porcini mushrooms

(1) Tub of dates

(2) Bulbs of garlic

(1) Yellow onion

(1) Red onion

(1) Bunch of bananas

Sour Kraut

Bread

Dave’s Killer Everything Bagels

Dave’s Multi Seed Bread

Crusty Bread for Soup

Non-Dairy Dairy

Kite Hill Almond Milk Cream Cheese

(1) Califia Unsweetened Almond Milk

Extra’s

(1) Pack of Rice Cakes

(1) Box Love Grown Chocolate Power O’s (what I feed my toddler for breakfast if she’s picky)

(1) Pint So Delicious Cashew Milk Vanilla Ice Cream

(1) Box Vegan Pancake Mix ( I have a recipe for mine coming soon)

Nuts

Sunday:

Breakfast: Pancakes

Snack: Fruit of Choice

Lunch: Loaded Veggie Sandwich

Snack: Nuts and fruit

Dinner: Mushroom Bourguignon

Monday

Breakfast: Oatmeal topped with berries, dates, and hemp seeds

Snack: Fruit of Choice

Lunch: Salad with favorite Avocado dressing

Snack: Cashews and an apple

Dinner: Baked Portobello Mushroom from Detoxinista without the gravy

Tuesday

Breakfast: Dave’s Killer Everything Bagel topped with Kite Hill Cream Cheese

Snack: Fruit of choice

Lunch: Veggie Sandwhich

Snack: Rice cake topped with nut butter of choice

Dinner: Leftover Mushroom Bourguignon

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Lean Green Protein Smoothie

Snack: Rice cake topped with nut butter of choice and banana

Lunch: Caesar Salad

Snack: Fruit of choice and cashews

Dinner: Twice Baked Potatoes with side salad

Thursday:

Breakfast: Oatmeal topped with berries, dates, and hemp seeds

Snack: Fruit of Choice

Lunch: Salad with my favorite smashed avocado dressing

Snack: Nut butter and banana

Dinner: Leftover twice bakes potato

Friday:

Breakfast: Lean Green Protein Smoothie

Snack: Fruit of choice

Lunch: Chipotle bowl

Snack: Fruit of choice

Dinner: Order out pizza (dominos is vegan just ask for no cheese)

Prep on Saturday or Sunday:

Vegan Caesar Dressing from Hot for Food

Wash and rinse all peppers, cucumber lettuce for salad and snacking

Recipes:

Loaded Veggie Sandwich

Toast two pieces of bread. Mash on half of an avocado and top with salt, red pepper flakes, spinach, red bell pepper, sprouts and tofu, and kraut. Enjoy J.

Mushroom Bourguignon

Serves 3 adults 2x

Heat up 1 cup of water and add 1 pack of dried porcini mushrooms to the water. Let this marinade while you start the stew.

During this time you will also want to “cream” together either vegan butter and flour or coconut oil and flour. The coconut oil will change the flavor so just use the vegan butter. It’s a 1:1 ratio, so if you like your stew a little bit thinner cream together 1 tbsp. vegan butter and 1 tbsp. flour. If you like it thicker cream together 2 tbsp. flour and 2 tbsp. vegan butter. I have never gone for 3, so if you do let me know.

In a large pot add 2 tbsp. avocado oil over medium heat.

Next add 1 diced sweet onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.

After, add 1 finely diced carrot, 1 finely diced red pepper, 4 diced cloves of garlic, and 2 packs of sliced baby Portobello mushrooms. Sauté for another five minutes and then add ½ tsp pink salt, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp oregano, and ½ tsp black pepper. Stir and then add 2 tbsp. of tomato paste.

Now you’ll add the creamed vegan butter/ flour mixture, the porcini mushrooms that have been soaking, the water the mushrooms were soaking in, and 2 cups of a GOOD red wine. I used Francis Copolla Claret, and then drink the rest J. Bring this to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and cook for 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally

You can serve this with mashed potatoes or pasta, but personally I like nice crusty bread.

Twice Baked Potatoes:

Serves 3 adults and 1 toddler 2x

Wash and pat dry 7 baking potatoes.

Preheat your oved to 430 °F

Puncture these potatoes by stabbing them with a fork.

Microwave said potatoes according to microwave instructions (you could just bake them longer, but aint nobody got time for that).

In a skillet heat 1 tbsp. avocado oil and sauté a few handfuls of spinach

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat mat

Rub potatoes with a drizzle of avocado oil and sprinkle with sea salt

Bake potatoes for 20 minutes

Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them cook a little, then slice them in half length-wise and carefully scoop out the middle and place the middle in a bowl

Combine the potato inside with ¾ cup Kite Hill Almond Milk Cream Cheese, cooked spinach, 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper, and 1 tbsp. granulated garlic. Stir this mixture together and distribute evenly back to the potato skins

Sprinkle with more nutritional yeast and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Smashed Avocado Dressing

Serves 2

Mash 1 ripe avocado with a fork. Add ¼ tsp salt, 1 tbsp. maple syrup, and the juice of 1 lime. Viola.

Vegan Meal Plan Week 1

Hello! As I mentioned in a previous post, my husband and mom are going vegan for the month of January. That means a lot of planning and prepping for me. I have decided to share my weekly meal plans, and grocery list here to encourage or inspire others to try out the recipes and meal plans. Please leave me comments if you do.

Grocery List ($186 at my local Sprouts)

Zucchini noodles

Nutritional Yeast

Cashews

Walnuts

Gluten free rolled oats (or oat flour for bean balls)

Carrots ( 1 Bunch)

Parsley

Basil

Sun dried tomato

Garlic (1 Bulb)

Kidney beans (2 cans)

Garbanzo beans (5 cans)

Navy Beans (1 can)

Mushrooms (1 8ox pack)

Veggie Broth (1 Box)

Jalepeno (1)

Diced tomatoes with juices (2 Cans)

Tomato paste

Ground flax

Quality Cold-Pressed Olive oil

Avocado Oil

Sweet onions (2)

Red onions (2)

Marinara sauce ( I got Organic Sprouts brand)

Cilantro (1 bunch)

Limes (3)

Fruit

Nut butter

Rice cakes

Baking Potato or Sweet Potato (5)

Organic Spinach

Organic Romaine

red peppers (4)

cucumbers (2)

Beyond Meat Beefless crumble

Organic Frozen Corn (2 bags)

Tortillas Chips ( I got Late of July)

Salsa

(10) avocados

Hot sauce

Tofu (2 packs)

Dave’s Killer Everything Bagels (2)

Kite Hill Almond Milk Cream Cheese (2)

Nut Milk of choice

Vegan Cheese of choice

Brown Rice

Lentils

Menu:

Tuesday:

Breakfast- Tofu Scramble with toast

Snack 1: Sliced apples with nut butter

Lunch: Salad with choice of toppings and dressings

Snack 2: sliced veggies with homemade hummus

For the hummus: 1 can of rinsed and drained chick peas, add to food processor and add ¼ tsp salt, ¼ cup olive oil, and 3 cloves of garlic. Process until smooth

Dinner: Loaded Chili Baked Potatoes

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Dave’s Killer Bagel with Kite Hill Cream cheese and Kraut

Snack 1: fruit of choice

Lunch: Salad with choice of toppings and dressings

Snack 2: sliced veggies with hummus

Dinner: Slow cooker orange chick peas with brown rice, edamame, rep peppers, and broccoli

Thursday:

Breakfast: Lean Green Protein Smoothie

Snack 1: rice cake with peanut butter and banana

Lunch: salad or choice of leftovers

Snack 2: cherries

Dinner: Taco Salad

Friday:

Breakfast: Dave’s Killer Everything Bagel with Kite Hill Cream Cheese and Kraut

Snack 1: fruit of choice

Lunch: Avocado Toast with sautéed spinach or salad

Snack 2: veggies and hummus

Dinner: Bean Balls with red sauce over zoodles

Saturday:

Breakfast: Smoothie of choice

Snack 1: rice cake with nut butter and banana

Lunch: Taco Salad

Snack 2: fruit of choice

Dinner: Eat out

Recipes:

Tofu Scramble:

For Tofu Scramble heat skillet over medium heat, add crumbled tofu and season with salt ¼ tsp, pepper ¼ tsp, ½ tsp garlic powder, and ¼ tsp turmeric. Add spinach if desired and serve with toasted bagel.

Chili

For the chili, in a large pot add 2 tbs avocado oil and sauté onions until tender (5 min), add 2 diced carrots, 1 diced red pepper, 1 8oz pack of mushrooms dices, 4 diced garlic cloves, and 1 diced jalapeño and sauté for another 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Next add ¼ tsp cayenne, ½ tsp salt, 2 tbs chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, and 4 tbs tomato paste. Next, add ¼ cup of lentils and stir to combine. Next, add 1 can of Navy beans and 2 cans of kidney beans that have been drained and rinse. Finally, add 1 ½ cup to 2 cup veggie broth and 1 tbs. balsamic. Let everything cook together over low heat for about an hour. Serve over a baked potato and top with your favorite non-dairy cheese, salsa, and smashed avocado.

Hummus:

Add 1 can rinsed and drained chick peas, ¼ olive oil, and 3 garlic cloves to a food processor and process until smooth.

Salad Toppings:

Chickpeas- Recipe Here

Tofu – Drain one pack of firm tofu. In a bowl combine ¼ cup Tamari and 3 tbs maple syrup. Cut the tofu in cubes and marinade in mixture for 30 minutes. Bake at 430 °F for 20 minutes.

Salad dressing:

Smash one avocado with 2 tbs maple syrup and 1 tbs Dijon. Sprinkle with salt and use half od mixture on top of salad. This is best made fresh

Maple Balsamic Dressing:

Add ¼ cup balsamic, ¼ cup water, and ¼ cup olive oil in a blender. Next add 2 tbs maple syrup, ¼ tsp salt, 3 cloves of garlic and process.

Bean Balls- Recipe here

Kung Pao Chickpeas- Recipe here

Ginger Molasses Cookies (Vegan)

Did you know that black strap molasses is packed with iron? As I have mentioned previously, both my daughter and I have had low iron in the past, in face anemia runs in my family. When the doctor told me Sloan had low iron I started to research iron-rich foods that I could incorporate into our daily meals in order to naturally boost her iron levels. Here you can find my recipe for the green juice I use to help Sloan get her iron.

I also use black strap molasses in baking, oatmeal, and smoothies in order to make sure Sloan is getting plenty of iron. These ginger molasses cookies are a great way to get a dose of iron in her dessert. Also, I like to use coconut sugar when I’m baking because it has a lower glycemic index, so it won’t spike your sugar levels, but you could use a different sugar if you’d like.

Ingredients

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup Oat Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tsp. Ginger

1 tsp. Cinnamon

¼ tsp. Salt

¼ tsp. Cloves

¼ cup Melted Coconut Oil or Vegan Butter

1 cup Coconut Sugar plus a quarter cup to roll the cookies in

4 tbs. Black Strap Molasses

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Tbs. Nut milk of your choice

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 °F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl combine all of your ingredients. I usually start with wet and then add the dry. I needed this mixture my hand until is formed a solid dough, but you could also used a handheld mixer. Once the dough is combined roll out small balls, and then roll these balls in the coconut sugar. Place them on the baking sheet and press down slightly to make a flatter cookie. Bake for 10 minutes, and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the baking sheet.

January Challenge

I know, I know it seems cliché the whole “new year, new you” thing and honestly I don’t really believe in that. I do believe in setting intentions for your year, and reflecting on what you’ve learned over the past year. A lot of New Year’s resolutions include ‘becoming fit or healthy”, and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, my goal is to focus on happiness. Happiness can include becoming healthier or becoming more fit, but it takes away the emphasis on appearance, and for me that’s important. In 2017 I became a vegan, and this was such an important decision for me. I was already “plant-based” because I believe food can heal your body and you find the most nutrients in your veggies; however, becoming vegan had to do with me accepting the reality of farmed-animals and deciding that I didn’t think it was right. Prior to this I was a vegetarian, and prior to that a meat eater, and I always thought “I can’t give up my steak” or “I can’t give up my cheese”, until I saw the actual price of those things. Once I accepted the reality of cheese, meat, eggs, and all animal bi-products I decided that I wouldn’t participate in that. You vote with your dollar, and so I have been voting vegan. I was also so touched and moved by the reality of farmed animals, that I wanted to do my part through my actions. For me that meant starting this blog, sharing recipes, and having conversations with people about why I’m a vegan, and why I think they should be one too.

I have met resistance, and at times my family and friends have told me “Heather, don’t become one of those annoying vegans”, and I get it because I have also felt that way. Until I was ready to accept how farmed animals are treated, beaten, neglected, torn apart, and brutally murdered against their will, I would have none of it either. But I go on, I keep on showing the videos, and having the discussions, and finally this had paid off.

For the month of January my mom and my husband have agreed to give up all animal bi-product and eat only what I make them. This makes me so happy, but it also means I will be doing a lot more cooking. If I haven’t shared on here, like many of you I am very busy. I work full-time, I have a very active three-year-old, a husband, and I’m in the last year of my Master’s degree. Needless to say this endeavor will take A LOT of time and A LOT of planning. So I have decided to share my weekly meal plan with all of you, take you through the prep with me, and share my grocery list and the cost of feeding four vegans full-time. I will post my first weekly-meal plan on Sunday Dec 31^st, and I hope it inspires some of you to join.

Best Ever Pesto (Vegan)

The Best Ever Pesto (Vegan)

Pasta is always my first go-to when cooking for a big group of people. Recently I had to make some dishes for a holiday potluck, which can be challenging as they usually happen mid-day. This makes it hard to bring in warm dishes, unless you have a place that will keep them warm. After some thinking I decided to make pesto pasta. In my opinion pesto tastes better cold anyway, so I thought it was the perfect solution. On a side note this recipe is vegan because I am a vegan, but my co-workers are not vegan. Everyone always teases me and asks me if all I eat is rabbit food, so for this meal I decided not to advertise that is was vegan. I brought my pesto pasta, a baguette with vegan butter, and a yummy salad with a home-made balsamic dressing and everyone was raving about my food. There is a mind-set that vegan food isn’t yummy, and I assure anyone reading this that vegan food can be even more delicious to non-vegan options. I saw a campaign recently from PETA that said Peace begins on your plate, and I fully believe that.

Crowd Pleasing Pesto Pasta

3 packs of basil (approximately 2 cups)
6 cloves of garlic
3-4 Tbs. Nutritional Yeast
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ cup roasted pine nuts
½ cup quality cold pressed olive oil

In a high speed blender place all ingredients except for the olive oil and turn it on. Slowly pour in your olive oil until you have your desired consistency, which may be more or less than ½ a cup. The key is using quality cold pressed olive oil, as this will change the flavor of the pesto. Add over your favorite pasta, and either serve warm or refrigerate until ready to eat.

Serves 10