Braised Lentils With Beets

I love the color from the beets in this dish!  Prepare this as a side dish or on it's own with corn bread or wrapped up in a tortilla.  

Braised Lentils With Beets

makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 Tb. coconut oil

1/2 yellow or white onion, diced

1 C. diced carrot

1 C. diced celery

1/2 C. diced raw beets

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 C. dry white wine

3 C. vegetable broth

2 C. lentils, rinsed & drained

sea salt & ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  In a large saute pan, heat coconut oil over medium heat.  Add onion, carrots, celery and beets, cooking and stirring for 6-8 minutes or until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.

2.  Next, add dry white wine and fresh thyme sprigs, cooking for 3-4 minutes.  Add in the vegetable stock and lentils.  

3.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Remove the thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper.

Don't forget to download a copy of my new eBook "Plants Only: A Two Week Meal Guide For The Non-Committed Vegan" for only $2.99!

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Waldorf Salad

Oh me and my salads!  The end of the school year approaching and swimming lessons beginning signals my brain that it's time for variety of chilled salad recipes.  My 'fridge is officially packed with this salad and this one.  My latest salad creation, this vegan Waldorf Salad, might not make it to the 'fridge, however.

A traditional Waldorf salad, established in the late 1800's out of New York's famous Waldorf-Astoria hotel, contains apples, raisins, mayonnaise and sometimes chicken.  This vegan version is tangy, sweet and crunchy-definitely not lacking in flavor!

Waldorf Salad

serves 4

Ingredients:

1 C. halved red grapes

1/2 C. thinly sliced celery

1/2 C. diced yellow bell peppers

1/2 C. roughly chopped walnuts

1/4 C. vegan mayonnaise

2 tsp. agave nectar

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

sea salt to taste

Directions:

1.  In a medium bowl, combine grapes, celery, peppers and walnuts.  

2.  Whisk together mayo, agave nectar, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl and pour over the grape mixture.  Toss well to combine.  

Serve stuffed inside a pita pocket, on top of a bed of greens or rolled up inside a large swiss chard or romaine leaf.  

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Quinoa Salsa

Thank you to everyone who's already downloaded a copy of my new eBook "Plants Only: A Two Week Meal Plan For The Non-Commited Vegan"!  I appreciate the great feedback and hope it helps people incorporate more plants into their diets.

It took me a while but I finally got used to cooking with quinoa.  I often eat this salad or sneak quinoa into veggie burgers like this one.  To help entice my boys to eat more quinoa I decided I must incorporate chips!  This Quinoa Salsa is not just fresh and easy but a fun alternative to plain ol' salsa.  (Although I do still love this salsa recipe!)

Quinoa Salsa

makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 C. uncooked quinoa, washed and drained

2 C. water

1 C. corn (frozen is fine)

2 C. diced fresh tomatoes

1 C. chopped fresh cilantro (or use parsley)

3/4 C. diced red onion

1 Tb. minced jalapeño peppers (optional)

2 cloves minced garlic

3 Tb. red wine vinegar

1/4 C. fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4 C. fresh squeezed lime juice

1/4 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed.  Gently toss in corn (frozen works fine as it thaws out quickly) and place into a large bowl.

2.  Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl toss together the red wine vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper.  Pour over the quinoa and toss.  

3.  Mix in the tomatoes, cilantro, onion, jalapeños and garlic.  Toss well and chill, covered, before serving.

Turn it into a meal by serving salsa over toasted bread with greens!

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Tabouli

I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother's Day weekend (at least here in the US).  I was planning on sleeping in yesterday but instead woke up to sweet lil' faces telling me they love me at 6:15am.  My boys were so excited to get me up and give me their lovin' so how could I complain at my lack of sleep?  Although I'm not completely sold on Mother's Day I do like that it's a great excuse to get the family together for some quality time.  

We went on a long hike outdoors as a family (check out my InstaGram pics) to a place I've been wanting to take my hubby and older kids for a long time.  They did great for it being such a long walk (2 hours) and we were totally beat by the end of it.  We ended our day with a golf lesson for the older kids and veggie burgers from a local burger joint.  The burgers were just "eh" but at least I didn't have to cook!  I do feel blessed!

This is such an easy dish to throw together for dinner on hot nights or to take along to potlucks and parties.  You can adjust the ingredients to your liking.  We like ours served up with little pita wedges.

Tabouli

makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 C. water (use good filtered water)

1 C. bulgur wheat

1 C. minced fresh parsley

1/2 C. minced fresh mint 

1/2 C. finely chopped green onions

1 C. halved grape or cherry tomatoes

1/2 C. slivered toasted almonds (or use pine nuts)

3 Tb. extra-virgin olive oil

3 Tb. fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, pour the water over the bulgur wheat and let stand, covered, for 20 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.

2.  Toss in the parsley, mint green onions, tomatoes and almonds, mixing together.  

3.  In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Pour evenly over the wheat mixture, toss again.  

4.  Cover and chill in the 'fridge for at least one hour before serving.  

NOTE: Add in your favorite ingredients!  Try mushrooms, zucchini, garlic...or substitute the bulgur wheat with quinoa!

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"Plants Only" NOW AVAILABLE for only $2.99

It's finally here!  

Two week's worth of vegan breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts, along with a few sides in "Plants Only", a brand new eBook now available on Amazon!  It was intended to go along with the Plants Only Pledge and is perfect for anyone who's tempted to try out a vegan lifestyle or jump-start their health.  Two weeks is just enough time for the non-commitment peeps to get a taste of how yummy (and easy) eating vegan can be.

Only $2.99 for a limited time!

"The Boy Who Loved Broccoli" is also available in downloadable form for only $3.99!  

Or order a paperback copy from Amazon.com for $11.66.

Phew.  Now that those are up and ready for your reading enjoyment it's time to finish up my cookbook!  It's definitely a long and tedious process but I'm thrilled with how it's turning out.  The whole concept behind it is to help your dinnertime routines become easier while giving you some tasty healthy (vegan) options.  Can't wait to tell ya more!

Thanks so much for being a part of Veggie Kids!

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