Category Archives: Lunch

vegan and vegetarian lunch recipes

Roasted Red Pepper and Quinoa Soup

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I went for a brisk two kilometre walk tonight after work. The sun was shining brightly and it was only minus two, degrees so I figured I might as well go enjoy the day.  I had already done a weights workout at six in the morning today, so this wasn’t a workout, just a way to get some fresh air after sitting at work all day.

One of the best things that I have noticed lately is that the sun is rising earlier and earlier.  I can open drapes before I go to work in the morning and our timer light has been moved back until 5:40pm  - crazy how that happens every year isn’t it :) .  Every extra minute of daylight in the day makes me feel so much better though.  We are getting closer to twelve hours of daylight again, which reminds me of when were in Central American and year round they have twelve hours of daylight.  Maybe I should move down there…food for thought.

Tonight I am making a batch of my famous sweet potato soup which everyone loves, to round out our lunches for the rest of the week and on Sunday I made roasted red pepper and quinoa soup, which is now a contender for our favourite soup.  I love roasting vegetables for soups – it creates such a nice nutty flavour.

Roasted Red Pepper and Quinoa Soup

This is the blog that provided me with the inspiration for this soup, but true to form I had to change a few things to make it to my liking and you can do the same. At first I didn’t really think I would need to add the almond milk, but in the end I’m glad I did, it made the soup very creamy.

2 red peppers, seeded and cut in half
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 or 3 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 or 2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable broth
¾ cup cooked quinoa
½ cup almond milk (or milk of choice)

Turn on the broiler and flatten the seeded peppers, skin side up, on a cookie sheet. Roast for about 10 minutes, until the skins are blackened. Remove from the oven and immediately place the peppers in a ziplock bag or a bowl with a lid. After 15 minutes, remove the peppers and rub off the skin. Slice into 1” pieces and set aside.

roasted peppers

roasted peppers

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, celery and carrots and sauté until the vegetables are translucent. Add the tomatoes, red peppers, vegetable broth and spices. Bring the soup to a boil and turn down to simmer. Cover and cook for 20 – 25 minutes.

veggies ready for the pot

veggies ready for the pot

Add the cooked quinoa and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and blend with an immersion blender or a blender until smooth. Transfer back to the pot and stir in the almond milk. Serve immediately.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This recipe made three 1 1/2 cup servings and three 1 cup servings and it was nice and spicy, just right for lunch on a cold day.

Enjoy !

 

 

 

 

Navy Bean and Bacon Soup

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Now that we are well into January and trying to stay warm, I thought a hearty navy bean and bacon soup recipe would do the trick.

The last few weeks have been really busy for me at work with year end and of course I tweaked my back again in the usual places, the L1 and L5.  So I have been visiting a chiropractor and it is starting to get better, but all the sitting at work doesn’t really help. Not to blame work, it is sitting in general that makes it worse, but that is where I do the most of it.

We have also been working on renovating our main bathroom.  We are finally getting rid of the original cream coloured 33 year old, builders-grade steel tub and getting a new one; one that we can both fit into with ease…;).  So far we have ordered the tub, tile and fixtures and we have a tentative date for the contractor to start in mid-Feb and we both couldn’t be happier. So after shopping for bathroom accessories I came home to make this week’s side.

Recently, we have been buying bacon from Barrie’s Asparagus and Country Market. They raise their own pigs and the bacon is fantastic – hardly any fat on it and for the price and amount you get you can’t go wrong.

I also used dried beans that I soaked overnight for 8 hours and then cooked on high in the slow cooker for 3.5 hours.  Alternatively you can use canned navy beans to keep it simple.

Navy Bean and Bacon Soup

4 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup celery, diced
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp.poultry seasoning
fresh ground pepper
4 cups navy beans (see note above)
4 cups broth (I used vegetable)

Dice bacon and cook over medium – low heat in a skillet for 4 – 5 minutes.  Once the bacon is as crispy as you like it, remove from pan and drain on paper towels.  Drain off the excess bacon grease, reserving some in the skillet to cook the onions. Cooking the onions in bacon grease will not only caramelize them, but give them a really great flavor that regular oil will never be able to replicate.

Add onions to the skillet and sauté for 2- 3 minutes; add garlic and celery and sauté for 4 -5 minutes more until tender.

Add remaining ingredients while stirring to combine.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30 minutes or until navy beans are tender. Remove the bay leaves.

Purée about half the soup in food processor or with hand blender. Return to pot and stir to combine.

Remove from heat and serve.

This recipe made six side dishes for Al and I; three one cup sizes for me and three one and a half cup sizes for Al. He could have had more but he decided to have a spoonful, which became two spoonfuls, which became…well, you get it. Actually, maybe you don’t – Al was licking the remnants in the bowl afterwards and then the pot I cooked it in. That’s how much he liked this soup!

Navy bean and bacon soup

Navy bean and bacon soup

 Enjoy !

Quinoa Pizza Bites

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Now that we are back from vacation it is time to jump back on the healthy eating bandwagon.  It’s so easy to fall back into old unhealthy eating habits while on vacation – especially when you stay at B&B’s and the hosts make eggs and pancakes for breakfast.  Not to mention the copious amounts of Panama cerveza’s we were forced to consume :) .  It’s hard to not drink a cold cerveza when it is so hot outside.  Unfortunately my skin is not thanking me for my bad habits as I am experiencing numerous breakouts – my skin is the exact reason why I cut out dairy, eggs and wheat, so whenever I bring them back into my diet my skin expresses its displeasure.  Lesson learned the hard way I guess.

Today’s recipe is a variation of one a friend passed on to me as I had to clean it up a bit for my consumption. The original version was from the blog So Very Blessed and there is also another variation at Fitsugar.com.

Quinoa Pizza Bites

2 cups cooked quinoa
2 eggs made from egg replacer
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup each shredded Daiya mozzarella and Daiya pepperjack
1 clove minced garlic
4 chopped vegan sausages
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp italiano seasoning
pizza sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together all ingredients, except pizza sauce, in a medium mixing bowl.
Distribute mixture into a greased muffin tin ( 2 heaping Tbs each), and press down gently to compact.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.

I started off with baking my bites for 20 minutes as the original recipe suggested, but I found my bites were still too moist, so I put them back in the oven for another 8 minutes. This might be because the original recipe used mini muffin tins, but I only have the regular size. Also the original recipes says it made 40 bites, but I was only able to make 18 – again most likely due to the larger size. Overall we both really enjoyed them and I would consider making again.

Enjoy !
Quinoa Pizza Bites

Quinoa Pizza Bites

Gallo Pinto – Nicaraguan Beans and Rice

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As we gear up for our second Central American adventure this year, I decided to make a tribute meal to our trip to Nicaragua.

One of the most popular meals in Nicaragua is Gallo Pinto.   Gallo Pinto means “spotted rooster” in Spanish and the name is said to originate in the multi-coloured or speckled appearance that results from cooking the rice together with red beans. This is a hearty staple that can feed a large family fairly cheaply.

In researching this recipe I decided to make a variation of three recipes that I found on Google.  The one recipe suggested cooking the rice the day before and then assembling the Gallo Pinto the next day.  I didn’t have time for that, so I just let my rice cool in the fridge for about an hour.

2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely diced, divided
1 cup long-grain brown rice (the authentic version uses white rice)
2 1/4 cups water or broth (I opted for portabello mushroom broth)
1 very small yellow pepper, cored and seeded
2 cups kidney beans (I used beans that I cooked and had in the freezer, a can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed, would also work)
3 tbsps. Worcestershire sauce (Don’t be shy with this)
1 tsp. ground cumin and ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro or green onions for garnish (optional)

For the rice:
Heat 1 tbsp. oil in large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add 2/3 of onion and cook, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and cook, stirring, until grains are shiny and evenly coated with oil, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add water or broth, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil uncovered.

Place bell pepper on top of rice and then cover and reduce heat to low.  The type of long grain brown rice that I had takes 45 mins to cook, follow the instructions on your rice bag for cooking times.

Fluff rice with fork, then let cool for at least 1 hour in the fridge or overnight if you have time.

For the Gallo Pinto:

Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Add remaining onion and cook, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and 2 cups beans to skillet and cook, stirring until well mixed.

Add worcestershire sauce and don’t be shy – add the entire 3 tbsp.  (The first time I made this I was leery of adding it, but the rice really balances out the flavour).

Add the cumin and coriander, mix well.

Continue to cook over low heat, stirring, to allow flavors to meld and mixture to become slightly crisp, about 10 minutes. Cover and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Top with fresh cilantro or green onions if you wish. I didn’t have any fresh cilantro and the recent frosts have killed my green onions, so I didn’t have a pretty garnish.

I made this recipe to take as a side dish for lunch and I was able to get five one cup portions.

Enjoy !

Sources I used to come up with my variation:

Serious Eats gallopinto

whats4eats Gallo Pinto Recipe

costcutterfoods Gallo Pinto

Gallo Pinto

Gallo Pinto