Published on
May 24, 2010 in
Entrees, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: easy vegetarian dinners, easy vegetarian entrees, easy vegetarian main dishes, lentil recipes, vegan entrees, vegan sloppy joes, vegetarian sloppy joes.
For Meatless Monday, I decided to attempt a re-do of an American classic recipe – Sloppy Joes. I tried a version with a variety of beans, but the beans turned out too starchy for this – not at all resembling ground meat. So then I thought of lentils. These little high-protein gems are packed with nutrients and they are so much easier and handier than using dried beans – no pre-soaking required! Turns out they are similar to the texture I was looking for to replace ground meat.
I used the ingredients I would have used 25 years ago to make Sloppy Joes for one of my kid-friendly desperation dinners – onions, peppers, tomato paste, brown sugar, spices and just a touch of mustard. Takes me back to the big-hair and florescent-fashion 80′s.
Sometimes a vegetarian re-do of a recipe is a distant second to the original in taste. Not so here. I was shocked to find out that this is a BETTER dish than if I had used hamburger. Seriously – much better. Bye, bye ground beef - Hello lentils!
Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: An American Classic Goes Healthy – Lentil Sloppy Joes’
Boy, do we have a treat for you today. I (Anne) am currently in town visiting Donna, and as is our habit, we’re cooking up a storm. Sunday dinners are always some of the best blowouts, and given that today was also Valentine’s Day, with a good crowd coming over to boot, we wanted to go all out. We were already planning on Donna’s My Heart Beets For You salad, plus the glorious Julia Child chocolate almond masterpiece for dessert, but what to do for an entree? Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: Paella Primavera’
Published on
February 8, 2010 in
Appetizers, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: asian lettuce wraps, asian tofu recipes, lettuce wraps, low glycemic recipe, tofu, tofu recipes, vegan entrees, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees, vegetarian lettuce wraps.
Ever since discovering the Asian Lettuce Cups made with ground turkey on Kalyn’s Kitchen for my Phase One Bonanza, this has become one of my favorite recipes. Seriously, I’ve probably had this 6 times in the last month, and will probably continue to do so forever, at least once a week or so. It’s that good.
But I do try to avoid meat as much as I can (and have been contemplating returning to being a full-time vegetarian). I had to eliminate soy from my diet due to some sensitivities in my breastfeeding daughter (along with gluten, eggs and peanuts), so my protein substitute choices were limited. We recently got re-tested and found that she is fine with soy now! So I’ve been making up for lost time, and thought this was one recipe that might also be equally tasty in vegan form. I tried it out last night – success! And perfect for Meatless Monday. Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: Asian Tofu Lettuce Wraps’
Published on
January 25, 2010 in
Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: Gluten Free, gluten-free stew, hominy, Meatless Mondays, Mexican stew, Mexican vegetarian entrees, posole, pozole, vegan entrees, Vegan Mexican entrees, Vegan Mexican stew, vegan posole, Vegan Recipes, Vegan stew, vegetarian posole.
Yes, I know, posole is most commonly enjoyed with pork. And Donna had already brought it down a notch in the food chain with her Weeknight Chicken Posole. But consider this: The original posole was determined to have been made with human flesh. Continue reading ‘Meatless Monday: Vegan Posole’
Published on
December 30, 2009 in
Entrees, Gluten Free, Healthy Fare, Vegan Recipes and Vegetarian Entrees.
Tags: curry, curry recipes, lentil recipes, lentils, red lentils, vegan entrees, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Entrees, vegetarian recipes.
Whenever I haven’t had the chance to shop in weeks, am running low on produce, and need something hearty yet nutritious and suitable for everyone in the family, this is one of my most beloved go-to items. Lentils are full of iron and fiber and protein, this is flavorful and spicy and rich (the heat can easily be adjusted for your own preferences; my 20 month old likes it spicier than her daddy does, in fact). The only fresh items you need are onions, garlic and ideally ginger – but the ginger can be frozen or, in a pinch, powdered. You could also use garlic powder if you were really low, so the only absolute must is an onion! Continue reading ‘Red Lentil Curry – a Pantry Go-To Fave’
