Part 3: Recipes (American)

March 14, 2013

I am continuing my series on menu planning, grocery shopping, and easy vegan/vegetarian meals…Click here and here to see parts 1 & 2. Today is Part 3: Recipes (American).

We LOVE American cuisine! We love bean burgers, pot pie, baked beans, sloppy joes…
wipe off your mouth & keep reading 😉 Today, I will share an easy meal and a more involved meal. Both are wonderful.

Easy meal: Baked Beans, sweet potatoes, broccoli, salad

Crockpot Baked Beans

• 2lbs navy beans (soak overnight)
• 1lg onion, chopped
• 1/3 c. maple syrup
• 1/3 c. ketsup
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 t dry mustard/2T prepared mustard
• 2 t Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5+ c. water

Mix everything in the crockpot. Cook on high 5-6hrs or on low 10hrs. Stir once halfway through & add water if needed. The sauce is not as thick as baked beans you would buy in a can but that is because these do not have HFCS, so I see that as a good thing 🙂

Sweet Potatoes (bake 1.5 hrs or if you don’t have that much time)

• Chop sweet potatoes
• place on silpat so it does not stick
• sprinkle with cinamon
• cover with tin foil
• bake at 350 for 30-45 min

“Tastes like sweet potato pie” – child #2 🙂

Steamed Broccoli (we choose this specifically because it is high in calcium)

And, of course a salad! Go as crazy as you want with the salad. Please do not use iceberg lettuce, as it is the least nutritious of all lettuces/greens but other than that, top the salad with anything you want! fruit, beans, nuts, mushrooms, carrots, celery, peppers, cucumbers – whatever you & your family like 🙂

Whatever is coming out of the garden is added to our meals as well – green beans, corn, tomatoes, whatever – add it in for another vegetable!

More ‘involved’ meal: Sloppy Joes, Coleslaw, Roasted Potatoes, Greens

Sloppy Joes

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 8 oz tempeh, crumbled OR 8-15 oz chickpeas, mashed
• 2 t minced garlic
• 1 t chili powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 t apple cider vinegar
• 1 t maple syrup
• 14 oz tomato sauce
• 15 oz pinto beans

1. Water saute the onion
2. Cook tempeh 2-3 min (if using chickpeas, skip this step)
3. add everything else & heat through (15 min on med/low heat)
4. Place on burger buns

I used to use tempeh for a more ‘meaty’ taste but the only store that has it is 45 min from my house so, trying to save money, I decided to try mashed chickpeas (I have used this as a chicken substitute in ‘chiken salad’) and the Sloppy Joes tasted basically the same. Tempeh is also more expensive so it is a win (gas savings) – win (grocery savings) – win (taste)!

Again, does not taste as greasy (is a lot lighter-tasting) as normal Sloppy Joes but this is a good thing! I promise! 😀

Coleslaw (this is your salad)

• cabbage (med)
• 2 carrots
• salt & pepper
• mayo
• mustard

1. Shred cabbage and carrots (in the food processor w/the grater attachment is easiest – if you have one)
2. Add salt & pepper
3. Mix with your hands
4. You will have extra – I will post soon about how I save the extra for later…i promise!
5. Dole out how much you want, squirt & dollop with mustard & mayo (or Vegenaise)

How simple, cheap, and healthy was that?!

Roasted Potatoes

• chop potatoes
• place on silpat so it does not stick
• sprinkle with sea salt
• cover with tin foil
• cook at 350 for 45 minutes

Greens: Kale Chips (which I STILL have not mastered), or creamed kale is our favorite

Creamed Kale

• Kale (pull off stems, roughly chop, steam)
• Cashew sauce (raw cashews, water, garlic & onion powder in blender)

Steam kale & pour cream sauce over it. This is the vegan version. You could also just saute kale in a *tiny* bit of butter and sprinkle w/ground cashews or parmesan cheese. Whatever makes it palatable for you (remember – your taste buds WILL mature) – just start introducing kale whenever you can!

Those are two of our beloved American meals. I tried to be as detailed as possible – I hate being left in the dark when it comes to recipes online. I will post in the near future how I precook and save beans in order to avoid buying canned beans (for health, taste, and monetary reasons).

One more note: if you sit down for sloppy joes expecting the same sloppy joe taste as beef and canned sloppy joe sauce, you will be disappointed. Prepare yourself – these are beans, not meat. If you go into supper with the right expectations, you will be pleasantly surprised.

I say this because I remember eating mashed cauliflower for the first time, thinking it was DISGUSTING because I was expecting them to taste just like mashed potatoes! Once I changed my expectations, I found I enjoyed them a lot more!

Please try one of these soon and let me know how it all turned out! 😀

Advertisement