Pumpkin Chili (Crock Pot)

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 4 hours
Servings: Around 6
Recipe type: dinner, stew, chili
Keywords: crock pot, slow cooker, vegan, vegetarian, stew, gluten free
Author: Kat Coolahan

Ingredients:

☆ 1/4 large yellow onion, diced
☆ 4 garlic cloves, minced
☆ 1 tsp coconut sugar (or granulated sugar)
☆ ½ medium green pepper, chopped
☆ ½ medium zucchini, chopped
☆ 1 carrot, chopped
☆ 2 stalks celery, chopped
☆ 1 can black beans (15oz), rinsed and drained
☆ 1 can pinto beans (15oz), rinsed and drained
☆ ½ cup quinoa (rinsed in a fine mesh sieve under cold water)
☆ 1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (15oz)
☆ 1 can pumpkin puree (15oz)
☆ 2 TBL chili powder
☆ 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
☆ 1 TBL maple syrup
☆ 1 ½ tsp salt
☆ 3 cups vegetable broth
☆ freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
☆ optional: ½ head of kale, chopped and de-stemmed
☆ optional: pumpkin seeds and vegan sour cream or unsweetened coconut yogurt (for serving)

Directions:

1. Sautee onion and garlic with coconut sugar in a pan over medium heat until they start to brown/caramelize (5-10 mins). You may also omit the sugar and skip this step if you wish, instead adding uncooked onion and garlic to the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add remaining ingredients to your crock pot (except kale if using), stirring well to combine. Cook covered on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hours), stirring occasionally. If using kale, stir in the before the last hour of cooking time.
3. Serve chili over rice with (optional) pumpkin seeds and sour cream to top.

Coconut Lentil Curry (Crock Pot)

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: around 5 hours
Servings: 10-12
Recipe type: slow cooker, crock pot, dinner, lunch, curry, feeding large crowd, freezer meals, meal prep
Keywords: coconut, lentil, curry, vegan, vegetarian, hearty, filling, cheap, frugal, inexpensive, plant based
Author: Kat Coolahan (modified from Budget Bytes recipe)

 Ingredients:

☆ 4 cups of vegetable broth
☆ 1 can of diced, fire-roasted tomatoes (15 oz)
☆ 1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
☆ 2 cups of dried green or brown lentils, rinsed
☆ 2 celery stalks, diced
☆ 1/2 green pepper, diced
☆ 2 carrots, diced
☆ 1 large sweet potato (or 2-3 yukon gold potatoes), chopped into ½ inch cubes
☆ 3 TBS curry powder
☆ 1 tsp fenugreek powder (optional)
☆ ¼ tsp ground cloves (optional)
☆ ½ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
☆ 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
☆ 1 tsp salt and few dashes pepper, or to taste
☆ 1 can of full-fat coconut milk (15 oz)
☆ 1/2 can peas (or approximately 7.5oz), rinsed and drained
☆ 3 heaping handfuls of baby spinach (or around 3-4 cups)

Directions:

1.     Turn your crock pot on high and add to it 4 cups vegetable broth, 1 can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, and 1 can of tomato sauce. Then, rinse the lentils and add to the pot. Stir.
2.     Dice the celery, carrot, and pepper and chop the sweet potato and stir them into the crock pot.
3.     Stir in all spices. Add water or more vegetable broth if needed to bring the water level to just cover the curry. Set aside the can of coconut, can of peas, and spinach for later.  
4.     Cook covered on high for 4.5 hours or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally to evenly distribute heat.
5.     Add in 1 can of coconut, ½ can of peas (rinsed), and 3 heaping handfuls of spinach and stir. Cover and let cook for an additional 20-40 minutes, or until spinach is wilted and curry is cooked to your preference.
6.     Eat as is or serve with rice or roasted potatoes/vegetables or a side salad. Recipe freezes well.

Tofu Scramble

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 15-25 mins
Servings: 4-6
Recipe type: breakfast, brunch, side
Keywords: burrito, tofu, tofu scramble, vegan eggs, egg, scrambled, protein, healthy, plant based
Author: Kat Coolahan

Ingredients:

☆ 2 small carrots, diced
☆ 1/2 radish, diced (daikon, black radish, or watermelon radish)
☆ 2 celery stalks, diced
☆ ½ green pepper, diced
☆ ½ zucchini squash, diced
☆ 1 small tomato, diced
☆ 1 handful mushrooms of choice, chopped (shiitakes are my favorite)
☆ 1 TBS avocado oil (or oil of choice)
☆ 1 can black beans (15oz), rinsed and drained (or roughly 1.75 cups cooked, dried black beans)
☆ 1 block of tofu (14oz), patted dry with a clean towel and crumbled by hand so that the texture resembles scrambled eggs
☆ 2-4 TBS apple cider (or white) vinegar, to taste – more vinegar will add more sharpness/tang to the dish, if you add too much vinegar you can cut the taste by gradually adding in a little maple syrup (or sweetener of choice) at a time until desired taste is achieved
☆ 2 TBS rosemary, dried and ground
☆ 1 TBS turmeric
☆ 1 TBS Tabasco sauce (optional)
☆ ½ TBS fenugreek powder (optional)
☆ ½ TBS smoked paprika
☆ ½ TBS cumin
☆ ½ TBS mustard power (or spicy brown mustard sauce)
☆ salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.     Remove tofu from packaging and pat dry with a clean dish towel. Fold towel in opposite direction, wrap the tofu so that it touches the drier side of the towel and set aside for later.
2.     Drain and rinse black beans and set aside for later.
3.     Dice the carrots and radish and sauté in a covered stockpot with oil over medium heat until softened (around 5 mins).
4.     Dice the remaining vegetables and chop the mushrooms, add to the pot, cover, and stir. Cook down for another 5-10 minutes until all veggies are fork tender.
5.     Add black beans that you drained and rinsed in step 2 to the stockpot. Add tofu from step 1 and gentle crumble by hand over the pot so that the texture resembles scrambled eggs.
6.     Before stirring in the tofu, add the vinegar to the pot, making sure to coat the tofu. Then, add the remainder of the spices/ingredients and stir. Adjust quantities of vinegar and spices to taste.
7.     Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8.     Serve as is, in a breakfast burrito, or over a bed of greens.

Crock Pot Lentil Orzo Stew

Prep Time: 12 mins
Cook Time: 3 hours
Servings: Around 6
Recipe type: dinner, stew, soup, side dish
Keywords: crock pot, slow cooker, vegan, lentil, orzo, stew, chickpea,  
Author: Kat Coolahan, recipe adapted from Veggie Inspired

Ingredients:

☆ 1 leek cleaned, diced, sautéed
☆ 2 celery stalks, diced
☆ 1 carrot, diced
☆ 2 cups chopped fresh or frozen broccoli (optional)
☆ 1 cup dried red lentils
☆ 1 can chickpeas (15oz), rinsed and drained (or 2 cups cooked dry chickpeas)
☆ 2 cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes (15oz)
☆ 4 cups vegetable broth (more if needed)
☆ 2 tsp smoked paprika
☆ 1 tsp dried thyme
☆ ½ tsp cumin
☆ ½ tsp herbs de Provence
☆ ½ tsp tarragon
☆ ¼ tsp dried sage
☆ ½ tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
☆ 1 tsp salt & 3 dashes of pepper (or to taste)
☆ ¾ cup orzo
☆ 1 bunch of kale de-stemmed and chopped (roughly 3 cups chopped) can also sub baby spinach

Directions:

1.     Dice leeks, celery, and carrot and sauté over medium heat until softened (around 5 mins)
2.     Add the diced vegetables to the crock pot, along with all other ingredients EXCEPT the orzo and kale (or spinach). Add more vegetable broth (or water) if needed to bring the liquid level to cover all ingredients.
3.     Cook on high for 2.5-3 hours or until the lentils are soft and able to be crushed with a spoon
4.     Add the orzo and chopped kale (or spinach), stir, and cook another 30 minutes or until the orzo is tender
5.     Can serve either as a soup/stew (with optional bread to accompany) or over a bed of fresh greens
6.     Optional toppings: sprinkle top with coconut manna and hemp seeds

Sunflower Pesto

Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cook Time: No cooking required
Servings: Around 1 cup of sauce
Recipe type: snacks, sauces
Keywords: pesto, nut-free, sunflower seeds, basil, sauce, vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, garlic-free, frugal, inexpensive
Author: Kat Coolahan

Ingredients:

☆ 2 cups basil
☆ 3 T sunflower seed
☆ 1/2 lemon squeezed
☆ 4 heaping T nutritional yeast 
☆ 2 T olive oil
☆ ½-1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
☆ 1/4 cup water (or as needed)

Directions:

1.     Add all ingredients*, except for water, into food processor or blender and blend well
2.     Once the mixture becomes finely minced, add in the water 1 tablespoon at a time to thin out to your liking
3.     Spread on your favorite sourdough bread, use in pasta, as a pizza sauce, to garnish a creamy soup, or as a salad dressing (mixed with a little more water to thin)

*Note: This recipe was consciously created without garlic for those who are sensitive. The basil brings out a deep flavor all its own. If you would like to add in garlic, two cloves tastes beautiful in this recipe.

Bliss Balls

Prep Time: 10-12 mins
Cook Time: No cooking required
Servings: 12-13 balls
Recipe type: snacks, breakfast,
Keywords: bliss balls, energy balls, protein balls, vegan protein, vegan, snack, snacks
Author: Kat Coolahan, adapted from: Fit Mitten Kitchen

Ingredients:
☆ 1 cup mixed nuts (I used equal parts walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and cashews)
☆ 1/2 cup fresh ground peanut butter
☆ 1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt
☆ 1 rounded, packed cup of medjool pitted dates (soaked in warm water for 5 mins)
☆ 3 TBS maca powder
☆ 3/4 cup quick oats
☆ 3 TBS water
☆ 1/4 cup cacao nibs (or chocolate chips)

Directions:

1.     While soaking the dates, blend the nuts, peanut butter, and salt together in a food processor until the nuts are chopped into small pieces and it starts to clump.
2.     Remove dates from water, drain, add to processor and blend.
3.     Add in maca and oats. Blend again.
4.     Add water in 1 Tablespoon at a time while finishing blending.
5.     Remove from processor and fold in chocolate chips.
6.     Roll into generous sized balls (about 2 Tablespoons big each).
7.     Eat right away or refrigerate to harden. Store in fridge in airtight container. Makes about a baker's dozen

Nourishing Summer Greens

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 5-10 mins
Servings: Around 4
Recipe type: sides, side dishes
Keywords: swiss chard, kale, greens, sides, summer seasonal, how to cook swiss chard, side dish
Author: Kat Coolahan

Ingredients:

☆ 1 bunch swiss chard, chopped, bottom stems removed
☆ 1 bunch dinosaur kale, aka lacinato kale, chopped (opt. stems removed)
☆ 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
☆ 2 small ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob
☆ salt and pepper to taste
☆ 1-2 T balsamic vinegar
☆ 1 T olive oil

Directions:

1.     Chop and wilt the greens in a pan over medium heat (around 5 minutes)
2.     Prep and add tomatoes, corn, spices, vinegar, and oil
3.     Cook until warm (around 3-5 minutes)

Potato Leek Soup

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Servings: 9-10 bowls
Recipe type: soups, soup, main dish, side dish
Keywords: soup, fall recipes, autumn recipes, vegan, vegan soups, potato leek
Author: Kat Coolahan, adapted from “The Full Helping” – Creamy Vegan Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:

☆ ½-1 T olive oil (or enough to thinly coat bottom of a large stockpot of at least 8 quarts)
☆ 3-4 large leeks (cleaned and sliced thin, dark green stem removed)
☆ 4 stalks of celery, chopped
☆ 1 bulb and fronds of large fennel, chopped, green stems removed
☆ 6-8 clean large Yukon gold potatoes, leave unpeeled but chop into roughly 1” cubes (more potatoes for a more creamy texture)
☆ Himalayan salt and cracked pepper to taste
☆ 8 cups of broth (I use 8 cups of water and 8 tsp of “better than bouillon” paste)
☆ 4 cups water
☆ Optional: broccoli, mushrooms (cook these separate from main stock pot), spinach, kale

 Directions:

1.     Coat the bottom of your stockpot with a thin layer of olive oil and add the chopped leeks, celery, and fennel until they are soft and start to look more translucent
2.     Add to stockpot: cubed potatoes, salt, pepper, broth, and water
3.     Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25-30 mins or until the potatoes are almost falling apart
4.     Optional: while pot is simmering, bring a second smaller pot to medium heat and cook 1 head of broccoli and/or 1 cup of mushrooms until tender
5.     Use an immersion blender (or divide and use regular blender) to blend the soup into a puree. Optional: you can also add in cooked mushrooms at this point to give the soup a heartier flavor)
6.     Optional: add in cooked broccoli, mushrooms. And/or add in uncooked spinach, kale and simmer pot until greens become tender