Ratatouille

I am currently following the Eat to Live way of life and this is a go to meal for me.  It makes about 6 servings and is very versatile. I will talk more about its versatility later. Enjoy!

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Tools: Large pot with lid, wooden spoon, cutting board, good knife

Added peas and lentils to my individual serving

Ingredients:
1 small eggplant
2 yellow squash
2 zucchinis
1 red, yellow or green pepper
2- 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes 
1 yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1 Tbsp oil of your choosing*
1 tsp thyme
black pepper to taste

Directions: Cut eggplant, squash, zucchinis, pepper and onion into 1/2 inch or 1 inch squares (depending on your preference). Mince the garlic. In large pot add a Tbsp of oil and set stove to medium high. Add your onions and garlic into the pot and let cook for 4 minutes. Stir regularly so they do not burn. No you can add your peppers. Let the peppers cook for about 3 minutes. Now stir in the thyme, black pepper and only one can of diced tomatoes. Stir together until blended. Now add your eggplant, squash and zucchini. Stir everything until blended (I usually use the folding method here, as to not make a mess and have vegetables flying out of the pot). Once everything is blended then blend in your second can of diced tomatoes. Turn stove top down to medium. Add a lid to your pot and let cook for about 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through. Stir occasionally.

*I usually use olive oil but on occasion I will use coconut oil if I want a sweeter effect.

Now about its versatility...

If you follow Eat to Live, like me, you can add 1/2 cup of beans and a tbsp of flax to this meal. I prefer lentils or garbanzo beans. Mostly I use lentils though. I love their flavor!
(I always cook my beans separate. That way I can make sure I am getting the 1/2 cup needed in each serving.)

      If your cooking your lentils separate and want a heartier option, you can cook the lentils
      with a chopped up sweet potato or russet potato and mix that into your ratatouille (if you
      do this, add an additional 1/2 cup water to the lentils when cooking)

You can serve this on a cooked bed of broccoli so that you get more green vegetables into your diet.

After you have cooked the Ratatouille you can turn your serving into a soup by simply adding water. I add peas and broccoli to my Ratatouille when I do this. It makes for a really good soup.

You can add leftover ratatouille into a wrap with hummus and lettuce.

My husband eats his with fried eggs and hot sauce - not so vegan- but he likes it and it saves me from having to cook separate meals.

Vegan Banana Almond Milk Ice Cream

I am back. I have been vegan one year and one month and I wont lie, I had a few hiccups in the road.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't stray from being vegan, I just went for the easy way out too many times (vegan processed foods). I am back on course however and want to share some recipes that I have been back piling. Since I haven't posted in awhile I will honor you all with a very easy dessert first. 

Prep time: 1 day

Cook time: 5 minutes

Tools: Ziploc bag, small blender, spoon

Ingredients: 

2 yellow bananas (some brown spots are okay)

~1/4 c almond milk (you can use soy or coconut milk as well)

Directions: One day in advance, peel bananas and place them into a ziploc bag. Then put them into the freezer.  After a day, take the bananas out of the freezer, slice them into quarters -try not to hold them for too long in your hand as they will thaw more quickly- place them into a blender. Add about half the milk. Turn on blender. Continue to add milk -depending on the size of the bananas you may need to add more milk than just 1/4 cup - until the mixture is just thin enough to blend thoroughly in the blender. You want it too be blended well but still the thickness of ice cream.

Notes: I use a Magic Bullet to make this as I find it to be just the right size to blend this to perfection.

It's just that easy! And oh so good!

'Not So Crabby' Crab Cakes

    Last month I went to Orlando, FL for vacation. While planning my trip I looked up all the Whole Foods in the vicinity of my hotel, to my surprise there was one right down the street. Whole Foods makes being vegan and being on vacation so easy. The items at their buffet are marked vegan on the label if they are vegan and there are so many choices. It is fantastic! I ate a lot of interesting things, most of which I am now trying to recreate.

Whole Foods in Orlando, FL

    On the way back from Orlando my boyfriend and I stopped in the Charleston Whole Foods to stock up, as it is only an hour and a half from home. I was trying to decide what to make for dinner when I came across vegan crab cakes in their deli case. They looked so good that I didn't even have to think about it.  They really were amazing. It was a flavor that I didn't even know I missed. So, I wrote down all the ingredients that were written on the package and went to work on recreating it. The only difficult part was the crabby part. Whole foods just chops up their chicken nuggets in order to get a crab like texture. I try and keep it as natural as possible so I wanted to come up with a way to not use box bought faux chicken nuggets. Here is what I came up with. I hope you like it.

Prep time: 24 hours and 20 minutes
Cook time: 16 minutes
Tools: Quart size freezer bag, cheese cloth, large mixing bowl, measuring spoons and cups, sharp knife and  greased baking sheet
Oven Setting: Broil

Ingredients:
1 package extra firm, organic tofu
1 1/8c vegan breadcrumbs
1/4c onion
1 stalk celery
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/3 c vegan mayonnaise

Directions: Drain tofu and place into freezer bag. Place in the freezer for at least 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove tofu from bag and place in microwave until thawed, check every 2 minutes to make sure that it does not cook. Total time to thaw is about 4 minutes. Place tofu in cheese cloth and squeeze until as much of the moisture from the tofu is gone. Finely chop celery and onion. Place into mixing bowl. Crumble the tofu and add to mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Mold mixture into 6 cakes. Place cakes onto greased baking sheet. Place into oven. Cook on both sides for approximately 8 minutes.

Note: Goes great with a side of Asparagus.

Zucchini-Banana Muffins

I love muffins so I am going to share my favorite muffin with you. You can substitute carrots for zucchini if you prefer.

Preheat Oven to: 350 degrees fahrenheit
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Tools: Muffin pan, small bowl, large bowl, mixing spoon, 1/4c measuring cup and unbleached muffin cup liners.

Ingredients:

1/3 c Earth Balance buttery spread
1/2 c organic sugar
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 tsp arrowroot powder
1/2 c unsweetened, all natural applesauce
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c mashed banana
1 1/2 c grated zucchini
2 c all purpose flour

Directions:
Mix melted butter and sugar together in small bowl. Add applesauce, mix and then set aside.  In large bowl mix all dry ingredients.  Mix the butter & sugar mixture into the dry ingredients thoroughly. Add the banana & zucchini.  Mix. Using a 1/4c measuring cup pour muffin mixture into muffin liners. Will make 12 muffins.  Bake for 20-25 minutes. Done when inserted toothpick comes out dry.