Tag: vegetarian

Asian Inspired Tofu Scramble

Melissa King 2 Comments

This past weekend, my in laws came back from a trip.  They brought some goodies home from a farmers market for us to try.  To read more on what they gave us, you can click here.  A few things they brought back were a daikon radish and a few peppers I had never seen before.  One was purple and one was white.  They were both bell peppers.  So, I thought I would use them in an Asian inspired tofu scramble!  I just love Asian food.

It came out yummy!  Really, this dish is so adaptable.  You can add whatever veggies and make it your own.  If you wanted to, you could wrap it in a whole grain tortilla or a lettuce wrap. 🙂

Asian Inspired Tofu Scramble

Asian Inspired Tofu Scramble

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Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 15 min

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg organic firm or extra firm tofu drained and cut into small cubes
  • 2-3 bell peppers cut in thin strips
  • 1 daikon radish cut in thin strips
  • 2 carrots cut into thin strips
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup broccoli florets
  • 2 T toasted sesame oil

For the sauce

  • 1 T miso paste
  • 3 T water
  • 2 T mirin
  • 1/2 T brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp umeboshi vinegar
  • 1/4 cup organic good quality soy sauce (I used San J)

Instructions

  1. Take the oil, daikon and garlic and heat in a pan on med heat. 
  2. Once you see them start to soften and turn translucent, add the rest of the veggies and cook for a few minutes until everything gets soft.
  3. When everything looks soft, toss in the tofu and the sauce. 
  4. Crumble the tofu slightly as you toss it into the pan. 
  5. Turn the heat up slightly and let everything cook for a bit. The mixture will look a bit watery, but if you cook it uncovered, some of that water will burn off.
  6. Once some of the liquid has burned off, remove from heat.  Plate and enjoy!

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Healthy Oatmeal Cookies!

Melissa King 55 Comments

I made you healthy oatmeal cookies! Just because I try to eat healthy doesn’t mean I stopped loving cookies. One of my favorite recipes before I started eating healthy was my grandmother’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. The original recipe called for processed flours and processed sugars.  These healthy oatmeal cookies are much better for you.  So have a couple. 🙂

oatmeal 1

I loaded mine up with spices so that I would need to add very little sugar.  Did you know that spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla make foods appear sweeter than they are.  It’s like a trick of the senses or something.

Official taste tester/beater cleaner.  🙂 What were some of your favorite cookies?

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies!

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 15 min Serves 18 Cookies     adjust servings

The taste of the traditional recipe, with healthier ingredients!

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Mix all the wet ingredients in one bowl .
  3. Mix dry in another.
  4. Add wet to dry.
  5. Fold in chips.
  6. Bake on a lined baking sheet or greased pan for about 13-15 minutes or until edges come out lightly browned.
  7. These are so good that I eat at least 3 of them when they first come out of the oven. So does Meadow.

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Squash Soup With Caramelized Onions

Melissa King 44 Comments

I made you some delicious squash soup.  Fall is my favorite time of year.  Growing up in Boston, I associate fall with the beautiful colors of the foliage.

That is one thing I miss terribly here in Texas.  We don’t really have the seasons change here as much.  In fact, today it was 90 degrees!

So, along with the fall colors, comes the fall vegetables.  Squash is one of my favorites.  Most people think if butternut or acorn squash, but my favorite by far is the kabocha squash.  It is also known as a Japanese pumpkin.

It basically is the color of an acorn squash in the shape of a pumpkin.  Kabochas are super sweet and buttery.  This squash soup combines the sweet taste of the squash with the savory and woodsy tastes of the thyme and sage.  Also the topping makes for a nice crunch.  Not to mention, it looks pretty too!

 

Squash Soup

 

What are some of your favorite fall veggies?

Squash Soup With Caramelized  Onions

Savory and Simple Squash Soup With Caramelized Onions

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Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 1 hr, 15


Ingredients

    Soup

    • 1 kobacha squash (butternut or acorn would work great too.)
    • 1 tsp thyme
    • 1 tsp sage
    • 2 tsp tumeric
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
    • salt to taste (no pepper)
    • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
    • almond milk

    Topping

    • 2 shallots sliced thin
    • 2 T oil (I used organic coconut oil)
    • 1/4 tsp salt

    Instructions

    Soup

    • Preheat oven to 400.
    • Cut kobocha in two and remove seeds.
    • Roast for 45-60 minutes in oven until soft on the inside (kind of like boiling a potato).
    • Remove from oven and remove skin from squash and place in a food processor.
    • Add spices and salt and begin blending. I also add milk to get the consistency just right.
    • There is no proper set amount for this, but I used about a cup in my soup.

    Topping

    • Place the sliced shallots in a frying pan in a clump, add the oil and the salt.
    • Turn on medium-low heat covering the pan.
    • Every five minutes or so, remove the cover, move the onions around to keep from burning, keep them in a nice clump, and re-cover the pan.
    • After about 15 minutes or so, they will begin to brown.
    • Once they are browned, clump them on top of the soup. It will look delicious, taste even better, and wow your guests with a gourmet look. 🙂

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    Amazing 3 Bean Sweet Potato Chili (Vegan)

    Melissa King 192 Comments

    This Sweet Potato Chili recipe is fantastic!  I cannot take credit though.  My husband Marcus created it.  He is the chili guy in the family.  Actually, up until recently, he was the cook too!

    I have learned a great deal from him. 🙂  Also, I should mention, this sweet potato chili is super easy to make.  You just throw everything in a pot and cook.

    It would probably be extra good slow cooked in the crock pot.

     

    sweet potato chili

     

    We brought this healthy chili to a family member’s house on Thanksgiving.  Everyone that tried it, loved it.   This recipe also makes a large amount so you can freeze some for those busy days.  I freeze it in serving sized containers.

     

    We just added an updated video for this recipe. You can view it below. For more videos, you can subscribe to my You Tube channel.

     

    Amazing 3 Bean Sweet Potato Chili

    Amazing 3 Bean Sweet Potato Chili

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    Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 3 hr


    Ingredients

    • 3 cups veggie stock
    • 2 cups black beans
    • 2 cups kidney beans
    • 2 cups pinto beans
    • 1 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes or about 7 cups diced tomatoes
    • 1 onion diced
    • 1 cup corn (please try to buy this organic)
    • 2 sweet potatoes diced
    • 4 med-lg garlic cloves minced
    • 1 T chili powder
    • 3/4 T cumin
    • 1 tsp smoked paprika
    • 2 T oil (we used grapeseed oil)

    Instructions

    • We use dried beans and just soak them overnight. Boil them for about 10 minutes in the morning. Makes for a much cleaner taste.
    • Take all the ingredients and throw them in a large pot.
    • Cook on high for about 3 hours covered stirring every once in a while.
    • For the last 1/2 hour cook uncovered and you can also add about a T of flour to thicken the sauce if needed. We used brown rice flour.

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    Recipe Notes

    This makes a ton of chili. If you don’t eat it all, it should freeze nicely and then you will have a backup meal for a day when you don’t feel like cooking. This came out so well that we are probably going to make this for our family thanksgiving meal. After all, we are the weird vegans of the family.

    sweet potato chili

    Dairy Free Mac and Cheese

    Melissa King 30 Comments

    Dairy Free Mac and Cheese.  I have never been a fan of mac and cheese, but my husband loves it.  Before we changed our diets, he would get the frozen Stouffer’s mac and cheese.

    The sodium count alone is scary, never mind the rest of the ingredients!  Now he makes this dairy free mac and cheese instead.

     

    Dairy Free Mac and Cheese - My Whole Food Life

    Dairy Free Mac and Cheese

    Dairy Free Mac and Cheese

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    Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 15 min

    Ingredients

    Instructions

    1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. 
    2. In a blender , combine all the other ingredients for the sauce. 
    3. You can add more milk if the mixture seems a bit thick.

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    Recipe Notes

    There also may be some cheese sauce left over. The extra sauce should keep in the fridge for a few weeks. Enjoy!

    What the Heck Do I Do With a Pomegranate?

    Melissa King 5 Comments

    Okay, so I am still fairly new to this cooking thing.  So when I got my co op basket this week and saw a pomegranate, I realized I had no idea what to do with it.  I have seen the seeds, but never seen them in the fruit.  So for those of you that are like me, here is what you do.
    First, you cut it like this.

    Then, you remove the seeds like this.

    We do it in the water because the seeds and the juice can stain.
    After, you are left with this.

    These juicy seeds (as my daughter likes to call them), are a bit tart.  The flavor reminded me of cranberry.  So, I thought I would make pomegranate orange muffins.  They came out fabulous!  Perhaps because I had my trusty prep cooks with me.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Pomegranate Orange Muffins

    What the Heck Do I Do With a Pomegranate?

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    Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 20 min

    Ingredients

    • 1 1/4c spelt flour
    • 1/2 c almond meal
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/4 c maple syrup
    • 1/4 c oil
    • 1/4 c applesauce
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 1 tsp orange zest
    • 2 T orange juice
    • 2/3 milk
    • 1/4 orange juice
    • 1 egg replacer (I used a flax egg. 1T flax meal 3T warm water)

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 325.
    2. Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl.
    3. Combine all wet into another.
    4. Add wet to dry.
    5. Stir in about 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds gently.
    6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

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