This bowl is perfect for a healthy night in with a great level of spice. For any time of the year, you can mix in any of your favorite in season vegetables.
winter
Sweet Potato Chickpea Cakes
These chickpea cakes are so tasty and can be easily adapted for your own preferences. Top with fresh chives, veganaise, yogurt, or any other great toppings. Serves 4 Ingredients: 1-14.5oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained1 cup sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed½ cup gluten-free rolled oats¼ cup nutritional yeast½ yellow onion, finely diced½ cup fresh parsley,
Vegetarian Chili
This chili is based off a chili from the restaurant Hard Times Cafe in Alexandria, Va. Textured soy protein is a great addition that creates tiny chunks of soy. These chunks almost look like meat chunks that can be great at fooling any meat lover. Leaving the chili to cool overnight is not mandatory, but it does taste better after leaving it to cure.
Potato and Leek Soup
This a perfect soup to have on a cold evening that is both light and filling. The soup is so smooth it makes a perfect accompaniment with some flatbread or cheese bread. Add a side salad to help bring in some freshness to the plate.
Pink Beet and Quinoa Salad
This salad is perfect for a side dish with some roasted tofu or baked chicken. It’s light and vibrant with its pink color from the beets. It is both quick and easy to cook up and store making it an ideal meal prep recipe for lunches for the week.
Stuffed Mushrooms Three Ways
Pesto Egg Scramble Ingredients: 8 mini bella mushrooms coconut oil 6 eggs ½ cup almond milk 2 Tbs pesto ½ bunch kale, chopped 4 Tbs nutritional yeast Directions: In a medium bowl scramble eggs, milk, pesto, kale, and nutritional yeast and set aside. Prep mushrooms by washing and removing the stems. In a medium frying
Gingersnap Cookies
What better way to enjoy the holidays than with some gingersnap cookies and some tea or hot cocoa? This recipe is just perfect for the holidays that everyone will enjoy. You can even let the little ones decorate with icing if you prefer.
Moroccan Cauliflower Salad with Citrus Tofu
Serves 4 Ingredients: extra-firm tofu, completely drained ½ cup orange juice ¼ cup gluten free soy sauce 1 Tbs coconut sugar 1 Tbs minced fresh ginger 1 Tbs sunflower seed oil 2 tsp Sriracha 2 cloves garlic, thickly sliced 2 Tbs avocado oil 1 Tbs rice vinegar 1½ cups cauliflower, blended into rice sized
Potato Zucchini Fritters
These fritters are super easy to make and great for those remaining items you have in your fridge. Simply add some coconut yogurt on top, some extra veggies or tofu on the side and you have a quick delicious meal in minutes. You could also add some chicken on the side for the non veggie heads.
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
This sun-dried tomato pesto sauce is a great spin to any pasta. The almost sweet taste of the tomatoes make it an irresistible dinner. Feel free to put your own spin on it with some cheese and your favorite veggies. Adding some squash is a delicious addition.
Kale Butternut Squash Noodles
Serves 4 Ingredients: 12 cups sweet potato and beets, spiraled into noodles 3 large eggs, beaten 1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated Salt and pepper 1 Tbs Sunflower oil 5 oz. jackfruit, curry flavored 2 cloves garlic 8 cups kale, chopped Directions: Boil water in a large pot. Add noodles to water and cook,
Zucchini Gratin
This is a great side dish to make along with some vegan sausages or a lentil and kale salad. It is super easy to make and absolutely delicious. It is also quite light since it isn’t loaded with potatoes like a normal gratin. The added nutritional yeast into the breadcrumbs add a cheesy crunchy element to the dish.
Cranberry Nut Bread
This bread makes a great breakfast or afternoon treat. It is great accompanied by a nice cup of hot tea and some fruit spreads. Try some apricot or peach spread for an extra delicious treat. Feel free to mix up the fruit and nuts with others of your choice.
Cajun Jambalaya Risotto
What is better than risotto? How about a jambalaya/risotto mix. That is exactly what this recipe is and it is so easy to make. As with any risottos, this recipe takes time to make but is completely worth it in the end and not extremely complex in the end. This also makes a great meal prep recipe to store and reheat later in the week.
Broccoli Vegballs
These meatballs or shall we say vegballs are absolutely delicious. Simply cook up some spiraled vegetable noodles (for example butternut squash or zucchini) or even some spaghetti squash. Pop in the vegballs and add a simple tomato or pesto sauce on top and bam you have a full healthy gluten free vegetarian dinner for the whole family.
Quick and Easy Maple Granola
Granola makes a great snack or addition to salads and yogurt. It can be difficult to find a good glutenfree one too, but this recipe is delicious and super quick and easy to make. It is also easy to make your own depending on your taste preferences, but this is just what I enjoy.
Healthy Potato Salad with Fresh Herb Sauce
Potato salad is a classic for BBQs, picnics, lunches, and parties of all kinds. It is known for being super easy to cook up and this recipe really is no different. It does however is healthier than most in the fact that it does not use any mayonnaise and thus also keeps it vegan friendly.
Easy Vegetable Croquettes
Croquettes make a great appetizer for a dinner party, a great picnic lunch, or even just a great dinner with a lovely side or rice or beans. This recipe is super easy to cook up and tastes delicious. Add a bit of veganaise, chives, lemon zest, or anything else to enhance the delicious flavor and make it a bit of your own. You can also store these in the refrigerator for later meals if need be.
Rice Noodle Spinach Salad with Sesame Dressing
This salad is super quick and easy to make and filled with great flavors and veggies. You can even mix up other vegetables in to the salad to make it personal to you. I personally love this salad with spinach and sometimes a bit of kale, especially to add a bit more protein, but you can replace that with lettuce for a more traditional thai salad.
Eggplant Shakshouka
This is yet another warm dish perfect for cold winter nights. The olives and eggplant gives a little Mediterranean spin on this recipe and makes it absolutely scrumptious. You can prepare and serve them in mini french ovens for a cleaner and easier presentation.
New Years Party Appetizer Ideas
It’s almost the New Year and as most other do to celebrate that mean lots of guests and lots of food. Most of the time instead of doing dinner I simply like to make appetizers or snack food for my guests to enjoy. Here are 3 quick and easy healthy recipes to make all of your guests happy.
Holiday Dinner Ideas
It can be hard to cook for a large group for the holidays while also staying healthy and not missing out on the flavor. Below are some great recipes for a delicious, healthy, vegetarian (or easily substituted vegan), and gluten free course dinner. Its surprisigly filling that you will be stuffed to the last fork full.
Vegan Polenta Chili
As a substitute for ground meat, this recipe uses polenta to give it that similar texture. The recipe in general is quite hearty with bit of a spice. It is a perfect recipe for those cold, windy winter nights. It doesn’t take tremendously long to cook, making it a great choice for a middle of the week recipe for dinner. You can add you’re own favorite cheese, however I personally love the flavor of the vegan shredded pepper jack.
Winter Cinnamon Oat Bars
These oat bars make a great snack to refuel and reenergize your body. They are super easy and quick to make while also being absolutely delicious. You can substitute your favorite ingredients into them easily to make them fit your tastes.
Post Thanksgiving Breakfast
With the amount of food consumed on Thanksgiving you may want something light for breakfast the next morning, especially with a house full of guests. How about making some smoothies and muffins for everyone? The muffins can be made a head of time and stored in the refrigerator or freezer until needed. This allows you to sleep in and not need to dirty up anymore dishes post Thanksgiving. Making up a few light and refreshing smoothies can make a great treat for anyone to enjoy.
Vegan Black Beans and Brown Rice Burgers
I was craving a veggie burger and decided instead of going to one of my favorite burger spots I would attempt to make some myself. This recipe was so easy to make and also so delicious. The patty, unlike many veggie burgers I’ve made, actually stuck together very well. I tossed together a simple spinach salad for a nice side with some homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
Quick & Easy Vegan Corn Cakes with Black Beans
Corn cakes, or as my grandmother would call it “mush,” are a great way to have a quick hearty meal on a cold night. The spices in the beans are just enough to bring out a bit more flavor to the dish. The mush was also super easy to make and can even be saved for lunches or dinners later in the week.
Monthly Favorites: February Edition
Terra Real Vegetable Chips Warning: These chips are so addicting, but also so good for you as they are made from real whole veggies. My favorite flavors of the Terra chips are the Mediterranean and sweet potato flavors, however they have so many different kinds of vegetable chips. They are also not covered in salt
Gluten-Free Black Bean Tostadas with Kiwi Salsa
These tostadas are so good and so easy to make. The kiwi add a bit of sweetness that pairs perfectly with the spice of the peppers. I also used coconut yogurt instead of the greek yogurt for just a bit more sweetness and flavor. It was a great addition to the dish. You can also serve this with a bit of rice on the side to complete the meal.
Quick & Easy Asparagus and Mushroom Rice Bowl
This recipe is not only quick and easy to make, but it is also super delicious and filling. It is a great dish to cook up for dinner on a busy night that is jam packed with flavor and nutrients. Even the meat lovers in the house enjoyed this dish without wanting anything else.
Vegan Curried Spaghetti Squash
This recipe is perfect for a cold night. It is a flavor packed dish that not only looks great tastes great too. The best part about it is that if you run out of spaghetti you can scrape out dome more. It may take a bit to cook everything up but in the end it is totally worth it. You can also crape out the insides and put it in a container to store for later on in the week.
Vegan Valentine Cashew Cream Truffle Squares
I decided to make some homemade truffles for my friends and family for Valentines Day this year. This is such a good recipe and makes super delicious, healthy truffles. I decided to use both white and dark chocolate for the coating on top. I also put some red food dye in the white chocolate (which is not vegan), after all the truffles had been dipped, to make the drizzle on top of the truffles a bit more festive. Put them in some nice boxes with a bow to make them perfect for gifts.
Quick & Easy Vegan Spicy Corn Chowder
This is the perfect quick meal for a cold winter night. It is both delicious and spicy. You can pair it with some saltine crackers, or corn bread for a heartier dish. You can also store it in the fridge for lunches later in the week and just reheat over the stove or in the microwave.
Vegetarian Tex-Mex Crispy Potato Skins
This recipe was so easy to come together and was a huge success with the family. I did a sort of taco twist on these potato skins which was both fun and added more flavor and fun to the meal. Instead of just using the regular toppings, I put some other toppings in some bowls for people to dress up the potato skins. I had bowls with cheese, caramelized onions, bacon (for the meat lovers), cheese, and diced tomatoes. I also mixed up some of the potato that was removed earlier with some salt, pepper, and a bit of butter to add to the skins or just on the side. It was a great take on your standard potato skins.
Vegan Sweet Chili Soba Noodles
This Soba noodle recipe is super quick and easy to make. It is also delicious and has tons of health benefits. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and have a similar shape and thickness as spaghetti noodles. These noodles being made from buckwheat flour provide vitamin B1 and B2, protein, and several minerals. It also helps with the body’s metabolism, lowers the blood pressure, and helps decrease cholesterol.
Quick & Easy Butternut Squash Fritters
These fritters are super delicious, light, and filling. They are perfect for a quick and easy dinner or can be saved in the fridge and reheated (a quick 1 minute zap in the microwave works for me) for lunches later in the week. You can serve it up with some yogurt or sour cream. I mixed up some chives and coconut yogurt to have with the fritters and might I say it was the perfect addition.
Gluten Free Asparagus & Cheese Strata
For Christmas Day I decided to make this Strata for a little brunch after we finished with all the Christmas festivities. I woke up early that morning to make it and let it chill in the fridge until we were ready, but you could make it the night before and bake it in the morning. I had served it with some bratwursts (for the meat eaters of course) and fruit salad, but you could have it on its own as well.
Holiday Cutout Sugar Cookies
Approximately 25-40 cookies Ingredients: ¾ cup unsalted butter 1 cup graduated sugar 1 large egg 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract 1¾ cup brown rice flour mix (see below) ¼ cup sweet rice flower 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon xanthan gum ¼ teaspoon salt Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat butter and sugar in a
Vegan Coconut, Peppermint, Dark Chocolate Bark
Ingredients: 1¼ cup dark chocolate chips, divided ½ teaspoon peppermint extract 2 Tablespoons coconut milk 2 cups unsweetened dried shredded coconut dried cranberries, chopped crushed peppermint Directions: Melt the ¾ cup of the chocolate chips in a bowl over simmering water (double boiler). Mix in the peppermint extract and coconut milk to the melted chocolate
Redbridge, Asparagus, and Red Pepper Risotto
This risotto uses Redbridge gluten-free beer to create the creamy texture as well as give it additional flavors. It is a great recipe for a cold night in and can be used both as a main dish or a side. If you are using it as a side you can cook up some protein or add some toast with cheese on top. For those of you who don’t like cheddar cheese you can always replace it with another kind.
Quick & Easy Vegan Potato and Artichoke Ragout
This ragout is both super easy to make and delicious. I increased the cooking time for the potatoes as mine weren’t brown until about 7 minutes in. I also added more vegetable broth so that way it would have more gravy in the end. All in all, is a really nice light, but filling recipe to have in on a cold day in the winter.