Simple Scrambled Tofu and Kale with Sweet Potato Fries

by on February 6, 2012

Simple Scrambled Tofu and Kale

I’ve long relied on soups as a way to cram as many vegetables as I can into my family’s diet, but the truth is, my daughter prefers to eat her leafy greens mixed into one of her two favorite foods: lasagna and tofu. Lasagna will always be her first choice, but for a super-quick meal that hits all of the nutritional bases, I love a veggie-packed scrambled tofu with a starchy vegetable on the side. And when it comes to leafy greens, almost nothing packs more nutritional power than kale or has such a mild flavor that goes with practically any seasoning.

Continue reading →

{ 25 comments }

Healthy Super Bowl Party? Start with a Big Pot of Really Good Chili

by on January 31, 2012

Nava Atlas' Big Pot of Really Good Chili

If, like me, you made a New Year’s resolution to start eating healthier, you might be just a little worried about what you’re going to eat at the Big Party coming up this weekend. I’m referring, of course, to the Super Bowl, the day when grown adults run and dodge and knock each other down in their quest to get to the guacamole bowl. Or maybe that’s just at my house. I live with two hard-core football fans who will insist that there be guacamole and tortilla chips to eat during the big game, and if I’m not careful, I’ll start mindlessly snacking all my healthy progress away.

That’s why I have a plan–and I suggest you have one, too. You may not be able to keep away from all the tempting snack food, but you can have just as tempting nutritious food on hand to grab when the snacking urge hits. Guacamole itself isn’t unhealthy as long as you don’t overdo it, but packaged tortilla chips are just fried flour and salt. So make your own baked chips, or better yet, scoop up your guac with baby carrots, celery sticks, red pepper slices, cucumber, or cauliflower florets. And be sure to have a filling, nutritious main course that tastes like you’re cheating on your diet (but you’re not).

Continue reading →

{ 31 comments }

Chocolate Chia Pudding and Other Sugar-Free, Flour-Free Desserts

January 23, 2012
Thumbnail image for Chocolate Chia Pudding and Other Sugar-Free, Flour-Free Desserts

I come from a long line of dessert lovers. When I was growing up, my family ate dessert every night after dinner, and my parents still end each day with a bowl of ice cream (though my mother opts for an artificially sweetened one now). It’s a hard habit to break and one I’m afraid [...]

Read the full article →

Ridiculously Easy Vegetable Gumbo and Cooking From Your Pantry and Freezer

January 16, 2012
Thumbnail image for Ridiculously Easy Vegetable Gumbo and Cooking From Your Pantry and Freezer

Near the end of the first week of my KISSS healthy-eating plan, calamity struck–or at least what passes for calamity when you are trying to cook and eat healthy soups every day. I went to the pantry and found that I had no onions. No onions! Take a look at almost any of my savory [...]

Read the full article →

Hidden Cashew Ranch Dressing Plus Tips for Eating Salads When You Really Don’t Want To

January 8, 2012
Hidden Cashew Ranch Dressing

We’ve all been there. You’re trying to eat more greens but you just can’t face another lunchtime salad. Maybe it’s because of the prep involved, maybe it’s because it feels like the North Pole outside, or maybe it’s because you’re just sick and tired of chomping your way through a big bowl of raw veggies. [...]

Read the full article →

My Get-Healthy Plan to KISSS in the New Year

December 31, 2011
Thumbnail image for My Get-Healthy Plan to KISSS in the New Year

I seem to have started eating for the holidays sometime back in September. Though I had spent much of the early part of the year watching what I ate, exercising regularly, and losing around 25 pounds, a sinus infection in late August coupled with a quick trip to Portland (vegan Mecca) threw me off balance. [...]

Read the full article →

Seitan Stuffed with Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, and Mushrooms

December 13, 2011
Seitan Stuffed with Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, and Mushrooms

This is A Tale of Two Seitans. For Thanksgiving this year, I decided to make something a little fancier than the baked tofu my husband, daughter, and I usually enjoy while our omnivorous extended family is eating turkey. The day before the big feast, I took one of my old favorite stuffings, wrapped wheat gluten [...]

Read the full article →

Ginger-Orange Glazed Carrots

December 5, 2011
Ginger-Orange Glazed Carrots

As a lazy cook who values one-pot meals, I don’t cook many side dishes. If a meal lacks a vegetable, I’ll usually toss together a salad and call it a day. The only time I find I need true side dishes is when dinner centers around a protein-heavy dish, like mini tofu quiches, quinoa cutlets, [...]

Read the full article →

Creamy Vegan Broccoli and Rice Casserole

November 21, 2011
Thumbnail image for Creamy Vegan Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Thanksgiving is just three days away, and I don’t know where all my time went. Well, actually, I do know how I used some of it: making this casserole, twice, to get it just right so that if you decide to include it in your holiday meal, you can be sure it will work. And [...]

Read the full article →

Nava’s Hearty Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

November 14, 2011
Nava's Hearty Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

When Nava Atlas asked me at the beginning of last year to take the photos for Vegan Holiday Kitchen, I thought about it for about a day and then gave her an emphatic “Yes!” She warned me that she would need more photos than I’d taken for her previous book, Vegan Express–about five times as [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries