Top 5 Vegan Starter Recipes (that'll leave you full and satisfied)

Salad, not included!

Today, I had a friend ask me for my top 5 vegan recipes.  That question is harder than it looks 

because the answer hinges on who is asking and what they hope to discover. 

If you are a newbie vegan, then it means I have to give my favorites at all 3 meal times so you have a full days worth of food.  If you are a vegetarian looking to cut out cheese and eggs, then I want to include things with cashew cream or flax eggs to make it seem like nothing is missing.  If you are a seasoned vegan looking for meat 

substitutes to grill, then I can get into the nitty gritty of seitan or veggie burgers.  The degree of kitchen skill also plays a role too, as you don’t want to scare anyone off from trying a plant-based diet with complex techniques or obscure ingredients.

My friend today was looking for  my favorite vegan starter recipes.  I thought about this long and 

Stir Fry, not included!

hard and have come up with a list, including 2 breakfasts, a sandwich, a soup and main dish as my top 5.  (Honestly, spinach chickpea salad and stir-fry are my go to dishes for lunch and dinner respectively, but since I make it different every time and there is no wrong way to do it, I didn’t include these in the top 5).  Enjoy!  

THE TOP 5

1.    Kale Strawberry Banana Smoothie
2.    Loaded Oatmeal
3.    Spinach Mushroom Hummus Panini
4.    Lentil Soup (with Field Roast)
5.    Black Bean Brown Rice Bowl

Recipes after the jump...

1.  Kale Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Picture taken pre-vitamix

Put the ingredients in this order into a blender (Note: if using a vitamix or any other super-power blender, put the ice on top)

·      1 cup water or soy/almond/hemp/rice milk

·      1/2 cup ice

·      Optional supplements (in order of most important for me)

o   1 scoop unsweetened plant protein 

o   1 tbsp ground flax 

o   1 tsp ground chia 

o   1 tsp spirunlina 

o   1 tsp raw maca 

o   1 tbsp goji berries 

o   1 tbsp cocao nibs

·      4 big leaves kale (Note: Spinach might be more palatable to a first timers palate)

·      Banana

·      Handful of strawberries (frozen work the best!!)

·      Optional flavor additions:            

o   1 tbsp nut butter

o   1 pitted date

Blend until smooth.  You may have to adjust the liquid/solid ratio depending on your blender.

Tastes better than it looks! Its all about how full and great you feel after... 

2. Loaded Oatmeal (adapted from Livestrong.com's meals for vegetarian athletes)

·      1 cup of oatmeal,

·      1 cup water or soy/almond/hemp/rice milk

·      1 tbsp. of flaxseed

·      1/2 cup frozen blueberries

·      1 banana, sliced

·      2 tbsp. of sliced/crushed almonds or walnuts

·      I tbsp peanut/almond butter

·      ¼ tsp cinnamon

Cook oatmeal according to instructions along with flaxseed and blueberries

Stir in cinnamon and nut butter.

Fold in nuts and banana and top with a little more cinnamon.

3. Spinach Mushroom Hummus Panini (adapted from Engine 2)

·      4 tbsp hummus of choice

·      2 slices Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread

·      1 medium Portabella Mushroom

·      1 1/2 cups Spinach, Raw

·      1 Green Onion, diced

·      Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or soy sauce plus water to sauté

Panini bliss

Sauté the mushrooms on medium heat in a nonstick skillet for about 5 minutes or until soft. (Note: you can sauté in any liquid, so oil isn’t necessary! I like soy sauce for the flavor.  Add water as necessary)

Spread bread slices thickly with hummus. Sprinkle one side with green onions and reserve the other as sandwich top.

Using a slotted spoon to allow any liquid to drain away from the mushrooms, place them on top of the green onions.

Put spinach on top of the mushrooms. Smush it down!

Top the sandwiches with the reserved piece of bread, and press to seal.

Carefully place the sandwich in a nonstick skillet.

Place a heavy casserole dish on top of the sandwich to flatten it. (Note: if you’re locuky enough to own a Panini press, use it!)

Cook the weighted sandwich on one side over medium heat for about 5 minutes, taking care not to let it burn.

Flip sandwich and cook the other side in the same way.

When done, the panini will be quite thin and browned on both sides.

  

4.  Lentil Soup (with Field Roast) 

Serves 4

A one-pot meal

·      2 carrots

·      2 celery stalks

·      1 medium onion

·      4 cloves garlic coarsely chopped

·      4 cups veggie stock or broth

·      4 cups water

·      1 and ½ cups green lentils

·      Bay leaf

·      3 cups spinach/chard/kale

·      Salt and pepper to taste

·      Optional: 2 Italian field roast sausages

In a large pot, sauté coarsely chopped carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a little water or stock until soft. (Note: no oil needed!) 

Then pour in the veggie stock/broth and water

Rinse and pick through lentils add to the broth and veggies.  

Throw in a couple bay leaves and pepper and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes.

If you want, sauté chopped field road for a few minutes until browned and add to simmering soup.

Add the greens to the simmering soup in last few minutes. 

Serve hot!  I like a little sriracha in mine. 

5.  Black Bean Brown Rice/Quinoa Bowl

Serves 2

·      1 cup dry Rice/Quinoa cooked according todirections

·      1 can Black Beans 

·      1 Large Green Pepper

Plant rainbow

·      1 Large Red Bell Pepper

·      1/2 Small Red Onion

·      4 oz. Mushrooms

·      1 cup Canned Corn

·      2 Tomatoes

·      2 sprigs Cilantro, Fresh

·      1 Avacado

·      1 tbsp Chili Powder Generic

·      1 tsp Ground Cumin

·      2 cloves Garlic Clove

·      1 tsp Liquid Aminos/soy sauce

Heat the beans with water or stock, along with corn, green pepper, Bragg’s, cumin and chili powder.

Cook rice/quinoa according to directions with mushroom, red pepper, onion and garlic

To serve, place several big spoonfuls of rice/quinoa onto large plates and ladle beans on top.

Add generous of tomato, avocado and fresh cilantro on top

Add hot sauce and bam!