Veggie Recipes for Earth Month!

Have you been working your way through our 30 Day Challenge for Earth Month – Planet Bootcamp? 

Are you attempting some of the food-centric green-acts? As promised: we’re coaching you in to climate action this month! What kind of coaches would we be if we didn’t provide you with a little guidance?

With help from some of our valued business and community members, here are some delicious and nutritious recipes for you to try out this April (and beyond!) AND some plant-based tips from our plant-based specialists!

Our first recipe: Waldorf Salad

This recommendation came from Natalie from Toronto. This recipe is taken from Diane’s Vegan Kitchen

If you’re into yummy fresh apples, grapes, celery, celery and walnuts – this is the recipe for you. 

Ingredients
  • 1 14-ounce can chickpeas
  • 1/2 cup walnuts lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery sliced
  • 1/2 cup red seedless grapes sliced in half
  • 1 small apple coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 small head leafy lettuce
Instructions

1. Mix the chickpeas, almond, celery, grapes, and apple together in a medium bowl

2. Mix together the mayo, apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl.

3. Pour the mayo mixture over the chickpea mixture and gently toss to combine.

4. Refrigerate for half an hour before serving.

5. Divide the lettuce among four plates and then spoon the salad over the lettuce.

A tip from La Dee Da Gourmet Sauces!

Mary from La Dee Da’s Plant-based tip:

My suggestion would be to visit a grocery store that has a plant based section and really take a look at the selections and how far plant based food has come! 
Start there…start with one meal a week and don’t look at it like ‘oh no meat’ look at it like ‘wow, first all plant based meal.’ 

La Dee Da's plant-based recipe: Vegan Stew

  • 1 jar of La Dee Da Twelve Veggie Tomato Sauce (pantry staple)
  • 1 jar of La Dee Da Sweet Potato Minestrone Soup (pantry staple)
  • 1 cup uncooked rice
  • 2 cups water (start with 1 after you add rice, add second)
  • 2 cups chopped zucchini chunks
  • 2 cups chopped carrot chunks
  • 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
  • 2 cups diced potatoes
  • 1 cup diced sweet onion
  • 1 cup dices sweet red pepper
  • 1/2 cup diced leeks
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 fresh parsley
  • 2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
  • 1tsp crushed red chilli peppers
  • 1tbsp pink himalayan salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp of Nuts for Cheese Black Garlic Cashew Cheese
In a large soup pot heat olive oil on low, add in onions, garlic, leeks and gently cook for 3-4 minutes.
 
Add in all raw veggies, stir until coated and add in all dry spices….let cook for 3-4 minutes and then add both jars of La Dee Da sauce/soup and stir in one cup of water.
 
Bring to a gentle boil, as the veggies become tender, add in one cup of uncooked rice and second cup of water, stir and simmer for approx 30 minutes, covered.
 
Let stand for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Tips from RicherEarth Vegan Eats

In case you missed our IG Live, we chatted with Eartha, co-founder of RicherEarth Vegan Eats about some of the hurdles you may encounter when trying out a plant-based diet including:

  • How one takes small steps to start converting their diet to being more plant-based?
  • Is eating a 100% vegan / vegetarian diet difficult to get the right nutrients?
  • Some say eating a plant-based diet is too expensive. What tips do you have for eating a plant-based diet on a budget?

    Press play below!

As mentioned in our chat, here’s:

RicherEarth Vegan Eats Plant-based recipe: Garlicky Scapes Pesto with Kale

“The best part about making this tasty sauce is that you can be flexible. Pesto is traditionally made with pine nuts, but pecans and walnuts can be used as substitutes. Walnuts yield a flavour closest to traditional pesto made with pine nuts. We also make this recipe on a regular basis using 1 garlic clove but since we’ve harvested garlic scapes, a handful of it roughly chopped will replace the garlic clove. 

This pesto is vegan. You have the option to add nutritional yeast for a cheesy parmesan flavour. Make sure to have a good food processor on hand for smooth blending.”

Ingredients you’ll need:
2 cups fresh kale leaves, loosely packed, chopped, stems removed
1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
½  cup walnuts, raw
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (add additional olive oil as needed when blending to achieve desired consistency)
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
A handful of garlic scapes, roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tips from Zazubean: Check out social media!

“My favourite would be Sam Turnball @itdoesnttastelikechicken

I look on @veganrecipescom for some recipe ideas too!”

 

Tiz – Co-Founder of Zazubean

Author

Stephanie Ward

Stephanie started her journey towards a sustainable lifestyle young: at the age of 12, she started a ‘compost bin’ in a margarine container — and left it for her mum to find under the sink many weeks later … Needless to say, her eco-skills have improved since then! A vegan of 10+ years, a staunch animal welfare advocate, and an avid recycler, you’re most likely to find her on a hike, or in the garden.

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Black Bean Salad

This recipe was shared by one of our webinar attendees: Samantha from Peterborough. This recipe is inspired by this blog .

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 1/2 cups of freshly cooked black beans)
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted (or fresh corn, parboiled, drained and cooled, or grilled and cooled)
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions (including onion greens) or shallots
  • 1/2 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced, or 1/2 pickled jalapeño pepper, minced (not seeded)
  • 3 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped and/or 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice (about the juice from one lime)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of sugar (to taste)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro


1 In a large bowl, gently combine the black beans, corn, chopped green onions, minced jalapeños, chopped tomatoes (or red bell pepper), lime juice, and olive oil. Gently fold in the chopped avocados.

2 Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with sugar to taste, enough to balance the acidity from the lime juice.  Chill.

3 Right before serving, add the chopped fresh cilantro.

Tips from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition: Shop for seasonal produce!

“Foods that grow with the seasons will be more available to you in your local produce stores, omitting the stress of decision fatigue, thus making grocery shopping and cooking more enjoyable and, in return, sparking creativity in the kitchen.”

“Think about it: you fly halfway across the world only to find yourself stuck in your hotel room with a bad case of Jetlag. Now think of the fruits and veggies that might come from the other side of the world. Crazy right? The further a fresh food has to travel, the more depleted it will naturally become of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, which are essential to our health.

Read More Here!

Celery Root Fennel Soup

Thanks Anna for sharing this great meal idea. This recipe was taken from this blog.

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 cups thinly sliced onions (sliced across the grain)
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 2 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
  • 2 medium celery roots (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced (See TheKitchn’s guide to peeling celery root)
  • 1 medium russet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 7 cups chicken stock
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (less or more to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • Fennel fronds for garnish

METHOD

1 Cook onions: Melt butter in a large (6-8 quart) thick-bottomed pot on medium high heat. Stir in the onions and cook until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes.

2 Add the garlic and the sliced fennel, lower the heat to medium and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until softened.

3 Add the sliced celery root, sliced potato, 2 bay leaves, stock and salt. Increase heat to high, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and maintain a simmer, partially covered for another 10 to 12 minutes, until all of the vegetables are soft enough to purée.

4 Purée the soup: Either working in batches with a standing blender (do not fill blender bowl more than a third full at a time), or with an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth. (Note that an immersion blender will take several minutes longer than a standing blender to purée the soup to smoothness.)

5 Stir in cream and black pepper. Adjust salt to taste. Garnish with fennel fronds.

A Veggie tip ... from me!

I have been a vegetarian for a very long time. I made the switch to eating plant-based full-time around 10 years ago.

I consider myself lucky in that my partner is also vegan, which makes cooking meals pretty straightforward. 

I realize everyone’s situation is different. There’s no switch that you can flip and voila!: Vegan.

It’s a journey. 

 

 

My tip would be: Omit meat and dairy from your regular, go-to meals, your mid-week staples.

 Don’t jump in and try and make a seitan roast straightaway (let me know when you’re ready though! I have a great recipe!).

Break the journey down into bite-sized pieces:

Stir fry? Swap to tofu over chicken.
Lasagne? Try lentils instead.

You get the picture. With a little trial and error I promise you’ll get there and you won’t look back. 

I wanted to share this cheat sheet with you (above). It’s really great for easy meals. Fry up some veggies, cook some rice and bang in one of these sauces!

Pamela Fergusson’s Butter Chickpeas

This was submitted by Barbi from Toronto. She is in love with this recipe by Pamela Ferugsson and mentioned it was a “go-to” recipe that she can make over and over.


1. Saute garlic and onion in a pot over medium heat in the oil. Add the spices and hot sauce to warm through. Cook for 2 mins, stirring frequently.

2. Add the other ingredients except the tomato paste, spinach and chickpeas and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 mins until cashews are soft.

3. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 2 mins, stirring to combine.

4. Cool slightly then pour into a high powdered blender and blend on high for 2 mins.

5. Return the sauce to the pot and add in the drained can of chickpeas

6. Simmer for 5 mins until chickpeas are hot. Stir in spinach to just wilt.

7. Serve with rice or naan

Are you looking for a little more guidance on your vegetarian, vegan, flexitarian journey?
Check out these two blogs below:

How can we encourage people to eat less meat
5 tips and tricks for veganuary

More Blog Posts:

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