Simple Peanut Butter Pasta

I have been a huge fan of peanut butter pasta ever since I first tried it. I have used many different variations, and usually it just happens to be whatever ingredients sound like a good fit and are in the house. : ) Here is a version of a quick and simple vegan meal.

2 packages of Nasoya noodles
4 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 tablespoon of Earth Balance buttery stick
1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid aminos
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes

Drain and rinse the Nasoya noodles. I usually rinse them for at least a minute under hot water while they are in a colander. Heat the Earth balance and peanut butter on medium heat until melted. Add in the noodles and aminos. Cook on medium heat for another 3 minutes and then add the yeast flakes. Cook for about 2 more minutes while mixing occasionally and then enjoy! Feel free to change or add ingredients according to taste. We would usually put a lot of hot sauce in also but there wasn't any in the house. Also, Whole Foods has a delicious peanut sauce that is a great addition.

The way that I originally made peanut butter pasta many years ago was even simpler. It just included pasta, peanut butter and soy sauce. The way that we currently make it is probably much healthier because it has less sodium. (We used a LOT of soy sauce back in the day.)

The current recipe is for two dinners.

Breakfast Tofu Stacker

This is a delicious breakfast stacker perfect of a chilly winter day. It is hearty, full of flavor and can be easily adapted for anything that you have in your fridge. Depending on how hearty of a breakfast you want it can make 3+ servings.

Here's what you need

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 4 cloves of garlic - sliced
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 package firm tofu - cubed
• 1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup Daiya Cheddar Cheese
• 2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
• 6 corn tortillas
• Tortilla chip crumbs (if desired)

Here's what to do

1. Scrub down your sweet potato really well, if you want to peel it you can but we leave the skin on. Using a mandolin, slice your sweet potato nice and thin, if you'd like a chunkier sweet potato you can just cube the sweet potato instead. Once fully sliced take about 10 slices at a time and stack them on top of each other, cut 1/4 inch strips in one direction and rotate 90 degrees to cut small squares.
2. Heat a pan over medium heat and add coconut oil. Once slightly warmed add the garlic, and stir. Once slightly caramelized add the sweet potatoes and cook until tender.
3. Add tofu to the pan and cook until it is fully heated through. Finally, add the beans and stir occasionally until the beans are warmed through.
4. Transfer the contents of the pan to a large bowl. Stir in the Daiya cheese until melted. Then, Add the vegan mayonnaise, yeast flakes, curry powder and chipotle powder. Stir to combine.
5. Warm the corn tortillas either in a dry pan on medium heat
6. Place one tortilla on a plate, and add a generous scoop of the tofu mixture. Add another tortilla and then a slightly smaller generous scoop of tofu. If desired, sprinkle on a few crumbs from some tortilla chips.

The filling for this dish is so versatile and delicious. You can easily use this inside of a burrito, tacos, or chill it and use it similar to a tuna/chicken salad for sandwiches. While still warm, mixing in some spinach would be a delicious addition. And, since it is the start of a new year and many people are juicing you can save your juice pulp in the freezer to add to recipes like this one. Some celery, carrot and/or kale pulp would as some nice flavor and additional fiber. Enjoy.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We hope that everyone has had a great holiday season and New Year's celebrations.  We haven't made any resolutions this year, per say, yet we are trying to eat healthier. I have personally been super lazy when it comes to cooking anything, which means no new recipes for me to post. : (

I have been a little better about packing up lunches the night before work so it is ready to go in the morning. So, if you are also somewhat forgetful or strapped for time before work, it is a great time-saver. It also helps you save money and most likely calories by not ordering take-out food or buying junk from the vending machine while at work! : )

So I'll just go over a few of our favorite snacks that we pack up. I usually pack about 3 or 4 snacks along with a meal that we will prepare the night before also. One of my favorites as of late is to just make little trail mixes and store them in half-pint mason jars. I like to put in Sunflower seeds, almonds, carob chips, dried cranberries, peanuts, and walnuts. I like to eat the mix on its own but it also tastes great in yogurt. Another one of our favorite snacks is hummus with anything! : ) Sweet potatoes sliced with a mandoline make great raw "chips" to dip in the hummus, along with celery, bell peppers, carrots, etc. And lastly, we usually have one or two fresh fruits in our lunch bags. I have always loved bananas, but oranges are a new favorite for the both of us. Blood oranges are in season right now and are so delicious!

Well, I hope that we will be able to post some new recipes soon, but maybe these simple snack ideas will help someone in the meantime. Happy and healthy new year to everyone!

Nicole

Spaghetti Squash Pancakes

I will admit that I did not measure anything when it came to making these, so the amounts are pretty much just estimates! The finished product was pretty tasty though! The mister had baked a squash and we wanted to do something fun instead of just eating it plain, so the squash pancakes were created. I made a HUGE mess while forming the pancakes with my hands, so just beware that you are most likely going to get messy! Feel free to add more flour if the mixture is not sticking together.

3 cups of baked spaghetti squash insides
1 1/2 cups of flour
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp of nutritional yeast flakes
Olive Oil for pan-frying

Set a frying pan to medium heat and add a small amount of oil. Mix all ingredients together until combined. Form the pancakes with your hands. Fry each for about 4 minutes and then flip over. They should look golden brown on each side when done. I cooked several pancakes at a time and it took about 30 minutes for all of them to be done. The mixture should make about 15 or so pancakes. We had enough to last us for 3 different dinners! They tasted great with a little bit of wholegrain mustard.

I hope that everyone enjoys this recipe! I think it would also taste great with a little bit of Daiya cheese melted on top! : )

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a delicious and healthy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone is enjoying all of the cruelty-free options out there. There are so many delicious meat alternatives and side dish recipes out there right now. Today we will be enjoying a Tofurky, corn, peas, green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, spinach salad and some vegan pumpkin pie! I was concerned about us overeating so I suggested adding a salad to our menu in the hopes of not eating a pound of potatoes each! : )

We may post recipes later, but our food wasn't too complicated. The stuffing is delicious though, so I may have to beg Andrew to post that recipe. : ) Happy Thanksgiving!!

Nicole

Easy Vegan Sausage Crescent Rolls

We found a package of vegan crescent rolls and I knew that I had to try to make a version of pigs in a blanket. I used to love them when I was growing up and these were absolutely delicious and SO easy to make! 

1 package of crescent rolls(hopefully your local Whole Foods or grocery store will carry some)

1 package of Tofurky sausages

1 package of Daiya cheese slices(we used Provolone & they were on sale at Whole Foods this week!)

So this was extremely simple and pretty quick. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees per the directions on the package of crescent rolls. I used 2 crescent rolls per Tofurky. Place two crescents together to make a larger triangle to wrap around the sausage. Place the sausage on the wider end of the crescent roll. Break the cheese slice in half and place both slices down the length of the sausage and roll the crescents. Bake in the oven per the instructions of the crescent roll package. Take out of the oven when golden and enjoy!

Banana Puffed Quinoa "Truffle"

Craving something sweet but knowing that we shouldn't just eat a whole bunch of chocolate, I decided to use some puffed quinoa that I had made earler (that recipe may come later) and bananas. This little "truffle" is just sweet enough with a little bit of bitterness.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dates pitted
• 1 cup puffed quinoa
• 1 banana
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spices
• 12 chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

Add all ingrediets (except chocolate and cocoa powder) to a food processor and pulse until all ingredients have been combined. For the mixture into balls one tablespoon at a time. Take the chocolate chips and push into the center of the balls. Put the cocoa powder in a smal bowl or wide bottomed mug.One ball at a time, put the balls into the cocoa mixture and swirtl until fully covered. Refrigerate in anairtight container or enjoy immediately.