Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

I NEED to get down to my milestone weight. I REALLY want to, really, really, really. I have seven pounds to that milestone and then I only have 25 left till I'm at a healthy BMI and can start running again.

Without further ado, I present my return to low-fat vegan eating. For more information on this type of eating, please consult Dr. John McDougall's books. Before my first pregnancy, I lost 40 lbs in a year eating this way and felt REALLY good.

Here we go.

Mmmm, Enchiladas, recipe made up by me...

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7436.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7438.jpg

Enchilada Casserole

1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
8 oz mushrooms
1 clove crushed garlic
2 cups salsa
taco seasoning (one packet or about 1-2 tablespoons)
chili powder (1-2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon corn starch

corn tortillas
recipe of cheese sauce (see below)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Start by sauteing mushrooms and garlic in a skillet with just a tablespoon of water or so. Let the mushroom just slightly begin to stick to pan after water condenses and then add just a bit more water to unstick. Continue doing this until the mushrooms are soft but still formed. Meanwhile, drain both cans of beans. Dump them into the skillet with the mushrooms and let them heat up. Combine taco seasoning, chili powder and cornstarch with about 1/4-1/2 cup cold water and whisk vigorously. After the beans are warmed, add the taco seasoning mix and stir lazily with a wooden spoon. Turn heat down to med-low and the liquid in the skillet will start to thicken because of the corn starch.

Make the cheese sauce if it's not done already.

Spray a 9X13 or so casserole dish with Pam and put about 1/3 of the salsa in the bottom. Carefully fill each tortilla with the bean mixture and roll up tightly, laying each roll next to the other in the dish. When you have filled the dish, mix the cheese sauce with the remaining salsa and pour it on top of the entire casserole, being sure to cover all of the surface. Cover with foil and place in oven. Bake for about 30-45 minutes with foil and then take foil off and bake another 20 or so minutes until the top is a bit drier.

Leftover beans and mushrooms make a really good dip if blended together, FYI

Here's the cheese sauce recipe:

Cheese Sauce (modified from the 7 Secrets book)

1 cup raw cashews
2 cups water
1/2 large or 1 small red bellpepper or 1/4 cup pimientos or a handful of baby carrots or 1-2 medium carrots
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
2 tbs food yeast flakes (optional, I leave it out 'cause I hate it in this recipe)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Blend until smooth. Place in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring until thick. Use for pizza, lasagna, burritoes, etc...

Starting tomorrow, I will hopefully also be logging my calorie breakdown. We'll see.

Jen D.

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

YUM

you are so amazing!!!! Please come be my roomate and teach me to cook these healthy vegan meals!!!!!! I'll even do the cleaning, which I hate!!!

:haha

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

YUM.....
guess what I'm making for dinner... :shifty :giggle

except I putting onions, olives and greens (probably collards) in instead of mushrooms

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

Is this the one you made at my house???

If so, I have to say ladies that, even as a carnivore, I LOVED this!!!!!!

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

No, that was a more traditional enchilada but it's also easy to make if you want the recipe.

Jen D.

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

Had Cream of Wheat for Breakfast. (2 cups)

Lunch was this LOVELY tofu sandwich with marinated tofu.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7442.jpg

I make my own marinade from water, soy sauce, mirin (optional), rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and honey or agave nectar. Sometimes if I feel adventurous, I put in crushed pepper too. I kinda wing it so I can't give you exact amounts on what I used. Normally, I start with everything except the soysauce and water. I add the soy sauce slowly until it's a nice dark color and then I add water to dilute the salty taste.

I also had this LOVELY green smoothie with blueberries, spinach, dates, banana and lemon juice

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7443.jpg

For dinner, we're having pre-made homemade tamales so I don't exactly have the recipe handy for them. One of these days, I'll make them again and record how I do it.

I'll log the calorie count tonight, just add it to this post.

Jen D.

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

YUM, I'm going to have to try that sandwhich!

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

I know. I keep thinking, did Jen ever work as a vegan chef somewhere? It all looks so yummy! :yes

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

Nope, veterinary technician, EMT, Prison guard and 9-1-1 dispatcher, about as far from chef as you can get. :haha

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

Can we add food ministry to our running list? Seriously, I have an idea... :think :shifty :P~

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

Perhaps an offshoot of the community garden?

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

YES

We could do major cookouts for the homeless during Holidays... :think

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

Waffles!!

A new recipe, a yeast one.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7466.jpg

Waffles
From the New McDougall Cookbook

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
2 TB oat bran
2 TB molasses or honey
1 TB active dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Stir with a spoon less than 50 times just until smooth. It will be a thin batter but will thicken as the yeast rises. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a warm area for 30-45 minutes, until the batter is bubbly and thick. Bake in a nonstick waffle iron or one sprayed with Pam spray, 5-7 minutes.

This is a good recipe, it is "advertised" as crispy but I found that they soon started limping up as they cooled. They were good and brought about 3 of 5 stars from DH.

Lunch was uneventful, I think I ate leftover hummus and quinoa and that bean dip from the enchilada happiness a few days back. :shifty

Oh, Dinner was fun. I made up a soup and a quick bread.

Here's the soup.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7469.jpg

It started as a potato soup in my head, but then kinda got out of control as I wanted more color.

So, here goes:

Jen's What's in The Fridge Potato Chowder

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
3 stalks celery

5 cups of fresh raw veggies (choose from red, yellow, green peppers, green beans, carrots, root veggies like turnips/parsnips, winter squashes, summer squashes, maybe some beets for a fun purple potato soup?)
3 cups chopped potatoes

1 1/2 cup cashews
1 cup water

Cut onion and celery into small 1/4-1/2 inch chunks, press or mince garlic and place in large stock pot with just a cup of water and turn on medium. While that begins to heat up and cook, cut up the veggies you've chosen to use and the potatoes. Once the onion/celery is translucent, add the veggies/potatoes and put just enough water in to BARELY cover the top of the veggies. Allow to cook on med until the potatoes are fairly soft.

Meanwhile, blend cashews and water until they are milky with as little grit as possible (sounds gross, but it's not). It should be really thick, like just under pudding thick. Once the veggies in the soup are soft, add the cashew milk and stir. If the broth of the soup seems really thick, you can add more water, if you want.

Salt and pepper to taste. We ate this with Hawaiian bread.

We had some really soft persimmons to use up so I decided to make a quickbread. I got it from the fat free vegan blog by Susan V. Here's a link http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/11...mon-bread.html and a pic of what ours looked like:

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7473.jpg

I'm looking for a pudding cake recipe I saw once. It's vegetarian potluck time tomorrow and I'm REALLY looking forward to it :yum

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

Monday night it was FREEZING. I started having flashbacks to Nebraska and what Nebraskans would eat during this kind of weather. It sprung to my mind instantly. CHILI and.....CINNAMON ROLLS :jawdrop :hunh :shrug I laughed at this tradition because it seems so random, BUT it's a tradition there, the cafeterias all serve it and it's the basis for all community dinners in the winter.

So, it's been a year since I made chili and I burned it for some reason at that time so I haven't made it again, even though it's one of my favorite meals

Here's the chili I made Monday. Unfortunately, it was a little soupier in the bowl than it was meant to be.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7510.jpg

Here's what I did:

Jen's Chili

1 onion (finely chopped)
3-5 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 bell pepper (would have liked more than one, but only had a yellow one, chopped)
2 cans (15oz) chopped tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 small can (8 oz?) tomato paste
2-3 cans beans, drained unless they are chili beans (black beans, pinto, white, etc can be used or mixed)
1/4 chili powder or enough to darken it and add flavor
1 tube Gimme Lean veggie burger (by lightlife)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, saute onion, garlic, bell pepper in pan with small amount of water. Add both cans of tomatoes, with juice, and the other cans of tomato sauce and tomato paste into the bowl. Put around 1-3 cups water into the pot depending on how thick you want it. Let it be just slightly soupier than you want it. Add drained beans and veggie burger. Break up the veggie burger well, using a wooden spoon. It's kinda sticky, just so you know. Add the chili powder, salt and pepper. It really depends on how much flavor you want as to how much you add.

Simmer anywhere from 1-5 hours on very low heat so it doesn't start to scorch. Stir every 20 minutes or so. The longer you cook it, the longer the flavors meld together and taste amazing.

Serve with cornbread (I'll make that soon and post a recipe) or...cinnamon rolls. :haha

I didn't post a pic of the cinnamon rolls because the picture I had taken....well...I noticed something about it as I was going to put it on here and I just don't think I can put it on. You can PM me if you REALLY have to see the rolls and I'll send you a pic.

Today, I made a Thai peanut noodle dish.

Here's a pic...

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...h_IMG_7531.jpg

Thai Sauce:

Peanut butter (natural)
Balsamic vinegar
Lemon Juice
Soy Sauce
Maple Syrup or Honey
Water

Okay, here's how I make this. I start with peanut butter, maybe 1/2 cup. Add a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, and lemon juice. After mixing all that together, add small amounts of water, a few tablespoons at a time until it's a smoother blend. If it's too sweet, add more vinegar/lemon juice. If it's bitter, add a bit more maple syrup. This is really a taste thing so just add each ingredient a tsp to a tbs at a time. Always start with peanut butter.

So, I slathered that on angel hair spaghetti and added green onions, tomatoes, and some of that baked/marinated tofu (I had rolled this batch in sesame seeds to give it crunch while baking) and EAT it all up :lick

You might notice that I often don't include amounts in my recipes. When I met DH, he had a fascinating book called "How To Cook Without A Book" and it really taught me a lot about winging it. Now, when I am making something new, I will usually follow the recipe fairly carefully but once I've made it once or twice, I start playing with it. If it's something that isn't precise (aka: baking), it's easy to do. My DH often jokes that if I actually follow a recipe, it's a miracle. Granted, not all of my foods have been all that great and I don't have time to make stuff so much anymore, but I used to play around with homemade raviolis and different fillings as well as sauces.

So, to learn this way of cooking, each time you cook, for each ingredient on a recipe, think of three or four other ingredients you can use instead. For example, recipe calls for sugar, you can use honey, molasses, maple syrup, sucanat, agave and stevia. If you look at each recipe as a starting point and you understand basic cooking and baking (as in how baking powder and soda work) you can start to mess around.

If you have any other questions about this cooking, let me know.

Jen D.

Re: Low-Fat Vegan Fun
 

I made this for dinner. I used ww linguine. I had about 1/3 of a smallish jar of pb, so I just added stuff to the jar and shaked. :)
I used peanut butter, lemon juice, braggs aminos, maple syrup, garlic, and some israeli hot pepper sauce. :yum
I added stir fried onion/cashews with CSA veggies - this weeks choice was broccoli and purple bok choi. :yum
eat with chop sticks ;)
I'll post a photo later ;)