Plant Based Diet

November Healthy Cravings Recap: A Thanksgiving Feast

November 14, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

Last week I had a great time with the group of ladies who come to my home for Healthy Cravings. If you’re new here and not sure what I’m talking about Healthy Cravings is a monthly meeting I host to help ladies learn and hopefully transition to a plant-based diet.

My sweet friend Rene came to share her story. She has been eating a plant-based diet for about 4 months and loves it. She told the group that she had always been a dieter but the other diets weren’t sustainable. Eating a plant-based diet is a life-style change for Rene and her husband. After sharing her story she was gracious enough to answer questions for the group. Thank you Rene!

This month’s theme was Thanksgiving foods. I’d been looking for ideas for quite a while and organizing them on Pinterest. Every dish was vegan and gluten-free. unfortunately I didn’t get great pictures since it was already dark but I’ll be remaking many of these dishes over the next two weeks.

These Mashed Potatoes were the most popular dish of the evening. Everyone loved them. They need no accompaniment but I made the Happy Herbivore’s Thanksgiving Gravy that you can find by clicking here along with all of Linsday’s favorite Thanksgiving recipes.

I also made the Sweet Potato Casserole that I shared yesterday. Everyone loved it too and several of the ladies have been patiently awaiting this recipe.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving Dinner has always been the Corn Bread Dressing. I created my own vegan and gluten-free recipe based on my Memaw’s recipe (that is full of eggs and butter). It tasted great when I made it in the morning, unfortunately it dried out through the re-heating process. I’ll continue to tweak this and share the recipe soon.

I made two recipes from Susan at Fat-Free Vegan. First was her Impossible Vegan Pumpkin Pie. It is really easy to make but came out more like a pumpkin mousse that a pie, I even made it the day before like she recommends. Next time I’ll likely cut back on some of the spices because it was a little too “spicy” for us.

Second was The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole. I made this last year also and it is really good. So much better and better for you that my old recipe that used canned green beans, cans of cream of mushroom soup and french fried onions. I’ll admit I love those french fried onions but they contain wheat so I made my own gluten-free topping featuring GF bread crumbs, onions, and broth made from my broth mix.

Lastly I made Good Clean Food’s Cranberry Maple Compote. Forget your old, canned cranberry sauce this Cranberry Maple Compote is amazing. I have never liked cranberry sauce until now. I soooo wanted to pour this in a flaky crust and scoop some almond milk ice cream on top. I’m getting excited just thinking about it.

Our next Healthy Cravings group isn’t meeting until January but the food will focus on plant-based party and Super Bowl food. Oh yeah, come hungry.

Thanksgiving is just over a week away here in the U.S. so I’ll be enjoying these delicious foods at least once more this year. We are getting together with two other families who have really become family to us. I’m so thankful for them and I’m looking forward to sharing this special meal with them.

Sweet Potato Casserole

November 13, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo 17 Comments

In previous Thanksgiving’s I would make a Sweet Potato Casserole, packed with butter, brown sugar, and topped with lots of marshmallow’s. This year I wanted to make my traditional, Southern Sweet Potato Casserole plant-strong and relatively guilt-free.

I hear there are vegan marshmallow’s somewhere out there but I decided to make a pecan glaze instead. I was inspired by Fat-Free Vegan’s Susan Voisin and her Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping. Her recipe looks beautiful but I didn’t want to add the sugar and margarine so my recipe differs dramatically. I prefer the Sweet Potatoes without the glaze myself but everyone seemed to like it when I served this to a dozen guest last week.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Glaze

Ingredients for Casserole

Sweet Potatoes (I used two huge potatoes but 4-6 regular sized would probably work)
1/2 cup rice milk, more if needed
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Ingredients for Glaze

1 cup pecans
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown rice flour
2 Tbsp sugar

Bake sweet potatoes, allow to cool slightly until they can be peeled.
If using a potato masher mash peeled potatoes in a large bowl, adding milk a little at a time as needed.
Add maple syrup and cinnamon.
Pour into a casserole dish. I used a 9×9 dish and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
While casserole is baking mix up the glaze by adding all ingredients to a bowl and stirring well.
Taste glaze, add anything that appears lacking.
Pour onto sweet potatoes and allow to cook for 15 to 20 more minutes.

Serve

This casserole is perfect for Thanksgiving Dinner but is also delicious any other time of the year. It is really easy, can be made ahead of time and re-heats extremely well. Whether you make the glaze or not I think your guest will be impressed. My 1 and 3 year old’s took care of the leftovers in no time at all.

Veggie Broth Mix

November 11, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo 147 Comments

Do you buy Veggie Broth? I used to but no longer. Introducing my Veggie Broth Mix. This stuff has made cooking soooo much easier for me.

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One year ago when we first went plant-based I hated giving up the rich flavor I got from my chicken bullion. I switched to the veggie version and was quite happy with that until I learned it contained MSG. Bleck!

Then I switched to a veggie bullion I found at my local Sprout’s but it didn’t provide the same rich flavor I had grown to love. When making soups I’d add plenty of veggie’s but it wasn’t the same, adding nutritional yeast definitely helped the flavor but sometimes I want broth without making a whole pot of soup. My freezer does not have enough space for broth storage.

This veggie broth doesn’t have a lot of veggies but it does have a rich flavor that would be a great addition to sauces, soups, or anywhere you would normally use broth.

UPDATE: I’ve been making this Veggie Broth Mix for over 5 years! We still love it! There are a couple of ways to make it that will have an impact on measurements.

Shake, Stir or Food Processor

If you make this by shaking it in a jar, stirring it together or running it through a food processor you will need to use 1 Tablespoon of the mix for EACH cup of water. So if I recipe calls for 6 cups of water, you will use 6 Tablespoons of dry broth mix.

High Powered Blender or Spice Grinder

Some people prefer to make this in their Vitamix, Blendtec or spice grinder. It works really well but the contents get pulverized. Since it is broken down even more you’ll want to use 1 teaspoon of the veggie broth mix for each cup of water. You can always add a little more if needed. It’s hard to say exactly how much you’ll need because each appliance will create a different product.

This Veggie Broth Mix doesn’t have enough salt for me so I usually add more to the finished recipe. I try to keep my recipes low sodium for my readers on a low salt diet.

Veggie Broth Mix

Try this Veggie Broth Mix once and you will be hooked! Keep it on hand and you’ll have the makings of a delicious meal anytime.

Veggie Broth Mix

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons onion powder
1 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 cup nutritional yeast

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together, adjusting for your taste preferences. (If you hate one of these spices simply omit it.)
Store in an air tight container.

Notes

Use this broth mix by adding 1 Tablespoon of the Veggie Broth Mix for each cup of hot water. For example if you are cooking with 4 cups of water, you would use 4 Tablespoons of Veggie Broth Mix.

Use this broth mix by adding 1 Tbsp for each cup of hot water. I like to add extra salt to the finished product. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of dry veggie broth mix when using the food processor or string it together. That’s 24 cups of broth. I haven’t added up the cost but I think it is a much better value that all of the veggie broth I’d been buying.

Use this veggie broth in any recipe. Some of my favorites include Chickpea Noodle Soup, Minestrone Soup, Potato and Kale Soup but it is also incredible mixed in warm noodles, rice or watch it take your favorite casseroles to the next level. For more ideas check out my Recipe Page!

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Crock Pot Potato Soup…A Bowl Full of Comfort

November 8, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo 49 Comments

Is there anything more comfortable that curling up on the couch with a warm bowl of soup? Maybe sitting near a campfire with a bowl of chili and a dozen of your closest friends but I’m more of a couch girl.

I’m also fond of potatoes, so this Crock Pot meal brings me to my happy place.

This may be the easiest soup I’ve ever made. My teenage daughter LOVED it. In fact, she may even put up a fight for the last bowl of Potato Soup.

This recipe is made from pantry and veggie staples that I always have on hand. I don’t think it’s possible to mess up this recipe. If you are short on time cook the Potato Soup on the stove instead of in the Crock Pot. You won’t be disappointed.

Crock Pot Potato Soup

Ingredients

6 medium potatoes washed and cut into bite sized chunks (I left skin on)
4 cups of water
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 cup nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

Do

Place all ingredients into a Crock Pot.
Set to low for about 6 hours, or high for 4 hours.
Once everything is soft you can enjoy as is with a little salt and pepper or mash with a potato masher until it reaches a smooth consistency for a creamy soup. An immersion blender will do the job even faster.

Serve

This soup is perfect to help you warm up on a chilly day; a truly guilt-free comfort food. It can also be served with a side salad or a sandwich for a bistro worthy lunch.

Unsuspecting omnivores will think this contains milk and cheese but they would be wrong.

This soup makes four servings.

Update: Lindsey left a comment that she made this soup in the Instant Pot, cooking for 4 minutes. She said the quick release was messy but it was really good. Thanks Lindsey.

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Light and Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

November 6, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo 14 Comments

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan and Thanksgiving Dinner Worthy

I’ve made Mashed Potatoes for years but for some reason with Thanksgiving on the horizon I started to wonder if we would be able to enjoy a “traditional” mashed potatoes sans butter and milk. I’ve made a Dirty Mashed Potatoes that were delicious but that isn’t the same as Thanksgiving’s creamy version that I was longing for.

Fear Not! I got this!

Thanksgiving Worthy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

4 large potatoes
2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or rice milk)
2 tsp nutritional yeast

Scrub, peel, and cut potatoes into large chunks.
Cover with water and bring to a boil.
Cook until potatoes very are soft.
Drain potatoes and mash with a potato masher.
Add salt and pepper, nutritional yeast and about half of the milk.
Continue to mash or (whip) until everything is mixed, add more plant milk as needed.
Taste and add more salt or nutritional yeast as necessary to get the flavor just right. (Depending on the size of your potatoes this might not be enough seasoning)

Serve

These potatoes are amazing. I took them to a potluck, eaten them alone and they are soon to be put to good use on a Vegan Shepherd’s Pie. They are perfect for Thanksgiving, I can hardly wait to top them with Happy Herbivore’s Thanksgiving gravy. Add a bit of rice milk when re-heating these. You will probably want to hide them as well, I chose the veggie drawer, no one suspected a thing. 🙂

Meal Plan Monday: No Nonsense in November

November 5, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

I really enjoyed October’s Vegan Month of Food, a.k.a Vegan MoFo but I admit I got a bit burned out. I wasn’t eating as well as I should to feel great. There were many days that time with my family took a back seat so I could continue blogging and fulfill my commitment of 20 posts last month. I finally came to my senses and realized time with my family was way more important than pounding out another recipe.

The Virtual Vegan Potluck was another fun event. I brought Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins. They were a virtual hit; I also took them to several events where they were adored! To check out other recipes visit Vegan Bloggers Unite and make your way through appetizers, beverages, breads, salads, sides, soups, main dishes and finally desserts.

During the month’s of November and December I hope to stay family focused. I also want to focus on nourishing our bodies, not just filling them up. This takes planning; it will not happen without effort. I will still be blogging and sharing recipes so I don’t think you’ll have time to miss me. I also have my last Healthy Cravings of the year this week.

No Nonsense Meal Plan

Breakfast will be oatmeal, breakfast quinoa, toast with nut butter and fruit and cereal on busy days. We also have leftover whole wheat and gluten-free pancakes.

Lunch is usually leftovers or a nice soup. Sometimes I’ll make a quick pasta for my kids or an easy almond butter sandwich.

Snacks are usually fruit or sometimes a parfait with chia “sprinkles” and walnuts. My little guys love these parfait’s. They also love green smoothies and will remain completely silent until they have consumed the whole thing… marvelous!

Dinner requires a bit more effort. I’m also prepping for Healthy Cravings so I’ll be cooking all week for that. I’m hoping to incorporate the same ingredients to make it a bit easier on me and my budget. This week I’m planning to make a Vegan Shepard’s Pie, attempt a new Mexican inspired casserole (hopefully a 1 dish meal), maybe a veggie soup and of course a full Thanksgiving Spread for Thursday’s Healthy Cravings. You can follow me on Pinterest to see what other idea’s I’m kicking around.

If you are like me and continually on a quest for more recipes (or at lease recipe inspiration) make sure you check out the Virtual Vegan Potluck you can even vote for your favorite recipe for each course by sending a message to Annie. You don’t even have to vote for me (unless you really want too) but please vote. Check out those details here.

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November Healthy Cravings Recap: A Thanksgiving Feast