People wonder what I eat sometimes because,
being non-vegan, many of them tend to have some kind of animal product or by-product at
every meal. To me, that seems crazy. To them, I seem crazy. But here is one of
my average dinners to exemplify that omitting meat is not actually difficult
– nor does it sacrifice flavour.
* Gardein products are easy to find and make when you don't feel like preparing something from scratch. There are usually a
few cooking options, but I prefer the toaster oven because it's healthier than the microwave and less messy than stovetop.
A lovely trifecta!
Vegan nuggets
One of the many vegan secrets you should know is that Mandarin
Orange Crispy Chick’n from Gardein is delicious! I have found this and many
of the company’s other products in the frozen section of grocery store organic/specialty
aisles and various health food stores. It looks and tastes pretty close to
the real thing and all you do is cook a bit on both sides, then mix around in
the sticky sauce provided.
Brussel
Sprout Chips (adapted from Mayim’s Vegan
Table)
For a side veggie, which I try to include
with every dinner now, Brussels sprout chips ― courtesy of the Mayim Bialik cookbook ― are
so good. And I say this as someone who never enjoyed Brussels sprouts the old
fashioned way, steamed and smelling like feet.
Ingredients:
- 2 dozen Brussels sprouts
- 1 capful extra virgin olive oil (about 1 Tbsp or less)
- Sprinkle of sea salt
- Hemp seeds and nutritional yeast (optional)
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350˚F. Wash the Brussels sprouts and discard top layers, then keep peeling layers and place them on
cookie sheet (I like to put down parchment paper first for easier clean-up). Discard the remainder of the Brussels sprouts once you can’t peel any
more layers.
Drizzle olive oil over the layers, sprinkle on the sea salt, then add some hemp seeds and nutritional
yeast (if you’d like) for extra protein and B12, respectively. Mix them around with a spatula to evenly distribute the oil and toppings.
Bake for 5 minutes, mix around again (I pull out the whole tray to do this
while wearing oven mitts to avoid injury) and place back in the oven for
another 5 minutes. Brussels sprout layers should have slightly crispy edges at
this point. If you’d like them crispier,
try one more set of 5 minutes before removing.
Easy
Peasy Mini Garlic Bread
Most people these days seem to want to
avoid carbs but, frankly, I still think we should have some! To
round out this meal, I spontaneously thought of how I could make a little
something extra that would be easy, quick, relatively healthy and taste great. SilverHills products are also fantastic and almost as easy to find as Gardein.
Ingredients:
- SilverHills Sprouted Ancient Grains Hot Dog Buns (high in protein/fibre)
- Earth Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread (check other types too)
- Minced garlic (not as healthy in the little bottle, but ready to go and easy to spread)
Directions:
These hot dog buns come frozen, but it’s
relatively easy to break them apart. Butter both halves on the inside, then
spread minced garlic generously before placing in the toaster oven.
Depending on your appliance, you can experiment with how long and at what level to put it. I toast mine at Level 2 for about 3 minutes. Remove from the oven carefully and voila!
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