Tag: food

Recipes, Uncategorized

Lily’s Favorite Chili

veganlivingbydanielle
Lily's Favorite Chili Award | Vegan Living by Danielle
Won the “Most Creative” category at a Chili Cook-Off!

Remember: you can alter this to your preferences! I left out the kale last time I made it because I didn’t have any and it was still great. I added carrots instead and threw them in about 20 min after the sweet potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1/2 inch cubes)
  • 1 (28 oz) can of ground, crushed, or peeled tomatoes (get crushed if you don’t like stewed, cooked tomatoes; no need to drain)
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (optional for spice lovers)
  • 1 cup dry quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp of cayenne (optional for spice lovers)
  • 1 (15.5 oz) can kidney beans, drained
  • 1 bunch of kale, stems removed

Directions:

    1. Place olive oil, garlic and diced onion on low in a crockpot.
    2. Cut up the sweet potatoes.
    3. Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, quinoa, water, jalapeno pepper (if desired), and all the spices to the crockpot.
    4. Rip or cut kale leaves to bite sized pieces.
    5. Stir occasionally.
    6. Once the quinoa grains have opened, add kidney beans and kale.
    7. Stir occasionally.
    8. Ready to serve when the sweet potatoes are soft (approx. 8 hours).
    9. Serve warm and enjoy!

This recipe is a good one to meal prep! Cooled chili can be separated into freezable Tupperware containers and kept frozen until they are ready to be eaten.

For this, and almost all recipes, I recommend leaving the peel on and just washing all veggies well. The peel contains a lot of the nutrients, and we wouldn’t want to waste all that goodness by throwing it out!

I also usually add stems, but didn’t include them in this recipe because some don’t like the texture. If you’re like me, I recommend cutting into 1/2 inch pieces.

Recipes, Uncategorized

Ideas for Serving Quinoa Salad

veganlivingbydanielle

There are many different ways you can serve quinoa salads!

The two recipes that I have shared so far are the Mexican Quinoa Salad and the Mediterranean Quinoa Salad. Both of these could be served on their own, hot or cold.

Some other ideas include serving the quinoa salad over a bed of fresh greens. The Mexican Quinoa Salad always pairs well with some salsa and slices of avocado.

One of my favorite ways to eat these salads, is wrapped in a tortilla, served cold, with some fresh greens. This is a really good way to grab lunch or dinner on the go! The Mexican Wrap is delicious with avocado slices and fresh salsa (the less liquid in the salsa the better). The Mediterranean Wrap is very yummy with a tablespoon or two of hummus spread on the tortilla.

Most tortillas are vegan, but always check the label to see if it contains milk, eggs, honey, or other non-vegan ingredients. For help identifying non-vegan ingredients, check out my post on Vegan Apps on iTunes!

Enjoy!

xo,

Danielle

Recipes, Uncategorized

Mexican Quinoa Salad

veganlivingbydanielle

Vegan Mexican Quinoa | Vegan Living by Danielle

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dry quinoa
  • 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock (or 1 1/2 cup water with 1 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic, 1/4 tsp salt)
  • 1 can of corn, drained
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes (with jalapeños if you like spicy!), drained
  • 1 can of your favorite beans (chickpeas, kidney, or black beans), drained
  • 1 can of olives, halved
  • 1/4 red onion, diced
  • 1/2 lime, juiced (approx. 1 Tbsp of juice)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup salsa
  • 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (1 Tbsp dried cilantro)
  • Between 2 – 4 Tbsp red wine vinegar to your taste
  • 1 avocado (optional)

Directions:

  1. Put dry quinoa and stock, or water and spices, in large saucepan over high heat.
  2. Reduce heat to simmer when the pot is boiling and cover.
  3. Let quinoa cook for a total of approximately 15 minutes, or until all kernels are open and fluffy. Stirring is not necessary or recommended. Best results come when the lid is left on during the whole cooking process.
  4. Once quinoa is thoroughly cooked, move it to a bowl. Refrigerate to cool if desired to serve salad cold.
  5. While the quinoa is cooking and cooling, prepare remaining ingredients.
  6. Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
  7. Add quinoa to the large bowl and mix well.
  8. Serve cool or warm and enjoy!
  9. Option to top each serving with sliced avocado and a whole, fresh cilantro leaf.
Recipes, Uncategorized

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

veganlivingbydanielle

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad | Vegan Living by Danielle

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dry quinoa
  • 2 cups vegetable stock (could substitute water, but stock is much more flavorful; low-sodium stock highly recommended)
  • 1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped or 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
  • 1/2 cup red onion (about 1/4 of a larger onion), chopped
  • 1/2 can chickpeas, drained
  • 1 med cucumber with the seeds removed, diced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • juice of 1/2 lemon (roughly 1 1/2 Tbsps)
  • juice of 1/4 lime (roughly 1/2 Tbsp)
  • 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 3/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup kalamata, green, or black olives (optional – depending on your taste), halved

Directions:

  1. Put dry quinoa and stock in large sauce pan over high heat.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low when the pot is boiling and cover.
  3. Let quinoa cook for a total of approximately 15 minutes, or until all kernels are open and fluffy. Stirring is not necessary or recommended. Best results come when the lid is left on during the whole cooking process.
  4. Once quinoa is thoroughly cooked, move it to a bowl and refrigerate to cool.
  5. While the quinoa is cooking and cooling, prepare remaining ingredients, and mix in a bowl.
  6. When quinoa has cooled, combine quinoa with remaining ingredients and mix well.
  7. Serve cool and enjoy!

 

It is the season for barbecues, picnics, and grad parties. I highly recommend doubling this recipe to bring to these events! It is definitely a real crowd pleaser. Also, quinoa and chickpeas have a good amount of protein for you, so it’s definitely a good thing to bring with you to picnics to be sure there is a vegan option for you that has a substantial amount of protein.

I like to take a bit of it with me as my lunch, or serve a few scoops on the side of dinner!

Recipes, Uncategorized

Tortilla Pizzas

veganlivingbydanielle

Tortilla Pizzas | Vegan Living by Danielle

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup veggie ground crumbles (found in the same section as veggie burgers)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic or 1/2 tsp powdered garlic
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 2-3 baby bella mushrooms
  • 4-5 black olives
  • 1 handful of spinach
  • 1/2 cup pasta sauce
  • 2 medium sized tortillas

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450F with the cookie sheet in the oven to warm it for quicker, more even cooking.
  2. Slightly warm the veggie crumbles in a small pan on low heat with olive oil, garlic, and oregano, stirring occasionally. Don’t over cook it now, because it will cook more in the oven and you don’t want it to be dry!
  3. Slice the mushrooms and olives, chop the spinach, and set them aside.
  4. Take the cookie sheet out of the oven and place tortillas on the sheet side by side so as little of the tortillas are overlapping as possible, if at all.
  5. Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the tortillas, leaving a little room around the edges for crust. We don’t want too much sauce or the tortilla will not cook evenly. 
  6. Add toppings evenly over the pizzas.
  7. Place cookie sheet back in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Watch for the edges to be a golden brown, you might not even need 8 minutes! 
  8. Remove cookie sheet from oven and use a spatula to take the pizza off the sheet and put it on a plate or cutting board to cut into 4 or 6 pieces per pizza!

Makes 2 tortilla pizzas.

If you’re like me and like to dip your pizza in ranch or some type of dressing, I recommend the vegan dressing: just ranch. You can find it at most Target stores!

Enjoy!