Cinco de Mayo recipes and Free Food for Life Classes

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Hearty Vegan Lentil Stew

I am a soup and stew kinda girl! For me, it's not just for those cold dreary days. I enjoy it for breakfast, lunch and dinner even during the heat of our wonderful Texas Summer! Soup is my comfort food, and it is a great way to pack lots of nutrients in one bowl!

Lately I have been on a lentil kick. I love how versatile they are and they are so good for you! I use them as a meat replacer all the time! All things lentil blog post coming soon!

For this Hearty Lentil Stew I used green lentils. You can find the green ones at your local grocery store. If you have a different color, you can use them. Red lentils have a much shorter cook time and can become mushy in soup and will change the texture of this stew.

 

 

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 medium carrots, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

4-6 potatoes, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

16 ounces lentils, rinsed

1 large can of diced tomatoes, drained

8 cups water

4 vegan beef flavored bouillon cubes 

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp each sea salt and black pepper

garlic powder, onion powder

 

 

 

Add the garlic, onion, celery and carrots to large soup pot, add about 1/4 cup of water to sauté the veggies. You do not need any oil to, just keep adding small amounts of water to continue to sauté. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Add the potatoes, lentils, tomatoes, water and bouillon cubes and seasonings.

Bring to a boil, then turn on low and simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring often. At this point the veggies and lentils should be soft, the longer you let it simmer the more flavor it will have.

Taste the stew and add more seasonings to taste. I like to add a splash of worcestershire sauce(Kroger brand is vegan)

This stew reminds me of "Beef" stew with its hearty flavors! When you reheat it, you might need to add water since the lentils and potatoes will absorb the liquid.

 

I hope you enjoy this yummy vegan stew!

 

 

 

 



Our Visit to the Farmers Market

 We decided to brave the Texas heat and venture out the the White Rock Local Market. This was our first time to attend and it was great. There were so many great things to see, that we had to walk around a few times to soak it all in. I was so caught up in enjoying myself, that I forgot to take lots of photos to share.

There were local farmers with beautiful organic produce, a lady that was selling fresh picked mushrooms ( I got two giant portobella caps for a new raw recipe I am making), Texas Olive Oil, dog treats, lavender soaps and so much more. You can check out the full list of vendors that they have here. We learned today that the "everything" market as they called it, is on the 1st and 2nd Saturday of the month. The other times it is just local farmers selling their produce, which is still awesome!

It was hard not to buy something from every booth, but I was trying to stay on budget! Here is what we did buy:

• Lovely Portobellos from a very nice mushroom grower. It was my first purchase and I didn't see the name of her farm and I forgot to ask.
• Yellow squash from Demase Farm  that I am going to sprialize and make raw spaghetti for a client.
• A basket of yellow and red onions from a local organic farm. I didn't get the name of this farm either because I was so busy chatting with the lady that runs Dallas Frugal Foodie, (she helps them with their booth sometimes) We chat on facebook often, but I had never met her! 
• Two jars of jam from In a Pickle Foods. They use only fresh local fruit, no high fructose corn syrup or pectin. It is so yummy you could eat it out of the jar. We bought peach and apple. I think I am going to make mini peach tarts.
• A jar of Green Salsa from Cita's Salsa. It is a small family owned business, and all of their salsa was delicious and so fresh.  When she offered me a sample I told her " I will try it, but we make our own salsa". I could justify my purchase since I only make red salsa :) I would highly recommend purchasing from her.  They offer a Frequent Fire Card to encourage you to recycle the jars. For every empty jar you return, they punch your card, after 7 you get a free jar!
• We needed something to cool off our mouth after we had Cita's habanero salsa so we enjoyed all natural Popsicles from Pop Star . I had a coconut lime and hubby had cantaloupe. It was just what we needed.
• I am saving the best for last! You know I LOVE to cook and I was so thrilled to meet Chef Milton. He makes the most amazing gourmet salts! I added these to my large collection of spices: Smoked Atlantic Sea Salt and Pepper, Atlantic Sea Salt with Lavender, Chef Miltons all Natural Rub and of course my favorite Smoked Atlantic Sea Salt with Hatch Chili Pepper! It was really great to talk to him and share ideas. I am looking forward to adding these to my recipes.

We have an organic garden in our backyard and I know how much work goes into growing food.  I have so much respect for these farmers that brave the heat to bring fresh local produce to the community! So instead of buying your produce at the grocery store, visit a farmers market and meet the people growing the food. There is nothing better than eating veggies that have just been picked!

As an unexpected added bonus, we stopped at Natural Grocers on our way home! This was my first time and I was very impressed with the selection and prices. I wish there was one closer to my house, but we plan on making this a monthly event!

Food for Life now offers an Employee Wellness Program

Last year I had the honor of being selected to become a Certified Food For Life Instructor for PCRM. I was so thrilled to be a part of this great organization. When I first started on a plant based diet, I attended a FFL Cooking Class, taught by Katherine Lawrence. I had been eating a vegan diet to help with the symptoms of Crohns disease for a few years.  During that first class I knew that someday I wanted to be able to share my journey with others and help educate them about the benefits of a plant based diet. I later had the opportunity to volunteer behind the scenes of several of Katherine's classes and over the years we have become great friends!

Shortly after becoming certified as an instructor, I began having complications with my Sarcoidois. The disease had spread into my lungs making it very challenging to teach classes. It has taken some time to reduce the inflammation, but I am happy to report that my lungs are clear and life is good!
 I am so thrilled that PCRM has developed the Employee Wellness Program. When I worked for the City of Bedford I was on the Wellness Committee and would have loved to had this program to offer to the city employees. In fact that will be one of the places I approach about offering this!

Information about the program:

Did you know that people with chronic health issues miss an average of 42 days of work a year. Making the right food choices is key to the prevention and survival of chronic diseases and health conditions, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

By offering PCRM's Food for Life: Employee Wellness Program, employers can lead the way to facilitating an office culture of health and wellness that employees can carry into their lives at home.


The program will provide you with the following:

• Plant based nutrition education and cooking classes that include cooking demonstrations, samples of delicious dishes, and supportive group discussion 
• Support for the companies management on incorporating affordable healthful choices in the food services
• Resources on assessing the bio-metrics of program participants

This can be offered during a 1 hour lunch and learn session over a series of 9 weeks, or can be customized to fit your needs.

 Please contact me at regina@passionatevegan.com if you would like more information about bringing this program to your workplace.

New vegan Meatless Products at Kroger

With all of the cooking that I do, I am at the grocery store at least 5 times a week. As much as I love Whole Foods, sometimes I just can't make it there. I am so lucky to have an amazing Kroger near my house that carries so many organic and vegan selections!

For those of you that don't shop at Kroger, they have come out with a line of products called Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organic . They are high quality and taste great! You can get organic canned beans, tomato sauce, corn, cereal, peanut butter and so much more, and they are priced very good!

Recently I discovered that they are carrying several Meatless Faux Meat options!

We don't eat these types of products very often since we try and stick to a more whole foods plant based way of eating, but I wanted to share this! These products can be a great transition food for people that are just starting a plant based diet. So many of the frozen faux meats have egg whites in them, so I carefully read the label and discovered that these are VEGAN!!! I am not sure why they didn't put vegan on the package, but from reading the ingredients, I don't see anything that is not vegan.

Meatless Patties

I purchased the Meatless Crispy Tenders since my teenage daughter loves the meatless chicken nuggets.

I cooked a few in the toaster oven to see how they taste, and I must say that they are the BEST I have ever eaten. They got crispy on the outside and the texture was very good. Sometimes these kinds of products can be very rubbery, but these are not that way. Honestly if you didn't know any better, you would think you were eating a chicken strip! I have not tried any of the others, but if they are anything like these, I am sure they are delicious.


I hope that people support them in their efforts to provide meatless and organic products so they will continue to carry them. I still love my Whole Foods and will continue to shop there, but it is so nice to be able to get great items at your local grocery store!

Opportunity to share in the bounty of our Organic Garden

Today has been a very busy day of planning this years organic garden. Not only are we doubling the size from last year, but we are also planting a separate garden just for the watermelon and cantaloupe. We had so much watermelon last year, that it even traveled into the neighbors yard. I made watermelon popsicles, ice cream, salsa and we gave everyone that came to our house one!

After our field trip to Marshall Grain, we realized that bigger also means more money!! Last year we spent about $50.00 on plants and seeds, and with all of the improvements as well as the size we are looking at between $200-$300 dollars.

The Texas heat is brutal, so we are putting up a cover so that the plants will get the morning and early afternoon sun, but won't be baking in the hot afternoons.  A small fence will be put around it so the dogs aren't able to get in the garden and help themselves to the veggies! And we are adding a small compost area.

We will be following the Dirt Doctor's guidelines for soil preparation as well as the monthly maintenance he recommends. Last year we just tilled the space, planted, weeded and watered and prayed that it will all work out. The garden was very bountiful, but with the knowledge we have gained over the fall researching and reading everything our good friend Lisa posts, we now know how to make it even better!

My husband is working on the spreadsheet right now for the 800 square foot space we are creating, and he just informed me that there is room for 60 plants!!!

The plants need to get into the ground very soon based on the planting calendar. We will be tilling and preparing the soil this week and hope to start planting next week.


Last year we had so much produce that even after using it for my clients in my personal chef business, we ended up giving it away!!  To help offset the cost, I am creating a shared garden plan that would be available for 6 local people.

Here is how it would work:

• One time love offering of $55.00
• We do all of the work :)
• Each time we pick veggies it would be split into 6 shares
• I will email you and you can pick it up

Since we are just the home gardeners, it would not be like a food co op with pre set pick up dates. We would be relying on Mother Nature to determine when and how much!!

Here is a list of what we are planting (as of now)

• Tomatoes (cherry, roma and pear)
• Bell Peppers
• Jalapenos
• Banana Peppers
• Squash
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Broccoli
• Brussels Sprouts
• Radishes
• Watermelon
• Cantaloupe
• Pumpkin
• Snap Peas, Pole Peas

Last years bounty.....The giant veggie on the right is a zucchini!

I would love to have you share in this journey of home grown organic food with us. I will also provide recipes for the veggies that are in season! If you are interested, send me an email to regina@passionatevegan.com and I can send you a pay pal link! 

Just a days worth of picking

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

First, I must start by saying that I never knew that it would be so challenging to do a blog post everyday!   I signed up in October to be a part of the Vegan Month of Food with such good intentions. I was on a roll for a few days, and then I started getting very busy. So I am going to try to at least post a favorite recipe or something related to my plant powered life at least once a week, ok maybe once a month.  Don't hold me to it, but I will try.

Ok, so back to the Green Bean Casserole.  This has always been my daughter’s favorite Thanksgiving recipe. I even bought her a casserole pan with the recipe printed on the bottom! It was so simple she could just throw it all together and put it in the oven.

I realized that we have not made it since I became a vegan over 5 years ago. Sure, she has eaten it at other places, but I never thought to try and veganize it, strange since that is what I do for a living!

I have a client that requested it for Thanksgiving, so I got busy searching the web for ideas! I usually look at a recipe and say" that is a good idea, but I would do...".  While searching the internet, it looked like they all used soy milk to make the cream sauce. I love soy milk, just not to cook with. I think it leaves a very distinctive soy flavor.  I decided that vegan sour cream mixed with faux chicken broth would be a good start. After combing some nutritional yeast and worcestershire sauce (vegan of course), I think I have it pretty close. Actually better!

Green Bean Casserole

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Green Beans- You can use fresh. 1 1/2 pounds. Just trim and cut into bite size pieces and cook. I used a big 50 oz can just to make it easier

Sauce
1 8 oz tub of vegan sour cream. I used the tofutti brand.
10 oz baby bella mushrooms
3 cloves of garlic
1 TBS Earth Balance Butter
1 TBS Vegan Worchestershire sauce (krogers store brand is vegan)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 TBS flour. I used rice flour to make it gluten free
1/2 cube of vegan chicken bullion cube
salt, pepper, onion salt


Topping
3 oz can french fried onions

1. Pre heat oven to 425
2.  Clean the mushrooms and chop them very small or put them in the food processor for a rough chop. 
3. Place the vegan butter, mushrooms and garlic in large skillet. Cook on medium until mushrooms are soft. Stir in the worchestershsire sauce
4. In two seperate bowls, add 1 cup hot water to each. In one bowl, place the un chicken bullion cube and whisk until disolved. In the second bowl, add in 3/4 of the container of sour cream and whisk until it is the consistency of milk. Add the flour and nutritional yeast to the sour cream mixture and whisk together.
5. Add the broth and sour cream mixture to the mushrooms and cook for 5 mins until thickened  stirring constantly.
6. Add green beans and stir to coat. Add salt, pepper and onion salt to taste. 
7. Pour into a 9x13 casserole pan. Pour french fried onions on the top.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes.