Ezekiel Bread Thanksgiving Stuffing

The sides.
They’re what really matter on the Thanksgiving table, so many delicious vegan possibilities that warm your heart and your stomach.  Mashed potatoes,  cranberry sauce, and of course…stuffing.
Far from the old days of red canister stuffing with turkey broth, I definitely desired a healthier stuffing without the guilt, yet maintaining that savory texture and flavor.
And here it is!

Ezekiel Bread Thanksgiving Stuffing (SERVES 6)
-6 pieces Ezekiel Bread
-1 tsp better than Bouillon
-1 cup water
-4-5 stalks red chard
-1 clove garlic
-1/2 red onion
-5 tbsp olive oil
-salt, paprika, and parsley to taste

Start by leaving your bread out to dry a few hours or bake at 200 degrees until dried out and stiffened(about an hour).
Cut into small cubes and set aside.
Dice the chard stalks (can sub for celery), onion, and garlic and sautee in skillet on medium heat with 2 tbsp of olive oil and seasoning. 
In a small pot, add 1 cup of water and 1 tsp of vegetable or mushroom Better than Bouillon
Note: if you have never purchased Better than Bouillon,  you should.  It’s awesome.   Find it next to the broth at your local store and use it for everything from cooking pasta to making hummus.
When heated, add small amount to skillet of sauteed vegetables, which should now be softening.  Add 3 more tbsp of olive oil and the bread cubes and turn the heat up to high.  If broth is boiling, turn down to low.
Toss the cubes a few times to get a nice little toasty crisp on them and when coated, add the broth.
Stir until all cubes are evenly covered in broth, cover, turn heat down low, and let sit for 5-7 minutes till broth is fully absorbed.   Sprinkle with more seasoning if desired and enjoy!
For Thanksgiving I’m going to add golden raisins too…yum!

Super Simple Bean Patties

When I was younger, my mom would make tuna patties and we would drool as those hot little fresh cakes would just fall apart.    Now, making more conscious life choices, I love creating patties from all types of ingredients!
This one only takes 5 minutes!

-1 can vegan refried black beans
-1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
-1 tbsp hemp protein powder (optional)
-quarter chopped onion
-1 tbsp salsa
-1 garlic clove
-spices (salt, paprika, cayenne, cumin)
-1 avocado

Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until thick, like a dough.  If needed, add more bread crumbs or a tbsp of whole wheat flour.  Your bean ball should be moist and kind of sticky. 

Get your pan crazy hot with some olive oil, make a bean patty ball, slightly flatten with palm,  and gently place in pan.  You’ll want to get the patties crisp enough so you may want to consider covering that pan.

After a few minutes, turn over and adjust the heat a bit lower so it can cook through.

Place on top of fresh spinach, add some sliced campari tomatoes and you have a satisfying meal!

Heirloomed Tip-swap out panko for chickpea flour to go gluten free!

Roasted Tomato and Black Lentil Soup

Now that fall is upon us, I become a soup aficionado.  I love whipping up easy squeezy blends in a pot that warm your heart and your stomach on those crisp autumn evenings.  I purchased some black lentils at the bulk food store in St. Clair Shores and was dying to try them out in something hearty, vegan, and delicious.
I started by boiling my black lentils for about 22 minutes, they’re tough and need slightly longer to cook than a green lentil. I’m definitely a fan of cooking lentils in SOMETHING. Vegetable stock, mushroom base, olive oil with spices, half of the lentil battle is getting those puppies to absorb flavor like little pearlized sponges. For this recipe I cooked them in Vegetable “Better than Bouillon “.
The amount of soup you want to make varies on the amount of lentils you use. I used about 1 cup of lentils for a batch that made 4-5 healthy soup servings.
I prefer my soups to have about 60%stock to 40% base however, you can adjust the portions to your liking.
While the lentils were cooking I roasted my tomatoes for the soup base! In addition to my campari tomatoes I added onions and garlic cloves as well as olive oil, salt, pepper, coriander, turmeric, paprika, and a little olive brine to my baking sheet so all the flavors would really marry together in the oven. I typically roast at 400-425 degrees and I go until the tomato skins have wrinkled and onions have begun to change color, 15-20 minutes on average.
After draining your lentils(with a spoon, leave the stock) and removing your roasted tomatoes from the oven, this is when it all comes together.
Blend all of your oven ingredients into a blender and then pour into your stock (careful, it’s hot!)
Then add half of your lentils back in, stick your immersion blender in and blend until pretty well integrated. If you do not have an immersion blender, then add the lentils in with your oven ingredients and a little stock to your blender before pouring back in the pot.
Add your remaining lentils, cook for 10 more minutes and there you go!
Smoky, rich, hearty, packed with protein.
I added on sliced tomatoes with Hawaiian black salt but the topping choices are endless. The best part about this soup is that it’s also a great sauce over rice, potatoes, quinoa, and more!
Enjoy!

Vegan Food Substitution Guide

I think one of the most challenging things for the less culinary inclined audience is finding adequate substitutions for your favorite foods so that you can still essentially eat what you want to eat with a lower calorie count and a clean conscious.
If creativity is not calling out to you, here is a handy dandy cheat sheet that may even get you thinking :
Butter – olive oil, canola oil, coconut oil, almond butter, cashew butter
Milk – almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, soymilk, hemp milk, or any soaked nuts blended with water thoroughly, applesauce, fruit juice/puree
Eggs – banana, cooked oatmeal, avocado, fruit mash (stickier ones like mango are more ideal), nut or seed butters
Sour cream/cream cheese/mayonnaise -they do make vegan versions of all of these but if you’re not interested, you can make other consistency like items, however the taste will differ.
Whey Protein – pea protein, hemp protein, soy protein
Cheese-daiya (do not use go veggie, it has casein)
Amy questions?  Ask away! I also have tons of substitutions for gluten and corn allergies like chickpea flour for white flour and sorghum for popcorn!