AGABAAG (pronounced “ag-uh-bag”) is simply an acronym that I came up with for “a green a bean and a green.” It became my go-to lunch item last month when I started my “December detox and diet”. In December, I lost 11 of my 22 pound weight loss goal and having a super-filling, healthy, protein and fiber loaded lunch item like this played a critical role in achieving that success. The idea of eating a grain, a bean and a green is certainly not new nor is it my original idea. I first came across this when eating at Real Food Daily in Los Angeles, California. Real Food Daily has a section on its menu called “basics” wherein you can decide to combine two, three, four or more of the items under these different food groupings. When dieting, I tend to default to the old weight watchers points program because it’s
Eggplant was something I always thought I didn’t like, even though I’d never actually had it before. I have no idea why that would mean I didn’t like it. It was just never something served in my house growing up. However, while at my friend Jill’s house about 7 years ago, her mother served up some eggplant parmesean and my world changed. Fried eggplant covered in tomato sauce, yes please! Ethan then challeneged me to make my own version of it. Challenege accepted! I read about how to work with eggplant and everything I saw talked about salting and rinsing the eggplant slices to make them less bitter. Now I realized why my mother never used eggplant, it seemed to be a lot of work. But not to be discouraged, I set out to make my own eggplant parmesean. The kitchen counter was lined with pans of salted eggplant. When
Do not let the time or number of steps* deter you from making this hearty meal. This pie is an entire meal in one dish: a stew topped with mashed potatoes and cheese. It just doesn’t get any better. Even the “I don’t like vegan food” people will love this. This is great for a large crowd and the left overs reheat great. Make this on a Sunday and after cooking, let it cool completely. After completely cool, cover and store it in the refrigerator, then all you have to do to have dinner during the week is simply reheat as much as you need and keep the rest for another meal. * If you want to save a few steps, you can easily replace the TVP with chopped seitan or vegan crumbles. If you choose to do this, you will need 3 cups of whatever you use. Simply skip
Here is my take on an Italian classic. This is one of my favorite dishes to make. I will even eat the left overs cold for breakfast. I cannot stress how much I love this. This dish never fails to impress. I can almost guarantee that this will become one of your “go to” dishes for company or special occasions. One of the great things about this dish is you can actually make it ahead of time and toss it all together at the last minute before serving. I will rarely specify an individual brand to use in any of my recipes unless I think that specific brand is uniquely the best. This is one of those times. This recipe practically screams for Ray’s Wheat Meat. If you cannot find Ray’s, use your favorite seitan, but I encourage you to try an find Ray’s. If you make your own seitan,
As human beings, we tend to be creatures of habit. This is especially apparent when it comes to the foods we eat. All too often we stick to rigid conventions about what foods constitute breakfast versus lunch or dinner items. Since going vegan, I’ve thrown these conventions aside, having things like soup or even a leftover brisket of seitan for breakfast. Today, instead of my regular “Ooohmega Oats” breakfast, I threw my fiber/omega mix into a different grain base, opting to have quinoa for breakfast today. (I know quinoa is technically a seed and not a grain, but you know what I meant.) It was a delightful and very satisfying variation on the same theme. Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Servings: 2 large servings Ingredients 1 cup quinoa (traditional) 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk (or any nut or grain milk of your choice) 1/4 tsp salt
This recipe is a must-have for any Thanksgiving dessert table. My mother used to make this cake when I was a child. This recipe is actually her mother’s (Bubby of Apple Crisp fame) recipe, but she doesn’t make it anymore. I have enjoyed this recipe all of my life but it wasn’t until I went vegan that it occurred to me that this was an already-vegan recipe. My mother makes the cake in a round tube pan and covers it with a sweet frosting. To this day, that is seriously still my favorite way to have this cake. However, Michael was not a fan of the icing on it, and we really didn’t need the extra fat and sugar. In fact, the first time I made this for Michael, he said that his Aunt Carol made almost the exact same cake, but without the icing and it was a staple
Thanksgiving is extra special for some of us this year because, for the first time since 1888, the Jewish (lunar) calendar syncs up with the Gregorian calendar so that Thanksgiving falls on Hanuukah. Experts say it won’t happen again for another 77,798 years. So, we figured we’d better make the most of this once-in-seventy-seven-millenia coincidence. Traditionally on Hanukah to honor the miracle of the oil in the temple, one cooks with oil and make lots of fried foods. Latkes, fried potato pancakes, are the quintessential traditional food of Hanukkah. This year, we decided to infuse them with Thanksgiving flavors and the results were delightful. Traditionally, potato latkes are served with applesauce, sour cream or even ketchup (my father’s and brother’s preferred condiment). While these work great with all of the above, I strongly suggest using my chipotle aioli recipe or even topping them with some cranberry sauce, to give it
I love this chipotle aioli dipping sauce. I originally came up with it as my favorite dip for Michael’s grilled artichokes, but I have found that it works very well with a variety of other recipes and even on some sandwiches. Making this is so easy, you’ll be making it all of the time… you’ll see! I make this in small quantities when it’s just the two of us. When there are more people, just double or triple the recipe in order to get the volume of dip you need. You can make this ahead of time and leave it covered in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just take it out about 15 minutes before serving to allow it to come to room temperature. Prep Time: 2 minutes. Ingredients: ¼ cup of vegan mayo (I prefer Vegenaise reduced fat) 1 tsp chipotle hot sauce 1 tsp
As a kid, mashed potatoes were only around at holidays or when we would pick up fried chicken and get it as a side dish. Because of this, I always assumed they were hard to make and took a lot of time. I was wrong. They are very easy to make and don’t require much work at all. These are a great side dish on their own, but a generous helping of gravy makes them even better. We also use them as a topping for our Shepherdless Pie. Next time you need some mashed potatoes, and yes, this is a legitimate need, don’t fret, here is your go to recipe. You can easily double or triple this recipe if you are making for a crowd. You can make these early in the day and just leave them in the pot on the stove, OFF THE HEAT, covered until you want them.
Often when I want to come up with a recipe, I start with something I used to like as an onmivore and then see how I can make it vegan. Beef Wellington was something I never made as an omnivore, and in fact only had once. However, I knew this was something that could be made vegan very easily. In fact, there was no trial and error with this one. I got it right on the first try. This is not a complicated dish to make, but it does take a little advance preparation to make the onions and mushrooms. If you want serious WOW factor, make this. Your guest will marvel at you when you bring the golden pastry to the table. A few tips: This recipe uses Gardein Beefless Tips in place of the meat that Beef Wellington typically has. You will also need puff pastry dough. Usually puff pastry
