I invented this recipe last night and (to my surprise) it turned out really delicious! I can’t put my finger on it, but something about this recipe tastes very… Indian? Like maybe garlic naan and aloo gobi?… I can’t figure it out or figure out why! Maybe it’s because I have a cold x___x

Vegan Baked Potato and Veggies (Indian?)

This recipe is very flexible and below I’ve given explanations for how/why.

I know it looks LONG, but this recipe is really very easy to make and the ingredients are very simple!

INGREDIENTS

1 russet potato
1 large carrot, sliced thinly
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
~1 Tbsp onion, diced (I used red onion, any will do)
~2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped

olive oil
crushed red peppers (optional)
cayenne (optional)
thyme (optional)
salt & pepper
nutritional yeast (optional / or substitute with cheddar cheese for non-vegan)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F

Potato: Scrub potato with vegetable brush under water, then dry. Prick potato all over about 15 times with a fork. Cover the potato with a coating of olive oil (usually 1 tsp will do) and rub the skin with some salt*. Place potato directly onto oven rack in the center of the oven and bake for about 50-65 minutes, depending on the size of potato (my medium-size potato took 60 minutes).

Veggies: When the potato is about 20 minutes from being done, prepare all the vegetables. In a frying pan, begin cooking the carrots with a teeny amount of olive oil on medium-high heat. After 1-2 minutes, add the onions. After 2-3 more minutes, add the celery, garlic, chives, and a little water (2-3 Tbsp).

Stir everything up, then add the spices: a light dash of red pepper (more if you want it really spicy), a light dash of cayenne pepper (more if you really like cayenne!), and a REALLY light dash of thyme (a little thyme goes a long way). Add a light dash of salt and a dash of pepper.

Cover frying pan with a lid** and reduce heat to medium. Cook another 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, add the kale on top of veggies and cook on low-medium heat, covered, for 3-4 minutes until the kale is well-steamed.

Combining: When the potato is finished, cut it in half lengthwise and open it up completely to let it cool (on a plate). Score the white insides to help the potato cool and open up the halves even more. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and nutritional yeast (or if you must, cheddar cheese), then pour all the veggies op top and eat!

That’s all. I’m so happy to be sharing my kitchen adventures with you :D

Although I have several great vegan and vegetarian cookbooks, I rarely follow recipes… instead, I whip things up from scratch without knowing what the meal will become! LOL :P I’m so eager to use up whatever is fresh in my fridge that I end up with a lot of odd combinations. The ones that make it to facebook are only the recipes that turned out well :)

* Oiling and salting the potato will make the potato skin soft and delicious after baking – so you can eat the skin instead of throwing it away. Also note: you can bake the potato at 425°F for 40-55 minutes if you’re in a rush, but I think slower/lower temperature baked potatoes taste better.

** If you don’t have a lid, use a large plate or a crock-pot lid (that’s what I did :P). Covering the frying pan helps the veggies cook all-around without losing moisture.

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Tags: dinner, health, meals, recipes

I often post vegan recipes and snack ideas over at the Antishay fanpage, but from now on I’m going to post longer recipes here. It’s just much easier than storing the recipe in an photo’s info box on facebook :P

Misty's Vegan Potato Soup

This recipe was requested by many people on facebook, so here goes… VEGAN POTATO SOUP!!

My friend Misty made this for me a few days ago and I am STILL eating leftovers! The best part is that it reheats on the stove in a flash, so I don’t need to use the microwave ;)

The recipe is pretty loosey-goosey so don’t worry about exact ingredient quantities, or even exact ingredients for that matter! When I make it myself someday, I may add a couple of carrots :P

INGREDIENTS

10 or so yellow/soup potatoes, peeled and diced
3-5 stalks celery, sliced – leaves and all
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 to 1/2 purple cabbage
5-6 stalks kale, chopped – including stems
olive oil
vegetable bullion
nutritional yeast (optional)
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Peel and dice potatoes. Bring 10 cups water to boil in a covered soup pot while preparing other ingredients. Add bullion according to directions or to taste — for this soup I believe we used 5 cubes of vegan vegetable bullion.

Once water is boiling, add potatoes to water in pot, stirring occasionally.

In a frying pan, saute onions and garlic in a negligible amount of olive oil until onions are partially clear and soft. Add the onion and garlic mix to the boiling potatoes, and add the cabbage and celery too.

A couple of minutes before the potatoes are thoroughly soft, add the kale for the last few minutes of cooking. When the potatoes are soft through and they begin to break when you stir them, t’s done!

Serve in bowls, add salt and pepper to taste (may not be necessary), and top with nutritional yeast if you want to  — I think it adds a nice nutty flavor to the soup.

The soup will get better and better as it ages! If you wanted to, you could keep cooking it until everything turned to mush, but in my opinion it’s ready to go as soon as the potatoes are done cooking :)

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Tags: dinner, health, meals, recipes

I refuse to believe that I will ever develop healthy eating habits by restricting myself to the extreme. So sometimes I just eat what I want — but I stay in my calories, and at least make the meal a tad bit healthier :P

Buttermilk Pancakes with Fruit, Eggs, and Bacon

Recipe: 630 Calories, Give or Take (see below)

This is a total indulgence meal for me :P (I eat vegan most of the time)

Pancakes – 155 calories (for 1.5 – 5” pancakes)

The calories for the pancakes will vary SIGNIFICANTLY from mix to mix. Find a healthy, low-calorie one :) – I’m using (unfortunately) Aunt Jemima’s Buttermilk Pancake Mix, which (while yummy) is not the whole wheat kind I grew up on and prefer. I made 1/2 of the single-person recipe for this to fit my calories.

Topping – 265 calories

RECIPE

1 Tbsp Butter (100 cals)
2 Tbsp Honey (120 cals)

1/2 Cup Strawberries (25 cals)
1/8 Cup Blueberries (20 cals)

Make the topping by mixing the honey, butter and a dash of cinnamon in a small container and microwaving on high for about 20 seconds – then mix everything together again and microwave another 10-15 seconds. Let cool before using on pancakes. I drizzle the still melted honey-butter over the pancakes (all layers) and then add the fruit to the top.

Two Eggs (scrambled) with Tapatío – 140 calories

Three Bacon Strips – 70 calories

* * *
Total Calories: 630.

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Tags: breakfast, calorie tips, dinner, fruit, healthy baby steps & tips, meals, recipes