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Mexican Tacos with a Veggie Flare!

Who says vegan mexican food can't have all the flavors of a meat-based meal?  It can be just as mouth-watering but with with a lot less fat and a lot more nutrients!  My friend recently told me that she went vegetarian for 2 weeks, but was struggling to come up with a good taco recipe. So I decided to whip up some tacos at home to show her how it's really done around here!

Recipe
1 package Corn or Wheat Tortillas, steamed
1 package Match Meats Beef or Yves Ground Round
1 jar of salsa
1 cup of corn
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
2 cups of lettuce, chopped

Stir in the salsa into the meatless beef and heat it thoroughly for 5-7 min until the flavors and fully mixed. Then place the tortillas into a steamer and steam for 2-3 minutes. You can also heat the tortillas in a toaster oven or in the microwave (but be sure to first wet the tortillas with water so that they remain soft when heated).

To assemble the taco, put about 3 Tbsp (or more) of the meatless beef into the middle of the tortillas, then add some more salsa if you'd like, then add the corn, cilantro, and avocado. Then for the best part...just wrap it and eat with your hands! (the sloppier the better!) A simple, easy, and elegant meal!

Veggie Chicken Strips

Who would've thought that something like chicken strips could be replaced by a product made out of  a humble soybean!  Well, technology has certainly come so far that we can now mimic the taste and texture of animal flesh and the results are fabulous, compassionate, healthy and delicious!

Today, I'm featuring Light Life's Smart Strips which you can find in most produce sections of grocery stores. You can use them in fajitas,  stir frys, casseroles, pot pies, stews or burritos.

As you may have caught on by now, I love making stir frys as they are so easy to make and incredibly versatile. Below, you see a simple stir fry I made with the Smart Strips. 

Because you can use these strips in any meal, I'm just going to give you an idea of what I did and you can use this post as inspiration to make your own master piece.

Recipe:

1 package of Smart Strips by Lightlife

2 carrots, julienned

1 red onion, julienned

1 red pepper, julienned

1 cup brown rice, cooked

1 bunch arugula greens

Sauce:

1.5 TBSP Tamari (soy sauce)

1 TBSP agave nectar (or to taste)

2 TBSP brown rice vinegar

So basically I sauteed the strips first until they were lightly browned, and then added a variety of veggies (onions, red peppers, carrots) . Then I tossed the veggies in a simple sauce I made with tamari, agave nectar and brown rice vinegar and put it on a bed of rice and arugula greens!  Such a simple, yet elegant meal!

Grilled Pork and Vegetables without the Pig!

I've decided that we'll have a "Meatless Mondays" menu item which will contain alternatives to traditional meats. I hope it'll help those of you who are transitioning from a meat-based diet to a plant-based one.

My husband and I came across this AMAZING product called Match Meats.  I love their tagline: Better for You, Better for Everyone. This stuff looks like meat and even feels like it too! We've only made one item from them so far, but were very impressed by it's ease of use.

So the first thing we tried was their "pork" product. If you want to know what it looks like and how to cook it, this company has it's act together and offers videos on how to use all their products! This video shows you how to work with their pork product and here is where you can order this delicious goodness.

Here is how we made this dish:

Recipe:
1 package of Match Meats pork product
1 head of broccoli, steamed
fresh thyme leaves
barbecue sauce (optional)

So, this a very simple preparation technique.  Since the veg meat is very pliable, I wet my hand (to prevent it from sticking to them) and molded the patties into a burger shape.  We then very lightly sprayed canola oil onto our George Foreman grill and cooked them until we got those nice grill marks. Derek, decided he wanted the patties to be slightly browned, so we put them on a non-stick pan to brown.  You can see the images of how we did this below.

Once the patties are browned, I sprinkled some fresh thyme  and lightly salted the patties. You can add barbecue sauce to the side if  you'd like, but we thought the patties were flavorful enough as is.  I then served the dish with some simple steamed broccoli which was lightly salted.

What a simple and satisfying meal...and the best thing about it was that there is a happy happy ending!
...and this little piggy was never eaten!