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…

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.

Suzanne’s Tortilla Chip Soup

Serves: 4-6. Prep: Half an hour.

Water
Vegetable bouillon cube OR 2 tbsp ‘Better than Bouillon’ vegetable base
2 cups black beans (soak overnight to soften; 1 cup dry beans = 2 cups soaked beans)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large avocado, cubed (to cube an avocado, slice in half and open; remove the seed and run the knife lengthwise then widthwise; push the avocado “inside-out” so all the slices pop out)
1 cup corn
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
Blue corn tortilla chips
Grated cheese

Mix all ingredients except for avocado, cilantro, chips, and cheese. Simmer until beans are fully-cooked and carrots are tender. Add in avocados and cilantro and cook for another 5-10 minutes/until steaming. Put blue-corn tortilla chips and grated cheese in bowls then pour soup over the chips and cheese.

Vegan Chili

Serves: 6. Prep: 6 hours in a slow-cooker.

4 cups kidney beans (soak overnight; 1 cup dry beans = 2 cups soaked beans)
3 cups tomato sauce
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cups corn
4 bell peppers, chopped
1-2 tbsps chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp pepper
Chili pepper flakes (just a couple dashes!)

Combine all ingredients in the slow-cooker and mix well. Set the time to 6 hours and let it go! Serve with Frito’s corn chips and/or baked potatoes. Sometimes I like to add soy “meat balls” from Trader Joe’s. After half an hour or so of cooking I’ll find them in the pot and mash them with a fork so they mix in with everything.