Look, Ma! No Eggs!! Vegan Omelette

I woke up to some vegan documentary on TV. I have no idea what it was but it then inspired me to make a delicious vegan breakfast that even my non-vegan boyfriend would enjoy. It wasn't the healthiest of breakfasts (to me a healthy breakfast would consist of all raw fruits and veggie juices or smoothies) but it was a rainy Saturday morning and we both were off work for once so we decided to have a treat. I made pancakes with blueberries and bananas, hash brown potatoes and a vegan omelette. My favorite omelette was always spinach and mushrooms. Luckily, I had a portobella mushroom, some spinach and Daiya (gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free) cheese, hanging around in my fridge. So, I whipped this up  and it was so delicious I had to share the recipe. Of course you can top with whatever you like. Here are a few ideas I had: chorizo and salsa, sauteed veggies, sauteed eggplant and cheese, chili with cheddar. You could do whatever you like with the toppings, get creative!

Vegan Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese Omelette
"Egg" Mixture
10 ounces silken tofu
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Place all "egg" ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Add 1-2 TBS water if necessary.

Topping
1 portobella mushroom cap sliced
1//2 C baby spinach
1/4- 1/2 C Daiya cheese

Sautee mushrooms and once they are cooked to your liking, reduce heat and add the spinach to wilt it.

Assemble
Pour about half the mixture into a skillet over medium heat, it will be thick so spread it out a little with a spatula or spoon (don't spread much as it will spread very thin as it heats). When it starts to bubble (kinda like a pancake) add the mushrooms and spinach watch closely until it begins to brown around the edges it will stop bubbling in the middl. Add the cheese then use the spatula to lift the edge of the omelette and fold over. Cook until the cheese begins to melt and flip to the other side. Once cooked you will have a tasty omelette crisp on the outside and soft and cheesy in the middle. FYI- the "egg" mixture also makes a fantastic cheese sauce for vegan quesadillas or mac and cheese.

Raw Fettuccine With Meatballs And Creamy Marinara Sauce

Vegan, Raw, Gluten-Free, Paleo-Friendly Fettuccine With Meatballs And Creamy Marinara Sauce

I know I am posting a lot of uber-healthy recipes rather than decadent sweet treats. Trust me I have a ton of sweet recipes, which will be coming up soon but this summer it has been so hot and all I feel like eating is fresh, raw wholesome meals that won't heat up my kitchen and that take advantage of my amazing raw organic produce. So, if you're looking for junk food, hang tight I'll post those recipes later even though I might be switching over to a more plant based, less (or no) grain, soy, etc. I still have written down many vegan junk food recipes so I don't want them to go to waste. I will post eventually. I must clarify, when I say vegan junk food, I don't mean junk like the equivalent of fast food or twinkies. I always use quality ingredients which are healthier, they just are a little more processed than say Raw Fettuccine With Creamy Marinara and Meatballs. This recipe is vegan which means dairy and meat free. Also, it is gluten-free, grain-free, and 100% raw. It probably took less time to make than real fettuccine and didn't heat up my kitchen which is very important as we've been in a bit of a heat wave lately. Anyway, I am very excited about this recipe. I hope you enjoy.

Pasta:

4-6 zucchini 

juice of 2 lemons or limes

dash of salt

1 T olive oil (can be left off if you are cutting back on fat)

Peel zucchini and toss or eat the skins or feed to pets (I have a rabbit and guinea pig who love my veggie scraps). Use your veggie peeler to shred the zucchini into noodles then mix noodles in with the lemon or lime juice, salt and oil and set aside while you prepare the sauce.

My cute veggie lovers: Piglet and Thumper

Creamy Tomato Basil Sauce:

8-10 oz of cherry or grape tomatoes

1 T  red onion minced

1 zucchini peeled and sliced

salt to taste

1 clove of garlic minced 

5-7 leaves of fresh basil

5-7 leaves of sage

6-8 olives

Place all ingredients (minus the sage and olives) into a blender, Vitamix or Blendtec  (I know I'm pushing this blender a lot but it is my favorite you may also find a used or refurbished one cheaper on Amazon) and puree. Mix sauce into noodles. Add a few whole leaves of fresh sage and the olives chopped in half.

Italian Sausage Meatballs:

1 C Walnuts

1 C sunflower seeds

1/4 C sun dried tomatoes

2 cloves garlic minced

2 T onion minced

2 T fennel seeds

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

salt and pepper to taste

water as needed

Soak your nuts and seeds while you prepare the noodles and sauce. If you don't remember to soak them, it's ok you may just need to add water while you are blending this mixture. Add all ingredients to a blender, Vitamix, etc or food processor and blend thoroughly. It should have the texture of a thick almond butter or something like that. Once mixed, roll into 1/2" balls.

Serve noodles and sauce over a bed of spinach and top with "Meatballs." There you a have a satisfying, delicious meal that is filling, wholesome and doesn't heat up your kitchen.  

Raw Lettuce Leaf Tacos and Raw Nachos

There's a restaurant I love called Sun Power Cafe in Hollywood. It's on Cahuenga blvd, if you're ever in the area and want to check them out. Quite possibly my favorite dish there (besides the chocolate shake or the key lime pie) is the lettuce leaf tacos. They are an appetizer but I usually order them as my entree. The dish seems small, like it wouldn't be a lot of food but it's the perfect amount of food. I guess all those live enzymes, minerals, and vitamins that are so bio available just fill you up faster. You don't miss what's not it them. Anyway, I've been craving them and the Paleo Power Lunch Cookbook I mentioned the other day had a similar recipe so, I made my own even better version today. I was completely ravenous after work and didn't have the time to wait for nuts and mushrooms to soak so I have a new impromptu version of my nut meat which requires much less preparation. I think perhaps the best recipes are invented out of starvation. I could be wrong. What do you think? Do you have any favorite recipes created under similar circumstances?

For this recipe, and most raw food recipes, you will need a good blender, I recommend this one: Blendtec Blender HPA-611-25 White - J-2 3qt 

It's my absolute favorite! It really is amazing, it can grind popcorn into cornmeal and rice into rice flour.   So it's great for a gluten-free baker to save money on gluten-free baking ingredients and it will cut time from all of your raw food recipes. If you're interested in more raw recipes, I own this book: The Complete Idiots Guide to Eating Raw By Reinfeld, Mark/ Rinaldi, Bo/ Murray, Jennifer . It makes raw food recipes simple. It really is a great beginner's book.

Anyway, without further ado, here's my new favorite recipe:

Lettuce Leaf Tacos/ Raw Nachos:

If making Lettuce Leaf Tacos, you will need 1 head of romaine lettuce washed. Each leaf can be sliced into two to three "taco shells." If making "Raw Nachos" you will need a couple cucumbers sliced into "chips"

Taco Meat

1 C Walnuts

1 C sunflower seeds

3oz sun-dried tomatoes

1 T chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

1-2 tsp salt 

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

Soak nuts and sunflower seeds for 10 to 20 minutes while you prep the rest of your ingredients. Pour excess water out then pour the seeds, walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes into a food processor along with the seasonings. This should have a course texture.  Once blended to desired texture, remove from blender and place in serving bowl. Set aside.

Cheese 

1/2 C almond meal

1/2 C sunflower seeds

1/2-3/4 C water

juice from 1 lime

2 tsp nutritional yeast flakes*

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp onion powder
dash of nutmeg

Add all ingredients to the food processor or blender, add more or less water as needed to reach desired consistency. I made mine about the texture and thickness of hummus. 

UPDATE: I recently made these and discovered a shortcut! I just chopped up avocados, tomatoes and olives and placed them on top, instead of making guacamole. It was easier and tasted great- maybe even better than with the guacamole.

Guacamole

2 Haas Avocados 

1 small tomato

1 jalapeno

1 shallot

1 garlic clove

juice of 1 lime

add salt and cumin to taste

Chop up tomatoes, green peppers, cilantro and black or calamata olives to place on top of the tacos or nachos. Place each taco or nacho topping in it's own separate bowl and each person can make their own with whatever they want to add. I made mine with "meat", then "cheese," then guacamole topped off with tomatoes, green peppers, cilantro and olives.