Kale Berry Smoothie

The tropical kale smoothie that had been my daily breakfast for the last year or two has slowly morphed into this kale-berry smoothie.  I've been slowly replacing ingredients with ingredients that seem to have more health benefits, based on Dr. Michael Greger's Nutrition Facts podcast, website, book, and "daily dozen" app. 

Here is how I've been making it these days.  It makes two servings.  I drink a 16 oz glassful and put the other half in a 20 oz mason jar in the fridge for lunch or breakfast the next day.  It is a fantastic start to the day and keeps me full till lunch.

Ingredients
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (I use WestSoy these days because its ingredient list is limited to water and soy beans and it tastes good AND it's even shelf stable.  It's expensive though.  A lot cheaper at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods than at my local Jewel.  I should really take another stab at making my own soy milk...)
1/4 cup pineapple (I use chunks canned in their own juice.)
1 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
1 tsp amla (Indian gooseberry) powder, from dried whole fruit (I bought this on Amazon)
1 tsp chia seeds (or hemp seeds -- I think pretty much any seed would do fine here, it's just to add a touch of fat)
2 tbs ground flaxseed
2 cups frozen kale (I buy fresh curly green kale, tear it up and wash it, and put it in a bag in the freezer for these smoothies.  I've used it without freezing it, and it overpowers the entire smoothie with its green leafy taste.  If I don't have frozen kale, I use fresh baby spinach, which I keep on hand.  I also am not sure it's exactly two cups.  I fill the entire blender with green until there's barely room for the berries.)
1/2 cup berries (This is really good with whole strawberries, wild blueberries, or any kind of berry blend.  I usually get organic ones from the Trader Joe's freezer section.)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients in a high speed blender, blend, and drink.  Makes two servings.

Meal Planning

I need to do my final grocery shopping before Christmas, so I'm finalizing dinners between now and then.  I haven't made several of the meals planned for this week because we've all been sick, and no one would have eaten them (because Sameer and I weren't hungry and Simran would've given me a hard time anyway), so I basically fed Simran leftover soup and sandwiches and Gardein chik tenders while I skipped meals or drank a green shake.  So we still have the ingredients too.  Here is what I'm making between now and Christmas Eve:

Loaded Nachos
This one was going to be Friday night dinner, but Friday is here and we had a big, late lunch, and I'm not hungry, so I'm doing it tomorrow.  Broccoli with ketchup and chik tenders and garlic bread for Simran tonight.

Pav Bhaji
I guess that makes this Christmas Eve dinner.  I don't know how else to use up the potatoes I have left.  I also want to finish off the tomatoes and container of chopped bell pepper this will get rid of.  And the bag of hamburger buns.

Christmas Dinner has its own link, and the next day will probably be a combination of leftovers and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup.  

After that I still have most or all of the ingredients to make:

Leftover Soup and Vegetarian Reuben Sandwiches

Dal Makhani and Basmati Rice
This would especially be good if we have more leftover veggie sides to go with it.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Lasagna and Broiled Asparagus & Artichokes in Vermouth Brown Butter

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls

Christmas 2017

I'm mostly making easy stuff for Christmas dinner, but we're also doing some baking, and I need a place to keep track of all my links.

We barely touched the Cranberry Waldorf I made on Thanksgiving this year, so I'm not making it for Christmas.  I've decided to do stuffed mushrooms though because they are one of my favorite foods.  I recall making a batch and eating the entire thing for dinner once when I was pregnant and Sameer was out of town.  Here is my plan for Christmas dinner:

Crudites and Pumpernickel Bread with Homemade Ranch Dressing
This was my entire lunch on Thanksgiving, and it seems to work well for that.  Delicious and filling, yet light enough that I can eat such a heavy dinner without feeling ill.

Gardein Vegetarian Turk'y Cutlets
Tastier and easier than any holiday fake meat (or real meat) I've ever made (or eaten).  I had to go to all the stores to finally find them at Mariano's before Thanksgiving, but now the local Jewel has them too.

Boxed Mashed Potatoes
Again, easy and tasty.  Sameer, Simran, and I all prefer the taste over from scratch potatoes that require me to use and clean my ricer.  I use a box of Idaho potato flake, milk, butter, and salt.  Don't judge.

Green Bean Casserole 

Stuffed Mushrooms with Horseradish Cream Sauce

Candied Pears 

I haven't decided on a dessert yet.  I might bake a cake or pie, or I might pick one up from a store.  Simran will help decide.  So far she has suggested a pink cake.


Christmas Baking:

Cranberry White Chocolate Scones
I haven't made these in years.  I figure Sameer can take the leftovers to work or we can pawn them off on neighbors.

Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing
I made the dough yesterday and we'll finish the cookies today.  The royal icing I made from a can of Wilton's vanilla flavored egg powder last year was beautiful but tasted cloying and weirdly chemically (maybe it was just the vanilla flavor, I don't know), so I'm getting a carton of pasteurized egg white product and trying a from scratch recipe this year.  It doesn't sound harder.

ETA:  Christmas Dessert
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cake
I'm going to use this black magic cake recipe, which I've made before and is wonderful, and I'm going to use this candy cane cake's peppermint frosting recipe as the basis for the frosting.  Except I'm using butter in place of margarine and going to use 1 tsp of peppermint extract (which I think I already have on hand in my baking box) and taste the frosting before adding a second teaspoon.  The candy cane cake reviewers indicated that the frosting is the best part and some mentioned using it on chocolate cake, so my hope is that this combination will have a sort of peppermint bark flavor.  I think I'll also use a drop of food coloring to tint the frosting pink since I don't plan to roll the thing in candy canes or do anything else that would be a solid tip off to the flavor.  Unless I can find tiny candy cane-shaped cake candies.  Or maybe if I put peppermint candies in the food processor and turned them to dust they could be sprinkles.  We'll see.  [Edited 12/29/2017:  This chocolate cake was exquisite as usual, but the peppermint and cream cheese flavors just didn't meld.  It was fine, and we ate some, and Sameer is still eating the leftovers, but if I made this again I would use a vanilla buttercream frosting as the base and just add peppermint extract, not use cream cheese.]

Meal Planning

I need to clear out the fridge to make room for Christmas dinner.  I stuck to the meal plan pretty closely last week.  I think today I'll delay the previously planned pav bhaji and do leftovers instead.

Burgers / Sandwiches and Leftover Sides
We have an entire package of whole wheat hamburger buns (more than we need for the pav bhaji), plus at least a couple Gardein burgers and homemade black bean burgers in the freezer.  The fridge is still playing host to leftover broccoli soup, beefless stew, pasta salad, and fresh broccoli florets and homemade ranch dip.  I also have the innards of several baked potatoes from making potato skins last night.  I also have a pint or more of cremini mushrooms I didn't prepare in time for the pizza that I can saute and eat plain.  I think this will be a good dinner plan for today.

Pav Bhaji

Vegan Mac 'n Cheese and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
Making this again to use up the vegan cheese sauce I made last week.  This will be a good meal for late in the week because it's easy and tasty.

Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice

Dal Makhani and Basmati Rice
Using up the rest of the can of coconut milk I had to open for the vegan cheese sauce.  Most of the work on the dal makhani will be done by morning, so I think I might make this tomorrow's dinner since Sameer and I will be out most of the day while Simran is at school.

Vegan Shepherd's Pie
My main goal here is to use up some of the other vegetables in my fridge and freezer.  I have celery, carrots, and then corn and green beans and peas in the freezer.

Loaded Nachos

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I'm being more conscious of meal planning for weekends since I want to avoid restaurant or fast food in the hope it will help me lose weight more easily.  Even homemade junk food dinner ends up being dramatically lower in fat and higher in vegetables than anything I get from outside my house, so it seems like a decent idea.  Here is what I'm making this week:

Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice
This will use up two small containers of diced tofu and one of green bell pepper from my freezer.  I also have some sliced carrots in the fridge that should still be good and half an onion.  I might not even have to chop anything tonight.

Pasta Salad
I made my pasta salad vegan last time by using Annie's brand vegan Tuscan Italian dressing.  It was more balsamic than I had expected but also a lot tastier.  It's a heavily tomatoey flavor that went well with the rest of the ingredients.  

Vegan Mac 'n Cheese and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

We finished off the last batch of soup last night, so I need to make more.  The mac 'n cheese is a nice cold weather comfort food.

Beefless Stew and Leftover Pasta Salad or Mac 'n Cheese
I need to buy some potatoes to make the vegan mac 'n cheese sauce, so I'm making this stew to use up some of the remaining potatoes.

Pav Bhaji
Using up the rest of the potatoes.

DIY Sandwiches and Leftover Soup/Sides
I will see if I can find pretzel bread for these sandwiches.  We can have Garden Pretzels or black bean burgers, depending on if I've got some burgers pre-made in the freezer.   This will be an easy Saturday night meal.  

Personal Pizzas and Green Salad
Making pizza is a lot more work than ordering it, but it tastes at least as good (pizza isn't very good here), mine is dramatically healthier (less cheese or none on mine, lots of veggies, and whole wheat crust), and we don't end up with tons of leftovers to finish over other days like when we order in.  I already bought a new container of non-fat yogurt for making my next batch of homemade ranch dressing.  This will be our special Friday night dinner.

Meal Planning

Still working on cleaning out the freezer.  Here is what I'll be making over the next few days.

Mexican Omelette and Hashbrown Patties and Leftover Soup
I have a bunch of eggs, plus a little wedge of Gruyere and half a container of broccoli soup.  I'll also cook any vegetarian sausages or bacon I find (I think I have a container of tempeh bacon that will expire this month).  I just need guacamole and tomatoes.

Lasagna and Broiled Asparagus & Artichokes in Vermouth Brown Butter
I have lasagna noodles in the pantry, and half a pound of chopped spinach in the freezer as well as some vegan sausage crumbles, and I have cottage cheese in the fridge that needs to go ASAP.  The side dish will get rid of a couple bags of vegetables from my freezer too.  I might have to buy some mozzarella and some pasta sauce. 

Loaded Nachos
This isn't particularly healthy or something that will use up a lot of ingredients I have on hand, but we've been eating junk food so much on weekends lately that I'm just going to cook some instead.  It'll still be healthier than Taco Bell.  Sim ends up eating a quesadilla with low fat refried beans and corn tortillas when we have nachos, so it's substantially healthier for her.

Next Monday I'll make Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice because I just ran across two small containers of diced tofu in the freezer as well as some sliced green bell pepper.  

I also have to see if the patties wrapped in wax paper in my freezer are homemade black bean burgers like I think they are and if there are at least three of them.  That would be an easy meal.

Meal Planning

Time for a post-Thanksgiving detox.  The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is when I traditionally try to cook healthier and use up whatever is taking up space in my freezer and pantry.  I have two largish containers of homemade vegetable manchow soup in there, so eating that for lunches will kill two birds with one stone.  I've been gaining weight, which I need to reverse.  I don't like having to spend time inputting the nutrition information for meals I created myself (it takes forever since I pretty much have to figure out the nutrition information based on every ingredient, but it works), so before going that neurotic with my calorie tracking, I'm going to try just keeping up with my "Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen" iPhone app.  You just check off your servings of different kinds of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, etc. as you eat them each day.  I have to pretty much eat exclusively healthy food to be able to come close to eating all the servings I'm supposed to, so it has worked for weight loss in the past. 

Here is what I'm making:

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup and DIY Sandwiches
I've got a fresh tomato and some romaine to use up on the sandwiches, plus some dulse in the pantry that is supposed to make a good bacon substitute when toasted, according to the No Meat Athlete cookbook.  I can't remember if I've tried this yet, but it's my favorite cookbook, so I have hope.  I also have vegetarian turkey and ham slices in the fridge that need to be used up, and Sim likes those.

Tofu & Veggie Stir-fry and Brown Rice
I no longer use the oil in this.  If you use broth for the sauteing instead, it's just as good.  This will use up some of the vegetables in my fridge and any chopped ones in my freezer.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Enchilada Sauce (Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 141)
Didn't end up making this a couple weeks ago like I planned, so I'm trying it again today with broiled poblanos and a side of black beans.  Maybe some lime-cilantro rice.

Pasta Salad
With sides of leftover soup, maybe some crudites, and Simran can have some cottage cheese.

Brinner
I have more than a dozen eggs because I bought some for Thanksgiving and didn't realize how many I already had.  This will be a weekend meal because it's not healthy.  I'm going to make buttermilk biscuits and do egg and cheese biscuits a la McDonalds because this has been one of my favorite things to eat since I was a small child.  We also have vegetarian sausages and those hashbrown patties from the freezer section.  There isn't a single vegetable or fruit in this.  I might have to make my regular kale-berry breakfast smoothies a part of this.  I really need to try harder to eat healthy on weekends.

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Broiled Asparagus & Artichokes with Vermouth Brown Butter
This might be a weekend meal or an "I'm feeling lazy" meal.  I have all the ingredients on hand.

For Sameer

These are the brownie and chocolate frosting recipes I would use.  I've never made them together before, but they are the brownie and chocolate buttercream recipes I always use, just skip the last step in the brownie recipe since it involves its own frosting that isn't the best.  The buttercream recipe calls for milk, but I always substitute unsweetened almond milk because it's what we keep on hand.  No one can tell the difference.

Meal Planning

Pav Bhaji

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

DIY Sandwiches and Soup

Italian Fusilli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts (Neal Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 106)

Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Enchilada Sauce (Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 141)
This time I'm going to broil the poblanos first.  They were too crunchy last time, and my goal was a vegan sort of chiles rellenos.

Meal Planning

Pav Bhaji

Peanut Butter Sweet Potato Curry and Brown Basmati Rice

Macaroni & Cheese and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

DIY Sandwiches and Leftover Soup

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Green Salad 

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Breakfast for Dinner
With Mexican omelets, tempeh bacon strips, and Pumpernickel toast

Meal Planning

Vegan Butter Tofu Paneer with Basmati Rice and Garlic Naan
I haven't made this yet, so I'm doing it tonight.
DIY Sandwiches and Soup

Macaroni with Vegan Cheese Sauce and  Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Tahini Green Beans (No Meat Athlete, pg 158)

Nut-Crusted Tofu (NMA, pg 111) and Provencal Potato Gratin (NMA, pg 184) and leftover soup
The nut crust didn't hold onto the tofu very well, but it's very tasty and I liked it.  I think I might've used too much lemon juice compared with the Dijon, just because it didn't seem like a thick enough mixture.  I didn't actually measure what I was doing.  Yet another delicious recipe from this cookbook, and Simran ate it without complaint, though I think she was trying to remove the crust to eat the tofu plain.

Meal Planning

Nut-Crusted Tofu (No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg 111) and Wild Rice and Broiled Asparagus & Artichokes with Vermouth Brown Butter
Still haven't made this yet, but finally bought the pistachios so that I can.

Pizza Night
Doing personal pizzas again with whole wheat crust.  Green salad too.

Pinto Bean & Greens Enchilada Casserole (No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg 97)

Simplified Spinach-Mushroom Lasagna (No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg 87)
I'm mostly making this to use up some of the whole wheat no boil lasagna noodles in my pantry.

Vegan Butter Tofu Paneer with Basmati Rice and Garlic Naan

DIY Sandwiches and Soup

Meal Planning

DIY Sandwiches and Leftover Soup
I have a container of the pumpkin curry soup in the fridge, as well as whole grain wraps and a loaf of pumpernickel bread.

Nut-Crusted Tofu (No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg 111) and Wild Rice and Broiled Asparagus & Artichokes with Vermouth Brown Butter
I didn't end up making the nut-crusted tofu last week, so it's carry over from then.  I still have all the ingredients on hand.

Mac 'n Cheese with Vegan Cheese Sauce and  Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

The vegan mac 'n cheese has become a comfort food I really love, especially with pickled jalapenos.  It's creamy and spicy and tangy, which is my favorite combination.

Pizza Night
Doing personal pizzas again with whole wheat crust.  Green salad too.

Corn on the Cob and Smoky Potato Salad over Greens and Jerk Kidney Beans (No Meat Athlete, pg 90)

Chilli-Garlic Noodles

I found a container of milder chile-garlic paste in the fridge yesterday, so I'm using it up now.

Vegetable Manchow Soup

This is not going to be a dinner, but I like having containers of it in the freezer when I need a healthy lunch or feel a cold coming on.  It will use up the remaining cabbage from the chilli-garlic noodles.

Meal Planning

Pinto Bean & Greens Enchilada Casserole (No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg 97)
I made this last week and it was fantastic.  I finished the leftovers for lunch the next day.  I have leftover cashew queso in the fridge, so I'm making this again.  Sim found it too spicy because there is a small amount of spice, but it's so good.  I used a couple fistfuls of spinach instead of kale, mixed the vegetables and beans all together rather than layering them, made it have two layers each of the tortillas and salsa and beans mixture, and covered it in black olive slices before baking.

Breakfast Tofu Burritos (No Meat Athlete Cookbook,  pg 69)
I have whole grain wraps I don't want going to waste, a cubed sweet potato, some cremini mushrooms, and chopped bell pepper in the freezer, so I'm going to throw these together one night.

DIY Sandwiches and Pumpkin Curry Soup
I want to use up the can of coconut milk I opened a couple days ago, so I'm making this soup.  If I have any sweet potato left over from the breakfast burritos, I'll throw it in the soup.

Nut-Crusted Tofu (No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg 111) and Wild Rice and Broiled Asparagus & Artichokes with Vermouth Brown Butter
I'm going to make the asparagus and artichokes with the Miyoko's Creamery vegan butter I got from Whole Foods, so it will still be vegan.  It's better tasting than regular butter, but I think this has less to do with being vegan and more to do with being higher quality than the regular butter I buy.

Vegan Pad Thai
I have brown rice noodles I really want to use up.

Summer Rolls
I hope my basil plant is surviving the heat.

Meal Planning

Italian Fusilli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts and  Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Mac 'n Cheese with Vegan Cheese Sauce and Black Bean Soup

DIY Sandwiches and Leftover Soup

Pinto Bean & Greens Enchilada Casserole (No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg 97)

Summer Rolls

Pizza Night
Doing personal pizzas again with whole wheat crust.

Meal Planning

Italian Fusilli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts (Neal Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 106)
Still haven't made this one yet.

DIY Sandwiches and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup
We still have various sandwich fixins I want to use up, so I'm just making fresh soup today.

Veggie Dogs and Corn on the Cob and Smoky Potato Salad over Greens
We have four or five veggie dogs that need to be used up, and I love this potato salad.

Mac 'n Cheese with Vegan Cheese Sauce and Black Bean Soup
I'm going to need to use up the rest of the potatoes I buy for making potato salad.  I like this vegan cheese sauce a lot, and it makes a nice mac 'n cheese especially with a little bit of mustard mixed in and some pickled jalapenos.  The soup is just black beans and prepared salsa pureed together, as I recall.  Garnish with green onions.  I might have to look up the old recipe just to make sure; there might have been cumin or something.

Meal Planning

Time for weekly meal planning.  I'm going to try to make warm weather type foods and use my fresh basil as much as possible this week because it's going to be fall soon.

Italian Fusilli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts (Neal Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 106)
I didn't make this one yet, but it sounds very easy.  Maybe a side salad.

Taco Night

Pizza Night
Doing personal pizzas again with whole wheat crust.

Chickpea Patties with Mango Chutney (Neal Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 90)

DIY Sandwiches and Leftover Soup
I have vegetable manchow soup and vegan cream of broccoli soup in the fridge.  I will have veggie meats and the vegan cheese I bought and hummus and dressings and all manner of vegetables for the sandwiches.  I mostly need to buy bread and the veggie meats, including some veggie bacon.

Summer Rolls

Meal Planning

Veggie Dogs and Smoky Potato Salad over Greens

Taco Night

Veggie Sushi

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Green Salad 

Italian Fusilli with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichoke Hearts (Neal Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 106)

Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Enchilada Sauce (Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 141)

All-American Scramble on Pumpernickel Bagel (Barnard's Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook, page 60)

There are two cookbooks I got from the library that I think I actually need to buy because they have to many good recipes to reasonably copy them all, and I say this after having made a few of the dishes.  One is the No Meat Athlete Cookbook and the other is the Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

This half-whole wheat pizza dough recipe has no oil and comes from Neal Barnard's The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook.  I made personal pizzas with it last week for my family, and they didn't seem to notice it was whole wheat OR no oil.  The pizza was all gone very quickly.  I made mine vegan, and it was still pretty good.  I ate the whole thing.

Ingredients
2 tsp agave nectar
2 1/4 tsp yeast (recipe calls for active dry, I use instant because it's what I keep on hand for my bread machine)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached AP flour
1 tsp salt
vegetable oil cooking spray
2 tbs yellow cornmeal

Directions

1.  In a measuring cup, dissolve the agave nectar and yeast in 3/4 cup warm water (100 - 110 degrees F).  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flours and salt.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until a soft dough forms.  Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary to prevent sticking.  Dough will feel slightly sticky.

2.  Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat the top.  Cover with a towel (I use plastic wrap) and let rise in a draft-free place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

3.  Punch down the dough and roll into a 10- or 11-inch circle (or divide the dough by however many people you're feeding and do small personal pizzas like I did) on a lightly floured surface.  Place dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and sprinkled with cornmeal (I put the dough on a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal and move it to the pizza stone in the over, also covered in cornmeal -- no baking sheet or parchment paper).  Crimp the edges to form a rim.  Lightly spray the surface of the dough with cooking spray.  (I don't do either of these things.  I stretch the dough as thin as possible without breaking it, leaving it just slightly thicker around crust.  No extra spray or "crimping.")  Add sauce and toppings as you see fit.  Bake at 500 degrees F for 8 to 12 minutes.

Smoky Potato Salad over Greens

I did not expect a vegan no-oil potato salad to taste this good.  I loved it.  It comes from the No Meat Athlete cookbook.

Ingredients

2 pounds (900 g) waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
1/4 cup (60 mL) apple cider vinegar
2 scallions (white and light green parts), sliced
1/2 avocado, mashed
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 drops liquid smoke
12 oz (340 g) baby greens (I used baby arugula)
1/4 cup (30 g) unsalted, roasted almonds, chopped (I omitted this because I forgot to buy it.)

Directions

1.  Chop potatoes into bite size pieces and boil in a large pot over medium-high heat until fork-tender, about 10 minutes.  Drain and let cool in a single layer.

2.  Meanwhile, mix together the vinegar, avocado, maple syrup, tomato paste, mustard, salt, paprika, pepper, and liquid smoke in a food processor.

3.  Combine potatoes, scallions, and dressing in a large bowl.  The salad can be refrigerated for about 24 hours.  Serve over greens and topped with almonds.

Meal Planning

Baked Tempeh Nuggets and Smoky Potato Salad Over Greens (from No Meat Athlete cookbook, pages 170, 143)
I'm making this tonight, possibly with a side of corn on the cob if it's at the store today for as cheap as it normally is this time of year.  I will use some leftover baby arugula and maybe butter lettuce as the "over greens" because I already have them on hand.

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Green Salad with Cashew Ranch Dressing (from No Meat Athlete, page 152)
The ranch dressing is pretty good.  It's obviously it isn't normal ranch dressing, but it doesn't make me retch, so I consider that a win.

Mac 'n Cheese with Vegan Cheese Sauce and Something Else or Leftovers
I have leftover vegan cheese sauce from when I made it, so I'm doing this again to get rid of it.

Dum Aloo and Dal Makhani and Brown Basmati Rice
I have pounds of potatoes to use up.

DIY Sandwiches and Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Veggie Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Lime Sauce
I'm making this as many times as possible while my basil is growing outside.

Meal Planning

I'm trying out some recipes from cookbooks that are due back at the library soon.  I also need to detox after our week in Kansas City eating restaurant food.  I've been wanting cheese less and less, which is nice.

Vegetable Manchow Soup
I'm making this for myself for lunches.  I now double the recipe, skip the oil (the stock burns, so I'll saute the vegetables in water this time and see how that goes, and double the mushrooms.  A full bowl or two plus a piece of fruit makes a filling and healthy lunch.  It helps me lose weight too, so I'm guessing it's pretty low calorie.  It is mostly cabbage, after all.

Veggie Sushi
The grocery stores around me all sell sushi, but none of them sell the veggie stuff, which is ridiculous, so I'm taking another stab at making it myself.  I'm going to serve it with the manchow soup one night.

Veggie Pepperoni
All the stores in my area have stopped selling vegetarian pepperoni, so I'm making my own again and hoping Sim will eat it.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it.

Shiitake Bakin'
From the No Meat Athlete cookbook, page 62.  It's pseudo-bacon from a mushroom, which sounds great to me.  Again, not sure how I'll use it, but it could work plain or in sandwiches.

Vietnamese Veggie & Rice Noodle Salad
From the No Meat Athlete cookbook, page 140).

Baked Tempeh Nuggets and Smoky Potato Salad Over Greens (from No Meat Athlete cookbook, pages 170, 143)

Spaghetti & Meatless Balls and Green Salad with Cashew Ranch Dressing (from No Meat Athlete, page 152)

Personal Pizzas
We finally have a working oven again, so that means pizza.  I'm going to make dough from Neal Barnard's Get Healthy Go Vegan cookbook (mostly special only because it's half whole wheat, and he replaces the sugar with agave nectar, though I'm not sure that matters), divide it into three, and make personal pizzas for each of us.  I want to make them vegan, or at least make mine vegan, and use some of the fresh basil while it's still growing.  Sim doesn't like the same vegetables as I do though, so maybe if I put little containers of ingredients in front of her, she'll actually eat what she puts on it.  I'd like cherry tomatoes, arugula, basil, olives, mushrooms, and I'm not sure what else on mine.

Chilli-Garlic Noodles
Because I need a way to use up the other half of the shredded cabbage I need for the manchow soup.

Vegan Cheese Sauce (maybe to make into mac 'n cheese and/or over steamed broccoli)

Classic French Vinaigrette (from NMA, page 153)

Creamy Herbed Hemp Dressing (from NMA, page 156, I think I would substitute fresh basil and cilantro for the parsley the recipe calls for and see how that goes, partly because I keep those herbs on hand and mostly because I find fresh parsley overpowering)

School Lunch Ideas

I've been packing lunches for Simran to eat at school for a year and a half now, but this will be the first year she'll be eating them five days a week.  I need some new options to give her.  I previously packed cheese or cheese/veggie meat sandwiches and gave her a couple of sides like baby carrots, fruit, and whatever random snacky things we had on hand, such as various crackers.  She has reached the point where the cheese comes home in the container and so does most of the veggie meat and sometimes the bread, so I'd like to come up with some healthier vegan options to try.

Peanuts and tree nuts are strictly forbidden in our school district.  Anything that requires cooking or being served hot or particularly cold won't work either since they lack access to a refrigerator or microwave the way all school children do, which is limiting.  I'd like to come up with one new dish for her to try out in her lunch every week or even once a month.  Since she tends to eat the same things over and over again once she finds things she likes, I don't need to mix things up too extensively.  Here are some ideas:

Homemade Lunchables

Sim loves veggie pepperoni.  I could give her some slices, either store-bought if I ever find them again or homemade (which I've made with some success), alongside Wheat Thins, again either store-bought or homemade, and maybe a few cheese slices since I can't think what else would go in there.  Maybe someone has already done an extensive blog post on healthy homemade lunchables.  Seems likely.  I'll have to look.

Pasta Salad

This doesn't have to be kept colder than your standard thermal lunch box, and she eats most of the ingredients, especially when there are olives.

Veggie Sushi

I'm not sure I could get her to eat this, but I love veggie sushi, and I'd love to come up with some variation she would eat too.

Veggie Kabobs

I saw this on another site (linking to yet another site, so I'm not even going to go down the rabbit hole far enough to figure out who started it) with grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and tortellini.  I like the tortellini idea, and I would use veggies she likes better and try to avoid adding more cheese since that is often what's in vegetarian tortellini anyway.  I'm not sure what I'd put in this kabob.

Breakfast for Lunch

Veggie sausages or veggie bacon, homemade French toast sticks (from Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin toast), syrup or fruit compote for dipping.  

Pinwheels

This is mostly a spread-based recipe.  I think hummus or cream cheese or some kind of vegan-yet-somehow-not-nut-based creamy spread mixed with minced vegetables/herbs would work well, spread on wraps or tortillas and then filled with olives and julienne cut vegetables would work well.  Again, I have to find vegetables Sim will eat.  She likes carrots, broccoli, and celery, but actively avoids most leafy greens.

Quesadillas

Sim has finally started willingly eating beans, so a quesadilla or pinwheel with refried beans and a little cheese would probably get eaten.

Something with raw tofu, because she will inexplicably eat that stuff straight

Something with raw vegetables cut into tiny stars and flowers, because that looks appealing on blogs

She loves whole wheat rotini, so variations on pasta salad could work well here as long as the sauce isn't too obtrusive.  Maybe with cubed raw tofu because she likes that better than whole beans.

Rainbow Sandwiches

Someone did this online, and it doesn't look appetizing or like things my daughter would eat (e.g., red cabbage) but she does love rainbows.  It would also look pretty in a star-cut kabob form.  I do have lots of mini skewers on hand.  I think I might already have vegetable cutters for making stars and flowers too, but I have to check.  

...Nope.  I considered buying them when I bought pancake/egg molds in flower shapes in an effort to make more foods that look like they would exist in "My Little Pony," but I apparently did not buy the vegetable cutters.  Will do that today.

Veggie Hotdogs

This seems easy enough, either served cold or cooked and wrapped in foil, with a side of ketchup.

Pizza Sandwich

Simran's favorite school lunch from last year was my effort to use up some hamburger buns.  I toasted them with butter and garlic powder and veggie pepperoni and provolone or whatever Italian cheese blend I had on hand.  Then I wrapped the finished sandwich foil and put it in her thermal lunch box.  I'm not sure how warm it was when lunchtime rolled around, but the presence of butter and the fact that the sandwich wasn't much beyond garlic bread ensured it got eaten every time.  I tried using marinara sauce in place of the garlic butter for a dramatically healthier pizza sandwich, but she was not impressed.

Tofutti allegedly makes vegan soy cheese.  I'm noting it here to check out later.  I've enjoyed their ice cream sandwiches in the past, and I think a lot of other vegan cheeses are nut-based, though I could be wrong.  Some are just bad tasting.

Baked Tempeh Nuggets from the No Meat Athlete cookbook

Strawberry Shortcake Rice Bites also from No Meat Athlete cookbook
These are basically sweetened rice with vanilla, strawberries, and a sprinkling of chia seeds, rolled into sushi form.  I'm mostly hoping I can make sushi look good to her by getting her to like a non-vegetable sweet version.