"Cream" of Mushroom Soup

The more I cook vegan, the more I learn about how to make over really heavy. somewhat unhealthy dishes.

I am a huge fan of soup. You name it, I've probably tried it. One of my all time faves is cream of mushroom though. There is something so comforting and warming about this soup, that I almost feel nostalgic when eating it. I found a great recipe that uses a milk alternative and cauliflower to mimic the cream you would normally use in cream of mushroom and I'd love to share it with you!

http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2013/01/grain-free-vegan-cream-of-mushroom-soup/

Now I did happen to make a couple alterations. First off, since I can't use salt or heavy seasoning, I chose to flavor this soup with nutritional yeast. Never heard of it? It's a great vegan product that almost (not completely) mimics the flavor of cheese in vegan dishes. I love it in soups and pasta, Pete loves it as a topping on popcorn! The great thing is you can purchase it from bulk bins at Outpost if you are interested in sampling a little of it as opposed to buying a whole container. Along with the yeast, I also added additional veggies such as carrots and broccoli. Its a great, filling way to sneak in extra veggies!

I used my immersion blender for the recipe and the consistency of the soup was fantastic! You may even find it hard to believe there is no real cream in the soup! A word of warning, this recipe as followed does not yield much product, so I tripled the recipe yesterday on my 2nd attempt, and it made enough for 3 hearty bowls.

Happy Eating!

Home Style: The Vegan Frontier

The hardest part about this diet is the fact that you don't feel like you are eating a home cooked meal. Something comforting like mom used to make. Since most of the veggies are to be eaten raw, salads and carrot sticks abound, but not too much that really sticks to your ribs.

I happen to have found a great recipe for Vegan Shepard's Pie and had made it vegetarian before I was even on the Eat to Live plan. Now, I modified it so that I am still packing in tons of veggies with little additives!

So here is a link to the original recipe:
http://vegweb.com/recipes/meat-eating-husbands-love-shepards-pie

My modifications:

For the Eat to Live diet, you should be taking in very little starch. Seeing as this recipe calls for mashed potatoes on top, I did a little bit of adjusting. Instead of using just potato, I used 3/4 cauliflower, to 1/4 potato. This way I still had the creaminess without all the starch! I didn't use any butter (vegan or otherwise) and only used almond milk to bind the mashed veggies, along with nutritional yeast to give it a wee bit of cheesy flavor.
As well, I did not add ANY oil to the veggies! The trick to sauteeing them with no oil is getting the pan quite hot before adding any veggies to it. To prevent sticking, add a little veggie broth to the pan!

Hope you enjoy this stick to your ribs vegan dish!

Immersion Blender aka My new best friend

I'm sorry Katie, but you've been replaced.
Hard to believe, but there is someone very important to me that is ready to take your place.

My new Immersion Blender.

Isn't she pretty?
Here she is making me a delicious smoothie!
Last night she helped in making a delicious roasted tomato soup!

This recipe is not vegan or oil free, but I altered it to fit these requirements with great results!

You need:
-4 pounds tomatoes cut in half (Recipe called for plum tomatoes)
-1 large onion
-8 cloves garlic
-2 tbsp olive oil (Which I omitted)
-2.5 cups veggie broth
-1/2 cups half and half (I used almond milk)
-Basil

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange tomatoes in single layer, cut side up. Scatter onions, garlic, and spices around tomatoes. Season with salt/pepper and drizzle with oil. (I left this out, but feel free to use oil if you are not following Eat to Live plan, just use it sparingly.) Roast until veggies are soft and caramelized (about 1.5 hours). Warm broth in large pan over medium heat. Add tomato mixture and bring to boil over high heat and then reduce. Continue to cook for 20 minutes.

Remove soup from heat and let cool. Puree soup in blender, or use an immersion blender inside the pot. Stir in half and half (or dairy alternative) and bring to simmer, not boil

Pete and I modified this recipe slightly to sneak in some extra veggies! I shaved some zucchini and threw it into the mixture and it really was delicious! Obviously its not as flavorful as it would be with half and half or added oil, but it was really filling and really highlighted the natural flavor of tomatoes!

Hope you enjoy this recipe and feel free to let me know how it turns out!

Eat To Live

So as many of you know, Pete and I have decided to try a new way of living. I am not going to call it a diet, but rather a wellness plan. Pete and I haven't been happy with our weight and decided to do something about it. It may be a little drastic for some, but Eat To Live was a book that really led us to believe in a new way of looking at food. For the first 6 weeks, we will be eating purely vegan with no added oils, sugars, or salt.

What does this leave us to eat? Fruits, veggies, beans, and a bit of starch basically. We are supposed to consume at least 4 servings of fruit a day, and a POUND of raw veggies. That's a lot of food, let alone just veggies. The really hard part for me is in the past if I have eaten veggies, it has always been with a dip or something to kind of hide the pure veggie taste. With this diet, I'm teaching my body to enjoy the flavors that nature has provided us.

The hardest thing for me in the first weeks has been the lack of sugar. Sure, I get all the delicious fruit I could possibly want, but I miss cookies, and ice cream, and oh...I am drooling as I type. But I know once the 6 weeks are up and my body hasn't had that added sugar in it, my cravings will start to decrease.

At this point, I am considering staying vegan (or as close to it as my body allows) even after the first 6 weeks are up. Pete on the other hand...he's gonna want some meat. Which, after the initial 6 weeks, he will be allowed in moderation. That's really the whole idea of this plan, moderation. Take in natures bounty, and the rest enjoy in moderation. Also, it really does try to get rid of the oil which seems to consume the American diet. I myself have been known to add oil to my veggies, pasta, anything really! You forget how many calories are in each teaspoon! It really does add up!

Currently I have about 2 pounds of tomatoes roasting in the oven waiting to make a vegan cream of tomato soup and my house just smells amazing!

Please stop by and visit again as I post recipes, talk about the struggles (but also the rewards), and feel free to leave suggestions or recipes for Pete and I to enjoy!