Vegan MoFo

Date Night Food

October 14, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

My husband and I are pretty passionate about keeping a regular date night. When we first got together he had three kids already so we didn’t really go on dates. It was too expensive to get a baby sitter and go out.

Now we make dates a priority. When we changed our diet a year ago we were a little nervous about what we would be able to eat. We aren’t really into ~~expensive~~ fancy places, but we have a few favorites where we can order healthy meat-free and dairy-free food.

Pita Jungle

By far our favorite place to go is Pita Jungle. We are kind of regulars now. We have our favorite server, Benjamin and we try to always sit in his section. When we walk in we can tell that they are really happy to see us. 🙂 We like that. They have delicious food; although meat and dairy are served at Pita Jungle they have plenty of vegan options too, you can check out this chart.

We usually order the large Jalapeno Hummus. It is AMAZING! The hummus is served with pita’s that come out soft and warm. If you are gluten-free you can order cucumber slices. I’m in love with their Lentil Fetoosh Salad. I wish I knew what spices are on it because I’d recreate it often. My husband orders a Lavosh Pizza without cheese and adds hummus. They have a few new seasonal specials that we tried recently; the coconut curry soup and curry pita pizza. They were delicious and my first time trying curry. The soup comes in a huge bowl and is very inexpensive, I think I’ll make it my regular order this winter.

We have also ordered food for carry out and it was excellent as well.

Chipotle

Occasionally we decide we are in the mood for something else and decide to go to Chipotle. I always order a veggie bowl with black beans, brown rice, corn salsa, mild salsa, spicy salsa, and guacamole. I love it! My husband prefers the pinto beans and white rice. I love that I can share this with my son who is gluten-free too.

Vito’s

Vito’s is a local Italian restaurant that is incredibly good and has been around since the 80s. I always order a Vegetarian Pizza without cheese. You can order it on a gluten-free crust for a small up charge. It is a little pricier so we don’t go there often but I’ve never been disappointed. We like to pick Vito’s when we are going out with other couples because it has something for everyone. If you sign up to receive emails from them you’ll regularly get coupons for buy one pizza get one free.

Sorry for the poor pictures, they were all taken with my phone on actual dates. I hope you enjoyed a peek at our date night cuisine.

Are you keeping up with the Vegan Month of Food? Check it out!

Texas-Style Chili

October 11, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo 50 Comments

Chili may be one of the best meals for a crisp autumn day. Even though it isn’t really all that crisp here in Arizona it still makes a very tasty meal. I’ve mention before that I grew up in Texas so we don’t take our chili lightly, the spicier the better.

With this recipe I rein in the spices but feel free to add more (or less) to suit your taste buds. Sometimes I’ll make it mild then scoop some out for my kids then add more spices to the remainder for my husband and I.

If you are new to a plant-based diet this recipe is perfect because you don’t notice anything is missing.

Very Vegan Chili (Texas Style)

Ingredients

3 cans of beans OR about 6 cups of cooked beans, any variety
1 medium onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes OR about 3 tomatoes, diced
1 can diced green chili’s OR your choice of fresh peppers, we like jalapenos
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
Chili powder to suit your tastes. Some people use 1 or 2 Tbsp. I use 1/4 to 1/2 cup but most people can’t handle that.
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
salt
pepper

Add beans, diced onion, tomatoes, peppers, and tomato sauce to a large sauce pan and cook until onions, peppers, and tomatoes are cooked.
Add spices to suit your individual taste preferences.
Heat until extra liquid, if any, has cooked out.

Serve

This meal is great on a cool day, it is hearty and filled with fiber. Cornbread or crackers make a great accompaniment. Perhaps my favorite way to enjoy chili is on a baked potato. This recipe also freezes well so make a big batch and save some for a rainy day.

This recipe also works great in the Crock Pot but since the beans are already cooked it can be made on the stove fairly quickly.

For more great recipe ideas check out my Recipe Page or follow me on Pinterest.

Vegan Chili (Texas Style)

Texas style plant based chili

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

3 cans of beans OR about 6 cups of cooked beans, any variety
1 medium onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes OR about 3 tomatoes, diced
1 can diced green chili’s OR your choice of fresh peppers, we like jalapenos
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
Chili powder to suit your tastes. Some people use 1 or 2 Tbsp. I use 1/4 to 1/2 cup but most people can’t handle that.
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
salt
pepper

Instructions

Add beans, diced onion, tomatoes, peppers, and tomato sauce to a large sauce pan and cook until onions, peppers, and tomatoes are cooked.
Add spices to suit your individual taste preferences.
Heat until extra liquid, if any, has cooked out.

Notes

Serve with cornbread, crackers or on a baked potato
Works great in a crock pot
Freezes well

Veggie Kids

October 10, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

Meet my Veggie Kids! They are 3 1/2 and 20 months. The are also both pretty stinkin awesome!

Their whole world revolves around food. They are “good eaters” and normally eat a lot, although they prefer to graze. I hear requests all day long for apples and banana’s. The 20 month little guys says “amanas” instead of bananas.

The 3 1/2 year old loves eating leaves; he eats spinach mostly but will eat raw kale too. We give him a tiny bit of salad dressing to dip the leaves in.

We made the move to plant-based 1 year ago and I’m so happy with their progress. Before we made the switch the big guy was a drive-thru, fast food junkie! He has come a long way.

He doesn’t really prepare his own meals. 🙂

The little guy hasn’t really been exposed to much unhealthy food. He can’t handle gluten so fast food isn’t really an option.

A few of their favorite recipes are: GF Apple Muffins, GF Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, Baked Potatoes, Parfaits, Smoothies, Unfried Beans and Mexican Rice, Brown Rice and Broccoli Casserole among other recipes you can check out on my Recipe Page.

Black Bean Soup for Two

October 5, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo Leave a Comment

Normally when I cook anything I make enough for a small village. About 14 months ago there were 7 hungry tummies living under our roof. When our three teenagers moved to their mom’s house I had to completely change my style of cooking. That was pretty close to the same time I found out my youngest couldn’t handle gluten.

Right now we are back up to 5 mouths that are always hungry. I’ve been craving Black Bean Soup but I know my husband and I are the only ones who will eat it. My little guys probably would but this is a mess soup for little hands and I get tired of cleaning up messes, especially Black Bean Soup on my white tile dining room floor.

If you have kids with a little more spoon control this soup is mild enough for them. I made this with my food processor but you could make it without one, it would just take more knife wielding. 🙂

Black Bean Soup for Two

Ingredients

4 cups cooked black beans (or two cans drained and rinsed)
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1-2 Peppers, I used a pepper from a friends garden but jalapeno or bell peppers are okay too
1 1/2 cups water (or veggie broth)
1 cube veggie bullion of using water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1 tsp liquid smoke (add more for a smokier flavor)
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

Process onions and garlic in food processor or finely mince. Add them to a medium-sized pot on medium heat, stirring regularly. If they begin to burn add a tiny bit of water or broth. Cook these until they are translucent and starting to brown.
Peppers can be processed also or left in big chunks. If they are processed the soup will be spicier. I removed the seed and left peppers in big chunks for a mild soup.
Add the beans (processed and whole), water (or broth) and spices to the pot and stir.
Let soup simmer a few minutes then taste to adjust spices.
Finally add liquid smoke and vinegar.

Serve

This soup makes about 4 cups but can be doubled for extra eaters. It would taste great with Mexican Rice or topped with fresh avocado or cilantro.

Are you enjoying the Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo)? If you are participating let me know so I can see what you’ve been cooking.

All Purpose Mushroom Marinade

October 4, 2012 by Holly Yzquierdo 13 Comments

Some nights you just need an easy, kid-friendly meal; and nothing is easier than pasta.

We used gluten-free pasta because my 20 month old is gluten-free. He loved this pasta and the mushrooms.

This was his first time successfully feeding himself. He normally eats with his hands but he always tries to use the spoon. He totally rocked spooning this pasta into his mouth. He had seconds of this by the way.

I’m not typically a mushroom lover but my marinade really takes them to a whole different level. So if you don’t like mushrooms you will want to try them this way; if you like mushrooms this may become your favorite way to prepare them.

Mushroom Marinade

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Braggs
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (vegan)
1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinaigrette
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1 Tbsp Cooking Sherry (optional, I use in Italian dishes but not Mexican)
1/2 to 1 cup of water
Mushrooms of your choice, we prefer Portobello

Mix all liquids for the marinade in a large bowl and stir to incorporate them all.
Wash mushrooms and pat dry.
Slice them then add to marinade.
Let them soak 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cook the mushrooms however you prefer. I simmered these with onions for the pasta but will often grill them for fajita’s.

Serve

This marinade is extremely versatile. I use it, adjusting where necessary, for all of my mushroom recipes. I’ve had people who didn’t like mushrooms tell me they really enjoyed them this way. It’s a lot easier than the recipe I came up with for my Portobello Fajita’s. My Portobello Burgers are pretty good too if you are in a Portobello kind of mood.

I served this with a big ol’ garden salad! Yes that was just MY salad, in a serving bowl. My husband and 3 year old had their own. 😉

Just in case you are wondering, the Pumpkin Bread from yesterday’s post does make a delicious breakfast, especially with a cup of coffee.