Vegan Rainbow Asian Slaw

This is without a doubt my new favorite go-to vegan recipe, my "I don't like that" child LOVES this meal! It's a keeper for sure and super simple, and I hope you agree.

Rainbow Asian Slaw

Dressing:

• 1/4 c. agave nectar or real maple syrup (honey for non-vegan eaters)
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos or light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark or roasted sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1/2-1 tsp Sriracha hot sauce (I like the heat!)
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1-2 garlic cloves (♥-garlic!)

Slaw:

• 4 c bagged broccoli slaw mix
• 2 c matchstick or shredded carrots
• 1/2-1 c mung bean sprouts, rinsed
• 1 small can chopped water chestnuts, drained
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 c pre-cooked, shelled edamame
• 2 medium green onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/2-1 c loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro (.....again, ♥-cilantro!)

1) Whisk the dressing ingredients together until well incorporated
2) toss the slaw ingredients together and pour dressing on.
3) ENJOY!


Recipe Source: adapted slightly from http://www.onceuponachef.com/2011/03/asian-slaw-with-ginger-peanut-dressing.html

Juice it!

Fruit & veggies in liquid form. Sometimes it's just nice to change things up a bit....yummm, I love my juicer!

Dilemma...vegan breakfast & our super fruity solution!

Our only dilemma with the vegan way is breakfast. We've really struggled to find solutions to our lack of vegan breakfast knowledge. We've searched cookbooks and scoured the Internet for recipes with no real 'winner'. The family always has too many critics in it to settle on a 'favorite'....well I think the dilemma is solved! What better to have for breakfast than fruit salad....even more what better to put that fruit salad in than a warm soft tortilla. Bingo, the Breakfast Fruit Burrito is born!

This breakfast is SO simple, just gather your favorite fruit and chop it up...check out CJ's favorite fruit below:

Tropical Fruit Salad:

2 kiwi's, diced

1 mango, diced

7 strawberries, sliced

½ pineapple, diced

a drizzling of agave nectar (optional, our fruit was no quite juicy ripe)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Let sit for 10 minutes to let flavors blend.

Serve fruit salad in warmed flour tortillas. We like Tortilla Land flour tortillas, we buy ours at Costco...with a large family we go through them fast!

While I was preparing this meal my boys were moping about making moaning sounds. I'm not sure if they were really convinced that it wasn't going to be good or if our last few attempts have just broken their spirits but it was a sad sight. I am SO pleased to share that it was a HUGE hit in our home!! Remember to have paper towels around as the fruit juices REALLY get flowing...enjoy!

Breakfast failure!

The other day my hubby and I decided to do an internet search for vegan breakfast ideas. CJ loves French toast and with our now no milk & eggs rule we thought French toast was out of the question…..until we came across a vegan version. CJ was sold on it from the get go because instead of milk & eggs it called for mashed bananas and soy milk….all natural! How about all disaster. It was MUSH that stuck to our nonstick skillet and ended up being scrambled French toast. Anyone out there ever used this recipe and had any luck?….please tell us your trick. In the mean time we’re still on the hunt for a good vegan French toast. Another one calls for tofu to replace the soy milk from the other recipe…don’t know if it will make that much of a difference but I’ll let you know!

Homemade Vegan Flour Tortillas

My brother spent 2 years in Honduras and when he returned he said that this tortilla recipe is just like what they make there. There's baking powder in the recipe making them a bit more chunky in comparison to that nasty stuff we eat here in the states called tortillas.

4 cups all-purpose flour (or 1:1 whole wheat and all-purpose mix)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons coconut oil (because it almost has the consistency of lard)

1¼ cups hot water

¼ cup non-dairy milk (I use soy)

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt, cut in the coconut oil until fine soft crumbs form and you can no longer see chunks of coconut oil.

Add the water and non-dairy milk and mix by hand (this is the fun part, but remember to remove your rings!). Once ingredients are well incorporated and you have a smooth dough, cover and let rest for 20 minutes DO NOT SKIP THIS PART IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE TEXTURE OF THE DOUGH).

Divide the dough into about 18 equal portions (I have a kitchen scale I use). Using one portion at a time (cover the remaining dough) roll out on a lightly floured surface to about a 7-inch diameter. Cook on a non-stick skillet at medium-high heat. Keep in a tortilla warmer or in the oven at the lowest temperature wrapped in a damp towel (be sure not to use fabric softener on your kitchen towels or you'll have some awful tasting tortillas....trust me I know!) until ready to use. ENJOY!

my childhood grocery list

If you would have asked me a month ago about going vegan I would have laughed in your face. Growing up I didn’t have the greatest examples when it came to food. My mother, bless her heart would occasionally nibble on fudge in the mornings…actually any time of the day. My family’s idea of healthy is turkey bacon fried in two inches of canola oil, ‘canola oil is healthy’ they’d say….uggg! My dad goes on these ‘health’ kicks where he limits his fat to 30g per day. He looses weight but maintaining that for him is a killer.

Switch over to my husbands youth. As a child his father was VERY health conscious and wouldn’t allow sugar in the house. Everything was sweetened with honey…..they were labeled as ‘extreme’ if you can believe that. While I grew up on fluffy, pillowy soft white bread my husband was having dense stone ground homemade wheat bread that never rose higher than 1½ inches. At the time he was embarrassed to show up with his pb&j sandwiches to the school cafeteria but he is now VERY grateful that he was raised the way he was. While I struggle to stay away from the unhealthy whiteness that reminds me of my childhood the hubby has no problem with going whole grain. Lucky for me he’s my rock and we have raised our kids on whole grains with the occasional white flour tortilla in the mix.

I really am surprised at how seamless the transition to vegan has been for me, in fact the hubby was the first to have any kind of slip up….although I understand why, when you stay with others you can’t be rude and turn every bit of food away they present to you. He’s forgiven. Actually since we aren’t switching to vegan for moral issues, more health than anything, I really don’t see the need to make a big fuss about his slip-up. We’re on track and LOVING how we feel….YAY VEGAN!

Thin Crust Vegan Pizza

DOUGH
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 2/3 cups white whole-wheat flour
1 2/3 cups unbleached bread flour
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
cornmeal for dusting

In a large bowl add the water and yeast and let sit until bubbly. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl blend the flours and sea salt together.

When yeast is bubbly add flour mixture to yeast mix, blend with a wooden spoon and then mix with hands. Knead for about 5 minutes, cover and let rest for 5 more minutes. After dough has rested knead again for a minute or two, until dough is smooth and elastic and slightly sticky.

Divide dough into 6 equal portions. Roll dough out on a cornmeal dusted counter until desired thickness is achieved (we like thin crust!) Add toppings of choice (*see our favorites below) and bake at 425 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and crispy.

CJ'S FAVORITE TOPPINGS:
Trader Giotto's Tomato Basil Marinara (found at Trader Joe's....I LOVE that place!)
Dairy free mozzarella and cheddar style shreds (we like the Daiya brand, found in health food stores)
fresh spinach....none of that frozen stuff
diced tomatoes
fresh basil
green onions, sliced
yellow onion, sliced
sliced olives
mushrooms

Enjoy!