Chipotle is pretty much the only ‘fast food’ option for me, so I am def a regular patron. I found a couple recipes to replicate their rice & salsa; I’d like to try subbing the white rice for brown rice or another grain to make it a little healthier.

Cilantro Lime Rice I

Cilantro Lime Rice II

Medium Green Salsa Recipe
4 medium-sized fresh ripe tomatoes
1 small bunch of cilantro (about 8 to 10 long pieces with leaves)
1 fresh lime
1 medium onion
Salt & pepper to taste
2 to 3 chipotle chilies, canned in adobo sauce
Red pepper flakes to taste

This is a recipe my sis tore out of a magazine (maybe Better Homes & Gardens, of all places…?) for me a while ago. I’ve been meaning to try it, looks pretty simple.

Herbed Tofu Cakes:

• 16 oz firm tofu (drained/pressed)
• 1 large carrot, finely shredded (about 2/3 cup)
• 2 green onions chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 Tbsp fresh mint (will probs skip this, HATE mint in my food.)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 a cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 mango, seeded, peeled & chopped (will prob skip this too)

Dipping Sauce:

• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp chili garlic sauce

1. In a large bowl: mash tofu & add carrot, green onions, herbs, garlic,flour, soy sauce & mix well. 
2. Heat canola oil in skillet to medium heat
3. pack tofu mixture into aprox 1/4 cup size patties (makes aprox 10 patties)
4. Cook patties in oil 3-5 mins for each side until browned & heated through
5. TIP: keep done patties hot while others cook by keeping in 200 degree oven
6. Serve warm, topped with cucumber/mango/extra herbs with dipping sauce.

Mmmm. I <3 mushrooms!

Found via healthy.happy.life recipe from pcrm.orgs 21-day vegan kickstart.

Need to make this before summer ends. Check’n out more of the recipes at pcrm’s vegan kickstart; they seem really simple and wholesome which is what I am in dire need of. Between work and school I don’t make time to cook or eat enough and when I do eat its not the best options. It’s killing my metabolism. I should try out their meal plans…

Recipefor BBQ Portobellos:
2 large portobello mushrooms
¹/₂ cup vegetable juice
¹/₄ cup apple juice concentrate
¹/₂ cup roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
¹/₂ teaspoon garlic powder
¹/₄ teaspoon black pepper

Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Cut into 1/2-inch strips.

Combine vegetable juice, apple juice concentrate, red peppers, soy sauce, vinegar, chili powder, garlic powder, and black pepper in a blender. Process until smooth, then transfer mixture to a non-stick skillet and heat until bubbly.

Add mushroom strips, turning to coat evenly with sauce. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Per serving (1/2 of recipe)

• Calories: 132 
• Fat: 1.2 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
• Calories from Fat: 8.4%
• Cholesterol: 0 mg
• Protein: 4.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 28.9 g
• Sugar: 19.9 g
• Fiber: 3.9 g
• Sodium: 589 mg
• Calcium: 31 mg
• Iron: 1.8 mg
• Vitamin C: 97.9 mg
• Beta Carotene: 1906 mcg
• Vitamin E: 1.6 mg

Source: Healthy Eating for Life to Prevent and Treat Cancer by Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.

This would be a mighty tasty meal with a green salad and a piece of crusty whole grain bread. Obvi, it could be made even simpler with premade (vegan) bbq sauce.

THIS is what inspired my return to tumblr:

nom nom nom. It’s 11:30pm but I want this in my belly NOW.

I’m a habitual breakfast-neglector. If anything, I just grab some fresh fruit, which I do think is the healthiest breakfast option, but sometimes something hot and chewy and savory for breakfast really would hit the spot…

This is also sounds insanely quick and easy to put together, which is always The Way To Go as far as I’m concerned.

Cause, although I have been cooking, it’s been the usual suspects: cheesy beef penne, oreo brownies, cheesy guac dip, etc. I’ve been spreading the vegan love to my non-veg friends and these are the faves.

So, anyways, here’s more eye candy found via my fave tastspotting/vegan

New Age Vegan Pasta Carbonara

Vegan Sloppy Joes

Raw Sushi with Daikon Rice

Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles. Drool.

Oh, and these Vegan Crumpets look yum.

I should be in bed right now, but I’m caught in a vegan food pornado (via http://www.tastespotting.com/search/vegan, click at your own risk!)

Herb’d Mushroom Poppers (Yes please!)

Falafel (Now I just need to find a vegan tzatziki sauce and I’ll be set for life.)

Creamy Vegan  Mac’n’Cheese (OMG! I am currently obssessed with the delectible possibilities of nutrition yeast and this looks BOMB.)

This shit is making me hungryyyy!

OMG, these look killerrrr!

Recipe, if you’re too lazy to click:

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup brown rice

1 cup water
Canola oil

1 onion, sliced thin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 large beet, grated



STEPS
Place brown rice, water, a dash of oil and a dash of salt in a pot.

Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 50 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Heat a sautee pan over high heat and add a few tablespoons of oil, followed by the onions.
After the first minute, reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the onions are caramelized, stirring often (5-7 minutes).
Add the paprika, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt, and remove from the heat.

Cool to room temperature and set aside.

Grate the beet.

Place the rice, onions, and 1 cup of the beets in the bowl of a food processor.
Process until the mixture forms a thick puree (about a minute)
You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.

Combine the puree with the remaining beets, mixing thouroughly with your hands.

Use 1/3 cup measure to divide the dough into 8 balls, and shape the balls into patties.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat.

Add a little oil, and cook the cakes for 4-5 minutes on each side, until they form a light crust.

Season each side with a little salt as they cook.

Serve hot.

Cheesy “Beef” Penne

This is another yummy recipe found via 365daysofvegan(girls got good taste!) This turned out surprisingly good. I was apprehensive because I’ve heard so many negative things about nutritional yeast. But even my non-vegan roomie gave it two thumbs up.

I added mushrooms, because mushrooms make everything better (see also: garlic.) Really you could add whatever veg is handy: peas, broccoli, asparagus, etc. The few slices of onion I put on top as an afterthought when I saw a leftover half of an onion in the fridge. Next time I’ll mix in more (and twice as much mushrooms, yum!) I also used Lightlife’s Smart Ground Original for the “hamburger.” I tasted it on it’s own and, ngl, was not a fan. But mixed in with everything it is good, promise! Here’s my slightly tweaked version:

VEGAN CHEESY “BEEF” PENNE
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs whole wheat penne (or other pasta)
1 package of vegan hamburger substitute
Mushrooms (or veg of choice)
Onions (optional)
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups of plain soy milk
1 cup of water
1 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup of canola or vegetable oil (I wonder if EVOO would work?)
Pepper, to taste

Directions
Cook pasta until just barely al dente (this is going to cook some more in the oven, so you don’t want it to turn mushy.)

Sautee the mushrooms in a bit of EVOO and/or Earth Balance vegan butter. Brown “hamburger” per package directions. 

Meanwhile, thoroughly mix up the ingredients for the sauce (I like to use the hot pasta water and combine with the yeast flakes first to kind of dissolve it before adding the rest so it doesn’t clump up.)

Mix it all together (this is where you can add some sliced raw onions if that’s your thing.) and pour into a lightly greased 9x12 baking dish, bake in oven preheated to 350 for aprox 15 minutes.
Done!

I had this leftover for lunch and dinner. The sauce kind of dried and separated, it lost the creaminess it had fresh out of the over. I tried adding a few tablespoons of soymilk, oil and water before re-heating and that helped a bit. (I’m going to half this recipe next time, because it makes much too much for this lone vegan girlie.)

For dinner I added a side of green beans that were AMAZING. Super simple too:

1. Add fresh, trimmed green beans to salted, boiling water
2. Blanch for about five minutes, drain
3. While beans are boiling in the pot, heat up a skillet with Earth Balance and a drop of EVOO (the EB gives it a buttery taste, but it tends to burn easily so the EVOO helps to keep it from burning.)
4. Chop up garlic (the more, the better I say) and toss it in the pan with the green beans. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Sautee for 5-10 minutes (I’m not big on times/measurements, I just kind of eyeball it.)
6. Done!
 

This is super filling, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food. Generally I try to eat light and healthy, but sometimes a girl just needs something a little hardier to really hit the spot. DELISH!

So this week I made two batches of OREO BROWNIES, from a recipe I bookmarked from miss 365daysofvegan months ago. I left one batch with my parents while I was visiting my hometown and then made a double batch later in the week for a work pot luck. Both were very well received, but I would not recommend doubling the recipe. They didn’t come out quite as moist, and got too crisp around the edges for my taste.

But yeah, these brownies are killerrrr.

It is a good thing I don’t have a big sweet tooth, though, ‘cause now I understand how one can be a “fat vegan.”

(no pictures, they all got ate too fast!)