5-Ingredient Asian Slaw with Peanut Dressing

I'm all about making things fully from scratch. I love when I know every ingredient that goes into the food I'm eating. Since we moved to New York I've gone on a cooking/baking spree and have been making homemade everything: bagels, granola, granola bars, almond milk, black bean brownies, pizza dough...you name it. 

But we all have those days when we need something quick, easy and semi-homemade. I've always loved Trader Joe's and it killed me that I didn't have one nearby when we lived in Orlando. (One actually open up 20 minutes from our apartment in Orlando the week we moved to New York! Go figure!) Every time I'd visit my family in Virginia or Brett's parents in Nashville I'd want to make a trip to Trader Joe's. They have amazing nut butters, Medjool dates and raw nuts that I like to stock up on when I get the chance.

My mother-in-law was always so thoughtful and would buy certain things when we were coming into town. She was also the one that shared with me this amazingly simple coleslaw recipe. It only requires 5 ingredients, but you can easily jazz it up by adding diced tomatoes, mandarine oranges or cashew halves if you want. The main dressing is Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette and it makes anything you put it on taste amazing.

I know that not everyone lives by a Trader Joe's, but for those of you who do, this recipe is a great go-to recipe for really busy days. If you don't live by a Trader Joe's, I'm sure you could use another kind of peanut dressing. You can also check out my Indonesian Peanut Sauce!

Asian Slaw with Peanut Dressing

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups shredded green cabbage*
• 2 cups shredded carrot
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 12 oz. bag frozen edamame, cooked
• 3/4 cup Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette
• Optional: Diced tomatos, mandarine oranges, cashew halves

Directions:

1. Combine the shredded cabbage, carrot, cooked edamame and any optional ingredients in a large bowl. 
2. Drizzle the peanut dressing overtop and stir well to coat all the veggies. 
3. Let the slaw sit in the fridge for 1/2 hour if possible to allow the flavors to meld.

Notes: You can do any ratio of shredded cabbage and carrot that you like. Just have it equal about 6 cups.

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Simple Ratatouille

It's hard to believe we haven't even been in our new apartment for a week! Just today a week ago Brett and I were driving up from Florida and stayed the night at my parents house. It was such a blessing to get part of a day with them before jumping into life in New York City. We packed a lot into that short day too. We napped, loaded up more furniture into our Uhaul and had a mini birthday celebration for my niece and sister-in-law at my brother's house. Gosh, I love my family!

My parents were so generous to us too. They too are preparing to move so they gave Brett and me a futon, coffee table, side table and a kitchen aid mixer! They also sent us out the door with beautiful squash and zucchini from their garden. 

Ever since watching the movie Ratatouille I've wanted to try making ratatouille. It always intimidated me though. So many colors and layers and I figured if it's made up of mostly vegetables, there has to be some intense process to make it taste so good. Wrong.

Ratatouille isn't hard at all and it's so fun to wow people with how pretty it looks when you pull it out of the oven. Since my parents gave us squash and zucchini before we left--and since I already had a jar of tomato paste, olive oil and homemade vegan parmesan in my kitchen--all I had to pick up at the store was an onion, eggplant, red pepper and garlic. Then I just had to thinly slice the veggies, layer them over some tomato paste and seasoning, and drizzle olive oil on top. Done and Done. 

Ratatouille

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 can tomato past (6 oz.)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cups water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 eggplant
• 1 zucchini
• 1 yellow squash
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or two pinches dried thyme)
• Optional: Vegan Parmesan Cheese for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Prepare your vegetables by thinly slicing them in circular disks
3. Spread the tomato past on the bottom of a 10x10-inch baking dish, or a dish similar in size.
4. Sprinkle on the onion, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Add the water and stir well to combine.
5. Arrange alternating slices of the vegetables in the pan by starting on the outside and working your way towards the center until you fill the entire dish. 
6. Drizzle the top with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with thyme and more salt and pepper.
7. Cover the vegetables by cutting out a piece of parchment paper to fit inside the baking dish. Bake for 35-45 minutes until all your vegetables are tender.
8. Garnish with Vegan Parmesan Cheese and serve warm!

 Notes: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple days.

Sorry for the poor lighting in these pictures!

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Amazing Butternut Squash Soup!

I don't know if it's possible to tell you how easy, delicious and healthy this soup is, but I'm going to try. Other than salt, pepper and water there are only 8 ingredients involved in making this soup and they are are so stinkin' good for you. Let me share with you the star ingredients involved in this recipe:

Butternut Squash

Sweet Potato

Carrots 

Apple

Onion

Amazing right? When most people think of soups made solely with vegetable (and in this case a fruit!) they think of bland and watery. Let me tell you that that is the opposite of how I'd describe this soup. It's thick, full of flavor and filling. Your mouth can't decide if it's sweet or savory and keeps begging for another bite. 

I haven't made many soups in my day, but the more I try out different recipes and experiment withe them, they are becoming less intimidating. I love that I can make a big ol' batch and freeze some for a quick meal later in the week. Soups are also so versatile. You can easily switch up the spices and veggies of one recipe and come out with a new soup that is completely different, yet delicious. 

Yep, I think I'm on a soup kick. 

Can I also just share with you that the night I made this soup I had five guys in my cave of an apartment trying to get a humongous executive desk out of our guest bedroom, through our teeny, tiny hall and out the back door? It was craziness but they did it! And it also just shows how easy this soup is to make, because the chaos around me wasn't a problem at all. 

Butternut Squash Soup

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 1 large butternut squash (about 20 oz.), cut in half and seeded.
• 1 sweet potato
• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 5-6 cups water (depending on how thick you like your soups)
• 2-3 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• Pepper to taste
• Optional: pepitas for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Poke holes in your sweet potato and place it along with the cut and seeded butternut squash on a baking tray. Place them in the oven for about an hour until they are soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.
3. While they are roasting, sauté the carrots, onion and garlic in a large sauce pan over medium heat until the onions are soft. 
4. Add in the apple chunks, vegetable broth and water, reduce the heat to low and let it sit until your squash and potato are done roasting.
5. Once the squash and potato are done, remove them from the oven and when they are cool enough to handle peel off the skin of the potato and roughly chop it up. Then scoop out the flesh of the squash and place everything in the pot with the carrots and apple.
6. Bring the soup to a boil and then let everything simmer for about 30 minutes.
7. Using an immersion blender (or by carefully pouring sections into a blender like I did), blend everything until smooth. Let the soup cook until it's as thick as you like. Add in more water if you want it a little thinner. You can't go wrong!
8. Now for the salt. I know it sounds like a lot, but it really makes the soup. Start by adding 2 teaspoons and add more if you desire. I used about three teaspoons. Also add in the garam masala and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir until thoroughly combined.
9. Serve warm with some fresh bread and a salad or just enjoy it solo!

Notes: If you like a sweeter soup you can leave out the garam masala, but I think it really adds so much depth to the soup.

Adapted from High Infatuation.

Start by roasting the squash and potato in a 400 degree oven for about an hour.

While the squash and potato are roasting, sauté the carrots, onion and garlic until the onion is soft.

Then add in the apple, vegetable broth and water and let it sit. 

Once the squash and potato are fork tender, remove the skin of the sweet potato.

Place the flesh of the squash and the potato into the pot with the carrot and apple mixture. 

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let everything cook for 30 minutes.

Blend with an immersion blender and then add in the spices.

Top with pepitas and enjoy!

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Cilantro Lemon Quinoa Salad

I don't know about you, but sometimes I completely forget about certain ingredients that I love. I know, I know. It doesn't really make sense to forget about something you love, but I did. I guess with cooking there are just so many different ingredients that I want to experiment with that I get excited about a certain cuisine or ingredient and then others get forgotten for a while.  

This happened with quinoa. Ever since I was introduced to quinoa I loved it. It's so easy to cook and you can go any which way with the flavor by using different seasonings. You can use it as a side dish or make it the main course by adding in some veggies and beans. 

This past week Brett and I were at my parent's house in Virginia. On Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day at Great Falls National Park with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. The day couldn't have been more perfect. It was warm with a nice breeze and we got to the park early enough to scope out a good spot. The only unfortunate thing that happened was that the water in the bathrooms stopped working and there were only two porta potties for the whole park. It took about 30 minutes to wait in line. Other than that we had a great time together as a family! I got to go on a trail run earlier in the morning and the rest of the time I spent reading, walking around the park, people watching and talking with my family. 

The week before Mother's Day, Brett and I were super busy meeting with people in the area for work. We ate most of our meals out so by Sunday I was aching to cook. I asked my parents if I could be in charge of the Mother's Day meal and they gladly let me take over.  I decided to go with something that would be easy to make the day before and that didn't have to be served hot. This Cilantro Lemon Quinoa Salad was the main course which I paired with Homemade Grilled Flat Bread and hummus. For dessert we had Vegan Strawberry Shortcake with Coconut Whipped Cream (recipe coming soon!) My brother and sister-in-law also picked up a roast chicken. Everyone said everything tasted great which was encouraging. I'm always a little nervous cooking dairy-free and meat-free meals for others. 

I'm also thankful that quinoa is now back in my life.

Cilantro Lemon Quinoa Salad

(Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas)
• 2 avocados, chopped
• large handful of cilantro, chopped

For the Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice of 2 small lemons
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. For the quinoa: In a medium-sized sauce pan bring the vegetable broth and quinoa to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and let the quinoa cook for 10-15 minutes until all of the broth is absorbed. After the broth is absorbed, remove the sauce pan from the heat, still covered, and let the quinoa sit for a few minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool. While the quinoa is cooking prepare you veggies and dressing.
2. For the Dressing: In a bowl whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and set aside.
3. For the Salad: Once the quinoa is done cooking and your tomatoes, avocados and cilantro are all prepped, stir together the quinoa, tomatoes, chickpeas, avocado and cilantro in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. If possible let the salad sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes before serving to allow all the flavors to meld. Enjoy!

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Baked Falafel and Vegan Tzatziki Sauce!

Brett and I love trying out foods from all different parts of the world. We'd so much rather eat at a new Indian restaurant or slurp up a big bowl of Pho than eat plain ol' meat at potatoes. It must be all the traveling we've done. Good thing is were walking distance from a bunch of restaurants serving food from all over the world. 

Sometimes though, my frugal nature wants to save money instead of eating out. Thankfully there are now tons of recipes available on the internet for almost any kind of cuisine. So the other day when I was craving some Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food I was able to find a falafel recipe and a vegan tzatziki sauce recipe online, both of which were winners. Now I want to share them with you!

The tzatziki recipe isn't my own and for the falafel I just made a few changes to this recipe that I found on the food network website. The last time I tried making baked falafel they didn't hold together well and never really cooked all the way through. The recipe I used this time had only five star reviews and called for an egg (I used a flax egg) and flour. I knew the flaxseed and flour would help bind all the ingredients together. This recipe is a keeper!

Baked Falafel

(Makes 15 patties)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped parsley
• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

Directions:

1. Prepare your flax egg by whisking together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
2. In a food processor, pulse to combine the chickpeas, onion, garlic, spices, parsley, flax egg, lemon juice and salt to taste. Don't pulse too much that a puree forms, but you don't want there to be large chunks either (see picture below).
3. Sprinkle the baking powder and flour overtop of the chickpea mixture and pulse a few more times just until everything is combined. 
4. Pour the chickpea mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
6. Remove the chickpea mixture from the fridge and form 15 patties using about 2 tablespoons of mixture for each patty. I like to roll 2 tablespoons of the chickpea mixture into a firm ball and then slightly flatten it into a patty. 
7. Place the patties on your prepared baking dish. They don't expand while baking so don't worry if they are close together.
8. Bake the patties for 13 minutes, flip them over and then bake for 15 more minutes until both sides of the patties are browned.
9. Serve in pita with hummus and veggies or on top of a big bed of lettuce with my favorite Sweet Tahini Dressing!

In the next week I'll be posting my favorite flat bread recipe. The flat bread is what we ate our falafel and tzatziki on the first night. It was a delicious combination. Check back for the recipe soon!

Another great addition to baked falafel is this Vegan Tzatziki Sauce! I found the recipe on Food.com and was really happy with how it turned out. Instead of using yogurt as the main ingredient, it's made with silken tofu. It makes a ton so you can enjoy it all week long! I've even used it as a salad dressing.

What's your favorite kind of food? 

Do you like to try out new foods or stick with what's familiar?

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Curry Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad with Sweet Tahini Dressing.

I crave this salad like it's dessert and I can't help but go back for seconds. Every. Time.

Usually salad aren't my first choice for a meal, but lately I've been experimenting more with toppings and dressings and they've started to grow on me. A while back I discovered this amazing Sweet Tahini Dressing from Happy. Healthy. Life and I've been drizzling it on everything. It's my favorite on roasted cauliflower and carrots!

Not long after I discovered the Sweet Tahini Dressing I came across a recipe for curry roasted cauliflower and knew that I would wanted to try both of them together. So I got to it. I added in chickpeas for some protein and crunch and the combination was just as I hoped: INCREDIBLE!

Curry Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
• 2 cups (or 1 can) chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Prepare a baking tray with aluminum foil and set aside.
• Place the cauliflower florets and chickpeas in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil.
• Shake the curry powder, salt and pepper overtop of the veggies and toss everything together so that the cauliflower and chickpeas get fully coated with the spices.  
• Pour the veggies on your prepared baking tray and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes until fork tender.

For Kathy's Sweet Tahini Dressing you'll need:

• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Juice of one small lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the dressing ingredients into a bowl and whisk until smooth.

Curry Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad 

with Sweet Tahini Dressing

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 4 servings of spinach
• 1 recipe for Curry Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas (see above)
• 1 recipe for Sweet Tahini Dressing (see above)

Directions:

1. Evenly divide the spinach among four bowls and top with the curry roasted veggies and dressing.
2. That's all there is to it! Enjoy!

Vegetable Vegan Lasagna

One of the main reasons I started this blog was to keep track of vegan recipes I've tried or created and to share with others the ones I think are pretty delicious. So far, most of the recipes I've shared are other people's creations or recipes that I've tweaked a little. 

I hoped that as I continued to try out different recipes and do more research on vegan cooking that I would eventually get to the point where I could create my own vegan recipes...ones that are actually edible. While I'm not quite there yet, I CAN tell that my cooking has improved since I started writing this blog, and that's exciting! I've even created a couple of my own recipes that Brett and I would actually eat again. Score.

Going vegan forced me to try cooking with new ingredients. Even more so it forced me to use well known ingredients in new ways. Who knew cashew could be soaked and then blended with liquid to make a creamy sauce? Or that you could use dried fruit to naturally sweeten baked goods? Or that you could get your daily protein from plants? I know a lot of people know these things, but I had no clue.

I've loved the journey so far and lately have been even more encouraged as I've tried stepped out of my "cooking-comfort-zone" and experimented a lot more. This Vegetable Vegan Lasagna is an example of such experimenting, and I must say it turned out pretty delicious. 

I had searched vegan lasagnas, but didn't quite find what I was looking for. So I decided to combine a lot of ideas from different recipes to make my own. This lasagna is really easy and the "ricotta" filling made from tofu, lemon juice and nutritional yeast tastes almost like the real thing. At least in my opinion. Brett loved it too and we both at the whole pan in a couple days. 

Another great thing about this lasagna is that it is really light. You can eat two, whole pieces and still have room for some other sides. 

Unfortunately I have yet to get a nice camera and the lighting in our house isn't good, so these pictures don't do the taste of this lasagna justice. I hope you try it out though and let me know what you think!

Vegetable Vegan Lasagna

(Serves 4-5)

 Ingredients:

· 12 oz. whole wheat lasagna noodles (you’ll only use 9)

· Favorite jar of pasta sauce

· 1/4 cup chopped basil leaves

Filling:

· 1 lb. firm tofu

· 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

· 2 teaspoon lemon juice

· 1 teaspoon lemon zest

· 1/4 cup chopped parsley

· 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

· 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more to taste)

Vegetables:

· 1/2 cup chopped onion

· 2 teaspoons minced garlic

· 1 medium zucchini squash, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

· 1 medium yellow squash, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

· 4 oz. mushrooms, chopped

· 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

Directions:

1. Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Once the water boils, cook your lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package, 3-4 at a time. While they cook, start on the vegetables and “ricotta” filling.

3. Heat a large skillet to medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

4. Sautee the onions and the garlic until the onions are soft. Then add in the rest of the vegetable ingredients and saute until they are cooked through but still a little crisp.

5. As your vegetables cook, make the filling.

6. Place all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. You can add more salt, pepper or nutritional yeast to your taste.

7. One you have all three elements prepped you can assemble the lasagna.

8. Using a 9 x 13 inch pan, spread about 1/4 of your pasta sauce on the bottom. Then lay three cooked, pasta noodles across the bottom to cover the whole pan. (If your noodles are short, you may need to cook one or two extra to cover the short ends.) Then spread half of the filling over the noodles and top with half of the cooked vegetables. Repeat again: sauce, noodles, filling, vegetables.

9. Finish the lasagna off with another layer of noodles and some pasta sauce.

10. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes or until heated through.

11. Cut into large pieces and dig in!

Note: You can easily double this recipe and just make a thicker lasagna which will serve about 8-10 people. When I make this recipe, I usually cut the lasagna into 9 pieces and people can eat two pieces each since it's so light. 

Blend all of the filling ingredients together to make your "ricotta" filling.

Choose your favorite jar of marinara sauce or make your own!

Start layering: sauce, noodles, filling and then veggies.

Finish with some more sauce on top!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith