Far East Salad

Ingredients
Salad
1/2 head of kale
3 oz extra firm tofu, cubed
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/4 cup shelled edamame
1/2 cup mandarin oranges
1/2 cup cabbage, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon slivered almonds
salt and pepper, to taste

Dressing
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoons sriracha
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

Directions
Wash and dry kale. Drain and press tofu. Cube tofu, add some salt and pepper to taste. Prepare other vegetables as indicated. Toss all salad ingredients together.

For dressing, whisk dressing ingredients together. Store in separate container to eat salad the next day. Or toss dressing with salad ingredients to serve right away.

Adapted From
Far East Salad from Sprout

Nutrition
makes 1 salad
370 calories  |  11g fat  |  47g carbs  |  29g protein

Vegetable Tahari

Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice, washed
3 medium russet potatoes
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, segmented (or a handful of cherries)
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Spices
2 teaspoons cumin
4 peppercorns
4 cloves
4 green cardamoms
2 black cardamoms
2 bay leaves
2 sticks cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cm ginger, crushed

Directions
Peel potatoes and cut into 2-3 cm cubes. Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan and fry potato cubes. Once browned (but not cooked through), remove potatoes and set aside. By frying them first they’ll maintain their shape and not turn into mashed potatoes among the other ingredients.

In the same oil as you fried the potatoes, add in all the whole spices and gently fry for 2 minutes. Add in onions and fry until they start to brown.

Then add the washed basmati rice. Fry for a little. If the onions have absorbed all the oil, you can add a little more. Stir in ground spices, and mix to combine. Make sure ground spices don’t clump in one area, they should be evenly spread around the dish. Add in the peas and stir. And finally, add the potatoes back in, along with diced tomatoes. Pour in 3.5 cups of cold water and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer, add in salt to taste, give one final good stir to make sure nothing’s sticking to the pan and cover. Leave it covered for 12 mins – don’t be tempted to touch it. Once the lid is taken off, any steam will escape, halting the cooking process.

After 12 mins, take a peek. It should be moist, but not soaking wet. If there’s too much moisture, return to medium heat with the lid off to reduce the amount of liquid.

Serve and enjoy, but be wary of the whole spices! Try to pick them out before, or pay attention while eating.

optional: serve with plain yoghurt

Nutrition
makes 4 servings
518 calories  |  4g fat  |  108g carbs  |  14g protein

Sweet Pineapple Chili

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 can of black beans (no sodium added), undrained
1 can of pineapple chunks, undrained
8 oz tomato sauce, unsalted
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
salt, to taste

optional: brown sugar, green onions, or lime slices

Directions
Add a small amount of water to a large saucepan. Saute onions and pepper over high heat, until pepper is brightly colored and onion is transluscent, about 3 minutes.

Add pineapple, beans, tomato sauce, and spices. Stir to combine. Transfer 3/4 cup of chili to blender and process until mostly smooth. Add blended chili back into saucepan. Add brown sugar, if desired.

Simmer over very low heat for 10 minutes to thoroughly heat and allow flavors to mix. Serve with optional green onion or lime slices.

Nutrition
makes 2 large servings
438 calories  |  2g fat  |  90g carbs  |  17g protein

Mac and Cheese

Ingredients
6 oz dry pasta (macaroni, shells, rotini, etc.)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt

optional: 1/2 head of kale

Directions
Prepare the pasta as indicated on packaging.

While pasta is boiling, in a separate saucepan, prepare the cheese sauce by whisking together remaining ingredients. Bring cheese sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Corn starch will set after simmering for a few minutes. Once cheese sauce has thickened, after about 5 minutes, reduce heat to low until pasta is finished cooking.

Drain cooked pasta, and return to pot. Pour cheese sauce over pasta, and stir in washed/chopped kale leaves. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Top with ground pepper or sriracha sauce.

Nutrition
makes 2 servings
454 calories  |  4g fat  |  89g carbs  |  22g protein

Mini Almond-Glazed Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients
Scones
2-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cane sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold vegan butter, cut in pats
1 cup mini chocolate chips
2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 4 tablespoons cold water)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond milk

Glaze & Topping
1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 teaspoons almond milk
1 tablespoons sliced almonds

Directions
In a small bowl, make your flax eggs. Stir together ground flaxseed and water, and set aside to allow flax to soak up the water.

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter just until the mixture is crumbly, some large chunks will remain. Stir in the chocolate chips until combined.

In a the flax egg bowl, whisk in the vanilla, and 1/2 cup almond milk. Add the liquid ingredients to a well in the dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together. It's going to be pretty dry, but you may need to stir in some additional milk if the dough is too dry or doesn't come together.

Scrape the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Pat/roll it into a square, about 8" to 8-1/2" square, probably around 3/4" thick. Transfer dough onto silicon baking mat (or parchment paper). Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 3 hours.

When you're ready to bake scones, preheat the oven to 415°F. Remove dough from refrigerator, and transfer to parchment paper, or well-floured cutting surface. Cut dough square into 2" squares with a sharp knife. Now cut each square in half diagonally to make triangles. Transfer triangles to silicon mat on a baking sheet. They won't expand very much, and can be set fairly close together; you should be able to crowd them all onto an 18" x 13" half-sheet pan.

Bake scones for 18 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 425°F, and move scones to top shelf. Bake for another 6 minutes, until golden-brown. Remove pan from oven, and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool longer.

Make the glaze by stirring together the sugar, milk, and almond extract. Sift sugar first, for an extra-smooth glaze.

After scones are no longer hot to touch, about 15 minutes out of oven, you're going to coat each scone with glaze. Dip each one individually, place back on wire rack, and garnish with two or three almond slices. Make sure to place parchment paper or a plate under your wire rack to catch glaze drips. Allow the glaze to set before serving/storing the scones.

Alternate Flavors
Cranberry Orange Scones
1 cup chocolate chips = 1 cup dried cranberries
add 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
1/2 cup almond milk = 1/4 cup almond milk + 1/4 cup orange juice
4 teaspoons almond milk (in glaze) = 4 teaspoons orange juice
almond garnish = orange zest garnish

Tomato Basil Scones
1/3 cup sugar = 1 tablespoon sugar
add 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh cracked black pepper
1 cup chocolate chips = 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoons vanilla extract = 2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
*omit glazing

Adapted From
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/scone-nibbles-recipe

Nutrition
makes 38 mini scones
115 calories  |  5g fat  |  17g carbs  |  1g protein