Savory Spinach Oats

Savory Spinach Oats

Serves 1 

• 1/4 cup uncooked steel cut oats
• 1 cup (~80 grams) frozen spinach
• 1/4 cup marinara sauce
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup ground beef style vegetable or soy protein crumbles (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Boil 1 cup of water and then stir in oats, reducing heat to medium. Let cook for about five minutes. Taste test the oats; they should be about halfway done, so still pretty chewy. Stir in frozen spinach and nutritional yeast. Continue to simmer on medium heat about five minutes or until spinach is thawed and oats are at your preferred chewiness level. Stir in marinara, protein crumbles, and salt and pepper. Cook another 1-2 minutes to evenly heat all ingredients. Serve immediately, adding more salt or pepper if desired. 

Eggplant Gyro with Arugula & Tofu Feta

Eggplant Gyro with Arugula & Tofu Feta

Serves 1

• 1/2 a large pita pocket (I used Trader Joe's soy pitas for extra protein!)
• Four large eggplant slices
• 2 tablespoons of my kalamata olive and sun dried tomato hummus, or your favorite variety
• 1 large bunch of fresh arugula (however much you can stuff into a pita pocket)
• 1.5 oz extra firm tofu
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• liberal amounts of sea salt, black pepper, onion and garlic powders
• olive oil or cooking spray

 First you need to sweat the eggplant. Sweating the slices will draw out the bitterness and enhance flavor. To do this, salt both sides of eggplant slices and let them rest on a plate for at least 15 minutes. You should begin to see beads of moisture on the eggplant. After the 15 minutes is up, thoroughly rinse the slices and pat dry with a paper towel. You can either remove the skin, keep it on, or carve little strips out like I did (for aesthetic value I guess). Place eggplant slices in a frying pan over medium heat with a little olive oil or cooking spray. Sprinkle with garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. Press tofu well to release extra water and crumble into feta-sized pieces with your hands. Combine vinegars and a a dash each of onion powder, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper in a separate container and whisk. Drizzle the mixture over the tofu and set it aside to soak. As the eggplant is frying, taste test your tofu feta and add ingredients as needed. (I realize that there are more sophisticated tofu feta recipes out there, but I did the best with what I had and it came out pretty good.) At this point, the eggplant should be ready to be flipped. Flip the slices, add more cooking oil as needed and more spices. It should be soft but not soggy and browned but not burned on the flip side. While the other side's a-frying, microwave your pita pocket for about 40 seconds, or until warm and soft. Coat the inside with hummus. Once the eggplant is done, place the slices inside the pita pocket and top with fresh arugula and tofu feta. 

Kalamata Olive & Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

 Tribe, you've got yourself a competitor. 

Kalamata Olive & Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

Makes a little over 1.5 cups

Ingredients

• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas 
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 6 pitted kalamata olives (or more, to taste)
• 2 tbsp sun dried tomato bits
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh or bottled
• a generous sprinkling each of sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder

Strain chickpeas over a bowl to catch and reserve the canned chickpea water, set water aside. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend for several minutes or until creamy. Taste and add more lemon juice, salt, pepper, or garlic powder as needed. To achieve a creamier texture, add small amounts of chickpea water at a time until desired consistency is reached. (It should be thick, creamy, and spreadable, but not runny.) Enjoy with warm pita, crudités, or pretty much anything. 

Spiced Carrot Butter

Spiced Carrot Butter

Makes a little less than 1 cup (about 12 1-tbsp servings)

• 6 medium carrots, peeled and rinsed
• 1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• a dash of sea salt

Grate all six carrots into slow cooker bowl, then add all other ingredients and stir. Cook on low setting for about 8 hours, or until the butter is soft, spreadable, and fragrant. 

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Home Fries

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Home Fries

Serves 1 hungry person or 2 as a side dish

• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, rinsed, and diced into small pieces
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• a generous sprinkle each of sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon
• olive oil or olive oil cooking spray, for frying

Place sweet potato chunks and diced onion in a frying pan with a small amount of water. Steam over medium heat until the sweet potato chunks are fork-tender but not too soft, adding more water as necessary. Once all the water has been absorbed and the sweet potato chunks are cooked, add either oil or cooking spray and apple cider vinegar. Turn heat to high and add spices. Sauté until the edges and faces of the sweet potato chunks are crispy are browned. Have a taste and add more spices, if desired. Serve with ketchup, hot sauce, or both. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Truffles

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Truffles

Makes about 12 1-inch truffles

• 1/3 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter (I used Better'n Peanut Butter Low Sodium)
• about 1 tbsp vanilla flavored vegan protein powder (I used Life's Basics Plant Protein)
• 1 tbsp raw sugar (or two packets stevia sweetener)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• a dash of sea salt
• 1 tbsp vegan dark chocolate nibs or chips
• 1 heaping tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)

Place drained and rinsed black and cannellini beans in a bowl and mash until thoroughly mixed and crushed. The more you mash, the better the consistency will be. Add peanut butter, sugar or sweetener, cinnamon, and sea salt. Mix and mash until fully combined. Add protein powder and chocolate chips, mixing again until combined. The consistency of the mixture should now resemble cookie dough. If it is too wet, add a little more protein powder. Do a taste test and add more sugar, cinnamon, or sea salt as needed. Between palms, roll "dough" into 1-inch balls and roll each in cocoa powder, coating from all angles. For best taste and texture results, freeze for at least an hour before eating. 

EDIT: After letting these sit in the freezer for a few hours, they became rock-hard. Opt for the refrigerator instead to firm them up!

Apple & Banana Oatmeal

Apple & Banana Oatmeal

Serves 1

• 1/4 cup uncooked steel cut oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon, divided in two
• 1/2 tbsp raw sugar, divided in two (can substitute agave nectar or two packets of stevia sweetener)
• 1/4 of a medium apple, sliced
• 1/2 of a ripe medium banana, sliced
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• cooking spray or vegan margarine, for frying

Place 1 cup water in a pot and bring to a boil. Add oats and stir. Allow to thicken on high for a few minutes, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the oats have reached desired level of chewiness. Towards the end of cooking, add in 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tbsp sugar or sweetener and stir. Place sliced apples, bananas, and the remainder of the sugar and cinnamon in a small frying pan with cooking spray and fry over medium-high, stirring until fruit has softened and caramelized slightly. Combine steel cut oats, fruit, and almond milk and stir. Enjoy immediately! 

Other yummy toppings could include vegan chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or shredded coconut. 

Sweet Potato Lentil Loaf with Sriracha Ketchup

Sweet Potato Lentil Loaf with Sriracha Ketchup

Serves 2

• 1/4 cup dried lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped small
• 2 large cremini mushrooms, chopped fine
• 1/2 slice of whole wheat or sprouted bread, toasted crunchy (I used the Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame variety)
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• a dash each of ground cumin, salt, and pepper
• 2 tbsp organic ketchup
• 1 tsp Sriracha chili sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place lentils and 1 cup of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain excess water before using. Poke holes in the sweet potato with a fork, place over a paper towel, and microwave for 8 minutes, stopping after 4 minutes to rotate. When time's up, allow to cool and then remove skin. Place in a large bowl and mash as much as possible. Add lentils, onion, mushrooms, garlic, and grated carrot to the sweet potato in the bowl and combine with your hands. Cut or crumble toasted bread into very small chunks. Add to bowl along with spices, salt, and pepper and continue to combine with hands until the mixture can be roughly formed into a ball. Add a tiny amount of water if necessary. Grease a loaf pan or pie dish with olive oil or cooking spray spray and mold into an oblong loaf on the pan. Pop it in the oven and let it bake for 45 minutes. While that's baking, combine ketchup and Sriracha and stir until completely combined. When time's up, remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for at least a few minutes (you won't want to, it will smell so good!) Carefully slice down the middle into two portions. It was a little fragile, but with a little patience you can cut it without destroying it. 

Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bowl

Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bowl

Serves 1

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 packets stevia sweetener, or about 1/2 tbsp of either agave nectar or raw sugar

Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and stir well. Microwave for three minutes, allow to cool, and stir before serving. 

And you're done!

Kitchen Sink Italian Stir Fry

Kitchen Sink Italian Stir Fry

Serves 1

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup of your favorite marinara sauce (I used TJ's organic tomato basil marinara)
• 3 oz. extra-firm tofu or other vegan protein of choice (I used a Morningstar vegan burger yesterday)
• 3 large cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped broccoli
• 1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
• 1 cup kale, torn into pieces
• 1 cup baby spinach
• a dash each of garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste

Place all veggies except baby spinach in a frying pan with a small amount of water and stir fry until cooked. Make a space in the pan and add tofu. Cut the block into small pieces with a spatula, and add spices to the tofu and veggies. Stir fry until tofu is hot and browned. Add rice and toss, then add baby spinach and continue to toss over medium heat until the spinach has wilted. Add marinara and continue to toss until the entire mixture is nice and hot. Serve immediately!