Plant Based – The Spicy Spatula

Pesto & Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad

January. 2022January. 2022Bowls, Grains, Herbs, Plant Based, Salads, Vegan2 Comments

We all know how much I love salads and Buddha bowls (get my vegan sushi bowl recipe here). I can eat them just about every single day of the week without eating the same thing, or getting sick of them. But, that doesn’t mean that I’m not always trying to improve a recipe or improvise on existing recipes. The possibilities are endless and it’s important in general, but especially when you’re trying to eat clean and healthy, that you keep things fresh.

It’s easy to get sick of eating anything, but that is especially true of healthy, whole foods that aren’t fatty and addictive, that aren’t made to keep you coming back for more. So it requires some effort, not a lot, but some.

So a while back my niece made tabbouleh for me and the husband since we’re the only two vegans in the family. She was adorable, at fourteen years old, making this dish for us. So proud of herself and I was too, honestly. And when I was in need of a new vegan salad recipe, I thought back to Alex and her tabbouleh.

This is technically tabbouleh, but not in it’s traditional way. This is how vegans fancy up a simple salad.

Before we even begin, I’ll let you know that chickpeas aren’t a traditional ingredient in tabbouleh and I, of course, omitted the oil. Those are the major changes I made so if you’re still interested, keep reading for a unique twist on tabbouleh salad.

Continue reading ➞ Pesto & Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad

Easy Vegan Appetizers ~ Feed A Crowd & Party On!

January. 2022January. 2022Beans, Dips, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Snacks, Vegan1 Comment

Whether you’re having a birthday or anniversary party, Super Bowl or Australian Open party, you’ll need to be able to feed a crowd. Feeding a crowd a bunch of vegan appetizers is easier than you might think, as long as you stop thinking of party food in traditional ways.

The first party I threw after going vegan was to celebrate Wimbledon (Hello, I am a tennis nerd! :P) and I was thinking like an animal eating party thrower. My mind immediately went to things like meatballs and buffalo wings, spinach & artichoke dip and all those other party snacks filled with dairy and flesh. No bueno.

As time went on, I became more comfortable just thinking about vegan appetizers and ways to veganize old school party foods. That was (almost) five years ago and now, I feel like a pro.

I mean, I’m not a pro but I feel less stressed when making food for a crowd. Then again that could be because I haven’t attended many crowded events for…some time now.

Tasty vegan appetizers to feed a hungry crowd!

Feeding a mixed crowd of vegans and non-vegans isn’t something I worry about. Why? Because my husband and I are both vegans and so is our household. If you come to our house, you should expect to be served vegan food. Period.

But you know what? Even if it’s just you and your family, however big or small that is, vegan appetizers are a great way to have a snack fest all day on special days. This particular spread of vegan party food was for me and the hubs on New Year’s Eve.

Continue reading ➞ Easy Vegan Appetizers ~ Feed A Crowd & Party On!

Lazy Vegan Dinners – Crispy Soy & Broccoli

January. 2022January. 2022Bowls, Herbs, Plant Based, Sides, VeganLeave a Comment

I know, I know. As a certified carb-a-holic, it seems crazy to cook a meal without rice or noodles or pasta or…whatever. But sometimes you’re just too lazy, especially on workout days and you just want something quick and easy that tastes good.

Enter this super fast lazy vegan dinner. And the best part? If you need more sustenance, add a baked potato or a side of rice, like I did for this lazy vegan mashed potato bowl.

The second best part? You can switch this up use a vegan burger with corn on the cob, vegan sausage with roasted carrots or whatever meat alternative and vegetable you want.

This might not be lazy enough for some of you, but I promise that this meal will be done before your delivery order arrives at your front door. Don’t take my word for it, just test it out.

Continue reading ➞ Lazy Vegan Dinners – Crispy Soy & Broccoli

Hot & Spicy Vegan Sausage Jambalaya

January. 2022January. 2022Grains, International vegan cuisine, one pot recipes, Plant Based, VeganLeave a Comment

When it comes to making a one pot vegan dinner, few dishes are easier or tastier than jambalaya. And my favorite part of making a good vegan jambalaya is that there are just so many options. You can switch out meat alternatives like vegan chicken and vegan sausage and use beans. Or multiple types of beans. Or even go with tofu or tempeh, the choice is yours are there are so many of them.

You can switch up the different types of rice available at your local markets, switching up basmati for jasmine, wild rice or black rice or even red rice. Just remember that different grains mean different cooking times and you’ll have to adjust your vegan recipe to suit that.

You can even turn your jambalaya into a Cajun style casserole with or without cheese, or even topped with your favorite spicy peppers.

Since this is a one pot vegan recipe, you will have focus on prep before you do anything else, so if you’re a spontaneous sort of home chef who grabs this and that from the cabinets at the last minute, prepare yourself for a lot of “oh crap” and running to stir to prevent things from sticking to the pan.

Continue reading ➞ Hot & Spicy Vegan Sausage Jambalaya

Vegan Sides Great for Any Holiday Dinner

December. 2021December. 2021International vegan cuisine, Pasta, Plant Based, Potatoes, Sides, VeganLeave a Comment

With the holidays right around the corner, many vegans will have a tough choice to make. Should I make a side diesh to bring to family dinner and risk that no one will eat it, or should I just show up and hope for something more to eat than salad and dinner rolls?

Not gonna lie, it can be a difficult choice, made much easier by everything else that’s going on. You could opt to stay home and still make enough food to feel a small army and thereby negating your need to cook for a few days.

Either way, I have a few options that are mostly easy, totally delicious and not too time consuming to make.

Continue reading ➞ Vegan Sides Great for Any Holiday Dinner

Lazy Vegan Meals ~ Greek Spiced Veggies & Orzo

December. 2021December. 2021Bowls, Grains, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, VeganLeave a Comment

Let’s be honest, no matter how much you LOVE spending time in the kitchen, creating new recipes, veganizing old favorites, some days you’re just not in the mood.

Takeout is always an option but if you live someplace that doesn’t have a lot of (good) vegan options, you still have to get in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible…without compromising the nutritious deliciousness that’s going on your plate and in your belly.

My favorite combination when I’m feeling lazy is to just do an easy paint by numbers lazy vegan recipe.

That’s how I came up with today’s recipe.

Lazy vegan meals are super easy to create, just follow this simple formula: Veggies + protein + grain = YUMMY.

Simple, right?

Continue reading ➞ Lazy Vegan Meals ~ Greek Spiced Veggies & Orzo

Vegan Junk Food ~ Vegan Animal Fries

December. 2021December. 2021International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, Potatoes, Sauces & Creams, VeganLeave a Comment

Sometimes you have to take a break from your healthy eating regimen and just go a little big garbage-y. Right?

I’m not really a person that subscribes to so-called cheat days, at least I try not to be, but if I’m having a craving for something then I’ll just go with it–in moderation–and eat something better for the next meal or the next day. But my go-to hack for vegan junk food is to keep the portion sizes adequate and that seems to work for me.

I’d rather finish my plate and want more than push away from the table in regret.

But that’s just me.

Vegan animal fries with homemade burger sauce

So when The Husband requested Animal Fries for dinner the other night, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, I just had to be very careful how I weighed everything out so we could get enough of everything to make it proper vegan animal fries without going overboard. The last time I made Beyond Animal Fries, they were incredibly delicious but also packed with calories and fat and just…junk.

So I added more ingredients but in a lesser quantity. Intrigued?

Keep reading…

Continue reading ➞ Vegan Junk Food ~ Vegan Animal Fries

Easy Plant Based Vegan Lunch Recipe ~ Veggie Ramen & Miso Soup

November. 2021October. 2021Asian Food, International vegan cuisine, Noodles, Plant Based, Soup, VeganLeave a Comment

It’s no secret that one of my biggest food weaknesses is noodles. Whether it’s Fire Noodles, or a peanut butter soba noodle dish, or a vegan noodle soup, I love it. I want it. I need it. I’ll take a double portion of someone else is making it vegan.

And when I’m feeling a little bit lazy or if I just want noodles, I will dig around in the veggie crisper, grab a few favorites and combine them with ramen or udon or soba or…whatever else is out there that I can buy or get shipped to me. When the weather dips a little, add a tiny bowl of soup using the waste free broth I keep on hand, and BAM, a quick and easy vegan lunch.

Have you ever felt like having Miso soup but you don’t have all the ingredients? Me too. I’ve looked into the ethnic food aisles in Germany and Romania and you know what? NONE of them are vegan. They all have some type of fish flakes in them so you have to improvise, and that’s how I came up with my own version of vegan miso soup.

Continue reading ➞ Easy Plant Based Vegan Lunch Recipe ~ Veggie Ramen & Miso Soup

Vegan Sushi ~ Spicy Tuna & Veggie Rolls

October. 2021October. 2021Asian Food, International vegan cuisine, Plant Based, VeganLeave a Comment

Back in the days when animal products could be found in pretty much every facet of my life, I wasn’t a huge fan of sushi. Okay, that’s not entirely true. As a pre-teen girl in love with romance novels that featured women in expensive suits who ate sushi for lunch, I was obsessed with it and whenever I made a trip from the suburbs to Chicago, I would take advantage of all the sushi offerings.

Eventually sushi made its way to the burbs and I could eat it more often and I did, and I enjoyed it. Immensely.

Then one day in 1997, as it happens with so many animal consumers, I got sick. Really, disgustingly sick within hours of eating (allegedly) fresh sushi. That was the last time I ate sushi until I went vegan.

Now, I can safely say that I’ve developed or re-developed a fondness for the vegan sushi.

Full disclosure: as much as I wish I was responsible for this incredible vegan meal, the kudos belong to my husband who is our resident sushi expert. I may be a pro at rolling some things, but not sushi, so whenever we have it, he’s the vegan sushi chef in our house.

So if you’re impressed, it’s with him. Not me.

Continue reading ➞ Vegan Sushi ~ Spicy Tuna & Veggie Rolls

Vegan Sandwich Recipes ~ Spinach & Artichoke Open-Faced Sandwiches

October. 2021October. 2021Grains, Plant Based, Sandwiches, Vegan4 Comments

I used to be a sandwich snob. The kind of snob who thought that open-faced sandwiches were an abomination. A way to eat a sandwich without actually enjoying it. I don’t know, there’s just something about biting into two pieces of bread filled with goodness and hoping like hell that the insides don’t fall down your shirt.

Ah, good times.

I still contend that closed sandwiches are superior, but I am doing my best to become a better human, to expand my horizons, and to learn to love open-faced sandwiches. Progress, as they say, comes in teeny tiny baby steps.

Easy vegan spinach and artichoke sandwich recipe

Do you love spinach & artichoke dip? You know filled with vegan mayo or veggiegurt, with red bell peppers, tons of spinach and artichokes and garlic, topped with cheese? Well this is one of my favorite dishes to recreate into pasta dishes, dips, stuffed mushrooms, pizza and pretty much anything that can be spinach and artichoke-d.

If you do, this vegan sandwich recipe is right up your alley. It gives you all the goodness that you get from the dip, only now it’s a hearty and satisfying meal perfect for any weather, the pickiest eater or just for your beautiful self.

Continue reading ➞ Vegan Sandwich Recipes ~ Spinach & Artichoke Open-Faced Sandwiches