Tofu Frittata

Another tofu creation! I was at the library last week and stumbled upon the cookbook, "Vegan Brunch" by the woman who co-authored one of my favorite cookbooks Veganomicon. Of course I had to check it out to see what quick, delicious recipes it contained! I have flagged a few, but the first one to catch my eye was the recipe for 'Tofu Frittatas,' because I had all the ingredients already! It was very quick and simple to make and most importantly MJ has been gobbling these up all week. I'd call them a success :)

Ingredients
 8 oz pkg tofu (drained & pressed)  
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4c vegan mozzarella (I used daiya shreds)
1c spinach
1/2 onion
1 red pepper
2 tbsp rice milk





Directions:

• Press tofu for 30-60min
• Heat oven to 350
• Chop spinach, onions and pepper
• Combine all other ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth
• Mix spinach, onions and peppers into the tofu mix
• Scoop into greased mini muffin pans
• Cook for 20-30 minutes (until tops are browned and frittata is firm)

Carrot Juice Waffles, West African Jollof Rice & Mini Broccoli Quiches

Breakfast: Carrot Juice Waffles
adapted from Fork & Beans

(Recipe makes 4 waffles in waffle maker)

1c carrot juice (store bought works, but not as good)
1c carrot pulp (or grated carrots if you don't have a juicer)
1c rice milk
1/4 c coconut oil
1 1/4 c Bob's pancake mix
1 1/4 c white rice flour
1/2 tbsp nutmeg
1/2 tbsp cinnamon

I made these almost a month ago & never blogged about it, but I remade them because we loved the recipe so much. They also make a great snack & I froze a couple too :) These sugar free waffles are naturally sweet & even got MJ's omnivore cousin's seal of approval [without ANY syrup!] MJ's been sick the past week or so and this was such a low-key easy food for him to feed himself at his own pace.

• Combine wet ingredients [juice, pulp, oil, milk]
• Pour flours & spices on top and fold [do not mix] the flour into the carrot mix
• Mixture should be smooth & stores nicely for later usage.

Batter

With a delicious natural orange color!

Lunch: West African Jollof Rice

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 cans kidney beans
2-4 c vegetable broth
1/2 green pepper
1 c frozen peas
1/2 onion
1 c brown rice
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 inch peeled & grated ginger
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp thyme
pinch of crushed red pepper
pinch of salt
olive oil

It feels like 10 different people were talking about Jollof rice last week & you know what? I had never even heard of it! So, I decided to try my hand at a vegan version. Not sure if it is true to the taste of traditional West African Jollof Rice since I've never had it, but I did like the combination of cinnamon & ginger in the mix. MJ was a little iffy about it, some days he devoured it and some days he refused to even take a bite. Not sure if that has to do with him being sick or not generally liking the meal. Anyway, I invite any of my West African friends (or Jollof Rice connoisseurs) to come try my rice and see if it is anyway authentic to true West African Jollof Rice :)

• Saute onions & herbs in olive oil until onions are soft.
• Add chopped green peppers & diced tomatoes cook for 2-3 minutes
• Stir in rice, tomato paste and vegetable broth and bring to a boil
• Simmer for 45 minutes or until rice is fully cooked (adding vegetable broth as needed to keep rice from sticking 1c at a time)

Dinner: Mini Broccoli Quiches 
(makes 24 mini muffin quiches)
adapted from Including Cake

½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup chickpea flour (make your own by sticking dry chickpeas into the food processor)
1 tbs potato starch

3 tsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp mustard
pinch paprika

Large pinch baking powder
1 tbs olive oil

1 cup water

1 grated head of broccoli florets

 

 I'm going to have to add this to my regular recipe list. Easily takes less than 10 minutes to make this recipe and they were delicious. I actually didn't completely follow the recipe correctly and combined my vegetables in, aesthetically they probably aren't as nice, but the taste was still awesome. I listed the recipe as I made it, but included the original suggestions as well.

• Combine all ingredients (mixture will be thin)
• Dish into mini cupcake tin
• Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees
• For a more quiche-like appearance combine ingredients (minus vegetables), spoon into mini muffin pans filling halfway, THEN add vegetables on top. This gives more of a crust look.

In the mini muffin pan

Delicious cheesy broccoli bites

Yum!

Weekly Cooking

Breakfast: Vanilla Quinoa Oat Mini Muffin Tops

I never thought I'd be letting MJ eat ice cream for breakfast, but these just looked so tempting and nutritious that with a few modifications I had to make them! After officially weaning MJ all his nutrients are coming from his meals. So it is even more important to make sure that all his nutritional needs are met. This recipe contains the super grain quinoa, which is a complete protein, as well as oats another powerful grain. 

Ingredients: (yields 24 mini muffin tops)

1/2 cup melted So Delicious Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 cup cooked Quinoa

2 tbsp virgin coconut oil

1 3/4 cup ground Oats

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

• Cook quinoa and let cool
• Melt ice cream and combine with melted coconut oil
• Add ice cream+oil to quinoa
• Mix ground oats, baking powder and salt & add to wet ingredients
• Mixture should be a thick muffin mix consistency, but not stiff. Add more oats or melted ice cream to get desired consistency.
• I originally scooped spoonfuls onto a cookie tray, but they didn't look right so I baked the second batch on the reverse side of my mini muffin tray.

First batch didn't look smooth enough, but still tasted delicious.

Lunch: No-rice Risotto with Rainbow Chard

I saw the most beautiful rainbow chard at the market. I just had to buy it. The colors were just so vibrant and enticing. Chard is also a Vitamin K & A powerhouse I wasn't sure what I was going to make, but I knew I needed the protein from beans. I paid for my first app last week, the Green Kitchen app and it paid off with a delicious No-rice Risotto recipe that only needed a few modifications. The recipe originally called for mascarpone cheese and I couldn't find any soy-free cream cheese, so I used coconut milk, which of course altered the original intended taste.

Ingredients: (Makes 3-4 adult servings)

2 cups of rainbow chard (stems & leaves separated)
7 cups cooked white beans (I used Northern beans)
1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
1 lemon; juice & zest
olive oil
2c vegetable broth
1 tbsp potato starch
4 tbsp coconut milk
sprinkle of salt

• Cook beans (I used dried beans so I soaked them overnight and simmered them in veg. broth for an hour), but drained, rinsed and cooked canned beans are fine too.
• Chop garlic, chard stems and onions very finely and saute in olive oil
• Add veg. broth & chard and cook well.
• Add beans & potato starch and simmer while stirring frequently.
• Cook until veg. broth dissolves.
• Add lemon juice, thyme & a sprinkle of salt
• Add lemon zest before serving

Dinner: Cheesy Spinach-Avocado Pasta

I had some washed, chopped spinach that I had stored in the freezer a few weeks ago so I decided to use it for this extremely simple recipe. There are definitely a lot of ways you could play with this recipe. I added some nutritional yeast to give it a "cheesy" taste, I think it could also go great with some soy cream cheese, but the avocado really gives it such a creamy texture and delicious base.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 avocados
4 c frozen spinach
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 garlic cloves
lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon
sprinkle of salt
sprinkle of pepper
Pasta (Brown Rice Pasta to make it gluten-free)

• Puree frozen spinach and avocado along with lemon juice
• When it reaches a creamy consistency heat in saucepan & add olive oil, garlic & nutritional yeast (sidenote: this could also probably be a really good raw dip if you didn't cook it)
• Spice accordingly
• Add to pasta tossed in olive oil
• Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and serve

Simple & Delicious

Weekly Meal Planning

Breakfast: Plum-Pear Applesauce


6 apples
2 pears
2 plums
1 c water

I had an abundance of leftover fruit from MJ's birthday party and I decided to make an applesauce type breakfast. I've seen similar recipes that include sugar, but it really isn't necessary and in fact may be overkill. Paired with oatmeal it is a sweet and hearty breakfast.

The most difficult part about applesauce for me is the peeling & coring. If MJ had some teeth I'd leave the peels on for the nutritious value their skin contains. Put in pot with water and simmer for 20-30 minutes until soft. 

Simmering Fruit

Mash to an appropriate consistency or put in food processor for a less chunky texture.

Served on top of oatmeal.

Lunch: Green Pigeon Peas & Coconut Brown Rice

2 cans of Green Pigeon Peas
16 oz Brown Rice
3 Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 1/2 c Water
2 Spring Vidalia Onions
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
sprinkle of sea salt

Saute onions, garlic and rice in coconut oil

Add spices, coconut milk, water & pigeon peas

Simmer for 45 minutes

Ready to dig in!

Dinner: Vegan Mac & Cheese w/ Spinach

Adapted

Sauce

1/2 c nutritional yeast
1/2 c mozzarella Daiya
3 tbsp potato starch
sprinkle of sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp curry
1 c rice milk
1 1/4 c water
1 tbsp olive oil

8 oz spinach
16 oz pkg brown rice pasta

I originally made this on Saturday night for myself and followed the original recipe I adapted MJ's recipe for. It was pretty good, but the flavor of the nutritional yeast was a bit too strong for me. MJ and I both love Daiya so I figured I could combine the two and still have a nice cheesy taste. I think that the Daiya would work better with a baked macaroni and I will probably try this recipe again with those adjustments made.

Saturday's Mac & Cheese

I gave MJ some and I think it might have been too starchy on it's own so I added some spinach as well and to give him a green veggie for the week.

Combine all ingredients for sauce, blend and then simmer

• The sauce will thicken up as you cook it, don't be worried if it looks thin initially.
• Be sure to blend sauce ingredients in blender, food processor or using an immersion blender or ingredients will separate while cooking.
• I suggest starting with a smaller amount of nutritional yeast and adding more as it cooks and you taste to get a happy medium.

Add cooked noodles and steamed chopped spinach

Cheesy & Nutritious

Nutrition Facts:
<approx. nutritional intake per day>
Calcium: 501 mg/400 mg
Vit. D: 100 iu/200 iu
Zinc: 3.8 mg/2 mg
B12: 0.7 mcg/0.4 mcg
Iron: 7 mg/7 mg
Protein: 30 g/11 g
Omega 3+6: 5 g/5 g

In order to provide the necessary highlighted nutrients throughout the day MJ drinks at least 1 c of rice milk (Calcium, Vit. D), takes a daily Iron drop and has 1 tbsp ground flaxseed added to a meal (Omega 3+6)