Hope everyone had a great weekend! Saturday we went to the first Montpelier Summer Farmers Market it was a beautiful day and there was great produce. We picked up kimchi, rainbow chard, lettuce, onions, carrots and cilantro; I can’t wait to get more next Saturday. After the market I made lunch of black rice, garlic beans, garlic rainbow chard and topped with kimchi and carrot hot sauce.
Then it was time for another weekend height on a beautiful Saturday at Little River State Park in Waterbury Vermont. We did the Stevenson Brook Trail this time which was a little less strenuous but it was still a great hike with beautiful scenery.
Q: What did you do this weekend? What’s your favorite Spring/Summer activity?
Last week Kara sent me an e-mail inquiring about nutritional yeast and I’ve decided that it is a perfect question for a ‘Readers Request’. Here is her question:
When I became vegan I was clueless as to what nutritional yeast was and what to do with it. Now I am a nutritional yeast addict and my husband and I constantly joke that I should go into therapy because of it.
So what exactly is nutritional yeast?
Nutritional Yeast is an inactive yeast that has a nutty cheesy flavor and is frequently used to make vegan cheeze sauces.
Nutritional Yeast is low in sodium and fat and is a great source of Vitamin B-12 which can otherwise only be found in animal products.
Where can you find nutritional yeast?
Check out your local natural food store or co-op in the bulk section. You can find it in large flakes and small; also try to find Red Star- it is my favorite brand.
If you can’t find it in store you can go online and there are a number of vegan sites that sell it as well as online bulk shops.
How do I use it?
It is great as a topping for popcorn or sprinkled on edamame.
Mix a little in with your Earth Balance and garlic to make a great garlic bread spread.
Sprinkle into a stir fry, in/on pasta dishes or in soups/stews.
Make a great mock parmesan by pulsing 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup sesame seeds and 1 teaspoon salt in your food processor and sprinkle on soups, salads and over pasta.
Then of course there are cheeze sauces such as the one I made tonight:
1/2T olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic minced
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1T arrowroot (or cornstarch or potato starch)
1/2t Italian Seasoning
1/2t chili flakes
1/2T garlic powder
1/2T salt
1/2T black pepper
1 heaping tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
Place garlic and oil in a cold pan and heat on low for 5 minutes; this will infuse the oil. Add in the tomatoes and turn the heat up to medium and saute for 5 minutes until the tomatoes start to soften. Stir in the spices and arrowroot until everything is mixed together. Stir in the almond milk and the nutritional yeast; bring to a boil to thicken and then turn off. If the sauce gets too thick add a little more almond milk. Serve this over pasta or your favorite veggies. I served mine over vegan ravioli and steamed broccoli.
Q: What is your favorite way to use nutritional yeast?
Lately I have been on a huge green juice kick and it feels great! I have picked up some really great organic veggies this week which have made some tasty juices. My favorite combination is romaine, cucumber, celery, carrot and a small green apple – when I have parsley I like to add that as well.
I sucked this all down from my National Life Idol mug- at my last job we had an American Idolish contest for the employees. Honestly it turned out to be more like National Life’s Got Talent than an Idol show but either way it was a break from sitting at my desk and I got the huge mug to drink green juice from!
I have also been trying to keep lunch pretty light and raw since the summer is coming and raw food with soon be in abundance. Raw veggies have the highest nutrients and are great for you. The more you cook your vegetables the more nutrients are lost so try incorporate more raw and lightly steamed veggies into your diet.
Thursday night we finished off the last of our Daiya with some amazing grilled sandwiches. These sandwiches were olive rolls stuffed with bbq tempeh, tomatoes, spinach, tofutti, and Daiya then grilled to perfection. I served it up with some quinoa tabouli that was tasty and very refreshing.
Since I forgot my camera yesterday with all my pictures to post I had planned on posting everything above me last night so it’s a bit delayed but I figured still totally worth showing of the yumminess. We ended up staying out until around 11pm last night for on of my girl-friend’s b-day parties so we didn’t get home until midnight and I was too tired to post at that point. We did however have an amazing night filled with delicious food from American Flatbread- the hubby and I shared a double order of the Evolution Salad which has yummy arame on it and a Vegan Revolution Flatbread which was equally as delicious. We also tried some of their house brewed beers which were delicious and then we headed next door to play Apples to Apples and have a Long Trail.
Now it’s time for laundry and cleaning/packing up our apartment but first a little menu planning from these two books:
First the hubby and I started with a lovely salad from I am Grateful:
The dressing for this salad was Peppery Avocado Caesar Dressing from I am Grateful,capers and gomasio. It was nice light and yummy. There is a caesar salad recipe in I am Grateful which also includes their almond bread. I would have loved to make this but didn’t have the ingredients for the bread but hope to make it next time.
To go with this salad we had quinoa with peas, corn, Braggs and hot chili sesame oil. We also had these amazing fries:
Baked Parsnip and Sweet Potato Flax Fries
Tina of Carrots ‘N’ Cake inspired this recipe
2 sweet potatoes, cut into fries
4 parsnips, cut into fries
1T olive oil
3T flax meal
1/2t garlic salt
1/2t chili powder
Preheat the oven to 425F. Place the parsnip and sweet potato fries in a large plastic bag and toss with olive oil. Add in the flax meal, garlic salt and chili powder and toss with the fries to evenly coat. Pour out onto a baking sheet to form a single layer. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until soft, flipping after 25.
Neil and I got our workouts in this morning so we could relax tonight. As I said yesterday I found some Daiya cheese and so I have been thinking of different ways to use it so tonight on some nice open faced sandwiches. To make the sandwiches I turned the broiler on to high and let it heat up while I put the toppings on. I topped local Red Hen bread with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic, thinly sliced tomatoes, basil, Daiya and a sprinkle of garlic salt and pepper. I placed under the broiler for about three minutes until the cheese had melted and the bread browned.
We have been having miserable weather this week in Vermont so I started my morning off with some light, refreshing and uplifting, a green smoothie! This smoothie had unsweetened vanilla milk, vanilla hemp protein powder, half a banana and 2 huge handfuls of spinach.
After a busy and stressful day I was ready to come and make some comfort food. I found daiya at Healthy Living and decided that I had to purchase some since everyone has been raving about it. I also picked up some of my favorite low-carb tortillas that only have 45 calories each so they make tex-mex food guilt free. I stuffed the tortillas with roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, onions and spinach. I then topped with salsa and daiya and baked until bubbly. I then topped these yummy things with avocado-tomato salsa that I had made- HOLY YUM!
Q: What’s your favorite vegan cheese? What is your favorite way to eat it?
