Chickpea Taco Bowl

This easily made bowl has lots of flavors and textures. This made 2 big bowls for our lunch. You can always substitute my ingredients for what you have at home, brown or white rice instead of yellow, green cabbage or kale instead of red cabbage, etc. These chickpeas are so good I think they would be great in a burrito or on any salad to add a little extra protein. 

For the chickpea taco filling:

• 1/2 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1/4 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup water mixed with 1 teaspoon vegetable base
• 1 package low-sodium taco seasoning
• 2 tablespoons of your favorite salsa
• 2 tablespoon cilantro leaves

For bowl:

• 1 small head organic romaine lettuce
• 1 cup cooked yellow rice
• 1 avocado, diced
• a handful of cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup red cabbage, sliced into thin strips
• 1 ear grilled corn on the cob
• Cilantro Lime Avocado dressing

In a large nonstick skillet heat a couple tablespoons of water. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent.

Add chickpeas, vegetable broth, taco seasoning and salsa. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook uncovered while you prep the other ingredients.

Prep the vegetables needed for the bowl.

Stir chickpeas occasionally and continue to cook until most of the liquid is gone. Once done add the cilantro and stir.

To make a bowl divide lettuce between 2 bowls. top with chickpea taco filling, rice and veggies.

Garnish with sliced limes and chips if you want.

Enjoy!!

Cilantro-Lime Avocado Dressing

 This is a delicious thick dressing that I served over my Chickpea Taco Bowl. You can thin the dressing out by adding more milk. This would also be great on a taco, burrito and left thick and served with chips.

• 3/4 cup unsweet almond milk (you could use soy or whatever you have on hand)
• 1 ripe small avocado
• 1 green scallion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro
• 1 small garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon each: fresh ground pepper, ground cumin and chili powder

In a small blender add all of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. I had to shake my container a few times.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Enjoy!!!!

BBQ Cauliflower Bowl

This delicious salad bowl came together pretty quick since I had a leftover ear of grilled corn. I also used a bag of cauliflower florets from the freezer. This makes enough for 2 large bowls. This is a great meal for the summer that doesn't required you to heat up the house except for the steaming of the cauliflower. You could cook the cauliflower in the microwave and then just add to a bowl with the BBQ sauce for a truly no heat the kitchen option.

• 1 package frozen cauliflower florets
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (use your fav)
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1 ear of grilled corn, kernels cut off the cob
• 1/4 red onion, diced (if your onion is huge you may need to use less)
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 3 cups shredded lettuce (I used romaine)
• 14 halved cherry tomatoes (mine were homegrown and not as big as store bought ones - you can use less)
• vegan ranch dressing

Bring water to boil in a steamer basket, add the cauliflower florets and steam until tender.

Put florets in a bowl and toss with the BBQ sauce. Set aside

Prep the remaining ingredients.

Build your bowl. Add the lettuce to the bottom of the bowl and then add the other ingredients and top with the avocado. 

Finish with the ranch dressing. Yummy!

Enjoy!!!

Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

 Okay, let me just tell you these are amazing. I've already made them twice. So simple and flavorful. If you aren't a big fan of heat, just don't add the Franks to your batter. You can add a little to your plate when you devour eat them. I served these with a homemade vegan, oil-free ranch. I originally had them with rice and sautéed asparagus. The leftovers I served with roasted baby potatoes and sliced tomatoes. I bet them would be good in a taco. 

• 1/2 a large head of cauliflower (or 1 small head), chopped into wing sized chunks
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 cups unsweet almond milk (or any unsweet non-dairy milk)
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups Franks Buffalo sauce (or less if you don't like it hot)
• vegan Ranch for dipping

Preheat oven to 425F. In a large bowl add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder and nutritional yeast. Stir well.

In another bowl add the milk and buffalo sauce. Stir until combined

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of flour mixture. Still until combined.

Add cauliflower to the batter. 

Stir until coated.

Remove each "wing" and shake off the excess batter. Then coat in breadcrumbs.

Set pieces on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes. Then turn and cook another 20 minutes.

They should be nice and crispy on the outside and thoroughly cooked on the inside.

I had leftovers with roasted baby potato wedges and sliced tomatoes.

Enjoy!!!!

Burrito Bowls

 I've been trying out some different ideas for bowls, burrito bowls, rice bowls, black bean bowls, etc. This is an easy way to make a filling, healthy meal. You can keep each ingredient in it's own container to make whatever type of bowl you feel like eating. These also come together very quick if you have minute rice or a microwave rice. I didn't have either and cooked 4 servings of brown rice on the stovetop. Just plan ahead if you have to go that route. Also, you can add what you like and leave out things you aren't fond of, so substitution is easy.

• 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted black beans,, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (I used 2 ears of corn)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, divided
• 4 servings cooked brown rice
• 1/2  cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 recipe Baked Soy Sauce & Sriracha Tofu
• 4 cups romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
• 2 ripe avocados, sliced
• salsa (use your favorite brand or home made)
• sour cream (I used Dr. McDougall's recipe)

In a medium saucepan add beans, water, chili powder, and cumin. Cook over medium heat until beans are hot. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Cook your brown rice. I used regular brown rice cooked on the stovetop. This took about 45 minutes. So, plan ahead if you don't have leftover rice or a quick cooking rice.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of the cilantro to the rice and 1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice. Stir and set aside.

In a medium size nonstick skillet cook corn, stirring occasionally until it gets a little char on it. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice. Set aside.

Add the romaine to a bowl.

Add 1/4 of the beans, corn, rice, tofu (you will have extra) and avocado. Top with salsa, sour cream and remaining cilantro. This would also be good with pickled jalapenos on top if you have them.

The flavor combo in this dish was delicious! Enjoy!

Baked Soy Sauce & Sriracha Tofu

 This tofu is so flavorful and made a delicious addition to a bowl I prepared for dinner last week. It has a little bit of kick to it but not too much. You can mix the soy sauce and sriracha together and give it a taste before you add it to the tofu if you prefer your food less spicy. You could also start with less sriracha and add more if you want to kick it up a notch. This is a very versatile dish and can be eaten hot or cold. Add it to salads, stir-fries, sandwiches or like I did; add it to a bowl.

• 1 block extra-firm tofu (mine wasn't the kind in the tub of  water, it was shrink wrapped)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoon sriracha

Preheat oven to 425F. If you need to press your tofu do that first. If it's the dense, shrink wrapped type you won't need to do that. Just dry it off. Cut into equal size pieces, mine were about 1/2 inch thick. Add to a large bowl.

Add the soy sauce and sriracha.

Gently stir to combine and coat the tofu.

Place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Cook for 10 minutes. Then flip and add any remaining marinade to the other side of the tofu. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Once done remove from the baking sheet. You can eat this hot or cold. It's delicious as is or amazing added to a Burrito Bowl or other type of bowl dish. I'll be posting that recipe next week. I made 4 bowls using this yummy tofu.

Enjoy!!!!