Tag: vegan

Eat the Rainbow

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In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we whipped up this meal featuring every color of the rainbow! You can mix and match different components, or serve them over a few days leading up to St. Pat’s.

Red & Orange Salad

Red Orange Salad

Thinly slice one red bell pepper, one orange bell pepper, and 1 red apple. Toss with 1 cup matchstick cut carrots. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil,  2 tablespoons cider vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. (Note: Bigger kids and adults might also like a little spice – try adding 1/2 teaspoon cumin or 1/4 teaspoon paprika).

Yellow & Green Pasta

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Cook 12 ounces fettuccine or linguine according to package directions, adding 1/2 cup frozen peas toward the end of cooking. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet and sauté 1 package Gardein chick’n strips and 1 cup sugar snap peas until heated through. Combine the chicken mixture, pasta, 1/2 cup plain non-dairy yogurt, 1/4 cup reserved cooking water, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. My son preferred this served in separate components on his plate!

Green Smoothie

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In a blender, combine 1/2 cup plain non-dairy milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup fresh baby spinach, and 1/4 cup mint leaves; process until blended. Add 1/2 a green apple, 1 frozen banana, and 1 tablespoon agave nectar; process until smooth. Drink through a green straw of course!

Blue & Purple Parfait

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For dessert, toss 1 cup mixed blueberries, blackberries, and purple grapes with 1 teaspoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Layer the fruit in parfait glasses with vanilla non-dairy yogurt. This also makes a yummy breakfast treat!

Want even more fun? Eat green snacks all week, like roasted edamame, kale chips, or green olives.

green snack

Cinnamon-Sugar Sweet Potato Fries

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CInnamon Sweet Potato Fries

This sweet side dish is so easy it hardly merits being called a recipe. It’s the perfect hack for adding a little sugar and spice to dinner!

First, bake sweet potato fries according to package directions. Just after they come out of the oven, sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar to taste.

Serve with your favorite vanilla non-dairy yogurt for dipping!

Apple-Spice Mug Muffin

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When you’re craving muffins but don’t want a whole batch sitting around in the fridge or freezer, these individual mug-sized muffins are the answer to your prayers.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 4 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 tablespoons plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
  • 1 tablespoon Earth Balance butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons shredded apple
  1. The night before, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda in a microwave-safe mug; Cover and set aside.
  2. In the morning, add the milk, butter (melted), and vanilla, stirring to combine. Fold in the apple.
  3. Microwave for 2 minutes, then let cool slightly before serving.

My son likes his muffin plain…

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…but I like adding a little extra chopped apple and a spoonful of vanilla non-dairy yogurt to serve. Or try a little dollop of soy whipped cream!

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Noodle-y Kugel

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To be frank, I’ve never seen a recipe quite like this in my life! It came to us care of Travis’s March issue of High Five magazine, and has multiple steps that are sure to delight your sous-chef in the kitchen. Pineapple with noodles? Yes, apparently this is a thing.

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You can find eggless egg noodles, but I was unable to this time around. Instead, I chose a bag of curly pasta, both because the curls are reminiscent of the way wide noodles loop after they cook, and because it came in the right kind of bag instead of a box (more on that below!). Curly noodles also have the advantage that you won’t need to cut them into much smaller pieces for young eaters.

Ingredients:

For the noodles:

  • 1 (16-ounce) package eggless wide noodles or curly pasta
  • 6 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
  • 4 Ener-G eggs
  • 1 cup plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 (12-ounce) container non-dairy sour cream
  • 1 recipe vegan cottage cheese*
  • 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

For the topping:

  • 2 cups organic corn flake cereal
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons Earth Balance butter
  1. Adults: cook the pasta according to package directions in a large pot; drain and set aside. Make sure to reserve the pasta packaging for step 6!
  2. Cut the butter into small pieces and have your child add the butter pieces to the warm pasta. Travis was very interested to see how quickly the butter melted!Kugel (2)
  3. In a bowl, whisk together the Ener-G eggs, milk, and sugar.
  4. Stir in the sour cream, prepared cottage cheese, and pineapple. Travis insisted on stirring all by himself.Kugel (3)
  5. Add the pineapple mixture to the noodles and stir to coat, then transfer the mixture to 13×9-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray.
  6.  To prepare the topping, place the corn flakes in the empty pasta bag, and seal; crush with your hands. This was – hands down! – Travis’s favorite part.Kugel (4)
  7. Add the sugar and cinnamon; seal and shake to coat.
  8. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the noodles, and add the remaining butter, cut into small pieces.Kugel (5)
  9. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, until browned at the edges. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

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*To make a quick vegan “cottage cheese”, combine 1 package firm tofu and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a bowl. Mash with a fork until the mixture resembles cottage cheese curds. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Tasty Tacos

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French fries in tacos? Kids and adults alike will say, ‘Yes please!’ to this tasty twist on a weekday staple.

Ingredients:

  • 4 flour or corn tortillas
  • 1/2 cup refried beans
  • 1/2 cup shredded Daiya cheddar
  • 1/2 cup cooked corn kernels
  • 1 cup French fries
  1. Spread each tortilla with about 2 tablespoons beans, and sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons cheddar and 2 tablespoons corn.
  2. Top each serving with about 1/4 cup fries, then roll up burrito style or fold in half like tacos to serve.

Add toppings like salsa, non-dairy sour cream, or guacamole, if your family likes ’em.

Power “Pancakes”

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It’s a bit of a stretch to call these pancakes; although they cook up the same way on a griddle, they are a bit too delicate to come off cleanly with a spatula, meaning you wind up with a fluffy yummy mound on your plate. Still, my son describes them as “much good” and they’re a great protein boost early in the morning!

Ingredients:

  • 2 large bananas
  • 1 cup silken tofu
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons Earth Balance butter
  • 2 tablespoons mini non-dairy chocolate chips
  1. In a blender, combine the bananas and tofu; process until very smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the baking powder.
  2. Melt the butter in a griddle over medium heat. Add half of the batter, to make 4 small pancakes. Sprinkle the tops evenly with 1 tablespoon chocolate chips. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until heated through, then very carefully transfer to plates.
  3. Repeat with the remaining batter and remaining chocolate chips.
  4. Drizzle with maple syrup to taste for serving!

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White Bean Pasta Sauce

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Here’s the easiest hack ever for sneaking more beans into your child’s diet. They’ll never know what makes this sauce so creamy and thick… and adults love it, too! For extra appeal, use a fun pasta shape like wagon wheels.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup rinsed and drained canned cannellini beans
  • 3/4 cup jarred marinara sauce
  • 1 cup uncooked pasta
  1. Combine the beans and marinara sauce in a blender and process until smooth.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
  3. Toss the pasta with the sauce, let cool slightly, and serve.

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Whoopie Pies

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This is the most decadent dessert I’ve cooked up in a while, but sometimes you just need a super-chocolatey treat. This recipe is made possible thanks to vegan marshmallow crème!

Ingredients:

For the cakes:

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 cup Earth Balance butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 Ener-G egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup vegan buttermilk*

For the filling:

  • 6 tablespoons Earth Balance butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 7 ounces Ricemellow Crème
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup mini non-dairy chocolate chips
  1. To prepare the cakes, combine the flour, cocoa, and baking soda in a large bowl; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the Ener-G egg and vanilla; beat until combined. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and beating well after each addition.
  3. Drop the dough by heaping tablespooons on greased baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.Whoopie Pie (1)
  4. To make the filling, beat together the butter, powdered sugar, ricemellow, vanilla, and cocoa; beat until smooth.Whoopie Pie (2)
  5. Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons filling on top of half of the cookies; top with the remaining cookies.
  6. Place the chocolate chips in a bowl, and roll the sides of the whoopie pies in the chips. Delish!

* To prepare the buttermilk, pour 1 tablespoon lemon juice into a measuring cup. Fill with plain unsweetened non-dairy milk to equal 1 cup and let stand for 5 minutes.

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Pasta Shape Up

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Believe it or not, I’m 35 and this was my first attempt at homemade pasta. Because we don’t have a pasta machine, I knew we weren’t going to have a perfect batch, but Travis has adored playing with food and recipes in the kitchen lately, so we cooked up some fun!

First, scoop 2 cups flour into a bowl. We used whole wheat flour, but you can use semolina or regular white flour. Add 1/2 cup warm water, stirring to form a dough – we needed to add a bit more water before our dough was the right consistency.

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To my delight, Travis didn’t hesitate before getting his hands right in there. He loved kneading the dough!

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This was definitely his favorite part of the whole process, carefully working one portion of the dough while I demonstrated kneading techniques for him.

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We set the dough aside to rest for a few minutes (ideally you’ll want about 20 minutes, but that was long for this preschooler), then rolled the dough out as thinly as we could.

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For shaping fun, first we tried bow ties. Cut a 1×2-inch rectangle, and pinch in the center. You can also make tubes by rolling rectangles around a straw.

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More so than shaping, though, Travis just loved playing with the dough. He tried a few raw bites (which he declared yummy!) and pretended he was drinking pasta “juice.” What an imp!

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If you really do intend to eat your pasta, cook it in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, and serve with your favorite sauce.

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Ricotta-Pea Lasagna Rolls

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Pea Lasagna

These roll-ups are a cinch to throw together on a busy night, and also tuck easily into a bento box for lunch.

Ingredients:

  • Lasagna noodles
  • Frozen peas
  • Kite Hill ricotta cheese
  1. Cook the lasagna noodles in boiling water for 10 to 12 minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, cook the peas and mash with a fork to desired consistency.
  3. Spread each lasagna noodle with a thin layer of the Kite Hill ricotta, and add a layer of peas. Roll up tightly to serve.