Whole Grain
Breakfast Prep: Pumpkin Oat Bake
We all need a little help in the mornings, don’t we? That’s when a little breakfast prep comes in handy. This oat-nut and seed breakfast is baked in a pie pan, so you can cut a slice in the morning, and warm it in the microwave or saute pan. Instead of a bowl of oatmeal, you’ve got something solid, and laced with pumpkin, apples and spices. A topping of sauteed apples finishes it off, and if you choose to add a dollop of yogurt or a splash of maple, the more the merrier.
Vegan Thanksgiving to Share
Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday, a time to gather with friends and family and share a meal. There’s no reason that vegans and turkey lovers and everybody in-between can’t enjoy a spread of Vegan Thanksgiving food. Serve these plant-based dishes, and everyone will be able to have a sample of something delicious. Dinner conversation is up to you!
Pumpkin Cranberry Chocolate Muffins
As pumpkin season ramps up, it’s time to start making better versions of your favorite squash-based treats! In these tender, sweet muffies, you’ll find nuggets of chocolate and dried cranberry, for a truly worthy companion to a cup of coffee or tea. Of course, you don’t need eggs to get an open, light texture, when you use my favorite combo of bubbly mineral water and ground flax.
Rainbow Wild Rice Bowl with Green Tahini Drizzle
Brighten up your day with a bowl of rainbows! As the days grow shorter, we all need a little boost, from colorful, nourishing food. This Rainbow Wild Rice Bowl has all the eye-catching hues that make you want to dig in, along with the hearty, nutty wild rice on the bottom. A tangy, creamy tahini dressing tops it off, to complement all the sweet, earthy flavors in the bowl.
Cashew Rice Salad; Crunch for Lunch
Crunchy cashews, chewy whole grains and vegetables, bathed in a miso-ginger dressing; this is the kind of hippie comfort food that I love to prep for myself. Life is often uncertain, but when you have a tub of food that makes you feel good when you eat it, you can take on whatever comes.
Blueberry Blue Cornmeal Cobbler
The world around us offers a full palette of blue hues, from the ever-changing skies to the wide azure sea. We live in denim and paint our bedrooms blue for a calming place to lay our heads. But our food tends toward the browns, the greens, the beiges, with pops of orange and red. But the blue foods are some of the most nourishing, and should be on everyone’s shopping list. This Blueberry Blue Cornmeal Cobbler is a juicy treat that places two blue all-stars front and center.
Easy Curried Chickpeas and Vegetables
We’ve all been there, standing in the kitchen after a long day, thinking about ordering pizza. This dish can be whipped up in less time than it takes to have pizza delivered, and will deliver the vegetables and plant-based protein you need. I used romanesco and green beans, but you can use what you have on hand- this would be equally good with cabbage and carrots. Keep canned tomatoes and chickpeas on hand, and you are ready to make a meal.
Warm Farro and Charred Asparagus Salad
Have wholegrains become part of your life yet? I hope you have integrated them into your meals-and will continue to explore more of the varieties of healthy, hearty whole grain foods. For today, I’ve put together a Spring-y, tangy warm salad, based on chewy Farro and topped with asparagus. It will be asparagus season soon.
Banana Muffins with Bubbly Water?
When you start baking plant-based, it may seem as if replacing the eggs in your favorite recipes is going to be impossible. But I’m here to tell you, with a few swaps, it’s easier than you think. In this recipe, I’m going to show you how seamlessly you can replace an egg with some simple bubbly water, and never miss the eggs at all. Banana Muffins with Pecans is the kind of quick recipe you need in your back pocket, ready to use up those over-the-hill bananas in a flash.
EZ Blueberry Breakfast Bars
When you think about meal prep, do you think about soups and casseroles, or pots of cooked grains and beans? Well, all those can be part of your vegan meal prep plan. But don’t forget about fun! These breakfast bars cover your breakfast and snack needs, with the charm of juicy blueberries and crunchy pecans to keep your interest. Life’s too short to eat cold cereal, my friends.
Cashew Rice with Tomatoes, More Whole Grains in 2022
nd your enjoyment of life. You have to heard how whole grains are the best for your health, with antioxidants, nutrients and fiber that refined grains lack. They are also a great way to reduce the old “carbon footprint” and do the environment a favor. But above all, whole grains have hearty, satisfying flavors that are lost when all the bran and germ is scraped away.
Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats-Comfort In a Bowl
ow often do you eat a good breakfast? Do you ever run out the door with nothing but a cup of coffee under your belt, or do you resort to boxed cereal very day? Treat yourself to a real breakfast. Once you make this easy prep and put it in the fridge, you are set with 4 breakfasts, all you need to do is scoop it into a bowl, or a tub to take with as you run out the door. The pumpkin spice flavor makes it feel like a dessert, but it is truly a nutritious breakfast.
The Buddha Bowl; A Mindful Meal
When you make a true Buddha Bowl, you are making nourishing food, above all. But I like to add an element of mindfulness to the assembly and eating of the bowl, too. Take a moment to center yourself and breathe before you start cooking. Take a moment to look at your gorgeous ingredients and think about all the people who grew them, harvested them, and transported them to you. It may seem like a simple beet or bunch of kale, but it’s the result of many hands and hearts. Let yourself feel gratitude for all the people and all the energy that went into your meal. Be grateful to be here, able to have all this, right now.
Make Jamaican Rundown
Jamaica is home to I-Tal cuisine, the plant-based cooking of the Rastafarian religion. It’s also a Tropical paradise.
After researching the dish we know as rundown, I learned that it is actually a method borrowed from Indonesian sailors who traveled to the “Spice Islands” on their travels. In Indonesian cuisine, a “Rendang” is a dish simmered in coconut milk. The theory is that Jamaicans learned the method and colloquialized the name. So, it’s not about “running down” the vegetables at all. It’s about using the abundant coconuts of the Tropics to make delectable plant-based food.
Big.Fat.Burritos.
Big Fat Burritos Rule. Something about rolling the whole meal into a bundle that you can hold in your hands makes the big burrito an ideal food delivery system. A truly epic burrito layers in complementary flavors and textures, to make each bite exciting. My Big Fat Burrito delivers a riot of flavors in every mouthful.
And you don’t need a fork.
You don’t have to take my word for it. Big burritos are big business, and places like Chipotle crank out millions of them every day. It’s easy to skip the takeout line, and make your own burritos. At home, you can stuff them with tender roasted veggies, quinoa and avocado.
Ooey Gooey Monkey Biscuits for Brunch
Do you crave some comfort? We are all feeling it. I’m forging ahead with all the healthful piles of plants that I usually serve, and feeling good about it. But a balanced life also affords us a little treat. Like these caramel-drenched, walnut-studded Monkey Biscuits.
Squash and Wild Rice Make Comforting Muffins
Winter Squash and Wild Rice for the Season Everybody needs a little comfort right now. It's cold out, and these are challenging times. What better way to warm up than to turn on the oven and bake some tender, fluffy muffins? These are perfect for cozy breakfasts at...
Fast and Good West African Peanut Soup
Craving something creamy? Ditch the dairy and indulge in a bowl of creamy, spicy African Peanut Soup. It’s the ultimate pantry dish, and packs in flavor while it saves you time (and cash.)
Kale and Kimchi Fried Red Rice with Tofu
Fried rice is one of the best uses of a leftover ever devised. In Asian countries with rice-based cuisines, there is bound to be some left over. Nobody wants to waste valuable food, so creative cooks find a way of making that cold rice into a a dish that may well be better than the original dish. That dish is, of course, fried rice. Take cold, crunchy rice and toss it in a hot pan, and you have food that comforts your very soul.
Try Creamy Chinese-Style Corn with Tofu over Black Rice
And once you’ve had corn on the cob three nights in the week, you might want to branch out and try making something a little different. That’s when I like to make this quick and easy Chinese-inspired dish. It’s a brilliant idea, really. If you are thinking about canned creamed corn, banish that from your mind. When you puree fresh corn, season it with lots of fresh ginger, garlic, and chilis, it has much more pizzazz.
Try Tomato Mayonnaise Pie!
When tomatoes are at their peak of flavor, give them a starring role in this fast and easy pie! Shave time and ingredients from your effort by using mayonnaise as the secret ingredient in the crust, and as a base for a lemony drizzle at serving.
Have You Tried Fresh Edamamae?
Fresh Edamame pods are a seasonal treat, and when they come to market, snap up a few bunches to boil, then either eat them as a snack, or slip the beans from the hulls and use them in salads, soups, dips, and anywhere you might use a bean or pea.
Peachy Cornbread Cobbler, with Calhoun County Peaches
I’ve been extolling the under-the-radar Calhoun County peaches, the first peaches that blew my mind. Perhaps I’m being parochial, perhaps my Proustian peach experience has elevated these particular peaches above all others in an indelible way.
So Simple, So Good, Gingery Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
These individual Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumbles are pots of gingery filling with a crunchy crumble topping, the easiest way to bake a great dessert without breaking a sweat. Chop, stir, bake, it really is that simple.
Weeknight Quickie Summer Pasta-Tricks for a Quick Meal!
Think you are too busy to cook? Not when you can make this easy, plant-based pasta in minutes! Good extra virgin olive oil is key to the flavor, so you need to learn more about where your oil comes from.
“Down and Dirty” Stir Fry-with Korean Flavors
Do you feel overwhelmed at the end of a long day, with no ideas for a quick meal for the family? Try an easy Korean-style Stir Fry, made with canned mock duck and an easy, flavorful sauce.
No Flour, No Eggs? No Problem! Make Oat and Chia Waffles
When the shelf that used to have wheat flour on it is empty, grab some oats, and make these flourless, eggless waffles. It’s quarantine cooking at its best.
Whole Wheat-Chia Buns in the Slow Cooker
Start slow cooker baking to make delicious whole wheat buns with chia in about an hour and forty five minutes, for fresh, warm bread to go with your meal.
Savor Citrus in Red Curry Mock Duck with 3 Oranges over Fonio
Red Curry Mock Duck with Three Oranges In the dark, cold months of January and February, we can thank the citrus growers of Florida and California for shipping us rays of edible sunshine. Just as the winds howl and the snowbanks grow tall in Minnesota, our southern...
Buckwheat Biscuits, With A Crunchy Secret Ingredient
It's biscuit season, and just in time for Veganuary, I'm baking up lots of these plant-based, versatile Crunchy Buckwheat Biscuits. There are many secrets to making a great whole grain biscuit, but these pack a crunchy punch that you may never have tried before. The...