Thai Beef Tacos

I decided to take my tacos for a different flavor profile last Taco Tuesday. I saw a few recipes online and decided to put my vegan spin on them. If you wish to make the WFPBNO use rehydrated soy curls that have been chopped up. I used green cabbage because that is what I had on hand; feel free to use red cabbage, nappa or whatever you have on hand. You are looking for a crunch factor. This made about 8 tacos but the servings will depend on the size of your tortillas.

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (I use the kind already minced)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 inch knob ginger, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 package (12 ounces) vegan beef crumbles
• 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Thai basil, or sub regular basil
• 1/2 lime juiced
• taco-size flour tortillas
• 1/4 cup cabbage, shredded
• avocados, sliced
• spicy mayo, optional

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, ginger and bell pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes until the veggies begin to  get tender. 

Add a splash of water if they try to stick.

Add the vegan crumbles, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and black pepper. Saute for 5-10 minutes; until the crumbles begin to brown.

Add the basil and lime juice and give it all a good stir.

I heated my tortillas briefly in the microwave. But, you can also wrap them and heat in the oven. To assemble your taco: add cabbage to the tortilla, top with crumbles, avocado, cilantro and spicy mayo. Serve with lime wedges on the side if you like. I had fresh corn on the cob for our side dish.

Enjoy!!!!

Pad See Ew (WFPBNO)

I love ethic dishes. They are so easy to make WFPBNO and are very versatile. Asian restaurants are one of my favorites: Thai, Chinese, Japanese!! I took a recipe for Pad See Ew and made it oil free, used tofu instead of meat, used regular broccoli instead of Chinese broccoli and added some extra veggies. This was so good I've already made it twice and I'm ready for more! This dish makes four servings, with extra tofu. We just go ahead eat a quarter of the tofu with each bowl. Be sure to save your broccoli stems, use your potato peeler and peel off the outer, tougher stem, then slice thin and add it to skillet with the other veggies. You paid for that stem, eat it!

• 8 ounces wide Lo Mein noodles

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons vegan oyster sauce
• 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons organic coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons roasted garlic rice vinegar

Begin water for cooking noodles and begin baking the tofu. Stir all the sauce ingredients into a small container and set aside.

Stir-Fry

• 1 14-ounce package extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed, baked
• 1 small stem broccoli
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic

Cut the broccoli into bite-sized florets and peel, and sliced stems, slice the onions. Have all of your veggies ready before you begin cooking.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and add to a pot of cold water so they don't stick together, while you cook the veggies.

Add a tablespoon or two of water to skillet over medium heat. Add all the veggies to the skillet. Cook and toss until they are semi tender. I covered my skillet to help them steam. Add garlic when almost done.

Drain the noodles and add them to the skillet. Stir well.

Add the sauce you made earlier and toss everything well. Cook for 1-2 minutes until noodles are hot.

Serve, garnished with black sesame seeds and a little Sriracha sauce.

Enjoy!!

Pesto Pasta Salad (WFPBNO)

This is my new favorite pasta salad. It has minimal ingredients and is delicious. I make oil free pesto during the summer, freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen crack it out into freezer ziplock baggies and keep in the freezer. When you need pesto just pop out how ever many cubes you need and let it thaw. That made this salad super easy to toss together. Feel free to add the veggies and items you and your family love. It's so good and it makes a lot so you may want to cut the recipe in half. 

• 1 16-ounce bowtie pasta, cooked and cooled
• 2 servings tempeh bacon, crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (should be bite-sized)
• 1 smallish red onion, diced
• 1 can artichoke hearts, quartered, I then cut each quart in half 
• 1/2 cup olives, I used halved kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup pepperoncini peppers, sliced
• 3/4 cup pesto, can be homemade or store-bought but shoot for no oil

I made my tempeh bacon a day in advance. Start the water to cook your pasta before you being or earlier in the day. While my pasta cooked I mixed all the vegetables in a large bowl.

Once the pasta is ready drain and rinse with cold water.

Add the cooled pasta and the pesto to the bowl of veggies. Take you time and stir until everything is coated with the pesto. This took a bit but be patient. 

Sorry my pic is so blurry, not sure what happened. But this is so good and would be perfect served at any cookout.

Enjoy!

Black Bean Burgers (WFPBNO)

This is a recipe by Dr. Michael Greger & Robin Robertson. It's on the web so no copyright issues should be involved. I've made it before exactly as written and they are so delicious. However, today I didn't have any mushrooms and even though it only calls for 1/3 cup you should use them. They aid in the moisture content. Also be sure to only pulse because it can be easy for the bottom of the mixture to get too mixed and become pasty. These hold together so well and are so delicious. I served them on whole wheat burger buns for a filling and compliant meal. You won't be disappointed in this. I am posting my version below.

• 1 cup organic old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup walnut pieces
• 1 1/4 inch piece fresh turmeric (or 1/4 teaspoon ground), grated
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 can 15-ounce salt-free black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley (if you use fresh parsley use 1 tablespoon)
• 2 teaspoons white miso paste
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 375. Pulse the oats, walnuts and turmeric in a food processor until finely ground.

Add onion, beans, tahini and flaxseeds and pulse until combined.

Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to mix well. Pinch some of the mixture between your thumb and index finger to see if the moisture content it well. It should stick together well. If too wet add more oats. If too dry add a tablespoon of water.

Transfer the mixture to a work surface and divide into four even portions. I made a long and just cut it in half and then cut each half in half again so they would be the same size.

Shape into a patty about 1/2-inich thick.

Bake on a parchment lined sheet about 25 minutes.

Make a sandwich with all of your favorite burger fixings.

Enjoy!!

Broccoli Crunch Salad (WFPBNO)

This is the second time I've whipped up this salad for lunch. It is so fresh, crunchy, full of color and flavor. If you aren't a fan of heat start with only 1 tablespoon of sriracha and taste the dressing before moving forward. We like the  heat so 2 tablespoons was perfect for us. As always, you can change up the vegetables you use, using what you like and have on hand. This recipe could be easily doubled and will stay fresh in the frig for 3-4 days. 

Salad:

• 3 1/2 cups chopped fresh broccoli florets
• 3/4 cup frozen, cooked shelled edamame
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped (my onion was huge so I used about 1/4 of it)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
• 1 scallion, slivered

In a large bowl add all of the prepared salad ingredients.

Toss well to combine the salad mixture.

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons sriracha
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• water

Add all of the dressing ingredients to a measuring cup and give it a good stir. Start adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time until it gets to the consistency you enjoy! I used 3 tablespoons.

Pour all of the dressing over the salad mix.

Toss to coat all the veggies with the dressing.

Serve for a light lunch or as a side dish.

Enjoy!!!

Greek Cucumber Salad (WFPBNO)

This salad comes together so quickly you won't believe it takes under 20 minutes. This makes a yummy, quick lunch on a hot day like today. If you have vegan feta you can add some cubes or crumbs to this salad. Or, if you plan in advance you can make a tofu feta to add to it. I served this without the feta but I know it would make a nice addition. Be sure to drain and save the juice (aquafaba) from your canned beans.

• 1/4 cup aquafaba
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 English cucumber, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (I didn't have a pint of home grown ones but used what I had)
• 1/3 cup pepperoncini, chopped
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives, seeded and halved
• 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained (save the liquid) and rinsed

In a large bowl, whish together the aquafaba, red wine vinegar, oregano. You can add a tad of salt but I wait and do that when I make my bowl. Add the red onions, toss to coat, let sit for a few minutes while you prep the other veggies.

Prepare all the other in ingredients and add to the dressing. Toss to coat. Add feta is using.

Serve with a light sprinkle of salt and some black pepper.

Enjoy!!!!

Spicy Rice Noodles (WFPBNO)

This simple pasta dish was a hit at dinner. It does make a lot of food, feeding 6 people easily. Of course if you don't like or have broccoli, substitute the veggies you do have. The sweet chili sauce is not very spicy to me so I added some hot sauce to my dinner. I can't say enough about brown rice pasta. I love it. It cooks easily, holds it's shape, doesn't fall apart and is much healthier than regular white wheat pasta. It's a little m ore expensive but you can't put $$$$ on a healthy body! I think this would also be good if you leave out the pasta and serve over brown rice.

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
• 1 1/4 cups hot vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons soy milk

Add all sauce ingredients to small sauce pan and whisk until the peanut butter is incorporated into the other ingredients. Set aside.

Noodles and veggies:

• 1 16-ounce package brown rice pasta, I used fettuccini style
• 1 cup corn kernels, I used frozen and let them sit out while I prepped everything
• 2 medium carrots, sliced thin
• 1/2 medium to large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup green beans, I used frozen and let them sit out while I prepped everything
• 1 cup broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Garnish: chopped peanuts and chopped cilantro

Start your water for preparing the pasta. Cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons water in your wok over medium high heat. Add more water as needed to keep veggies from sticking. Stir-fry all the vegetables together with garlic for about 3-4 minutes. Don't let the veggies get mushy!! Cook just until they start to soften.

Pour the sauce that you set aside earlier to the pan and simmer on low 4-5 minutes, again don't overcook them. 

Stir in the cooked pasta and toss all together. Garnish each plate as desired.

Enjoy!!