Quinoa cakes..Yummy!!

**This is my favorite breakfast after a long ride or run.  Today we rode almost 50 miles and these really filled me up.  I have made quite a few modifications on this to keep it vegan.  I put my modifications in blue.  Enjoy!


By Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice (I use quinoa)
3/4 cup all purpose flour (I use organic whole wheat flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg white (1 use 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground flax & 5 tablespoons water)
1 tablespoon butter, melted, plus more for skillet ( I omit this from the recipe-no substitution)
1/4 cup low fat milk (I use almond milk..I use quite a bit more milk than this...keep adding until you get the right consistency)
2 tbsp pure maple syrup, plus more for serving

Directions:

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together quinoa, flour, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl, whisk eggs, egg white, butter, milk, and syrup until smooth.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk to combine.  (I just put it all in a bowl together since I don't use eggs...no need to dirty another bowl)


2.  Lightly coat pan with butter (I use earth balance vegan butter).  Drop batter into skillet.  Cook approx. 2 min on each side.  Serve with maple syrup.

My Favorite Salad from True Foods Kitchen!

Tuscan Kale Salad Recipe

Tuscan Kale Salad Ingredients

• 4-6 cups Kale, loosely packed, sliced leaves
      of Italian black (Lacinato, “dinosaur,” cavolo nero)
      midribs removed
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 3-4 T Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic, mashed
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Hot Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
• 2/3 cup grated Pecorino Toscano cheese
      (Rosselino variety if you can find it) or other
      flavorful grating cheese such as
      Asiago or Parmesan
• ½ cup freshly made Bread Crumbs from
      lightly toasted bread

Tuscan Kale Salad Directions

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper, and a generous pinch (or more to taste) of hot red pepper flakes. Pour over kale in serving bowl and toss well. Add 2/3 of the cheese and toss again. Let kale sit for at least 5 minutes. Add bread crumbs, toss again, and top with remaining cheese.

**I literally make this salad several times a week!  I omit the cheese since I'm avoiding dairy and reduce the oil to 2 tbsp and increase the lemon a bit.  

Delicious Slaw!

Rainbow Slaw with Sweet Tahini Dressing From Healthy Happy Life
makes four generous servings

Rainbow Slaw:
3 cups shredded or grated cabbage (I did half thinly sliced and half grated)
1 cup grated carrots (about 1 large carrot)
3/4 cup grated cucumber (skin on)
1/2 cup sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated sweet onion
1 1/4 cups finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (stems too!)
1/2 cup shelled organic hemp seeds
optional: chopped walnuts or pecans and/or raisins or dried cranberries

Sweet Tahini Dressing:

note: be sure you stor your tahini well - you want a thin pourable tahini. If your tahini is overly dried up or chalky you will need to add in some oil to loosen it up.
2 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp grade B maple syrup
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 small lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste



Directions:
1. The slaw is pretty simple. Just grate or chop and add everything to a giant bowl. Toss the veggies and get ready to toss with the dressing.


2. Dressing: Again, easy! You combine all the ingredients and briskly stir until everything combines. Taste and add salt and fine black pepper to taste. I actually only add a few dashes of salt - you really don't need much with all the zesty vinegar and lemon juice flavor.

stir dressing well until creamy...


3. Toss the slaw with the dressing. Use as much or as little dressing as you'd like. I use it all..
Serve right away. If you want to make this slaw ahead of time - you probably want to chop your cabbage instead of shred - the shredding make the slaw very WET. Which is one of the reasons why I like it so much. But your really have to eat it right away or it gets soggy. But if you use thicker cabbage - it will stay nice and crisp chilled in the fridge.

Biggest Challenge

My biggest challenge is still having enough meat free/dairy free food available so that when I'm hungry, I have a good healthy snack.  These days I seem to live on hummus...mostly cilantro jalapeno hummus.  Today I had a big workout...track workout and lake swim this evening.  I am constantly hungry and have to have food washed and cut and ready to eat.  Tonight I made pita pizzas on whole wheat pitas with hummus, black beans, tomatoes, spinach, onions, and vegan cheese.  They were delicious and so easy!!  My big challenge is still my family.  They love their meat!  I no longer serve red meat or pork and only do organic skinless chicken breasts.  They are getting more adventurous by trying my meals but it is hard to change old habits!

Veggie Burgers....Yum!

By: Healthy Happy Life

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

makes 7-8 large patties

2 cans cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp tahini
2 tsp maple or agave syrup
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning OR Cajun seasoning (or another fave spice!)
1/4 cup wheat flour
optional: additional seasoning (whatever you have on hand - I used a few dashes cayenne, black pepper and a scoop of nutritional yeast)
salt to taste if needed

plentiful Panko crumbs
safflower oil for pan

burgers: avocado, Dijon mustard, grain buns, romaine, onion, olive oil, pepper

Directions:

1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat.
5. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko.
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.
7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings.

Note: yes this patty does fall kind of apart as you eat it. But that is OK because it tastes yummy.

**I really enjoyed this meal!  It is way too soft to eat without a fork/knife.  Next time, I will eat it open faced with a bun on the bottom and not the top.  I put pepper and cayenne pepper in mine.  Next time...more cayenne.  My son kept saying it wasn't as good as a "real" burger but that's because the consistency is not equal.  The avocado, onion and lettuce added a lot.  I also used cajun seasoning.  It is very filling and easy to make!

My Great Dinner!

Portobello Mushroom Marinara Sauce from NY1.com

It’s easy to pick up a jar of marinara sauce at the store, but simple homemade versions of marinara sauce can be ready to go in a half-hour or less. In lieu of the usual ground meat or sausage, this vegetarian sauce recipe adds the texture and flavor of chopped portobello mushrooms.

Get started by using a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a splash of olive oil, to saute 1 heaping cup of diced white onion, 3 chopped portobello mushrooms, 2 large cloves of minced garlic, 1 1/2 tsp of dried basil, 1 1/2 tsp of dried oregano and a couple of bay leaves.

After 7-8 minutes, when the mushrooms are nice and soft, add two 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes and an optional pinch of red pepper flakes.

Then add 1/2 to 1 cup of water to the empty cans, and add that "tomato water" to the pot so the sauce doesn't thicken up too much. Simmer the sauce for about 20 minutes.

Plan ahead and cook the pasta so that it's done at the same time. Use any pasta you like, but I think cheese tortellini is a good choice for a vegetarian meal.

***My comments on the meal:  I added several things to this recipe.  First, I used a 28 ounce can of organic diced tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes.  I also added artichoke hearts (canned in water) and red pepper flakes for some spicy flavor.   I do not eat cheese so I put it over whole wheat penne pasta instead of cheese tortellini.  It was a great meal and very satisfying.  

Another Great Recipe!

Chickpea & Quinoa Salad from the Healthy Foodie

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 2)
Salad

• 2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
• 1½ cups cooked chickpea, cooled
• 1 carrot, diced finely
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 4 radishes, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1 cup baby spinach, chopped

Dressing

• 2 tbsp old style whole grain Dijon Mustard
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• the juice and zest of ½ lemon
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp blue agave nectar (or liquid honey)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients listed under “salad”. Give that a good stir and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk ingredients for the dressing and mix until well combined. Do not omit the agave nectar or honey, as this really makes all the difference in the world. It just brings out all the deliciousness of this salad.
3. Add the dressing to the salad and stir well.
4. You can serve immediately or keep in the fridge for several hours before serving, even overnight. Letting it rest will only help the flavors develop.

**I made this recipe exactly like it says.  It is delicious!  I don't like mustard and this did not taste like mustard at all.  I doubled the recipe and ate it for lunch several days in a row.  It did not get soggy.  Even my high school girls liked it and took it to school in their lunch.