Taco Salad

Ingredients

2 corn tortillas

1/2 cup refried beans (or fat free refried beans from a can)

1/2 cup salsa of your choice (my favorites are chipotle salsa, pico de gallo, and La Victoria brand's cilantro salsa)

1/2 cup chopped tomato

2 tbs chopped red onion

2 cups salad greens (your choice of lettuces, arugula, and spinach)

1/4 cup cilantro (optional)

Directions

1) Toast the corn tortillas in a nonstick skillet until cooked. I like to cut them up so I don't have to try to cut them up once they're underneath beans. Add them to a plate.

2) Heat up the refried beans and put them atop the corn tortillas.

3) Top with salsa and all other ingredients. Eat.

Easy Refried Beans

This is the latest way Sameer and I make refried beans from dry beans in the InstantPot. It's the best I've found so far. The amounts of the seasonings to replace the salsa might need tweaking because I currently eyeball it, but it can be corrected by taste after cooking the beans.

Ingredients

2 cups dry beans (black or pinto)

1/2 cup Mrs. Renfro's green salsa (OR 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbs pickled jalapeno slices)

Directions

1) Put all ingredients plus 5 cups water into InstantPot and cook for 30 minutes with natural release. (If you soaked your beans ahead of time, that's great, but not necessary.)

2) Drain most of the water and blend the beans with an immersion blender. Adjust seasoning as necessary. If you forgot to put in any seasoning at all (as I sometimes do), add it to taste now.

No Oil Tofu Veggie Stir-fry

This recipe varies for me based on what is currently in the refrigerator and freezer.  Anytime I have more vegetables than I can use in other meals, I chop them up and freeze them to use in this stir fry.  All of the ingredients in this stir fry freeze and reheat well, and you can swap out any vegetables you want.  Here is my favorite version of this recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup extra firm tofu, cubed (this recipe also works well with sliced seitan or a combination of the two)
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 tsp fresh ginger root, minced (or ginger paste, if you're lazy like me)
1 clove garlic, minced (or about 1 tsp garlic paste, if you're lazy like me)
2 carrots, chopped
1-2 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup baby corn (or however much is in half a can)
1/4 cup water chestnuts, sliced (or however much is in half a small can)
1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, sliced 
2-5 tbs Braggs' Liquid Aminos (Adjust to taste.  Low sodium tamari also works, but I find full-sodium soy sauce makes the dish too salty.)
1/2 cup water
1 tbs corn starch


Directions

1. First drain the tofu.  If it is already cubed, just drain as much liquid as possible.  If it's still in one big block, wrap it in a couple of paper towels, place it between two dinner plates, and put a few cans on top to weight it down.  After a couple of minutes, most of the water should be drained from the tofu block. Cut into cubes. Add two tablespoons of water to a nonstick skillet, heat over medium, and cook the tofu cubes for 5 minutes, adding more water if it starts to stick.

2. Add the sliced onions to the skillet.  Cook onions until slightly translucent, then add garlic and ginger. Continue to add water a tablespoon at a time as needed to prevent sticking.

3. Whisk together Bragg Liquid Aminos, corn starch, and water or vegetable broth, and add this sauce to the skillet. 

4. Add remaining vegetables.  Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.  I usually cover the skillet and let it cook on low for up to 30 minutes while the rice finishes cooking.  If the vegetables cook to the point of getting mushy, it just makes them taste more like take-out to me, so I've never seen this overcook.

5. Serve over your choice of brown rice, brown rice noodles, or soba noodles.

Instant Pot Brown Rice

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice

1.25 cups water

Directions

1) Add rinsed rice and water to Instant Pot. Seal lid and cook for 22 minutes, natural release.

Instant Pot Quinoa

 Ingredients

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cups broth or water

Directions

1) Rinse quinoa and put quinoa and water or broth in Instant Pot. 

2) Seal lid and cook for 1 minute, natural release.

Buddha Bowl

 

This recipe comes from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg. 89.  I love it so much.  I eat it for lunch most days because it makes me feel good and it's got tons of protein and fiber and vegetables.  It takes a little time to make the sauce and marinade and BROL and bake the tofu, but I only do that once a week or so and it only takes a couple minutes to compile on the other days.  The recipe below includes my notes. 

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice (I use BROL here. Just make it once and use it for the week.)

4 oz tofu or tempeh (I use tofu marinated and baked in B-Savory Sauce.)

1/4 cup Korean Tahini BBQ Sauce

2 cups mixed baby greens 

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts (I haven't tried this with mung bean sprouts yet but I use homegrown broccoli sprouts in their place.  Any sprouts or microgreens would be good here.)

1/2 cup sauerkraut or kimchi (I use the vegan variety of Mother In Law's Kimchi.  It's in the vegan section of a couple grocery stores around here.)

1/2 avocado, sliced

Sesame or hemp seeds (optional.  I've been meaning to try this with nigella seeds.  Not sure yet if it'll be good.)

 

Directions:

1) Dole out your grains, tofu, and sauce onto a large plate and microwave for about 90 seconds.  

2) Pile everything else on top.  Enjoy. 

BROL

This recipe comes from Michael Greger MD of NutritionFacts.org.  I'm not sure if this base recipe is in one of his cookbooks or if it's only found with other things added to it.  I couldn't find it plain though and I just make this basic BROL (barley/rye/oats/lentil) as the base for my lunchtime Buddha bowls.  It makes enough for a week worth of Buddha bowl lunches.  It's just basic whole grains and lentils, so it could theoretically be the base for a lot of different things.  It is one of the few things I've ever eaten that made me feel energetic and just better in general than before I ate.  I also used up some random whole grains as substitutions (e.g., millet) before buying the actual ingredients listed below.  If you have whole grains or lentils to use up and don't know what to do with them, I highly recommend this.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup hulled barley

1/3 cup rye berries

1/3 cup oat groats

1/2 cup black beluga lentils

Directions:

1) Rinse barley, rye, and oats and combine with 2 cups of water in an Instant Pot.  Cook for 30 minutes with natural release.

2) Set aside cooked grains and put black lentils and 1 cup water into Instant Pot. Cook for 1 minute with natural release.

3) Stir grains and lentils to combine.  Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Eat plain or add whatever.  They have more flavor than most plain grains.  Not bad for a healthy breakfast, especially with some fruit.

B-Savory Sauce & Marinade

This recipe comes from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook, pg. 232.  I've been making it every week or so to marinate and bake tofu.  I slice up a brick of tofu and then marinate it for anywhere between 30 minutes and 24 hours in the fridge.  Then I bake the slices in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, flipping them over at the halfway point.  

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup reduced sodium tamari

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs + 1 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1) Combine all ingredients in a resealable container. Can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks and yields enough to marinate 4 blocks of tempeh or tofu, or 16 portobello caps.

2) For Buddha bowl tofu, slice 1 tofu brick into fourths.  Marinate for at 30 minutes to 24 hours in refrigerator.

3) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4) Bake marinated tofu on baking sheet for 20 minutes, flip, and then bake for another 20 minutes.  Reserve remaining marinade in resealable container in the refrigerator for another use.

5) Cube baked tofu.  Throw some into a Buddha bowl and put the rest in a sealed container in the refrigerator for next time.

Healthy Zucchini Bread - Attempt #1

Three small loaves are in the oven right now, but I don't have high hopes.  I realized as soon as I set the timer that I'd forgotten the ground flaxseed meant to bind everything together.  I also made a lot of changes from the healthy carrot bread based on instinct and also what I had on hand, which is why I'm typing this up immediately, just in case it turns out okay and I want to refer back.  Here is what I did, and I will report back afterward about how it turned out:

Ingredients
2 cups grated zucchini (approximately -- I didn't even measure; I used the fine grater and did NOT drain the liquid)
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 heaping cups Medjool dates + 2 cups boiling water + a couple pineapple rings and a few tbs juice, all combined in blender
1 cup raisins (it just wasn't sweet enough without)
1 cup dry toasted walnuts
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
about 1 cup homemade date syrup (because it was in the fridge and I wanted to get rid of it)
1/2 cup Ezekiel 4:9 cinnamon raisin cereal (because the consistency at that point felt a little too runny, probably on account of the date syrup, and I didn't want to grind up more oats and also no one in the house eats this cereal anymore and it would be nice to get rid of it)

Directions
1) Combine dry ingredients minus the nuts and oats (and cereal and raisins).  Meaning combine the dry ingredients with a flour-like texture.

2) Combine the blended date/pineapple slurry you just made with the vanilla and grated zucchini (i.e., the wet ingredients).  This part should've also included 2 tbs ground flaxseed.  Then stir in the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.

3) Stir in the nuts, oats, cereal, and raisins.

4) Spray mini loaf pans (it's easier to get something this dense fully cooked without burning the edges by using smaller loaf pans) with Pam and fill each halfway with batter.  Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.  I just checked mine at the 30 minute point and put them in for another 10 because they aren't done in the middle.  They will probably end up baking for at least 50 minutes, but I'll keep checking them by stabbing them in the center with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean yet.

Okay, so I probably should've baked them at 375 instead of 350 and I probably should've used the amount of oats and nuts that are in the carrot cake recipe because, while the flavor of this bread was good and the sweetness seemed right, the texture was wrong and the centers of the loaves weren't fully cooked even after 50 minutes and even after the toothpick was seemingly coming out clean.  It's hard to make the texture good on a whole-grain, no oil bread.  It's edible and it will get eaten -- I put one sliced loaf in the fridge and the others in the freezer -- and Simran said she likes it better than the carrot cake bread and wants to eat it for breakfast tomorrow, but I think it was mostly because 1 tbs of cinnamon turned out to be a good amount.  Next time I make this, I will remember the flaxseed and increase the walnuts to 1.5 cups at least.  Rather than doubling the oats, I'll probably use the rest of that Ezekiel cereal we have and then add oats until I'm at 2 cups in total. 

Healthy Chocolate Truffles

This recipe originally came from The How Not to Die Cookbook.  But that version gave me a little bit of a stomach ache, presumably from all the nuts, so I replaced some of them with black beans this time around, which also cut the fat content a bit.  Simran also likes this version, which is shocking.  I think it's the first whole food plant based dessert she's liked.  I will probably keep a batch of these in the fridge going forward since they don't require cooking and one or two can sate a chocolate craving pretty well.

Ingredients
1/3 cup chopped and pitted soft dates
1/3 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbs almond butter (or substitute whatever nut butter you have -- I think I used some sunbutter I'm trying to dispose of)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup date sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup almond flour (or finely ground nuts of your choice), for coating

Directions 

1) Combine dates and black beans in food processor and process to a paste.  Add almond butter and process to combine.  Add cocoa powder, date sugar, vanilla, and 1 tsp of water.  Pulse until well combined.

2) The finished product should look fudgy in color and texture and just hold together when molded into a ball.  If it's crumbly, add a little more water, 1 tsp at a time, until it can be shaped into balls.  If it's too soft, refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm it up.

3) Use your hands to shape and roll the mixture into 1-inch balls.  Then roll them in almond flour.  Place them in a container and refrigerate until firm before serving.

Healthy Carrot Cake - First Attempt

I will completely forget what I did this time around if I don't write this down.  The cake (quick bread) is still cooling, so I don't know how it's turned out yet.  I will add that later, along with changes for second attempt. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tbs ground flaxseed
1/2 cup quick cooking oats (or pulse some old fashioned rolled oats through a food processor a little, which is what I do)
1 cup shredded carrots (about two carrots; I ran mine through my salad shooter)
1 cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 sparse cup golden raisins
2 canned pineapple rings + about 2 tbs juice (I have a feeling I should've used more juice to brighten the flavor but I was afraid of making the batter too runny)
1 cup walnut pieces, dry toasted in pan
1 cup boiling water
about 1/2 cup date syrup (because that's how much was currently in the fridge)

Directions

1) Boil 1 cup water (I just did this with a glass measuring cup in the microwave) and cover dates and raisins with it.  Let cool a bit.

2) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray inside of two small loaf pans with Pam.

3) Mix flour, salt, baking soda and powder, spices, flaxseed, and oats together in a large bow.

4) Pour water with dates and raisins into blender, add pineapple with juice, and blend for just a few seconds.  I should still have chunks of fruit in it.

5) Add walnuts, carrots, and wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to incorporate.

6) Divide batter into loaf pans and bake for 25-30 minutes (I put them in for 25 minutes, at which point a toothpick came out clean but they still looked thin in the middle, so I let them sit in the oven with it off for about five more minutes, at which point I could smell them from outside the oven and they looked more done).  Let cool.

[Edited 5/18/2020: It's good.  It's pretty dense.  Tastes better (and sweeter) the next day.  I sliced it, put it in a sealed container, and stored it in the fridge, and it was better today than yesterday.  The fridge keeps it moist, which helps with the density.  Resembles the buttery, sugary carrot cake cookies I made a couple weeks ago by more than I'd dared to hope.  I wonder how this recipe would turn out if scooped into cookies on a cookie sheet instead of baked in loaf pans.  The only change I would definitely make for next time is changing the spice from 1 tsp cinnamon to 1.5 tsp and omitting the ginger and clove since those made it very closely resemble my pumpkin bread in aroma and flavor, which is fine but I want it to be different.  I'd also add 1 tsp vanilla.  I also wonder what would happen if I incorporated sourdough discard into the recipe.  Would it lighten it up?  It probably wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure if/how much I would need to add other ingredients to correct the consistency.]

[Edited 6/4/20: For my second attempt, I altered the spices as noted above, forgot the vanilla again, and had no date syrup so I steeped a sparse cup of golden raisins and a slightly heaping cup of dates in hot water and then continued from there as before.  Good amount of sweetness and consistency.  There might've been more pineapple juice this time; I didn't measure.  It was good though.  Only changes for next time are to remember the vanilla and maybe increase the cinnamon to 2 tsp because it's currently a very mild flavor.  Maybe add the ginger back in too.  I also have pecan pieces again, so I would replace maybe half the walnuts with pecans.]

Whole Vegetable Broth

This is the recipe for broth from The How Not to Die Cookbook.  It's the easiest broth I've ever made, and I like that I don't end up wasting a bunch of vegetables because they actually get blended into it.  It's a great base for sambar or other thick soups.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 dried mushrooms
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbs white miso paste
2 tsp Savory Spice Blend

Directions

1) In a large pot, heat 1 cup of water over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

2) Stir in the mushrooms, parsley, and black pepper.  Add 7 cups of water and bring to a boil.

3) Reduce heat to low and simmer for 90 minutes.  Let cool slightly and then add miso and savory spice blend.  Transfer to a high speed blender and blend smooth.

4) Store in a container with a tight-fitting lid for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in freezer.

Almond Milk

From The How Not to Die Cookbook.  I ran out of store-bought soy milk, and the batch I made from dry soy beans 1) was not very good tasting, and 2) yielded an incredibly small amount of milk.  So today I made this almond milk for use in my coffee.  I'll try to buy unsweetened soy milk the next time I go to the store, but this does just fine in its place.

Ingredients
2 tbs raw almond butter
2 cups water

Directions

1) Put ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  Store in refrigerator.  Shake before using.

Black Bean Burgers from HNTD

I have a recipe titled "the best black bean burger," but this newer one is actually better AND easier.  It's from The How Not to Die Cookbook.  I'm copying it here so I don't have to get my cookbook out every time I make a grocery list or make these burgers.

Ingredients
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1 1/4-inch piece fresh turmeric, grated (or 1/4 tsp ground)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 cups cooked or 1 15-ounce can black beans, well rinsed and drained
2 tbs tahini or almond butter
1 tbs ground flaxseeds
1 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp white miso paste
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Savory Spice Blend

Directions

1)  Pulse the oats, walnuts, and other dry ingredients in a food processor until they are finely ground. Add the onion, mushrooms, beans, tahini, and flaxseeds, and pulse until well combined. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to mix well.

2) Pinch some of the mixture between your thumb and index finger to test whether it holds together. If the mixture is too wet, add more oats. If the mixture is too dry, add a little water, 1 tbs at a time. Transfer mixture to a work surface and divide into four equal portions. Shape each into a patty about 1/2-inch thick and transfer to a plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

4) Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and arrange the burgers on it. Bake until hot and lightly browned, turning once, about 25 minutes. Serve hot, as desired.

Red Chile Pesto

This is my revised recipe for the red chile pesto that goes with the grilled avocado enchiladas.  The chipotles in adobo are an estimate because I used three today and it was very spicy, so I would use one to start and see how that is before adding another.  I have made this pesto so many ways over the years because I forget to update my recipe and end up just making up a new one as I go.  As long as you adjust to taste, it's very forgiving.  Sameer always eats it until it's gone.

Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (I just move them around in a skillet over medium heat for a couple minutes until they start to smell toasty)
2 dried ancho chiles
2 dried guajillo chiles
4 cloves garlic
1 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 2 limes
2 tbs tomato sauce (I used an open jar of pizza sauce today.  I would use marinara or plain tomato puree or whatever I've got already in the fridge.)
1-2 chipotles in adobo

Directions

1) Remove seeds from the chiles and soak the chiles in hot water for an hour.

2) Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend.  Adjust to taste  If it needs more spice, add another chipotle in adobo.  If it's too spicy, add more tomato sauce.  If it's bitter or still too spicy after adding more tomato, add sugar 1/2 tsp at a time.

Cheap & Lazy Sambar

This is the best way to use up whatever vegetables are taking up space in my home.  Going forward, when I have any sort of vegetable in my fridge or on the counter that looks like it might spoil before I can use it, I think I'll try chopping it up and throwing it in the freezer for a later batch of sambar, much like I do with overripe bananas for kale-berry smoothies.  I haven't thrown a banana away in years and I use them ALL, so if I can do the same with vegetables, that would be great [edited 4/27/2020:  I've been doing this for awhile now, freezing leftover chopped veg for sambar, and it's great -- highly recommend].

I never wrote down the sambar ingredients I used before, so I snapped a picture of the ingredients once I had them in the pot so I wouldn't forget later.  This recipe is so quick and easy and healthy, but I still love the taste and how filling it is, especially now that the cold months are coming.

Ingredients

1) 1 cup red lentils, rinsed (I like red lentils for this because lots of dals require longer cooking and then smashing up whereas red lentils just explode into a mushy stew texture in ten minutes)

2) 1-2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced (or 5-6 baby potatoes, quartered)

3) 1 jalapeno, seeded and split

4) 2 tomatoes, diced

5) 1-2 carrots, diced

6) 1-2 shallots OR 1/2 medium onion, diced

7) Any other vegetables you want to use up.  I used half a diced green bell pepper in the picture.  My next batch will include whatever color bell pepper I have on hand as well as half a cup of cut green beans.  If I have to buy celery for something else this week, I'll include some chopped celery too.

8) 1/2 tbs sambar powder (I use Badshah brand Madras Sambar Masala), for a moderate level of heat

9) 1/2 - 1 tsp turmeric powder

10) salt, to taste

11) Enough water (or broth) to cover all ingredients plus a couple inches (keep in mind the lentils will absorb a lot of it).  Last time I used up a few cups of homemade vegetable broth with the water.  I just found a carton of broth in my fridge I forget I had opened, so I'll use that up this time just to get rid of it.

12) 2 tbs tamarind paste (This is important.  Sameer used to use a bit of sugar when making this, but I think the tamarind paste adds a richer depth of flavor, so I keep a jar of Swad brand tamarind concentrate in the fridge just for this.)


Directions

1) Put ingredients 1-9 in a large pot and cover with the water or broth.

2) Boil for 10 minutes.  (This should be enough time to cook the potatoes and the red lentils, which are the only two ingredients you really have to check doneness on.  If they don't seem done, or if you just have more cooking to do, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer up to an hour.)

3) Stir in tamarind paste and salt to taste.  Serve hot with lazy coconut chutney, cilantro, idli, mendu vada, whatever you like.  If you don't have idli or vada, try pouring your sambar over half a cup of cooked brown basmati rice for a filling, healthy winter lunch.

[Edited 4/20/2021:  I'm making this today and thought I should update my notes.  I always make the broth in the link now in place of the water.  It makes an enormous difference in the flavor.  And I just use the whole batch of broth in the sambar rather than eyeballing or measuring the liquid.  Works well.]

Cherry Chocolate Chia Pudding

This is probably my favorite healthy dessert.  The original recipe, which I've barely personalized, comes from Dr. Michael Greger's How Not to Die Cookbook.  The link above includes an error in the amount of berries.  The version in the book calls for 500% more berries and, as I've made this many times now, I am confident the book version is correct.  Sometimes I double this recipe to use a whole avocado (and because I can eat a lot of this), but it's hard to fit that much in a Vitamix blender or any container I own.

Ingredients
1/2 ripe Haas avocado
1 1/4 cup pitted sweet dark cherries (I get them from the freezer section)
3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbs almond butter
1/2 cup date syrup (This syrup is another HNTD recipe -- 1 cup pitted dates soaked in 1 cup hot water for 1 hour, then blend on high speed with 1 tsp pureed lemon.)
1 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/4 cup chia seeds

Directions 

1) Combine everything but chia seeds in high speed blender and blend smooth.

2) Stir in chia seeds by hand.

3) Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.


To Make Fudgsicles:

1) Omit chia seeds.  Combine everything in high speed blender until smooth.

2) Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

I got the original recipe from Vegan Yumminess's recipe for vegan grilled cheese.  It's good for that but thin, so I've been using it for vegan macaroni & cheese.  I've made so many adjustments at this point that I need to document them so I don't forget between the times I make this.  Here is my version, which is enough for two nights of our family of three eating macaroni & cheese.

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups scrubbed, diced potatoes (I prefer Yukon gold; russet is my second choice; I always buy organic and don't bother peeling them)
1/4 cup peeled or scrubbed, diced carrot
1/3 cup peeled and diced yellow onion
2/3 cup water from cooked veggies
1/2 cup raw cashews (soak for a few hours if you aren't using a high-speed blender; I prep the cashews first and just let them soak while I prepare everything else)
1/4 coconut milk (full-fat or lite variety; full-fat tastes best)
2 tbs nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs miso
1/4 tsp garlic powder
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Soak cashews.

2. Wash and chop vegetables. Cover with water in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Cook until potatoes and carrots are tender, about ten minutes.

3. Fill blender with remaining ingredients.  Add vegetables and 2/3 cup water retained from the vegetable pot.  Blend until smooth.

4. Serve over cooked pasta of your choice.  I like normal semolina macaroni noodles best, though Banza brand makes good chickpea macaroni too.  I like my vegan macaroni best with pickled jalapenos all over it.

Nut-Crusted Tofu

This recipe comes from The No Meat Athlete Cookbook.  The ingredients are the same, but I've simplified the directions to make it less messy.  This is one of my favorite protein-rich dishes.  It's so good.

Ingredients
1/2 cup roasted, shelled pistachios (if salted, don't add salt to the bread crumb mixture)
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I like Panko)
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
Salt and black pepper
One 16-oz package extra-firm tofu, drained and sliced lengthwise into 8 pieces
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Chop pistachios in food processor until they are roughly the size of bread crumbs. On a plate, combine them with bread crumbs, tarragon, lemon zest, salt and fresh ground pepper.

3. In a tall glass or measuring cup, combine lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, and garlic.

4. Use a pastry brush to coat the tofu all over with the wet mixture.  Then press each side into the breadcrumb mixture.

5. Place the tofu slices on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 20 minutes, gently flipping the tofu slices over once at the halfway point.  They are done when slightly browned. 

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.