Yummy Bread

Makes 1 loaf. Prep: 2 hours

1 cup warm water
1.5 tbsp yeast
1.5 tbsp butter/butter-like substitute of choice, softened
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup rice milk
2 1/2 cups whole-weat flour

Mix all ingredients except flour together until there are no lumps, then add flour in 1/2-cup portions at a time, mixing constantly. When all the flour is mixed in, begin kneading for several minutes until smooth. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover for an hour until it has risen to double its original size. Punch down the dough then roll/press it out flat on a floured surface. Roll it up lengthwise and set in a greased bread baking dish. Let it rise for another hour then bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove, let cool, slice, and enjoy!

Lemon Pepper Potatoes

Serves: 2 Prep: Half an hour

6 red potatoes
Olive oil
Lemon pepper

Chop potatoes into small, bite-sized chunks and put them in a large baking dish. Pour a little bit of olive oil and lemon pepper (enough to cover all the potatoes but not drown them) and mix with your hands until they’re all covered. Bake them at 425 degrees F for 25 minutes. These make a great side dish! They’re also good with fresh green beans mixed in. If you’re going to make larger quanities of these potatoes, cook them for a few extra minutes and mix them around with a spatula about half-way through.

Breakfast Sandwich

Serves: 1 Prep: 15 minutes

1 egg
1 avocado
Salt & pepper
Whole-grain bread
Butter/vegan butter substitute of choice

Cook the egg however you like it best (fried, scrambled, poached, etc.), add salt and pepper. Toast bread. Add butter/sub, slices of avocado, and egg.

Vegetable Lasagna

Serves: 4 Prep: 1 hour

Whole-grain lasagna noodles
1/2 cup Grated mozerella cheese

Sauce:
2 cups tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
Salt & pepper

Filling:
1.5 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup brocolli
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup spinach

Combine all sauce ingredients and cook on medium heat for several minutes. Cook lasagna noodles & vegetables in boiling water until they are tender. In a casserole dish, add one layer of noodles and a spoonfull of sauce. Mix ricotta cheese with vegetables and layer over the noodles. Pour almost all the rest of the sauce over the cheese & vegetables. Add one more layer of noodles, the last of the sauce, and sprinkle with mozerella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Pinapple Rice

Serves: 2 Prep: Half an hour

1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup pinapple chunks
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup mushrooms*, sliced
Vegetable broth

Cook rice in a rice cooker using half water, half broth. Cook mushrooms in in a steam basket. In a skillet, toast the coconut flakes and set aside. When the rice is finished, mix in the pineapple, coconut, and mushrooms or carrot.

* Chris hates mushrooms so when he’s eating this dish I use carrots instead.

Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt Sauce

Serves: 4 Prep: 5 minutes

1 cup strawberries
1 cup blueberries

Place berries in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour over vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. This is a very tasty and healthy alternative to caramel or butterscotch sauce. Customise it to your taste preferences with peaches (perhaps with a pinch of cinnamon?), raspberries, blackberries, banana, kiwi, figs, pineapple, or an orange.

Ultimate Salad!

Serves: A LOT Prep: Half an hour

Dark leafy lettuce
Spinach
2 cups soaked, drained, rinsed kidney beans
Avocados, sliced into cubes
Cucumber, sliced into discs
Cherry tomatoes
Brocolli florets
Cauliflower florets
Black olives
Carrot, grated or sliced into discs
Cashews
Mandarin oranges, peeled and wedges pulled apart
Croutins
Salad oil or dressing of choice (and for Pete’s sake, let people put it on themselves!)
Optional: Grated cheddar cheese

Combine everything except dressing and dig in! This salad is very filling and really is a meal by itself. It really has everything you need–protein, caclium, iron, folate, all kinds of vitamins and minerals, good fats and oils…

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes: 2 dozen, Prep: Half an hour

1 cup Earth Balance/Smart Balance/butter-like-substance of choice
1/2 cup sugar, or sucanut
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp applesauce or 1 banana
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 bag o’ chocolate chips

Combine dry and wet ingredients separately then mix together to form dough. Add in chocolate chips. Bake on a greased baking sheet for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Avocado Sandwich

Serves: 1-6 Prep: 10 minutes

Whole-grain bread
1 avocado
1 cucumber
1 tomato
Vegenaise (vegan mayonaise)
Optional: Pepper-jack cheese

Slice vegetables into thin strips, layer on bread, enjoy. This is my all-time favourite sandwich! The flavours blend together so well and it is SO healthy! My dad likes to sprinkle a bit of pepper on his. YUM!

Chipotle-Style Burritos

Serves: 2 Prep: 1 day

1 cup pinto or black beans (soaked overnight)
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup enriched white rice
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 avocado
1/2 cup corn
Chunky vegetable salsa
Tortillas
Cheese (optional)
Hot sauce of choice (optional)

Soak the beans overnight and several hours before you want to eat, rinse beans and begin cooking them covered & on low heat with a little bit of salt and an onion. When the beans are cooked, turn heat off and begin preparing. Cook rice in a rice cooker; heat up the corn in a steam basket or in boiling water. When the rice is almost finished, add in the cilantro and mix well. Heat up the tortillas on a skillet then layer slices of avocado, a spoonfull or two of salsa, rice, beans, and cheese. Fold, roll, and enjoy!

These are called “Chipotle”-style burritos because the way I make the rice (with the cilantro) is the same way that the Chipotle restaurant makes their rice.