Meatloaf for the plant-based diet, no added fat

Low Fat Meat-less Meatloaf
or "Have I died and gone to heaven? Loaf"

The first step is to turn on the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Okay, you are on your way to bliss so hum a little tune.

Combine:

1/2 cup boiling water with
1/2 cup dry TVP granules, or beef flavored TSP and set aside while you get everything else going.

In a food processor, combine the following:

1/2 box firm silken tofu
1/2 cup walnuts 
1/4 cup flaxseed meal 
1 VeganEgg (2 tbsp powder plus 1/2 cup cold water, blended)
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable bouillon paste, or "not-beef" flavor
2 tablespoons fresh parsley—don't skip this!

1 tablespoon fresh basil
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 tablespoon vegan worcestershire sauce—don't skip this
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Pour into very large bowl along with:

1/2 cup chopped celery 

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup finely sliced or shredded carrot

1 cup of dry breadcrumbs (if you are out, put three slices of whole grain bread through the food processor and use that instead, or oatmeal or soda cracker crumbs)

3/4 cup vital wheat gluten (this will act like the glue that hold it together and provides support so you can slice the loaf)

Roll up your sleeves and stir it all together (don't forget the TVP—I can't tell you how many times I forget that….) Knead for a couple of minutes to get the gluten forming.
Form into a loaf shape and place in one large or two medium sized bread pans (lightly spray-oiled).

Brush the top with the super-fantastic-extra-special red sauce (really, don't skip this part):

8 tablespoons ketchup
4 tablespoons brown sugar or date sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Bake for  75 minutes, remove from oven and let sit for 30 minutes before devouring.  If you want it done quicker, use two smaller pans. If baking as two medium loaves adjust the time down to an hour.

I like to serve it with potato slices (un-fried in the oven with herbs and pepper on a non-stick baking sheet).
And definitely serve it with more sauce on the side.
Don't forget the spinach salad.

Vegan Almond Chicken

Soy curls made to taste like Almond Chicken on a bed of steamed kale

 We used to like to go to this very typical American-Chinese restaurant in Spokane that served Chinese food the way we liked it, the tackier the better.  Sticky, bright red sweet and sour sauce, bright yellow lemon chicken, you get the idea.  My favorite item on their menu was Almond Chicken.  It was something I never figured out how to make at home (and probably would have cringed at how unhealthy it was anyway).  I found myself wondering how to re-create the essence of what I liked about this dish without re-creating the bad stuff—the animal protein and the greasy gravy.

God Bless Soy Curls.  

A plant based version of the standard American Chinese Restaurant "Almond Chicken"
Ingredients:
1 cup              soy curls 1 cup              boiling water 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, No Chicken Base 2 tablespoons Sliced almonds 1/4 cup almond flour (or grind up your whole almonds with a food processor) 1/4 cup flaxseed meal 1/4 cup bread crumbs (whole grain, dry) 1 cup water 1/2 cup almond flour 1/2 cup almond milk, lowfat 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour 1/2 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, No Chicken Base 1/8 teaspoon almond extract (optional) 1 tablespoon Miso paste 1 bunch steamed kale  1.  Dissolve 1 teaspoon of bouillon in 1 cup of boiling water and pour over soy curls to dehydrate.  Let sit for 15 min. or longer while you prepare the other ingredients. 2.  Toast sliced almonds in small skillet until golden brown, set aside to use as topping. 3.  Toast 1/4 cup almond flour (ground almonds), then combine with flaxseed meal and bread crumbs. 4.  Drain broth from soy curls and reserve.  Dredge soy curls in almond flour mixture. 5.  Toast coated soy curls in medium-hot skillet until browned on all sides.  Set aside in warm oven. 6.  Combine sauce ingredients (1 cup water, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, garbanzo bean flour and 1/2 teaspoon bouillon) in blender or Magic Bullet. 7.  Pour sauce ingredients into skillet and bring to simmer, cook until thickened.  Remove from heat and add almond extract and miso paste, stir to combine. 8.  Place 1 cup of steamed kale or brown rice and 1/4 of the soy curls on each plate, cover with the almond sauce and sprinkle toasted sliced almonds over the top.
8.  Remember to close your eyes with each bite, sigh and be happy and grateful to be alive.  Bless the cook.  Don't bother wiping the grin off your face.

x

Vegan Chickpea Cutlets, PBNAF

Chickpea Cutlets served on a bed of fresh spinach ribbons with oven roasted baby new potatoes and a lima bean, carrot and mushroom gravy.  Who thought plant-based could be so good?

There is a recipe for chickpea cutlets posted at food.com by Emily Souliere that came from "Veganomicon" By Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  The original recipe had olive oil as one of the ingredients and then fried.
This is a version of that recipe, but without the oil or frying in my attempt to follow the advice of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn in his book, "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease".

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup plain nonfat whole grain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup non-fat vegetable broth
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 garlic cloves diced fine
1/2 teaspoon vegetarian "Not-Chicken" bouillon
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon hungarian paprika
1/4 teaspoon dry sage

Mash the chickpeas until no whole ones are visible, I use a potato masher. (If you use a food processor, be sure to just pulse and not over mix or you will end up with a texture which is completely wrong.)
Add remaining ingredients and knead for three minutes.

Divide dough into four equal pieces and flatten into a
shape resembling a flattened piece of chicken breast, about 4"x6".

Heat nonstick skillet to medium hot and arrange cutlets to cover
the bottom of the skillet. Flip after they have browned (about
4 minutes).  Set cutlets aside and brown two cups of sliced mushrooms in the same skillet.
Add two cups of mushroom broth. Simmer until thickened and place cutlets back into pan. Heat through.
Note that if you let these sit too long in the mushroom broth while you are waiting for that certain someone to finally get home from work, there won't be any broth left.  The patties will have soaked it all up.  Just saying.

Fat-free Spinach Salad with Not-Bacon Bits and Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing

Re-Post:

Back in the early 1990's when we were just out of college and up to our eyeballs in student loan debt, our first jobs were located in downtown Spokane, WA.  It was a special treat to meet for lunch and one of our favorite places was called the Metro Cafe in the skywalk downtown.
They served many items but two worth mentioning are the Spinach Salad and the fresh Root Beer on tap.  Good memories!  The salad was made in a large stainless steal tray and consisted of Spinach, Honey-Mustard salad dressing, a choice of boiled egg or tomato and real bacon bits.  It was awesomely yummy.

So now to recreate that, we can't have the boiled egg or the real bacon or the oily salad dressing but we can have lots of spinach, an oil-free honey mustard vinaigrette dressing and TVP Bacon Bits.  To use something to replace the boiled egg I am going to toss in a few specially seasoned tofu crumbles.

Recipe for Fat-free Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

1/8 cup rice vinegar
1/8 cup water
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 clove garlic, diced very fine
1 teaspoon flaxseed meal
salt and pepper to taste
Blend well and let sit for a few minutes to let the flavors meld. (Meld is a good word, isn't it?)

Tofu crumbles

1/2 cup extra firm tofu, pressed and crumbled
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon custard powder
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dill
Using your bare hand, stir this all together and set aside to use as a topping to your salad.

Not Bacon Bits

1/2 cup TVP  Granules
1 /4 cup boiling water combined with the following:
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon
Rehydrate TVP with the water mixture for 15 minutes and then toss into a very warm skillet to dry it back out.  Now you have flavored TVP Granules--just like store-bought only better and less expensive!

A large bowl of spinach that has been washed and trimmed but not too wet.
1 tomato, diced 1/2"
Add salad dressing, as much as you like, and lightly toss with bacon bits.  Plate it up and sprinkle the tofu crumbles on top.  Sprinkle with pepper if you dare.
Enjoy your lunch and think of Spokane and oh, to be young again.

Veggie Burger, moist and savory

Burger hot off the panini press!

Plant-based burger, no meat here.

I set out to create a burger that is juicy, savory and large.  My priority was not to make a burger full of the most vegetables and grains possible, or even low sodium.  I was frustrated by the dry, small and flavorless veggie burgers I have tried, which really aren't meeting that burger need.

I did have the criteria that it could not include any animal products or added oil.  Further, I can't use onions or peppers so you will not find them in any of my recipes, except what occurs in Bragg 24 Herb Seasoning and some pre-made sauces.

I was inspired by recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero as published in their book, "Veganomicon" and also by Lindsay S. Nixon in her book, "The Happy Herbivore".  

Plant based, no added fat vegan burger

Ingredients:

2 slices whole grain, low fat bread

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

1/4 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped fine

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

8 ounces firm tofu

2 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons "Not Beef" bouillon

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 cup old fashioned oats, toss in at end before forming patties 

Directions:

1. Place first four ingredients into food processor and pulse until fine crumbs.
2. Remove from food processor and place into large bowl.
3. Chop the mushrooms into a fine dice and add to crumb mixture in bowl.
4. Place the remaining ingredients into food processor and combine until no whole beans remain.
5. Stir the bean mixture into the dry breadcrumb mixture along with the mushrooms and oats.
6. Form into 6 to 8 large patties or 10 thinner patties.
7. Take each patty and wrap in a small piece of foil that has been coated with spray canola or olive oil.  Make sure the packet is sealed tight.
8. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to one hour.
9. Remove from oven and if you want grill marks, place each patty, without the foil, onto a nonstick griddle such as a panini press.  Grill each side for a minute.
10. Serve on whole grain buns with all the typical hamburger condiments you love.  Lettuce, tomato, Miracle Mayo, pickles, Non-fat and non-dairy Thousand Island dressing, avocado slices, Non-dairycheese, grilled mushrooms, etc.

Sweet Potato Dumplings, Plant-based

Re-post:  Leather Dumpling Recipe

My grandma made wonderful leather dumplings that she didn't write down the recipe for. I spent a few years since she passed away trying to recreate her magic but I have never quite been able to achieve it. Now that we are following a plant based diet, nearly fat free, I have decided to create an extremely low fat vegan version and here it is!  Listen to anything by the Soggy Bottom Boys while you prepare this.

Vegan Dumplings

Vegan leather dumplings with seitan

Dumpling dough:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups oat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pureed sweet potato
1/2 cup tofutti soy cream cheese
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1 cup iced water

Stir together dry ingredients in large bowl, set aside. Combine wet ingredients in blender to combine, and then add mixture to dry ingredients all at once. Fold together until just combined, over mixing will make the dumplings tough.
Roll dough out to a thin sheet between 1/8" and 1/4" thickness. Cut into rectangles about 1" x 2" and drop into boiling broth.

Broth:

12 cups water
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons vegetarian bullion that is chicken flavored
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup dried mushrooms
1/2 cup diced carrots

Bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes to cook the carrots before adding dumplings, one at a time.  Then add in the final ingredients:

2 cups chicken flavored seitan in bite sized pieces
15 oz can lentils, drained and rinsed
1 cup diced broccoli (add last with 2 tbsp thickener after dumplings are all cooked and floating)
or bok choy, sliced thin

Thickener: equal parts water and cornstarch mixed to a paste

Continue simmering for just a minute and then turn off the heat.  Serve with green salad on the side.

Seitan is a meat substitute made from wheat gluten and other ingredients.  

Spinach Loaf for the plant based diet

Adapted from "Low Fat Meat-less Meatloaf" this version has quinoa, lentils and lots of spinach!

Vegan Spinach, Quinoa and lentil loaf (don't tell the meat-eaters, they will think it is meatloaf)

Ingredients to be placed into large bowl and set aside:
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup vegan meat substitute such as ground seitan
1/2 cup wheat gluten
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon chia seed
1 cup precooked quinoa
Ingredients to be placed in food processor:
3 cups fresh spinach or 3 large handfuls
1 box silken tofu, firm organic
1 can lentils, drained and rinsed or pre-cooked equivalent
1/4 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons fresh basil
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Not-Beef vegetarian Bouillon

Combine processed ingredients with the items in your large bowl until well incorporated, then place in loaf pan.  Cover with balsamic vinegar sauce and bake for one hour at 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Serve with additional sauce.
Leftovers work well in sandwiches!

Note:  I was in a hurry and added the quinoa raw without pre-cooking and it turned out fine.  It seemed to cook in the oven and absorbed the spare liquid from the raw spinach I suppose.  Just a note to self that when short on time this works.


Balsamic Vinegar Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons date sugar
• 1/4 cup ketchup

Not Tuna Salad for the plant-based world

If you are like me you have probably been hearing a lot lately about the benefits of eating seaweed.  Doesn't sound too appetizing, right?  As it just so happens that is a nice ingredient to turn chickpeas into a mock tuna salad.  Tuna was one of my favorite lunches before I read, "The China Study" and "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" and gave up meat within a couple of days.
Let me reiterate:  I ate meat for 47 years and then quit because the research impressed me so much regarding how much healthier I could be by not eating animal protein or added oils and fats.  There are going to be foods I miss and tuna has been high on the list of foods difficult to mimic.

Here is a way to get yourself back into the zen of a tuna lunch.

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced dill pickle
2 tablespoons Fuero Wakame Dried Seaweed
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons Walden Farms Miracle Mayo (probably contains soy--isn't clearly marked either way)
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons mustard
1 teaspoon vinegar or pickle juice
1/2 teaspoon Bragg Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon dill
pinch black pepper

1. Crush garbanzo beans with a potato masher, set aside.
2. Chop celery and dill pickle, add to beans.
3. Crush seaweed together with sunflower seeds in a mortar and pestle, add to beans.
4. Add remaining ingredients to bean mixture and stir.  
5. Serve rolled inside Nori Sheets, in a traditional sandwich or with crackers.

Dried seaweed and sunflower seeds

Dried Seaweed and sunflower seeds after grinding

Not Tuna Salad 

Not Tuna Salad Sushi Rolls

Meatballs, plant-based no added fat vegan

Vegan Meatballs
Appetizer or to serve with spaghetti,  maybe these should be called "vegiballs" since they don't actually contain any animal products.

Ingredients:
2 cups TVP granules (Textured vegetable protein. Bob's Red Mill brand is what I use and is easily available at my local grocer in the baking isle.)
1 3/4 cups hot vegetable or mushroom broth
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. Italian seasoning mix
1 tsp. Bragg herb blend
1 package Firm silken tofu (Mori-Nu Brand or your favorite)
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (skip if you are a gluten-free person)
1 tbsp egg replacer powder
1 tablespoon vegan worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon bouillon paste, vegetarian beef flavor
1 tablespoon fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon Bragg All natural liquid aminos
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup of dry breadcrumbs (in a pinch toast two slices of whole grain, nonfat bread and process with a food processor
Step 1: Brown mushrooms and celery in a nonstick skillet over medium heat without any added fat.
Step 2: Soak TVP granules in broth for 5 minutes while you gather other ingredients.
Step 3: Place all other ingredients except celery, mushrooms, TVP and bread crumbs into food processor and pulse until combined.
Step 4: Stir together bread crumbs, TVP mixture, mushrooms, celery and ingredients from food processor until just combined.
Step 5: Roll into 1" balls or use small cookie dough scooper to form about 50 meatballs and roll in mixture of one part flaxseed meal/one part nutritional yeast flakes.
Place on nonstick cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees f for 35 minutes and then turn down oven to 225 degrees and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Serve with whole grain spaghetti and tomato sauce.  Or as an appetizer at your holiday party.
I dare you to try eating one of these rolly guys without rolling your eyes....yum.

Corned Beef Style Seitan

On the blog, "Everyday Dish TV", there is a recipe by Chef Brian P. McCarthy which we tried last night since it was St. Patrick's Day. I didn't include the 1/2 cup of oil in his recipe, or the onions (allergic) but otherwise followed it. For our taste, next time I will use less of the fennel and caraway seeds which seemed a bit too strong.
So if you are looking to make something akin to corned beef, look no further than Chef McCarthy's recipe (just don't add the oil)! http://www.everydaydish.tv/index.php?page=recipe&recipe=98

Soy Curls

While visiting Portland, Oregon this weekend we discovered something completely new to us, Soy Curls.
On Friday we had a late lunch at a marvelous cafe called the Blossoming Lotus.  One of the items on their menu is Soy Curls and it was just delicious.
We found them in bulk at Whole Foods Market and bought enough to play around with and came up with this recipe.  It is similar to what was served to us, but it isn't an exact duplicate.  (Theirs are better but who wants to drive four hours when that craving hits?)

Ingredients:

For marinade solution place the following ingredients into a 4 cup pyrex:

1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp. vegetarian chicken-flavored bouillon
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1 tsp. granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Bragg 24 Herb Mix
2 tsp white miso paste, or soy sauce

Bring to boil in microwave, remove measuring cup and put 4 oz. of dry soy curls into the brine to soak for 20 minutes.
Drain excess marinade by turning the rehydrated soy curls into a colander, then turn them onto a pad of two paper towels.  Dredge soy curls in coating mixture:

1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
1/4 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
dash salt

Place on parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 300 degrees F. for 12 minutes.
Remove from oven and say, "Wa-La" even if no one else is in the room.

Recipe for Pressure Cooker Seitan with no added fat, vegan

Guess who got a new pressure cooker for Christmas?
I chistened the vessel by making Seitan,
chicken flavored to use in my new dumplings recipe.

(if you would rather make it beef flavored,
omit the half of the sage and use beef flavored
bouillon instead of chicken flavored bouillon.)

"Chicken" Seitan

1 1/2 cups vital wheat gluten
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons hemp protein powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 tablespoons Chicken flavored Vegetarian Bouillon
2 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos
1/2 tsp. Poultry seasoning
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 cups water, at room temperature

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for twenty minutes.
Next, place broth ingredients into pressure cooker and bring to a boil without the lid:

6 cups of water
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons Chicken flavored Vegetarian Bouillon

Divide dough into ten equal pieces about the size and shape of a small biscuit, drop into boiling broth then cover and seal pressure lid. Simmer for twenty minutes. Take off the burner and let it depressurize before removing lid.
I keep these in the freezer to use in recipes in place of meat.

Vegan Sausage Patties, without added fat

Vegan Sausage Patties

1 can chickpeas, drained rinsed and mashed with potato masher

2 Tbls egg replacement powder mixed with 4 Tbls water

2 Tbls fresh finely chopped parsley

several squirts of amino acid spray by Bragg

Combine and set aside, then put the following into a separate bowl:

1 cup dry TVP (textured vegetable protein)

1 cup vegetable broth, hot 1/4 cup finely diced onions or celery

1/2 tsp Ginger

1/2 tsp dry herb mix (Bragg sprinkle)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sage

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp Rosemary crushed

1//4 tsp caraway seeds crushed

Stir all seasonings and broth into TVP and let sit for 10 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup wheat gluten powder.

Mix everything together and form into 3" patties about 1/2" thick.

Place in medium hot skillet sprayed with a light coating of oil.

Cook until brown on both sides.