Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes - All plant based!

This is an easy dish to make that we call cheesy scalloped potatoes, but if you are serving them to guests you can call them Potatoes au Gratin. Either way, they are delicious! This recipe serves 6 but you can change it up if you are serving a crowd.

Ingredients:

- 4 cups potatoes, thinly sliced (you can use a mandolin if you have one)
- 3 Tbsp of vegan butter
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened plain almond milk
- 1 cup grated vegan cheese, plus 1/2 cup for topping (Follow Your Heart Cheddar Shreds are perfect)
- 1 tsp each: salt and pepper
- a pinch each: cayenne pepper and paprika

Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 F.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and slowly whisk in flour. Stir for about 30 seconds. Add cayenne, paprika, salt and pepper and continue stirring.
- Slowly whisk in milk and cook until mixture starts to bubble. Add cheese and remove from heat. Stir until all cheese has melted.
- Arrange half of your sliced potatoes in a slightly greased casserole dish then pour half your cheese mixture over. Repeat with the remaining potatoes and cheese sauce.
- Top with your remaining cheese shreds and place in heated oven for one hour.

Easy Plant-Based Thanksgiving Main!

Thanksgiving really is a time to spend with your family and friends celebrating what you are truly thankful for. But it is also well known for everyone sitting down to a huge meal that traditionally is laden with meat products.  I have celebrated decades of this holiday serving plant based products only. It is absolutely delicious and much easier than you think. Today, we are going to cover Main Dish alternatives that will leave your guests wanting seconds and thirds!

No Need For Turkey or Ham!

There are so many options out there, and your supermarket most likely has at least a couple of choices, but here are some that I like:

1)      With only a 22 minute cook time Gardein Savory Stuffed Turk’y is a great choice. Delicious and easy!
2)      Field Roast Stuffed Celebration Roast - Stuffed with a savory sausage-style stuffing made with butternut squash, apples and mushrooms makes this plant based roast and great addition to your meal!
3)      To feed a big crowd try the Vegetarian Plus – Whole Vegan Turkey. Tastes great and can feed over 20 people. And for those of you who want the “look” it does look like the meat option.
4)      Vegetarian Plus also makes a ham substitute with an apricot plum glaze.
5)      For cozier dinners, Gardein offers a selection of Turk’y cutlets which I quite often include at my holiday dinners and my guests love them!
6)      If you want to make a main from scratch, here is a great recipe:

Portobello Mushroom with Savory Stuffing and Gravy – 4 servings, easy to double or triple

-  4 portobello mushrooms, stems trimmed
-  4 cups of cubed bread, whatever type you like-leave out to dry for an hour
-  1 of each diced: onion, celery stalk, carrot, apple
-  1 cup of cooked rice, white or brown or wild
-  2 cups of mushroom or vegetable stock
-  1 tsp each (dried): thyme, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper
-  Olive oil

Directions:
-  Preheat oven to 350.
-  Trim the Portobello mushrooms and brush both sides lightly with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place on parchment lined baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes and remove. Let cool slightly.
-  While mushroom caps are cooking, add oil to a pan on medium heat, and add chopped vegetables and all spices. Cook until soft (about 7-10 minutes). Do not brown.
-  Add rice and stock. If the mixture is dry add a bit more stock, then remove from heat.
-  Mound stuffing into each mushroom cap. Place in 350 degree oven and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Gravy
-  2 Tbsp Olive Oil or Vegan butter
-  3 cups of sliced mushrooms, whatever type you like
-  1 small onion, diced fine
-  2 cloves of garlic, minced
-  1 tsp each salt, pepper, thyme-dried
-  2 cups of mushroom or vegetable stock
-  2 Tbsp organic corn starch or 3 Tbsp of flour

Directions:
-  In a medium saucepan heat oil or vegan butter over medium heat.
-  Add onions and garlic and spices, cook for 1-2 minutes and then add mushrooms. Sauté until soft (about 7-10 minutes).
-  Add your corn starch or flour to the pan and stir until veggies are coated.
-  Slowly add your stock, stirring constantly. Cook for about 5 minutes.
-  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Where Do Vegans Get Their Protein From??

This is most likely the number one asked question I hear from non-vegans.  They will probably never stop asking, and I will never stop answering. So hear it is again. The recommended intake of protein is .36 grams per pound, so an average of 56 grams per day for a sedentary man and about 46 grams for an inactive woman.  Healthy active people and even serious body builders have no problem following a plant-based diet as well. You can incorporate protein all throughout the day on a plant-based diet, especially in snacks, where it’s most often overlooked, without really needing a massive source at every meal. Here are just a few easy ways to include protein in your everyday lives.

Lentils – They are super affordable and super-filling! They add about 9 grams of protein for each half cup, plus a ton of fiber!  Add your favorite Mexican spices to cooked lentils, throw in a few veggies and your fav salsa and presto – Lentil Tacos! A cup of cooked lentils added to your favorite salad is another easy way to add this versatile ingredient.

Quinoa – This glutton-free grain racks up 8 grams of protein per cup, and is a great source of magnesium, antioxidants and fiber!  Transform your morning smoothie into a legit meal by adding some cooked quinoa.  Replace your morning oatmeal with this cooked grain and add a handful of your favorite berries. Adding to salads, soups and stir-fry’s are all easy ways to include quinoa in your daily meals.

Nuts and Seeds – Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews, and Pumpkin, Chia and Flax seeds are all great sources of protein, fiber and many other health benefits.  Hemp seeds are a complete protein that are hard NOT to love. Packing 13 grams in just 3 tablespoons, these tiny seeds are easy to add anywhere. Try mixing in nuts to your non-dairy yogurt, sprinkle a handful on your favorite salad, add ground flaxseed to your morning smoothie, or just snack on a handful of almonds.

Artichokes - Containing 4 grams of protein in just 1/2 cup, artichoke hearts are a great way to boost fiber, protein, and they are filling but low in calories.

Edamame – Another great source of protein, antioxidants and fiber, these young green soybeans are delicious and pack in 8.5 grams of protein per ½ cup! Snack on them with a sprinkle of salt or add to soups, burgers, and salads. You can also dry roast them for a great snack.

Green beans, Broccoli and Asparagus – These are great sources of protein and are all easy to add to your best recipes.

Nutritional Yeast – This cheesy tasting ingredient contains 8 grams of protein in 2 tablespoons and can usually be found in the Natural department of your grocery store. An easy way to add this to your diet is to sprinkle some into your mashed cauliflower or potatoes, salads or pizzas or add to a bowl of popcorn. Cheese dips and Mac and Cheese are all great foods for this ingredient.

Vegan Valentine's Day Dinner for Two

A special Valentine's Day Dinner made for two.

TOMATO ONION FLAXSEED BREAD

·  5 ripe Roma tomatoes
-   1 small red onion
-  3 cloves garlic
-  ¼ cup sundried tomatoes in olive oil and Italian herbs
-  ½ cup golden flaxseed meal
-  2 tablespoons brown rice flour
-  1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
-  1 tablespoon tapioca starch
-  1 teaspoon onion powder
-  1 teaspoon garlic powder
-  1 teaspoon dried basil
-  1 teaspoon smoked paprika
-  ½ teaspoon Himalayan/sea salt

BABY SPINACH SALAD

-  2 cups baby spinach
-  1 tablespoon pine nuts
-  1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
-  1 tablespoon lemon juice
-  A few sprinkles Himalayan/sea salt
-  A few sprinkles freshly ground pepper

GRILLED BREADED TOFU STEAKS

-  ½ block firm or extra firm tofu
-  1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
-  1 teaspoon tomato paste
-  1 teaspoon miso paste
-  1 teaspoon sesame oil/extra light olive oil
-  ½ teaspoon pure maple syrup
-  ¼ cup high quality breadcrumbs

INSTRUCTIONS

TOMATO ONION FLAXSEED BREAD

1.  Preheat oven to 320°F (160°C).

2.  Chop the Roma tomatoes, red onion and garlic in relatively small pieces. They don’t have to be tiny but it will help with the chopping process.

3.  Put all the chopped vegetables and sundried tomatoes in the blender (or food processor) and pulse it briefly to chop it up. DO NOT PUREE IT! It’s important that if you’re using something like Vitamix, you pulse it for a second quickly, then stir, and pulse until most of the stuff is chopped but not a complete mush.

4.  Pour the mixture into a fine mesh sieve and squeeze out about a cup of juice. You can keep the juice in a container to use as broth for other things! (It will be a total waste to throw it out.)

5.  Pour the chunky mashed vegetables in a large bowl and add the flaxseed meal, brown rice flour, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, basil, paprika and salt. Stir until everything is well mixed.

6.  Align baking parchment paper on an 9×13 inch oven tray and grease the baking paper with non-stick cooking oil.

7.  Pour the mixture on the baking tray with parchment paper underneath, and spread it out across the entire tray, so the layer is nice and thin, and even.

8.  If you want the bread to be thin and crunchy, you will need to use a larger oven tray so the layer can be thinner. It will take shorter time to bake so you MUST check every 10 minutes or so after it’s been baking for 25 minutes, because the bottom may burn easily.

9.  Bake in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes (depending on the thickness). Allow it to cool before cutting it up. Be careful though, some thinner parts may burn, so every 5 minutes or so after it’s been baking for 40 minutes.

BABY SPINACH SALAD

1. Add all the ingredients in a bowl and toss and turn it around until the spinach leaves is coated by everything pretty evenly.

GRILLED BREADED TOFU STEAKS

1. Cut half of a regular block of tofu out and squeeze out as much water as you can without breaking the tofu. Once water is squeezed, use some paper towels to get more water out from all sides.

2. Carefully cut the tofu block in three layers, then slice across to make 6 small rectangles. (But you can really cut them in any sized pieces you want). You will see that more water will emerge from the middle, so once again, get more paper towels to squeeze out even more water.

3. You may even want to leave it out for a little while to dry off. The more water you squeeze out, the better the outcome.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the soy sauce, tomato paste, miso paste, sesame or olive oil and maple syrup and stir until the sauce is even.

5. In a separate shallow dish, pour the breadcrumbs on it. I used Trader Joe’s.

6. Dip the tofu steaks in the sauce, then quickly coat them with breadcrumbs. Do this to each of the tofu steaks.

7. Spray some non-stick cooking oil on a ribbed grill pan and lay the tofu steaks neatly on the pan.

8. Turn the heat on medium high (between 5-6) and cook the tofu on one side for about 10-13 minutes until you see it brown, then flip it over as carefully as you can, and cook the other side for another 6-10 minutes until the other side has browned as well.

 Recipes and photos courtesy of Vegan Lifestyle Magazine