Temp Tacs Redux

I think the only recipe I’ve posted for Temp Tacs (tacos made with tempeh), was the one I posted last October! My brother and I always cook up temp tacs for a quick, tasty and healthy dinner. And we normally just do a slight variation of veggies, beans and seasonings to mix it up. So today I thought I would share our favorite recipe of the moment!

These Temp Tacs Redux, courtesy of my brother, are bursting with flavor. The main seasonings are curry, crushed red pepper flakes and chili powder.

And this particular version is jazzed up with Cuban style black beans, kale, and corn. Absolutely Scrumptious!

Temp Tacs Redux

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil

1 package of tempeh, diced/crumbled

1 can of Cuban style black beans (from Trader Joe’s)

1 cup of frozen chopped kale, or fresh if you have some!

3/4 cup of frozen corn

1/2 tbsp Curry powder

Crushed red pepper flakes

Chili Powder

To make these tacos start by adding the olive oil to a large skillet and heating to medium/medium-low. While the skillet is warming, chop the tempeh.

Once the skillet is ready, add in the tempeh and cook for about 3 minutes stirring frequently.

Next add in the beans, kale, and corn, and continue cooking for another 3 minutes.

Finally, add in the spices, stir to coat, and cook for a final 3 minutes. Add as much of the red pepper flakes and chili powder as you like depending on how spicy you want your tacos!

Note: The tempeh we bought was already fully cooked, so we just needed to cook it long enough to warm through all our ingredients! Make sure to cook your tempeh as long as necessary according to package directions.

Add whatever toppings you’d like, I used pea shoots and salsa. Enjoy!

Mix it up,

Sydney

What I Ate Wednesday #38

Today is the last WIAW for the month of October. How did that happen!? I didn’t plan ahead enough to make any fun Halloween inspired treats to share today, but hopefully you’ll enjoy seeing a day of regular Tuesday eats!

I started the day with a bowl of pumpkin oats and a banana on the side. It was a blah day for breakfast. The banana was not ripe enough and the pumpkin oatmeal was just okay. Thank goodness for the toppings to liven it up! My Mom’s homemade granola made it so much better. The main mix was 1/3 cup of old fashioned oats, 1 tbsp chia seeds, ~2/3 cup of water, ~1/4 cup of pureed pumpkin, and cinnamon. Then along with the granola was some drippy peanut butter of course!

After spending the morning getting some school work done and making some phone calls I  packed up my lunch to bring to my internship. I had an arugula salad with tomatoes, carrots, some sharp cheddar and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

A whole wheat bagel with this hummus. Another delicious variety from Trader Joe’s.

And one of these clementines, which was pretty minuscule and flavorless. Sad.

An afternoon snack was a piece of dark chocolate, and a few of my Mom’s homemade raspberry raisins. She soaked the grapes in raspberry vodka before dehydrating them into raisins. It gives the raisins a subtle, but delicious raspberry flavor with a little something extra!

Dinner was quite spectacular. Thanks to my brother for making temp tacs (what we call tacos that we make with tempeh)! He used tempeh, kale, corn, and a variety of seasonings in this batch. And I added some pea shoots and a little salsa to drizzle on top! I also had two more clementines, these were much better!

My Mom also gave me some Halloween treats, so for dessert I had a mini snickers. I don’t think I’ve had a snickers in years but it used to be one of my favorite candy bars growing up. I didn’t really care for it though, so I think I’ll just keep snickers in my happy memories from now on!

I did try a reese’s peanut butter cup pumpkin as well. All I could taste was sweet peanut butter so I enjoyed this much more!

Head on over to Jenn’s page to see the rest of this What I Ate Wednesday roundup.

TGIW,

Sydney

What I Ate Wednesday #37

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope you’re enjoying your day so far. Wednesdays really are the greatest, especially since they are filled with so much amazing food! Today I’m giving a recap on what I ate this past Monday, a day with my internship and night classes so you’ll see how I packed and prepped ahead of time for both!

I started my morning with a bowl of bran flakes cereal, added in a chopped banana, chia seeds, my mom’s homemade raisins and some peanut butter. I used coconut milk this time, it was good!

Then I had a 10:00 am chip and salsa snack before leaving for my internship. It was a weird but delicious morning craving.

Packed for lunch was this insanely sweet and crunchy honeycrisp apple. I bought a bag of honeycrisps from Trader Joe’s for only $3.00, and considering the fact that honey crisps are usually like $3.00 a piece I didn’t have high hopes for the quality of these apples…I was so surprised and happy when I took my first bite!

Along with my apple I ate some of my Maple Baked Bean Cornbread Casserole leftovers. Which were just as good as leftovers as they were on the first night!

Mid-afternoon snack was a few dried apricots and some pistachios. Look how beautiful those apricots are!

For dinner in between my internship and class I had this sandwich. One of the simplest, yet tastiest sandwiches I’ve had in awhile! It was an arugula, sharp white Wisconsin cheddar and mango ginger chutney sandwich. I’ll definitely be making this again! I also had a handful of grape tomatoes on the side, no pic though.

When I got back from class late that night I had a small package on my desk. Turns out my best friend sent me some chocolate! So for dessert I obviously had to have some. Andes mints=blast from the past! These were a freshman year staple!

She also sent this bar, which was phenomenal! I love granola and I love dark chocolate, so this turned out to be a match made in heaven!

Have a lovely day! And pop on over to Jenn’s page and check in to see where this party started!

TGIW,

Sydney

Maple Baked Bean Cornbread Casserole

Hmmmm, what’s that you may ask?

Why it’s a Maple Baked Bean Cornbread Casserole, of course! I have been loving making warm, comforting, fall-inspired dishes lately. This season and all that comes along with it is the best!

The foundation of this beautiful vegan casserole is cannellini beans, kale, yellow onion, pumpkin, and cranberries. Mhmmm, so far so good.

And with a flavor combination to die for, this recipe uses maple syrup, mustard, BBQ sauce, and cinnamon to tie it all together. Sweet and tangy delectability!

Maple Baked Bean Cornbread Casserole

Serves 7-8

Recipe adapted from Oh She Glows

2 cans of cannellini beans

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 and 1/2 cup of chopped, frozen kale (fresh works too)

1 clove of garlic, minced

3 tbsp blackstrap molasses

3 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp sweet and spicy mango mustard (or whatever mustard you’d like)

1 tbsp BBQ sauce

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup of canned pumpkin

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup dried cranberries

To make this dish start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees and by spraying a 9×9 baking dish with non-stick spray.

While the oven is preheating, sauté the onions and the garlic in a large sauce pot over medium low heat for five minutes, stirring frequently.

When the five minutes is up, add in the remaining ingredients into the pot and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened.

While the casserole base is cooking, prepare your favorite cornbread recipe in a separate bowl. If you want to go all out on pumpkin with this recipe, I’d recommend doing a pumpkin cornbread! But whatever cornbread your heart desires will do.

Once the casserole mixture is done, pour into the baking dish, and top with the cornbread mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cornbread comes out clean. Enjoy!

Cornbread forever,

Sydney

Almond Coconut Cinnamon Spiced Risotto filled Acorn Squash

Another thing I love about fall is squash. Butternut squash, acorn squash, kabocha squash, most types really! So for a festive fall dish, which would actually make a great vegetarian or vegan Thanksgiving entree, is this Almond Coconut Cinnamon Spiced Risotto filled Acorn Squash. Yum!

The slightly sweet almond coconut risotto is creamy and decadent. And the hint of cinnamon accents all the flavors wonderfully!

Serve this with a side of roasted brussels sprouts and you’ve got yourself a fall-worthy meal!

Almond Coconut Cinnamon Spiced Risotto filled Acorn Squash

Serves 2 (with about 2 cups of extra risotto)

3/4 cup arborio rice

2 cups coconut milk, 1 can

~1 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup almond pulp

1/4 cup cranberries, more to garnish

To roast the acorn squash, start by turning your oven on to 375 degrees. While the oven is preheating, cut the acorn squash in half, and scoop out all the seeds. Place about a half an inch of water in a baking dish that will fit both halves of the acorn squash side by side. Place cut side down in the baking dish, and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the squash is tender.

While the squash is roasting, prepare the risotto. Bring one cup of coconut milk to a boil in a large sauce pot. When boiling, add in the risotto and stir. Turn temperature down until the coconut milk is at a simmer.

Continuously stir the risotto, adding a half a cup of liquid every time it is absorbed, until all of the coconut milk and water is gone.

Once the final half cup of liquid is poured in, add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, almond pulp and cranberries as well.

It will take about 20-25 minutes of continual stirring for the risotto to be tender and chewy.

When the risotto and acorn squash are done, scoop the risotto into the acorn squash halves and serve. Enjoy!

Carve a pumpkin,

Sydney

What I Ate Wednesday #36

Happy Wednesday! Hope your week is off to a wonderful start, and you’ve spent it with people you care about. This past weekend I was able to spend time with my Dad’s side of the family, I wish I was able to see them more often! And for this WIAW edition I decided to document the food I ate on my day of travel. Enjoy.

The morning started off with a typical breakfast. Oats. Banana chia oats with a few dollops of pumpkin greek yogurt, dried cranberries and coconut shavings. Yum!

Then mid-morning I had two of these crackers. Only two because they were pretty dry and tasteless, wouldn’t buy these again.

Lunch was delicious though! I had a tempeh burrito and a side of fruit. Initially I was going to eat this white nectarine for lunch, but then I thought that would be a great plane snack and packed for the trip instead.

I ended up defrosting a bit of mango for my lunch to replace the nectarine!

This was my raisin pistachio airport snack.

And so was a piece of this cinnamon popcorn from my sister, it tastes like red hot candies!

On the plane I ate some cracker and cheese bites from Trader Joe’s. Reminded me of the Ritz crackers we ate growing up!

Dinner in the airport on our second leg of the trip was an almond butter sandwich and the nectarine from earlier. And some unpictured grapes, cheddar cheese and a handful of trail mix.

My Dad picked my siblings and I up from the airport and in the car I snacked on my last vegan dark chocolate almond coconut cookies with sea salt, so tasty! It was pitch black by that time in the evening, so blurry picture in the moving vehicle it was.

Not long after the cookie I spotted a sign for Wendy’s at the nearest exit. It made me think of Frosty’s and the fact that I haven’t had one in years! We were also down south at that point (nearing our final trip destination) and it was pretty warm out…So I had my sister request a pit stop! The frosty was just as glorious as I remembered. Light, fluffy, almost frothy chocolate heaven.

Head on over to Jenn’s page to see all the other blogs participating in WIAW!

TGIW,

Sydney

BBQ Bagel Burger Sandwich

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a veggie burger recipe, so I thought today would be as good a day as any!

This BBQ Bagel Burger Sandwich was fun and filling. Fun because instead of a plain old bun I used a whole wheat bagel, perfectly chewy! And filling because of all the fiber in this meal!

How yummy does this look!? A hearty burger of beans, oats, mushrooms, bell peppers, cilantro and BBQ sauce. It doesn’t get any more flavorful than this!

Go make these burgers tonight!

BBQ Bagel Burger Sandwich

Makes 5 patties

1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup of old fashioned oats

3 baby bella mushrooms, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1 flax egg (mix 1 tbsp ground flax with 3 tbsp of water and refrigerate for 10 minutes)

1/2 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp chili powder

A pinch of crushed red pepper

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

To make this recipe, start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and spraying a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

While the oven is preheating, mix and mash together in a large mixing bowl the beans, oats, mushrooms, bell peppers, and flax egg.

When the mixture is mostly mashed, with a few chunks left for texture, add in the cilantro, garlic, seasonings, and BBQ sauce. Stir together until combined.

Form mixture into five patties and place on baking sheet.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until outer edges become crispy. Serve on a whole wheat bagel with pea shoots and enjoy!

Happy living,

Sydney

What I Ate Wednesday #35

Morning all! Happy Wednesday. And welcome to what I ate Wednesday: Tuesday style! Here is  a look into all my eats from yesterday. So let’s get started.

For breakfast I had a yogurt bowl. This bowl was filled with plain greek yogurt, a pear, crumbled zucchini bread, chia seeds, cranberries, ginger granola and some honey. Delish!

For lunch I was at my internship, so I packed a whole wheat bagel and banana, and a salad!

The salad was made with a base of kale and pea shoots, topped with zucchini, pickles and a little salsa and hummus.

For an afternoon snack at my internship I dug into my stash of cranberry and pumpkin seed pita crisps from Trader Joe’s, yum!

Dinner was a bowl of  pasta with a pumpkin marinara sauce and roasted brussels sprouts. Quite tasty. And I also had a little mocktail as I was making dinner. Seltzer water and orange juice, not bad!

I had some grapes with dinner as well. Sadly these grapes were not that phenomenal.

To end the night on a higher note, I had a few squares of dark chocolate!

And a little speculoos cookie butter with pretzels!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! Don’t forget to head to Jenn’s page to see where this WIAW party started!

TGIW,

Sydney

Spiced Rice, Black Bean, and Roasted Veggie Bowl with Mango and Cilantro

Oh. M. Yes. This Spiced Rice, Black Bean, and Roasted Veggie Bowl with Mango and Cilantro is so satisfyingly scrumptious!

It’s fresh, bursting with flavor, and a hearty fall meal!

And colorful to boot! Green, orange, red and yellow. Beautiful!

The fresh cilantro and mango that top this dish are the icing on the cake!

Spiced Rice, Black Bean, and Roasted Veggie Bowl with Mango and Cilantro

Serves 4

1 cup of brown rice

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp curry powder

1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 medium sweet potato, roasted and diced

1 cup mango, chopped

Cilantro to garnish

Greens for foundation

To make this dish, start by cooking the rice according to package directions. Once rice is simmering, add in the turmeric and curry to give the rice a delicious flavor.

While the rice is cooking, prep your beans and chop your fruit and veggies.

Once the rice is finished, add it to a large mixing bowl along with the black beans, bell pepper, sweet potato and mango and stir to combine.

Serve in a bowl over a bed of greens and top with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!

Have some pears,

Sydney

What I Ate Wednesday #34

It’s Wednesday again my friends, so you know what that means! Time for another WIAW installment. And this week is going to be a special birthday edition. My birthday was last week, so I am going to share with you my eats and treats from that day!

I started my day with pumpkin pancakes. I have an open can of pumpkin so I’ve got to use it up! These beauties were thick and filling, yet light and fluffy at the same time. Topped with a little almond butter, some dried cranberries and coconut. I know it looks like a ton of almond butter, but it’s only 1-2 tbsp. It was a perfectly drippy consistency! Wonderful way to start the day! And a banana on the side of course.

Also note the awesome pumpkin plate I recently bought for $1.25. Can you say score!?

My brother kindly brought me a soy chai from his Starbucks run. Hit the spot.

And for lunch I had leftover burritos. So tasty! This was a sweet potato, black bean, corn, and curry ginger spiced brown rice burrito. Topped with pickles, and either salsa or tahini for sauce.

For dinner my brother and I went to Sacred Chow, a vegan organic kosher restaurant in the city.

I ordered an Apple Lemonade Champagne, made with fresh pressed apple juice, beet juice, lemon juice and sparkling wine. It was good, but a tad too earthy for me.

My dinner was a brown basmati rice and collard greens bowl with a side of sunflower lentil paté and veggies. Yum!

And for dessert (not on my actual birthday but at a celebration last weekend), my friend brought these delicious mini cupcakes for us to share! I tried a number of them but I think the triple chocolate fudge was my favorite.

Thanks to all those who celebrated with me!

And to see the WIAW celebration head on over to Jenn’s page!

TGIW,

Sydney