Category: Vegan

Donna's Vegan Tomato Soup

1/27/2015

This is a healthy vegan alternative to traditional Tomato Soup, it is easily made gluten-free and it is sweetened with coconut milk rather than sugar.

Donna’s Vegan Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
·         2 cups vegetable broth

·         2-3 large tomatoes, diced to yield about 3 cups

·         Dash of herbs and seasonings of your choice – I use thyme, basil or dill

·         2 TBS olive oil

·         2 TBS all-purpose flour[1]

·         1 cup coconut milk

Directions:
1.       Put tomatoes including their juice, broth and herbs in a pot, bring to boil

2.       Lower heat and Simmer for at least 30 minutes

3.       Use a hand blender or food processor to puree tomatoes (Optional per your preferences)

4.       In a separate pot, combine oil and flour to make a roux

5.       Slowly add coconut milk and stir until smooth

6.       Stir for about 5 minutes until thick

7.       Combine tomato mixture and coconut milk mixture into one pot

8.       Simmer on low for about an hour

[1] Sweet rice flour is a gluten free alternative

Simple Baked Eggplant

1/12/2015

This recipe works as a side, vegetable or even entree for your meal. It is very simple with only three ingredients, but delicious.

Simple Baked Eggplant

Ingredients:
·         1 Eggplant, peeled (if not fresh) and sliced to ½ inch thickness

·         ¼ cup mayonnaise or salad dressing (use olive oil and make it Vegan)

·         ½ cup breadcrumbs

·         Salt/pepper

Directions:
1.       Preheat Oven to 350ºF

2.       Brush eggplant slices (both sides) with mayonnaise

3.       Coat with breadcrumbs

4.       Place on prepared baking sheet

5.       Bake for 45 minutes, turning halfway through

Lani's Sweet Carrots

12/23/2014

Lani’s Sweet Carrots are the perfect vegetable for dinner. They are amazingly easy and delectably delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

·         2 tbsp. butter

·         1 cup carrots

·         2 tbsp. maple syrup

DIRECTIONS:

1.    Combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook medium for 10 minutes

2.   Reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes

Donna's Orange Glazed Carrots

12/23/2014

These carrots are simple to make and refreshingly bright.

Donna’s Orange Glazed Carrots

Ingredients:

·        1 pound baby carrots

·        ¼ cup orange juice

·        2 tbs. sugar

·        ½ tsp ginger

Directions:

1.     Place carrots and juice in saucepan over medium heat

2.    Stir in sugar and ginger

3.    Cook over medium heat until boiling

4.    Turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes

Vegan Cheesecake

11/12/2014

Vegans, You can have your cheesecake and eat it too! This recipe will give you a delicious dessert.
Vegan Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Crust:
·         1 cup sifted whole wheat flour

·         ¼ cup Stevia in the Raw or Sugar in the Raw

·         1 teaspoon lemon zest

·         ½ cup applesauce

Filling:
·         20 ounces plain cultured soy

·         1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         ½ teaspoon lemon zest

·         1 ½ tbsp. whole wheat flour

·         1/8 teaspoon salt

·         5/8 cup Stevia or Sugar in the Raw

·         ½ cup vegan egg substitute or ¼ cup applesauce

·         2 tablespoons Coconut Milk

Directions:

Crust:
1.    Preheat oven to 400º F

2.    Combine 1 cup of the flour, sugar and grated lemon zest.

3.    Stir in the applesauce and vanilla

4.    Pat 1/3 of the dough into the bottom of one 9 inch spring form pan with the sides removed.

5.    Bake for 6 minutes. Let cool then spray sides of pan with vegetable oil spray and attach to bottom. Pat the remaining dough evenly on the sides to a height of 2 inches

Filling:
1.    Preheat oven to 500º F

2.    Beat together yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest.

3.    Mix 1 ½ tablespoons flour, 1/8 teaspoon salt and the remaining sugar together. Gradually blend this mixture into the cultured soy mixture

4.    Slowly add the egg substitute or applesauce while beating

5.    Gently stir in the coconut milk

Pour into prepared pie crust

6.    Bake at 500º for 5 to 8 minutes or until top edge of crust is golden.

7.    Reduce heat to 200ºF and continue baking for 1 hour.

8.    Remove cake from oven and cool in pan for at least 3 hours.

9.    Remove sides of pan to serve

Asparagus Soup

11/7/2014

This soup is so delicious and surprisingly easy to make. It is a nice addition to a romantic dinner or even if you just want to "fancify" your meal.
Asparagus Soup

INGREDIENTS:

·         1 asparagus chopped to about 1 cup

·         ½ Onion chopped

·         1 tbsp. lemon juice

·         16 oz. Vegetable broth, divided

·         1 tbsp. butter[1]

·         1 tbsp. flour

DIRECTIONS:

1.       In a soup pot combine asparagus, onion, lemon, and 7 oz. broth

2.       Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes

3.       Put this mixture in a blender and blend until smooth

4.       In the soup pan, melt butter over medium high heat

5.       Add flour and form a roux

6.       Slowly add remaining broth and stir ‘til smooth

7.       Slowly pour blended asparagus into roux mixture while stirring

8.       Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve

[1] For a vegan alternative make the roux using vegetable broth as follows:

1.       Heat 1 oz. vegetable broth to boil

2.       Stir in 1 tbsp. flour until smooth

Good for Ya Chocolate Chip Cookies!

10/30/2014

These flour free vegetarian cookies are actually healthy! It is very easy to adjust the recipe to make them vegan and gluten free.
Good for Ya Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Ingredients:
·         1 cup chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel

·         2 tsp vanilla extract

·         ½ cup + 2 tablespoons organic peanut butter or other nut butter (regular peanut butter is not recommended)

·         ¼ cup honey or for a vegan recipe try agave or golden syrup
1 tsp baking powder or for a grain free recipe use 1 part cream of tartar + 1 part baking soda + 2 parts arrowroot

·         a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn’t have salt in it (salt is necessary for baking).

·         ½ cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1.       Preheat oven to 350°F

2.       Combine chickpeas, vanilla, peanut butter honey, baking powder and salt in a food processor until completely smooth.

3.       Stir in chocolate chips – the mixture will be very thick so a quick pulse with the food processor might be easier.

4.       Form 1 ½ inch cookies, place on parchment

5.       Bake for 10 minutes

Faux Mashed Potatoes

10/28/2014

Do you want to enjoy potatoes but don't want the extra starch and carbs? Do you want the kids to eat vegetables but feel like you have to disguise them? This easy and healthy low carb, low cal, alternative to mashed potatoes uses cauliflower in place of the potato. If you never told the people they were not eating potatoes, they'd never know. It's easy to make them vegan by replacing milk with a plant based milk and substituting vegetable stock or olive oil for butter.
This recipe is found on page 124 of my cookbook Comfort Food From the Campbell Family

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ready In: 35 minutes
Yields: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
12 oz. Cauliflower
2 tbsp. Vegetable stock (optional)
2 tbsp. butter, or vegetable stock
1/4 cup skim milk or coconut milk
1/4 cup grated white cheddar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Place cauliflower and vegetable stock (or water) in medium saucepan and cook over medium to low heat for approximately 30 minutes until tender

remove from heat

add butter, milk and cheese then mash or puree

add salt/pepper to taste
FOOTNOTES:
This will be slightly thinner than regular mashed potatoes but the taste and texture are remarkably comparable.
You can dress these faux potatoes just as would your regular potatoes. It's great with sour cream instead of milk or garnishing with bacon or chives.
If you want to reduce the moisture you can place the mixture in a casserole dish in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I don't find it necessary though.
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Super Veggie Soup

10/26/2014

This soup is a great low-cal, satisfying and metabolism boosting food. Be creative add any vegetables you choose except peas or corn. The more colorful, the better.

INGREDIENTS:

·    4 cups Vegetable Broth

·         1-2 tomatoes diced

·         ½ cup Carrots sliced

·         ½ cup Cauliflowers chopped

·         ¼ cup Mushrooms sliced

·         ½ cup Broccoli chopped

·         ½ cup bell peppers, diced

·         1 Onion chopped

·         2 cloves Garlic, minced

·         1 jalapeno pepper sliced or dash Cayenne pepper (optional)

·         1/4 tsp. Curry powder

·         2 cups fresh Spinach or Kale

DIRECTIONS:

1.    put all ingredients except for spinach in large pot, put on medium to high bring to boil, let boil for 10 minutes, cover then simmer for at least 1 hour (and up to 6 hours)

2.   30 minutes prior to serving add Spinach and turn heat up to medium heat

Vegan Cabbage Rolls

10/25/2014

Donna’s Vegan Cabbage Rolls This healthy recipe takes a some preparation but is not difficult, tastes great, and is perfect for dinner at home or serving at a party.

Ingredients:
·   1 head of Cabbage

·         1 Cup uncooked brown rice (to make 2 cups cooked)

·         1 cup vegetable stock

·         3 large tomatoes diced (with juice)

·         2 can tomato sauce

·         1 large onion, chopped

·         1/2 carrot, finely chopped

·         1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

·         diced 3 cloves garlic, minced

·         Textured vegetable protein such as tofu or vegetarian meat substitute, chopped (optional)

·         ½ cup peas

·         hot sauce to taste

Directions:
1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.      Place 1 cup brown rice and 1 cup vegetable stock in pot on medium high heat

3.      Bring to boil

4.      Lower heat and simmer for about 40 minutes (until tender)

5.      Place cabbage in pot with just enough water to cover

6.      Bring to boil, then simmer 15 minutes

7.      In a skillet over medium heat sauté onion, garlic, peppers, and carrots

8.      Add tomatoes, tomato juice, rice, peas, hot sauce, and tofu

9.      Continue cooking stirring often until heated through, about 5-10 minutes

10. On individual cabbage leaves place about 2 TBS skillet mixture each

11. Roll tightly and seal with toothpick

12. Arrange in casserole dish

13. Pour tomato sauce over rolls

14. Cover and bake 35 minutes