Usually when I chat to new people about being a vegetarian or vegan they automatically think of hummus and pita chips; I usually explain to them its more than that. However, hummus Is a super tasty and easy dish to make. Should be eaten in moderation since about 55% of its calories come from fat, you don’t want to get a tummy ache. You can customize this to meet your personal tastes and needs. Thin it out with water to make a salad dressing (honestly, its good!), toss with warm pasta for an interesting sauce, use instead of tomato sauce on pizza, or just dip chips into it for a super quick and satisfying snack.
Ingredients:
1 15 ounce can chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinses thoroughly and dried
1 1/2 cups cooked great northern beans or 1 15 ounce can, rinsed thoroughly and dried (any white bean will work though)
1/4 – 1/2 cup tahini paste
4 tablespoons olive oil or grape-seed oil
8 garlic cloves, sliced (must be fresh garlic, no pr-echopped from a jar!)
pinch salt or to taste
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce (optional) or to taste
1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce (rooster sauce) or to taste/optional
2 tablespoons dried herbs (I used chives) or to taste/optional
Directions:
In a small saucepan or skillet add your oil, pinch of salt, and sliced garlic cloves. Set stove to low (mark 3 on most stoves) and let cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. The oil and garlic should just be hot enough to bubble slightly around the garlic and let it get crispy but not really dark colored.
After about 10 minutes your oil will be very perfumed. You can either use the garlic cloves in your hummus or you can just use the oil. I Love strong garlic taste so I used the cloves as well.
Add your beans, 1/4 cup tahini paste, garlic (if using), sriracha, and soy sauce in a food processor. Turn the processor on and pour in oil while machine is moving. Let your machine run for 2-5 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. You want it to be super smooth. You can add more tahini paste or more oil to make it creamy. If you want to keep the calories down, you can add some water but keep in mind it will lose the creamy texture if you add too much.
When your beans are smooth enough for you; give them a taste test. If it needs more spice, add more of your rooster sauce. If it needs more salt consider adding more soy sauce; it adds a nice salty flavor and add an extra element of flavor. Now is also the time to add any extra herbs. I put in 2 tablespoons of chives.
Put in serving container and chill in fridge for at-least an hour to develop flavor. Optimally you’d want to go overnight, but we’ll understand if temptation is too hard! Consider adding extra olive oil on-top , herbs, or sriracha like I did. It adds an extra punch to some of your pitas or veggies and makes it look pretty. Enjoy! 😀
**Yes in the photo my hummus is really thick, however thats how I wanted it, If you add extra tahini, oil, or water It will have the traditional texture**
PLEASE TAKE NOTE: If you are making this and/or cooking for someone with gluten allergies or celiacs disease. Make sure to purchase ingredients that are certified gluten free, and clean your utensils very well. Better safe than sorry.
Lately I’ve been dabbling in gluten free cooking, however if you’ve ever looked at all purpose gluten free flour mix, you’ll know it costs a small fortune. While this still isn’t super cheap, its much cheaper than premixed flour.
So lets say its dinner time and you wanna make something super yummy but on a super small budget, look no further than stir fry. This particular stir-fry has vegetables, rice noodles, yellow split peas, scrambled eggs (which can be removed, to make it vegan), brocolli pieces, and a sweet yet spicey sauce!
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked yellow split peas (you can also use any bean for lentil for this)
1 cup vegetables (I used 1 cup of canned peas & carrots)
1/2 cup brocolli pieces (I used stalk pieces I had saved and kept in freezer)
2 whole eggs (omit for vegan friendly)
80g uncooked rice noodles or bean noodles
1 tablespoon oil for stirfrying (I used half sesame and half grapeseed)
2 tablespoons minced green onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder (optional for color)
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes for spice, optional
For Sauce:
1/2 – 1cup water
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoon sweet chili sauce (I suggest Mae Ploy)
1 teaspoon potato startch + 1 teaspoon water for thickening (you can also use 1/2teaspoon cornstartch + 1/2 tablespoon water)
sesame seeds or extra green onion for optional garnish
Directions:
If needed, cook your yellow split peas according to directions or check out our Cooking 101: Split Peas for information on how to do so! Measure out 1 cup cooked split peas, and set aside.
Fill your wok up with enough water to cover your rice noodles and brocolli pieces, boil according to package until tender and strain for later. Now make sure to have all your ignredients ready to go as this recipe cooks fast!
Wipe out the wok and set your heat on high. Once the pan is nice and hot add your oil, quickly stir around pan then add both your garlic and green onions. Stir for 30-45 seconds or until aromas get really strong, then add your two scrambled eggs (omit if vegan) and stir around pan until nearly 100% cooked, tastes about a minute. Then add your split peas and stir for 2 minutes, if you want them to have more color let them sit for 30 seconds in pan before stirring, becareful not to burn them though. Once split peas are warmed up, add in your veggies. I choose to use 1 cup of canned peas and carrot mixture because I was out of fresh, but fresh or frozen veggies work best in stir-fry. Stir fry until they are to your desired tenderness (with canned this will only take about 15 seconds to warm them up) then add in your cooked noodles and brocolli pieces. Use a big wooden spoon like I do to break apart the noodles, thoroughly combining the ingredients. Add your opitional red pepper flakes and tumeric at this point then add your water, chili sauce, and soy sauce to the pan. Stir well and make sure to get any bits off the bottom of the wok. Let this mixture cook for a minute. If you want more sauce add more water, if you want less then add less water. After about 1 minute, add your startch mixture, stir thoroughly again for 30-60 seconds and turn the heat off. Serve nice and hot, topped with sesame seeds or extra green onion for garnish, Enjoy!
Prep time: 45 minute (split peas) Cook time: less than 10 minutes Serves: 1-2 people
allergies: eggs, sesame seeds, rice
Vegetarian and vegan friendly: veganize by omitting the eggs
Gluten-Free
So this recipe is kinda cheating your brain into thinking you’re eating regular peanut butter, which honestly, I think you are. This is super simple and is a great was to spare your tummy of extra calories while putting a little change back into your wallet.
Ingredients:
1 cup natural peanut butter (no additives, including salt)
3 cups hot water
honey or other sweetener to taste
1/2 tablespoon psyllium husk to rethicken it, optional
(blender also comes in handy, but it not required)
Directions:
Add peanut butter, sweetener, and water to a blender. Blend until smooth (I really blended mine, so that’s why you’ll notice mine is light colored, once the air bubbles go away, it turns dark again). Taste it and adjust seasoning if desired.
At this point it’ll be very soupy, which is what you want however, it doesn’t make a very spreadable peanut butter for sandwiches and the like. At this stage you can optionally add psyllium husk & it will rethicken it. Blend well and let set for 15 minutes (it would be a good idea to set in fridge, because after this sets its hard to take out of a blender), you’ll notice it gets really thick. If after 30 minutes you think its still too liquidy, you can add more.
Makes about 4 cups , Preparation time: 2 minutes, Cook time: None!
For the longest time the only veggie chip I heard people talk about was kale chips. While kale chips are nice, I find kale in my area to be VERY expensive, especially when I like to buy organic. So I adapted my kale chip recipe to fit Swiss chard! Everyone and their raw foods mother has a kale chips recipe it seems, this just happens to be my favorite. Raw, vegan friendly, gluten free, low calorie, and kid friendly. This recipe really does have it all. Its the perfect snack to eat when you’re tempted by worse. Not something I suggest eating everyday, but in moderation these little treats are heavenly!
____________
Ingredients:
2 large bunches Swiss chard (or any other dark leafy green, Kale or collard greens work well also), de-stemmed & washed WELL
1 cup cashews
2 medium/large bell peppers, seeded
1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon pink salt
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon honey or other liquid sweetener (you can also use stevia with a splash of water if needed)
juice of 1/2 a lime or 1/4 of a lemon
*optional*
**1-2 extra tablespoons nutritional yeast for sprinkling
** chili peppers or cayenne pepper for a spicy chip
Directions:
In your blender or food processor combine your bell pepper, sweetener, salt, citrus juice, cashew, and any optional spices. Blend until your desired texture. I choose to leave mine a little chunky so you get bits of cashews on your chips, however, most people enjoy creamy topping on their chips.
De Stem & wash and completely dry your Swiss chard. Its VERY important your greens are dry otherwise your dressing will not stick to them. In a large bowl, combine your dressing and your greens. Toss to coat each piece. Get your dehydrator trays ready, teflex sheet is optional, but it does help in the cleaning process. Arrange your greens in an even single layer. Toss with additional nutritional yeast for an extra cheese-y flavor if desired! I tend to use 1 extra tablespoon per bunch, however you can adjust this to your taste.
Dehydrate them anywhere between 100-115 degrees for a minimum of 12 hours. I tend to go about 24, just because this is a “set it and forget it” recipe. Of course you could eat these right away, but try to resist that urge so they turn out like chips! =D
After 12-24 hours your chips will have shrunk a lot and will be very crispy and chip-like. Store in zipper bags or storage containers at room temp for 2-4 weeks, depending on your environment, but honestly I doubt they’ll last this long!
Makes: approx. 4-8 servings, Preparation: 15 minutes + 12-24 dehydrating hours (nutritional information shown is for 1/4 entire recipe)
dietary notes: this recipe is raw, vegan depending on the sweetener, gluten-free to my knowledge, low calorie, does contain tree nuts.
