Category: Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes

Avocado Pasta

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, Low Spoon Recipes, RecipesLeave a comment

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This low spoon recipe is really easy, but makes a delicious and creamy pasta dish. For this, all you will need is:

  • 1 cup pasta (I used elbow macaroni)
  • 1/2 avocado
  • lemon or lime juice
  • black pepper
  • salt
  • basil (I only had dried basil in our pantry so I just used that, but fresh would be even better)
  • oregano
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • optional: a boca chik’n patty or any other meat substitute

First, I boiled the pasta. While it was boiling I made the sauce by blending the avocado, a few drops of lime juice, and the spices. I also added about 1/4 of a cup to 1/2 cup of water to help it blend. It’s a low spoon meal so there aren’t any measurements, I just threw everything in the blender to taste.

After the sauce was blended I microwaved a Boca chik’n patty for 1 minute and 10 seconds and cut it into squares.

Finally, I drained the pasta, added the sauce to the pasta, and mixed in the chik’n. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes on top and that’s it! A creamy pasta dish that’s super easy to make.

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Let me know if you try this out in the comments! Also, how do you feel about avocado with pasta? I thought it would be a weird combination at first, but it’s a great flavor combo, especially with the chik’n and red pepper flakes.

a junk food vegan day of eating

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, Vegan Products, What I Ate TodayLeave a comment

I just did not want to cook today. Here’s what I ate throughout the day:

breakfast? (honestly it was like 2:30pm)

I was craving fish sticks, so I cooked three of Gardein’s fishless filets and made a dipping sauce with 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard and 1 tbsp maple syrup. I microwaved them for 1 minute, then air fried them for 4 minutes, flipped them, then air fried them for another 3 so they’d be crispy.

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a very late lunch

For lunch I made a quick wrap out of Lightlife While Bean & Kale Deli Slices, Daiya American cheese, and spinach. I used the rest of the dipping sauce from earlier in the wrap too.

dinner

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Mac and cheese with spinach and buffalo cauliflower. It didn’t turn out pretty, but it was so good.

For the sauce I used:

  • 3/4 cup soy milk
  • 2 slices of Daiya American cheese
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • paprika
  • a few drops of lemon juice
  • 2 tsp of tapioca flour

Also:

  • 1 cup elbow macaroni
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 cup frozen cauliflower

For the buffalo cauliflower I took 1 cup of frozen cauliflower and air fried it for about 10-15 minutes on 400º. Once it was a little crispy I tossed it in buffalo wing sauce and air fried it at 320º for about another 10 minutes.

I made the sauce by heating up the soy milk on medium and melted the Daiya cheese in it. I added the spices then let that simmer for a few minutes. I added 2 tsp of tapioca starch and 3 tsp of water to a cup to thin it out, then added it to the sauce to let it thicken.This will be enough for about 2 servings of pasta.

and then oreos (mega stuf)

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That’s what I ate today! It was a very lazy day of eating.

Savory Pasta with Veggies // easy vegan recipe

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, Low Spoon Recipes, Recipes, rheumatoid arthritis, Vegan ProductsLeave a comment

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Here’s the perfect meal for a low spoon kind of day.

I’ve been bringing this meal to work for lunch for the past few days because it is so easy and only takes a few minutes to put together.

You will need:

  • 1 cup rice noodles
  • 2 cups sautéed cauliflower
  • 1 cup collard greens, or whatever frozen greens you want to add
  • 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup vegan protein broth
  • black pepper
  • nutritional yeast
  • garlic powder

First, I steamed then sautéed the frozen cauliflower in a pan. I didn’t add any oil, just a bit of water so the veggies wouldn’t stick (but try not to burn the cauliflower and set off the smoke alarm like I did, hah). I defrosted the collard greens the laziest way by microwaving it for 1 minute in the microwave, then taking it out to mix it and add in some nutritional yeast and garlic powder, then heating it for another minute in the microwave. While the veggies are cooking boil the pasta. I make a lot of pasta at a time for easy leftovers.

After I drained the pasta I put it back in the pot and added the veggies, tomatoes, the protein broth, then the spices. I heated it over medium heat for a few minutes to warm up everything together.

The second meal pictured above is just with leftover penne instead of rice noodles and minus the cauliflower so it was much faster and easier to make.

And voilà! A really easy meal that’s really tasty. You can also serve it with more nutritional yeast on top or add some hot sauce, and use whatever veggies you like.

spinach and pumpkin pasta // quick and easy vegan recipe

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, Recipes1 Comment

I love pumpkin. I used to hate it growing up, but now whenever fall arrives I make as many pumpkin recipes as I can.

I made this spinach and pumpkin pasta the other day for lunch and it turned out so delicious. This was super easy and quick to put together, plus it’s a pretty cheap meal.

For the sauce you will need:

  • 1/2 can of pumpkin
  • 3-4tbsp classic or garlic hummus (we used Sabra’s classic hummus)
  • 1 cup cashew milk (we used Silk’s unsweetened cashew milk)
  • black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper.

You will also need frozen spinach and pasta. We didn’t have anything other than lasagna noodles, so I just used those. I cooked six sheets so I could have it for a few days.

In a (separate) pot while the pasta was boiling I added in the pumpkin and cashew milk. I used about 1 cup, but make it however thick or thin you’d like. I mixed it together to thin it out, then added the hummus and spices in. I let all of that heat up while the pasta was boiling.

After I drained the pasta I poured the sauce over the noodles and added the frozen spinach. I cooked it until the spinach thawed. I would also recommend mixing in some Frank’s hot sauce if you’d like it spicy (we did).

That’s it for this recipe. I know it was really simple but it was warm and festive, and perfect for the rainy weather we’ve been having. Let me know if you try it out in the comments!

Creamy tomato and chickpea pasta // easy vegan recipe

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, Recipes1 Comment

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This is a super easy recipe that I made this afternoon to try and clean out the fridge and freezer and use up some canned food we’ve had lying around for awhile.

For the sauce:

  • half a bag of frozen cauliflower (about 8 oz)
  • a can of diced tomatoes
  • lots of spices:
    • garlic powder
    • minced onions
    • nutritional yeast
    • black pepper
    • paprika
    • ground cayenne pepper
    • thyme
    • crushed red pepper
    • lemon juice
  • about a cup of almond milk.

Defrost and steam the cauliflower with some minced onion and garlic powder until it is soft. Add the soft cauliflower into a blender with a bit of almond milk (I probably used around 3/4 cup), a tbsp lemon juice, and about 2 tbsp nutritional yeast and combine until it is creamy.

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Add that back into the pan and mix it with the can of diced tomatoes and all of the spices. Once thats combined add in:

  • as much boca veggie ground crumbles as you want
  • chickpeas (I used about 3/4 of a can)
  • a few handfuls of spinach
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Mix all that together and let it simmer. I added some more milk to thin it out while the veggie crumbles cooked.

Finally I boiled the pasta (we had angel hair pasta) and combined it with the sauce and that’s it! It was super easy and turned out really tasty.

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Easy Vegan Meals // #2

On By VictoriaIn Breakfast recipes, Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, Low Spoon Recipes, Recipes, rheumatoid arthritis2 Comments

Part 1: top 7 meals for bad days

An edit to the hummus pasta from the previous post: Add some vegan cheese to the sauce and melt it in! This makes it super cheesy. I’ve been loving the new Daiya cutting board style shreds.

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These are some more of my go-to lazy meals that I’ve been making. Like I said in my last post, I haven’t been in the mood to cook a bunch and make crazy recipes. Here are a few meals I’ve been eating recently that are cheap, quick, and easy.

Smoothies and nice cream. 

I know this isn’t anything special, but it’s been my go-to breakfast recently. It’s quick and easy to make, plus it’s packed with nutrients:

  • 2-3 cups of spinach (honestly, as much as I can fit into the blender cup.)
  • 1 cup cashew milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup frozen mangoes
  • 1-2 scoops of protein powder
  • Lots of cinnamon.

Blend the spinach, milk, and water first, then add the other ingredients once the spinach is creamy.

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Also, use less water and milk and turn it into nice cream and add some toppings.

One of my favorite nice cream recipes lately has been:

  • 2 frozen bananas
  • 1 scoop of protein powder (we’ve been using the brand Aloha in the vanilla flavor)
  • lots of cinnamon
  • and a splash of vanilla extract.

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I like to leave the bananas out for 15 minutes before blending because I think it makes the ice cream easier to blend and makes it creamier.

My body feels so much better on days when I make smoothies. My inflammation goes down and my energy levels go up (it is a slight, but noticeable change). I highly recommend adding smoothies to your daily routine.

Taquitos.

We made these one night when we didn’t want to make dinner but didn’t want to get takeout either. For our filling we mixed together some Boca veggie crumbles, refried black beans, taco seasoning, and chipotle tabasco sauce. We rolled them up in little tortillas with some Daiya cheddar cheese, baked them in the oven until the tortilla was crispy, then topped them with a little hummus. We also found some vegan sour cream at the store and had that on the side too.

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I topped these with hummus, but I love making a vegan cheese sauce (like the one I mentioned above with hummus and daiya) and dipping it in the fake nacho cheese. These are so easy and so filling. You can also add in some spinach or avocado, pretty much whatever you want.

Potatoes. 

We cut them up and bake them in the oven and eat them with some veggies, ketchup, and hummus. I find the little yellow potatoes easiest for me to cut. This one isn’t novel but it’s one of our go-to meals.

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Those are some meals we’ve been enjoying recently. They’ve been easy for me to cook especially on days when I don’t feel like cooking. Let me know what some of your go-to easy meals are in the comments!

A Week of Vegan Dinners

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, Recipes, What I Ate TodayLeave a comment

I wanted to show some examples of simple vegan dinners, so here’s what a week of dinners looks like for us.

Monday:

We were out late and wanted to grab something out to eat, but decided against it to make something healthy at home. We stopped by Kroger and picked up some veggies and bread to make sandwiches. We also finally tried the Tofurky roasted chick’n, which was really good. I put that on a piece of pumpernickel rye bread with red onions, dill pickles, mustard, black pepper, paprika, carrots, and spinach.

Tuesday:

Gluten-free spaghetti with a cauliflower alfredo sauce and Gardein meatless meatballs.

I made the sauce before I went into work and left it in the fridge so I could reheat it with the meatballs and pasta when I got home. Here’s what I used to make it:

  • 4 cups of cauliflower
  • 1/2-3/4 cup cashew milk (depends on how thick or thin you want it to be)
  • 2tbsp garlic hummus (I used the Sabra brand)
  • 1tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1tbsp lemon or lime juice
  • For the spices:
    • Dried basil
    • Nutritional yeast
    • Black pepper
    • Paprika
    • A pinch of cayenne pepper
    • Garlic powder

I don’t measure the spices, but I put a generous amount of each in. I also don’t add in salt most of the time when I cook, but add it in if you want.

When I got home from work I put the sauce in a saucepan, let it simmer, and then tossed in the Gardein meatless meatballs to let them heat up while the pasta boiled.

I’ve been experimenting with my diet by adding in more gluten-free foods, and it has definitely been helping my digestion. Here’s the finished product with gluten-free pasta:

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Wednesday:

Leftover pasta with sautéed spinach and shredded carrots. We didn’t have any fettuccine sauce from yesterday leftover, so I made a hummus sauce with 2 tbsp garlic hummus and a splash or sriracha, and mixed it together with a bit of water.

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Thursday: 

Vegan tacos for dinner! We had some friends over for dinner and made some tacos.

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DJ and I made Spanish rice, lentils, and potatoes to fill the tacos with. For toppings, we had quite a few options: spinach, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, carrots, beans, cilantro, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. We’re hoping to perfect our vegan Spanish rice, so hopefully we will post a recipe for that soon.

I also made some cookies for dessert. You can find the recipe here.

Friday:

We ate junk food all day and I ended up taking a nap before dinner so I wanted something light and nutritious for dinner. I made a salad with spinach, lettuce, carrots, red onions, diced tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and dried cranberries (pretty much all the leftovers from the night before). I mixed a tablespoon of hummus with a little water to make a quick dressing.

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Saturday:

I was craving sushi this night so I made it the lazy way when I got home from work. I had spinach, rice, avocado, sesame seeds, and paprika on one plate, and two sheets of nori on the other. I divided and ripped each sheet of nori into four pieces and made sushi burritos/ tacos while I ate. This is a super yummy and simple meal to make when you don’t want to put in the effort of rolling sushi.

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Sunday:

We went to my parent’s house for Easter dinner and they made us grilled veggies, baked sweet potatoes, and Gardein black bean burgers. I had my Gardein burger on a bagel slim with chao cheese, pickles, mushrooms, mustard, and ketchup. We sprinkled smoked paprika, black pepper, and crushed red pepper on the veggies.

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That’s what a week of easy vegan dinners looks like for us. Hopefully this gave you some new ideas and inspiration for dinners and lunches that are quick, easy, and delicious.

Vegan sushi and creamy pasta // What I ate today 12.29.17

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, What I Ate TodayLeave a comment

I’m trying to get back into healthy habits after a few weeks of not preparing meals and honestly just being lazy. I try not to count calories because when I do I get back into my old habits of restricting and craving junk food, and eating a healthy plant-based diet is a great way to not worry about how much I’m eating and eat until I’m full. Here’s what I ate today while trying to get back on track.

Breakfast: vegan tacos made out of random ingredients we had in the kitchen. This included onions, white beans, black beans, potatoes, and mushrooms. I topped it with some dried parsley and hot sauce:

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I had a little bit of leftover alfredo sauce from a few days ago, so for lunch I used the rest of it and added hummus and cashew milk for a rich and creamy pasta sauce. I boiled some pasta and threw in spinach and peas for added greens and topped it with crushed red pepper flakes:

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For dinner I made homemade sushi. Sushi is one of my favorite meals to make. I thought I would have to give it up once I was vegan but I was wrong! I eat it more now than I ever have. I made one roll with spinach and avocado and the other with spinach and Gardein Sweet and Sour Porkless bites. This was our first time trying the porkless bites, and we would highly recommend them. The Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n is also really good. We made them for some non-vegan friends that came over for dinner and they loved them. I made a creamy sauce to drizzle on top of the sushi that I made out of roasted red pepper hummus, a bit of water to make it more like a sauce, and a bit of hot sauce.

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That was all I ate today as my first day getting back on track with healthy habits. Eating a plant-based diet makes it really easy to stay on track without feeling the need to restrict. The beginning of January will mark our one year of starting our vegan journey, and we couldn’t feel any happier or healthier. This lifestyle has helped both of us tremendously. We hope to continue sharing our easy vegan meals all throughout 2018.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese??

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, Recipes1 Comment

We had some friends over the other night and wanted to make them some vegan comfort food. One of our favorite places to eat dinner with them before we went vegan was Macaroni Grill, and we would always get the adult portion of their macaroni and cheese.

Let me emphasize: you really can veganize anything.

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Here’s the recipe we used and the substitutions: (I could not find the link anywhere online, my friend found it and sent it to me over text. I’ll link it here if I find it):

  • 400g macaroni
  • 50g butter // earth balance vegan butter
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 2 cups (500ml) milk // silk unsweetened cashew milk
  • 2 cups (250g) grated cheese (gruyère) // we used a combination of vegan cheeses: Follow Your Heart smoked gouda cheese (make sure it’s the vegan one!), Chao Creamery original creamy tofu cheese, and a few slices of Daiya cheddar style slices for color
  • Chopped parsley (we omitted it, but would be really delicious with it!)

First, we melted the butter in a pan. Once it was melted we added in the flour and mixed it together until everything was combined and creamy. Next we stirred in the milk slowly. Once that was heated and bubbly, we added the cheeses. We broke the slices of cheese into smaller pieces to make it easier to melt. Once all the cheese was added we covered the pan and let everything melt for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

And that’s it: super simple and delicious vegan mac and cheese that was a lighter and cheaper replacement of Macaroni Grill’s macaroni and cheese.

We were nervous making our non-vegan friends vegan mac and cheese. We wanted it to be flavorful and taste like the version they were used to. This recipe was a success, and they really liked it! Next time we make it we’re going to use the Follow Your Heart American style slices instead of the gouda to try to make it more “authentic”, but I personally really liked the smoked gouda flavor.

Add a splash of cashew milk when you reheat it in the microwave to make it creamy again. I also like adding some Frank’s Hot Sauce to make it spicy. You could also top it with basil, crushed red pepper, or nutritional yeast.

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Easy Pumpkin Pasta

On By VictoriaIn Creamy, cheesy, pasta recipes, RecipesLeave a comment

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  • 1 can of pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 1 cup cashew milk
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  •  1/2 tbsp black pepper
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • dried basil leaves
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • Spinach

I used brown rice noodles for the first time when I made this recipe, and I think I prefer them to regular noodles.

  1. Soak the cashews in warm water for 15 minutes, so when they are blended they come out smooth.
  2. Add the cashews, a splash of water, and a spoonful of the canned pumpkin to a food processor. This makes it easier to add in the cashews later.
  3. Add the canned pumpkin to a pot. Add in the cashew milk and the homemade cashew butter mixture. Stir to combine, and add in the spices. Once everything was combined and heated add some handfuls of spinach and let the spinach wilt.
  4. Cook the pasta. Once it’s done add the sauce to the drained pasta.

I also added a little bit of Frank’s hot sauce to the sauce because we were out of chili powder and I wanted it to be a little bit spicy. I liked how it turned out and I would recommend using the hot sauce. I also didn’t add any salt when I made it, but add it to taste if needed.

I hope you guys enjoyed this recipe. I love making healthier “mac and cheese” recipes because they turn out so delicious and are a good alternative to regular macaroni and cheese. Let me know if you tried this out in the comments!