Little House of Veggies

Sweet Potato Soup from VEGAN FOR THE HOLIDAYS & Book Review

2012-09-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and it is time to get baking!! I love this time of year and especially getting together with family and friends to enjoy delicious food.
Vegan for the Holidays covers all the details any holiday cook requires to create the perfect celebration. From assembling a party menu to planning a multicourse feast, you'll get ideas for establishing modern, more healthful food traditions. Zel Allen is the author of this beautiful book that celebrates feasts for Thanksgiving through New Year's Day. Some of Zel's recipes include: Cranberry-Pear Compote, Lemony Carrot Soup, Autumn Vegetable Roast, Red Cabbage and Apple Stir-Fry, Baked Maple Sweet Potatoes, Apple'n' Cream Pie, Pumpkin Apple Nog, Winter Almond Chowder, Santa's Swanky Salad, Raisin-Nut Cabbage Rolls with Sweet and Sour Sauce, and many many more delicious recipes! All the tools you need to create some super comfort foods. Food, after all, is a powerful bonding agent that seals warm memories of cherished occasions. You will love this book and The Nut Gourmet book. You can find Zel in Vegetarians in Paradise or Zel's Vegan NutGourmet.

My family absolutely loves soups, so Zel's Sweet Potato Soup on page 121, caught my eye. Sweet potatoes contain vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, fiber, B vitamins, potassium and even iron. In fact, Whole Foods considers sweet potatoes one of the healthiest vegetables we eat. Healthy antioxidents abound in sweet potatoes. This sweet potato soup is delicately sweet, thick and creamy. This soup will make a roomful of hungry partygoers happy. Sprinkling pecans and raisins on top really adds the perfect taste to this yummy soup. I hope you will give it a try.

Also check out Barn-Burner Chili from Zel's book at The Health Seeker's Kitchen. It looks super Yummy and I will be making it soon.

Sweet Potato Soup
Printable Recipe
7 cups water
2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup raisins, for garnish
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans for garnish

1. Combine 4 cups of the water, sweet potatoes, and onion in an 8 to 10-quart stockpot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender.

2. Let cook briefly. Use an immersion blender to process the soup in the stockpot until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, put the soup in a food processor. Process in batches until smooth and creamy, stopping occasionally to scrape down the work bowl.

3. Return the soup to the stockpot. Stir in the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper, and enough of the remaining 3 cups of water to reach desired consistency. Adjust the seasonings.

4. Warm the soup over medium-high heat, ladle into bowls and garnish each serving with raisins and pecans if desired.

Better than takeout: Quick Buffalo Chickenless Sandwich with the works!

2012-04-10T15:06:00.006-07:00

This is a quick lunch or dinner to throw together. I used a store bought vegan "chickenless" from Trader Joes, which I am convinced is possibly Gardein vegan chicken but in different packaging. And way cheaper! Anyways, I love to make my foods from pure whole ingredients as much as possible, but everyone needs some quick freezer items on hand once in a while. These Trader Joe's Chickenless tenders are quick to bake up and you can do a lot with them. Gotta try them!

This sandwich is amazing!! Its basically a similar meal to the buffalo "Chick'n" wrap I have on here already, just a sandwich version. To me, it was way better than takeout, say, from Veggie Grill who actually has a awesome, super delicious buffalo sandwich on their new menu. As much as I absolutely love Veggie Grill, my version is baked, and has about 10x the raw veggies piled on top as theirs. and is served on a wholesome whole grain bread with minimal ingredients. The buffalo sauce and vegan ranch are so quick and I make just enough for one sandwich when I'm just cooking for myself for lunch. My husband is going to love me tonight when I make one of these for him for dinner when he gets home. Soul satisfying, hearty food for sure! Just like takeout, only better!

Quick Buffalo Chickenless Sandwich

with the works

Serves one, so just double recipe as needed for each additional sandwich you need

printable recipe

Ingredients Needed:

Trader Joes Brand vegan Chickenless Tenders, Gardein, homemade or store bought seitan, or any other brand of vegan "chicken"

1 Tbsp. Veganaise (vegan mayo)

pinch of garlic powder

pinch of onion powder

about 1/2 Tbsp. of unsweetened almond milk or other milk of choice (hemp, rice, soy, etc.)

2 tsp. Earth Balance vegan butter

2 tsp. of your favorite hot sauce

2 slices Whole grain bread, toasted (look for a brand with pure, minimal ingredients)
1/4-1/2 sliced avocado sprinkle of salt and pepper

Few nice pieces of Lettuce

1/2 Shredded/grated carrot

To Make:

Bake the Chickenless tenders according to package directions.

Make your ranch. Combine in a small bowl, 1 Tbsp. of Veganaise, and a pinch of garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Now very slightly thin out (but still keep it thick enough to be spreadable on a sandwich) with a little unsweetened almond milk or other milk of choice. Set aside.

Make the Buffalo sauce. Melt 2 tsp. earth balance and place in a small bowl. Add the same amount of hot sauce,mix well and set aside until "chickenless" is done baking.

Prepare all other ingredients for toppings and set aside.

Once the "chickenless" has finished baking, toss in the buffalo sauce.

Assemble the sandwich. Toast the bread, and spread your ranch on both sides. Add the buffalo chickenless, avocado, grated carrots, and lettuce.

Now eat up and enjoy!

The Sexy Vegan...Extraordinary food from an ordinary dude!

2012-03-20T10:59:00.007-07:00

Awesome, awesome, awesome book!

Definitely on my list of "must buys" and highly recommended. And I am picky,

I am so glad that the publisher for this book sent me a review copy Because the recipes kick a meat eaters burgers tush. The book bring lots of humor mixed with tons and tons of flavor. I was laughing pretty hard at some of the titles of his recipes...hilarious!

What I can say for sure is that if you just bought this book for the tempeh bacon recipe alone, it would be worth it. After you make this recipe once, you will never want to buy store tempeh bacon again. Its so so good! And so much cheaper to make it yourself! You get 5 times as much bacon for the price of one store bought package, and it freezes awesome for quick meals later on. The marinade is super healthy, and just stuff you will have on hand! I am kind of obsessed with it actually. Behold, the amazing-ness...

You make the marinade, place it in a large glass Pyrex type dish to sit (I just let mine sit in the fridge overnight). It takes just minutes to throw this together...

And then the next day it is ready to go. You can cook them in a skillet, or bake in the oven. We turned outs in to a simple but favorite BLT style sandwich. Delicious!

I also tested his recipe called "The Portly Fellow". Again, amazing! I loved it so much I got permission to give you all the recipe for this one! I loved his method for cooking the portabellos! You thinly slice them across the cap of the mushroom after they cook and you get these long, thin, "deli meat" type slices that you can pile on your sandwich, and it makes it so much easier to eat that way.

He has some great YouTube videos and you can watch him slice the mushrooms in action HERE!

It also has caramelized red onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and a very yummy sun dried tomato and white bean spread! I had this for two days in a row...so good! There are a ton of other recipes I'm dying to try now from the book! If you want comfort food like burgers, buffalo style wings, hearty breakfast sandwiches, meatballs, etc. done not only vegan, but healthy, this is your book!

To purchase your own copy, CLICK HERE

Oh, and get the recipe for this amazing sandwich below! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!

THE PORTLY FELLOW

If this sandwich were a person, he would be a round, top hat–wearing gentleman in an old-timey suit with a pocket watch, monocle, and cane. And despite his size, he would eat sandwiches in a dainty fashion. That makes me smile.

Makes 2 sandwiches

2 portobello mushrooms, stemmed and wiped clean

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

2 cup sliced red onion

2 ciabatta rolls, halved and toasted

2 cup Sun-Dried Tomato and White Bean Spread (see recipe
below)

1 roasted red bell pepper, halved

1 small handful baby arugula

1 medium tomato, sliced

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the mushrooms with 2 teaspoons of the oil, the vinegar, and a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Place the mushrooms in the smallest roasting vessel that will hold them. The smaller the vessel, the more of the delicious mushroom juice that will collect during cooking, so make sure the vessel has sides. You can make one out of foil if need be. On a baking sheet, toss the onion slices with the remaining 2 teaspoon of oil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper, and spread them out. Roast both the shrooms and the onion for 15 to 20 minutes, or until soft. Remove the mushrooms and onion from the oven, and let cool, making sure to reserve any mushroom juices that have accumulated. Cut the shrooms thinly on the diagonal, so that you create wide, flat slices.

Now you’re ready to assemble! Remember those shroom juices you were trying to preserve? Drizzle them on the bottom half of each of the ciabatta rolls (if there’s not enough, don’t get your butt-
hole all a-pucker — just drizzle some additional oil and vinegar on the ciabatta to compensate), and smear the top halves with the bean spread.

Assemble each of the sandwiches from the bottom up in the following order: bottom ciabatta half, sliced shrooms, roasted pepper, roasted onion, arugula, tomato, and bean-smeared ciabatta half.

Sun-Dried Tomato and
White Bean Spread

This is also a great dip for chips or veggies. Store extra in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes about 2 cups

2 cups drained freshly cooked cannellini beans or one
15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

4 medium basil leaves

2 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato oil or extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup water

1 clove garlic

Salt and pepper

In a food processor or blender, puree the beans, basil, sun-dried tomatoes, oil, water, and garlic until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Back to Basics: Tempeh Preparation

2012-03-09T10:08:00.004-08:00

Tempeh. Oh how I love you.

You make my life so yummy and versatile and you give me lots and lots of nutrition. Your very high in protein, calcium, iron, dietary fiber and lots of vitamins, and bring a mild nutty flavor to my dishes. Even though here in the West we think you are a fairly new discovery, Asia has been enjoying your deliciousness for hundreds of years.

Now, if your love of tempeh is not quite as fond as mine, read on, my friends, read on.

OK, so maybe your not a tempeh fan (just yet!), or maybe you have never even heard of it. Or maybe you have heard of it, but don't have the slightest clue what to do with it. Well friends, have no fear, Mo the Veggie girl is here to show you some basic tempeh preparation that will give you a flavor infused delicious end product, that you can transform into millions of creations to come. And it is shockingly easy to prepare. And I mean shockingly. Do not be afraid of the tempeh. It will only give you yummy food bliss when treated with a little TLC.

So what exactly is tempeh made of anyway: Tempeh is basically made from soybeans that have been naturally cultured and fermented, and then made into a little block. It is different than tofu in many ways. For starters, the nutrition is higher all around and digestion easier, due to the fermentation process. It is made from the whole soybean and not "processed" into something different. Just fermented and pressed. it is kind of earthy and nutty tasting.

And where can I buy Tempeh? Sold at Whole Foods Markets as well as most other health food stores. And I have also seen it sold at Ralph's Supermarket, Sprouts, and basically anywhere where you can find health foods and vegan food options like tofu. Make sure to buy Organic, non GMO tempeh. Your body will thank you!

And now we move on to the oh so easy preparation of tempeh that will turn this humble food into something amazing! This was a method I learned from Chef Tanya Petrovna, who some of you may know as the creative mind and genius behind the Native Foods Cafe Restaurants. There are a few ways to prep tempeh, but this one is the best. Hands down. So good.

Just a little side note, steaming tempeh is very important. Here in this preparation, I am simmering it in a delicious marinade which also works great. But if nothing else, make sure that you place the tempeh in a pot with some water, or in a steaming basket, and steam it for about 20 to 30 minutes before using it . This will remove the slight bitterness from the tempeh. Or follow my favorite method below.

Glazed Tempeh:

(method from Chef Tanya Petrovna of Native Foods Cafe)

Step 1: Make the marinade

2/3 cup of water

1/3 cup soy sauce

1-2 cloves of minced garlic

a nice inch or so of grated fresh ginger root

Mix together in a bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Cut tempeh and brown in a pan

Using 1 to 2 blocks of tempeh, cut the tempeh in half so you have two rectangles. Then cut an "x" on top of each rectangle to create 8 smaller triangles per block of tempeh. Heat a large skillet to medium high. Add just enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Saute the tempeh until browned on both sides.

Step 3: Simmer the tempeh in the glaze

Once the tempeh has been browned on both sides, pour in the marinade/glaze you made and let boil for 3-4 minutes. Then turn the heat to low, and simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes. Most of the glaze should be gone at this point, soaked into the tempeh and reduced to almost nothing.

Step 4: Let cool, and then have some fun

Remove the tempeh from the pan and let cool for about 10 minutes. At this point, you can cut it up into small pieces, or crumble it up into a bowl, and add some veganaise and herbs for wraps and many other things! Here's some delicious recipe to start you on your tempeh adventures!

Tempeh Salad Ezekiel Wraps

Creamy Leek and Potato Soup with Tempeh Bacon

Tempeh tacos with Jicama, Mango, and Avocado salsa and lime spiked "sour cream"

Creamy Sweet Potato Soup with Tempeh Bacon (this is one of my very favorite recipes I have made!)

Tempeh and black bean enchiladas with tofu cheese and red sauce

Buffalo Tempeh Salad

Chloes Kitchen

2012-03-08T11:41:00.003-08:00

I was given the pleasure of reviewing a copy of Chloe Coscarellis new cookbook that just hit bookstores this week. If you don't know who this adorable vegan chef is yet, then where have you been?!!! No no, I'm kidding. But just to updarte you a little, she was the first vegan baker to bring home the win on Food Networks Cupcake Wars, which was very exciting to all vegans and vegan bakers! We all already knew how delicious vegan baked goods are, but she really brought that to the masses and I'm sure intrigued many to want to give vegan goodies a try! Way to go Chloe! She has also had several other appearances and publications in various news articles and magazines bringing wonderful vegan food to mainstream media. And shes just plain adorable to go with it. Many excited fans of hers have been eagerly awaiting her new cookbook.

I don't know about you guys, but I love a cookbook full of beautiful color photographs. And this one definitely comes with some mouth watering pics to get you motivated to get in the kitchen! I would say that her food in her book has a level of familiarity and "comfort" to it, as well as being easy to prepare.

The first dish I made from the book was this Pineapple not-so-fried rice. It was an absolute delicious pairing of sweet and savory. I swapped using extra firm tofu for some homemade seitan that I already had n my fridge and that worked wonderfully in the recipe as well!

Its brown rice, pineapple chunks, cashews, pease, marinated tofu or seitan in soy sacue, and some curry and coriander spicing. So so yummy!

I also tried the Double doubel drive-thru Bruger. I think the photo speaks for itself. Don't tell me this doesn't make you hungry!

The recipe suggests using tempeh or brown rice as a base, and I went with tempeh, which I think helped it really hold together great and gave it very good texture. The burger is also filled with toasted walnuts, lentils, and some onions and garlic. Topped with her special sauce and all the fixins of a gereat burger, both my husband and kids loved this one and leftovers keep beautifully in the fridge for quick burger making the next day!

A few other dishes I made (but didn't get a chance to photograph) were the Fettuccine Alfredo. Again, delicious! I stuck with the recipe but added in some sauteed mushrooms and also some sauteed kale.

And, last but not least, I made the salt and vingar baked fries. This was possibly my favorite thing I made. I totally had a "why didn't I think of this" moment while we were eating them, and unfortunaly they were gobbled up so fast I did not get a chance to photograph these either. They are the baked fry version of salt and vinegar chips, which I love! I will be making these again, and again, and again!

There are several other things I am dying to make, specifically in the dessert section of the book. Think baked donuts and her award winning cupcakes.

If you are looking for a new cookbook full of great recipes and beautiful photographs, I highly recommend this one!

To get your copy CLICK HERE!

Some things you need to check out!

2012-03-02T12:19:00.002-08:00

Happy Friday!

Just dropping in for a quick post to link you to a few things to check out that I love! Click on the bold highlights for the links!

Organic by Nature Just Barley: One of my top 5 must have items. This is something I always keep in my home! This barley grass powder gives a serious nutritional punch and I have a go to daily smoothie (more of a refreshing drink) that takes just seconds to make when I'm on the go, and gives me my green power when I am running low on things around my house. Mix 1 frozen banana, 1 cup of water, 1 tsp. barley green powder, and a small handful of fresh parsley. Blend and go. Those are ingredients I always have around. So there are no excuses in my house, you gotta drink those greens! My Mom and I call this the green smoothie made easy!

Raw Melissa - Um, first, this girl is completely adorable. She is like cuteness overdose. Her site is great, and she has some fun recipes and a cookbook. Also has some cool videos. She lives near the Salt Lake City, Utah area and if you are anywhere near this area you have got to check out her raw desserts that you can buy at some of the local health food stores. They are amazing! I have some family that lives in that area and have had the pleasure of tasting some of her goodies! If you are not close (I live in Southern California, not close at all to her yummy treats) you can order things online.

Plant Hungry: Written by my friend Shelly. She adds a great mixture of good information, as well as yummy recipes! And shes witty and funny, so its a good read! She keeps me laughing. Go check it out!

The Fitness Dish: 111 Days till summer challenge: I love me some Fitness Dish! Laury pretty much makes everyone happy with her fun uplifiting posts daily! (yes, daily, supermom??) Right now she is doing a challenge with her readers that is a totally positive approach to making small healthy changes and sticking to them. You can do with the challenge whatever YOU want to do, set your own goals, and then she and the rest of her readers participating will help keep everyone motivated to stick with their goals they have set. One thing I love about this challenge is that you can make it your own. Whether you healhty goals are to get outside and get moving in some way for 20 minutes, cut back on refined sugar, cook more meals at home, drink less soda...you get it. Just whatever works for you! Loving the positivity coming from this challenge. Go head on over there nad join in the fun!

The Health Seekers Kitchen: Doesn't everyone love their Mother's cooking? Well, I am lucky enought that my Mom cooks amazing food, and the kind of food I like, healthy, plant based, and absolutely delicious! I honestly love everything she makes, and I wish I wasn't states away from her so that I could go annoy her regularly for some of her cooking! Also, she teaches cooking classes in the Salt Lake City, Utah area, so if you are close, you have got to check out her classes! You will leave with fun new recipes and some new kitchen skills! The info for her upcoming classes is on her blog...

The Blissful Chef: East Coast Book Tour! My friend Christy Morgan, or as some of you may know her, The Blissful Chef, is an awesome macrobiotic based chef. That cooks great food! For all of you East Coasters, she has a book tour going from March 1st through March 29th. Check out her blog for the exact dates and times, and check out her cookbook, Blissful Bites!

Have a great weekend!!

Lemony Lentil Spinach Salad

2012-03-01T14:06:00.001-08:00

Hi friends! Long time no see...yes I know! I have been MIA for a little while. Let me first just say thank you so much to everyone who has sent me such sweet emails asking how I was doing and checking in on me! Those emails really kept me going! So thank you thank you thank you all!
Basically, to make a long complicated story short, I have been working on this ...

which led to severe morning sickness for roughly 23 weeks, and left me in complete survival mode, eating the blandest things I could, and cooking anything delicious was just not going to happen. I could not even handle the smell of food. Thankfully, I am feeling so much better now, and the kitchen and I have rekindled our romance, :D Again, thank you to my sweet readers who sent me those uplifting emails! This will be the hubby and I's 4th little bambino (yes, its a boy!). I will keep you all updated on the baby details for those that care!

OK, now back to the food! The oh so amazing, makes you feel like a superhuman kind of meal I have for you today! Its so full of all kinds of nutrition! The veggies are left raw, and paired with warm protein packed lentils, satisfying brown rice, and a fresh lemony almond dressing. This is some seriously good stuff, and you can trust me on that, because I am actually chowing down on the plate I photographed above for lunch. And it is tasting so delish! I hope you all enjoy!

Lemony Lentil Spinach Salad

Will serve about 6, or make for some killer good leftovers!

printable recipe

All ingredients needed for the recipe:

1 cup of dried lentils (measured uncooked)

1 cup short grain brown rice (measured uncooked)

2 large yellow onions

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

2 large tomatoes

2 red bell peppers

1 English cucumber

1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 pear, or 1 crisp apple

2 lemons

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. raw unsalted almond butter

1/4 tsp sea salt

pinch of red pepper flakes

Spinach

about 1/4 cup slivered almonds

zest of 1 lemon

Step 1: Cook the lentils. Rinse lentils, place in a pot and cover with just enough water to cover the lentils (the ratio is about 2 parts water to 1 part lentils. DO NOT SALT. Bring the lentils up to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer anywhere from 20 min. up to 45 minutes. Lentils can vary in cooking time. Depending on how soft you like them just taste along the way and it is really up to you how soft you want them to be. I like mine softer so I cook them close to 35 minutes. Once they are finished cooking, drain any extra water and season them with a little salt and pepper.

Step 2: Cook the rice. Rinse your brown rice, and cook either in a rice cooker or a pot according to directions on package. Let the rice cook at the same time the lentils are cooking.

Step 3: Caramelized onions: slice 2 large yellow onions. Place in a pan with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook on high for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and let them slow cook for another 40-45 minutes, until very sweet tasting and soft. I just made these right after I put the lentils and rice on to cook and let them cook for the same amount of time.

Step 4: Prepare the raw veggies with herbs: dice up your 2 tomatoes, 2 bell peppers, 1 English cucumber (some of the seeds scraped out), 1 pear or crisp apple, and 1/2 cup Italian parsley. Don't be afraid to throw the pear/apple in there! It adds just a slight touch of sweet to the whole dish that makes it so delicious! Mix the veggies and set aside.

Step 5: Lemony almond dressing: In a bowl, whisk together the juice of 1 1/2 lemons (save the lemons for the zest at the end of the recipe, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 c. olive oil, 2 Tbsp. raw unsalted almond butter, 1/4 tsp sea salt, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. You want this dressing to almost be to vinegary and tart on its own. because it will be much more mild when added to the rice and lentils.

Step 6: Assemble the salad: layer on a plate fresh baby spinach, a small dollop of rice and lentils, then a little drizzle of the dressing (a few tsp.). Next pile on the raw veggies, slivered almonds and some lemon zest on the top. Add another drizzle of dressing, mix up and enjoy!

Vegan Holiday Kitchen- Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Hint of Chocolate!

2011-11-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

Good Morning friends! How is everyone? How many of you feel a little anxiety when we approach the holidays? What to make? How to prep and plan a holiday menu? Great vegan dishes to serve that the crowd will love? It can be a fun challenge and I get many emails asking me for suggestions and menu ideas. So I'm here today with a review/recipe for you that I am totally excited about! First let me just say that I really don't review things on here too often. I will however happily review things that I personally love and enjoy and actually use myself. And this book is definitely one of my new favorites. I wanted to make sure I got this review up in time for the holidays because it is a must buy in my opinion! I actually rarely cook out of cookbooks (this is the inner chef in me!) and I am always brainstorming and testing my own new creations. But I have several staple books that I love and I think they are a must in any vegan (or not!) cookbook collection.

Vegan Holiday Kitchen

The book is called Vegan Holiday Kitchen written by Nava Atlas. This book is a beautiful hardbound book that is organized so well. It has tons of beautiful food photos, and the recipes all look very good! The books chapters are divided by Holidays and events to help you plan from which include...

Thanksgiving
Christmas and The Holiday Season
Jewish Holidays: Passover, Rosh Hashana, and Hanukkah
Easter
Independence Day and Summer Entertaining
Brunches, Appetizers, and Potluck Dishes

For each of these chapters are tons of menu and meal ideas. I love this idea and I think it would be such a helpful tool for so many of you! I definitely recommend this book! Of Course, I can't leave you without a recipe from the book. They have generously let me share one of the recipes with you. So naturally I chose something perfectly fitting for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. This looks so good, and I myself have added this pie to my menu for Thanksgiving. I am really excited to try it out! The recipe is the picture below of the pumpkin cheesecake in the picture collage. How good does that look? Enjoy everyone!!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Hint of Chocolate

recipe from Vegan Holiday Kitchen

makes 1 9-inch pie feeds 6-8
printable recipe

What you need:

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

1/4 cup walnuts

1 9-inch good quality natural pastry crust, vegan, and preferably whole grain

1 12.3-ounce container extra-firm silken tofu

1/2 cup vegan cream cheese

2/3 cup natural granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups of well baked, coarsely mashed sugar pumpkin or butternut squash

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or more to taste

1/2 cup chocolate chips for optional chocolate drizzle

vegan whipped cream for garnish, optional

How to make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine 1/4 cup chocolate chips and walnuts in a food processor and pulse on and off until finely chopped.

3. Scatter the chocolate chip and walnut mixture evenly over the bottom of the pie crust and then set aside.

4. Combine half the tofu, half the cream cheese, and half the sugar in a food processor and process until smoothly pureed. Pour into the pie crust and smooth down with a cake spatula.

5. Combine the pumpkin or squash pulp in the food processor with the remaining tofu, cream cheese, and sugar, along with the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Process until smoothly pureed and pour into the pie crust over the plain tofu layer and smooth down with a cake spatula.

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the mixture is set and the crust is golden brown. Let the pie cool to room temperature. Cut into 6-8 slices to serve.

7. If you would like to garnish each slice of pie with chocolate drizzle, melt the chocolate chips in a double broiler on the stove top. Transfer the melted chocolate to a pastry bag, or less fancy but almost as effective, a ziploc bag. If using the Ziploc, snip a tiny hole in one of the corners and gently squeeze the chocolate over each slice of pie in an attractive zig-zag pattern. You can also garnish with a vegan whipped cream..

Adorable childrens coloring zine for Thanksgiving!

2011-11-14T09:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy Monday! How is everyone? I just wanted to check in and tell you about a new find that I am loving! If you have children, this is perfect for them for this holiday season!
This is a Thanksgiving coloring zine written by the talented children's author Nathalie Vanbalen. She is the author of the children's book Garlic-Onion-Beet-Spinach-Mango-Carrot-Grapefruit Juice which I have reviewed in the past and love. Its an adorable book that teaches children why we eat a plant based diet, and she does so in a hilarious, laugh out loud, lighthearted manner. My kids love her first book and we read it all the time. So naturally when she contacted me saying that she had made a special coloring zine to teach children about a Turkey-less Thanksgiving, I couldn't wait to read it! The book is called

Happy Thanks Living!

This is an absolutely adorable activity to get for your veggie kids to enjoy during Thanksgiving! Love love love it! I haven't seen anything else out there like this. It is a 20 page coloring zine on all recycled paper, which makes me even more excited. I love Nathalie's style of writing, witty and catchy! Here's a few of the cute pages from the book.

Seriously, how cute is this?! This coloring zine will only be available for the rest of this week. At $5.00 a book, its a great buy and a really fun Thanksgiving activity to do with your kids!

Order your copy here at her website!

Winner of the nut milk bag giveaway!

2011-11-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! Just here this morning to post the lucky winner of my very favorite nut milk bag! The winner was chosen at random through Random.org and the winner is ...

Tricia, who wrote
"Congrats on the good news! I have tried nut milk in the past and it is so good. Would love to try with the AWESOME nut bag!! :"-) "

Congrats Tricia! I will be sending you some more info and getting in contact with you so we can get this mailed right out and you can start start making your own nut milks!

For any of you that are interested in purchasing this bag that didn't win, you can do so by clicking here....

This is by far the highest quality nut milk bag I have owned! I have had many over the years and none of the others have compared in quality, durability, etc. I highly recommend it!!!

Well, I am off to throw in some of my refried beans in the crock pot for tostadas tonight, one of my all time favorite meals! If you haven't made this one before , its so delicious, easy, and awesome for leftovers! I will attatch the link to the recipe below! Definitely give this one a try! Have a great Monday!

Tostada with Morgan's Amazing Refried Beans

click on the name for the recipe!

Creamy chai spiced pumpkin seed milk (raw) and a giveaway!

2011-11-01T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hello hello my lovely friends! I hope all of you are doing well! So I am here today as promised with an awesome giveaway, a super healthy and delicious recipe, and a little announcement! Where should I start?!

Well, first I guess I should let all of you in on the good news! No its not food related, but I thought you would enjoy the news anyways! The husband and I are very excited to be expecting baby number 4. I am just about done with the first trimester, and I'm hoping that means that this morning sickness I have had will ease up a little. I have to be honest in saying that I haven't been able to keep a whole lot down. Or cook anything too exciting for that matter. But, I am really excited to be getting my appetite back a little and I am especially excited to create some new Thanksgiving dishes this year! I love coming up with new cruelty free and healthier ideas and hopefully inspiring others to give them a try! So there you have it. This house of veggies is about to get a little crazier than it already is, but in the best way ever! This will probably be the last little bambino for us so I am going to try to really take in the pregnancy and enjoy it fully. I will keep everyone updated on any new news!

Ok, ok, now back to what you all really come here for, the food! This recipe is a creamy chai spiced pumpkin seed milk that is entirely raw, so good for you, no sugars added (only from a banana) and a delicious treat that can replace all of the sugar loaded not so good for us "festive holiday drinks". I promise you that you will love this! Even my little two year old drank a whole glass and kept saying "mmmmm, yummy". Make sure that you use the raw pumpkin seed kernels (also called Pepita's). They are little green pumpkin seeds, and really mid in flavor. And they are just packed with such good nutrition! They are one of the healthiest seeds out there!

It's giveaway time!!!

If you have never made your own nut milk before, do not be afraid! It could not get any easier! You will however, benefit greatly from a good nut milk bag. I have bought and used many over the years, and my favorite is the one made by The Health Seekers Kitchen. You might think I am biased because she is in fact my Mom, but the quality of her bags can not be matched! They are the most durable and easy to clean, and I just love them! And guess what...I have one to giveaway to one of you lucky readers! If you don't have one yet, now is the time to try and win this one! All you need to do to enter to win is leave me a comment on why you want to win the nut milk bag below. And that's it! Good luck to everyone!! Winner will be chosen Monday morning of next week!

And now its recipe time! mmmmmm mmmmmm tasty tasty!

Creamy chai spiced pumpkin seed milk

(raw)

printable recipe

What you will need:

1 cup of raw pumpkin seed kernels (also called Pepita's) Soaked in a bowl with water for a few hours

5 cups fresh water

2 tsp cinnamon

Seeds from 1 vanilla bean, or 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

fresh nutmeg (about 10 grates on a microplane)

2 packets of stevia

1 large very ripe frozen banana

To Make:

After soaking the pumpkin seeds for a few hours, drain the water off and place into a Vitamix blender or any blender that you have. Add 5 cups of fresh water, and blend for several minutes, until the seeds are blended up very well. Using a large bowl, dump the milk into a nut milk bag and strain into the bowl. Squeeze the bag gently to get all the liquid out, and the pulp will stay behind in the bag. Discard the pumpkin seed pulp, you won't need it. Rinse the blender out well, and then dump the strained milk back into the blender. Add all the rest of the spices and the banana, and blend again to combine well. Will last about a week stored in the fridge. Soooooo Yum!!!!

Morgans amazing Broccoli Cheese Soup

2011-10-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Of course, without the cheese, or the cream, or the milk. :D My version is soul satisfying, body nourishing and comfort food from my childhood at its best! It is exactly what I want when there is a chill in the air. If you call almost 70 degrees in southern California "a chill". haha But I know many of you are in full blown snow heaven right now so see...I made this recipe just for you! Get cooking, get cozy, warm your belly and watch some new good movies! Stay tuned for my next recipe! It includes an awesome giveaway, and of course something pumpkin! Watch for that, and have a wonderful wonderful soup eating weekend!!! Until next time my friends..

Morgan's Amazing Broccoli Cheese Soup

Makes a ton! About 8 servings and is awesome for leftovers!!

printable recipe

What you need:

1 batch of creamy cashew cheese (recipe below)

3-4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 onion

4 cloves garlic

4 small or 2 large celery, diced

4 small or 2 large carrots, diced

pinch of salt and pepper

3 32-ounce boxes of organic vegetable broth

about 4 heaping cups of chopped broccoli florets (3 small heads of broccoli)

1 tsp salt and a crack of pepper

1/4 tsp. ground mustard

creamy cashew cheese:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for about an hour

5 sundried tomatoes
1 cup nutritional yeast

juice of 1 small lemon

1 Tbsp. mustard

1/2 of a small jalapeno pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 cup fresh water

After you have soaked the cashews, place the nuts and all other ingredients into a Vitamix or a good blender and blend until completely smooth.

To make the soup:

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes until softened slightly. Add the celery and carrots and a pinch of salt and pepper and saute a few more minutes. Then add the vegetable broth, broccoli, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the broccoli becomes tender. While the soup is cooking make the creamy cashew cheese.

Gently blend the soup in batches in your blender or using an immersion blender, but do not over blend.. I scooped it in batches into my Vitamix blender and then just blended it for a few seconds on a very low setting. The soup should be mostly smooth but still with some very small chunks here and there and a little texture. Taste the soup at this point and then add any additional salt and pepper you need. You can serve this as is or top with store bought or freshly made croutons!

Wholesome and Healthy Spicy Lentil Chili

2011-09-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hello hello! Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the beginnings of all things Fall! This is by far my favorite time of year! I love the holidays that are spent with loved ones, I love the beautiful weather, and I love the food! Soups being at the top of that list. In this chili I use lentils, which are a powerhouse of health and nutrition. Lentils are a legume and grow similar to peas in a pod. And do you ever get this lovely question from your friends.. "Where do you get your protein?" Well us veggie eaters get our protein from many natural sources. Did you know that lentils are 26% protein?! And they are also packed with folic acid, soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, high levels of vitamins A and B vitamins, and are one of the highest sources of antioxidants found in the winter growing legumes! Some other awesome health facts of the humble little lentil are...

The type of fiber they have reduces cholesterol
Good for those with diabetes- the fiber in lentils traps carbohydrates, which slows the digestion of them, which prevents wild swings in blood sugar levels
so so good for digestion, and constipation issues, again, because of all that fiber!
Really great for weight loss! Keep you full longer and the insoluble fiber passes through you virtually intact which means low calorie but filling!
A study at the Department of Nutrition at Harvard has shown that there is a link between diets high in lentils and reduced risks of breast cancer
Linked to reduced risk of coronary heart disease

Oh Lentils, how I love you! You keep me energized and healthy! There are several different varieties of lentils. I chose for this recipe to use 2 different colors, but you can use whatever kind you get. This is a soup that will nourish you and warm your belly and soul this time of year! Enjoy friends, and now lets go make some soup!

Wholesome and Healthy Spicy Lentil Chili

Serves 6-8

printable recipe

What you will need:

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 Anaheim chili, seeded and diced (if you are sensitive to spicy food, just leave this pepper out)

1 Tbsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. blackstrap molasses

2 1/2 boxes (just estimate) of vegetable broth/stock (using the 32-ounce boxes)

1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce

a few tsp. salt (to taste)

pepper

2 cups of lentils, I used 1 cup of red lentils, and one cup of french lentils

Vegan sour cream

tortilla chips to dunk in the soup

To make the soup:

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes until softened..Add in your bell peppers and Anaheim chili with another pinch of salt and pepper and saute for a few more minutes. Add in all the spices, vegetable broth, tomato sauce, 1 Tbsp. maple syrup, 1 tsp. blackstrap molasses, a couple tsp. of salt, and lentils and stir well. Bring to a boil, and them simmer for about 35 minutes or until the lentils are soft and tender. Taste the broth after it is finished cooking and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve:

Ladle soup into bowl. Top with a dollop of vegan sour cream and chips either crumbled on top, or served on the side for dipping! YUM!

Pizza with creamy sunflower seed and cashew nut cheese, roasted peppers, olives and mixed greens

2011-09-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello my lovelies! How is everyone? Well, considering that I am in the process of moving, and I should be packing at every chance I get, I have chosen to forgo the task at hand for my one true love...cooking up some awesome vegan food! :D And I just had to share my newest recipe with you all! Think thin crust pizza/flatbread covered in an Italian herbed sunflower seed and cashew nut cheese, and topped with roasted red peppers, jalapeno stuffed olives, and a salad gently tossed in a light vinaigrette on top. perfection on my tongue! If you don't like spicy food, just use regular olives or kalamata olives if you like those. Either would be great. But if you do like jalps, definitely go with the jalapeno stuffed olives. I had the in-laws in town for a visit and all of my taste testers loved this! It was a perfect game day snack, cut up in to little rectangles. Use any extra sunflower seed cashew cheese on sandwiches! Hope you all have a great week!! Enjoy!!!

Pizza with sunflower seed and cashew nut cheese, roasted peppers, spicy olives and mixed greens

makes 2 baking sheet sized pizzas

printable recipe

Pizza Dough: (I got this pizza dough recipe from a very good friend of mine, Maria, who got it from HER sister. It is fabulous!! After Maria made me some amazing bruschetta pizza a few weeks ago, I emailed her begging for the recipe. They were so kind to give me the dough recipe!! I just swapped out the white flour for wheat but you can use white if you want. Also, I made my dough in a Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook)

*you can skip this step if you want and use a pre made pizza dough*

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 tsp. dry active yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
About 3 1/2 to 4 cups of white whole wheat flour, or regular white flour

Whisk the warm water, yeast and sugar together in a large mixing bowl or in a Kitchenaid. Let sit for about 5 minutes until it is bubbly and active. Add the salt and your first 2 cups of flour. Using the dough hook on the lowest speed or using a wooden spoon, mix the dough until combined. Then add another cup. and continue to mix After the 3rd cup has been added, add by the 1/2 cup. If you are not using a Kitchenaid, start kneading with your hand when the dough becomes to hard to stir. The dough should be wet but not overly sticky. you should be able to work with it without it sticking to things. You want to add as little flour as possible without it sticking to the surface. at this point, Divide the dough into two balls and place each in their own Ziploc bag or wrap in saran wrap and place int he fridge until ready to use. If you are only making 1 pizza you can freeze the other one and then thaw before using.

Sunflower seed and cashew nut cheese

makes about 3 cups of cheese

1 C. raw cashew pieces

1 c. raw unsalted sunflower seeds

1 clove garlic

4 sundried tomatoes

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 c. fresh Italian flat leaf parsley

2 Tbsp. mellow white miso paste

2 Tbsp. dried oregano

3 tsp. ume vinegar or red wine vinegar (try to find the Ume vinegar if you can!)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2-1 tsp. salt (add slowly to taste)

pepper to taste

Soak the cashews and sunflower seed for about 1 hour. Drain and add into a vitamix blender or a regular blender. Add all other ingredients. Begin mixing and add water slowly to help it mix. Start with 1/2 cup water and from there add more as you need to help your blender mix the ingredients well. Be careful not to add too much water and make it overly runny. You want it to stay thick and spreadable. You want this to be the consistency of a soft cheese or a hummus. Once mixed well, taste, store in a container in the fridge until ready to use.

Salad Vinaigrette:

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. Veganaise, vegan cream cheese, or about a Tbsp. of silken tofu to help make creamy)

1/2 tsp each oregano, parsley, and garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

About 1/2 cup Olive oil

In a bowl add all ingredients except Olive oil. ix, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil until creamy. Set aside until ready to use.

To make the pizzas:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Dust a baking sheet or a pizza stone with some cornmeal. on a clean surface dust a little flour and roll out your dough into either a circle (if using a pizza stone) or a rectangle (if using a baking sheet). Transfer the dough to the baking sheet and poke the top all over with a fork to puncture and prevent bubbles. Brush the top with about 1 Tbsp. of olive oil. then sprinkle with a pinch of garlic powder and dried oregano Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden and cooked through. Remove fro the oven and place the crust on a cutting board or other surface to cool very well.

For pizzas toppings:

sunflower seed cashew nut cheese

roasted red bell peppers (you can buy them jarred and ready to go)

Jalapeno stuffed olive (these can be found just at the regular grocery store usually)

Spring mix lettuce

Vinaigrette made earlier

Once cooled, spread pizza crust with about a 1/2 inch layer of the sunflower/cashew cheese. Next layer the roasted red bell peppers.

In a bowl toss about 4 large handfuls of mixed greens with just enough vinaigrette to coat well. Pile about 2 cups per pizza on the top. You can then either sprinkle the jalapeno stuffed olives all over ( I add them generously) or you can serve the olives on the side and people can add as they wish.

Enjoy!!!

Mo's Fab Fajitas

2011-08-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hello hello my friends! Hope you are all doing well! My kids started school this week (I KNOW, school started so early this year!) and I have been busy busy but we are finally starting to get back into our groove. Me and my little Ezra are home for a few hours alone now and enjoying our daily avocado lunch dates together. We love our avo's. That and fruit top my list of "summer favorite foods" and I eat them in ridiculous amounts. Good eatin' y'all!

So today I have an awesome (and easy) and perfect for summer recipe for you! it is deeeeeeeelish! I mean, I didn't call these "Mo's Fab Fajitas" for nothin' people! Give them a try and let me know if they made you do the yummy in the tummy dance after you ate them. Ha ha. OK, kidding. But seriously, this will satisfy the veggie and the non veggie people in your life. So now is the time for all of you to join me in my fajita party and get cookin'! Happy weekend to you all! New posting coming next week!!! xoxo

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Mo's Fab Fajitas

makes a lot! Feeds 6-8 people, or makes amazing leftovers all week!

printable recipe

Ingredients you need:

4 Tbsp. olive oil

2 small zucchini

2 small yellow squash

4 carrots

1 c. frozen or fresh corn (if frozen, thaw for about 30 minutes on counter)

3 portabello mushrooms

1 yellow onion

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. chili powder

2 heaping tsp. paprika

2 heaping tsp. smoked paprika

salt and pepper (to taste)

flour tortillas

avocados or guacamole

salsa or hot sauce

To Make:

Start by cutting all of your vegetables into "finger" sized sticks. For the onion, slice it in half and then slice across for very thin slices. Add some olive oil to a large skillet. add the onions, carrots, corn, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes until onions are softened. Add all other veggies and all other spices, plus another pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for about 8 more minutes until everything is cooked through well. Taste and make sure it is seasoned well.

To Serve:

Warm up your tortilla (I did mine over an open flame) and add some of the veggies into it.Top with avocado or guac, hot sauce (or salsa) and roll up and enjoy! soooooooo good! Hope you all enjoy!

Summer grapefruit salad with citrus vinaigrette

2011-07-22T09:41:00.000-07:00

Is it already Friday? Really? Where has my week gone?! Not to say I am not thrilled for the weekend1 And why? Well...I have a date night surprise for the hubby, and my all time favorite babysitter (AKA my best friend) watching our babies for the evening while we have a night out and some romance. If your house has adorable little kiddos running around all the time, you know how precious these date nights can be!!
So whats on the agenda for today? Well, we have here what I would call a perfect summer salad! Very light, very refreshing, bright citrus summery flavors, a little crunch, some creamy avocado and tart/sweet grapefruits, and fast and easy to make with no heat. Perfect summer love going on! I thoroughly enjoyed every bite, and it left me wanting more! I served this with a simple piece of toast, and it was a wonderful light lunch or snack.
As you all probably noticed, I added a new Veggie Kids recipe earlier this week, and I am going to be incorporating many more of those. Meals that my children love! I have had a ton of requests regarding kids and getting them to eat healthy, so watch for more Veggie Kids from Mrs. Little House of Veggies. :D
And now on to the deliciousness...

Summer grapefruit salad with citrus vinaigrette

feeds 4-6

printable recipe

Ingredients needed:

3 large grapefruit, peeled ad sectioned

2 tomatoes, cut into small wedges

2 avocados, sliced

Mixed organic greens, or organic spinach

1/2 cup of slivered almonds, toasted (instructions below)

Citrus Vinaigrette (recipe below)

How to toast almonds:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds out onto a baking sheet and bake for about 5-8 minutes, shaking the pan once in that time to move the almonds around. As soon as you can smell them, get them out!!1 They are done and will burn very quickly!

Summer Citrus Dressing;

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lime

juice of 1 orange

2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 Tbsp mellow white miso paste
4 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients until blended well.

Assemble your salad:
I prefer this dish plated individually. Then you can make sure each bowl gets a little bit of everything in it. Start by adding about 2 Tbsp. of the dressing into the bottom of the bowl. Add the lettuce on top, then the fruits, and a few Tbsp of almonds. Add a teeny tiny pinch of salt and pepper to the top of the salad. Toss when ready to eat, to incorporate dressing. Enjoy!

Veggie Kids: Ladybug Pizzas

2011-07-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hello fiends! How is everyone doing?! I am doing fab. We have been busy busy busy! We are looking for new housing which I have to admit is not my cup of tea. But it must be done. :D So send me some good house hunting vibes please!
One of the questions I get asked the most is what I feed my kids and also just requests in general for more "kid friendly" foods. I completely understand that kids can be picky, and hard to feed sometimes. But in all honesty my kids are pretty adventurous eaters and love a wide variety of foods. I have just pretty much fed them exactly what I am eating from day 1. So if it is a raw food dish, or salads, or sweet potato soups, sandwiches and wraps, etc. I just give it to them. Sometimes the sandwiches and wraps can be hard for them to eat so I have found that deconstructing the dish a little gets great results with the kiddos. For instance, instead of giving them a falafal pita, I will give them the falafal balls, their pita on the side cut into triangles, some sliced cucumbers, and some tomato wedges with hummus for dipping it all in. So they are eating the exact same foods as I am, just in an easier fashion. Give kids foods that they can dip and they are happy!
One of my kids favorite things to make are these ladybug pizzas. They love them! And they love making them! My daughter originally saw something similar to this in a Rachel Ray cookbook and wanted to make it. With some quick swaps and some changes, we had a healthier vegan version of the original. We always make them on Ezekiel Sprouted Grain English muffins which makes these even more nutritious. This is a great way to teach your kids how to cook and prepare their own healthy food and this one is about as easy as it can be!
Stay tuned. I am going to add more frequent veggie kid friendly meals on here. Including great ways to get your kids to eat lots of kale and lots of other good tips on helping them develop good eating habits at a young age! I have some really great ideas for you! Have a wonderful meatless Monday all!!! Give these pizzas a try with your kids and they will think you are the coolest! :D Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it, these are great for us grownups too!

Veggie Kids: Ladybug Pizzas

Serves 4-6

Printable Recipe

What You Will Need:

1 bag of Ezekiel sprouted grain English muffins (these are often in the freezer section)

2 can of Eden Foods organic Pizza/Pasta sauce (or your favorite pizza sauce)

Teese or Daiya vegan cheese (or any other kind you like). We used Teese for this recipe so that we could slice it in rounds easily

tomatoes

black olives chopped fine

Garlic powder

dried oregano

To Make:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice through each English muffin and layer each with sauce, vegan cheese (if using), tomatoes, and olives. Place on the baking sheet and sprinkle the tops with a little additional garlic powder and dried oregano. Bake for 12-17 minutes until muffin is slightly crispy and the toppings are all warmed through.

Buffalo Tempeh Salad

2011-06-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! Hope you are all having a wonderful week! I am loving the sun, summer fruits, and beach lately and that's pretty much all I want to do. Sit at the beach, eat tons and tons of fruit, and soak up some vitamin d! Does it really get any better than that?
A few upcoming things I am working on...

Stay tuned for an upcoming post geared towards children and healthy snacks!
some pre planned menu ideas for a weekly menu
and upcoming recipe for lentil tacos that is so yum! We loved it!!!

All exciting and fun things I am adding soon! Until then, you can feast your eyes and taste buds on this buffalo tempeh salad! This is spicy and fresh and a great way to introduce tempeh into your life! If serving this to young children, you can serve the baked tempeh (without the buffalo sauce) on a plate with some of my vegan ranch to dip it in along with some cut up carrots, jicama, and a little bowl of black beans. They will love it! Give it a try and tell me how you like it! have a great week!

Buffalo Tempeh Salad

Serves 4-6

Printable recipe

What you will need:

1 recipe for boiled and baked crispy tempeh (recipe below)

1 recipe for buffalo sauce (recipe below)

1 recipe for vegan ranch (recipe below)

6 cups (or large handfuls) of spinach

1/2 of a large jicama, peeled and given a small dice

2 15-ounce cans black beans (or cook your own dried beans, about 3 cups) drained and rinsed well

8-ounces of frozen corn, thawed.

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 red onion diced

1 ripe avocado, diced

Step 1: Prepare the vegan ranch

2/3 cups Veganaise (vegan mayo)

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic salt

fresh cracked pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

Whisk all ingredients will in a bowl and set aside until ready to use.

Step 2:Prepare the boiled tempeh:

1 8-ounce pkg. of tempeh

5-6 cups of water

1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce

Using a large skillet pan fill it half way up with water. Start adding enough soy sauce to make the water subtly salty, but not overly so. Just add slowly and taste the water as you go, until it is barely salty. Bring the water to a boil, and then add the tempeh. Turn the temperature down to the low and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove the tempeh fro the water and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

Step 3: Make the crispy tempeh

boiled tempeh from step 2

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup plain unseasoned breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Get a baking sheet ready. Dice the boiled tempeh into small bite sized pieces. Get 3 shallow plates or bowls out and in one add the almond milk. In another add the whole wheat flour mixed with the onion powder, chili powder, and garlic powder. And in the last bowl add the breadcrumbs. Now bread the tempeh pieces by dipping in the almond milk, then the flour, then back into the milk, and then finish by dipping into the breadcrumbs. Lay the pieces on the baking sheet for baking. Bake the tempeh for 18-20 minutes until crispy on the outside. While the tempeh is baking prepare your salad.

Step 4: Prepare the salad

In a large salad bowl combine the spinach, black beans, corn, bell pepper, red onion, and avocado.

Step 5: Making the Buffalo Tempeh

Baked crispy tempeh from step 3

1/4 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce

3 Tbsp. Earth Balance butter

1 tsp garlic powder

Melt the 3 Tbsp. of Earth Balance butter. To that add the Louisiana Hot Sauce and garlic powder.. Whisk well. Pour into a large bowl and add the tempeh. Toss to coat.

Step 6: Add buffalo tempeh to the salad

Add the tempeh to the salad and top with vegan ranch. Then take a little visit to sweet sweet salad heaven y'all. ENJOY!!!

Side Note: If serving to young children, just don't toss their tempeh in the buffalo sauce. Serve it plain with ranch for dipping and some other dipping veggies! They will love it!!

Stuffed Shells with Sun-dried Tomato Tofu Ricotta, Spinach, and Garlic and Herb Tomato Sauce

2011-06-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah! Stuffed shells baby!!

Happy Friday! I am so excited for the weekend! For starters, I am married to a sexy man and it is his birthday. So I need to bust out some of my baking skills and make him something delicious! Also going to hit up the beach which I always love! I'm also pretty excited that LA is getting a new drive thru, all vegan restaurant! Definitely going to visit them and taste test! What are your plans for the weekend?

The winner of the Bee Free Honee giveaway was chosen today at random through Random.org, and the winner is KATHY HESTER. Please contact me with your mailing information and I will mail this right out to you! You will love it!

So you are in for a treat! My stuffed shells will most definitely be a hit with your veggie and non veggie friends and family! They are so delicious, very satisfying, healthy, and for you Mom's and Dad's, they re really kid friendly! I know because not only did my kids thoroughly love making and stuffing the shells all by themselves, but they loved eating them too! It is so important to include children in the kitchen while cooking to give them skills in making and preparing healthy food! It will help them develop healthy habits and learn to enjoy preparing good meals, plus, I have found that if they help prepare the meal, they are much more likely to want to eat it and try all of the spinach and veggies they put in. For the pasta sauce, you can definitely take the shortcut route and just buy your favorite vegan store bought brand. But its pretty easy to just whip up a sauce in the blender. Either way!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Stuffed Shells

with Sun-dried Tomato Tofu Ricotta, Spinach, and Garlic and Herb Tomato Sauce

Makes about 25 Jumbo shells
printable recipe

Step 1: Sun-dried Tomato Tofu Ricotta with Spinach:
1 Pkg. Organic Extra Firm Tofu, drained and crumbled
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
3 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh basil
3 Tbsp. Italian parsley
2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ume plum vinegar, or red wine vinegar
fresh cracked pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
8 ounces organic frozen spinach, thawed. Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible.

In a large bowl, crumble the tofu up. Add all other ingredients and mix well to incorporate. Set aside.

Step 2: Garlic and Herb Tomato sauce
1 29-ounce can Organic Tomato puree (I used Muir Glen)
3/4/ cup vegetable broth (look for no salt added)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
2 tsp. ume plum vinegar or red wine vinegar
2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes (add 1/2 tsp if you like more heat)
fresh cracked pepper

In a Vitamix or regular blender add all ingredients. Blend for just a minute until incorporated and mixed well. Set aside.

Step 3: Cook the jumbo shells
Using a very large soup pot, cook the shells until they are very Al Dente. Think of it as under cooking them slightly. You don''t want the noodles to get too soft or it will be really hard to work with them and stuff them. Once they are cooked to very Al Dente, drain the noodles. Rinse briefly with cold water to prevent them from sticking together.

kids love to help stuff the shells!

Step 4: Stuff the Shells

This is the perfect task to ask your kids to help you with! My 5 and 7 year old thought it was so fun! First get a large Pyrex or any large dish that you have that is oven safe. Cover the bottom of the dish with some of the sauce to cover it completely, reserving plenty of sauce to cour over the top of the shells. Fill each shell using a spoon and place in the dish. After you have stuffed all of the shells, pour the remaining sauce all over the top. Then drizzle an extra 2-3 Tbsp. of olive oil over the top.

didn't the girls do a great job stuffing these?

Step 5: Baking the shells

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Loosely cover the shells with some foil and bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the foil completely and continue to cook an additional 20-25 minutes, until all the shells are warmed and cooked and warmed entirely.

Step 6: ENJOY

Serve the shells garnished with some extra parsley and enjoy! As you can see from this photo of my baby Ezra, this meal is very kid friendly!

My Kids loved these!

And I gotta give a shout out to my favorite little Sous Chefs!

Berry Pecan Salad with Strawberry-Lime Basil dressing

2011-06-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

How beautiful is this salad?!

OK people. I know this is totally shocking, but its the truth! I have reunited with my camera! :-) WOOHOO!! After being camera-less with a broken camera for several weeks, and after a somewhat expensive visit to the camera doctor, we are back in business! Er...that is the food blogging business. And as promised, I have two new recipes for you this week! Plus, an awesome giveaway for Bee Free Honee, an amazingly tasty honey alternative! In case you missed that post, go check it out and make sure you leave a comment so you are eligible to win! Trust me, its so good!

So summer is upon us and that means lots of fruit and veggies! One of my favorite things to do is have fresh salads with berries. But for me, a heavy dressing can distract from the delicate flavor of the berries. So my Strawberry-Lime basil dressing was born. And it is so so good! It is bursting with bright sweet and citrus flavors, with a touch of basil and creaminess from the cashews. And I just felt good after eating a big bowl of this! Its a must try! Hope you all enjoy it!

Berry Pecan Salad

with Strawberry-Lime Basil Dressing

serves 4-6

Printable Recipe

Strawberry-Lime Basil Dressing:

1 16-ounce container of strawberries

Juice of 1 lime

4 Basil leaves

3 Tbsp. raw cashews

2 Tbsp. agave nectar or sweetener of choice

tiny pinch of sea salt and black pepper

In a Vitamix, or just using a regular blender toss all ingredients in and blend until very smooth. Set aside.

For the Salad:

4-6 cups (or big handfuls) of baby spinach

1 16-ounce carton strawberries, sliced

12-ounces of blackberries (a few cups)

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Strawberry-Lime Basil Dressing

Place all salad ingredients into a bowl, and either toss with the dressing or serve on the side for drizzling.

Bee Free Honee Giveaway!

2011-06-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Bee Free Honee!

Happy Monday! I haven't been able to post up a new recipe for a few weeks due to a broken camera but it is back and this week is bringing two new recipes, plus this awesome giveaway!

This is a small company called Bee Free Honee, and it is amazing!!! It tastes so good! It is made from apples and lemons and lightly sweetened, but it is 80% apples and the apples used are top quality! The company is still small and growing, so it isn't sold many places yet, but it is available for purchase on Amazon (and a few stores in a few states). It is delicious drizzled on oats, or on a piece of toast with a little earth balance and cinnamon, or squirted on your finger and eaten right off of it! YUM! And one of you lucky readers will get to try it out for free! And trust me, you want to try this one! I am positive you will love it!!

image from here

A few facts on bees and why we should choose alternatives to honey...

Did you know that scientists are estimating that bees will be extinct in the US by the year 2035! This is a terrible thought! WHY?? because...
Worldwide there are 90 different food plants that depend almost exclusively on the honey bee
Virtually all of our non-grain food is largely dependent on honey bee pollination to a large degree

And then there is bee cruelty....

Bees travel 55,000 miles and visit roughly 2 million flowers to produce just one pound of honey, and although polen is a bees main source of nutrition, its own honey is its only source of food during cold weather months when other alternatives are not available.
To prevent Queen bees from leaving their hives, their wings are sometimes cut off
large commercial companies sometimes take all of the honey, instead of leaving enough for the bees to get through the winter. The honey is then replaced with a cheap sugar substitute (and most beekeepers remove all of the spring season honey)

Things we can do to help reduce this threat to our honey bees...

have nectar plants in your own garden so that the bees have the food that they need
Reduce (or try to completely remove) pesticides from being used in your own garden and do not buy things grown with pesticides. Choose those products grown without!
Choose not to buy honey or products containing honey. Instead, enjoy other sweeteners like agave nectar, brown rice syrup, pure maple syrup, and many others including Bee Free Honee!

And now on to the giveaway!

Win a FULL SIZED bottle of Bee Free Honee simply by....

Leaving a comment below
tweet about the giveaway
and for any extra entries you can follow my blog, facebook page, and twitter page.
make sure that you leave a seperate comment for each different entry above for more chances to win!

The winner will be chosen at random Friday morning, June 10th! GOOD LUCK!

Also, stay tuned for two new recipes this week!!!

And the winner is...

2011-05-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

The winner of the necklace giveaway was chosen today at random through Random.org, and the winner is...

Inspirehealth16

Suzanne says

"I love being vegan b/c I am doing it the right way this time. I went vegan years ago, but only replaced meat w/ meatless foods. Gained weight, didn't feel any better. This time I've done my research and I LOVE it. I feel amazing, I am fighting cancer and heart problems, helping animals, helping the enviroment and doing my part to make life better."

Way to go girl! Please contact me and we will get this necklace right out to you! For the rest of you, thank you all so much for the vegan loving comments! I really enjoyed reading all of them! If you still would like a necklace Shelly at Lavoro Jewelry has offered a 15% discount on everything she is selling exclusively to Little House of Veggies readers by simply adding in the special code VEGGIES at checkout!

So make sure you all go check out her Etsy shop LAVORO..

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY!! Sport your Vegan love with pride!

2011-05-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Meatless Monday my veggie people! I hope all of you are going to be celebrating this weeks Meatless Monday with delicious, healthy, and cruelty free meals! If you need some recipe inspiration, you have come to the right spot! :D Please excuse my lack of posting any new recpies recently. My camera has a boo boo and had to see the doctor, so hopefully it will be back in action soon. I am just not myself without my cmera. :(

In other news...check these out...

Pictures from Lavoro Designs

I have a very cool giveaway for you all. Aren't these necklaces cool?! Love them! Let me first just say that I have already ordered one of these for myself and I can not wait to wear my Vegan Love with lots of pride! My friend and fellow vegan Shelly, who runs an Etsy shop called Lavoro jewelry designs, has made these cute Vegan necklaces and is not only letting me give one of them away, but also giving anyone else who wants one a 15% discount, a special exclusive for Little House of Veggies Readers! This necklace has two separate discs. You can choose to have the necklace say Vegan and the date you went vegan, or Vegan/ Love (the one I am getting), or Raw and vegan/love. And you can coose your bead that goes with it. All you have to do to be eligible to win the necklace is...

leave a comment expressing why you love being vegaan
*like* Lavoro jewelry designs on facebook by clicking here
follow Little House of Veggies on Twitter, Faceebook and/or the blog.
tweet about this giveaway
Each entry above can be left with separate comments. And each comment makes you that much more likely to win!

That's it! The winner will be chosen at random this coming Friday morning, May 20th.
For those of you who do not win, but would like to order a necklace, you can purchase one at the Lavoro Etsy shop by going HERE and using the code VEGGIES to receive 15% off of this necklace and anything else that you see that you like!

GOOD LUCK FRIENDS and stay tuned for some awesome upcoming recipes!!

Cinco de Mayo recipe roundup

2011-05-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

What are you going to make your family in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo today? Mexican inspired food is always so good, so full of flavor, and one of my favorites! Here are my top 10 favorite Mexican inspired dishes from my blog and a few from my Mother's blog to help you choose something awesome to make for the holiday today!

Morgan's Cinco de Mayo

recipe roundup

1. VEGAN TAMALES: These vegan tamales are so amazing! A little more work than some recipes, but full of great flavor, and leftovers for the next day! And your guests will be very impressed!

2. LOADED NACHOS WITH ROASTED PEPPERS AND SMOKEY "CHEESE" SAUCE: Nachos with "the works". Chips, beans, roasted poblano peppers, corn, bell peppers, pico, cilantro, and to take it over the top, my own smoeky "cheese" sauce which is hummus based and so cheesy delicious! Need I say more? This is sure to be a crowd pleaser of veggies and non veggies!

3. BLACK BEAN TORTILLA SOUP: So delicious. An Easy and pretty budget friendly one pot meal that can be eaten as soup the first round, and then... wait for it... it morphs into ablack bean queso dip for the most delicious side dish/appetizer ever! So good!

4. BLACK BEAN TACOS WITH CORN AND AVOCADO SALSA: This is one of my very favorite recipes on the blog. Its so easy to make, so full of good flavor, and everyone I have ever served it to loves it! It was also one of the most popular recipes on the blog last year! Your really can't go wrong with this one!

5. TEMPEH AND BLACK BEAN ENCHILADAS WITH TOFU CHEESE AND RED SAUCE: You cant have a Cinco de mayo party without enchiladas on the menu! And mine are far from anything traditional. Tempeh and black bean filling, creamy tofu cheese with lots of cilantro, and smothered in red enchilada sauce! Serve with a side of brown rice!

5. CRISPY FISH TACOS WITH CABBAGE SLAW AND SPICY TOMATILLO CILANTRO SAUCE:

Inspired by "fish tacos"', these are incredibly good and very addictive!

6. GLAZED TEMPEH TACOS WITH JICAMA, MANGO AND AVOCADO SALSA, AND LIME SPIKED SOUR CREAM: These delicious tacos have really unique flavor and if you havent had jicama before, well, now is the time to try some! it is so good that most of it ends up in my mouth while cutting instead of in the mango salsa! Oh and speaking of mango and avocado salsa, you can eat this stuff with a spoon plain, its so good!

7. TACO STYLE SALAD WITH SPICY TOMATILLO CILANTRO DRESSING: I pretty much love anythign served over chips. But what really makes this meal awesome is the spicy tomatillo cilantro dressing! If you didn't notice, this uses the same dressing as the "fish" tacos. So you can make two cool meals with just one dressing.

8. CHICK"N CHILI VERDE SOUP: from The Health Seekers Kitchen. How amazing does this sound? This is one of my Mom's recipes and pretty much anything that she cooks up I love to eat! her food is so good!

9. Roasted Sweet Potato and Anaheim Pepper with chili-lime dressing: from The Health Seekers Kitchen . Another one of my Mom's amazing recipes. The ingredients in this look so interesting and so delicious! And the dressing looks awesome!

10. SPICY TWO BEAN TAMALE PIE: from The Health Seekers Kitchen . This looks hearty, healthy and like perfect comfort food!

Have a Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Israeli Couscous Salad with Spicy Toasted Chickpeas and Fresh Veggies

2011-05-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Meatless Monday to you all! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent some time over the holidays with some of my family who lives states away from me and it was so fun to see everyone! I especially loved to see all my little nieces and nephews. I know everyone says this about their own, but mine are just the cutest ever! I always miss them, but I see them every few months so its not too bad.

Ok, onto this delicious salad. I made it with Israeli couscous, which is a toasted pasta shaped like little tiny balls. It is much larger than the couscous that you are used to. The flavor is delicious, and fun for children to eat, and it has a great presentation if you are making this to take to a gathering. With the addition of spicy toasted chickpeas for a punch of complete protein,and lots of fresh raw vegetables, it makes the perfect, light yet filling meal. And it is great eaten chilled, so its also perfect for packing in lunches for yourself or your kids. If you can not find Israeli couscous, you can make this using regular couscous or whole grain pasta noodles that are smaller shaped (like elbow macaroni noodles) and get great results.

Hope you all enjoy this as much as we did, and if you didn't know what to make your family for meatless Monday, well, now you know. :) And stay tuned. More coming to you this week from my kitchen!

Israeli Couscous Salad

with Spicy toasted chickpeas and fresh veggies

Serves 4-6

printable recipe

What you need:

2 C. uncooked Israeli Couscous

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

pinch of sea salt

Cook couscous according to package directions. Fluff, and then add...

1/2 c. green olives, sliced in half

1/2 c. black olives, sliced in half

1 cucumber, seeded and diced

1/2 avocado, diced

juice of 2 lemons

2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. of Ume plum vinegar or red wine vinegar

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1 recipe for toasted chickpeas (recipe below)

Spicy Toasted Chickpeas:

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed well, and blotted with a towel to get extra moisture off.

1 Tbsp. olive oil

good pinch each of salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the chickpeas and salt, pepper, and a good pinch of cayenne pepper. Toss and cook for 3 or 4 minutes, then remove from the heat and let cool for 5 min. Fold into the salad.