Tag: plant-based

Recipes, Uncategorized

Meatless Melt

veganlivingbydanielle

I’ve been loving making grilled cheeze lately. However, I’ve been following low carb macros lately for summer prep – as long as summer isn’t cancelled this year! I was wondering how I can add more protein to the meal and thought about the plant based deli slices from Lightlife! Perfect.

 

Sammie 2 | Meatless Melt

This is less of a “recipe” and more of an idea and steps to “create” the sandwich.

I used Lightlife “turkey” deli slices, Dave’s Killer Bread (low-carb), Violife Cheddar Cheeze, and Earth Balance butter. You can use mix up the cheeze flavor and the type of plant based deli slices to add some variety. Most bread is vegan. You can use apps like these to double check. Usually dairy and eggs have to be listed as allergens at the bottom of the ingredients list like “Contains: Milk.” You can also look for margarine this same way.

Ingredients for the sandwich

Ingredients:

  • 2 slices of bread
  • 2 slices of cheeze (more or less slices depending on your preference)
  • 4 slices of plant-based deli slices (more or less slices depending on your preference)
  • 2 Tbsp vegan butter
  • mustard, optional
  • vegan mayo, optional
  • sliced tomato, optional

Directions:

  1. Take out a small frying pan and put it on the stove over med-low heat.
  2. Take out 2 slices of bread.
  3. Butter one side of each slice of bread.Buttered Bread | Meatless Melt
  4. Once the pan is warm, put one of the slices of bread, butter side down, on the pan.
  5. Layer the cheeze and deli slices on the bread in the pan. Use as many slices of deli slices and cheeze as desired. I layered 1 cheeze, 2 deli slices, 1 cheeze, 2 deli slices. Layers | Meatless Melt
  6. Add any additional toppings here! I topped with mustard, I would have added vegan mayo if I had it too. Adding a slice of tomato here would also be very yummy!
  7. Place the last slice of bread on top, butter side up.
  8. Let it cook for about 3 minutes and then flip.
  9. Keep cooking and flipping until both sides of the sandwich are golden brown and crispy.
  10. Remove from the pan and cut the sandwich in half, if desired.
  11. Let cool for 1-2 minutes before eating.

Enjoy!

Serving suggestion: with a warm cup of tomato soup! Campbell’s original tomato soup is vegan, just cook it with water or unsweetened original non-dairy milk.

Macros: 38g carbs, 15.5g fat, 20g protein

Layered | Meatless Melt

Advertisement
Recipes, Uncategorized

Tofu Scramble

veganlivingbydanielle

I’ve been loving tofu scramble! I call it tofu scrambie for fun. So good for breakfast and one container of tofu lasts me for about 2-3 breakfasts.

That Tofu Thing

I bought myself a tofu press for Christmas and it’s amazing! I used to squeeze the water out and soak the excess water with paper towels. Very wasteful, but it works…The tofu press squeezes the water out all the way which makes it cook more evenly. It really helps if you grill or fry it up. For this recipe, you don’t have to go too crazy getting the excess liquid out, it just takes a bit longer to cook thoroughly.

Gather spices: turmeric for color, salt or egg salt/black salt, and pepper.

Spices

Plate

Directions:

  1. Drain tofu of liquid and squeeze as dry as possible.
  2. Cut the tofu into cubes.Tofu
  3. Warm frying pan on the stove over medium heat.
  4. Add oil to the pan.
  5. Once warmed, add the tofu to the pan and mash with spoon.

  6. Add a small dash of turmeric for color and mix until all tofu is yellow.
  7. If you have black salt/egg salt, you can use in place of the salt. I recommend about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp and mix.
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste either while it’s still in the pan, or upon serving.
  9. Dress them up like you would scrambled eggs!

Enjoy!!

Recipes, Uncategorized

Chik’n Parm

veganlivingbydanielle

Dress up your Wheat “Meat” recipe and make a chik’n parm dinner!

It’s super simple and very similar to cooking up chicken or eggplant parm, if you’ve ever done that.

You’ll need flax egg, vegan bread crumbs, frying oil, flour (optional), and sprigs of basil (optional for garnish).

Make a flax egg:

  • In a mixing bowl, whisk 1/4 cup flax seed meal with 3/4 cup water.
  • Let stand for 5 minutes for the mixture to become gelatinous.

Prep bread crumbs:

  1. I use 1-2 cups of vegan Italian bread crumbs. I like these bread crumbs from Whole Foods because they’re vegan and already seasoned.
  2. Whatever bread crumbs you use, you can add a bit of flour to the bread crumbs to make them stretch further and last longer.
  3. You can also search through your grocery store’s panko or plain bread crumbs and check the ingredients list that they are free of egg and dairy.
    • You can add Italian seasoning to the plain bread crumbs, 1 tsp Italian seasoning per cup.
    • If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can use 1/4 tsp of oregano, 1/4 tsp of basil, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, 1/4 tsp of garlic powder.
  4. Put the bread crumbs, whichever option you choose, on a plate.

Directions:

  1. Take one slightly cooled piece of Wheat “Meat” and dunk it in the flax egg until it’s evenly coated on both sides.
  2. Take the piece that’s coated in the flax egg and cover in the bread crumbs on both sides.
  3. Put the coated piece on a clean plate.
  4. Repeat until all pieces are coated in flax egg and bread crumbs.
  5. Set frying pan on medium-high heat and add frying oil.
  6. When the pan is warm, put the Wheat “Meat” pieces in the pan.
  7. Cook until one side of the piece is golden brown and flip to cook on the other side. Add more oil if needed.
  8. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
  9. Remove from pan.
  10. Top with warmed red pasta sauce and vegan cheese if desired. I prefer Violife mozzarella and parmesan.
  11. If you are using “meat” that is completely cooled, I recommend baking for 15-20 minutes. You can also bake for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.
  12. Top with a sprig of basil for garnish.

Enjoy!

CH

 

 

Lifestyle Tips, Uncategorized

Paleo-Vegan

veganlivingbydanielle

Are you like me and need higher fat and protein than carbs? Are you vegan but interested in Paleo? Are you looking to go vegan but want healthier, lower-carb options?

Most people are under the impression that foods that are vegan are going to be healthy. It is extremely important to realize this is not fact. Another impression people have about vegan foods are that they are expensive. The expensive part about any diet is what items you are purchasing.

When practicing paleo-vegan eating, I make exceptions here and there for quinoa, granola, and potatoes. I decided to periodically include these foods because vegan and paleo can both be challenging to meet all when combined. Here are the guidelines of a combined paleo and vegan diet WITHOUT my little “exceptions”:

paleo-inspired vegan