Spicy Kung Pao Cashew Tofu

My version of Kung Pao "Chicken" was adapted from a recipe I found on fatfreevegan.com . I doubled the sauce and made sure to keep the heat on by going heavy on the crushed red pepper. I didn't have the red pepper it called for on hand so I added snow peas instead. I used raw cashews that I lightly toasted in the oven before throwing in the dish. Our little guys don't like things spicy but I figured as much. The older crew however seemed to love this and said we could put it in the recipe box as a repeater. I was very careful to brown up the tofu first before adding the other ingredients. None of us are big fans of squishy tofu. I attempted to freeze the block first, I've been told gives it a meatier texture, but ran out of time and successfully only chilled it. I thought it turned out rather well and I'm looking forward to leftovers.

Bean Burgers

We love sandwiches and these burgers though time consuming to make turned out very well. They were given a thumbs up for repeating. www.drfuhrman.com Another recipe that says it freezes well. A time saver and more convenient to make a bunch at once and then have them on hand for easy meals. A kiddo put this sandwich together with a lot of messy fixings. The bun however was not gluten free and she loved it. www.followyourheart.com The grape seed veganaise is not something we use very often but makes for such a great mayo replacement. All the vegan mayo substitutes were once thought to be horrific poison in our house. We finally found one we love and even the born and raised mayo loving hubby seems to prefer it. I don't know why it feels like I'm a commercial. It's just a joy to find a tasty and relatively healthful product that makes the fam happy.

Almost Cricket's Gazpacho

This cold soup is sooooo yummy. It's also pretty easy to make.

Some of the veggies could be peeled first before chopping but I prefer to save time and effort and include nutrient rich peels. Once blended, who knows they are in there?

All veggies roughly chopped, they will be processed by blender or food processor.

1 cucumber chopped (english cucumber makes for softer peel)

1 red onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

1 jalapeno chopped (remove seeds for less heat) I like it kicking

6 fresh basil leaves chopped

2 Tbsp fresh cilantro chopped (optional-I left it out once and soup was still yummy)

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 cups organic low sodium tomato juice

salt and pepper to taste

Throw it all in your processor and voila.

I serve with chunks of avocado.

Little People Lap Top Lunch

I do...I have a fetish for making little people plates and this lunch is no exception. With more time in a day I would happily be found putting together colorful little lunches. This one was polished off effortlessly. I swear the little guy that ate this must have tapeworm. What a voracious appetite he has. And in my spare time I love to visit http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com
to get fun ideas. She has mastered presentation much better than I.

I delight in sharing this photo, though probably self-explanatory.

We have a broken rice cake with sunflower butter (absolute favorite). The obvious celery, green pepper, grape tomatoes, banana and then raw almonds, yummy rice and bean chips and two vegan mint chocolate disks.

Tricky Lentil Pasta Sauce

While we are talking about my love of quinoa pasta... I'll introduce the best lunch trick I've yet passed over on the kids. In this picture is our favorite jarred spaghetti sauce http://www.muirglen.com/ combined with maybe a third part cooked red lentils. I used a handheld pulsing mixer to smooth the sauce before serving. I double the lentil/sauce needed for quick and easy reheated lunches. The saucy noodles are a huge hit and not one of them is the wiser.

Quinoa Pasta with Beany Balls

Eliminating the gluten from our diets has been somewhat of a challenge. But it is now with gratitude that I look back at my scoffing of the process because I might not otherwise have stumbled upon the heavenly quinoa pasta. This pasta, still rich in protein and fiber (protein not the issue for us veggie people that some may think it is...) is much better tasting says our whole family than the whole wheat variety of pasta. The quinoa pasta is pretty starchy so I rinse before serving.

I thought the Beany Balls http://www.fatfreevegan.com/

were very yummy and made for a nice spin on a familiar favorite. Not all the kids were pleased with the beany balls but I often get mixed reviews on anything new I serve from the purist middle children.

The recipe says they freeze well and since they are more time consuming to make than spaghetti with sauce I will be giving that a try.

Bean Enchiladas

These are wonderful bean enchiladas and easy to make. Like my other favorites this is one I make in large quantities and eat from throughout the week. This is "big people" food so a couple of the kids won't eat it. But it is a hit with the rest of us.



I like to serve it with fresh tomato and avocado slices. It's also great topped with http://www.tofutti.com/ Tofutti cream cheese.


Adapted from http://www.drfuhrman.com/

Bean Enchiladas

1/2 cup salsa
1 gr. pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1 1/2 jar fat free enchilada sauce
2 cans drained/rinsed pinto beans
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp dried cilantro
15 or so organic corn tortillas

Saute' onion, green pepper and zucchini is a Tbsp or 2 of enchilada sauce until tender.
In a large bowl, combine beans, corn, salsa, seasoning and sauteed veggies.
I used a 10 x 15 glass pan.
Coat bottom with enchilada sauce.
Spread a Tbsp of sauce on each tortilla and spoon heaping amounts of bean mixture on tortilla.
Roll enchilada and single layer them to fit in the pan.
Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas.
Cover with foil.
Bake @ 375 for at least 15 min.

"Whipped Cream and Strawberries"

This one is all Dr. Fuhrman's http://diseaseproof.com/archives/recipes-healthy-sweet-treats.html

I used the macadamia nut version. Not all of the kids loved this. Though I had a hard time not eating what one or two wouldn't. The dates are what sweetens the dessert and it does a great job of it I think. The texture of the nuts was a turn off for one kiddo. It turned out as a pretty thick cream. Easily could have been thinned with more soy milk. I think it would be a hit as a dip along side a fruit platter to take to a party.

I've tried it with other nuts too and that was also yummy.

One of the kids likes it on celery. It is a great sweet treat.

Easter "Bunny" Cake

We think we may have stumbled upon a gluten allergy with a couple of the kids. It appears as such, though I am still in denial. Vegan is one thing... gluten free though not impossible, doesn't seem to be a piece of cake. Ha ha ha!!! Gluten free at the very least challenges us to change the way we have grown accustomed to eating.

This was a winging it by the seat of our fluffy tails dessert. I scrambled to put together an easy recipe from the old days.

Turned out fairly well. The rice crispy part turned out a bit stale but the kids didn't seem to mind. It was polished off rather easily, without complaint and with super charged bunny hops in anticipation while serving.

Following directions for Rice mellow Cream Rice Crispy Treats

http://www.suzannes-specialties.com

I then melted gluten free/vegan chocolate chips on the stove

and added a few Tbsp of natural peanut butter.

We poured over top of rice crispy treats and then decorated

with candy to make our bunny face. Not fancy but it made the

little guys happy. ; )

Little People Plate

In my early years I had little people plates designed for me. The cause of my finicky side, my desire for wholesome, please don't touch or mix with one another food? I'm not sure, maybe. And so the cycle repeats with my children. I too enjoy making little people plates and though this one is not particularly fancy it is a good representation of a typical little people plate at our house. This probably speaks for itself but...today the little ones had red pear, cucumber, avocado chunks, plain chickpeas, whole wheat toast with almond butter and a whole wheat blend rotini pasta that was tossed lightly in olive oil.

Magic Chili

I love chili, one of those warm comfort foods. The spicier the better but that's just me. I throw together a pot of this easy to prepare chili and eat it throughout the week for lunch mostly. I only have one kiddo that is a fan, we do love our beans she and I... So this is my fare while the others are eating lunch at school. I don't use oil or added fat and this particular time I rinsed the beans, though usually I don't bother.

It goes a little something like this:

2 cans kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 zucchini chopped

1 large onion chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 fresh tomato chopped

2 cups frozen corn

2 tbsp cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne powder

1-2 cloves garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

These are all guesstimates, I vary this recipe depending on my veggies and just eyeball the seasoning. It does turn out a little different every time...but that's the Magic.

In a large stock pot...

Saute' the chopped onion and minced garlic for a few minutes over medium heat, just enough to start to soften the onions. Then dump beans, tomatoes and corn into pot. Add enough water to liberally cover the ingredients. If it cooks down too much add a little more water. Then start seasoning. I might use more spice to kick it up but you can continue to taste to see what you like and add more...of any seasoning really. There is no magic amount of time I cook this. It can be done in 1/2 an hour or for many hours over low heat.

Toward the end of cooking time, whenever I'm over it and about to call it a day I throw in the zucchini and cook just a while longer.

I eat this plain or topped with avocado or vegan sour cream. Sometimes both if mood calls. For lunch today I ate it plain with raw broccoli, sugar snap peas and cooked beets. Plain cooked beets are so tasty, cold or warmed.

Walnut Maple Cookies

These are amazing. A family favorite.

This recipe is from vegweb.com, one of the first vegan recipes I'd ever tried. Loaded with healthy ingredients but also so decadent. Made with ground walnuts and flax seed, these cookies are an excellent source of Omega-3. Truly delicious! These have passed the kid test by even the pickiest of children.

Quinoa Hash

Ahhh! Quinoa. One of the ancient grains. Loads of fiber and a nice source of protein. Quinoa Hash is a bed of quinoa with a layer of home style potato fries. The kids said the fries turned out more like chunky mashed potatoes. Those layers are topped with sauteed veggies, zucchini, red pepper, onion and corn. Like to say we had something rich in green color too but I was crab-a-saurus by the time dinner was on the table. We've had this meal many times before. It is usually met with more enthusiastic reviews. Tonight however was hit and miss. Some hitting...learning new culinary skills. The little one used his spoon as a trebuchet. This amused him endlessly. Rich and green were quickly forgotten while I dodged his sailing food. I've used Earth Balance butter before in cooking this. I opted to eliminate any extra fat tonight. Perhaps our beloved Earth Balance was sorely missed. Hence the trebuchet, launching the food. And the potatoes, though good, they mushed more cooking with water than that might have in the soy butter.

I am a tostada

I eat more of these than one person should I'm sure. A lunch favorite. Toasting my own corn tortillas, these like most end up a bit too toasty. They are layered with re-fried pinto beans, tomatoes, salsa, avocado and hot sauce. Today they accompanied raw sugar snap peas, apple and blackberries. I am part rabbit. I do prefer most of my veggies raw. A texture thing. Plus anything that is squishy or remotely gaseous smelling like our cooked cruciferous vegetables...count me out.

Typical Breakfast

A typical weekday breakfast for us. Oatmeal made with whole rolled oats. Simple and fast to make a large pot. I use a spicy cinnamon and eat it plain. The kids prefer maple syrup or agave nectar and then some also add raisins and cinnamon. I usually throw raw walnuts and fruit on the side. This morning we had starfruit and red pears. Fills us up, fiber keeps us satiated longer and we're off to a great start.

Lentil Leftovers

This was today's leftover lunch plate, lentil loaf and mashed potatoes. My first ever lentil loaf and it was approached at last nights dinner table with a great deal of trepidation, myself included. Turned out surprisingly well and was a hit to those that were hoping to not disappoint me. A dinner repeater for certain. I'm still working on the little ones palates. OK, truth be told I'm a picky eater too...

This is not going as well as I'd hoped. Just not computer savvy. I'm working on it. Stand by while frustration ensues... ; )