Veggies & Wine

Yesterday was my first 100% vegan day – 1/1/2010. Went very well and I feel as though I ate healthy and no cravings. I made Naan (not vegan due to egg) which I didn’t eat and Moroccan Couscous. The naan is actually very easy to make vegan. Sub the milk for soy milk and just eliminate the egg. I made it with the egg for 2 reasons … 1. we had 1 egg left in the fridge 2. I am doing Eat for Life / McDougall plan and can’t eat flour so I knew the egg would deter me because I love me some naan!

I was very nervous about this recipe but it was actually very good and filling. Very easy to make with the help of a food processor. This is a modified version from allrecipes.com.

This is a McDougall friendly recipe (i.e. vegan, low-fat)

Prep time: 15 mins; Cook time: 45; Ready in 1 hour

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cans (14.5 oz) vegetable broth (or water)
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 large potatoes (or 4 small), peeled and sliced
• 1 sweet potato, sliced
• 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15) oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 pinch curry powder
• 3 cups cooked couscous

Directions

1. In a large saucepan heat a few tablespoons of veggie broth over medium heat. Saute onions until tender – about 3 minutes.
2. Add sliced veggies and remaining vegetable broth. Bring to boil then simmer until cooked (about 30 minutes)
3. Stir in garbanzo beans, tomato sauce and spices. Simmer until heated through (15-20 minutes)
4. While the veggies are simmering cook the couscous according to package directions.
5. Serve veggie mixture over couscous and enjoy

Nutritional Info: Calories: 244; Fat: .9g; Carbs: 52g; Fiber: 7g; Protein: 7.6g

NOTE: This can be gluten-free by substituting rice for the couscous.

Technorati : indian vegan recipe, low fat vegan, vegan recipes

I found the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart on Facebook so I am starting on 1/1/2010. So I got 1,000 Vegan Recipes cookbook for my birthday and I am going to use that book for my recipes. I will try to modify to reduce the fat intake if necessary. My goal is to post the recipe and my results and modifications everyday for 21 days.

Thanks to my wonderful family I also got a bunch more vegan books. Currently reading The China Study now. I will be in hiding for the next 3 months reading all the books I’ve gotten!

Here is the menu but I will modify (lower the fat and make them vegan if necessary) the recipes and post. Page numbers below refer to 1,000 Vegan Recipes book.

Friday 1/1/2010 FIRST DAY

• Moraccan Couscous
• Naan

Saturday

• Penne Pasta with Vodka Sauce – Page 198
• Salad

Sunday

• Carrot Soup

Monday

• French Style Potato Salad – page 68
• Salad

Tuesday

• French Onion Soup – page 149

Wednesday

• Veggie Lo Mein This link is for Chicken Lo Mein but it’s really good so I just make it without the chicken — very good.

Thursday

• Vegan Fajitas

Friday

• Potato & Kale Soup – page 146

My sweetheart daughter bought me a brand new crockpot for my birthday so I decided to break it in with a hearty, low-fat, vegan stew. Since this is Christmas week and everyone is off it’s great to have a stew that everyone can dip into when hungry.

Crockpot Veggie Stew

• 5 medium potatoes, diced
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups water (or veggie broth)
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Feel free to add addition veggies such as green beans, corn, zucchini, eggplant … the more veggies the better is my motto.

Technorati : crockpot recipes, low fat, low fat vegetable stew, vegan

I love the fact that potatoes are an allowed food on the McDougall program. The problem is finding a topping to replace my beloved sour cream. This is a nice alternative. Nutritional yeast does take a bit of getting used to but I really like it. I make this for a quick lunch that is satisfying, healthy, low cal and low fat.

I couldn’t calculate the calories due to not being sure exactly how many servings are in the recipe but it’s low — in the ~60 calorie range if you use a few spoonfuls (not including the potato) and trace fat.

Cheezy Baked Potato

Ingredients:

• 1 large potato
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp corn starch
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 cup soy milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Microwave potato until tender (my microwave is about 4 minutes)
2. Place all ingredients except potato and soy milk in blender. Blend until thoroughly mixed
3. Pour mixture into a small sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until it starts to thicken, then let it bubble for 30 seconds. Whisk vigorously.
4. Whisk in the soy milk to the finished ‘cheese’ and heat thoroughly
5. Pour on baked potato and you have a low fat/ low calorie meal.

Technorati : , low fat recipe, vegan cheese baked potato recipe

My husband isn’t a huge fan of sweet potatoes and even he loved these sweet potato fries. This isn’t a McDougall recipe due to the added olive oil. Next time I make these I will try it with less olive oil and update. These are a very healthy & low fat side dish that is super tasty and easy to make.

Prep time: 20 mins; Cook time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium sweet potatoes, sliced into fries*
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. * Slice the sweet potatoes into french fry strips. Sweet potatoes are a bit difficult to cut so I microwaved them for 1 minute to soften them up a bit.
3. Put sliced sweet potatoes in a ziploc bag
4. In a bowl mix the olive oil, cumin, chili powder and onion powder.
5. Pour the spice mixture into the ziploc bag and toss those babies. Let sit for about 15-20 minutes.
6. Spread evenly on a baking sheet
7. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes

Nutritional Info: Calories: 162, Fat 7g, Carbs: 24g, Fiber: 3.8, Protein 2.3

Technorati : low fat sweet potato fries recipe, sweet potato fries recipe, vegan, vegetarian

This enchilada sauce is absolutely incredible AND barely any fat. The red wine really gives this a nice flavor. This is very easy and quick to make as well. Just pour over burrito, enchilada, even try it as a low-fat baked potato topping. This is a modified version from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com.

Prep Time: 5 mins; Cook Time: 15 min; Ready in 20 min

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces red wine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp onion, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Heat red wine in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 1 – 2 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes

Nutritional Info: Calories: 16; Fat: .1g; Carbs: 2.2g; Fiber: .4g; Protein: .4g

Technorati : low fat enchilada sauce recipe, low fat recipes, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes

This is a very good pizza sauce that has a bit of zing – not too hot just a bit of zing. You can’t even tell there isn’t parm cheese in the sauce – the nutritional yeast is really a great sub. We buy ours at Whole Foods and the tin lasts forever! This amount covered 2 medium sized pizza’s for us – amount varies depending on how saucy you like your pie. This is so easy and quick to make too. Let me know how you like it!

Low Fat Vegan Pizza Sauce

Prep time: 40 mins; Ready in 40 mins

Serves: 12-16 (1 large pizza or 2 medium)

Ingredients:

• 1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
• 6 fluid ounces warm water
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar, raw
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp dried red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir well so that there aren’t any clumps of tomato paste or nutritional yeast.
2. Let the sauce sit for 30 minutes so that the flavors blend.
3. Spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.

Nutritional Info: Calories: 55; Fat: .3g; Carbs: 11.4g; Protein 3.3g; Fiber 2.3g

Technorati : vegan pizza sauce recipe, vegan recipes

This was my first attempt at hummus in order to replace my beloved spinach dip (mayo and sour cream) in order to eat raw veggies. The calories came out a bit high so next time I will try with less sesame seeds. This is so much cheaper than buying hummus in the store!

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Prep Time: 15 mins; Cook time 10 mins; Ready in 25 mins

• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 red pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp jalapeno peppers
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oregano

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to broil. Slice peppers in large pieces. Put the peppers on a baking sheet skin side up. Broil for about 10 minutes or until skin is wrinkled.
2. In an electric blender or food processor, puree all of the ingredients except the liquid reserve.
3. Process, using long pulses, until the mixture is fairly smooth, and slightly fluffy while gradually adding the reserved bean liquid to get the desired consistency. Make sure to scrape the mixture off the sides of the food processor or blender in between pulses.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The hummus can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before serving.)

Nutritional Info: Calories: 119, Fat: 4.7g, Carbs: 16.2g, Fiber: 3.7g, Protein: 4g

Technorati : hummus recipe, low fat, vegan

I plan out my menu for the week and post it on the frig for all to see. This allows grocery shopping to be much more streamlined. I will add the recipes as I make the dishes. I try to add new dishes each week and only serve 1 or 2 repeats a week. Doing this has allowed all of us to try new types of dishes (Indian food is a great example). I get a lot of recipes from allrecipes.com and then modify. Until I post my modified version I’ll link to the original source. I’m very slowly learning how to modify in order to make the recipes low-fat and vegan. There are a lot of potato recipes – they were on sale this week!

Saturday: Cheeseless Pizza (I’m winging this one but using whole wheat pizza dough recipe but I use all whole wheat flour) & low fat vegan pizza sauce. UPDATE: I tried this with 1/2 broccoli and 1/2 peppers / onions. The broccoli side came out awful – it was dry and almost burnt. The cooking time for the broccoli and the rest of the pizza didn’t jive (especially without the cheese to add fat & moisture). My suggestion would be to add the broccoli after about 20 mins of baking the pie (a total time of 35 minutes). The onion/pepper side turned out great.

Sunday: Creamy Veggie Potato Stew

Monday: Spanish Rice Enchiladas (Enchilada sauce)

Tuesday: Lentil Potato Burgers on whole wheat rolls (use all whole wheat flour) and baked french fries (I’ll definately modify this one to reduce fat – not sure how yet. The recipe as-is INCREDIBLE!!)

Wednesday: Veggie Fried Rice

Thursday: Israeli Moroccan Couscous

Friday: Green Potato Soup with Onion Herb Bread

Technorati : menu plans, recipes, vegan

I was very nervous about this one because I tried another potato casserole a few months ago that sucked … big time .. inedible. This one was a hit — and with no added fat! It’s a great meal for Friday nights when you just want something easy to throw together. I served this with a garden salad. Feel free to reduce the garlic – we are a garlic lovin’ family! I was so hungry and running late I forgot to take a picture. I will definately be making this dish again so next time.

Deb’s Potato Casserole

Prep Time: 20 mins, Cook Time: 1 hr, Ready in 1 hr 30 mins*

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes with skin, diced (I used about 7 smaller sized potatoes)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup veggie broth (or wine)
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 can (8 oz) plain tomato sauce
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce, low sodium

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and boil water in a large pot for the potatoes
2. Add potatoes to boiling water and let cook until tender (about 30 minutes). Drain
3. While the potatoes are boiling heat a saucepan and add broth.
4. Add onions and garlic stirring frequently until tender (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat
5. Add remaining ingredients (except for potatoes) to the onion/garlic mixture.
6. Place a small amount of the tomato mixture on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
7. Add a layer of potatoes (I added salt and pepper to each layer of the potatoes), top with 1/2 of the tomato mixture then add the remaining potatoes (salt & pepper this layer as well) and top off with remaining tomato mixture. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until potatoes are completely cooked. I like my potatoes really cooked and soft so I baked them about 45 minutes

* These are approximates as I didn’t exactly time myself to the exact minute.

Nutritional Info: Calories: 227; Fat: .4g; Carbs: 51.8g; Protein: 6.6g; Fiber: 6.8g

Sidenote: I can’t even say the word “casserole” without this popping into my head ..

Technorati : potato casserole, vegan, vegan recipes