Protein Power Burrito

I have been walking daily and becoming more interested in my physical fitness. This is my high protein creation to help me build a little muscle and nourish my body. The "meat" is so healthy. It's full of tempeh, seeds and lots of flavor. After all, if it doesn't taste good, you are not going to eat it, right? 

Recipe:

high protein "meat" :

1 (8oz.) Package tempeh, crumbled

1 Tbsp. Chia seeds

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

1 Tbsp. Ground flax seed

1 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Smokey paprika

1/2 tsp. Garlic powder

1/2 tsp. Onion powder

1/2 tsp. Chili powder (optional)

1 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast

1 tsp. Salt

Pepper to taste

2/3 cup veggie broth

Burrito filling:

1 cup nopalitas

1 medium onion, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

1 cup corn

1 (15 oz.) Can black beans, rinsed & drained

1 (15 oz.) Can pinto beans, rinsed & drained

6-8 flour tortillas

Salsa to top (optional)

Combine all "meat" ingredients, except broth, in a food processor.

Pulse on high until a "meaty" texture is reached.

Pour "meat" into a frying pan. Add broth.

Cook on medium high heat for about 10 mintues, until liquid is absorded.

Set "meat" aside.

Cook onions, peppers, nopalitas, & corn over medium high heat until tender. 

Add beans to your pan and heat throughly.

Layer "meat" and veggies into your torillas and roll tightly.

Top with salsa and serve.

Makes 6-8 servings.

BBQ Tempeh & SouthWestern Cauliflower "Rice"

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This recipe is fun to get the kids involved in cooking. My kids enjoyed pushing the pulse button on my food processor and watching the cauliflower become "rice". They liked dipping the tempeh in BBQ sauce because it was messy. They liked helping me mix everything together and layering up their plated full of food they created. It was a very quite dinner table tonight, which is rare. My kids cleaned their plates and didn't even stop to speak! My husband was in a "food trance" too, completely quite. ( Which is weird because he usually eats the tempeh, but he doesn't like it). After we were finished eating, everyone asked me to please make this again and post it on the blog! so, here it is, for you all to enjoy in silence! 

Looking for more great Vegan recipes for your family?  Try my Cheezy Butternut Macaroni , Cabbage and Bean Soup, Kale Stuffed Eggplant Parm, "Beefless" Hand Pies, & Mediterranean Hummus Pizza *don't for get desert!! Try Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Recipe :

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets 
2 Tbsp vegan butter (or veggie broth if you don't use oils)

1 /2 tsp turmeric (optional, but it makes your "rice" a beautiful yellow color & adds nutrition )
1/2 tsp of paprika 
1/2 tsp. Cumin 
1 (15 oz )can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup of corn 
1 fresh jalapeno, diced (optional )
1 medium onion, diced 

1 mediumred pepper, diced
1 bunch of kale, steamed & chopped  (or spinach )

Salt and Pepper to taste
2 (8 oz) packs of tempeh, sliced into 1/4" pieces 
BBQ sauce of your choice 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Grease a large baking sheet  

Dip tempeh in BBQ sauce and place on baking sheet. 

Bake 10 - 12 minutes.

Place cauliflower into a food processor. Pulse until cauliflower is rice consistency. 

Cook cauliflower in a deep skillet over medium heat with butter, turmeric, paprika, cumin ,salt and pepper for about 6 minutes (until tender ).

Pour hot rice into a mixing bowl.

You can use the same pan you used for the rice to char your veggies. Just turn your heat to high.

Add jalapeño, red pepper, onion, and corn to your pan. Cook about 4 minutes, until charred slightly.

Add hot veggie mixture and black beans to the mixing bowl with the "rice".  Stir to mix well.

Remove browned tempeh from oven.

Layer tempeh on top of cauliflower "rice" before serving. Top with extra BBQ sauce if needed.

Serves 4-6.

Lemon Garlic Pasta with Tempeh & Broccoli

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This recipe is full of good "cold fighting" ingredients, which happen to be some of my favorite ingredients too ( fresh lemons, turmeric, garlic and parsley). In our house, lemon juice go with everything- salad, steamed veggies, rice, pasta, chick'n, fishless filets, potatoes, water, tea. We keep a bowl of them in the kitchen like most people keep fruit. We also keep enough garlic to kill an army of vampires...maybe this is why we are never sick. 

My children and husband all cleaned their plates tonight with this simple dish. It starts with infusing the lemon zest and garlic into the oil. Once you flavor the oil, it becomes an amazing "sauce" to toss with your spaghetti. We used Tempeh, but if you are not a fan of it, you can leave it out, or substitute extra broccoli. This is a simple meal, but one that's perfect for a busy family with different schedules and tastes (like ours) because it can be reheated easily and served later. Hope you enjoy this easy meal with your busy family and make sure to leave me comments if you try my recipes, I LOVE feedback!

Looking for more great Vegan pasta dishes? Try myVegan "Meaty" Spaghetti, Kale Stuffed Eggplant Parm, Cheezy Butternut Macaroni, BBQ Tempeh with Cauliflower "Rice", &

Recipe:

3/4 cup of olive oil 
Zest of 2 medium lemons
6 cloves of garlic, freshly pressed
Juice of 4 medium lemons
2 (8 oz.) packages tempeh, cubed
12 oz. Frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped fine
Salt & lemon Pepper to taste
1 box pasta ( I used fettuccine)

1 Tbsp. turmeric

Brown tempeh with a little oil over medium high heat.

Add salt & lemon pepper to taste and set aside.

Boil pasta in salted water with turmeric, cooking according to package. Drain well. The turmeric will turn your pasta a beautiful bright yellow color once cooked.

In a sauce pan over medium low heat, simmer oil with lemon zest, garlic, and lemon juice. Sauce is ready once the garlic becomes fragrant. This only takes a few minutes. Do not overcook your garlic, or it will be bitter.

Add tempeh, parsley, broccoli, and lemon sauce to pasta.

Toss well.

Serve with lemon slices.

Makes 5 servings.

Buffalo Tempeh over Cheeze Grits

Living in the South, I knew replacing my favorite "soul foods" would be a priority in my transitioning from Vegetarian to Vegan. You can't expect a Southern girl to give up her biscuits and cheese grits! I had to figure out a way to enjoy my Southern classics Vegan style.

One meal my husband used to adore was "Shrimp and Grits". This is a southern classic with fried,  spicy shrimp served over cheesy grits with sausage. Southerners are very picky about this dish. it ranks up there with a proper sweet tea, biscuit and mac -n- cheese. This is, obviously, not Shrimp and grits. I could have bought vegan shrimp, but my husband would have (at this point, anyways) totally rejected the idea of vegan shrimp. I would never get him to try something so similar to the dish he loves using a "fake" protein. I had to take that inspiration and make a new Vegan classic dish up for my family.

First, I had this meal for brunch and I smiled all day long. This is "Vegan Soul Food!" It made me warm, sleepy and happy...all the things a good Southern meal will do to you afterwards. I just made the Biscuits to show off my Southern Girl skills. I knew we needed them if I was going to make a real southern meal! The only thing missing from this meal was my Banana Pudding Pie , Vegan fried Green Tomatoes , NC Style Pulled Jackfruit Sandwhiches , Vegan Chick'n (jackfruit) Casserole and a big glass of overly sweet iced tea in a mason jar. Hope you get the feeling of the south with this meal.

Crispy Buffalo Tempeh over Vegan Cheese Grits:

1 package of Tempeh, sliced into 1/4" strips

Olive oil 

Buffalo sauce of your choice

2 cups of freshly cooked Grits (cooked according to package)

2 Tbsp Earth Balance Vegan butter

1/4 cup Vegan cheddar style shreds

1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast Flakes

1 tsp Chia Seeds

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tempeh strips and cook until golden brown on both sides. Place strips on a paper towel to drain any extra oil. 

Add butter, cheese, nutritional yeast and chia seeds to your freshly cooked grits and stir to incorporate. ( You can add more butter and cheese to taste)

Toss tempeh in buffalo sauce to coat. Place tempeh on top of grits and serve.

Vegan "Cheddar Bay Biscuits"     

2 1/4 cups Bisquick ( Yes it's Vegan!!)

2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup Vegan cheddar style shreds 

Earth Balance Vegan butter

Preheat oven to 450.

Stir Bisquick, milk, garlic powder, and cheese together until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 10 times.

Roll dough out 1/2" thick and cut with 2 1/2" cutter ( should make about 8 biscuits)

Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake 8- 10 mins, until golden brown.

Brush tops of biscuits with butter and serve.

I will probably add a little crumbled vegan sausage to my grits next time I try it, just for that "shrimp and grits" feel, but this definitely made my day. A southern Style classic made in under 30 mins and good enough for any Southern table. Let me know how you like the recipe.