Easy Black Bean Burritos

Mango Salsa's best friend (well, vegan best friend anyway).  High in protein, complex carbs, fruit and veggies.  This meal takes about 10 minutes to prepare, which is why this recipe hits our table every Tuesday evening (my school, kid's school, homework, daughter's volleyball games, son's football games..!!!!).

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 cup salsa (fresh or jarred)
• 1/2 cup Tofutti soy cream cheese (optional, of course, but we like it!)

Directions

• In large saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Cook over medium heat until heated thoroughly.
• Pour mixture into warm tortillas, roll up, and serve.
• Garnish with Mango Salsa (see my recipe), Avocado, and a side of rice

Mango Salsa

Salsas are a main staple in our house.  Not only do we love to smother or dip everything we eat in some sort of sauce, but it's an excellent way to sneak additional fruit and veggies into our diets.   Unfortunately, I have found very few jarred salsas that I would even consider serving on my table, and there really should be no reason for anyone to resort to a jarred salsa when making one is so easy. 

Ingredients

• 2 fresh mangos, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2/3 cup diced red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup minced red onion
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon organic sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-light olive oil (the darker OO's change the flavor)

Directions

• In a glass bowl, combine everything and stir.  Cover and chill 30 minutes.

QUICK TIP:  I always prefer frest fruit.  However, if mangos are out-of-season or I'm short on time, I use the jarred Del Monte Mango or Tropical Fruit mix found in the produce aisle.  They both taste amazing in this recipe!  Just be sure to drain them before mixing with the other ingredients. 

SERVING IDEAS:  Salmon fillets (grilled or baked), Shrimp Tacos, Grilled Chicken, Tuna Steaks.  I serve one of these proteins, a side of brown rice, and steamed asparagus.

Creamy Enchiladas

Although Chicken is our favorite, I have made these enchiladas using every kind of protein possible - black beans, shredded pork, chicken, even ground buffalo (my son is allergic to beef) and it turns out yummy every time.  Serve these enchiladas with lettuce, chopped tomato, avocado, guacamole, and some salsa.  YUMMY!

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken (rotisserie chickens from Costco make this a super fast recipe)
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 1 7 oz. can green chilis, chopped
• 1 8 oz. tub Tofutti brand soy cream cheese
• 2 10 oz cans enchilada sauce (we prefer green, but red works great too!)
• Flour tortillas

 Directions

1. Saute white onion in oil until translucent (but not brown)
2. Add chicken, green chilis, and cream cheese
3. Stir until cream cheese is melted
4. Oil baking dish (just a little to prevent sticking)
5. Roll mixture into tortillas and place seam-side down in 9X13 baking dish
6. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas
7. Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes (or until heated through)

Pasta with Garden Tomatoes, Garlic, and Herbs

If you are looking for something to create with all those ripe garden tomatoes (in my case, over-ripe tomatoes), look no further!  One of our family favorites, this sauce is made with fresh tomatoes, chopped garlic, and herbs.  It truly is good enough to drink, but we pour it over whole wheat penne and a side of steamed broccoli.  Delish!

Pasta with Garden Tomatoes, Garlic, and Herbs

Ingredients

• 3-4 strips bacon or ground italian sausage
• 1 Tablespoon safe butter
• 2 large cloves of garlic, chopped or sliced
• 3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped (we use whatever variety we have on hand)
• 1/2 cup torn or chiffanaded basil (again, we use whatever combination of herbs are ready in the garden, such as basil, rosemary, chives, oregano)
• Salt and pepper to taste
•  Pasta of your choice

Directions

• Pan fry bacon or sausage on medium heat until cooked thoroughly.  Drain oil off, but leave bacon in the pan.
• Melt 1 tablespoon safe butter in the pan with the bacon.
• Add the garlic.  When garlic softens, add chopped tomatoes.
• Add basil.  Squash down tomatoes with a spoon or potato masher, lower heat.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste
• Cook the pasta
• Drop some more butter onto the pasta, mix to coat
• Top with Sauce

SUGGESTIONS: 

*Feta Cheese is so yummy on top (and easy to add for the dairy-loving family members)!

*For a vegan version, eliminate bacon and substitute with a can of canneloni beans or similar.

*Drizzle pasta with balsamic vinegar.

Dairy-free Sweetened Condensed Milk

Ingredients:

• 2 cups soy milk
• 1 ¾ cups brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch

Directions:

1. Measure the corn starch into a small glass or measuring cup.
2. Add 2-3 Tbsp. of the soy milk and whisk with a small whisk or fork until smooth.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining soy milk and brown sugar. Whisk in the cornstarch-soy milk mixture.
4. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until thick.

Vegan Carmel Apples

 Vegan Caramel Apple Recipe (Suite101.com)

Ingredients:

• 10 medium organic apples, red or green; preferably a more tart variety like Granny Smith
• 1 recipe vegan caramel sauce (follows)
• 10 wooden sticks (Popsicle sticks)
• Cookie crumbs, chopped nuts, or melted vegan chocolate (optional)
• Waxed paper or a cookie sheet, greased with a touch of vegan margarine

Directions:

1. Insert a wooden stick into the top of each apple
2. If caramel has cooled / hardened, heat over low-medium heat until just melted but still thick.
3. Working with one apple at a time, dip each apple into the caramel sauce, turning to coat.
4. Roll each apple in cookie crumbs, chopped nuts, or drizzle with melted chocolate if desired.
5. Place the apple onto the wax paper or cookie sheet to cool and set.

Vegan Caramel Sauce Recipe

To make a thinner, saucier caramel sauce, reduce the condensed milk to ¼ cup or omit altogether.
Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. vegan stick margarine
• 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup vegan sweetened condensed milk (purchased or homemade. For recipe, see below)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt margarine.
2. Stir in sugar and corn syrup.
3. Bring to the boil and stir in condensed milk, if using.
4. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until boiled and thickened.

Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups soy milk
• 1 ¾ cups brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch

Directions:

1. Measure the corn starch into a small glass or measuring cup.
2. Add 2-3 Tbsp. of the soy milk and whisk with a small whisk or fork until smooth.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining soy milk and brown sugar. Whisk in the cornstarch-soy milk mixture.
4. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until thick.

Power Oatmeal

An allergy-friendly diet can often result in a low-calorie diet. Trying to keep weight on my son has been an ongoing challenge. Not only do babies and children need healthy fats in their diet for proper body and brain development, but I've discovered my teenage daughter needs healthy fats in her diet to sustain her through her rigorous sports programs and I need it to keep my energy level up to meet the challenges of it all. Therefore, I try to make the most of every bite that goes into our mouths. This oatmeal is a typical breakfast in our house.  Changing up the fruit (fresh and dried) keeps the breakfast interesting for the kids.

OATMEAL

Cook regular oatmeal or steel cut oats according to directions (call me crazy, but I'm suspicious of anything that says "quick cook" on the packaging.  I read somewhere that anything quick cook - rice, oatmeal, etc.. - has already been depleted of vital nutrients in order to make it more convenient for the consumer so I avoid it for my own peace of mind).

After the oatmeal has been cooked, add:

• 1 pat of *safe* butter
• 1 spoonful organic coconut oil
• Fruit (strawberries, rasberries peaches, blueberries, blackberries, mango, raisins, dried cherries, dried cranberries, etc...)
• Coconut Flakes
• Cinnamon
• Sweetener of choice
• *Safe* milk
• Pecans, Almonds, Granola (see recipe for coconut granola)

 *For added nutrition, I will sprinkle in some ground flax seed.  If you choose to do this, be sure to add ground flax after you cook the otameal in order to preserve the Omega-3 in the seed.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nobody will ever know these cookies are vegan!  Anyone who has tried them is shocked when I reveal they contain absolutely no dairy or eggs.  An added bonus?  Without dairy and eggs, these cookies are lower calorie as well (at least that's what I tell myself as I'm eating my 8th one in a row).  =)


Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup "safe" butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup *safe* milk (we use original Soy Silk)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
12 oz. *safe* chocolate chips.  See notes.

NOTE:  For dairy-free chocolate chips, we use Guittard (Walmart, Smiths, Albertsons) or SunSpire (health food stores).  Ghirardelli semi-sweet is dairy-free, but shares equiptment with dairy products in the processing plant.

1. Preheat over to 350 F
2. Cream butter and sugars till light and fluffy.  Slowly add milk, cream well, then add vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients together.  Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, then fold in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes
5. Store in an airtight container to maintain freshness and avoid cookies drying out

YUMMY!

Coconut Granola

I can't believe people pay $5 or $6 for those little bags of granola they sell at the grocery store! If you know how to turn the oven on, use a measuring cup and a mixing spoon, then you can make it yourself for just pennies.

This cranberry-coconut-sunflower seed combination is one of my favourites, but obviously granola is endlessly flexible, so feel free to use whatever you'd like. I think any kind of nut, seed, or dried fruit would taste yummy in granola. I think for my next batch I'm going to try a coconut-apricot-almond combo.


One word of advice: it really is important to stick around the kitchen while the granola is baking and stir it every few minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time the granola can go from toasted to burnt in just seconds! But it makes your house smell great, so it's worth the stirring.
 
Coconut Granola
 
1/4 c. oil
pinch of salt
1/4 c. apple juice concentrate
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3 cups rolled oats (regular or quick, not instant or steel cut)
1 c. coconut flakes
1 c. sunflower seeds
zest of one orange
2/3 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients except the cranberries, and mix thouroughly in a large mixing bowl. Spread over a cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes for the first 15 minutes or so, and then watch carefully for the last 5. When it is a little lighter than you think it should be, it's done. (The mixture is extremely hot, so it will continute to darken even after you take it out of the oven.) Stir in the dried cranberries, and store in jars after the granola has cooled completely.

Enjoy!

Lessons I Learned The Hard Way, #1

As the temperatures are changing and weather is getting cooler, cold and flu season will be here before we know it.  I remember a time when I took my 2-year old son, RJ, to the doctor for a sinus infection.  It was a Friday afternoon and we were the last appointment of the day.  I picked up the prescription and raced home to give my son his first dose.  As I pulled the "creamy" liquid into the syringe, it suddenly dawned on me that I should check the ingredients for dairy.  Sure enough, the prescription contained a dairy base.  While our pediatrician was willing to write a different prescription, all of the manufacturer's offices were now closed for the weekend and we would have to wait until Monday to obtain necessary ingredient lists. 

By mid-weekend, our son's sinus infection began to rage out of control.  He had a fever of 106 and a CT Scan revealed the infection had spread to his eyes, bones in his face, and was within milimeters of his brain.  He was admitted immediately to the hospital where it took 2 hrs to start the i.v. that would pump antibiotics into his system for the next 8 days. 

There is a reason I am telling you this story.....

If your child is anaphylactic to dairy or egg, it is vital - A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH - that you call the manufacturers of Tamiflu, Penicillin, Amoxicillin, Zythromax, Biaxin (drug of choice for pneumonia) and get a "safe" list of medications that your child can take BEFORE YOUR CHILD IS SICK! 

Go now!  Don't wait!