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Healthy Vegan Recipes for the New Year

After the holiday season, most of us are done stuffing ourselves with all those delicious and decadent holiday treats and are ready for a fresh and healthy start with our diet. For most of us, that means increasing our fruit and vegetable intake. Not only is the cost of dairy and meat products constantly rising, but they offer minimal nutritional value when compared to their fruits and vegetable counterparts. Try changing up your recipe rolodex with a few of these delicious and healthy vegan recipes.

Creamy Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Onion Coconut Soup

Roasting vegetables:
  • 5 pounds of roma tomatoes, washed & sliced in half
  • 1 large sweet onion, peeled & sliced
  • 2-3 large garlic bulbs, prepared for roasting
  • extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, & pepper, for vegetables
Soup:
  • 3 cups roasted tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp roasted garlic flesh
  • all of the roasted sweet onion
  • 1 can light coconut milk (reserve 2-3 tbsp for garnish)
  • 3 cups vegetable broth (I used low-sodium)
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tsp garam masala or make your own
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste (you may have to reduce amt. if you used full-sodium broth)
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • for garnish: garlic croutons, coconut milk, pesto, herbs, garam masala, pepper, etc.
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 400F and line 2 baking sheets with tin foil (note that parchment paper will burn). Grab a small casserole dish to place the garlic in. Lightly drizzle on EVOO onto onions and season onions and tomatoes with S & P. Roast for about 30 minutes and then check on the vegetables. You might have to remove the onions early as they cook the quickest. When the onions are golden and lightly blackened on the edge, you can remove them. Continue roasting the garlic for about 60 minutes or so (check it after 4 5mins), and the tomatoes for about 1 hour and 20 mins. Your oven times will vary though, so keep an eye on them!
  2. Add 3 cups roasted tomatoes, 2 tbsp roasted garlic flesh, and all the onion into a large pot. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, and broth and stir well.
  3. Stir in the seasonings and spices to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
  4. Carefully transfer into a blender, processor, or use an immersion blender. Pulse for just a few seconds until chunky. You can also make it smooth, but I liked the texture. Serve immediately and garnish with reserved coconut milk, a sprinkle of garam masala, croutons/bread, and fresh black pepper.
Source: Ohsheglow.com

Easy Hummus Spiral Wraps

Ingredients:
  • 2-3 Tbsp Roasted Red Pepper Spread
  • handful of shredded carrots
  • handful of baby spinach
  • splash of lemon juice/olive oil
  • fresh ground pepper
  • edamame soy beans
  • avocado slices
Directions:
  1. Spread the hummus.
  2. Add the ingredients in a thinly spread layer - distribute evenly.
  3. Roll up your lavish bread wrap - tightly. Slice into 1 inch thick rounds. Serve.
Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com

Vegan Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients:
  • 1 English Muffin
  • 2 Tbsp soy vegan sausage, pressed into a round patty
  • 3 slices bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • handful fresh baby spinach
  • 1 Tbsp Daiya Vegan Cheese (opt'l)
  • 1 tsp harissa OR hot sauce (opt'l for spicy flavor)
  • 1/2 tsp vegan butter
  • 1 tsp maple syrup OR berry jam
  • dash pepper
  • EVOO (for rubbing)
Directions:
  1. Grab all you ingredients out of the fridge. Stick your English muffin - uncut under the grill press for 45 seconds while you arrange your ingredients.
  2. Slice off 2 Tbsp of the vegan sausage (you know the kind that comes in the thick tube) and hand-press a nice patty. If you are feeling really adventurous, you can even press some diced onion into the patty as well.
  3. Rub the paty in a very light amount of EVOO and place it on the heated grill. Remove your English muffins and press the panini grill shut - or cover your stove top skillet with a heavy spatula or foil. You want it to cool through in just under 2 minutes. Thinner patties cook in a flash.
  4. Slice open your English Muffin and place the open faced ends back on the grill while you prep your veggies. Rub some sliced pepper in a bit of EVOO and place it on the grill as well.
  5. Close panini lid and allow the vegan sausage, peppers and bread to grill for another minute. After a minute, lift lid and observe doneness. Pull anything that looks very done. Otherwise turn off panini press and close to keep heated.
  6. Grab your cheese and sprinkle it right over top the patties - still on grill. Then place the sizzling hot peppers right on top of the cheese so that it creates a hot barrier - and close the panini press one more time. Yes, the panini press/grill is on off - but there will be enough heat from the grill and peppers to melt the cheese.
  7. Grab your English Muffin and spread 1 tsp buttery spread on one side - the maple syrup and/or jam on the other.
  8. Start building your sandwich: Muffin, patty (with cheese and peppers), layer your fresh spinach on top of that (and optional harissa) then close with top half of muffin.
  9. Slice. Serve! You can even wrap your sandwich up and take it on the road with you - maybe eat it on the subway and make everyone else jealous. OK, that's not nice. Eat it at home with a side of fresh fruit or juice. You'll feel sooo much better with a full belly on a busy day!
Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com

Seitan and Broccolini with Clementine Teriyaki

Ingredients:
  • 8 Ounces Sliced Seitan (I use West Soy brand)
  • 1 Cup Sushi Rice
  • 6-8 Stalks of Broccolini
  • 2 Clementines
  • 1 Tbs Vegetable Oil
  • Japanese Seven Spice, optional
Ingredients for Clementine Teriyaki Sauce:
  • 1/2 Cup Low Sodium Tamari
  • 1/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar
  • 1/3 Cup Fresh Clementine Juice
  • 1/4 Cup + 1 Tbs Rice Vinegar
  • 1/4 Cup Water
  • Zest from 1 Clementine
Directions:
Rinse your sushi rice in cool water and drain. Cook in your rice cooker or on the stove according to package directions, but 1 cup of sushi rice is usually cooked in 1 1/4 cups of water. Allow to cook completely and steam for 5-10 minutes off the heat while you are preparing the rest of the meal. Total cooking time for the rice will be around 20 minutes.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small pan let it go at a lively simmer for 20 minutes, until reduced and slightly thick. The sauce will NOT be super thick when it is hot. It will very slightly cover the back of a spoon and look syrupy, but it's not going to be thick until it cools, so don't worry if it seems runny. At the end of the cooking you should see large, excited bubbles (this is the sugar caramelizing), so if you don't see those, keep cooking. Once the sauce is done, it'll taste good but pretty strong. Set aside.

While the sauce and the rice are cooking, prepare your seitan and broccolini. Slice the seitan into 1/8? thick medallions, or something similar. I usually don't prep broccolini any more than rinsing it and chopping off the ends, but if the stalks are particularly thick, you may wish to half them lengthwise. This shouldn't be the case with most bunches you find in the store, however.

Heat a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the seitan and let brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl, turn up the heat to high, and add broccolini in one layer. Once you get color on one side, flip, reduce heat to low, and cover the pan to finish the cooking, another 2-3 minutes. The broccolini should be bright green and cooked to a tender-crisp.

Once you are ready to serve, add the seitan to the pan with the broccolini. Drizze enough teriyaki sauce in to coat everything. Beware, if the pan is too hot you risk burning your sauce, so take good care here. Once everything is heated and covered in a nice glaze, serve immediately with the sushi rice. Top with seven spice if you like a little heat.

This sauce is strong so you just need enough to coat - save any extra for a future meal.

Source: veganyumyum.com

About the author: Ann Martin is a writer for Dinnerware Center, which offers stunning dinnerware sets, such as the classic Reed & Barton. Dinnerware Center even carries a beautiful line of Christmas ornaments! Ann is a freelance writer for other cooking and health-related websites. When Ann is not writing, she enjoys cooking for family and friends.

Posted: Tuesday 17th January 2012, 1:03 AM



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