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

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

Veggies for Breakfast: Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal

This post is going to be short because...I'm running my first half-marathon tomorrow (YAY!). This is actually my third attempt at training for and running a half-marathon, but the first two times I injured myself around mile 10 of training and wasn't able to race. I'm thrilled to be injury free! But before I hit the sack for some good pre-race sleep, I wanted to share with you another oatmeal recipe. I have to say, there's nothing like veggies for breakfast, especially when they're hidden! If you're looking for an easy way to eat more vegetables, try this breakfast out!

  Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal

(Makes 1 servings)

Ingredients:

· 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

· 1 tablespoon raisins

· 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

· 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

· 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

· Pinch of salt

· 1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)

· 1 tablespoon agave nectar, or sweetener of choice

· 1/2 cup shredded zucchini

· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a ramekin with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients, from oats to salt.

3. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients.

4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until combined.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared ramekin and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Smoothie (a.k.a. Chocolate Shake)

I am currently training for a half marathon in December. It's my THIRD attempt at training for one - I always get injured. This time I'm making sure I cross train and get in a swim or bike session to cut down on the pounding on my joints. So far so good. I've worked up to 7 miles and have actually ran 7 miles for my long run three weekend in a row because I'm ahead of schedule. 

Usually I go for my long runs on Saturday or Sunday morning. I just get up and go. I love running in the mornings and being able to see the sun rise. BUT my body doesn't like running in the mornings. It's still asleep. I always feel so slow and sluggish. So this weekend I decided to go for a run in the evening. The weather has started to cool down so it was a great temperature. So many people were outside walking their dogs or having a picnic which made it a good people-watching-while-running-kind-of-night. I felt great too. Not sluggish like my recent morning runs. Unfortunately, even though I felt great, I ended up running slower than I usually do in the mornings. Weird. 

Anyways, I've been wanting to try out this chocolate cherry smoothie that has zucchini in it for a while and I finally bought some frozen cherries to do so. I was looking forward to it the entire time I was running. Hey, an motivation helps right? 

And praises, I wasn't disappointed with the result! Seriously. Try this smoothie. It tastes like a chocolate milkshake...except there is no dairy and you even get a serving of veggies in your belly!

Chocolate Cherry Zucchini smoothie

(Makes 2 servings)

 Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 cups almond milk (half frozen into ice cubes)

· 1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks NOT sliced

· 1 cup of frozen sweet cherries, pitted

· 2 tablespoons almond butter*

· 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

· Splash of vanilla extract

* I haven’t tried this with any other nut butters yet, but I’m sure it would taste just as good!

* If you want a sweeter smoothie, add in either 2 dates OR 1 tablespoon liquid sweetener of choice.

Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients in a high quality blender and blend until smooth. You may need to stop and mix the ingredients a couple of times to help the blender along.

Notes: Adapted from here.

Let me know if you try this with a different kind of nut butter or added sweetener!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

I was obsessed with zucchini bread growing up. Whenever my mom would make it I would get so excited. This week we just had some new neighbors move in, so I thought I'd make some zucchini muffins to bring over so we can introduce ourselves. Hope they like them!

Zucchini Muffins
(Makes 16 muffins)

Adapted from http://www.veggiemealmaker.com/

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded zucchini (I used two medium)
2/3 cups unsweetened applesauce
Equivalent of 2 eggs*
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup natural cane sugar
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup craisins, raisins, or walnuts (optional)

*In a small bowl I whisk together two tablespoons of ground flaxseed with six tablespoons of water. Then let it sit for five minutes. Vegan "eggs"! (for one egg, just half this recipe: one tablespoon of flaxseed and three tablespoons of water)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the shredded zucchini, apple sauce, flax seed eggs, vanilla and sugar until combined and bubbly.

In a different bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients except for the craisins, if using.

Add the dry mixture to the wet, zucchini mixture and stir until combined. Then add in optional ingredients and give everything a final mix.

Fill 16-18 muffin cups and for 20 minutes or until brown and cooked through. Eat up!

(Per Muffin: 135 Cals; Fat: 0.8g; Fiber 3g; Protein 3.5g; Sugar 13g)