Raw Vegan Sloppy Joes

Haven't blogged in a very long time... I've been busy eating the same food over and over- spicy quinoa salad and sandwiches. Nothing worth blogging about. Now that I have a set schedule with classes starting (blah) I'll be posting more recipes.

I found this recipe on a bog called The Fitnessista (one of my favorites) and thought I'd give it a try. I went into this dish expecting it to taste similar to a sloppy joe. Seeing as all the ingredients are raw and there is no meat used.. I'm not exactly sure why I thought this. With a little tweaking, I still thought it tasted really good but it was just not what I expected! I would definitely make it again. With a tangy flavor, it's extremely healthy and surprisingly filling. It tastes even better the second day!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soaked raw walnuts 
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 sweet onion, roughly chopped
1/4 red onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
6 sun-dried tomatoes
3 garlic clove 2 portobello mushroom cap, washed and diced (medium)
1/4 cup ketchup
raw apple cider vinegar, GF soy sauce, cayenne pepper, chili powder, oregano, rosemary, sea salt and pepper

Directions:
Add all of the veggies, except for the portobello mushroom pieces into the food processor and process until well chopped and combined. Then put the veggies into a large bowl and stir in the portobello mushroom pieces. Season with a splash each of soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and ketchup. Add dried oregano, rosemary, sea salt, pepper and a little cayenne and chili powder to taste. (start out with less, you can always add more) Season to taste.

Serve on a GF hamburger bun or lettuce wrap. The second night I toasted a piece of GF millet bread, spread a little but of ketchup on it, heated up the sloppy joe mix, and topped it with melted cheddar cheese. SO good! (although the cheese keeps it from being vegan)

Spicy Quinoa Salad

My new obsession: Quinoa. I love love love this recipe. I created it with the intentions of having it for lunch for the whole week. I already know this will be my go-to dish during the school year when I get crazy busy.

Ingredients:
1 cup GF quinoa
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1tbsn olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
2 ears corn
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp chipotle chilli powder
1/2 tsp red pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
1 can Muir Glen crushed tomatoes, drained
1 15 oz can seasoned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
1 lime
agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste
avocado for garnish

Directions:
Cook quinoa in chicken broth and water, according to package directions.

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion until soft then add corn and garlic and saute until corn is cooked. Add in spices and cook for another 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and black beans and cook until everything is heated threw.

Transfer quinoa to a large bowl then add corn and black bean mixture and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with agave nectar. (use more if you want to cut back the spice, less if you like it spicy) Drizzle with lime juice and toss together. Serve with fresh avocado.

Open-face Hummus Sandwich

I've been eating salads almost every day for lunch and now I'm extremely tired of them. They just don't taste good to me anymore. I'm trying to come up with more simple ways to create a filling lunch. I usually pair my salad with crackers and hummus to make it more substantial, but whenever I add bread to the mix I always feel a lot more full and like I don't need to add a bunch of sides. Maybe just a piece of fruit.

My go to lunch the past week has been peanut butter and banana on toasted, GF cinnamon raisin bread. (this is the only bread that I can eat by itself and think it actually tastes good) I ran out of it the other day. Devastating. I could have easily gone to the grocery store but I am lazy. So I got creative.

Ingredients:
2 slices toasted GF bread (I used Udi's whole wheat)
GF roasted red pepper hummus
frozen spinach, cooked according to package
garlic salt
handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Directions:
Add desired amount of hummus to bread then add spinach and sprinkle with just a touch of garlic salt. Tip with cherry tomatoes.

I know I've said before that I am not a fan of GF bread. However, toasting the bread and adding hummus add a ton of flavor. Tasty, filling, and healthy. Enjoy!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

This is the first time I've ever made stuffed peppers. I read several different recipes and ultimately decided to just make up my own. They turned out to be delicious! I opted to make a healthier version. Instead of ground beef, I used ground turkey, and instead of white rice I used quinoa. Now I'll admit that I've had a package of quinoa laying in my pantry for over a month now. I've never used this type of grain and I was kind of afraid of what it would taste like. It turned out to be great! I like it more than rice and it's also a lot healthier for you.  It's considered one of the most nutritious grains and contains a lot of protein. This recipe was easy to make although it took some time to put together. I ended up having a ton of leftover "filling." In this recipe, I only used two peppers but you would probably have enough of the quinoa mixture for 5, maybe more. This recipe feeds a lot of people and is affordable. The leftover quinoa mixture tastes great on its own. Add some fresh avocado and serve as a salad. Throw it in an omelet and you have yourself a Mexican style breakfast! Serve it with some salsa and I'm sure it would taste great.

 Ingredients

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

3/4 lb ground turkey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/4 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder

2 cups frozen spinach

2 stalks carrot, grated

1 cup quinoa

1cup water

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz can Muir Glen diced tomatoes, drained

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Pepper jack cheese, grated

4 cups of water, boiled

2 peppers, cut lengthwise and deseeded

Directions:

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Brown turkey meat, set aside.

Cook quinoa in water and chicken broth. Bring to boil then let simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

Boil frozen spinach until cooked. (about 3 minutes)

Add oil to skillet over medium heat and saute onion and celery until soft. Add spices and garlic. Saute for another minute.  Add tomato and spinach and saute for 5 minutes. Add carrots and black beans and cook for another minute then add turkey and stir. Transfer to large bowl then add quinoa, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

Bring 4 cups water to a boil.

Place peppers in large baking dish and fill each with mixture. Put as much as you can in them. Top with 1 tbsp of pepper jack cheese.

Pour boiling water into baking dish so it’s about one inch up peppers. Cover, and place in oven for 30-40 minutes or until peppers are fork tender.

Enjoy!