Vegan Chef April

This week I have been working a lot! I don't mind, but with my extra hours, I have not had the time to cook elaborate or time consuming meals. That is where my handy dandy crock pot comes into play. I have been craving Indian food lately, so I scoured the internet for indian crock pot recipes when I cam across an Indian lentil recipe and another for a recipe that had sweet potatoes in it. They both sounded so yummy, I couldn't choose, so I decided to put them together. The result? A flavorful combination that left my taste buds dancing and my craving more then satisfied: Crockpot Masala Sweet Potato Lentils Servings: 8-10 Prep time: 10 Minutes Cook time 3.5-6 hours Calories: 150-180 per serving You will need: 1 Cup Red Lentils (uncooked) 1 Medium Orange Sweet Potato (peeled diced into 2" pieces) 1 Yellow Pepper (diced) 1 Orange Pepper (diced)  1 Medium Yellow Onion (diced) 1/2 Head coliflower  4 Cloves Garlic (minced) 1 15 oz. Can Diced Tomatoes (

Fall is almost here, but in the bay area, that can mean cold, foggy weather or warm, sunny, summer type weather. Today was one of those cold days. I also happened to be working all morning and after working a lot this week, I really didn't want to spend my only night off this week cooking dinner. I love crockpot meals, they are easy to make,, and you don't have to worry about standing over a stove to stir a pot. Normally, I am not a huge fan of cauliflower, in fact, I usually don't eat it. I dislike the texture and it is so tasteless that most of the time I avoid it all together. However, I saw this recipe on Buzzfeed that talked about using cauliflower instead of noodles in mac and cheese. That sounded interesting to me, so I was going to give that a try, but I ended up making a cheese soup with it instead.It was absolutely delicious; it tasted just like "regular" cheddar soup with real cheese and cream, and I didn't even notice the cauliflower in it. My husb

Avocados are so delicious any time of the year. They are high in vitamins and omega-3s are are very filling, not to mention tasty in many different recipes, particularly salads. I went to this little market near where I work and I saw these huge, perfectly ripe avocados for only $1.99 (in SF, a great deal considering how big they were). After purchasing these beauties, I put them in the fridge to get them cold and decided to make a salad. Early this afternoon, we went to a picnic held by my husband's work, where they had lots of yummy treats. After eating so many calories earlier in the afternoon, I needed something lower in calories and higher in veggies and fiber for dinner. Salad was the way to go: Avocado Salad on Spinach Calories: approx. 220 per serving Servings: 2 Prep time: 10-15 Minutes What you will need: 1 Avocado (cubed) 1/2 Cup Grape Tomatoes (cut in half) 2 Green Onion Stalks (diced) 1/4 of a Red Onion (diced) 1/2 Green pepper (chopped)

I love hummus. It makes such a good snack, meal, spread, sandwich topper, dip, etc. I usually buy a stormed hummus (all natural of course) but nothing beats homemade hummus when I have the time to make it. Recently, one of my good friends made a homemade basil hummus and it was so delicious, that I decided to make my own version, and it turned out so delicious, and it only took 5 minutes! Basil Pesto Hummus Serves: 4-5  Prep time: 5 minutes What you will need: Food processor 1 can Garbanzo Beans (drained and rinsed) 3-4 cloves peeled Garlic 2 TBs quality Olive Oil (I wouldn't recommend using extra virgin as it doesn't add enough flavor) 1/2 tsp Lime Juice 1 tsp Paprika  (thats my secret for it being so yummy) 1 TBS Sea Salt 1/2 TBS fresh ground Pepper 1 tsp Onion Powder Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth (about 30-45 seconds). Serve warm or chill for 30 minutes. Enjoy with crackers, fresh cut veggies, or however you like y

One of my all time flavor combinations is sweet potato and avocado. Something about the sweetness of the potato and the cool creaminess of an avocado just go so well together. I discovered this combination several years ago but in the form of a filling for a burrito. It was a recipe for a sweet potato and blacken crock pot filling and the recipe called for avocado as a garnish. I though that is was a weird combination, but I gave it a try, and to my surprise, fell in love. Since then, I have experimented with this flavor combination and have created many successful recipes; my latest being a salad. Give it a try and let me know if you made any changes that added to the overall greatness of this combination. You can also turn this into a tasty burrito if a salad doesn't hit the spot. Just use your favorite tortilla or taco shell instead of the mixed greens. Happy eating! Warm Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing Serves: 3-4 Prep Time: 7 Minutes Cook

Pesto Pasta is one of my absolute favorite meals. It is so tasty, especially with a homemade pesto sauce. Many people think sauces are complicated and hard to make, but this one is super easy and takes about 5 minutes total!  Vegan Pesto Pasta Servings: 5-6 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time 10 Minutes What you will need: Pantry: 1/2 box of your favorite Rotini Pasta (I used Barilla Veggie Rotini) 1/3 Cup Olive Oil + 2 TBS for sautéing  1/3 Cup lightly salted or unsalted Cashews 1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast 1.5 TBS Sea Salt  1/2 tsp Onion Powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder Fresh: 4-5 Cloves of Garlic (peeled) 2 Cups fresh Basil 1 TBS Lemon Juice 1 Green Pepper (chopped) 1 Red Pepper (chopped) 8oz Baby Bella Mushrooms (sliced) 5 Green Onions (diced) 1/2 Red Onion (diced) 3/4 Cup halved grape or cherry Tomatoes Directions: For Pesto sauce Place cashews in food processor and pulse 5-7 times. Add 1/3 cup oil, garlic, yeast, basil, lemon juice, spices, and salt

In June, my husband and I decided we were going to loose 10% body fat each. Before that, we had been eating less healthy then normal, and were not working out regularly. Yes, we both had crazy demanding schedules, but we were not making time for ourselves. After getting a fat caliper and taking body measurements (including weight) we both decided we were not happy with where we were at and wanted to make a change. At first, it was really hard to get our buts in the gym and regularly work out. Before deciding on this change, I was going to the gym 3-4 times per week, but all I did was either run on the treadmill or do my cardio on an elliptical. Well, I had been doing just these two things for the past 8 months, so my body had gotten used to it. When we decided we were going to take up the challenge of body change, I drastically changed my workout regime. Instead of just doing 45 minutes of the same cardio, I added 2 days of strength training (weights, kettle bells, etc) which I did for

Many people have been asking me what my favorite protein powder is. I have tried a lot of different protein powders trying to find the right one. There are a lot of different powders out there all claiming to be "good tasting" high in "nutritional value" and the like. Well after trying a lot of different powders, my favorite thus far had to be the "Vega" protein powder. I have tried all of their flavors which include, Berry, Vanilla, Chocolate (my favorite), and Tropical. I am not a huge fan of the berry as it smells like fruit loops, but kinda has a odd flavor and doesn't seem to mix well with anything. However, the rest of these flavors are great. I can mix them into smoothies (see other recipes) or just mix them with a liquid and drink a quick protein shake. The powder mixes really well into liquid and you are not left with a gritty or chunky texture like a lot of other protein powders. The vega powders mix smoothly into liquid. I like to mix the tr

I love smoothies for breakfast, they are a fun way to have a quick breakfast on the go. Even though some days, I get to busy to make a smoothie and opt for a quick protein shake, I still enjoy creating new delicious smoothies. My absolute new favorite is the mint chocolate chip smoothie. This version taste just like the ice cream with the same name, only its much lower in sugar and fat, higher in protein, and overall, a lot better for you! Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie  (Serves 1) What you will need: 1 Cup Original or Unsweetened Almond Milk 1 Cup Spinach 1 Scoop of Vega Chocolate Protein Powder (or your favorite Chocolate Protein Powder) 1/2 Tsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1 TBS Unsweetened Cocoa Nibs  1/4 tsp Mint Extract (you can sub 1-2 fresh mint leaves) 1 Frozen Banana Directions: 1. Add all ingredients except banana into blender and "mix" or "blend" for 30 seconds. 2. Add frozen banana and blend for 45 seconds. 3. Pour and enjoy!

          I was not always a vegan. In fact, I am not a strict vegan, but my husband is. When I started cooking vegan food for him many years ago (at that time I was a meat eater, but have since become a strict vegetarian), the only "vegan" food I knew how to make was (surprise, surprise) salads. Honestly, they always consisted of the same ingredients: romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, green peppers, tofu, and oil and vinegar dressing. BORING!                  Well as you can image, we got tired of those salads pretty quickly. That is when I started experimenting in the kitchen. At first, most of my experiments didn't come out very well,(some of them were even completely in-eatable), but my husband was a trooper and always thanked me for the meal, even if it was unappetizing (several years later, he told me how bad I used to be, but by then, I was able to laugh about it).                 After experimenting for a while, and failing miserably, I started to notice i