Vegan Carbonara

This was my first time making this dish, even as a meat eater I never tried making my own carbonara recipe. Pasta recipes can get kind of repetitive sometimes so I decided to try something new. Usually I make my creamy sauces with a nut base but today I am showing you a low fat alternative that will give the same creamy results. Its also great for people who want to try more vegan recipes but have nut allergies. This one is for the bacon lovers;)

(mushroom and bacon sautéed)

Ingredients:

1 package of pasta of choice 

1 block of soft tofu

approximately 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast

approximately 1 cup of almond milk

1 tbsp. of tahini or olive oil

Italian seasonings

salt and pepper

garlic

1 package of shitake mushrooms

1 package of vegan bacon (I used the sweet earth brand)

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 onion

(Sauce added to mushroom and bacon)

Directions:

1. Boil pasta and set aside until time to mix in with sauce. I usually let it sit in cold water after cooking to avoid noodles sticking together.

2. In a high speed blender add tofu, nutritional yeast, tahini, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, and garlic and blend until smooth and creamy.

3. Slice mushrooms and bacon into bite size pieces and saute in a pan until slightly crispy. Add more salt, pepper, and garlic to your liking.

4. Pour the sauce into pan with mushrooms and bacon and mix everything together

5. Drain pasta and toss together in the pan with the sauce.

6. Serve and enjoy!

(Dish complete)

This dish is a much healthier spin on traditional carbonara. If you want to make it even healthier you can ditch the vegan bacon but its a tasty option for those trying to transition from a meat based diet and are still having cravings. Remember pigs are our friends and they are sentient intelligent beings no different than a dog or a cat. They want to live just like you and me and all the other animals who are unnecessarily slaughtered by the millions. Give this recipe a try you will not only be doing a favor for yourself but also for the animals and the planet!

*Peace begins with your plate*

Potato Salad

Potato salad is the perfect side dish to bring to a gathering. Since summer is winding down get in as many barbecues as you can and whats a bbq with out a nice creamy cruelty free potato salad!

 Ingredients:

8 red potatoes

1 red onion

3 celery stalks

1 cup of vegan mayo

1/2 cup of brown mustard

1 cup or sweet relish

salt and pepper

paprika

Directions:

1. Boil or steam potatoes until tender when you stick a fork in them

2. Let the potatoes cool down and then chop them into bite size pieces and place into a bowl

3. Dice red onion and celery and put in the bowl with potatoes

4. Add vegan mayo, mustard, and relish and stir everything together. You can add as much or as little of these ingredients as your heart desires.

5. Season with salt and pepper and paprika.

6. Place potato salad into a nice dish that has a lid.

7. Garnish with a little more paprika pop a lid on it and let it chill until it is time to serve!

One of my favorite ways to eat potato salad is as a side to a hearty plate of soul food. Here it is pictured with collard greens, baked beans, and fried cauliflower which I have a recipe for on my blog as well. Hope you enjoy and be sure to let me know if you try this recipe.

~Peace begins with your plate~

Mashed Potatoes with Mushroom Gravy

Mashed potatoes is one of the most simple quick dishes you can make that are guaranteed to hit the spot! Here is a delicious recipe and I wouldn't feel right giving this recipe without my famous mushroom gravy recipe to go with it!

Ingredients:

8 red potatoes

 approximately 1.5 cups of almond milk

salt and pepper

garlic

onion powder

Gravy ingredients:

1 cup of mushrooms

1/3 cup of onion

approximately 1 cup of flour 

approximately 2 cups of veggie broth 

2tbsp of soy sauce

salt and pepper

garlic

Directions:

1. Boil or steam potatoes until they are soft this should take about 40 minutes you want them to basically fall apart. Drain them and put them back in pot.

2. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and onion to your liking then gradually add in almond milk.

3. Mash everything together and adjust the amount of milk for the amount of creaminess you like your mashed potatoes to have. For me its usually about 1 and a half cups maybe more.

4. Cover with a lid and keep on low heat until ready to serve.

5. For the gravy grab a large sauce pan.

6. Dice onion and mushroom and saute them in the pan with a couple tsp of veggie broth, garlic, salt and pepper until the onions are translucent. 

6. Add flour and veggie broth into the pan and whisk away. You control how thick your gravy is by adding more flour or thin it out by adding more broth.

7. Re-season with salt, pepper, and garlic and then add in soy sauce. The soy sauce gives the gravy a nice brown color.

8. Let simmer on medium low heat whisking occasionally until ready to serve!

This last picture is the mashed potatoes and gravy with tofu and green bean casserole which is also featured on my blog. This recipe is just as tasty as traditional mashed potatoes and gravy but it is going to be so much healthier for you! Definitely give this recipe a go!

~Peace begins with your plate~

Vegan Meatloaf

In this recipe I am going to show you how to make a delicious meatloaf loaded with great sources of protein and vegetables. No need to eat ground up animals when you can get even more flavor and nutrition from a cleaner, cruelty free option! I promise you will get zero complaints from this dish!

(this is before baking)

 Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked chickpeas

2 cups of cooked lentils
1 cup of walnuts (optional)

1 cup of mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 onion

2 flax eggs (2 tsp flax mill mixed with 2 tsp of water)

1 cup of spelt flour (or whatever kind of flour you have)

salt and pepper

garlic

onion powder

rosemary

thyme

burger seasoning

1 cup of tomato sauce or ketchup

1 cup of bbq sauce
1tbs of agave
Italian seasonings

 Directions:

1. After rinsing and drying off chickpeas, place them in a high speed blender and pulse until shredded. Place them in a large mixing bowl along with the lentils.

2. Take the bell peppers, onion, and mushroom and either dice them in small pieces or if you are lazy like me put them in the blender and pulse away until they are shredded into small pieces. Place them in the same bowl with the chickpeas and lentils.
3. Pulse walnuts in blender until grounded to resemble ground beef and add to the bowl with lentils and chickpeas

4. Add onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper, rosemary, thyme, and burger seasonings in the bowl with chickpeas and lentils. Feel free to use as much or as little as you like to suit your taste buds.

5. Add the flax eggs and flour to the bowl with everything else.

6. Make sure hands are clean and use them to mash and mix all the ingredients together like you would do with traditional meat loaf. If its too dry add another flax egg and if its too mushy add more flour.

7. Grab a large baking dish and line with foil and cooking spray and mold your meatloaf into the shape you like on the dish.

8. Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees

9. While loaf is baking mix together tomato sauce, agave, bbq sauce, and Italian seasonings after the 45 minutes pour the sauce on top of the loaf and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

10. Remove meatloaf from oven and let it cool down for at least 20 minutes. This step is important because it gives the loaf a chance to really firm up and take the texture of actual meatloaf.

11. Slice and serve!

Here is the dish pictured with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, stay tuned because that recipe is up next! Name a better duo than meatloaf and mashed potatoes???? Hope you give this recipe a try and if you do be sure to let me know how you enjoyed it!

~Peace begins with your plate~