Vegan Recipes for the Plant-Based Beginner
Happy Veganuary to all who celebrate! If you haven’t heard, January is a time that many people who are “vegan-curious” try a plant-based diet for the first time. Hence, Veganuary!
Veganuary serves many purposes. Are you looking for a 31-day challenge to kickstart your vegetable intake? Or maybe you’re already vegetarian and wondering what the next step might feel like. You could be focused on your health as the new year begins, and looking for a dietary change to support your health goals. People adopt a vegan diet either short-term or long-term for a variety of reasons, including health, ethical, and climate concerns.
Going vegan isn’t for everyone, and depending on your health goals and needs, it might not be the appropriate diet choice for you. However, incorporating more plant-based meals or meatless recipe options into your regular weeknight fare is never a bad idea.
As we come to the end of the Veganuary, The Healing Ring team has gathered a few of our favorite plant-based recipes. Read below for our tried and true recipes and a few resources and meal guides that will guide you on your vegan journey. Enjoy!
Cauliflower Tacos With Cashew Crema
Photo via Bon Appétit
Andy Baraghani’s meatless riff on street tacos is one of our favorite vegan weeknight meals. Well-rounded, easy to cook, and endlessly modifiable to suit your tastes, this recipe is a great entry into vegan eating.
Protein from the cashews makes it filling, and it hits every flavor profile–spicy, sour, and rich. Add simple sliced avocado for the additional healthy fat you might miss from meat and cheese.
Click through to Bon Appétit for the full recipe!
Portobello Wellington
Need to impress some vegan guests? Or maybe you have some time on your hands for a bit more of a project. Check out this vegan twist on a classic Beef Wellington. Dr. Anna says this recipe is always a hit with her vegan family members at holidays and big family get-togethers.
Prep Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 40 min Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons dairy free butter or olive oil, divided
3 stalks celery, scrubbed, trimmed, and diced
1/2 cup dry lentils
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or 2 1/2 cups water + my favorite bouillon)
1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup cashew cream
4 fresh portobello mushrooms
vegan puff pastry (store-bought)
Preparation Steps
1. Preheat oven to 375 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Remove stem of portobello cap, and scrape out gills. Place on baking sheet, on a rack if you have one, gills side down. Bake for 10-15 minutes to remove excess moisture. Remove from oven, pat dry, and set aside.
3. As the mushroom caps cook, melt one tablespoon butter in a large high sided sauté pan that has a lid. Add diced celery, sauté over medium heat for several minutes until softened.
4. Add lentils, stirring to combine with celery. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Reduce to a low simmer, cover, and cook lentils for 25-30 minutes, or until lentils have absorbed all liquid and are fully cooked through. Keep an eye on the lentils as they cook.
5. When lentils are cooked, transfer to a bowl and set aside.
6. Return sauté pan to medium low heat, and melt remaining tablespoon of butter. Add minced onion, sauté until translucent and soft. Add vermouth to onion and increase heat just a bit, until vermouth is simmering. Simmer for a few minutes, watching and stirring as most of the vermouth cooks away. Remove from heat. Add the cashew cream to this mixture, stir to combine completely.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry. Cut into squares large enough to completely wrap around each portobello cap (eye ball this – mushroom size varies).
8. Place portobello cap in center of puff pastry square, gill side up. Spoon several tablespoons lentils into the mushroom, in an even layer. (This recipe for lentils should fill four average size portobello caps.)
9. Spoon two tablespoons of vermouth cashew cream onto lentils, spreading into an even layer. Pull up one corner of puff pastry and carefully wrap up around portobello. Working around and tucking in as you go, repeat pulling up each corner and securely pressing pastry together.
10. Carefully transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat filling and wrapping remaining portobellos.
11. Bake at 375 °F for 35-40 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven, brush pastry with melted butter, olive oil, or cashew milk. Return to oven for another couple minutes.
12. Serve warm.
Dark Chocolate Chickpea Brownies
Finally, dessert! Because even when we are making healthy, plant-based choices, we still need just a taste of dessert. And we know, we know… beans in brownies? But these vegan brownies are truly delicious. They even appeared on the Recipe Club podcast, and discerning celebrity chef David Chang gave them his stamp of approval.
Photo via The Roasted Root
Cookbook author Julia Mueller offers multiple ways to modify this recipe depending on your brownie texture preferences and what vegan ingredients you have on hand. Check out the full recipe (as well as the recipes for lots of other vegan desserts) on her website, The Roasted Root.
And while Veganuary is technically over tomorrow, the informative website luckily stays up all year! Check out Veganuary.com for meal plans, recipes, and information on plant-based eating.
And what if making a change to improve your health is on your mind, but you need a more holistic plan of attack? Well, Dr. Anna and The Healing Ring have you covered. Read more about our services.
