Tofu & Black Bean Enchiladas

 

Even meat eaters will love this recipe. Enjoy this vegetarian spin a classic Mexican comfort food. Yum!

 

Ingredients

 

·        Pack of 8 white corn tortillas

·        1 pack of extra firm tofu

·        2 cups Mexican cheese

·        Chopped cilantro

·        1 fresh jalapeno, sliced

·        ½ cup chopped red onion

·        1 can no-salt black beans, drained

·        1 can of enchilada sauce (or make your own homemade enchilada sauce!)

·        Salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder

 

Directions

 

1.        Preheat oven to 425 degrees

2.        Drain package of tofu, removing as much excess water as possible (this is important for the texture to be right). Crumble up the tofu.

3.        In a large bowl, mix the crumbled tofu, drained black beans, 1 cup of cheese, ½ cup of red onions. Add a handful of your chopped cilantro and add the spices to your liking. Mix well.

4.        Pour enchilada sauce into a bowl. Take each tortilla and fully coat with sauce. Then, fill each tortilla with the tofu/bean mixture.

5.        Place each filled and rolled tortilla into a 1 inch deep baking pan. Once all tortillas are placed with seam-side down, pour the remaining sauce onto all the tortillas.

6.        If there is any remaining mixture, sprinkle on top. Then, sprinkle the other cup of shredded cheese on top.

7.        Sprinkle remaining cilantro and sliced jalapenos on top and pop into the oven. Bake for about 20-25 until hot and bubbly and the cheese is beginning to brown.

8.        Serve with shredded lettuce and a dollop of sour cream as garnish.

 

Happy Cooking!

 

- Kat

Grilled Tofu Kabobs

A friend of mine had a BBQ recently that was chock full of meat options; churrasco, sausage and chicharrón. I was in charge of the sides since I don't eat meat. I made a summer pasta salad and replaced mayo with plain Greek yogurt and we grilled Tofu Kabobs & asparagus. The asparagus was lightly seasoned with sea salt, pepper, olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. We put the asparagus on the grill for about 15 minutes, perfect!

For the tofu kabobs I cut up red onions, green, red & yellow bell peppers, mushrooms and zucchini. I used extra firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes. You have to squeeze as much liquid out of the tofu as you can. Put veggies and tofu onto long wooden skewers. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle sea salt, ground pepper and garlic powder. Smother in your fave BBQ sauce. I used a smoky one from Trader Joes. Throw those babies on the grill for about 10-15 minutes on each side (flip a couple times) and enjoy!

veggie frittata

Frittata is an egg-based dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as vegetables, cheeses and meats. The dish frittata originated in Italy. It can be your main dish or a side dish. You can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Here is a recipe for a simple vegetable frittata. You can alter the ingredients as you like, even adding meat if you fancy. 

Vegetable Frittata 

Ingredients

red onion, chopped

tomato, chopped

green onion, chopped

baby bella mushrooms, sliced 

bell pepper, chopped (any color, I used orange)  

yukon gold potato, sliced on mandolin, then cut 4 ways

spinach, chopped

6 organic eggs, equal parts egg whites

grapeseed oil

fresh ground peppercorn + sea salt to taste

shredded cheese (any kind, I used mexican shredded cheese blend, about 2 tbsp)

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large pan, set to medium heat, drizzle grapeseed oil into pan. Add all veggies except for spinach.

 

3. Sauté all the veggies for about 5-7 minutes, until tender. Add spinach and sauté for a couple more minutes. Set aside from heat.

4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and egg whites added salt + pepper to desired taste.

5. Pour veggies into egg mixture. Then pour eggs and veggies into a round ceramic baking dish.

6. Sprinkle cheese on top and pop into the oven for 25 minutes. 

7. Let it cool for about 5 minutes and serve. 

I had a slice of the frittata with a smoked salmon salad for lunch, great combination! 

 Happy cooking!

-Kat   

guacamole!

I went to the Pinecrest Garden's green market this past Sunday. I love this farmer's market! So many organic fruits and veggies. My best pick up was 2 HUGE local Homestead avocados for $3 each. These avocados were for sure about 2 lbs each. Naturally, I made some guac with 'em! Here is a simple recipe for guacamole.

Ingredients
1 large Florida avocado, cubed
2 organic tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped yellow onions (or red)
handful cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
juice of 2 lemons
sea salt, ground pepper
*small* dash of red pepper flakes
Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl add all ingredients, adding spices last.
2. With a masher, mash all ingredients. Mash avocado to your desired amount of creaminess.

And that's it! Sooo yummy.

Happy cooking!
-Kat

Baked Tofu and Summer Pasta salad

Today I am going to a BBQ for my friend's birthday and everyone will be bringing a little something. I decided to make a Summer Pasta salad for a side dish and Baked tofu with vegan spicy mayo as an appetizer. The pasta salad is vegan and gluten-free.

Summer Pasta Salad 
Ingredients
Gluten-free brown rice/veggie pasta spirals
Red onion, chopped
Green and Red bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 can cannellini beans, no salt added, drained and rinsed
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
1 can heart of palm, drained
3 tbsp vegenaise
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
drizzle of evoo
sea salt, ground pepper + smoked paprika to taste

Directions
1. Cook pasta according to directions. In a large bowl mix all the veggies.
2. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Toss into bowl with veggies.
3. Add spices, vegenaise, vinegar and evoo. Mix evenly and store in fridge until ready to serve.

Baked Tofu
Use extra firm sprouted tofu. I used the Nasoya brand for this. Drain tofu and pat down with a paper towel. You want to get most of the liquid out. Cut tofu into slices then cubes. In a large bowl season the tofu how you like. I used Braggs nutritional yeast, ground black pepper, low-sodium soy sauce, a dash of cayenne pepper, and freshly minced garlic. Toss until evenly coated. 
Brush EVOO on a baking sheet and set to 400 degrees F. Evenly spread the tofu on the baking sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Take out of the oven and flip tofu. Broil for 3-4 minutes. Done. For the vegan spicy mayo just use some Vegenaise and sriracha.  Perfect party appetizer for vegetarians and carnivores alike! 
 
Cooking can be simple and fun. Take the time to make things at home. It's healthier than eating out and you know exactly what's going into your food.

Enjoy!
-Kat

'now or later' vegan burgers

This recipe came from the latest issue of Vegetarian Times magazine. I've always wanted to make my own veggie burgers but have always been intimidated by the task. I came across this very simple recipe and got excited. The result was excellent.

Ingredients
2 cups canned black beans, 1/4 cup canned lentils (both no salt added)
^you can use any beans you like and save the liquid
4 carrots, grated
1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)
3 cloves garlic, chopped (1 tbsp)
spices of your choice, sea salt and ground pepper (tsp each)
4 tbsp olive oil

Directions
1. Pulse beans, carrots, onions, oats, parsley, garlic, spices in a food processor. (I have a small one which this would work better in a large processor. You want the consistency to be chunky and since I have a small processor it takes longer to pulse everything causing it to liquefy easier).
2. Let rest for a bit before shaping patties. The above ingredients gave 5 patties. Wrap them up in plastic and refrigerate. In about 30 minutes they will be ready to cook.
3. Spray cooking spray onto a skillet at medium heat. Cook each side of burger for 3-5 minutes. You want some crispiness on each side.
4. Pop any patties that you don't use into the freezer!

As a side dish I roasted some asparagus and mushrooms. YUM! Roasting veggies is soo easy. Set your oven temp to 425 degrees. In a large bowl mix the veggies with 2 tspn olive oil, nutritional yeast, ground pepper, sea salt, dry parsley and garlic salt. Bake for about 15-25 minutes, checking on the veggies at 10 minute intervals.

More recipes soon!! Happy cooking and cook with more vegetables! Green is good for you....

-Kat

Sunday Juice Prep

I have a busy schedule at work and if I don't prepare my meals I PROBABLY will end up eating something that is NOT healthy. So I prepared my juices for tomorrow/Tuesday. All ingredients are organic.

Gala Apple, Italian parsley and 5 carrots

Only made about 8 ounces but this should give you enough energy to skip a morning coffee. It could also be your afternoon pick-me-up.

1/2 grapefruit, 1 Valencia orange, handful of strawberries, 1 peach, 1 celery stalk, 3 carrots, 1 Gala apple.

Breakfast juice.

Pineapple, 2 celery stalks, a bunch of black kale, 1 cup of green grapes, handful of cilantro.

I cut up a pineapple a week ago and froze half of it. I used some of the frozen chunks for this. I follow "Juicing Vegetables" on Facebook and they posted a recipe for a "Kale cleanser". The Kale cleanser included Kale, Pineapple, Celery, Cucumber, and lemon. I've tried it an would definitely recommend. This last juice is kind of similar and is basically what I had in my fridge. 

I have not done a juice fast yet but I do replace some meals with juices. Whenever I start my day out with a juice I feel 100% better than I would if I hadn't. 

Now onto prepare some meals. Happy juicing!

-Kat

On November 28, 2008

I became vegetarian the day after Thanksgiving in 2008. I told my family at that dinner that it would be my last "meat" meal. They all thought I was crazy and they didn't get it. No one understood why in the hell I would want to give up meat
So that was the last time I enjoyed my mother's turkey, a recipe passed on by three generations.
This November will mark four years of this journey, which has had it's ups and downs to say the least. This post if for people who are transitioning into vegetarianism and want some understanding.

Now, I cannot say I never ate meat after my decision. About 8 months after I started my meat-free diet (to be clear, I am a pesco-lacto-ovo vegetarian) I decided to try eating meat again. Honestly I don't remember why I wanted to go back but I did. I started out with a Publix ham and turkey sub. Gross. One of my once favorite things tasted so different to me. I figured OK, maybe I just need to get used to it. I made picadillo, a latin dish made of ground beef. The meal came out great but when I tasted it, it just didn't feel right. The last thing I ate before I ran back to my vegetarian lifestyle was a chicken salad- I couldn't even finish it. I took the chicken out and just ate the salad.

Throughout that time period I had a couple more slip ups, like taking a bite out of my brothers "sausage" dog at a Santana concert, or accidentally eating a meat taco that my friend ordered instead of my bean one. I ate the entire taco, was definitely too drunk to notice the difference. EVERYONE slips up once or twice. But the consistency in my life got better. I started eating fast food MUCH less, stopped replacing meat with MORE carbs, and recognized that I needed to learn more about food.

I became vegetarian because I love fruits and vegetables! So I needed to get myself acquainted with the food group. I began juicing at the beginning of this year and HOLY SHIT what an amazing addition to my diet. I have a profound belief in finding a diet for life. Something you can stick to day in and day out. And I have found mine.
I want to share with you my love of cooking, stories from my life, and some advice (which will hopefully help!).

People ask me all the the time, WHY? Why don't you eat meat? I can never answer because there truly are too many answers! It started out as a challenge to myself. I really just wanted to see if I had the will power to do it. And it morphed from there. I do eat fish sometimes, I eat cheese, some dairy products and eggs. ALL other animal foods I do not eat. I do it for my health, to help the Earth by not adding to pollution caused by animal farming, because of the cruelty to animals in the farming industry in America. When I buy fish I buy responsibly farmed or wild caught. I try to buy organic produce and food as much as possible. I am not perfect and I am not rich so this can become difficult but I try my best to buy the cleanest, most responsibly farmed food I can find.

After all, you are what you eat.

Are you vegetarian? Have you thought about becoming one? Give me your thoughts. Let's discuss.

-Kat