No Oil Nacho Chips

These are the most simple recipe to make.  No oil and perfect for guacamole and salsa!!!!

So easy… the key is the right corn tortilla.  My favorite is Mission extra thin!  Great ingredients and crisp up the best!

preheat oven to 400

cut into triangles and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put them in the oven.

THEY MUST BE WATCHED CLOSELY… about 10 minutes give or take.  You want them golden and crisp…not burned or under cooked and chewy!  Practice with your oven and set a timer!  I have burned more batches than I care to admit!  

I take them in a zip lock with me everywhere!  Yes even restaurants!  

Enjoy and stay compassionate! 

Plant Based Black Bean Burgers

I don't know about you but I have never found a meatless burger pre made that I really love!  The list of ingredients make my head spin!  

Until now!  These are so simple and delicious… with or without the bun! 

1 can of black beans rinsed and drained

1/2 cup plain instant oats

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

2 shakes garlic powder

2 shakes onion powder

1 tsp of smoked paprika or liquid smoke

Mash the beans with a masher or use a food processor then mix in the other ingredients.  Divide dough like mixture into four balls and form into burger patties.  Bake on parchment at 400 degrees about 10 minutes on each side.  If your oven gets extra hot lower the time… i like mine crisp on the outside but soft on the inside.  

Add your favorite burger toppings!  Enjoy on a big soft bun or like I do… on a large leaf of romaine.  

These are worth giving a try even if you are not plant based! Have a meatless Monday or just to add some healthy delicious fiber to your diet!  

You can't go wrong with black beans… Enjoy and stay compassionate my friends! 

Plant Based Brown Rice Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is a favorite recipe of mine when I have left over cooked brown rice.  The key is to make the rice super flavorful before stuffing it into the pepper.

Per cup of Left over cooked and cooled brown rice ...

1 large bell pepper top removed and seeds out

1 cup of your favorite tomato sauce 

Add to each cup of rice: 

½ cup sweet onion chopped

2 tablespoons of tomato paste 

¼ cup veggie broth 

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 cup chopped spinach or chard 

¼ cup chopped tomato

¼ cup chopped pepper (your favorite) 

Don't be afraid to add your favorite fresh herb or hot sauce or red pepper flakes.  

Mix rice well and stuff into bell pepper. Bake with sauce in oven 350 for and hour or crock pot in the sauce on low for up to 6 hours or steam entire pepper until tender and top with sauce. I love these served with mashed potatoes. 

Enjoy and stay compassionate! 

Plant Based Gluten and Oil Free Ramen!!!!

Sometimes you just need a bowl of noodle soup!  Having a stressful day… eat some ramen noodles!  Starving and need something in your belly fast?  These can be ready in less than 10 minutes!

I love ramen but it's  usually very unhealthy and laden with deep fried fat.  They are gluten free and vegan! These are made by lotus foods.  They come in a few varieties.  

I found both of these products at Giant Eagle.  The miso soup is also yummy and everything is better with noodles in my opinion.  

These noodles are delicious and come in 4 individual servings for 260 calories and 4 grams of fiber per serving.  There are only 2 ingredients… organic brown rice flour and organic millet.  

They are a little tricky to cook.  Bring 4 cups of water to a boil… when boiling add the chunk of ramen and let cook for one minute before trying to separate.  I find the noodles easiest to separate with two forks.  If you do not separate them all you will have a chunk of sticky noodles.  I find that boiling them while separating and stirring for a good 4-5 minutes makes them perfect.  

After cooking the noodles I drained and rinsed them and put them in a bowl of white miso soup.  These soup packets are all natural and very good!  

You can add the noodles to a salad or toss them with stir fry veggies and teriyaki sauce… I love noodles! 

You can find both of these items in the asian food section at Giant Eagle!  

Enjoy and stay compassionate my friends! 

Plant Based Italian Style Collards

Getting enough greens is ultra important!  According to Dr. Esselstyn you need to be eating greens with every meal.  They provide the greatest amount of nitric oxide in the body to keep your vessels nice and dilated!  

Remember we are following a whole food plant based with NO OIL.  

I like to make this in my Hamilton Beach rice cooker on the heat simmer setting but you can make it in a pot with a lid on the stove or in a slow cooker or a even a pressure cooker.  For this recipe the greens will be heated to a bubbling and then lowered to a simmer for at least 45 minutes.  I like my greens fairly soft.

I bought the bag of chopped and cleaned collards but you could buy the large leaves on stems and clean and chop them yourself.  You do need to remove the large tough stem in the middle.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Bag or bunch of cleaned chopped collards

4 cloves of garlic pressed

1 large can of whole tomatoes (check the label… no oil!)

4 -5 chopped banana peppers (hot, med, or mild… your choice or leave them out)

1 cup of vegetable broth (I usually use it to rinse the tomato can before adding it) 

1 Teasp of mrs. Dash seasoning or salt and pepper

Add all ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil, stir, lower, cover and simmer on low for 45 min to an hour.  Taste them and cook longer if not soft enough for you.

At this point you can eat them as is… you can put them over some whole grain or gluten free pasta, you can have them over steamed rice.. they can be added to soup or stews.  

They are so tasty and so good for you.

Enjoy and stay compassionate!  

The Best Oil Free Balsamic Vinaigrette!

Finding a great salad dressing it the key to success!  And finding a great oil free salad dressing was no easy task!  This one is amazing!

In a shaker bottle with a lid… add the following and shake to combine! 

4 TBSP Balsamic vinegar

2 TBSP Dijon Mustard (one that you like)

1 TBSP Water

1-2 TBSP Pure maple syrup

I like to add 1 tsp of Mrs. Dash salt free seasoning!

Play around with the amount of mustard and syrup.  I love this combo!  It makes eating greens every day easy!  

And you need your greens EVERYDAY! 

Enjoy and stay compassionate! 

Gluten Free Oil Free Cornbread!

This cornbread is easy and delicious!   

In a mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients:

1 cup of cornmeal

1 cup of gluten free all purpose baking flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1/4 tsp fine salt

give this a quick stir to incorporate and add the wet ingredients:

1 cup non-dairy milk

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Stir until just combined and pour into a 9 inch nonstick baking dish, pie plate or cast iron skillet.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes

I love it crumble into bean soup or chili.  It is delicious for breakfast with tofu scramble.  I love it with a little jam for afternoon herbal tea!  

Very easy and very good.  Gluten free, vegan, and oil/fat free!   

Enjoy and stay compassionate! 

The Best Bean Soup! ...so simple... so delicious!

I cooked this in my pressure cooker but you can make it on the stove top in a heavy bottom soup pot.

1 pound of dry pinto beans

1 large yellow onion chopped

1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of turmeric (optional)

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika or liquid smoke

10 cups of cold water (don't exceed the max for your pressure cooker) 

Add all to the pot! 

If on the stove top... Bring to a boil and simmer until beans are tender.  Stir frequently, this may take several hours. You will see the beans start to break down.  

If in the pressure cooker follow the instructions for dried beans. 

With either method taste your beans. They should be soft and creamy. 

At this point. Take off heat or turn off pressure cooker and stir in 2-3 tablespoons of good apple cider vinegar. I like 3 tablespoons. Taste it and see what you like after each tablespoon. Then take a potato masher and mash up some of the beans. This will thicken the soup! 

I grew up in a Slovak/Romainian home and my mom put vinegar in several soups. I like a stronger vinegar flavor!  You will have to try out your taste buds.

This soup has zero fat. Pinto beans low calorie but high in fiber, protein and vitamins and minerals. 

The addition of turmeric and black pepper in combination offers numerous health benefits since they are powerful antioxidants.  They are also anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial agents!  

Apple cider vinegar is delicious and may lower blood sugar levels. 

Give this easy and delicious soup a try. Send me a comment if you do!  

Plant-Based No Oil Vegan at La Isla

With not eating anything with a mother or a face and no dairy and not a drop of oil… It can be difficult to eat out.  The key is in ordering from the side dishes.  

I ordered a plate of shredded lettuce and a side of guacamole, a side of Pico, and a side of jalapeños…

With some plain warmed corn tortillas I had an amazing plantbased/vegan taco!  

Side dishes are usually cheaper too!  

Do it for a healthy you.  I am down 8 pounds in 4 weeks from being strict to my new 100% no oil plant based life!  

You can do it too!

Enjoy and stay compassionate! 

Tofu Black Bean and Corn Tostadas

1 yellow onion chopped

1 block of firm tofu pressed

1 can or 1 cup of cooked black beans

1 cup of corn thawed

1 tablespoon of Wildtree fajita seasoning or other mexican seasoning of your choice

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup salsa verde

Corn tortillas for crisping in the over (place on a baking sheet or use a mold as I did and bake at 375 until browned and crisp… carefully...do not burn. 

Topping:

Fresh Tomatoes chopped

Fresh jalapeño chopped

Fresh Cilantro chopped

Lime wedge for squeezing on top

In a large skilled over medium heat add the chopped onion to the dry hot pan.  They will loose their water and start to brown… just when this happens add the crumbled pressed tofu to the pan and start to chop and stir at a the same time until the tofu is in nice small pieces.  If things are sticking too much add a lithe water.  While you are stirring and chopping the tofu add the spices.  When tofu is in small pieces and the spices distributed… add the beans, corn and salsa verde.  Stir until most of the liquid is evaporated. 

In your tortilla bowl or flat tostada place the tofu mixture and top with the toppings!  

I like a lithe green Tabasco sauce on mine, you can use any taco sauce you like… or none at all.  You can omit the jalapeños and chop bell pepper if you do not like the heat!  

You can purchase Wildtree Fajita Seasoning at www.mywildtree/Gerri641661.  All natural and no preservatives.  

Enjoy, be healthy and stay compassionate!  

Eating Out Is Possible For An Oil Free Vegan

When you learn the facts about nutrition and disease and you give up meat dairy and oil .... Eating out can be a challenge!

I do it and I do it often.  The key is scanning the menu for things that you can have and asking the restaurant to put them together for you for a meal.  Most restaurants are happy to do this. I have gotten some amazing meals doing this and they are usually much less expensive than my husbands meat laden meals. 

We rode our bikes from Parker PA to Foxburg PA and ate lunch overlooking the Allegheny river which was such a beautiful view in a beautiful August day!  

For my lunch I saw that the baked potato was a side for many of the dinners and also saw salsa offered in one of the dishes.  Vegetable medley was another side. My lunch was a baked potato with salsa and jalapeños and a side of plain steamed veggies!  It was delicious and filling and the staff was so accommodating.

Hats off to the Allegheney River Grille!

My entire lunch was $5.50... My husbands burger and fries was $14. 

Be creative when eating out!  Enjoy the atmosphere, the company and the food and always stay Compassionate! 

Eat Your Oats Banana Muffins

Heat oven to 350

You will be making 12 muffins.  I use a silicone baking pan but you could use a regular pan and use liners.

I use a food processor for this.  And assemble the dry ingredients first.

In the food processor bowl fitted with an s blade:

2 cups of old fashioned oats that you will process until a flour (you can reserve 1/2 cup of the oats and add them in whole for texture as I do some time)

After you have coarse oat flour add:

2 Tablespoons flax meal

1 Teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 Tablespoon of baking powder 

1 Teaspoon baking soda

Give this a quick whiz to incorporate and then put it in a mixing bowl.

Now add the wet ingredients to the food processor:

4 over ripe bananas

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce, crushed pineapple, or pumpkin puree ... You choose ½ cup of your favorite or what you have on hand. I used applesauce

1/2 cup unsweetened juice… apple, pineapple … your choice

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

Puree this mixture and then add it to the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.  

Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes

I chopped up some walnuts and vegan chocolate chips to put on top!   

These are great to take along with you when you need a quick breakfast and your can't make your daily oats!  

They are super good and pretty easy to make.  

You should eat oats every day as part of a heart healthy diet!  

As always… dairy and oil free.

Enjoy and stay Compassionate! 

Pepper and Onion Gravy on Smashed Potatoes

I love smashed potatoes.  You can make them by quartering and boiling some red skinned potatoes until tender and then smashing them with a potato masher.  I like to add some vegetable broth and a little of the starchy cooking water as I mash them to get a creamy consistency.  Since I do not use any animal products… sometimes I use a nondairy milk if I am out of vegetable broth.  

To make the pepper and onion gravy you will need: a large skillet with a lid

1 slice sweet onion (I used vidalia)

1 large green bell pepper (you could mix some red bell in also)

For the gravy:

I mix mine in a 2 cup glass measuring cup for easy pouring.  

1 Cup of water

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP vegan Worcestershire sauce (I use Wildtree)

1 Teaspoon of garlic powder

1 Teaspoon of onion powder

1/4 Teaspoon ground ginger

Add these first six ingredients into your glass measure or a bowl or glass or cup.  

1 Cup of water on the side.

1 Cup of nondairy milk

1 TBSP cornstarch 

Make a slurry of the milk and cornstarch

Smidgen of salt

The key to this recipe is to get the onions caramelized without oil and to get the peppers soft. 

Sprinkle the onions with a smidgen of salt and place them in a dry frying pan over low heat.  The onions have enough water to start to soften and brown without any oil.  Stir them frequently for 5 to 10 minutes until they are getting slightly brown and soft at this point add the peppers and 1/4 quarter of the water soy sauce mixture.  Cover for a few minutes then stir.. as the water mixture keeps evaporating add another 1/4 of the liquid cover stir and add liquid.  Keep doing this … the peppers should be soft.  You may need to add some additional water if all of your liquid is gone.  You need to have about 1/2 cup liquid before you add the cup of non dairy milk and cornstarch mixture.  

Add the milk and cornstarch slurry (whisked together) and stir over medium high heat until thickened.

Turn off the heat and let rest while you smash your potatoes.

In this meal we had the onion and pepper gravy over smashed potatoes with fresh steamed corn on the cob!  

You can buy Wildtree Worcestershire sauce at www.mywildtree.com/Gerri641661

Enjoy and stay compassionate! 

Getting there! Down 6 Pounds in 3 Weeks

Down 6 pounds on my heart health journey.  The only real challenge I face is eating out and it is mainly due to the oil.  Most better restaurants can serve you a lovely baked potato and plain steamed veggies.  A big salad with a flavored vinegar or plain balsamic.  Ask the chef to mix balsamic and dijon mustard together… now thats a delicious salad dressing!   

Oils and fats are included in almost every prepared or packaged food. And restaurants add fat/oil salt and sugar in higher quantities then you would ever use yourself at home.

Oil, fat, lard butter, etc. is about 125 calories a tablespoon.  One little teeny tablespoon adds 125 calories!   Just cutting oil alone out of your diet will prove a large calorie reduction with certain weight loss.  

Oil is non-nutritive which means it gives you nothing but calories.  

And yes you can cook without oil or butter.  I sauté vegetables all of the time in a little water or vegetable broth.  And when you get used to food without that slippery grease you will really learn to love it and you will really taste the whole food.  

You would not pour oil down your drain… so why do you pour it down your throat?

Onions carry their own water and will sauté and brown nicely over low heat.  Vegetables grill well without added oil.  

You can make your own soups and sauces without any oil.  And baked potatoes taste great with homemade oil/fat free gravies.  I even like to top my baked potatoes with oil free baked beans or marinara.  

Make your own food… you will be hard pressed to pick up a packaged food at the grocery store and find no oils added!  

Need to drop a few pounds or a lot of pounds?… you can do it… step one… give up the oil!  

And as always enjoy your food and stay compassionate! 

Anniversary Dinner! Oil Free Vegan and Delicious

Well all I can say was the chef at The Springfield Grille in Boardman OH went out of his way to make us a delicious oil free vegan dinner.  We did call ahead so that he was prepared.  The appetizer was a peach and kiwi salad with a balsamic reduction.  This was my favorite part of the meal.  I would go to dinner here just to have this as my meal.  It was so darn good. 

The entree was a baked potato with a sort of puree of vegetables on top and served on a bed of greens and white beans!  Delicious !

Hats off to the chef it was great… check it out if you want to eat some real whole food!