Category Archives: Wraps & Sandwiches

Chickpea Salad

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My toddler has been a picky eater lately… she’s obsessed with cereal and that’s all she wants to eat! I decided to try a new sandwich option for her so I made this, I’ve been wanting to try it for awhile now. This recipe calls for Black Salt and in case you’ve never heard of it… it tastes just like eggs and it’s great in tofu scramble, sandwich type recipes.

Chickpea Salad Sandwich

Chickpea Salad

This recipe is from… can you guess?? Yep! Melomeals! 🙂

My hubby loves this salad mix on sandwiches and in collard wraps, I like it on mixed greens topped with avocado and pepper. Our toddler loves it on a sandwich or just by itself.

Chickpea Salad
2 c cooked and drained chickpeas – you could use 1 can of chickpeas too
½ c celery
2 c shredded carrots (I always have them on hand!)
¼ c onion, minced
2 T mustard
½ tsp black salt (this MAKES the salad!!)
2 T relish
½ cup Vegenaise
Ground pepper
2 tsp marjoram
½  tsp chipotle
2 T nutritional yeast
½ tsp lemon pepper
Pinch garlic powder
Salt/Pepper to taste

Mash the chickpeas a bit with a fork, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Let salad sit for an hour ( or even better, overnight ) before serving

Mash chickpeas

Add remaining ingredients, combine well

Refrigerate for at least an hour

Serve on salad

Here’s Melody’s Curried Chickpea Variation :
Remove relish, marjoram and chipotle
Add ½ c raisins, 1 T curry powder, ½ c cilantro and ½ c toasted sunflower seeds and 1 T apple cider vinegar

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Oil-Free Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (AND Plant-Based RD info for you!)

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Ever since we watched the movie Planeat, I’ve been on a quest for a good oil-free hummus! I’ve been making these Kale Sandwiches from that movie about every other day, they’re so good! (Terrible picture, sorry! I was too busy eating the hummus to take a good pic!)

Kale Sandwich with Oil-Free Hummus

If you haven’t already read, we are trying to eliminate all added oils from our diet in an effort to “kick it up a notch” in the health department. I’ve been working with a fabulous plant-based registered dietician, her name is Elisa Rodriguez, RD, LDN and she’s available for online consultations through her website EatUrVeggies.com. So if you’re looking to get your health on track I HIGHLY recommend her!

I used up about 6 cups of chickpeas trying to create a tasty oil-free hummus recipe, this one was a hit!

Oil-Free Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

* 2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked in pressure cooker (You could use about 3 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed)

* Juice of 3 lemons, zest of 1 (Hey, I like lemon!)

* 2 roasted red peppers – I used roasted red peppers from a jar (COSTCO) and they were HUGE so maybe use a few more if they are small

* 2 pinches of sumac – great touch but if you don’t have any don’t worry

* 1/2 – 1 tsp salt, to taste

* 1/3-1/2 cup bean cooking liquid (Save from pressure cooking beans) OR use canned bean liquid OR water

* Handful of parsley, to taste

Blend in food processor until smooth and enjoy on sandwiches, pita chips, veggies and whatever else you like!

Yummy!

Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing

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I’ve been making this for years, tastes just like the real thing! This makes an excellent dip for veggies, salad dressing and anything else you top with ranch! My hubby likes it on his pizza. I recently served this with No-Buffalo Nuggets… Delish!!

No-Buffalo Nuggets with Vegan Ranch Dressing

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup vegan mayonnaise

* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

* 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

* 2 teaspoons parsley, chopped – I usually used dried parsley, turns out great!

* 1/2 cup unsweetened soymilk (I star with 1/4 cup and add to make it thinner, depends on what I’m using it for – dip vs. dressing)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk all ingredients together (or just put all ingredients into a container and shake until mixed) and chill before serving. Add a little more soy milk if you need to thin dressing.

Put all ingredients into a container, close and shake!

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Kale Lemon Sandwiches

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My hubby and I both agreed that these are one of the best veggie sandwiches we’ve ever had!

Kale Lemon Sandwiches

This recipe is from the online movie Planeat. We REALLY enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it to anyone who likes food movies.

Kale Lemon Sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices Mestemacher of Feldcamp (Whole Foods) or any whole grain bread – I’ve used squaw bread from Sprouts or Ezekiel sprouted bread
  • 1 bunch of kale, chopped in bite sized pieces (remove thick stem) or Swiss Chard or greens of choice (4 cups or more) – I use kale (Lacinato)
  • hummus without tahini (easy to make blending  a base of chick peas, lemon and garlic then adding to taste cumin, vinegar, red peppers, parsley or cilantro
  • Green onions chopped  (1 per slice of bread) – Red onion is good too!!
  • 1/2 to 1 bunch cilantro or parsley, chopped – I use cilantro
  • 1/2- 1 lemon, center part VERY, VERY thinly sliced and the ends squeezed and zested – I love lemon so I use extra
  • 1 large tomato, sliced in 4 thick slices (optional)
  • Broccoli sprouts (optional but good!)
  • Black pepper, to taste
  1. Toast bread well.  If using Mestemacher or a rye or pumpernickel double or even triple toast. Make it almost cracker-like. (I double toast the squaw or sprouted bread)
  2. Put kale in a pot with about 3-4 inches of water in the bottom.  Bring to a boil, cover and cook until kale is tender, 3-5 minutes. Check frequently. Kale is good when cooked almost spinach-like. (STEAMING KALE FOR A FEW MINUTES WORKS TOO!)
  3. Spread toast thickly with hummus, sprinkle green onions on the hummus, pile cilantro on top of the green onions and then place a few thinly sliced lemons pieces on the cilantro.
  4. When Kale is tender, drain well.  Shake the strainer so all water is gone, sprinkle the kale in the strainer with lemon zest and remaining lemon juice.  LOTS of lemon makes this good!
  5. Then put a big handful of lemon filled kale on top of each piece of bread.  It is delicious just like that or top with a tomato slice and/or sprouts. Season with pepper.

And there you have health in a bite!  A bit of a messy one at that!

Chop up your toppings

Steam or boil kale and drain, add lemon juice and zest

Double toast bread, top with hummus and onion

Add cilantro

Add sprouts (optional) and lemon slices

Top with kale, tomatoes and season with pepper

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Beer-Simmered Seitan Carnitas

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When I served this for dinner a few nights ago, my husband immediately said “this is a keeper!” after his first bite and my daughter ate her portion without throwing it. Success!!

Beer-Simmered Seitan Carnitas on a wheat tortilla with spinach, grape tomatoes, Follow Your Heart Nacho Cheese (shredded) homemade guacamole and Habanero Sauce on top!

This is a Happy Herbivore recipe, she has easy, great tasting recipes for everyone!

INGREDIENTS:

* 3/4 cup vital wheat gluten

* 1/4 cup chickpea flour

* 3 tbsp nutritional yeast

* 2 tsp onion powder

* 1 tsp garlic powder

* 3/4 cup water

* 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

* 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

* 1/2 tsp vegemite

* 1/4 tsp garlic powder

* 1/4 tsp onion powder

* 12 ounces beer – I used Newcastle Ale

* 1/2 tsp vegemite

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 2 tsp onion powder and 1 tsp garlic powder together in a bowl and set aside. Combine warm water (hot from the tap) with soy sauce, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp vegemite (or marmite or vegan Worcestershire sauce), 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp onion powder together. Pour liquid into flour mixture and stir to form a dough. If it’s too dry, add another tbsp or two of warm water but becareful not to make it too wet or soggy. You want it to be firm, but pliable and moist. Knead 5-10 times then place into a large pot.

2. Pour beer over top (mine was room temp), cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add 1/2 tsp more vegemite, reduce to low and simmer until most of the liquid has absorbed, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. About 1/4 cup cooking liquid should line the bottom of the pot .

3. Use a butter knife (not a sharp knife) to shred thin slices off of the seitan. If the seitan is too wet or juicy for you, place slices on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes on each side. Ne careful not to over bake the seitan — you want it slightly firmer but not dried out and hard.

4. For “carnitas” slap seitan into whole wheat tortillas with lettuce and tomatoes, and spoon residual cooking liquid over the filling.

Whisk vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 2 tsp onion powder and 1 tsp garlic powder together in a bowl and set aside

Combine warm water (hot from the tap) with soy sauce, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp vegemite (or marmite or vegan Worcestershire sauce), 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp onion powder together

Pour liquid into flour mixture and stir to form a dough

Knead dough 5-10 times

Place in pan, pour beer over it, bring to boil, add 1/2 tsp more vegemite, boil 45 or until done

Done

Slice with butter knife

Ready to assemble carnitas!

Spinach, grape tomatoes, Follow Your Heart Vegan Nacho Cheese (shredded), homemade guacamole and Habanero Sauce on top!

YUMMY!!!

In case you don't know what Vegemite looks like...

Fat Free Smoky ‘Cheeze’ Spread

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I’ve been wanting to make this for a while now so yesterday I finally did it! SO glad I did because this is really good! I ordered a pound of lima beans from NutsOnline.com just for this recipe, in addition to my regular order (love that site!). I sent a container of this spread to work with my hubby for his veggies sandwiches, he loves it! I toasted a piece of Ezekiel bread, spread this over it, topped with leftover Chipotle corn salsa and broiled for a few minutes. YUMMY!

Fat Free Smoky 'Cheeze

I made the beans in my pressure cooker after soaking them overnight – a definite learning curve because the manual didn’t say how long to cook them so my first batch was pulverized! My daughter likes to snack on lima beans, so I learned today when I threw some in a cup for her snack, just to see what she would do. Yay for new healthy toddler snacks!!

This recipe is from Melomeals, my favorite food blogger!(as I’m sure you know by now!)

Fat Free Smoky Cheese Spread

  • 2 cups (preferably warm) large lima beans
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 small red or orange pepper – I used a Habanero pepper and removed the seeds
  • 1 cup sauerkraut, drained of liquid (reserve liquid)
  • 2-4 tablespoons light miso – I used about 2 1/2 Tbsp
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1/2 tablespoon chipotle powder
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 2-4 tablespoons brine from green olives (or sauerkraut liquid) as needed to thin mixture – I used about 3 Tbsp
  • Salt/pepper to taste
  1. In a food processor, process garlic first, then add the pepper.
  2. Puree completely, then add the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Let mixture sit for an hour or so, then taste and adjust seasonings.

Yummy!

Spread this on toasted Ezekiel bread, topped with leftover corn salsa from Chipotle and broiled. YUMMY!