Best Ever Vegan Recipe for Veggie Zoodle Spaghetti now minus any oil and minimal added salt. EASY! #noaddedsalt #oilfree #glutenfree #healthyeating

Best Zoodle Spaghetti Ever!

Picture of the original recipe 2 years ago.

http://01reluctantvegan.blogspot.com/2015/01/best-ever-vegetable-spaghetti-gluten.html

This is a reworking of a recipe I came up with 2 years ago, but this time I didn't add any salt other than what was in the cans for the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. You can if you want. I also cooked my onions and garlic in water instead of oil and I made up a cheese substitute which eliminated the oil in the packaged kind. Instead I made up my own adding nutritional yeast, Tapioca flour and potato starch instead to thicken it.

Makes 2 servings.

Delicious Recipe for Spaghetti Sauce

(This is a big pot of Marinara sauce.  I use about 2 cups for this dish and put the rest away for another day.)
Tomato Sauce:
29 oz.Tomato sauce, 12 oz.Tomato paste, 28 oz. Diced tomatoes, 4 cloves garlic, 1 onion, 2 chopped stalks kale, 1 dash Black Pepper,  12 chopped pitted dates, 4 TBS oregano, 2 TBS Rosemary, 4 TBS basil, 4 TBS nutritional yeast. (you may want to add 1 TBS of salt or to taste).

In a large pot bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil. Add the chopped onion and garlic with the spices. Let it cook until the onions become clear, then cook uncovered to reduce the water. Add the rest of the above ingredients, bring it back to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Veggie Zoodle Noodles:
 3 Yellow Zucchini Squash, 1 Green Zucchini, 1 Carrot, 4 Mini Sweet Peppers
Use the Spiralizer  to shred the carrot and the zucchini then slice the peppers into thin strips.

Cheese Substitute
Boil 1 large or 2 small peeled and cut up Yukon gold potatoes in salted water until soft. Save the water, mash the potatoes.
In a separate bowl,  mix 3 TBSP of nutritional yeast, 3 TBSP Tapioca flour, 1/8th tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika. (Mixing the dry ingredients keeps the Tapioca flour from clumping.)
Mix in the potatoes, 1/2 TBSP lemon juice, 2 TBSP white vinegar, 1/4 tsp Tabasco and 3/4 cup of starchy water from the potatoes. Put it in a blender on high until it thickens. Add more water if it's too thick.

Mix the veggies with about 2 cups of the Marinara sauce and the cheese substitute. More if you prefer.

Using an 8 x 8 inch glass casserole dish, add the mixture. Cook it for 50 minutes at 375 F.
Let it cool to absorb the liquids then serve.

I found I had a bit more liquid than I liked, so I put in a piece of Rye Bread to absorb the extra and then removed the bread. (I ate that too.)
You Celiac people can use gluten free bread to do the same thing.
I like to refrigerate it over night to let the flavors mature then heat it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.

You may enjoy:  Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

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Enjoy!

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Was that so hard?

Brussels Sprouts For Lunch.

Veggies + Fruit

     I weighed myself today.  That's 76 lbs gone that I'll never miss.  How?  Simply by eating fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and very little oil.  My lunch today was a shining example of what I'm talking about.
     In the picture I have on the left Brossels Sprouts. On the right is a sliced Fuji apple.  The green mystery plant in the middle is broccoli.
     I can here you thinking:  "What? That doesn't look like broccoli!?!
     Well it is.  I used the florets the night before in a salad.  What we have here are the stalks that I washed, sliced and cooked for about 20 minutes in 2 cups of the vegetable soup stock that I saved from a previous dish.  Again I strained these veggies, saving the stock and had a delicious cup of hot soup with dinner last night.  The sprouts and stalks went into Tupperware to join my sliced apple for lunch today.  Very simple and very filling.
     You can look up the nutritional benefits of Brussels Sprouts, apples and Broccoli for yourself, but the point is you don't have to starve yourself to lose weght, you just have to eat the right things!  Enjoy!

Update - Hospital Food Will Put You There

 

    As a follow up to my disappointment with the unhealthy food options at the hospital quarterly breakfast meeting, I just got off the phone with the Administrator's office.  I voiced my complaints about having the choices of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, bagels with cream cheese and butter and yogurt with no simple fresh fruit or fruit salad as an alternative.  We talked about the radio ads they broadcast about the hospital being the center of community wellness. My question was simply why wasn't their a fruit option? If the hospital is concerned with the wellness of the community, why aren't we looking out for the wellness of our own staff as members of the community?  Shouldn't we be setting an example and at least offering fresh fruit as a healthy option?

     The response was understanding and apologetic with a promise to look into who did the catering. I was promised that the option for fruit would be available at the next meeting in 3 months. Stay tuned.

My Almost Favorite Recipe! Butternut Squash Casserole

I was asked to pick a favorite recipe. Its probably the Ghost Pepper Chili, but since President Clinton just did a similar thing with butternut squash and black beans on TV, I'm going with this one. It has a wonderful flavor and texture and I don't think its that hard to make. 

I modified the original recipe and took out some of the salt and all of the olive oil after attending a lecture by Dr. Esslestyn at the Plant Based Nutritional Support Group:  http://www.plantbasednutritionsupportgroup.org/blog/

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CASSEROLE

1.5 lbs. of Butternut Squash cubed 

1/2 cup of Unsalted Sunflower Seeds                

12 oz. package of Frozen Chopped Spinach        

 2 stalks of Kale chopped

 6 stalks of Celery chopped                                                                                        

1 Large Sweet Onion chopped

4 cloves chopped garlic

1 cup of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk

1 Cup of vegetable soup stock

1 inch of fresh Ginger grated                 

1/2 Cup of Nutritional Yeast                              
1/2 tsp Nutmeg                                                    
4 TBS Lite Soy Sauce                                       

1 Sweet Yellow Bell Pepper                           

2 TBS Cayenne Pepper

2 TBS Ground Cinnamon 

2 TBS Milled Flaxseed 

4 TBS Water

                                    

   Cheese Substitute
Boil 1 large or 2 small peeled and cut up Yukon gold potatoes in salted water until soft. Save the water, mash the potatoes.
In a separate bowl,  mix 3 TBSP of nutritional yeast, 3 TBSP Tapioca flour, 1/8th tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp of smoked paprika. (Mixing the dry ingredients keeps the Tapioca flour from clumping.)
Mix in the potatoes, 1/2 TBSP lemon juice, 2 TBSP white vinegar, 1/4 tsp Tabasco and 3/4 cup of starchy water from the potatoes. Put it in a blender on high until it thickens. Add more water if it's too thick.
                     

                              

Cook the Frozen Chopped spinach per package directions with a TBS of chopped onion, a pinch of salt, kale and one clove of chopped garlic.  Drain and set aside to cool.
Add the 4 TBS of water to the Milled Flaxseed, stir and set aside for at least 10 min.
In a separate bowl, mix the almond milk, soy sauce, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a large pot get the soup stock boiling.  "Sauté" the rest of the chopped onion until clear. Add the garlic, ginger, celery, chopped yellow pepper and butternut squash.  Add the almond milk mixture. Cover and let it simmer stirring occasionally  until all the vegetables are soft.  Stir the pot to partially crush the vegetables.  Drain and let it cool.
The Milled Flaxseed should be the consistency of an egg.  Mix it with the spinach, nutritional yeast and kale. 

In a large (9 x 13 in) casserole dish lined with parchment paper or sprayed with PAM mold a thin layer of the spinach, yeast, milled flaxseed and kale mixture over the bottom and a little up the sides to form a layer of green.  Bake it at 400 degrees for 15 minutes to make it a little firm. Sprinkle on a little Cayenne pepper over it.  Add the drained mixed squash and vegetables and spread it evenly over the spinach and kale.  Sprinkle on the rest of the Cayenne pepper. Drizzle the "cheese substitute sauce" evenly over the top and sprinkle with the sunflower seeds.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 min. or until brown.

Let it cool before cutting.
Enjoy!

Kale Chips. Crunchy Oil Free Snack!

I wanted something spicy to snack on during Superbowl XLIX so I puréed 4 oz of firm tofu with a leek, fresh parsley, fresh cilantro, garlic, equal parts spicy mustard and sriracha sauce, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 2 TBS of maple syrup and 1/2 cup of fine ground corn meal with a pinch of salt.
Wash the kale. Break it into bite size pieces.  Dip it in the batter, wipe away the excess and bake it in a foil pan in a 325* oven for 30 minutes than lower the temperature to 200* to finish drying out the chips. Store in a paper bag and serve like chips.
Enjoy!

Vegan Breakfast - Steel Cut Oats!

Snowy Superbowl Sunday!  A perfect day for hot steel cut oats, also called porridge and coffee.  Here's everything you need:

1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups Silk Almond Milk (I like vanilla)
2 cups water
1 cup raisins or chopped dates
2 TBS Pumpkin Spice

Bring it to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.  Stir, cover and let it cool for 10 minutes.  Makes 2 bowls.

I added a handful of dried cherries and also put a little maple syrup in my coffee with a sprinkle of pumpkin spice. Maple syrup is good on oatmeal too if you like it sweet

Now that's a breakfast!

I like to double the recipe and keep it covered in the fridge.  It re-heats nicely in the microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes.

Protect your heart.  Its up to you!

13 Months A Vegan. Lettuce Wrap...sort of.

February 1, 2015 marks the end of the 13th month that I've been totally plant based or Vegan. That happens to be my lucky number.  I was born in Detroit, area code 313, at 10:13 weighing 7 lbs 13 oz with a home address of 13740.  Needless to say, I had high hopes for this month and was not disappointed.

At lunch time today, I looked around and found the leftover stewed veggies that I made last night and these HUGE collard green leaves. My friend Joel mentioned 2 days ago that raw collard greens are really good to use as a wrap and here I was with a bunch of them staring at me! Last time I cooked them like a cabbage roll so I figured I might as well give it a try, right?

So here's what I put in the stewed veggies:

 baby spinach, kale, fresh cilantro, carrots, celery, an onion, a sweet red pepper, chopped dates, garlic, white pepper, paprika, fresh tomatoes, snap peas, portobello mushrooms and stir cooked them in 4 cups of water with 2 cups of the vegetable broth I saved from the stewed veggies I made the other night. Again I strained the veggies and saved the broth.

Then I took one cup of quinoa, 1/2 tsp cumin and 2 cups of water, brought it to a boil, reduced the heat to simmer for 15 minutes covered and set it aside to cool.

Equal parts of quinoa and veggies were mashed together.  Take the washed collard green, cut off the hard stalks and spread them out flat on the counter.  Use enough of the mixture to cover half a leaf; about the size of a hamburger.  I used spicy mustard and jalapeno peppers to give it some zing and then rolled them up.  Add some fresh berries or other fruit and presto! Lunch!

No knife required. Its gluten free and nut free so no excuses!  Very good end to my 13th plant based month!  Here's to the next 13!

Super Bowl Sunday!  What can I make for snacks?  I'll have to get back to you on that.