Category: Healthy Foods

On The Menu This Week: Vegan Burriots, Vegan Egg Rolls, & Vegan Pizza

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So, I’ve been trying to find more vegan meals to replace our go to meals. So far, we have been doing pretty good. I will say that I am loving the faux meat options that are available. I’m learning that it’s better to just buy the faux meat and make the meals vs. getting prepared/frozen meals. I can jazz it up to my liking and it’s healthier. Here are a few meals I prepared for this last week. Again…feel free to make substitutions and make these meals your own. The goal is healthier eating, in any way possible.

Vegan Burritos

I was watching Tabitha Brown on Instagram and she made some vegan tacos with nut meat. Now, I was hella skeptical, but she got me excited with that accent and that damn smile! So, I tried it out. It was super easy to make and was actually not that bad. I will say if you are a texture person, add something for a crunch. Or even fry the burritos to make them crunchier.

Nut Meat!! Yeah I know 😂

To make the nut meat, you get some nuts, (I used pecans), and soak them for a few hours. You want to get them really soft. Next, you chop them up with some onions and peppers. Once it’s all chopped up, you throw them in a pan with some olive oil and cook up. Add your seasonings as well.

Now, it’s time to roll them up. The key to rolling burritos is to not overstuff them! You don’t want everything exploding out while you’re cooking the shell. And yes, that’s vegan cheese!

Here is where you can do your own thing. You can either fry them, throw them in the oven, or whatever…just make sure the shell is cooked. (I hate tortillas that are not cooked!) I added some vegan sour cream, some green taco sauce, and voila! Vegan burritos for the family…sorry Ace.

Vegan Egg Rolls

THESE ARE SO AMAZING!!!!!! This was the best meal, hands down, for me and my youngest son. I love any thing in an egg roll and he loves Chinese food. I knew I could make this automatically vegan by just making spring rolls, but I wanted to try out some faux meat. It was freaking great!

So this was Beyond Beef and it was beyond amazing!! (Yeah I know lol) Make sure you season well and cook through like regular beef. If you have fresh garlic and ginger, I would use those…but the pandemic has me using whatever is in the pantry these days.

Winner!!

I recently learned that they have vegan wonton wrappers, so you can definitely use that. These are just the regular ones. You can also use water instead of egg or Just Egg(vegan).

Don’t overstuff and DON’T JUDGE MY QUARANTINE NAILS!

Throw them in the oven and enjoy!

Vegan Pizza

This was a no-brainer!! We love pizza in this house. We also love creating our own. When I saw the vegan thin crust…I was excited! I love thin crust and it would be something exciting for the boys to try. This is really something you can have endless options with.

Pick whatever ingredients you want to use and pop it in the oven! It’s that simple. I used BBQ sauce because I love the tangy flavor vs. marinara. The vegan sausage wasn’t bad at all and I could even tolerate the vegan cheese. It is a little sweet…vegan cheese…for whatever reason to me. But the other flavors held up well with it. Definitely kid approved!!

This Week’s Healthy Meals: Veggie Stir Fry, Jerk Salmon Patties, & Simple Greens & Cornbread

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So, I don’t know about y’all, but I am tired of eating during this quarantine. Cooking used to be something I looked forward to. I would be excited about coming up with delicious meals for the kids to devour. But now that you have to basically risk your life just to get a can of tomatoes, I’ve been over it. Combine this with recently moving to an area of town with more access to bomb fast food…cooking has been a no go.

But I am now ready to get back in the kitchen. I had to find something that would challenge and excite me. Continue reading →

Sweet Potatoes…The Healthy Starch

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sweetpotatoesWhen it comes to healthy eating, it can be hard to find ways to implement healthier options into your diet. For me, I have never been a sweet potato girl. It always tasted a little weird to me unless it was in pie form. But, I then realized that when cooked properly and seasoned, they are amazing. I literally, eat them at least twice a week. Sweet potatoes are full of wonderful health benefits. They are packed with Viatmins B6, C, D, and best of all, iron. They are a great source of potassium and magnesium, and also are not the overly sweet food that will have you in a coma just minutes after consuming. More importantly, they are versatile. You can turn them into fries, roast them, or even bake a full one and eat like a regular potato. My favorite is simply pan roasting them, like home fries. They are crunchy, spicy, sweet, and a perfect healthy addition to any meal.

IMG_9951Here is what I do:

  1. First, take one sweet potato(more if you are cooking for others), and peel it. Once it is peeled, dice it into little squares.
  2. This is the important step to achieve the crunchiness of the potato. Take the diced potatoes and put them in a container with a lid or plastic wrap covering and stick it in the microwave. I do for about 6 minutes, making sure you can stick a fork through them and they are soft. Soft…not mushy.
  3. Once you have done this, you want to heat up your pan with some olive oil. I prefer grape seed oil because it adds a little more flavor to it.
  4. While the oil is heating up, add your seasoning to potatoes before adding to the pan. I like to add kosher salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I add in fresh garlic and lemon juice towards the end of cooking.
  5. Once the pan is hot, add the potatoes evenly and let them sit. Too much stirring will not give you the crunchy exterior, but properly watch them so they do not burn.
  6. Since they are already precooked, you are really just looking to get the crispiness of the potato so it should take only 10-12 minutes. Don’t forget to add in your garlic and lemon juice towards the end of cooking.

And there you go! A delicious and healthy side that pairs well with almost anything. Low in calories and packed with nutrients, sweet potatoes are a must have in any healthy diet.

Photo credit: http://www.en.wikipedia.org and Jeanine Nicole.