Original Recipe - Curried Black Eyed Peas with Tempeh Sausage

My uncle turned me on to black eyed peas mixed with vegan sausage and curry ... his recipe was super simple and featured the vegan sausage crumbles available in the frozen food section but I wanted to re-create the dish using freshly made, and more importantly, no oil sausage made from tempeh.

I recently decided to drop added oils from my diet. I'm not sure how long I'll last but I'm giving it a go!

I found the sausage recipe in the Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon.

You can certainly use seitan-like Gimme Lean Sausage or Boca crumbles in this, it's your call.


Shelly's Curried Black Eyed Peas with Tempeh Sausage

1 15 oz can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed well.
4 oz cooked vegan sausage (I used the tempeh sausage recipe from Everyday Happy Herbivore)
1 to 2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dijon mustard

Combine it all!  You can eat this at room temp, chilled or warmed up. It's good inside a tortilla or even over a baked potato. It can be served as a side dish or main entree with some roasted veggies.

Original Recipe - Chickpea Enchiladas

I originally came across a recipe for white enchiladas in the Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook and I messed around with the recipe enough that it became a whole other thing so I'm sharing my original recipe

with you! 

I like to mix up a batch of the filling and sauce and then keep it in the fridge for quick meals! 

I could eat this everyday!

You'll need a package of whole wheat tortillas in the bigger size, some pico de gallo and some guacamole if you so desire. If you can get your hands on the Daiya Wedges in the Havarti or Jack flavor.. slice some up and stick it inside .. it's sooo good.

I linked you to my original taco seasoning mix recipe but you can use what you have as well.

Shelly's Chickpea Enchiladas

Filling:

(1) 29-32 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup salsa verde

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt (to taste - be careful)

Place drained and rinsed chickpeas into a food processor and blend until it's flaky and there are no whole beans but do not process as much as you would for hummus. You want some texture. Place beans into a larger bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.

Sauce:

2 cups water

1 tsp no chicken bouillon

1/2 to 3/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 to 2 Tbsp cornstarch (start with one)

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp taco seasoning

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the ingredients and cook over medium heat, whisking until it starts to thicken. If it stays too thin, use the extra tbsp of cornstarch. You want this sauce to be on the thin side. It's done when it will coat the back of a spoon. 

To assemble: Take one large whole wheat tortilla and place the filling along the middle. If you want to add Daiya wedge slices in Havarti, do it now.. it's fabulous in these! Then roll it up and place the fold side down on a microwave safe plate. Microwave for 30 seconds to a minute until the filling is hot. Top with warm sauce and pico de gallo, green onions and guacamole, if desired.

You can also roll it like a burrito as shown in the photo. I like to do that because the filling stays in there better.

Note: for leftovers, I've found it works better to warm the filling on it's own and then add it to the tortilla and heat just long enough to warm the tortilla and then pour the reheated sauce over it.

Original Recipe - Garlic -Ginger Brown Sauce

I love a good stir fry!

Here is my own yummy basic brown sauce that works over any veggies you have.

Serve over brown rice and you're done!

I like mine with fresh broccoli and baby bella mushrooms! 




Shelly's Garlic-Ginger Brown Sauce

2 cups veggie broth (see note)
4 Tbsp soy sauce (see note)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce, like Soyaki (see note)
2 tsp garlic
2 tsp nutritional yeast (see note)
1 tsp ginger paste (see note)

Whisk everything together in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer and whisk until thickened.

Notes:

- you can use water with some no beef bouillon in place of the veggie broth. Water works too but the sauce is more flavorful with broth.

- you can use tamari or Bragg's Aminos for the soy sauce.

- If you don't want to use a teriyaki sauce, sub in some molasses or brown sugar instead

- the nutritional yeast is optional but it makes the sauce more rounded.

- you can use fresh minced ginger or a smaller amount of dried ginger.

Original Recipe: Taco Seasoning Mix

I have no problem paying for good quality herbs and spices but when it comes to blends, I often think to myself ... 'I can make that!' 

So, I decided to try to make my own taco seasoning. Sometimes the retail mixes aren't vegan or it has junky ingredients that I just don't want to eat but I like the convenience of having a ready mixed blend that I can just toss into a recipe.

This is my knock-off clone of Penzey's Original Taco Seasoning. 


Shelly's Taco Seasoning

Makes 1/2 cup

1 TBSP + 1 tsp Paprika (I used regular)
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Tomato Powder (see note)
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Onion Flakes
1 Tbsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Cornstarch
1/2 tsp Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Cinnamon

Mix in a bowl with a whisk until fully blended.  Add to beans, vegan meats or sauces as desired.

Note: You can find the Tomato Powder at Firehouse Pantry

You Have Super Powers!

When people learn I'm vegan I usually hear the statement
'I could never be vegan because I could never give up (enter food here)'

It's usually cheese, ice cream, bacon or hamburgers.

Now, of course, anyone can and will do something if they want to do it. It's simply a choice. An easy one. You want to, you will .. you don't want to, you won't. Period.

However, people don't seem to use the powers they have to help themselves .. their super powers.

Let's talk about the super powers we all have:

Free Will 

Ah, free will ... you have the ability to act at your own discretion. You decide hundreds of things in a day. You decide when to get up, what to wear, what to eat for breakfast, and which route you drive to work. Some of those choices might be slightly dictated by others, say what time you actually start your work day.

However, in most cases, you choose your path every single day ... from simple decisions to big ones. Sure, some require others input or affect others in some way but lets focus on your diet, nutrition and fitness.

You have pretty much 100% say in these areas.

Unless you are incarcerated or in a third world country, or have some strange situation, you have the free will to choose what to eat each day. When someone says 'I could never give up cheese', it means they don't want to. It means they make the choice and decision to eat the cheese. The answer? Don't eat it. Choose not to eat it.

You have the choice to exercise or not. Yes, you may have challenges or limitations but if you want to make it happen.. you can and will find a way.

You have the choice to choose to eat nutritionally good foods over bad foods. Whole foods over packaged. Vegan over animal derived. Fruit over cookies. Salad over burgers. Water over soda.

Even when I've been challenged .. say in an airport, fast food restaurant or in a very unvegan friendly restaurant, I've been able to find something. It may only be fries and a salad, nuts and a bottle of water, steamed veggies and a bowl of fruit or tacos... hold the cheese, hold the sour cream and sub beans in for the beef.


Willpower

Oh, you think you can't resist the cheese? You're wrong. You have a choice and free will ... you can resist.
Now.. maybe it's difficult for you .. maybe your willpower is low for certain things .... well, guess what? If it is.. DON'T BUY IT.

If you wanted to quit smoking, you wouldn't buy a carton of cigarettes and leave them on the counter. If you wanted to stop gambling you wouldn't go to the casino. If you wanted to save money you wouldn't go to the mall.

If you don't walk into a grocery store and make the choice to go into the dairy section and make the decision to put the block of cheese into your cart and wander wound with it in your cart for half an hour and remove it from your cart and place it on the conveyor belt at the checkout and pay for it and bring it into your home and slice it or place it into a recipe - you can't eat it.

Look how many times you have the choice and the willpower to STOP eating that cheese.

Red light foods, foods which you believe you have no control over and is not nutritionally good for you, should never be in your home. Ever. I'm not saying you can't eat them again but you need to make the choice and effort to eat them.. you should have to go and buy a single serving of that red light food, consume it and move on.

If you want to stop eating animal products then don't bring them into your home. If you want to stop eating junk food, don't buy the junk food. If you'd prefer your kids eat an apple instead of chips then don't buy the chips! You can also find more healthful choices of the things you like.

If you love to bake but can't resist the end product then only bake when you can give the end product away or freeze it so you can have one serving at a time or google for a single serving recipe.. they are out there!


Being Positive

Yes, being positive IS a superpower. I am, by nature, Eeyore. I am more doom and gloom than most people. I prefer to expect the worst and be happily surprised when the best happens. I'm the girl that expects a deranged killer to jump out at me in a dark room.. I'm not paranoid, just prepared. It's much easier to expect disappointment rather than find yourself disappointed.

One thing I am positive about is my decision to follow a plant based diet free from any foods that contain animal products. No flesh, no broth, no eggs, no dairy products, no honey, no gelatin, to name a few.

A negative person would pout and complain about all the things they can't eat and how hard it is to eat at all. They would say things like 'oh, I miss (enter food here)' or 'I crave (enter food here)'  ... if you miss it, you aren't searching for an alternative (and believe me, you can find one) and if you are craving it, you are craving something about it - perhaps a feeling it gives you like a comfort food or a memory of eating it with a certain person or in a certain place, or the sugar, fat and salt content. Remember that flesh has no flavor.. it's all in how it's seasoned and presented (usually with plants!). Bacon is fat, salt and smoke... you can get that in many foods.

Instead, I choose to look for alternatives to whatever I want and in the 7 years I was vegetarian and the 3 years I've been vegan, there hasn't been one thing I've wanted that I couldn't find a vegan recipe or alternative source for.

The best thing about eating a plant based diet is your choices are almost always better for your health. The foods contain a good amount of protein and fiber with less fat and sugar. The foods are mostly whole and fresh vs pre-packaged and chemical-laden.

I've also had great success at finding plenty of plant based junk for those times I really want to eat like a kid again. I've had success finding delicious and healthy recipes for dishes that are normally full of guilt, like mac & cheese or brownies. You cannot imagine what it's like to indulge in a yummy, gooey, black bean brownie, knowing it's basically good for you..certainly better for you than one containing chicken eggs and cow butter.

The plant based options in the grocery store and food industry have grown.

Here is just a small list of plant based vegan choices for things you may eat on a regular basis:

tempeh bacon
hot dogs
veggie burgers
nut and grain milks (soy, almond, rice, oat, hemp, coconut, etc)
cheese
pizza
deli slices
broths
sausages (oh, biscuits and gravy!)
ice creams (made with soy, almond, coconut, and rice milks)
beefless tips and burgers
chickenless nuggets, patties, wings, cutlets and more
porkless riblets
turkeyless roasts
cereals
soups
pastas
sauces
condiments
salad dressings
cookies, pies and desserts
tacos, enchiladas, burritos and nachos
sushi and other asian dishes
thai food
candies
cheesecake
mac & cheese

The list goes on and on. If you want it.. I can probably find it for you... feel free to message me if you need recommendations on retail foods or recipes.

Making Time Instead of Excuses

I guess making time is a very elusive superpower. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard 'I don't have time to eat a plant based diet, or cook, or eat right'. If you have time to shower, get dressed, put on makeup, drive to a restaurant, wait for your table, wait to order, wait for your food, wait for the check, eat and drive home.. you have more than enough time to eat at home .. in fact, you could prepare quite the fancy meal with that amount of time or instead take that time to make multiple things and stock your fridge or freezer.

If you have time to sit and watch hour after hour of TV shows or go shopping or spend hours on Facebook, you have the time.. you just aren't choosing to spend the time in the kitchen. There are people busier than you that manage to do it... trust me.

I have days where I love to cook and I spend a few hours in the kitchen making things to stock my fridge and freezer and then I have days when pouring myself a bowl of cereal feels like cooking a holiday feast and those are the days that I am damn glad I have black bean burgers in my freezer! You don't have to love to cook but you should love yourself and your family enough to make the time to think ahead and cook.

There are so many great cookbooks out there with recipes that are made with everyday ingredients and come together quickly.. you can have a nice homemade meal on the table in lass than 30 minutes, sometimes less. I have a ton of go to recipes for when we are short on time or I'm not in the mood to cook... I can have a decent meal on the table in 15 minutes.

Make the time like you make the time for other things. Put it into your planner .... If you won't, then just admit you don't want to make the time ... maybe you don't like to cook, and that is fine.. but stop making the excuses and just own it... instead of saying 'I don't have time', say 'I don't want to make time to cook so I don't.'

If that is the case... make better choices in what you do eat. Choose better in restaurants, make an effort to choose better convenience foods, pay someone to cook for you. There are always options.

The bottom line is this.. it's only has hard as you make it. It's your choice. You have the free will, the willpower and the positive attitude to do it .. if you choose to.

How To Get Past Veggie Hate

Ah, veggie hate. It's alive and well in practically every corner of the world.

First, I blame parents. I blame the parents that cook vegetables into a mushy pile of nastiness and force children to eat it before leaving the table because 'veggies are good for you.. eat them'

Not cool.

Secondly, It's a scientific fact that younger people have more taste buds so it stands to reason that they are bigger tasters in general so strong flavors are sometimes hard to deal with. This is one reason why most kids like the milder flavored veggies like corn, potatoes and peas and won't appreciate the stronger flavors until they are older.

If you still have veggie hatred in your soul, it's time to get past it. why? Veggies are good for you .. eat them!

Only this time, you'll eat them because you like them, they make you feel fantastic, they taste good and no one is forcing you.

Reasons for Veggie Hate

Childhood Trauma - I never recall anyone ever forcing me to eat anything but I have friends that lived this horror show and I can absolutely empathize with them but if this is your past, it's time to grow up and exorcise your veggie demons.

Attack of The Mush - if you grew up with parents that thought all veggies had one texture - MUSH - then I really do feel for you. It seems in the day and age of canned and frozen foods, it was forgotten that vegetables are not meant to be cooked into a blob. Veggies have texture! Who knew?! The only time you want mushy is in a baked sweet potato or mashed potatoes. Those you want nice and soft.

Afraid of Trying New Things - if you grew up seeing corn and peas on your plate night after night, you probably weren't really excited to eat something that looked like a mini tree or some oddly shaped bean. we tend to like what we know and anything new or different can send us into a tailspin... it's even worse as a kid.

Conditioning - if you touch a hot a stove, you know not to touch it the next time. The same can be said for less than stellar introductions to new veggies. If someone made you eat a poor pitiful brussels sprout that was cooked into mush then I can understand you being hesitant to ever try one again... but it's all in the preparation. I also know people that hate veggies so they deny their children veggies (or only give them the ones they like, never trying new ones).. which is probably one of the worst things ever. I can help you get past your conditioning.

I will also be talking about a few fruits, like tomatoes. As well as mushrooms and legumes (beans) in this post as most people consider those 'veggies'.

Exorcising The Veggie Demons

You know this will involve you eating veggies, right?  Stay with me. You can do this. I promise.

First, I want you to grab a piece of paper and make these four columns on it: Love, Meh, Hate, Never Tried

Here is how I define these columns:

Love - you buy this veggie and you make it and you love it. When you go to a restaurant, you'll order this veggie or it will make it onto your plate at a buffet or salad bar. You probably have a garden and grow these veggies.

Meh - you don't buy this to make at home but you wouldn't pick it out if it ended up on your plate at a friends house or in a restaurant. You don't love it, but you don't avoid it.

Hate - you would never buy this to make at home and when eating out you will specifically ask that it not be placed into your food. If you were to get a dish with this in it, you probably wouldn't be able to eat it or even pick it out. For example, I have severe hatred for green peppers. If I pick them out, it is still all I can taste. It ruins a dish for me.

Never Tried It - obviously, you've never tried it or you last tried it as a child. If you recall eating this as a kid, and hating it but haven't tried this as an adult.. you should place it in this column.

This list is not every single veggie on the planet.. but it has the most common ones available in a grocery store or specialty produce store, either fresh, frozen, dried or canned.

Now, plug these veggies into your chart... you may need to google them to see if you've had them before. Be specific. Some people love raw tomatoes but not cooked ones, I know people that eat onion rings but won't eat onions in anything else. I'll eat red peppers but I despise green peppers. List those in two columns. 

Let's be general in placing things in columns... if the only way you can eat a sweet potato is if it's loaded with sugar and cinnamon or the only way you'll eat an onion is if it's dipped in batter and deep fried, call that a 'love' for now but we'll need to talk about that later on. (wink)


Greens/Veggies and a few fruits:

arugula
bibb/boston/butter
kale
romaine
bok choy
broccoli
broccoli rabe
cauliflower
carrots
brussels sprouts
cabbage
celery
beet
collard greens
mustard greens
dandelion greens
endive
iceberg lettuce
spinach
pumpkin
zucchini
red pepper
green pepper
yellow pepper/orange pepper
cucumber
green onion
yellow onion
red onion
russet potatoes
sweet potatoes/yams
red potatoes
gold potatoes
peas
green beans
radicchio
swiss chard
tomatillo
watercress
avocado
eggplant
corn
baby corn
white mushrooms
cremini mushrooms
shiitake mushrooms
portobella mushrooms
tomato
butternut squash
kabocha squash
spaghetti squash
acorn squash
jalapeno
artichoke
capers
okra
garlic
asparagus
leek
chives
shallot
kohlrabi
daikon
bamboo shoot
radish
jicama
parsnip
rutabaga
split peas
water chestnut
dulse
hijiki
kombu
nori


Legumes (beans):

black
pinto
chickpea/garbanzo
lima
mung
red lentils
green/brown lentils
adzuki
black eyed
fava
white beans (northern)
kidney/red beans

edamame (soy beans)
tofu
tempeh
soy curls



Ok.... now that you have your columns, let's look at them.

The love column - obviously, you already love these but lets examine why you love them. Take a look at the flavor and the texture of the ones in your love column. Do you see any patterns? (are they all fried?, are they sweet? are they soft or hard in texture?) Make a mental note.

The meh column - this column has some potential. The potential for some of these foods to move into the love column. I suspect that maybe if you had them prepared a new or different way, you could graduate these into your love column.

The hate column - there may be things on here that have potential. I'm sure you have things that you wouldn't eat even if you had a gun to you head but there may be hidden gems that have been unfairly judged and placed in this festering pile of hatred. I suspect anything you had as a child is here in this vast wasteland. Also, pay attention to what the hate items have in common .. soft or hard? soft flavors or strong? certain groups? (for me, I don't like any squash except zucchini)

The never tried column - well, just look at all the fun in your future! What culinary adventures await you?

Please take a trip to the store and pick up a few things on your meh and hate lists. Try them in a completely new way. You can buy a small amount to try. Give the veggies a second chance. You may discover a new love. 

If you have kids.. encourage them to try new veggies by letting them choose one and then you can both find a recipe to try. Make it a weekly game.


The Right Technique

If you think cooking veggies involves a sauce pan and water, we need to talk. I'm certainly not saying that every vegetable you buy and prepare has to be fresh. I can appreciate canned, frozen and dried goods but you need to know the good from the bad and the ugly. These are just my opinions, of course but it's a good place to start. Fresh is usually best if you can get it.

The good - canned beans, canned tomatoes (for stew, soup, sauces and chili), canned spinach, frozen corn, frozen broccoli, frozen mixed veggies like corn/pea/carrot for soups, frozen potatoes, dried lentils and beans, jarred artichokes, canned and jarred olives, frozen spinach for recipes

The bad - anything canned that isn't in the 'good' section. Seriously... canned veggies = mush.

The ugly - frozen brussels sprouts, canned mushrooms, canned beets, frozen squash, jarred asparagus (really?)

If a veggie is on your meh or hate list, it could be just a matter of trying it prepared in a different way. I can't tell you the number of people I've converted into brussels sprout lovers with this recipe for Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts.

You can certainly scour the internet for recipes for individual veggies but I first recommend trying the all-purpose and easy roasting technique.. many veggies are amazing when roasted.

My faves are carrots, brussels sprouts, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, onion and asparagus. Many root veggies work great roasted so give them a try with turnips, rutabagas and the like.

Chop your veggies and put them in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and whatever else you like (I like to use an Italian seasoning and nutritional yeast) and drizzle olive oil over them (not a ton. just enough to coat them very lightly). Toss to coat and then pour them on a baking pan and bake at 400 degrees until they are done to your liking. Remember, veggies have texture and bite to them. They should be fork tender but you should have to chew them!

Another great technique is steaming. Steamer baskets are cheap and you can usually find them in any grocery store. If you have a rice cooker, you can steam veggies as you're making the rice as well. some pan sets come with a steaming insert. You may have one and not even know it. They also make microwave steamers and even fancy electric steamers.

Click here for a nice tutorial of the different ways to steam.

I also like to pan fry/saute some veggies. The Brussels sprout recipe above is a pan fry recipe. I prefer my mushrooms pan fried in a little Earth Balance and sprinkled with garlic salt. For a side dish, I like mushrooms slightly browned but not cooked until they lose their moisture. Stir frying veggies is quick and really simple... just heat up a little olive oil or Earth Balance in a pan and saute them. Serve them over brown rice or toss with whole grain pasta and a little marinara. 

Just remember that there are a variety of ways to prepare all veggies. You may like some raw, some cooked, some partially cooked, some baked into a dish or some in a smoothie. I know people that swear to me that they hate kale until they try kale chips. You may only like beans baked into brownies or tofu when it's made into a chocolate pie. You won't know until you TRY a variety of things. If you love to use the 'it's a texture thing' excuse.. get over it and change the texture.


Turning Good Veggies into A Nightmare

Remember that sweet potato you could only eat if it was slathered in sugar, cinnamon and butter? Well... it's time you stopped doing that on a regular basis. If I get a baked sweet potato at a restaurant I usually use the cinnamon and sugar because it's already mixed together and I may even bring some Earth Balance to totally splurge but I probably have one sweet potato a year in a restaurant. At home I usually only use cinnamon as it's really sweet enough on it's own.

If you can only eat broccoli if it's covered in velveeta, your salad is swimming in ranch, if all your veggies are fried or if a baked potato is only attractive if it's covered with sour cream, cheese, bacon and butter then you need to take a serious look at your diet. 

Don't you dare utter the words 'at least I'm eating vegetables'. I will not be amused.

Veggies really are delicious all on their own with a pinch of salt. When you deface them with secretions and flesh or deep fry them... you are destroying their flavor and their worth. Plus, eating animal products has totally compromised your taste buds so you won't ever be able to fully appreciate veggies until you stop eating it.

You deserve better.

If you need a little transition time, try using similar products on your veggies ... salsa and fresh veggies on a baked potato, make some vegan queso for your broccoli, switch to Earth Balance instead of butter, maple syrup on your sweet potato, make homemade onion rings and bake them instead of frying them, tempeh bacon instead of pig flesh. You can find a way.


Recipes:

Massaged Kale Salad

Not Roast Crockpot Veggies


Our fave around here ..... Kale Chips - see Mimi Kirk making them here ..... you can also bake these in an oven slowly at 200 degrees or at 350 if you really watch them closely. I mix this with my hand, massaging the ingredients into the leaves.

Easy, Cheesy Kale Chips by Mimi Kirk

1 bunch of curly or dino kale

5-6 tablespoons virgin olive oil

4-5 tablespoons gluten free tamari (or soy sauce or Bragg's Aminos), depending how salty tasting you like them

Nutritional yeast, I just pour on top and mix with tongs until leaves are coated. It’s your choice how cheesy you like them. I like them cheesy.

Sprinkle in seasonings of choice, example; cumin, curry, pizza seasoning, chili pepper or none if you prefer, it’s good just with the nutritional yeast.

Directions.

Remove stem from kale and place in a bowl. Try to obtain large pieces as the kale shrinks in the dehydrator.

Pour the olive oil on top and mix with tongs until leaves are coated. Add the tamari and mix again. 

Lastly, add nutritional yeast and any seasonings you choose, and mix again. Nutritional yeast get thick when damp, so make sure to scrape sides of the bowl to incorporate.

Place on mesh screen of dehydrator tray and spread out somewhat. One bunch of kale will usually make 3 trays. Dehydrate 3 or more hours at 105–110 degrees until crispy like a potato chip.

Beans!

I want to talk about beans because many people call them veggies and many people have a deep hatred for beans. First off.. you should eat beans. They are a crazy good source of protein and so full of amazing nutrients and fiber that you are missing out on health wise if you refuse to find a bean or two you can love.

First up - gas. You should know, the more you eat beans, the more your body gets used to them and the less gas you have. If you use dry beans, soaking them and rinsing them before using and/or adding in a piece of kombu into the pot will get rid of the gas inducing properties and make them easier to digest. You can also buy OTC products like Beano.

I usually hear the word 'texture' when it comes to beans. I'm just not sure what an individual means when they say they don't like the texture of beans. Do they not like the bite of whole beans in chili? Do they not like the smoothness of refried beans or hummus?

I know people that love hummus but they tell me they don't like chickpeas. Hummus is made from chickpeas. I know someone that doesn't like straight up black beans but he is fine eating black bean soup or black bean burgers. Some people love pintos and hate kidney beans.

Please don't lump beans into one group... beans have very diverse and distinctive tastes. You really need to try all of them in order to truly say you dislike them. If you like baked beans then you like white northern beans, if you like refried beans then you like pintos, if you like hummus then you like chickpeas/garbanzos and if you like chili, you like kidney/red beans.

And if you are resisting me.. you can make refried beans with black beans, chili with pinto beans, and hummus with any bean. Your excuses are not valid here. If you don't like the texture.. change it.


Here are some tasty bean recipes for you to try:

Pintos & Brown Rice Bowl  - quick Chipotle Burrito Bowl clone!

Here is an easy and delicious recipe for refried beans from Happy Herbivore. I make these just about every week. I like to make quick bean tacos out of it but it's great as a side dish as well. I also add in garlic and onion powder. Feel free to play around with it.

Morgan at The Little House of Veggies makes amazing soups... here are my fave bean based ones:

Black Bean Tortilla Soup. I like to add a squirt of lime juice and ume plum vinegar to mine. You can adjust the texture of this soup. Keep it a little chunky or make it completely smooth.

Split Pea Soup. I make this in the crock pot. I skip the rice milk in this and it's still fantastic.

Two of my fave bean recipes come from Josh - he has this Chick Spread recipe that is really yummy. You can adjust the texture so it's flaky like tuna or smooth like a hummus. I like it as a sandwich or wrap filling or to top a salad. I skip the tofu but I like to add shredded carrot, some No chicken bouillon and extra nutritional yeast to mine. Make it your own! Here is a link to my adjusted recipe.

He also has my fave black bean burger recipe. I double this recipe and freeze the cooked burgers. Then I just thaw in the microwave (or on the counter) and then pan fry in a little olive oil. I love it topped with some chipotle mayo.

You can try my tempeh bacon recipe or my recipe for chocolate mousse! You can also see my review for Soy Curls, which is just soybeans pulled into a meaty ingredient! Try my Chickpea Patties for a great main dish.

Roasted Chickpeas - these are addictive! You can make them any flavor you can think of. I love to make them cajun! You can cook them until they are crunchy or pull them out when they are still soft.

Recipe - Baked Seitan Loaf

Thanksgiving is just a week away so here is a recipe for a basic seitan loaf that is easy .. you bake it!

This recipe is from 'Vegan on the Cheap' by Robin Robertson. 

I made the additions to get the flavor closer to the Tofurky brand Hickory Deli Slices. My husband and I both agreed it tastes the same. I usually make half a loaf for the two of us (half loaf is shown in the photo). I slice it up and serve it as the main course along side veggies and potatoes. if you can slice it thin enough, you can use it on a sandwich! It's also great chopped up and stir fried into dishes. I also pan fried it in a little oil and it got a lot like bacon.. I guess, turkey bacon. 


Baked Seitan Loaf

1/2 cup white beans (drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cups vegetable broth (I use bouillon in water)
2 cups vital wheat gluten (wheat gluten flour)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

Shelly's Additions:

1 tsp liquid smoke (if you want a smoked flavor like the Tofurky hickory slices), 1/2 tsp celery salt and some Better Than Bouillon No Chicken flavor bouillon. I didn't measure the bouillon. I just added some into it until it tasted good.

Preheat oven top 350. In a blender or food processor combine beans, soy sauce, oil and broth until smooth.

in a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, onion powder, garlic powder and salt. Mix to combine. Stir wet mixture into dry and make a soft dough. Make sure you have the gluten 'strings' .. pull it apart and you should see some elasticity to it. 

Knead for three minutes and shape into an oval loaf shape.

Place the loaf in an oiled sheet of foil and close it in the foil. Place loaf in a 10 inch baking pan. add an inch of water to the pan and lightly cover the entire pan with foil. Bake until form, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Note from Shelly - It doesn't take the full 1 hour and 45 minutes if you do half a loaf.... make note of how it feels before you bake it and then you'll understand what 'firm' means and when it's done. Also.. the water will burn off so check that and make sure you add more when needed otherwise the bottom of your loaf will be burned.