A little sweet and a little savory

I recently subscribed to the Happy Herbivore’s 7 day meal plan with the hopes of losing a few pounds. One of the recipes I have already fallen in love with: Peanut Butter Cup Quinoa. It’s my new favorite way to start the day!

 

For dinner, I made corn fajitas. I sauteed some black beans with onion, cumin, salt, and black pepper. In a separate frying pan, I sauteed peppers and onions. I layered the beans and peppers on top of a corn tortilla with salsa and guacamole. Delicious!

 

~Kate

Homemade Salsa

Kate’s Homemade Salsa

4 tomatoes (I used the ones I received in my CSA), quartered

1 small red onion, quartered

A large bunch of fresh cilantro

1-2 tablespoons Cumin

1-2 teaspoons Chipotle Pepper Powder

1-2 teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Pepper

1. First, pulse onion until it is diced up.
2. Add the tomatoes and cilantro and continue to pulse until you get the desired consistency.
3. Season to your liking!

Vegan Fast Food

I started a new job today (woohoo) and needed to find something quick to eat in between appointments. One of the most, if not THE most, vegan friendly fast food joints is Taco Bell. I chose the Fresco Bean Burrito which consisted of refried beans, salsa, tomatoes, and onions. Although lacking in vegetables, it definitely gave me the protein boost I needed!

When I got home, I felt like I need to replenish my nutrients with some fresh veggies, so at 9pm, I heated up my skillet and sauteed some beet greens and broccoli from my CSA this week. No oil added, just a bit of vegetable broth!

 

I also had a bunch of kale, and considering last week’s kale supply went to waste, I decided to try Kerri’s super easy Kale Chip recipe. Once again, no oil needed!

Kale Chips

A bunch of kale ripped into half-dollar sized pieces

Seasonings of your choice (I used salt and pepper)

Preheat oven to 250. Place kale pieces in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Season lightly. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Super Easy. Super Delicious. Thanks Kerri!

~Kate

So much delicious-ness!

I found this great recipe on Pinterest, but tweaked it to make it a little healthier and give it a little more flavor. I put the changes in red 🙂

Black Bean, Corn, and Edamame Salad with Lime-Cilantro Dressing

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil (I used a few tablespoons of vegetable broth)
• 1 small garlic clove, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar (or sugar)
• 2 cobs of corn, cooked, cooled, and corn cut from cob (about 2 cups) (I used frozen corn)
• 1 cup edamame, cooked and cooled
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained well
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of cumin

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, oils, broth, garlic, and agave or sugar. Whisk together and set aside.
2. Add the corn, edamame, black beans, onion, and cilantro to a medium/large bowl.
3. Pour dressing over the mixture and gently toss.
4. Refrigerate for at least one hour, up to overnight, to allow flavors to blend.

For dinner, I made a delicious stir-fry with string beans from my CSA, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, onions, peppers, and edamame. The night before, while making pesto tofu sandwiches, I set aside some extra dry-fried tofu to marinate. The marinade consisted of an vegetarian stir-fry sauce I purchased at the local Asian market, vegetable broth, granulated garlic, and ground ginger. Why the veggie broth? I saw the sodium content in the sauce and decided to dilute it. It was still tasted great! The only other item I included was Asian rice cakes that Kerri was kind enough to bring me last week. I love the texture and how they taste mixed in with the vegetables and sauce.

Regardless of how delicious my food tastes, I need a little something sweet to end the day. I lost a lot of cooking energy making these meals so I settled for some delicious vanilla cake with vanilla frosting from my favorite restaurant, Susty’s Vegan Cafe. A perfect end to the day!

~Kate

What I’ve Been Eating

Kerri and I hung out Monday night and made this delicious, low-fat, vegan Mac N Cheese. The recipe is from “The Happy Herbivore” by Lindsay S. Nixon. This is by far my favorite vegan cook book. Everything is extremely easy to make and all the ingredients are easy to find.

Last night, I tweaked the cheese sauce recipe to make a cheezy gravy for my bean burrito. Delicious!! I also sauteed some onions, peppers, and tomatoes, threw on a little guac (Wholly Guacamole brand), all-natural salsa, and some black beans. This is probably one of my favorite meals 🙂

This past weekend, I also decided to try making some homemade, vegan kimchi. I received a large head of Napa cabbage in my CSA last week and decided it was time to finally make an attempt at it! Unfortunately, I was missing a few of the ingredients listed, specifically the radish and Korean red pepper. I replaced the red pepper with Sriracha sauce, which I may regret later due to its much higher spice level 😉 Oh well! Right now, the kimchi is sitting in my fridge and will be ready to taste in 5 more days. I will keep you updated on how it comes out!