Feel free to alter any of the recipe amounts as you see fit. These recipes are created from the heart and I do like to embellish or take away as I cook.

Stuffed Shells

These are amazing. They take a little time to make but are great for a Sunday dinner.

• 1 box jumbo shell noodles. Boil and drain when tender

Filling:

• 1 cup wheat bugler (cook 2 cups water to 1 cup bulgar- bring to a boil and cover til done)
• Purée the filling below til smooth.

• 1 1/2 cups soaked raw cashews (pour boiling over the top and let sit for half an hour covered and drain). Put in food processor
• 4 large handfuls spinach. Put in food processor
• Almond milk – enough to make the cashews and spinach smooth. I just add it on the top until you have a nice creamy consistency while the food processor is running.
• Garlic powder, onion powder and sea salt to taste

Combine all filling ingredients and then stuff the shells. Add Spaghetti sauce on top.

Can top with plant based cheese, basil and oregano. Bake 350 til done.

Happy Bowl

This is very satisfying, economical, nutritious and easy.  Some of its powerhouse qualities include fiber, protein, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.   It packs a lot of punch for something so simple to make.  When I am pressed for time and want to use what is on hand I go to this recipe.  Serves 4 people.  Family approved. Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa cooked according to directions
• 2 medium potatoes sliced.
• 1 can of Garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
• A small bowl of greens of your choice
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper (optional)
• Sea salt, Pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, curry powder
• Olive oil
• Cashew Cream (Optional)

Cook quinoa according to directions, when done season with garlic powder and sea-salt to taste.  In a medium bowl combine sliced potatoes, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Place potatoes on 1/2 of well oiled large baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, then add on the other side of the baking sheet garbanzo beans.  Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil on them.  Season beans to taste using: smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, curry powder, salt and pepper.

Bake at 375 degree until beans are crunchy to your liking and serve with your favorite greens, cooked quinoa and bell pepper.  You can add cashew cream to this meal if you like as well. 

Cashew Cream

Cashew Cream is one of my family’s favorite snacks.  This is a delicious alternative to cheese spread.  Cheese was one of my last hold outs before becoming vegan so I was happy discover the joys of cashew cream.  It is full of flavor and is nutritious for you   If you have never soaked raw cashews it is quite easy.  You just put them in a bowl and cover them with water.  I leave them this way overnight and then they are ready go the next day after draining and rinsing.  This makes a good-sized batch.  Feel free to cut it in half if you like.

Put in a food processor:

• 3 cups of soaked raw cashews
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup of water

Feel free to adjust the amount of water or the amount of spices to what suits your taste buds.  Puree and enjoy with your favorite cracker.  Happy snacking!

Easy Mediterranean Salad

This is a nice toss and is tasty for a weekend treat.

• 1 box Rotini noodles
• 2 cans black olives
• 1 can artichoke hearts drained and choped
• Plant based feta cheese crumbled as much as you wish
• Red onion chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• Paisley, garlic powder and onion powder to taste
• A little olive oil

Mix and enjoy! :). You could also make this even healthier by replacing the noodles with spinach. 😉

Breakfast Fruit

• 1 can coconut cream
• Juice 1/2 of medium lime
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Almond milk – enough to make smooth in blender
• Maple syrup to taste

Blend In food processor until smooth and serve with fruit.

Spice and Flavors

Eating plant rich foods is easier when you flavor them. There are so many amazing spices out there. Some are easy to grow fresh. There are also foods that enhance flavors in the kitchen. Let your imagination take you places. Here is a short list of some I use at my house.

• Multi-purpose: garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, curry, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper.
• South of the Border:  cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, adobo seasoning, lime, mild peppers, parsley, tabasco sauce
• Asia: ginger, garlic, onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, miso, chili garlic sauce, miso, white rice vinegar
• Italy: oregano, basil, garlic, onion, thyme, rosemary, olive oil, sun dried tomato, nuts for pesto
• Greece: olive oil, lemon, garlic, onion, red wine vinegar
• India: ginger, cloves, anise, cinnamon, curry, cumin seeds, garam masala, black cardamom, fennel seeds, bay leaves
• Ranch:  dill, lemon, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, bell pepper
• Autumn and winter holidays: thyme, rosemary, white pepper, sage, marjoram, liquid smoke, maple syrup
• Breakfast and Baking: nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, mint, anise, cloves, allspice, pumpkin pie spice, coconut, dark chocolate, walnuts

South Of The Border Salad

I just whipped up this salad today and thought I would share.  It was quite good.

South of the Border Salad:

• Bed of Greens
• Quinoa cooked and flavored with taco seasoning of your choice
• Black Beans (rinsed and drained)
• Red Onion (diced)
• Bell Pepper (diced)
• Fresh Garden Tomato (diced)
• Avocado (diced)
• Vegan Cheese (optional)
• Black Bean Chips crushed (any other natural flavored chip would work as well)

Dressing:

• Vegan mayonnaise of your choice
• A touch of Almond Milk
• Seasonings to taste:  Chili Powder, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Smoked Paprika, Sea Salt

Nancy♥

Healthy Snack Ideas

• A small handful of walnuts or pecans
• Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
• Fresh fruit: clementine oranges, organic bananas, organic apples, strawberries, melons, blackberries and blueberries.  I love putting a bowl of fruit on the table to add color to the place setting and to remind me to eat well.
• Air popped popcorn (I usually make a large batch and put it in an airtight container to eat during the week.   I also like to make popcorn on the stove with a little olive oil for movie night.  A friend introduced me to using olive oil and it tastes pretty good!
• Whole wheat toast and natural peanut butter.  Sunflower butter is actually very good as well.
• Cup of leftover soup
• Hummus and whole grain crackers, pita bread or carrots and celery
• Mixed nuts you need to crack yourself.  Great winter treat!
• Peanuts or pistachios
• A piece of dark chocolate dipped in natural peanut butter
• Guacamole with salsa and a few corn chips
• Plant based yogurt with granola on top
• Fruit and nut trail mix
• Apple Sauce

Red Lentil Soup

Lunch: Soothing Red Lentil Soup

This is a very satisfying and healthy.  I like to eat this if I feel sluggish or after a morning juice fast.  It has a nice flavor and is a family favorite.  The garlic has a soft, rich and robust flavor when it is just boiled in with the other vegetables. I really just throw this together because it is so easy and just eyeball the ingredients. This is the basic recipe. Add more or less of anything as you wish. 🙂

Food Process:

• 2 bulbs garlic
• 2 medium onions
• 1 ½ cups carrots
• 5 celery sticks

Clean and chop lightly dice vegetables. Put the through your food processor until well diced.

• 7 cups water
• 16 oz.  red lentils (rinsed very well)

Simmer on medium until the lentils are soft.  Add more water as needed.  Season to taste with:

• 1 heaping tbsp.  vegetable bouillon base or more
• Sea salt and fresh black pepper
• Onion powder and garlic powder to taste

This makes quite a bit and is very good reheated.

Veggie Omelet

The Filling:

• ½ a small red onion finely diced
• 1 potato finely diced
• ½ a bell pepper finely diced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 handful of spinach
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Sautee vegetables in a little olive oil on medium heat until tender.  Set aside aside

Helpful hint: If you cover the vegetables while cooking on medium the mushrooms will cook more evenly. Just remember to stir it.

The Omelet:

• 1 cup of garbanzo flour.
• Enough plant based milk added until it is the consistency of pancake batter. Not to thin and not to thick.
• Season with onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, sea salt and ground pepper to taste.
• Fry this up in a little olive oil.  Spoon the veggies on top and enjoy.

Spiced Apple Walnut Oats

This is so easy to make and satisfies a good morning wake-up.

• 1/3rd cup quick oats
• 1/3rd cup almond milk
• 1 heaping tsp. almond butter
• 1 small apple diced
• Season with maple syrup to taste. nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract
• Top with a few walnuts

Combine almond milk and oatmeal, warm up on medium. Add other ingredients and enjoy!

Cozy Potato Soup With Pesto

I just recently put this together and it was fabulous.  Perfect for a Winter afternoon.

• 2 onions
• 1 bulb garlic
• 1 1/2 cups baby carrots
• several cups water (as needed)
• 1 tbsp vegetable bouillon
• sprinkle of thyme, garlic powder, black pepper and sea salt (to taste)
• 10 small/medium potatoes diced
•  2 cans of kidney beans rinsed and drained
• small bunch of kale cleaned and leaves torn into small pieces
• 8 oz of assorted noodles, cooked and added at the end

Food process and saute onions, garlic and carrots in a little olive oil.  Add the other ingredients except the cooked noodles.  Cook the potatoes until they are done and add more water as needed.  Add the cooked noodles at the end.  Serve with pesto on the top. ♥

Pesto:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• a few tablespoons of dried basil
• 1 tbsp parsley
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• A very good sprinkle of garlic powder
• a few tbsp’s of olive oil drizzled

Food process and serve on the side for guests to put in their soup.

Enjoy!

Nancy♥

Fruit Crisp

Fruit Crisp:

Toss together:

• 4 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
• 1 cup raspberries fresh frozen
• 1 or 2 peaches

Topping:

• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup oats
• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup walnuts or more to your liking
• 1 tbsp. of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp allspice
• 3 tbsp. plant based butter or just a touch more crumbled finely into the mix

Place the fruit in the bottom of a large shallow baking pan.  Mix the topping in a food processor and sprinkle on top of the fruit.  Bake at 375 degrees until golden.  It takes about 30 to 45 minutes.  Serve with half and half or your choice of plant based milk product.

Winter Salsa

• 1 bunch of green onions chopped
• 1 can black beans drained
• 1 can white corn drained
• 1 jar mild salsa
• 1 avocado chopped
• 3 or 4 Roma tomatoes chopped
• Juice of ½ a lime
• Handful fresh parsley chopped or in a good sized pinch dried to taste 

Great with plain corn chips

Farm Salad

This is a great salad I had at a retreat. It has a sweet/salty flavor.

Suggested amounts for the salad:

• 1 small can of white corn
• 1 can washed and drained kidney beans
• Optional plant based white cheddar cheese chunks to make it pretty
• 1 medium tomato chopped
• Bell peppers diced
• Red onion

Dressing:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• Juice of ½ lime
• A splash of red wine vinegar
• A large tablespoon agave nectar
• Garlic seasoned salt to taste

Greek Salad

This is good by itself or thrown in a pita wrap for a pleasant lunch.

• Dressing: Combine: ¼ cup olive oil and juice of one small lemon.
• Add spices to taste: basil, oregano, rosemary, fresh ground pepper and garlic sea salt.
• Combine the following for the salad: Lettuce, spinach, red onion, black olives, garbanzo beans and plant based feta cheese (found at natural foods market)

Assemble, roll up and enjoy!

Kale Chips

These are a little messy but yummy! If you have extra kale this is a fun, easy way to enjoy them. The pesto sauce takes them over the top. My family loves these!

• Kale cleaned and trimmed or buy pre-cleaned and trimmed to save yourself time.
• A few handfuls of walnuts, basil to taste (I use a few tablespoons dry) garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, olive oil to taste

Food process the pesto and rub on the kale. Bake this at 350 degrees until lightly crispy. It bakes up fairly quickly so you will need to keep an eye on it. Let it cool and then transfer into a seal proof container for your munching pleasure:)

On The Go Avocado Sandwich

This is a pleasant open faced sandwich for on the run.

• 1 slice natural bread I like sprouted grains
• Hummus to spread
• Sliced tomato
• Sliced Avocado
• Everything Bagel seasoning to sprinkle on top.

Assemble and enjoy!