Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

From: veganyumminess.com  Author: Lindsay Rey

In my quest to make a grilled cheese sandwich to go with my tomato soup, I thought I'd give this recipe a try.  The cheese was very good! It's the consistency of Velveta cheese...just much healthier and tastes better! :) I put it in the refrigerator for an hour to thicken up.  I will say, it is very messy.  I didn't mind.  I dipped it in the tomato soup recipe on my blog and it was fabulous!!  I have a lot of the cheese mixture left over.  I will make macaroni and cheese out of it tomorrow night!

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups peeled and finely diced potatoes (i used Russets, but yellow work as well)
1/4 cup peeled and diced fresh carrot
1/3 cup peeled and diced onion
2/3 cup water (preferably from pot of cooked veggies above)
1/2 cup raw cashews (pre soaked for a few hours if not using a high speed blender)
1/4 cup coconut milk (lite or full fat)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 loaf vegan french bread, or vegan bread of your choice
Vegan butter (I used Earth balance) or coconut oil for grilling sandwiches.

Instructions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring several cups of water to boil.
2. Place prepared potato, carrot, and onion into the boiling water, and cook until potatoes are fork tender, or about 10 minutes.
3. While your potatoes, carrot, and onion are cooking, place ⅔ cup water (preferably water from your pot of cooking/cooked vegetables), cashews, coconut milk, yeast flakes, lemon juice, salt, and garlic powder into your blender. Blend on high until everything is creamy smooth.
4. When potatoes are fork-tender, place potatoes, carrot, and onion into your blender--using a slotted spoon to avoid adding excess water to your cheese.
5. Blend everything on high until smooth.
6. You can use this cheese as is (pretty warm) to make your grilled cheese sandwiches, or you can place it in the fridge for a few hours or days to cool and thicken up slightly--which makes a less messy grilled cheese sandwich. If you're like me, you don't mind ooey gooey all-over-the-place cheese, and the hot stuff works just fine.
7. Slather your cheese sauce on 2 thick slices of bread, slap 'em together, and brush the outsides of your sandwich with either coconut oil (or other heat-safe oil of your choice) or vegan butter. (I use Earth Balance, generally.)
8. Place your sandwich in a preheated pan or griddle on medium heat. Usually, my sandwiches only need about 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side to be nice and crispy. Check your first sandwiches frequently, as they can burn quickly without warning.

Vegan Creamy Tomato Soup

From: veganyummies.com  Author: Lindsay Rey

I was on the hunt for a delicious tomato soup that didn't contain any dairy.  I found it in this recipe!!  This is delicious!!  Everyone in my family loved it.  I made this along with the vegan grilled cheese sandwiches.  A perfect combo meal for a chilly December night!  I doubled the recipe so that I would have leftovers.

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
1 cup diced onion
1 large clove garlic,  minced
1 tsp plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (divided, optional)
1/2 cup raw cashews (soaked for a few hours, if you are not using a high speed blender) I used
  my Vitamix blender and did not soak them.  It came out perfect.
1/2 cup water
4 1/2 cups stewed tomatoes (three 14.5 ounce cans)
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

Instructions:
1. In a pan, saute onion and garlic in 1 tsp olive oil for 1-2 minutes, just until they are soft and fragrant

2. Place cashews and water in blender. Blend on high for about 30 sec or until the mixture is fairly smooth and creamy. If you need more liquid, add a cup or two of your stewed tomatoes and blend again until all the cashew pieces have disappeared.

3. Add your sautéed onion/garlic and remaining stewed tomatoes to blender and blend until smooth.

4. Pour blender contents into a saucepan on medium to medium-high heat. As soup begins to simmer, stir frequently to prevent lumpiness and burning.  Simmer for about 8-10 minutes, or until soup color has darkened slightly.

5. Add remaining ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil, coconut milk, granulated sugar, dried basil, and salt to your saucepan.

6. Taste for salt and serve immediately!

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)

Ok...These are just DELICIOUS!!  Finding a good vegan cookie is tough for me.  My sister in law passed this recipe on to me.  I made these cookies just like the recipe but didn't use chocolate chips.  Instead, I put 2 tbsp. of chia seeds in the batter (I doubled the recipe).  I recommend doubling the recipe since it doesn't make a lot and they freeze great!  The whole family will devour these!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups almond flour/meal (I used almond meal from Trader Joes)
3 tbsp xylitol or organic cane sugar (I used organic sugar)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp almond milk
1/3 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy life foods mini chips work great)
*I added chia seeds to the recipe and loved it (see note above)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a medium bowl, add the first four ingredients.
3. Add peanut butter, vanilla extract, and milk to a small bowl.
4. Bring the coconut oil to liquid form on the stovetop over low heat, measure 1/3 cup after it is in    liquid form, then pour over the peanut butter.  Mix until smooth
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix
6. Fold in chocolate chips and/or chia seeds
7. Scoop out a tbsp at a time and roll into a ball.  Place on a cookie sheet and press down slightly.
8. Bake until golden brown for 12 minutes.  They will be soft when you take them out, but will harden after a few minutes.  Once they have hardened, remove them from the cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

Green Chile

By: foodbabe.com

*This dish is amazing!!  I live in Arizona and the temperature dipped below 100 degrees today so I felt like making a warm dish! :)  I made this dish exactly like the recipe and it was delicious!  My husband and son loved it as well.  I served it with blue corn tortilla chips and topped it with cilantro and avocado.  It was just as tasty the next day for lunch.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 green bell peppers chopped
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 jar of tomatillo salsa (the green kind)
• 1 can of diced green chiles, drained
• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely sliced
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 2 cans of Eden Foods cannellini beans
• 1 cup of chopped cilantro
• 1 lime cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Add  ½ tablespoon oil, bell pepper and onion and cook until softened and golden brown
2. Add bay leaf, tomatillos, chiles, jalapeños and broth, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 40 mins
3. If you like more broth and less chunky chili, add up to two additional cups water (I did not do this)
4. Gently stir in beans and cook for 30 minutes more
5. Stir in cilantro at the very end, right before serving (I added avocado on top as well)

Freekeh, Zucchini & Pistachio Salad

by: ohmyveggies.com

This ancient grain, Freekeh, was just introduced to me.  It is delicious!  Tons of protein!!  It is a combination of quinoa/rice in flavor and texture.  I ordered it on Amazon and got a organic/non GMO type.  We all loved this recipe!!  It was a great side dish to my veggie burger.  

Ingredients:
1 c. uncooked freekeh
2 1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced (I also steamed mine.  Try to do organic if possible)
1/4 c. chopped roasted pistachios
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Bring the freekeh and broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until tender.  Drain off any excess liquid if necessary.  (I cooked mine for 20 min)

Transfer the freekeh to a large bowl and toss it with the zucchini, pistachios, and parsley.  Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!

Gazpacho

From: The Food Babe

*This is seriously one of my favorite summer dishes so far!  I was a little worried it would taste like salsa but it doesn't.  All of my family loved it...even my teen son!  It was extra delicious because i used home grown tomatoes, jalepenos, and basil.  The rest of the ingredients I bought.  I used all organic veggies to keep it as healthy as possible.  I found it was even better the next day! Enjoy!!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 5 cups ripe tomatoes diced (~8 tomatoes)
• ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
• 1 jalapeno seeded and minced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 tbsp fresh chives minced
• 1 tbsp fresh basil chopped (About 6 leaves)
• 1½ tsp of balsamic vinegar
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 large seedless cucumber diced
• 1 green pepper diced
• ¼ red onion diced (About ¼ cup)

Instructions

1. Place 1 cup of diced tomatoes, lime juice, jalapeno, garlic, herbs, spices and salt in food processor or high speed blender to make the base of the soup – puree until smooth
2. Add the rest of the diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and red onion to base and stir well to combine
3. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow time for the vegetables to absorb all the flavors
4. Serve with diced avocado and celery sticks on top (Optional)

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

From: Frolic through Life blog

This is a delicious side dish with a kick!  Our family loves spice...especially sriracha!  When I was asked to bring a side dish for a BBQ, this was what I decided to make.  No oil makes it even healthier!  This serves about 6 people.  I doubled it since I was going to a party.  I also used all organic veggies, quinoa, and beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry quinoa
• 2 cups veggie stock
• 1 can black beans
• 1 cup corn
• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sriracha
• salt and pepper to taste

Pour veggie stock into a large pot and add quinoa. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer until quinoa is light and fluffy. Drain and rinse can of black beans. Combine beans, corn, diced onion and pepper in a large bowl. Add cooled quinoa, lime juice, vinegar and sriracha and mix to combine the flavors.  I made it several hours ahead so it had plenty of time for the sriracha to soak in! Enjoy!

Boston Strong!

Tomorrow I leave for Boston...I'm running the Boston Marathon on Monday!  I'm so excited to participate in such an epic event especially after the bombings last year.  I trained hard last year and decided to try to qualify after I did Ironman Coeur d'Alene last June.  I raced in Santa Rosa CA and qualified in August with a 3:50 marathon (I'm 45 years old).  Since August, I've been training and on Monday I get to finally race!  Praying for a safe race for all the runners and spectators.  It's always a challenge for me eating "plant strong" when I travel.  I'll be doing some research on the plane! I'll be back next week with some new recipes! :)

Heavenly Carrot Cake Oatmeal

By Angela Liddon

Ok....This is fabulous!!  It is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, soy-free!  And, it tastes delicious!
I eat this in the morning (heated up) with my coffee and love it.  It is also my go to snack after a long run.  Enjoy!

Serves 6
Prep time 25 min, cook time 35 min

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups rolled oats, certified gluten free if necessary (I buy organic rolled oats from Sprouts in bulk)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 cups lightly packed shredded carrots (I buy the colored organic carrots from Trader joes.  I like the taste and like that they are organic)
2 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or non dairy milk of choice) I used almond milk
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger) I use freshly grated..highly recommend!
1/4 cup raisins (I like the golden organic raisins from Trader Joes)
1/2 cup chopped walnut halves

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F and lightly grease a casserole dish.  I used an 8x11 pan
2. In large bowl, mix the rolled oats, cinnamon, baking powder and salt
3. In a medium bowl, which the wet ingredients: shredded carrot, almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla and fresh ginger
4. Add the wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined
5. Pour mixture into dish and smooth out with a spoon.  Press down on the oatmeal with a spoon or your hands so the oats sink into the milk.  Sprinkle on the walnuts and raisins and press down lightly again.
6.  Bake, uncovered, for 32-37 minutes until lightly golden along edge.  The oatmeal will still look a bit soft in some spots when it comes out of the oven, but it will firm up as it cools.  I cooked mine for 35 min
7.  Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.  When oatmeal is fully cooled, you can cut it into squares.
8. Leftovers can keep for 3 days in fridge or 2 weeks in freezer.  I like it warmed up in the microwave...it tastes like dessert!!