Vegan – Page 55

Black truffle smashed potatoes.

March 5, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Appetizers, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Side dish, St. Patrick's Day, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 1 Comment

Eating a vegetarian or even vegan diet doesn’t have to be boring. Even if you aren’t eating a meat-free diet… adding fun veggies to your classic proteins makes any dinner special. My kids aren’t fans of potatoes -not even french fries. But they did like these and the adults quickly realized the addictive nature of these crispy, flat, potato chip-like crunchy texture with a unique flavor. If you haven’t tried black truffle oil – you must! I am not a mushroom fan at all but love LOVE love black truffles. In cheese, popcorn… infused oils… I’m smitten! It is pricey but you can easily spend less on a small bottle that will last you a good amount of time because you use it sparingly.

These are easy to make and a great project for the kids to help you with. Totally vegan (gasp) for those of you who think this is a crazy way of eating… it so isn’t when you can indulge in veggies like this from time to time!

Great weeknight side dish. Can be prepared ahead of time and reheated or par-cooked a few days prior. You have to try these… seriously!

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— Knead to Cook

Roasted cherry tomatoes.

March 4, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Grilling/Rubs/Sauces, Italian-inspired, Pasta, Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

If you you’re a tomato aficionado or not, you know that winter tomatoes pretty much are the nastiest, mealy, flavorless things you can buy. But the fact remains, if you love sauce for pizza, pasta, salsas or for pretty much anything else… you need to buy/consume these vial impostors. I live on homegrown, our own for that matter, tomatoes all summer long. They are without a doubt my favorite thing in our garden. I can eat them pretty much like an apple. I always have, for as long as I can remember.

So winter comes, and apparently may be staying forever… but I digress. How do we make these little, what look to be beautiful impostors taste good? Well, roast them of course! Even the most kitchen-paranoid can do this. You can actually host a dinner party quite successfully with this recipe and impress your guests. So easy and pretty much full-proof – I dare say! Even better, totally vegan! So if you care about that or not… plant based diets are proven to improve your health and have positive impact on you body. That my dear friend is a wonderful thing!

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— Knead to Cook

Taco bar.

February 28, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Brunch, Chicken, Gluten Free, Ground Turkey, Mexican, Party Foods, Turkey, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Taco Tuesday is a staple in my house. My kids have requested it forever and now it’s a staple… at least for the most part. We missed Tuesday this week due to my daughter’s swim banquet for high school but I made up for it on Wednesday. Having a taco “bar” is easy when your family has a divided diet as mine does. My husband recently adopted a vegetarian diet, much like myself but my girls and father all eat meat. Having a multitude of toppings makes it easy if your a vegan, vegetarian or meat lover to happily partake in this fun theme dinner.

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— Knead to Cook

Tropical Green Monster Smoothie.

February 27, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Beverages, Cabot Fit Team, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Smoothies, St. Patrick's Day, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

As most of the U.S. is now covered with yet another polar vortex (I cannot tell you how much I despise that phrase), my kitchen is springing me forward with thoughts of warmer weather. I’ve been inundating myself with tons of fresh fruit (even frozen) for my smoothies and they totally give my body a much needed Vitamin C boost and fool my tastebuds into thinking of spring and even summer. Mangoes are priced so low at the grocery store, I can’t stop buying them and eating several per day. The color, the flavor… undeniably good and great for you!

Channel your inner tropical and travel to a tasty tastebud vacation… so necessary after a super long winter! I will give you a few options below in the recipe. I made this tonight as an immune booster as two of the five members of my family are sick and prefer to stay on the healthy team.

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— Knead to Cook

Crock Pot Vegan Bean Chili.

February 25, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Chili, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 11 Comments

Chili is one of those super comforting meals for me and I have many, many recipes for different versions. To me… it’s the perfect Monday meal – I have no idea why… probably because I can fix it and walk away. I love dinners that are ready when you are with little fuss. Yesterday I woke up thinking it was Sunday -admittedly, this was NOT good as it was Monday and the start of the week. I lost a weekend day because Sunday our swim team hosted the longest Championship meet (or what seemed to be) and it was just draining after months of preparation.

So yesterday was Meatless Monday and I was really craving a big bowl of chili. Monday was also our very first night since September that we didn’t have swim practice or commitment so it was lovely to make dinner, do homework and just chill out for the night. Tonight we celebrate our freshman swimmer at her high school banquet and her earning her very first letter and once again, off we go. Very thankful we have leftovers from last night! This recipes yields about 10 servings.

This recipe can easily be adapted if you wish to have it with meat by adding ground turkey or beef (cooked) to it. It is already protein-packed with beans and was so filling that you honestly won’t miss the animal protein if you go that route. This recipe took me about 8 minutes to prepare and I let it slow cook in my crock pot for 4-6 hours and just served it up once everyone was home. Also makes great leftovers.

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— Knead to Cook

KIND Granola Bars.

February 20, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Nuts, Product Review., Vegan, Vegetarian 8 Comments

I’m always whipping up granola bites, balls or bars in my kitchen. I really dislike the store-bought versions chock full of preservatives and chemicals that I can’t pronounce. The fine people over at KIND sent me some granola to create with and that’s just what I did. They turned out quite tasty and with all of the different varieties they offer, the flavors can be customized to your preference. I used vanilla blueberry clusters.

These took only minutes to make and chilled up in the fridge in about 30 minutes. Great on-the-go breakfast, snack, post workout treat, after-school snack or dessert idea. My kids love granola and it’s a great way to pack in some healthy ingredients. You can use whatever granola or trail mix you prefer. You can also add mini chocolate chips, raisins, dried fruit, nuts etc. Totally customizable!

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— Knead to Cook

Wheat Berry Stuffed Bell Peppers. Vegan. Vegetarian or Meat Lovers.

February 19, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Ground Turkey, Pork, Turkey, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 3 Comments

The count in my family is now 2 vegetarians and 3 carnivores. I have to admit, somedays its just hard enough getting one dinner on the table versus two different options to satisfy everyone’s needs/wishes. This dish works really well because you can prepare the base and use that for the vegan/vegetarian option and add your protein for the meat lover versions. You can make as many as you need working essentially between the two dishes. This dish can easily be prepared ahead of time as well and then just baked/broiled right before serving dinner. Plus it’s packed with protein and vitamins to keep you humming along healthy and happy!

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— Knead to Cook

Very Veggie Marinara Sauce.

February 17, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Pasta, Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian, Vitamix Leave a Comment

Happy President’s Day! This week will be an absolute blur for me – too many meetings, a very special 15th birthday, her party, and our swim team is hosting a very large, all-day swim meet that I’m on the board for… lots of planning on tap this week. I’m very happy to have a post ready to go today. It’s actually our dinner for tonight and I’ll admit that I’ve eaten a bowl of this sauce already (you know, quality assurance). It’s perfect for meatless Monday! And if you puree it – it makes it kid-proof so they can’t pick out veggies or even detect them AND it thickens the sauce up nicely so your most voracious carnivores get the same thick, meaty sauce feeling in their mouth that will fill them up sans the meat.

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— Knead to Cook

Black bean and sweet potato bake in the crock pot.

February 14, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Cheese, Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Potatoes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 32 Comments

This was our dinner from Monday but after a week of pure madness with the weather again, I’m finally sitting down to blog about it. My husband has now embraced the vegetarian lifestyle (for the moment) and I’ll admit, it’s becoming a balancing act between three carnivores and two vegetarians for dinner. I’m having flashbacks of when my kids were younger and everyone wanted something different for dinner. Moms out there know exactly what I’m talking about! So Mondays are strictly Meatless Mondays here now. It helps me out a tremendous amount – taking the guesswork out of what’s for dinner and my kids know not to look for the elusive meat choice of the night. Plus one night without meat won’t kill them, despite what they think.

This recipe takes seconds to get together and put in your slow cooker/multi cooker/crock pot. I’ll admit, not a gorgeous dish but it rocks your tastebuds! I’ve been eating the leftovers and it just gets better every day. Plus it’s loaded with beans for protein and great vitamins! A good friend of mine dropped off some of her special Indian rice and we served this over that. All I can say is HEAVENLY!

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— Knead to Cook

Brown Rice Krispy Treats. Clean Eating.

February 11, 2014 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Easter, Gluten Free, Holiday, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Vegan, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day is this Friday and I’ll admit, I don’t get caught up in all of the pomp and circumstance like I used to. I know that sounds really lame but I like to think that I show my husband and family love throughout the year and not on one special day. Please no hate emails! I will make a special dinner at home, quiet and low key. I found the cutest gifts for my girls in January that I’m actually excited to give to them and my husband… my rock! I got him several pieces of Lululemon summer shorts/tees on sale and already gave it to him. Ha. I’m pathetic- yes I know.

With Valentine’s ready to go to school for my youngest, I did want to whip up a fun treat for my family to enjoy without tons of junk in them. So I thought of what was gooey and sticky and would work to grab ahold of these fun X and O sprinkles I had on hand. Rice Krispy treats! Perfect! Also, with the frigid temps we have… they would set up in seconds outside… and that’s exactly what they did! My daughter gobbled two down on the way home from school. Super cute! Super yummy and PROTEIN packed! Now there is something to LOVE {swoon}.

Customize these to your holiday or event. Would be perfect shaped like eggs for Easter, with green sprinkles for St. Patty’s Day. Let your mind go wild with fun ideas!

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— Knead to Cook