All posts filed under: vegetarian entrees

Nutrient-Dense Delicious Pho Recipe

The only good things about winter are snowboarding, snow, hot chocolate and soup. In no particular order. Everything else is just meh. Ok, ok, those aren’t the only good things. Some people hate on winter (like the Starks a la Game of Thrones…I’m still weeping over Ned Stark. Oh, and Rob Stark. And Catelyn Stark…basically, all the Starks and the long list of characters which fell prey to the GOT bloodbath), but I actually love all the seasons. I’m a hippie at heart, and each season brings with it some amazing outdoor playtime. D.C. winters are pretty mild (now that I’ve written that, the weather gods are probably going to send a raging snowpocalypse on the DMV area), but my husband Samuel and I get our fill of winter, because we usually go skiing at least two or three times a month to some of the surrounding resorts in-between our trips to Colorado. We love the snow so much, we would build an igloo and camp out if we could. I’m probably going to be featuring non-stop …

Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese Two Ways

I don’t know about where you live, but the weather is moody AF here in Washington, D.C. What’s up, mama nature?! While I tend to prefer meals that are heavily plant-based, sometime life calls for some good old Southern comfort food. My mom has a collection of the best southern dishes, and while they taste ah-maaaazing, they certainly aren’t healthy. The good news is just about any recipe can be modified to fit your dietary needs. I adjusted my mom’s mac & cheese recipe two ways: 1) gluten free noodles using organic milk and cheese, 2) vegan using creamy cashew sauce Both of them tasted so delicious, I almost forgot we’re in the clutches of winter. Almost. But not quite. MAC & SMOKED GOUDA CHEESE  _________________________________________________________________ SERVES: 6 PREP TIME: 10-15 minutes COOK TIME: 35-40  INGREDIENTS: 4 cups dried GF macaroni 1 whole egg 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 1/2 cups ORGANIC whole milk 2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired) 1 pound Gouda cheese, grated (not pre-grated cheese) Seasoned salt …

Healthy Gluten Free Ramen Noodles with Aromatic Veggie Stock

Hello, from London my darlings! Despite being just a teeny tiny bit jet lagged, we’ve been bashing around the city with great abandonment. No food is left uneaten, no wine not drunk, and no site unseen. London is one of my favorite cities to visit, and each time I come here, it feels like home. I am so thankful to be able to experience this wonderful city with my amazing husband. We’ll be here throughout the month of September, in part for pleasure and also because I’m doing a 100 hour Ashtanga traning course with Kino MacGregor and her husband Tim Feildman. OMG GIVE ME ALL THE ASANAS! In the meantime: soup! Let it not be said I don’t love me a good soup recipe. They’re fast, easy to throw together, and have endless possibilities. Best of all, when soups are homemade, they have the opportunity to be incredibly nutritious.  Because I don’t live life like a typical 9-5 American, I’d rather take a Japanese bento box to work than buy food. Asian inspired recipes …

Japanese Ramen Noodle Soup

Despite my southern upbringing (with a dash of east coast flare), true comfort food to me isn’t the traditional heavy American fare most of us have come to know and love. Maybe it’s the result of my world-wide travels and love of all cultures and people, but nothing beats Asian cuisine for me when it comes to terms of comfort. Give me a big bowl of noodle soup, a book, and a rainy day, and I shall give you the definition of bliss. And if you throw some baby animals in the mix to cuddle, I’ll probably die of happiness. One of my personal loves in learning about other cultures and people. It’s what motivated me to be a globe trotter, and I count my travels as my richest investment. Both my husband and I have a particular respect for Asian culture, which is incredibly diverse and varied from across the Asian continent. It’s as much an unfortunate mistake to lump all the cultures together as it is to group all Asian cuisine in the same …

Veggies on Mexican Lime Rice + Handmade Tortillas with Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce

GOD BLESS TEXAS…. I’m a Texas girl, y’all, and you know we do tacos, tortillas and football on the reg. In my home city Dallas, Tex-Mex is practically a revered as a sacred art. I myself have devoted endless hours to “studying” said art by way of eating non-stop Mexican cuisine and drinking many a margarita. I just wanted to make sure I left no stone unturned in my quest to find the perfect burrito. I’m very devoted to my research, obviously!  I have yet to experience a mambo taxi (a frozen marg that maybe should be illegal) I didn’t want to add to my list of Possible Last Supper Options. I really do keep this list, because you just never know. The Boy Scouts only think they came up with that motto. Not so fast, Eagle Scout! I was born touting that as my personal mantra! But I digress. Anyway, D.C. offers many great food experiences, but sometimes a girl likes to get back to her roots and go a little wild, Wild West on dinner. And so I did. …

10 Minute Miso Noodle Soup

Soups are the ultimate go-to for quick, easy meals. You can food prep the ingredients ahead of time or make the entire recipe in advanced, and they still taste amazing. Just when it didn’t seem possible to get any easier, miso soup proved we can abandon our cup o’ noodles and eat something a million times more delicious and way healthier in 10 minutes or less. Hallelujah, dinner just became effortless! As an incredibly busy cardiac ICU nurse and full time yoga practitioner, “fast, easy, and healthy” are necessary check list items when I cook. Being able to throw together an incredibly nutritious soup in 10 minutes frees us from ever having to get fast food or order take out food from some restaurant that may or may not give a damn about how sanitary their food prep is. This recipe is also very versatile. You can mix and match veggies however you’d like, but you can’t go wrong with shiitake + portobello mushrooms (mmmm…so good!), and fresh baby spinach or kale. Zucchini and squash …

Meatless Meatballs + Veggies Medley

All hail vegetables, we just can’t get enough! Recently, I took a beef meatball recipe by Gordon Ramsay and converted it to zucchini meatballs that turned out to be so freakishly delicious, my husband requested them several nights in a row. Here’s the important thing about that little fact: My husband might not have a Texas accent, but he’s a Texan through and through, and he’s been born and breed to be all things Texas. That means “Beef: it’s what’s for dinner” was probably a motto he was raised to revere. He’s the nicest food snob you’ll ever meet. Neither of us think meat substitutes ever really taste like good substitutes or are a decent replacement. And then came zucchini meatballs… It was like a light from heaven shone down on my plate. And now that we have that little recipe preface out of the way, I can tell you about these Super Yum Zucchini Meatballs. The texture and taste actually is not only an awesome replacement for meatballs, but I personally thought it was even …

Zucchini “Meatballs” in Fragrant Thai Coconut Broth

Vegetarians rejoice: we too can have meatballs with our goddamn meal, just like all those carnivores out there. This soup is soooo.freaking.yum. Well, it’s really good that is, if you like Thai dishes, coconut milk, and tons of exotic seasoning. Plus, coconut milk is amazingly good for you. So, hip hip hooray! Another plus is that the ingredient are light enough to make a good summer soup. My husband really hates ginger (and yet…he married a ginger kid. Conflict of interests? I should say so…) and so he wasn’t as big of a fan of this soup as I thought he’d be (I expected Domestic Goddess awards, but it was not to be. Note to self: no ginger root for Samuel!) However, despite his ginger flavor aversion, he was blown away by the amazing aromatic quality and how tasty the “meatballs” are. In a nutshell, it’s pretty heavenly. Forget Calgon taking you away, these flavors will make you feel like you’re a million miles from home in the best way possible. Soup is such a comfort …

Vegetarian Stir Fry & Rice Noodles

Sometimes the internet gods are against us. I put together this post last night and gave myself a little pat on the back for being ahead on my to do list, only to wake up this morning and find my post had been mysteriously eaten by the internet. There was no trace of it, not even in my drafts. Is nothing sacred anymore!!!!! Ahhhhh! First world problems, man. They’ll get you every time. I’m pretty sure my fat large boned and dainty cat deleted it by trying to sleep on my lap top. Thanks for that, Mademoiselle Kitty. Not to be defeated, I rallied on and decided to re-write this recipe. In another life, I must have lived somewhere in Asia. I love the culture, the religions, the people, and especially the food. Fortunately, so many of the dishes are easy to make and incredibly healthy. I can also experiment with tons of vegetarian and vegan options. Um, #WINNING! Yay for me and all other plant eaters out there! Sometimes, it can be fun to play …

One Pot Scrumptious Rice Noodle Soup

I am a soup fanatic. It’s basically an entire life source for me. I just love, love, love soups of all kinds, colors, and varieties. As winter settles in DC, the weather is turning more gray and dreary. It’s the perfect kind of weather for curling up on the sofa under a blanket while sipping on warm soup.

The challenge with vegan and vegetarian soups in finding a mix that’s hearty but soothing. I can only do so many bean variations, if you know what I mean! My mom makes a should-be-famous chicken noodle soup that unquestionably is good for the soul….