Potato and Cabbage Soup

Potato and Cabbage Soup PinThis delicious Potato and Cabbage Soup was created from spare veggies we had lying around our refrigerator. At only 126 calories for roughly 2 cups, this also makes a great weight-loss recipe.

One of Amelia’s pet peeves is the sheer volume of broccoli stalk that comes on a relatively small head of broccoli. For years, we’ve been throwing the stalks in the trash even though they account for almost 70% of the weight charged by the grocery store.

We’re really striving to be less wasteful, so we’ve been figuring out how to eat the parts of veggies we’ve been throwing away, like broccoli stalks and Beet Greens. That’s why Amelia invented this recipe…mainly to use the broccoli stalks we didn’t want to waste.

She cut the tough nubs off the stalk, chopped it up into small pieces and threw them in this tasty Potato and Cabbage Soup. Since broccoli stalks have the same nutritional content as broccoli florets, we’ve been throwing away most of the broccoli’s nutrition! But not anymore!

We also use our spare veggies to make Easy Vegetable Broth from Scraps. That recipe puts our veggie scraps to good use and saves us at least $20/month in store-bought veggie broth.

This recipe is very low calorie, but pretty filling. However, you should still pair it with a Hearty Side Salad, some Steamed Broccoli or a slice of Whole-Grain Bread.

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.

Vegan Polenta with Mushrooms and Lentils

Vegan Polenta PinThis Vegan Polenta with Mushrooms and Lentils recipe is colorful, delicious and filling. The sweetness of the polenta combines nicely with the savory mushrooms and tangy balsamic reduction. It’s a party for your taste buds!

While it tastes great, it’s very low calorie so one serving doesn’t make a meal. It has 7 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein, but only 104 calories per serving. That means you’ll need to eat two servings, or pair it with something else like Oven Roasted Red Potatoes and a Side Salad.

This recipe makes 12 servings. You can cut the ingredients in half to avoid having too many leftovers.

If you have leftover polenta, it makes a great breakfast topped with some fruit preserves and served with a slice of whole grain toast with cashew butter.

Vegan Polenta with Mushrooms and Lentils Instructional Video

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 Tomato Cream Sauce Spaghetti with Kale

Vegan Tomato Cream SauceThis Vegan Tomato Cream Sauce over spaghetti and topped with kale is rich, a little spicy and completely delicious. It’s also very nutritious with 11 grams of fiber, 15 grams of protein, 208% RDV Vitamin A and 171% Vitamin C. That’s pretty darn healthy for a tomato cream sauce!

We used Ancient Harvest Gluten Free Supergrain Pasta™ Spaghetti noodles for this recipe since gluten bothers Amelia. To be honest, I couldn’t tell the difference. If anything, this pasta is a little richer than regular wheat pasta. If you’ve never had it, give it a try. You might like it better and it has more nutritional value.

You’ll need the Vegan Cashew Cream recipe for this dish. Remember to soak the cashews 2 hours before you’re ready to start cooking.

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 Cajun Chickpea Fritters

Cajun Chickpea Fritters PinThese vegan cajun chickpea fritters are delicious adult dinner pancakes chock full of protein and fiber. They’re also gluten free since they use chickpea flour instead of wheat flour. Although, be sure all the other ingredient you use are also gluten free.

They pair well with wilted spinach, a side salad or healthy veggies. Or you can do what we did and eat them straight off the griddle or as a main dish.

We used an electric griddle instead of frying them in a saute pan with oil, which cut down on the calories and fat a little. Plus, we were able to cook most of them at once instead of a few at a time.

We also drizzled our Vegan Ranch Dressing over them, which was yummy.

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.

Grilled Eggplant Sandwich

Grilled Eggplant SandwichThis Grilled Eggplant Sandwich recipe is both filling and delicious. It’s good on its own, or pairs well with a side salad or a bowl of tomato soup.

If you have a panini press, this recipe would also make a great panini. But we don’t have one so we made a regular grilled eggplant sandwich, instead.

This recipe packs 11 grams of fiber and 10 grams of protein that’ll fill you up and keep you satisfied until dinner. Eggplant is a great source of fiber but very low calorie so it’s a good part of your diet if weight loss is your goal.

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 Gluten Free Lasagna (Overnight)

Vegan Gluten Free Lasagna PinSimply amazing, guilt-free vegan gluten free lasagna. This lasagna tastes like the real thing without any meat or cheese. The only difference is you won’t have the typical post-lasagna gut bomb. You’ll want to trick your non-vegan friends with this one.

This is the easy way to make lasagna. By assembling everything in a baking dish and placing it in the refrigerator overnight, you don’t have to boil the lasagna noodles. And that saves a lot of time and hassle.

To make it even easier, use two 26 oz jars of marinara sauce instead of making the sauce from scratch. That saves a TON of time! Sometimes, I let the sauce cook down too much and we run short so I make up the difference with a jar of marinara sauce. It’s also good to heat up some marinara on the stove to ladle over the top of the lasagna when you serve it (as shown in the pictures).

We used rice noodles in this recipe to make it gluten free, but you can use whole-wheat lasagna noodles if you like. It works the same either way.

We also used Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles as the ground beef substitute. It adds some good flavor and texture without saturated fat. However, it does contain oil, so you can skip it or try using cooked and mashed brown lentils instead. If you skip the cheese and the Beefy Crumbles, this is an oil-free recipe.

We made another version of this recipe called our Easy Vegan Lasagna using lentils and tofu ricotta. It tastes just as good but it’s a lot cheaper (tofu is much less expensive than 2 cups of cashews) and completely oil-free.

Prepare the Vegan Cashew Cream 2 to 4 hours before you’re ready to assemble the lasagna. You’ll use this to make the Cashew Ricotta Cheese.

This vegan gluten free lasagna recipe was inspired by an old family friend, Helen Breitenstein, who passed away back in 1993. She was a tiny Irish woman with a huge personality. She made this lasagna the typical way with conventional meat and cheese, but I’ve veganized it for your ethical eating pleasure. I’ve included her “hints” below the recipe.

Vegan Gluten Free Lasagna

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 Burger

Vegan Lentil BurgerBefore switching to a vegan diet, I had never eaten a lentil in my life. I had no idea what they were or how delicious they could be. Now, Amelia is making all sorts of amazing things with lentils, including this delicious Vegan Lentil Burger.

People always ask us vegan eaters where we get our protein. Lentils are one of the best sources of plant based protein and this recipe packs 19 grams of it. To put that in perspective, plant based nutrition experts like Dr. John McDougall say that most adults only need between 30 and 50 grams of protein per day. That means this burger has about half of your daily protein requirements.

We like the Ozery Bakery OneBuns to cut down on processed carbs, but you can use regular hamburger buns if you want to. You can also use ketchup, mustard, Vegenaise or your other favorite toppings. Pairs well with oven roasted red potatoes or a 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 Miso Soup

Vegan Miso SoupVegan Miso Soup is so delicious, and this version is very hearty with the kale, mushrooms and lentils. This soup goes well with a half sandwich or a side salad for lunch, or as a side dish with your dinner.

We used organic cremini mushrooms, but you can use baby portobellos, button mushrooms or your favorite mushroom. We found the miso in the cold section near the vegan ingredients. We prefer the Miso Master Organic Chickpea Miso to make it a soy free soup.

If soy free isn’t important, you can add 3/4 cup of cubed extra firm tofu to give it even more texture and protein.

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 Spaghetti Sauce on Spaghetti Squash

Vegan Spaghetti SauceI used to be a jarred spaghetti sauce guy. I doctored it up to taste better, but it took less time than making my own. However, once I realized how much added sugar is in a regular jar of spaghetti sauce, I decided it was time to make it from scratch. After lots of trial and error, here’s my delicious Vegan Spaghetti Sauce.

We prefer spaghetti squash since it’s much healthier and lower calorie than regular pasta, and it tastes really good. Just be sure to cook it long enough or it’ll be crunchy. It should be al dente but not crunchy.

You can also substitute Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti for real pasta. This looks and tastes like pasta, but it only has 10 calories and 3 grams of carbs per serving. It’s also gluten free and has been eaten for centuries in Asian countries. You can usually find it in the vegan cold foods section near the tofu. It’s in a plastic bag filled with water and noodles.

Enjoy your Vegan Spaghetti Sauce on Spaghetti Squash with a delicious side salad for some extra leafy green roughage.

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.