Vegan Stuffed Eggplant

Vegan Stuffed Eggplant PinAmelia whipped up this Vegan Stuffed Eggplant for us as a low calorie dinner made from veggies we had in the fridge. We wanted to drop a few pounds so she’s been making us some delicious low calorie meals made mostly of fresh veggies, and this is one of my favorites!

Carving out the eggplant is the hardest part of this easy meal. I used a curved grapefruit knife to remove the flesh and that seemed to work well. Then I sliced it up to go with the other veggies that Amelia had prepared.

If you want to lose weight, this is a great recipe. It’s filling with all the fibrous veggies, but very low calorie. In fact, it only has about 140 calories so you can even serve this as a side dish with a Portobello Mushroom Steak. It would also be a really good lunch on a low-cal day or served with a delicious baked or boiled potato.

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.

Vegan Pad Thai

Vegan Pad Thai PinBefore embarking on our plant-based journey, it never occurred to me that we could make our own Pad Thai at home. I always saved it for my occasional trip to a Thai restaurant. But this Vegan Pad Thai with tofu is even better than restaurant Pad Thai! Plus, it’s made without oil!

Super firm tofu works well in this recipe. It has more of a meaty texture and holds together better while stirring the noodles into the mixture.

We used Annie Chun’s Gluten-Free Pad Thai Rice Noodles. They’re delicious and easy to prepare. Just soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes and they’re ready to eat.

Sprinkle a few crushed peanuts and squeeze a lime wedge over the top for a real authentic restaurant experience.

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.

BBQ Jackfruit

BBQ Jackfruit PinThis BBQ Jackfruit is meaty, savory and delicious. It’s a great substitute for pulled pork. If you serve it to your non-vegan friends with our Vegan BBQ Sauce, they won’t know it’s vegan!

Growing up in the Kansas City area gave me a special appreciation for BBQ. There’s nothing quite like KC BBQ so I was very happy when Amelia came up with this amazing BBQ Jackfruit recipe.

The texture of young jackfruit is almost identical to pulled pork. It doesn’t have much flavor of its own so when you cook it with a flavorful BBQ Sauce, it’s pretty much just like a pulled pork BBQ sandwich. We used Organic Young Jackfruit from Native Forest.

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

These Vegan Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas are so deliciously amazing we can’t get enough of them! They’re sweet, spicy, savory and oh so flavorful!

If you’ve ever cooked your own enchiladas, especially without deep frying the tortillas in oil, you’ll be able to sympathize with us on how challenging it is to get them to look pretty. We had to cook this recipe 3 times to not only perfect the ingredients, but to get the pictures to come out well enough to post on our website.

But it was SOOOO worth it!

The trick was to steam the tortillas in a steamer pot for about 1o to 15 seconds before assembling them. Kind of like how they do it at Chipotle. That made the tortillas very soft and pliable. We also used Mi Rancho Organic Corn Tortillas with Guar Gum, which also helped hold them together through the steaming and assembly process.

We actually took these photos before we baked them, though. So yours might not look the same when they come out of the oven. You can see in the prep photo below what they look like in the casserole dish fresh from the oven.

These Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas pair well with a little shredded lettuce salad on the side, along with some Corn Tortilla Corn Chips  and some of my Grandpa’s Dipping Hot Sauce. We used grandpa’s hot sauce in our enchiladas, too. If you plan to do the same, be sure to make it ahead of time.

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Vegan Sloppy Joes PinThese Vegan Sloppy Joes are loaded with 16g protein thanks to the lentils, and they taste just like the Sloppy Joes I had as a kid. To be honest, though, I didn’t like sloppy joes as a kid. But loved them as an adult.

You could make these with Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles. That would be delicious, but we prefer to stick to whole-foods whenever possible and the lentils are perfect for this recipe.

We ate ours the old fashioned way: on a bun. But they would taste great over pasta, Spaghetti Squash and especially over some Boiled Potatoes.

As a side dish, some Vegan French Fries and Green Beans would be very tasty!

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.

Souper Easy Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup PinThis Souper Easy Split Pea Soup recipe comes to us from Kristie Middleton, Senior Director of Food Policy for the Humane Society of the United States. She’s also the author of the widely popular book, “MeatLess: Transform the Way You Eat and Live – One Meal at a Time.”

Amelia and I had the pleasure of meeting Kristie at a Humane League Gala here in Denver, and also at her book signing at the Tattered Cover. Her mission in life and with the Humane Society is to help people transition to a “meatless” diet.

With tons of recipes like this Split Pea Soup in her book, she’s doing a great job of showing people how to eat a more humane diet without sacrificing any of the flavor they’re used to with more traditional, less humane ingredients.

Follow Kristie on Facebook!

We didn’t have Herbs de Provence so Amelia improvised by using a dash of dried oregano, basil, parsley and rosemary. Delicious!

MeatLess by Kristie Middleton

Kristie-Middleton-Meatless_cover_lo A great resource to have in every transitioning vegan kitchen!

This book is loaded with concrete rationale for reducing or eliminating meat from your diet, as well as showing you how to make the transition easier. Kristie provides substitutes for common animal ingredients and dozens of plant-based recipes that will tease the tastebuds of any standard American food eater.

You don't have to sacrifice flavor for compassion. You can have both!

Get It Now!


Vegan Cajun Red Beans and Rice with Field Roast Sausage

Vegan Cajun Red Beans and Rice with Field Roast Sausage PinThis Vegan Cajun Red Beans and Rice with Field Roast Sausage recipe was inspired by an old non-vegan recipe I used to cook for my daughter and me before I went vegan. Cajun red beans and rice with sausage was a favorite on our regular rotation and I’m sure this veganized version will be a new regular meal. It’s absolutely delicious and packed with flavor!

We used the Mexican Chipotle Vegetarian Sausage from Field Roast Grain Meat Co. to give it some extra zing, but you can use pretty much any type of spicy or smoked, flavorful sausage.

If you’re an oil-free or reduced sodium eater, you can skip the sausage, but double the cajun spices to compensate.

This recipe uses dry red beans instead of canned. Dried beans take more prep work, but they’re a lot cheaper and we think they have a lot more flavor. They’re also more environmentally friendly due to reduced processing and packaging.

If you’re in a hurry or don’t want to mess with dry beans, you can use three 16 oz cans of red beans with the juice and reduce the vegetable broth to 1 cup.

This Vegan Cajun Red Beans and Rice with Field Roast Sausage dish pairs well with Vegan Cornbread and a Hearty Side Salad.

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.

Vegan Mushroom Risotto with Chia Seeds

Vegan Mushroom Risotto Chia Seed PinThis Vegan Mushroom Risotto with Chia Seeds recipe is a decadent and filling treat. It pairs well with a Hearty Side Salad, Roasted Asparagus, Steamed Broccoli or anything green to add some color to your rich and creamy risotto.

Risotto is a traditional dish from Northern Italy made with Arborio rice. This type of rice is starchier than regular white rice, and the starch is released while cooking, giving the dish its creamy texture. Don’t use regular rice for this recipe or it won’t come out right.

Chia Seeds are a good source of Omega 3 so we try to mix them in whenever we can. According to Dr. Greger, a tablespoon of chia seeds or flax seeds is all you need to get your daily dose of Omega 3 fatty acids (sans saturated fat, cholesterol and mercury found in the most recommended source of Omega 3’s: fish). This recipe gets you halfway to your daily amount. We also like to throw half a tbsp of flax meal in our Rolled Oats Breakfast, too.

Note: Remember to soak your cashews ahead of time so your Vegan Cashew Cream is ready when your risotto is finished.

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.

Smokey Green Hot Sauce

Smokey Green Hot Sauce PinThis Smokey Green Hot Sauce is a delicious and spicy way to save money. Hot sauce is freaking expensive!

We were spending $10 a week on hot sauce and salsa since we started using them as flavorful and healthy toppings for many of our dishes. A regular 16oz jar of salsa or a 6oz bottle of hot sauce goes for $3 to $5. This recipe makes about 24oz and costs less than 4$ to make!

This smokey green hot sauce is a good topping for your Easy Tofu Scramble, Boiled Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, Vegan Chili or any other dish that needs a little extra spice. You can also use it as a dip for your Corn Tortilla Corn Chips.

If you want to make it extra spicy, add one or two small habanero peppers during Step 1. It might induce a little sweat when you eat it, but it’s absolutely delicious!

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.

Vegan Lentil Loaf

Vegan Lentil Loaf PinThis Vegan Lentil Loaf is a veganized version of the ever popular meatloaf. The lentils, brown rice and oats make this a hearty and nutritious meal while the generous amount of seasonings give it tons of flavor.

My mom’s meatloaf has always been one of my favorite dishes so after going vegan, it was something I really missed. Thankfully, Amelia figured out how to make a veganized version of meatloaf that tastes a lot like mom’s. That’s one more thing that was easily replaced with a cruelty free, healthy and environmentally friendly alternative!

This recipe pairs well with Green Beans, a Side Salad or Steamed Broccoli for your green dish. To make the meal even more filling without adding a lot of extra calories, try our Easy Polenta recipe, a Vegan Baked Potato or Boiled Potatoes.

If you make this recipe, please let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And please share with your friends to help spread the word about healthy plant based eating.