Ever heard of savory oatmeal? Being that Oats are a grain, do you ever think about why we would restrict them to only being eaten sweet? Savory oatmeal can be extremely versatile and give you a great vehicle for enjoying more vegetables, fiber, and other awesome nutrients in a quick, convenient way. This recipe is just one example. Enjoy savory oatmeal on it’s own or as a compliment to a larger meal with fish, chicken, turkey, or other proteins. But keep in mind that on its own, oatmeal provides a decent amount of protein. So don’t be afraid to experiment, knowing you’re getting a good meal from a bowl of savory oatmeal with veggies. Enjoy!
Read MoreTofu & Spinach Mashed Potatoes with Porcini Mushroom Gravy
These tofu & spinach mashed potatoes are practically a meal on their own- with 19 grams of plant based protein, spinach, and nutrient-dense porcini mushrooms. There really is no need for much more, and the fiber in the potatoes will help you feel full as well!
The porcini mushrooms in the gravy give it a really rich flavor- they are my favorite mushroom for making an intense, delicious sauce; and the tofu and cashews in the special cream for the potatoes really hit it home.
Whip this delicious dish up any time you’re craving comfort food. Where I live, in the mountains outside of Los Angeles, it’s starting to get chilly at night. So this was inspired by coming home to a cold kitchen one evening after work! Enjoy!!
Read MoreTuscan Cold Zoodles with Tomato, Basil & Garlic
With gluten free this, avoid that, and whatever else we are adding to the “avoid list” lately, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of calling something what it actually isn’t. For example, a “cauliflower” is commonly being called a “steak,” and no one seems to mind at all. Are we finally losing it as a society? Well, I guess, keeping it all in perspective, it’s cool to get creative with naming some healthy substitutes. It’s just a word anyway, right? I just want whatever I am eating to satiate and hit the spot on whatever my mind and my appetite have conspired to enjoy together. Whenever that happens to be cold tomato basil noodles, this recipe does the trick. For the sake of avoiding the faux food naming pattern, we’re going to call these babies “zoodles”. Whatever you do call it, get ready for “yummy” sounding words and noises when you serve it. Oh, and it’s raw too!
Read MoreBaked Ratatouille with Fresh Basil
Baked ratatouille is super easy, delicious, and this recipe comes just in time for your summer vegetable harvest. It makes a great whole-food plant-based meal served with wild rice, pasta or polenta. It can also be used as a vegetable side dish. One recipe makes enough to enjoy a dinner and a couple easy lunches on the go. I used a handmade ceramic oven dish, which fills the air with a really nice aroma when baking, but a simple Pyrex will also do the trick.
Read MoreAvocado & Pear Salad with Basil Lime Dressing
I love it when a random “grab two things and see what happens” move in the kitchen turns out to be so yummy. This avocado & pear salad is an extremely easy recipe that mixes pears with avocados, and finishes it off with some fresh lime and basil. Add this to your list of simple raw fruit and vegetable go-to’s. It’s perfectly refreshing for hot summer days. Enjoy!
Beet, Avocado & Tomato Salad with Blood Orange & Fennel Pollen
I recently stumbled across a jar of wild crafted fennel pollen at Cookbook, a funky little grocery market near my house. They carry stuff like locally grown produce, kombu, and to my delight, fennel pollen! Fennel pollen is kind of magical because it can be sprinkled on a variety of things- salad, popcorn, grilled fish, vine ripened tomato slices, fresh fruit– and it gives whatever it’s sprinkled on a really awesome, unique taste. And Fennel pollen has therapeutic qualities too! For this recipe I tied it into a salad with a citrus dressing, just pulling from some seasonal stuff I had picked up at the Farmers Market.
Vegan Red Kuri Squash Pancakes
I took about a month off from the Whole Dish to work on some new year projects and get focused on 2018. And, to be honest, I really wanted to take some time to play around with aquafaba in the kitchen. And these red kuri squash pancakes are a pretty good start! I think the gluten-free flour makes them a tad chewy and dense, but I thought they came out delicious, especially with a little coconut butter or ghee melted over the top. They are delicious without much of anything added! You can go the sweeter breakfast or brunch route and add some maple syrup, fresh fruit, or dark chocolate almond butter (as pictured); or enjoy them as a savory appetizer, lunch or hors d’oeuvre with bruschetta salsa, avocado, guacamole, or some kind of tapenade. Aquafaba is basically the liquid byproduct of cooked beans, and a newly emerging vegan ingredient craze. To test the hype, I used some liquid directly from a can of garbanzo beans, and it worked delightfully well! These unique pancakes are best enjoyed right off the griddle!
Whole Roasted Butternut Squash with Tomatillo-Pepita Sauce & Pomegranate
My friend in Grand Junction Colorado gave me a few of her butternut squash when I was on a recent trip to her state. In addition to that, we had our own harvest of butternut squash here in Los Angeles. So, what to do with all that squash? Well, there is the typical soup, ravioli filling, and I even enchiladas. Or you can just do whole roasted butternut squash in a couple easy steps. This recipe could change the way you look at your butternut squash. So, move that butternut squash from being a table centerpiece to being your main course for dinner, or at least a side dish. It can also make a great Thanksgiving vegan entree, that in my opinion is way better, and less processed than Tofurkey or other vegan turkey substitutes. Because it isn’t meant to be anything like turkey. It just celebrates the squash, and makes it the star of the day. You can use this idea with any whole squash: delicata, pumpkin, you name it.Enjoy trying this out and let me know how you liked it in the comments.
Green Beans with Lemon, Tarragon & Chia Seeds
This green beans with lemon recipe is another one of those super simple, “too tasty and easy to be true” dishes for an easy lunch or dinner side dish. Sometimes demonstrating that you can grab one vegetable from your garden or the Farmers Market, and easily turn it into a fairly complete meal or tide-over, is the best way I can use my blog space! The chia seeds provide extra complete protein and healthy fats to this, making it a decent light meal. And you can always add more chia seeds to suit your own nutritional preference and taste. So enjoy this one and let me know in the comments all the different ways you did! I used some rattlesnake beans from my garden for this recipe.
Grilled Figs in Lettuce Cups with Caramelized Onion & Chèvre
It’s that time of the year again! The onslaught of ripening figs is happening faster than we can keep up with. Here is a really easy way to enjoy some grilled figs, and gobble them down without making a huge production out of it. Enjoy!