Amy’s No Chicken Noodle Soup is vegan and nails the chicken noodle soup flavor, but just isn’t hearty enough for me. Actually, I rarely eat a canned soup without at least adding a bunch of frozen veggies to it. The Amy’s soup can be a little hard to find at some grocery stores, but it’s easy to pick up on Amazon either by the can:

Or a case of 12:

Preparation Tip: Fast and Easy Slicing

If you cook with a lot of vegetables, a mandoline vegetable slicer is an amazing tool you will use ALL. THE. TIME. With mine, I was able to slice all the veggies for the soup in about 4 minutes.

Do you have a favorite “Cheater” recipe?

Print

Cheater Chickenless Noodle Soup (Vegan)

This vegan Cheater Chickenless Noodle Soup is a quick and easy weeknight comfort food that is "Cheater" because it uses some ready-made grocery store ingredients.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword cheater, comfort food, soup, Vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cans Amy's No Chicken Noodle Soup
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• up to 7 cups water
• 1 can cannelloni beans, undrained
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 package noodles of your choice eggless dumpling noodles, orzo, and ditalini work well
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic salt
• 1 tbsp oregano measurement is for dried, but fresh is phenomenal in this soup; adjust to taste
• 1 ½ tbsp thyme measurement is for dried, but fresh is phenomenal in this soup; adjust to taste
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• 1 lb frozen mixed vegetables or frozen peas* See note below
• Salt to taste

Optional Add-ins:

• Diced mushrooms shitakes are especially good
• diced potatoes
• green beans
• diced root vegetables parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, etc.

Instructions

• Heat oil in a soup pot on Med-High heat.
• Add the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery.
  
• Sauté until the onions are translucent.
• Add 2 cups of water and the pepper, garlic salt, oregano, thyme, and cayenne.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add the 2 cans of Amy's Soup, the cannelloni beans, and nutritional yeast.
• Add 2 to 5 cups of water based on your broth preferences. I typically use the soup cans to rinse out anything that gets left in them.
• Add the noodles and butter and bring to a boil.
• Boil until the noodles are soft, add the frozen vegetables.
• When the soup returns to a boil, it's ready to serve!

Notes

*Frozen Veggies Mom Hack:  I seriously felt like a genius when I thought of this.  If you are going to need to cool this soup off quickly (say, for instance to children who are starving to *death* and cannot possibly wait 3 minutes for it to cool down), hold back some of the frozen vegetables and add them when you serve the soup.  So much better than adding an ice cube because it doesn’t water down the soup!  Bonus:  If you let the kids add the veggies themselves, they’ll often take even more than you would have given them.  BAM.  #momgenuity

 

The post Cheater Chickenless Noodle Soup (Vegan) appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

A friend of mine was kind enough to share her Taco Soup recipe quite some time ago, but I lost my phone (and therefore the pictures) shortly after I tried it out.  I think that actually turned out for the best, as it was even better this time!

For the fast, easy version of the recipe, simply go with the canned versions of all the listed ingredients, pre-mixed taco seasoning, and don’t bother with the toppings bar.  For a fun twist on Taco Night, lay out a whole spread of toppings – lettuce, diced tomatoes, olives, avocado, various salsas, tortilla chips, and so on.

Taco Soup Ingredients:

• 1 – 2 diced onion(s)
• 2 tbs oil suitable for sautéing (I used grapeseed)
• 46oz can tomato juice (low sodium preferred)
• 29oz can crushed tomatoes (low sodium preferred)
• 1 – 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 ½ cups prepared red kidney beans (or one can rinsed)
• 1 ½ cups prepared black beans (or one can rinsed)
• 4-5oz can of diced green chilies (mild to hot to your taste)
• ½ – ¾ cup Salsa (chunky)
• Taco Seasoning* to taste
  • Cumin
  • Garlic powder
  • Chili powder and/or cayenne
  • Cilantro
  • Garlic Salt
• 1 diced green bell pepper

Serve with:

• Diced avocado
• Shredded lettuce
• Tortilla chips (crunched up)
• Nutritional Yeast
• Olives
• All your favorite taco toppings!

*If you want to mix up taco seasoning to keep on hand, try this recipe.

Directions:
Note: This is a super flexible recipe.  The amounts of vegetables, beans, salsa, and seasonings are all completely flexible based on your tastes.  You could even add a lot more vegetables or tailor it to you preferred taco ingredients/toppings.

1. Dice the onion(s) and, in the pot the soup will cook in, briefly sauté them in the oil – only until they just start to soften.
2. Stir in everything else except the green bell pepper and the “serve with” ingredients.
   • You can thaw out the corn first, for slightly faster cooking
3. Bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add green pepper; simmer for 3-5 minutes, just long enough to heat the pepper through but not soften it.
5. Serve! Top bowls with crunched up tortilla chips, diced avocado, shredded lettuce, olives, nutritional yeast, and/or all your favorite taco toppings!

The post Vegan Taco Soup – Fast, Easy, Delicious appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

    Summer is the time for BBQ, and these Vegan BBQ Pulled Mushroom sandwiches are a major crowd pleaser in addition to being super easy to prep.  I hate to even reference meat here, but this really is an amazing vegan pulled pork alternative – and much healthier (though BBQ sauce is still pretty high in sugar – and watch out for brands with high fructose corn syrup).

I’ll lay out the basic recipe with a few alternatives to kick it up a level or two:

Required Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb Mushrooms (should be about 3 cups when raw and roughly sliced)
  • Best mushrooms for this recipe are, in order:
  • King Oyster
  • Oyster
  • Shiitake
  • Other mushrooms are an option as well, but the best texture is achieved with mushrooms similar in firmness and texture to those listed above.
• 1 cup BBQ Sauce
• Buns
• Oil appropriate for sautéing

Optional Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 small Onions
• 2 tbsp minced Garlic
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tbsp Liquid Aminos
• 2 tbsp Dry White Wine
• 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• Thick Sourdough Toast
• Hoagie Rolls

Amounts:

• This is a very flexible recipe and the amounts of the various ingredients will vary based on the overall amount you want to make.  For the purposes of this recipe, I will include rough amounts that make enough to feed 4-6 people (depending on the size of the buns you use).
• If you don’t use onions, you will need more mushrooms.  My amounts presume you are using onions.

Easiest Possible Preparation:

1. Slice Mushrooms into rough, thin strips.
2. Saute mushrooms over medium high heat until they begin to soften.
3. Add BBQ sauce.
4. Mix well and continue to sauté until desired consistency is achieved (mushrooms will get softer and sauce will get thicker as dish cooks).

Preferred Preparation:

1. Dice onions and place in pan (no heat yet).
2. Dice red pepper  and place in pan (still no heat).
3. Slice mushrooms into rough, thin strips.
4. Saute the onions, garlic, and pepper over medium high heat until the onions just start to become translucent.  If desired, add white wine, liquid aminos, and/0r Worcestershire sauce (I use all 3!).
5. Add the mushrooms.  Stir.  Saute until the mushrooms start to soften and release their liquid.
6. Add the BBQ Sauce.  Stir and Saute until the sauce thickens and reaches desired consistency.  Add more Worcestershire or liquid aminos to taste.

Note: Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.  Avoid over-cooking the mushrooms, you want mushrooms not mush!

Scoop some onto a thick slice of sourdough toast with some nutritional yeast (or a hoagie or a regular bun), and enjoy!

The post Vegan BBQ Pulled Mushrooms appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

The vegetables I used are just that: the vegetables I used.  There are several other vegetables that would work just as well.  Basically any vegetable that will stand up to roasting and goes well with hummus will work on this pizza.  Go with what you like!

Serves 4
Ingredients:
Roasted Veggies:
– 1 medium onion, diced
– 1 small egg plant, sliced
– 1 small zucchini, sliced
– 8oz mushrooms, sliced
– 6 asparagus, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
– 2 tbsp minced garlic
– 2 tbsp of safflower oil or another oil with a high smoke point (450 or over)
– 3 tbsp za’atar* or Mediterranean/Middle Eastern spice mix
Other Ingredients:
– 1/4 c fresh parsley finely chopped – optional: sprinkle the parsley with lemon juice and olive oil or EVOO
– 8oz hummus (here is a recipe for home-made hummus, if you’re so inclined)
– 4 slices whole grain na’an bread
– extra za’atar or herbs as garnish

Directions:
1.  Toss all the Roasted Veggies ingredients listed above together, coating the vegetables with the oil and spices.
2.  Spread the vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet.
3.  Roast 20 minutes at 450F, stirring/turning over once.
4.  While the vegetables are roasting, spread a thick layer of hummus on one side of each slice of na’an, this is your “pizza sauce.”

5.  Sprinkle the parsley over the hummus.
6.  When the vegetables are brown around the edges, take them out of the oven and spread them on top of the na’an.
You can serve and enjoy them now, or, for crispy crusts:
7.  Place the pizzas on a baking sheet (you can re-use the vegetable sheet, a little oil and za’atar on the bottom of the pizzas will just add flavor and save you dishes!).  Reduce the oven temperature to 250F and bake for 20 minutes.

The kids and I ate ours after step 6.  Without the added baking time to crisp the crust, they are pretty floppy, but you also get the more authentic taste of the na’an.  I folded mine in half like a taco, and it was perfect.  Flintstone and Punky also developed their own methods:

Burrito Style

Flatbread Style

I just love both his face here and the fact that his “Mediterranean pizza burrito” is standing up on its own.

MacGyver was at a networking event, so I left his in the oven until he came home.  His crust was stiff and crunchy – definitely more “pizza” like.  Just the way he likes it!

Enjoy!

*Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice mix, so not technically Mediterranean.  Likewise, hummus is technically a Middle Eastern food, not Mediterranean.  Perhaps I should change the name of this recipe, but Middle Eastern Pizzas doesn’t flow very well.  I’m open to suggestions on this point.

The post Mediterranean Pizzas appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

The beer sauce on this Stir Fry is incredibly versatile.  Beer sauced broccoli is a favorite in our house; the sauce is a quick and easy vegan dinner idea that can be used for stir fry and pasta dishes alike.  You can put it over nearly any vegetable you want, but I find that it goes best with cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, rapini, and greens of all kinds – kale, collars, chard, cabbage), and mushrooms.  It is amazing with mushrooms!

This is also a sneaky vegan recipe.  As in, it wasn’t designed to be vegan, but it just so happens to be.  A delicious, plant based dish to please any skeptical omnivore (especially one who likes beer!).

The amounts in this recipe are designed to feed a family of four with leftovers (to put in thermoses for lunches the next day!).

Ingredients

Vegetables of your choice.
1 large Onion
2 cups diced mushrooms (or more, if you like!)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
1/4 cup vegetable broth (or substitute 2 tbsp high heat oil like avacado, palm, or grapeseed)
1 – 2 tbsp sesame oil (optional, for Asian style stir fries)
***
SAUCE INGREDIENTS
2 12oz bottles of beer (3 cups)
3 tsp vegetable or mushroom bouillon granules (OR substitute 2 tbsp BBQ sauce OR 2 tbsp soy sauce or liquid aminos OR replace 1/3 of the beer with vegetable broth)
1 1/2 tsp dried Thyme (3 tsp fresh)
1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
4 tsp maple syrup (or brown sugar)
4 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)

Directions

1.  Dice the onion and mince the garlic.  Set aside for at least 5 minutes.

2.  Put your rice or noodles on to boil (or in the pressure cooker, etc.) or prepare you potatoes.  Bake tofu (if desired).  This is an excellent topper to this dish.

3.  Stir together all sauce ingredients and set aside.

4.  Heat the vegetable broth in a large wok or skillet to sautée the vegetables.  Add the garlic and the toughest vegetables (onions, broccoli, cauliflower, halved brussels sprouts, kale, chard, or collard stems, etc.).  Stir fry over high heat for 3 – 4 minutes.  Keep just enough broth (or oil) in the pan to keep the vegetables from sticking.

5.  Add the mushrooms and any other fast cooking vegetables (chard, greens off the stem, bok choy, asparagus) and stir fry for another 2-4 minutes, until all the vegetables are just softened.

6.  Move all the vegetables to a serving dish (or get a separate saucepan).  If you’re making an asian-style dish, drizzle the sesame oil over the veggies.

7.  Stir sauce mix well and add it to the pan.  Cook on high heat, stirring continuously, until thickened and bubbly.  Stir in vegetables (and optional tofu) until well and evenly coated.

8.  Serve over rice (for asian style), noodles (for european style), or potatoes (for US style).

Let me know if you try it!

The post Beer Sauce Stir Fry appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

       This is also an incredibly fragrant dish.  It pairs brilliantly with veggie burgers, barbecue vegetables, and anything with grilled mushrooms.

Ingredients:
– Fresh Tomatoes – for prettiest results use multicolored heirloom tomatoes, especially cherry sized tomatoes.
– Fresh Basil – sweet basil or pineapple basil is best, though any variety will work. Do not use dried basil for this recipe.
– Olive Oil
– Balsamic Vinegar
– Optional: Garlic (powder, roasted, or minced from a jar – fresh might be too strong)

Use 1/4 cup chopped basil for every cup diced tomatoes.
Use 1 tbsp each oil and balsamic vinegar for every cup diced tomatoes.
Add garlic to taste, around 1 tsp for every tbsp oil.

Put the diced tomatoes in a bowl. Add the basil.  Sprinkle with oil and vinegar, adjusting to taste, stir just enough to evenly distribute the ingredients.  Dive in!  For best results, assemble right before serving.

The post Caprese Salad appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

      This recipe made enough for one dinner for our family of four (with Punky taking three big helpings and a tiny third), with enough leftovers for at least 3 lunches.  Also perfect for canning or freezing to have on hand for a quick meal instead of canned soup or something processed from a box.

Ingredients:
The ingredients for chili are quite flexible, which is one of the beauties of this recipe.  Feel free to experiment!

– 2 cups dried beans (This time I used a mixture of dark kidney beans, black beans, and colored butter beans)
– 2 small onions (or one large) – or more!
– 3 bell peppers of various colors (at least one green)
– 28oz can (big can) organic diced tomatoes (or 2 – 3 cups fresh diced toms!)
– 2 cups diced mushrooms (I used a combo of shiitake, oyster, and button)
– 2 tbsp chili powder
– 1 tbsp cumin
– 2 tsp paprika
– 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced (or the equivalent of garlic powder)
– 2 tsp black pepper
– 1 or 2 bay leaves, whole (remove before serving)
– 1/4 cup organic ketchup (it is important to use organic, no high fructose corn syrup, low sugar ketchup)
– 2 tbsp yellow mustard (use less if using mustard powder)
– minced jalapeno peppers or cayenne powder to taste.

      Throw in any other veggies you have or want!  Zucchini and summer squash are great in chili, along with all kinds of peppers, celery, carrots, even broccoli and cauliflower!  Corn is always a great touch to chili.  Adding greens can really kick up the nutritional value.  For a sweeter chili with a really unique touch, add either mashed or cubed sweet potato, acorn or butternut squash.  I even threw in some leftover spaghetti sauce that we had (chili is a great “dumping ground” for leftovers and odds and ends).

You can also add some vegan crumbles like those from Gardien (MorningStar Farms are NOT cruelty free), but I try to avoid it because the crumbles, while WAY better than animal flesh, are still processed.  And honestly, this chili doesn’t need it. 

Directions:

BEANS
Individual pressure cookers may vary, so check your manual. 

1.  Rinse your beans.
2.  Put in pressure cooker with 3X as much water (2 cups of beans and 6 cups of water, roughly) – or whatever your pressure cooker manual calls for.
3.  My pressure cooker recommends adding a tablespoon of oil to prevent over-foaming.  I used a tbsp of chili pepper infused extra virgin olive oil that we made when our pepper plants went NUTS last year.
4.  Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes (or according to your machine’s directions).
5.  Drain your beans, leaving them in or returning them to the pressure cooker, and start throwing in your veggie ingredients:

CHILI
1.  While the beans are cooking, dice your onion and mince your garlic first and set aside to rest.  Allowing these to rest increases their nutrient value.
2.  Chop up the rest of your ingredients.
3.  Once the beans are ready, throw in all the rest of your ingredients, including the juice from the tomatoes.  Don’t add any extra water.

4.  Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes.
5.  Serve and enjoy!

There is an optional thickening step, depending on how you like your chili.  My batch was just a little more watery than I like it, probably because of the leftover spaghetti sauce I added, so I made a roux by mixing 1 – 2 tablespoons of Teff flour with just enough water to make it pourable, like a batter. (you can use any flour or cornstarch; I just love Teff because it is SO much more nutritious than even whole wheat flour – it is also gluten free).  Slowly stir the roux, a little at a time,  into the chili as soon as you’re able to open the pressure cooker.  Mix thoroughly.  The teff did a beautiful job of making my chili the perfect texture I was after.

As always, let me know if you try it!  Small steps make a huge difference!

The post Easy Vegan Chili appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

These Falafel patties are a great flexible option. You can make them work with a variety of sides just by adjusting the side dishes.

Baked Falafel Patties
INGREDIENTS
– 1 16 oz jar chickpeas/garbanzo beans (same thing)*
– 1 medium onion
– 2 tbsp teff flour (or any flour of your choice)
– Oil appropriate for cooking (high heat) like grapeseed
– Spices**:
– 2 cloves garlic
– 1 tbsp cumin
– 1 tbsp cilantro
– 1 tsp tumeric
– 1 tsp fenugeek
OR whatever spices you prefer/have handy

*I find that it’s a big money saver to buy dried beans in bulk and reconstitute a whole bunch in the pressure cooker (or slow cooker) then can and/or freeze them. Also saves us from worrying about BPA lined cans, but canned chickpeas will work just as well.
** Since I knew I was making gravy, I went with more “American” spices, to a degree.  For a traditional mediteranean flavor use lots of cilantro and parsley, preferrably fresh, numeric, and coriander.

DIRECTIONS
1  Dice up the onions and mince the garlic. Let both sit for at least 5 minutes to maximize nutritional value.

2.  Preheat the oven to 450 (or save a little power and don’t preheat).

3.  Blend everything but the flour and oil in a food processor. It should be a rough paste.

4.  Stir in the flour.

5.  Coat the bottom of a baking dish with a thin layer of the oil.

6.  Form the paste into patties roughly the size of small hamburgers and place them in the dish.

7. Mist, sprinkle, or brush the tops of the patties with oil.

8.  Bake until the patties are just starting to brown on top. Flip them over (they should be browned on the bottom).  Bake 10 more minutes.

9.  Enjoy!

This recipe calls for boiling the potatoes because of the way things played out when I made it, but making it with roasted potatoes and a little rosemary takes it up to an unbelievable flavor – perfect for Thanksgiving.

Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes
INGREDIENTS
All amounts are flexible based on amount you want to make/have on hand
– small red potatoes (the smaller the better)
– garlic powder
– 1/4 c (or less) almond milk (unsweetened)
– 1/4 c (or more) Nutritional Yeast

DIRECTIONS
1 Wash your potatoes, but don’t peel them – there are tons of vitamins and minerals in the skin. Chop the potatoes into 11 inch chunks (or whatever, the smaller the chunks, the faster the boiling time).

2. Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender (no need to bring the water to a boil before adding the potatoes).

3. Drain the soft potatoes, sprinkle generously with garlic powder and nutritional yeast.

4. Mash with a potato masher (or your chosen mashing instrument), adding almond milk as needed to reach desired consistency.

5. Serve!

Sauteed Kale
INGREDIENTS
Amounts are flexible based on taste and how much you want to serve.
– 1 bunch fresh Kale (collards, mustard, turnip, or similar greens work, too), chopped to bites size.
– 1/2 a medium onion, diced and allowed to sit at room temp 5 minutes
– 2/3 cup roughly chopped mushrooms (I prefer shitake, but almost any mushrooms will do).
– garlic powder to taste
– 1 or 2 tbsp grapeseed or other high heat oil OR vegetable broth for sauteeing

DIRECTIONS
1 Sautee the onions and mushrooms in only as much oil* or vegetable broth* as is necessary to keep them from sticking until the onions begin to grow translucent.
2. When the onions start to become translucent, add the Kale to the pan.
3. Stir everything together in the pan, adding a few drops of oil* or broth* as necessary. I also like to add a splash of water to help wilt the kale.
4. Sprinkle garlic powder and pepper to taste.
5. As soon as all of the kale has wilted, the dish is ready to serve! Don’t overcook, this is a fast dish!

* For lower fat, sautee in vegetable broth instead!

The post Baked Falafel Patties, Kale, and Vegetable Gravy appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

      Since we started on our Ethical Eating journey a couple years ago, I’ve heard of nutritional yeast here and there.  It was one of those things that kept popping up in recipes and articles that I pretty much hand waved because it sounded too weird and not appetizing at all.

      You would think I’d know better by now!

      Since we’ve recently been working to cut out as much dairy as possible from our diets, I’ve been looking for something to satisfy my substantial cravings for cheese.  It was during this research that I found out enough about nutritional yeast to convince me to give it a shot:

– Nutritional Yeast, also called “Nooch” (a more kid friendly name), is a yeast typically grown on sugar cane or beet sugar that is then baked.  It is NOT active yeast and should not be confused with brewer’s yeast or baking yeast.  Because it is baked, it is not a raw food.

– Nutritional yeast has a delicious round, cheesy flavor that is very easy to incorporate into various recipes. And kids LOVE it.

– Nutritional yeast, or Nooch, is good for you! Low in calories, but high in protein and many other vital nutrients, Nooch has 8g of complete protein and 4g fiber in just two tablespoons plus it is a good source of B-vitamins (including, in most cases, B12, which vegans sometimes have a hard time getting), niacin, thiamin, biotin, and folic acid and minerals selenium, chromium, zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium. Seriously, it is hard to believe how healthy it is with as yummy as it is!

– Nutritional Yeast is a source of complete protein, meaning it contains all 9 amino acids your body can’t produce on its own. Seriously, anyone tells you you need to eat meat to get “good” protein is trapped in the past. Nooch, Quinoa, edamame – there are a lot of excellent plant sources of complete protein as well as “incomplete” plant proteins like nuts which are no less important.

– Kids love it. This is a biggie. My kids now see nooch as a treat. Flintstone will BEG for nutritional yeast sprinkled on air popped popcorn and Punky feels like she’s getting away with something when I let her sprinkle it on her veggies.

If you’ve never tried Nutritional Yeast, Nooch, I urge you to give it a shot. Nooch has gotten pigeon holed as nothing more than a vegan cheese substitute, and that is just wrong.

Nutritional yeast is a delicious food, ingredient, and condiment all on it’s own whether you’re vegan, whether you eat cheese or not. As a matter of fact, I did not present it as a cheese substitute at all in our house. I think if I would have, it would have been received with a resounding thud of failure.

So how DO you introduce Nutritional yeast to your diet and your family, especially if they’re hesitant to try new things?

– Consider calling it Nooch, especially to kids (and some husbands). “Nutritional yeast” just doesn’t get the saliva flowing in most people. I don’t really like calling it Nooch, either, but the kids didn’t seem put off by it.

– DON’T call it cheese. It’s not cheese. It does have a delicious cheesy flavor, and your family is more likely to appreciate that flavor if they’re not comparing it to something else.

– For very finicky eaters, start by slipping it into things without telling. You can mix a half cup into spaghetti sauce – or just about any sauce. You can stir it into dips and hummus and veggie dishes without having to reveal its presence. Humans are evolutionarily predisposed to like familiar flavors. If your family has been exposed to the flavor of nooch a few times before you “introduce” it, they are more likely to like it. It has been scientifically proven that 14 exposures to a particular flavor usually results in that flavor being perceived as enjoyable. That is why pediatricians recommend offering a food 15 times to kids.

– Offer it as a condiment. Let your kids sprinkle it on pasta, pizza, or popcorn.

– Let your kids be the one to add the Nooch to the recipe. If they helped add it, they’ll be more likely to enjoy eating it.

Ready to give it a try? Here are a couple recipes:

Nutritional Yeast Popcorn Topping
1 big bowl air popped popcorn
1 tsp olive oil (optional)
3 tbsp Nooch
2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)

Directions
If you’re adding the garlic and/or chili powder, mix it with the nooch in a little dish or shaker. You can prepare a triple back in an old spice shaker just to have on hand.

Mist or drizzle the popcorn with the oil to help the sprinkle stick (optional).

Sprinkle the topping on the popcorn.

Cover and shake the bowl (optional).

Bonus: you can feel good about your kids licking the bowl when the popcorn’s gone (even if they do look like little barbarians when they do.

Creamy Nooch Pasta Sauce

Cooked Pasta of your choice
Veggies of your choice, steamed or sauteed
1/2 onion, diced
2 1/2 c unsweetened Almond Milk
3/4 c nutritional yeast
4 tbsp yellow miso
4 tbsp cornstarch or other thickener, mixed into a roux
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp tumeric powder

directions
Let the onions sit for 5 minutes after dicing.
Prepare pasta and veggies.
Sautee the onion until translucent or starting to brown, if you prefer.
Add the Almond milk, stirring well.
Add the Nutritional Yeast, Miso, Garlic, Tumeric, and any other spices you would like.
Stir well until thoroughly mixed and smooth.
Bring to a low boil.
Slowly stir in the thickener (roux), stirring constantly, until you reach desired thickness.
Plate the pasta, top with the veggies, pour the sauce over the whole dish.

My family devoured this one. So easy. I love it and will definitely be making it again.

Nutritional yeast has become a staple in our house. We add it to just about everything, it seems. It will make a wonderful addition to your kitchen as well, whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, an Ethical Eating omnivore, or just looking for a healthy new dish.

The post Nutritional Yeast: How Am I Just Now Discovering This? appeared first on Urban Earthworm.

I really like the change of pace this dish provides.  While we love a good curry dish and tend to select dishes from a variety of different cultures, I have never really used coconut milk based sauces before – which is very odd since whenever we go to my favorite Thai place, I always order dishes with coconut milk sauces.

Even with as much as I like variety, sometimes I feel like we get in a bit of a dinner rut.  This is the perfect change of pace to remedy that!

Beans and Greens with Coconut Sauce

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dried mung beans, prepared
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2 chili peppers, minced (fresh prefered, I used dried because we have TONS of them)
2 tsp ground ginger (or 2 tbsps fresh, finely minced)
2 tbsps veggie broth or grapeseed oil for sautéing
4 oz (or one can) coconut milk
1 tbsp vegan soy sauce
3 cups greens, chopped (swiss chard, kale, collards, etc.)

Directions:
1  Prepare your dried beans.  There are many methods – soaking overnight, soaking then boiling, boiling then letting them sit.  I love my pressure cooker for this.  Our mung beans went from dried to ready to use in under 10 minutes, though I did make rather a mess.  I’m still getting used to the pressure cooker and “venting.”

2.  Chop your onions and mince your garlic first, allowing them to sit for at least 5 minutes before cooking.  This maximizes their nutritional benefit.

3.  Sautee the onion in oil or broth until it becomes translucent.

4.  Add the garlic, chilis, and ginger.  Continue to sautee for 3 – 5 more minutes.

5.  Add the coconut milk and simmer for 3 – 5 minutes.

6.  Stir in the beans and mix well, keeping the pot on the heat the entire time.

7.  Stir in your soy sauce and greens and cook until the greens begin to wilt.

Serve immediately.  This dish can be served over whole grain/brown basmati or jasmine rice, but it is hearty enough to stand up on its own, which is how we had it.

The picture really doesn’t do it justice, but that’s probably just my lack of photography skill.  I used kale this time around because we had a really lovely bunch from the Farmer’s Market, but I think I’ll try to use swiss chard next time.

This was a really excellent change of pace, and a great experience for my first time using coconut milk.  I’m pretty sure I’ll be making this dish, and others like it, a lot more in the future.

Let me know if you try it!  I’d love to know what you think.

The post Simple, Healthy, Different: Greens and Coconut Sauce appeared first on Urban Earthworm.