Quinoa Caprese Salad {Vegan}

This is such a vibrant and beautiful salad, yet it tastes amazing.  I love quinoa in salads- the fluffy, protein rich grain pairs perfectly with your favorite greens.  I like how the nutty flavor red quinoa pairs with dark leafy greens like baby kale or arugula.  Quinoa is super nutrient rich and healthy.  This is truly a salad that you can feel great about putting in your body.

Complete with luscious sundried tomatoes, easy vegan feta, and a simple, sweet, two ingredient light dressing, this salad is my favorite.  It's my ultimate feel-good, healthy, vitality, shine-from-the-inside lunch.

Quinoa Caprese Kale Salad Nutrition

see nutrition link for substitutions and variations

Quinoa Caprese Kale Salad

Serves 1

2 cups baby kale

3 tbsp cooked red quinoa (see below)

1-2 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes

1 leaf basil, shredded

1-2 tbsp crumbled vegan feta (see below)

2 tbsp sweet white miso dressing (see below)

      Voluminous Red Quinoa

      Makes about 1 cup, cooked (you will have leftovers)

     1/4 cup red quinoa, uncooked
     1 cup water

     Add water and quinoa to a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low/medium and simmer 30        minutes until it soaks up all the water.  Don't lift the lid while it cooks!  Fluff when done.

     Vegan Feta

     Makes 1 cup (you will have leftovers)

     1 cup extra firm tofu cubes
     1/2 cup water
     1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
     1/4 cup lemon juice
     1 tbsp oregano
     1/4 tsp salt

     Press tofu as much as you can to get it as dry as possible.  Mix marinade ingredients and pour over tofu to let it soak.  Cover and refrigerate it for 2 hours at least.  It will taste better the longer you soak it!

     Simple and Sweet White Miso Dressing

     Makes approx 2 tbsp dressing

     2 tsp white miso paste
     2 tbsp water

     Mix the miso and water until combined.

Salad Assembly

1.   Toss the baby kale with 1 tbsp dressing, and toss the quinoa seperately with the remaining dressing.

2.   Toss in half the quinoa with the kale, and toss together the remaining quinoa, tomatoes, and basil.

3.  Sprinkle the remaining quinoa over the top of the salad.  Crumbled the vegan feta and sprinkle over the salad.

Beet Baked Fries

via @easy.breezy.vegan on Instagram

If you haven't jumped on the fries-from-things-that-are-not-potatoes bandwagon yet, you're missing out.  

I have mixed feelings towards finger food- some I detest, some I love.  Fries are one of my favorites, and I've had so much fun experimenting with pretty much every recipe under the sun!

Baked fries are one of my favorite quick appetizers or snacks that I love whipping up.  Whether I'm making a huge batch for a party or a single serving batch for me and only me, I love trying to make fries out of anything.  I've tried out the following:

-regular potatoes

-sweet potatoes

-butternut squash

-acorn squash

-kabocha squash

-beets

-avocado

-celery

-carrot

-bell peppers

-daikon radish

Of that list, some were amazing, some were strange, and some were just not for me.  Example- the carrot fries were not my favorite, but that's because I don't even like carrots in the first place.  I thought that if I seasoned them with an ungodly amount of chili powder and baked them, they would not taste like carrots, and they would magically transform into sweet-potato-esque fries.  No, they tasted like spicy carrots.  So if you like carrots, make carrot fries.  But if you're like me and don't like carrots, don't be a knucklehead and make carrot fries.  ;-)

The daikon fries were all right (I might try again with a different recipe), and the bell peppers and celery fries were less like "fries", and more like strips of roasted vegetables.  I loved the avocado fries, but they were very rich and creamy, and are more of an occasional indulgence.  

The squashes all worked like magic- acorn was great, kabocha fries were crispy on the outside but held all the creamy kabocha goodness I love on the inside, and butternut yielded delicious fries, almost exactly like sweet potato fries!  And of course, both the potatoes were classic, and delicious as ever!  But so much healthier than a traditional fry made in oil.  

These beet fries were a hit at my party.  Even the potato purists, a.k.a. my family, loved these.  Finger food at its best!  Not only are these delicious, but the rich purple beet color adds eye appeal and is a total conversation starter.  Everyone wanted to know how I made them, and they wanted the recipe!  So here it is.  :-)

Potatoes, I love you, but watch out.  

Beet Fries Nutrition Facts

Baked Beet Fries

Serves: 1-3

3 fresh beets

1 sprig parsley, minced

1/4 tsp salt

spices of choice (I used french thyme)

oil (optional, not used here)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 F.  

2.  Wash beets and cut off stems.  You can save the beet greens!  They're edible: they cook wonderfully like chard and make a great salad.  

3.  Peel the beets.  This might get messy- beets bleed!  Don't worry if they make a mess, beet juice cleans up fairly easily.  

4.  Cut the beets into fries.  Throw them into a bowl.  If using oil, coat them in oil or oil spray, then toss them in the salt, parsley, and spices.  

5.  Spread them out on a baking sheet covered in nonstick foil or parchment.  Bake them for 25-30 minutes, or until the outsides are crispy but not burnt!

Silky Rich Chocolate Mousse {Vegan}

via @easy.breezy.vegan on Instagram

I could eat a vat of this stuff.  Seriously.  It's so rich, creamy, silky, and decadent.  And the best part?  I could eat a gigantic bowl of this silky dark chocolate mousse, and it still be lower in fat and calories than a tiny cup of traditional mousse.

The vegan dark chocolate steals the show here with its amazing flavor and richness.  But the secret superstar behind it all?  Silken tofu.  

No, don't wrinkle your nose.  If you haven't used silken tofu in dessert recipes before, you might be weirded out.  I was too when I first saw recipes on Chocolate Covered Katie for silken tofu pies and shakes.  But it was love at first bite when I tried one of her confections.  

Katie, you're a genius.  :-)  Katie is not only one of the sweetest people I know, but she's pretty much a healthy food magician and I love making her recipes.  

This mousse is adapted from her recipe for Chocolate Infinity Pie, from her cookbook.  Minus the pie crust, in a bowl.  Still just as delicious.  And so easy!  Go whip some up right now, you won't regret it.  

Chocolate Mousse Nutrition Facts

Silky, Rich, Creamy Chocolate Mousse

Serves: 4

1/2 block Mori-nu Lite Firm Silken Tofu

1/4 cup Sunspire Organic 42% cacao chocolate chips, melted

2 tsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tsp milk of choice (I use unsweetend cashew)

pinch salt

1.  Whirl all ingredients together in a food processor or blender until whipped and smooth.

2.  Refrigerate the mousse to firm it up.  Refrigeration for 3+ hours is recommended, but overnight is best!  I like making this at night and having it for breakfast.  :-)

Melty Grilled Cheese Sandwich {Vegan}

via @easy.breezy.vegan on Instagram

What's better than a warm, melty, stretchy, gooey, cheesey grilled cheese sandwich?  I know.  A warm, melty, stretchy, gooey, cheesey, vegan grilled cheese sandwich.

Not only is this grilled cheese healthier than a regular version, but absolutely no animals were harmed in the making of this sandwich.  It doesn't get any better than that!

Why it's so much healthier:

whole wheat bread

a healthier vegan cheese (Galaxy!)

uses less butter, but still tastes buttery and delicious

Galaxy Go Veggie vegan cheese is my favorite brand of dairy free cheese.  They have a delicious variety of shreds, slices, vegan cream cheese, and even grated parmesan!

With Go Veggie cheese, you have to make sure you are getting the purple styles labeled Dairy-Free because Galaxy also makes non-vegan cheeses that are lactose and soy free but contain casein.

For me, Go Veggie trumps Daiya and FYH for many reasons.  It melts incredibly well, so it's perfect for pizzas.  When you use Daiya on pizzas, it holds its shredded shape and doesn't get melty and gooey.
I love that when it's melted and warm, you can stretch it and it makes delicious cheesy strings when you pull it.  You know those pizza commercials where someone lifts up a slice and along with it trails melted strings of hot cheese?  Go Veggie can do that.  The taste is also delicious: I love their cheddar.  The Mozzarella shreds are also delicious, and both are staples in my kitchen.
To top it all off, they are a lot healthier than other vegan cheeses: they are lower in saturated fat and lighter than most brands.

Fresh off the skillet.  Doesn't look like much, right?

Slicing it up.  mmmm....

Melty, stretchy Galaxy at its best.  The cheese here is still warm and gooey, so pulling it apart fresh off the griddle is heaven.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Nutrition

Vegan Grilled Cheese

Serves: 1

2 slices whole wheat bread

1/3 cup Galaxy Go Veggie! Dairy Free Shreds, Mozzarella

1/2 tsp Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread

sprinkle of salt

1.  I start by cutting off the crusts of my bread slices, since I don't like bread crust.  Feel free to leave it on, though!  Butter one side of your bread slices with 1/4 tsp of the Smart Balance per slice.

2.  Sprinkle the salt on the buttered sides of the bread.  

3.  Put cheese shreds on the unbuttered side of one slice of bread, and top with the other slice of bread, with the buttered side facing out.  

4.  Place in a pan on medium heat, and cover with a lid.  Cook until lightly golden brown, then flip and cook other side until even.    

5.  Slice in half and serve!