Vegan Bolognese with Zucchini Noodles

This recipe is a hit with the vegans and the carnivores! It definitely fools the plant based crowd, as I always hear "does this have meat in it?" because it is so flavorful and chunky!! This was originally from My Darling Vegan but I customized it for the retreat I'm catering this week. Let me know if you make it!!

Mushroom Bolognese with Zucchini Noodles

Ingredients

4 lg. Zucchini

3 tbsp olive oil

2 carrots, chopped

1 c. raw walnuts

¼ c fresh parsley, minced

¼ c. fresh basil, minced

¾ c. coco amino acids

2 lbs. Cremini mushrooms, sliced

28 oz. crushed tomatoes

¼ c. tomato paste

2 tbsp. Nutritional yeast

1 tbsp maple syrup

Salt and pepper to desired taste

Instructions

Begin by slicing mushrooms and cooking in 2 tbsp of oil (your choice). Once they are cooked, allow to cool.

Then

- In a food processor, pulse mushrooms until they are well minced and set aside.
- Pulse carrots and set aside.
- Pulse walnuts a few times until they are well minced, set aside.
- In a large pot heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat.

- Transfer carrots to pot and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once carrots are fragrant and a little soft, add fresh herbs and coco amino acids, bring to a simmer for a few minutes.
- Add mushrooms to the skillet and stir for 5 to 7 minutes.

- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, nutritional yeast, and maple syrup. Stir to combine, season with salt and pepper, then cover again and let cook on low for 45 - 60 minutes.
- While sauce is simmering, make your zucchini noodles with a vegetable spiralizer.
- Top noodles with mushroom bolognese and serve immediately with fresh herbs.

EnJOY!!

How to make vegan Sopa de Fideo With Quinoa

Photo by: www.budgetbytes.com

Sopa de Fideo is a staple in my home. My daughters love this simple soup, easily made with a few ingredients. I have to be extra, and used this recipe with a few changes. Of course my children prefer the simple ingredient version, and I usually only make that version, but Momma needs her taste buds satisfied sometimes. Without further ado:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium brown onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped and minced
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 4 Tbsp ghee or grapeseed oil 
• 8 oz uncooked Vermicelli/Fideo noodles
• 1/2 tsp cumin 
• 1/4 tsp oregano 
• 6 cups water 
• 1/2 c. quinoa
• Juice from 1 lime 
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro and parsley, chopped, separated into 2
• 1 avocado (optional)

DIRECTIONS

• Add oil and Vermicelli (split in half)/Fideo noodles to soup pot and heat on medium low for 1 minute. Stir constantly. It will brown very quickly, so stir, stir, stir.
• Add onions, garlic, tomatoes and spices. Stir for another 3 -5 minutes or until fideo is golden brown. Do not burn the pasta, or do and start all over, no big deal.
• Add water, and quinoa. Stir and cover.
• Bring to a boil on high. Cover. Simmer on reduce heat to low for 15 minutes.
• Lime juice and chopped parsley may be added to the soup 5 minutes before soup comes to an end. 
• Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Serve with avocado, lime and cilantro on the side.

This is an easy and quick mealtime solution and adding quinoa makes it protein rich and nourishing. This stores and freezes well. I like to re-heat on the stove in a pot and add water, but microwaving works. This is definitely one of my comfort meals and I usually adjust flavors depending on what my body may need at that moment. I like to use parsley and cilantro for the additional cleansing factor and to balance the tomato. I've also been known to toss in some cashew cream, but maybe that will be an upgrade to this recipe and another blog post. 

How do you take your sopa de fideo?

How to make Vegan Chickpea Scramble with Kale

Original Recipe from mydarlingvegan.com

This is another recipe I used for a retreat. It was a hit! The original recipe called for Swiss chard but i had a ton of kale left so I used that. It was super easy to make, but required some prep work. I mixed the chickpeas before I sauted the onions and garlic. It allowed the chickpeas to marinate in the juice before cooking them. I also set out avocados, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and nutritional yeast for toppings, although none are necessary. The trick is to slowly saute the onions and garlic on low heat for at least 20 minutes. This allows the flavors to really develop, but feel welcomed to shorten the time as per recipe.

I can see this being stuffed into a tortilla, wrap style, for an quick and easy meal to take along when in the run.


Kale and Chickpea Scramble

1 tbsp oil

½ white onion, thinly sliced

4-5 garlic cloves

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

Juice from ½ lemon, ½ lime and zest of both

1 tsp turmeric

½ tsp salt

3 large Kale leaves, de-stemmed and roughly chopped

Heat oil, add onions, and garlic. Saute for 5 - 7 minutes.

In a separate bowl mix chickpeas, nutritional yeast, lemon & lime juice and zest, turmeric, and salt into a bowl and smash.

Place chickpea mix into skillet with onions and cook for 3 - 4 min.

Add kale and wilt slightly.

Serve immediately.

Let me know if you make it, I'd love to what you think, and any changes u made to improve this.

Eat and be merry!