Category Archives: Wraps & Sandwiches

Kale Butter

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This is for all you kale “cult members” out there! There seems to be two kinds of people when it comes to kale – those who have no idea what it is and those who are obsessed with it. I don’t have much experience in between the two, only one or the other. We eat kale almost everyday so I suppose that puts us in the “cult member” category.

I found this recipe in the Engine 2 Diet book. It’s really good on crackers, pasta, veggies and sandwiches/wraps. I smear this on my toddler’s sandwiches with white beans and soy cheese and she devours it!

Ingredients:

* 1 bunch kale, rinsed and chopped (I use black/lacinato kale – use stems too)

* 1/2 cup walnuts

* 1/2 cup water – (use water leftover from steaming kale!)

* Salt, to taste

Directions:

– Steam the kale for 5 minutes, until tender

– Blend the cooked kale with the walnuts and 1/2 cup of the green water from steaming. Blend until smooth.

– Add salt to taste, if desired

My toddler LOVES this! Can you tell?

 

Chickpea Flatbread (Gluten-Free)

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These are really healthy, easy to make, delicious and can be used in many ways. The batter can be made into flatbread for pizza, wraps or a thick soft tostada type base (minus the fried crunch)… almost anything, really! I’ve also toasted them under the broiler with garlic and cilantro and served them with soup. They are made with chickpea flour which makes them low-fat, high in protein, many vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fiber. Chickpea flour is also called besan, garbanzo bean flour or gram flour.

I made a thicker batch of these last night and used them as tostadas topped with leftover TVP Taco filling, smothered in the most delicious Chipotle Dressing/Sauce ever! I know, you’ve seen a lot of this mixture but it makes excellent leftovers!

I use this Organic Chickpea Flour  – You can buy it on Amazon.com for a great price! (2 – 35oz packages for $14.62/Free Shipping)

This recipe is from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day, one of my favorite sites!!

Chickpea Flatbread

1 c Chickpea Flour
1 C Water – (I’ve found that I get a thicker “dough” if I use 1 cup so I use that amount to make the soft tostada style. I add more water for the flatbread/wrap size)
1/2 t Garlic Powder
2 T Nutritional Yeast
1/2 t Tony’s Cajun Seasoning – (I’ve used this and other spice combinations and they always turn out great!)

This is my favorite seasoning to use – Susie Q’s Santa Maria Style Seasoning – I add a bit more than 1/2 tsp to make it a little stronger.

Method:
Heat a 12 inch non stick skillet over medium heat and brush with oil
Whisk the ingredients in a mixing bowl until most of the lumps are gone. Ladle into skillet. Leave it alone for 3-4 minutes or until the sides start to pull away from the pan. Flip and cook for another minute
Yield: 3 Flatbread

My Soft Tostada Style

Ready for toppings!

Larger size

Easy Seitan (the other “wheat meat”)

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What is Seitan, you ask? It’s made from wheat but has little in common with flour or bread. Some call it “wheat meat”, “wheat gluten” or simply “gluten”. Seitan is surprisingly similar to the look and texture of meat when cooked, making it a popular meat substitute. Seitan is also high in protein, making it a great choice for those who do not eat meat yet want something to put Finger Lickin’ Good BBQ Sauce on! I make Seitan into “chicken” wings and nuggets, ribz, pulled pork-type sandwiches, meatloaf and a few other things. It can be boiled or steamed – this recipe is boiled, it’s the easiest one I’ve found and takes the least amount of time.

This recipe is from Post Punk Kitchen, one of my all-time favs! I serve this right out of the pot with Finger Lickin’ Good BBQ Sauce or I slice it and mix it with the same sauce for sandwiches. I know it may not look like what you’re used to but it’s really good!

* Homemade Seitan

1 cup vital wheat gluten flour
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 cup cold vegetable broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or grated on a microplane grater

For the simmering broth: 
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce

Fill a stock pot with the water, broth and soy sauce, cover and bring to a boil.

In the mean time, in a large bowl mix together gluten and yeast.  In a smaller bowl mix together broth, soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Pour the wet into the dry and combine with a wooden spoon until most of the moisture has absorbed and partially clumped up with the dry ingredients. Use your hands and knead for about 3 minutes, until it’s an elastic dough. Divide into 3 equal pieces with a knife and then knead those pieces in your hand just to stretch them out a bit. Let rest until the broth has come to a full boil.

Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer. Add the gluten pieces and partially cover pot so that steam can escape. Let simmer for 45 minutes, turning occasionally. Turn the heat off and take the lid off, let sit for 15 minutes.

Remove from broth and place in a strainer until it is cool enough to handle. Slice and use as desired.

Chipotle Hummus

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I love chipotle chili powder! I like to sprinkle it on my popcorn with wheat germ and a little salt. Anytime I see a recipe with chipotle in it I have to try it. This Chipotle Hummus is from one of my favorite vegan food blogs Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day. She has really delicious recipes and she teaches you how to eat healthy for really cheap by making a few base sauces and using them for other recipes. I pressure cooked a pound of chickpeas (cost me about $1.50) and I used half of them to make this delicious hummus.

My husband loves this hummus! He puts it on sandwiches, tacos and eats it with chips or crackers. I like it with jicama and lime juice or pita chips.

I used a batch of this hummus to make Cheezy Chipotle Broccoli Quinoa Soup (also from Melomeals) which turned out to be an absolutely delicious soup! Tastes like a cheesy broccoli soup with a little chipotle kick! My husband had two bowls and asked if I would save the leftovers for him!

Chipotle Hummus

  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 1 t Tony’s creole seasoning
  • ¼ t cumin
  • ¼ t coriander
  • 2 c HOT chickpeas (reserve ½ c cooking liquid)
  • 1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 4 T tahini or peanut butter (I used tahini)
  • 2-4 T chickpea cooking liquid as needed or Olive Oil if you aren’t watching  your calories
  • Juice of 2 limes ( around 3 T )
  • ¼ c chopped cilantro (optional)
  • Salt/pepper to taste

Method:

* I blended all the ingredients at once in my VitaMix blender and it turned out great!

* If you don’t have a VitaMix, here’s her food processor instructions:

  1. Pulse garlic and tony’s in food processor until garlic paste is formed
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until totally smooth
  3. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more lime juice if needed.

Bread Machine Pesto Bread

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I’m not afraid of carbs and I enjoy fresh bread from my bread machine every now and then. I made this for the first time tonight and it was really good!

Bread Machine - Pesto Bread

For a 2lb loaf:

Add ingredients, in order listed.

*  1 1/4 cups water, room temperature

* 2 Tbsp olive oil

* 1/3 cup pesto (I make mine with avocado instead of cheese)

* 1 tsp sea salt

* 4 2/3 cups bread flour

* 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar

* 2 tsp yeast – active dry, instant or bread machine

Cook on Bread/White cycle until machine is done!

My New Obsession… Collard Green Wraps!

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I love collard greens almost as much as I love kale. They are awesome for making wraps, I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of stuffings for my daily collard wraps. Right now I’m into my Tempeh Salad mixture, similar to a chicken or tuna salad but without the chicken or fish.

Tempeh Salad Mixture – for sandwiches or wraps

* I cut up 2-8oz blocks of Tempeh (Trader Joe’s Organic Tempeh) into cubes and boil them for about 20 minutes in salted water.

Tempeh Salad Mixture

* I drain these cubes and let them cool a bit. Then I mash them with a potato masher until crumbly

* I add (eyeballing along the way) Veganaise (vegan mayo) – about 1/4 to 1/2 cup

* Green onions, minced – about 6

* Half of a red or yellow bell pepper, diced

* 4 stalks of celery, diced

* About 3-4 Tbsp pickle relish

* 1-2 Tbsp each dijon mustard and spicy brown mustard

* 1 tsp garlic powder

* 2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes or fresh parsley

* Juice of half a lemon or more to taste

* Salt & Pepper to taste

** Add it all together, mix well and let sit in refrigerator for at least an hour. Overnight is best, if you can wait that long!

– My hubby and daughter like this between two pieces of toasted wheat bread with sprouts and avocado on top. We keep this in the fridge at all times, I make a batch of it about once a week. This is one of my husbands favorite things to take to the station.

I like to take a large collard green leaf, wash it, dry it and cut off the bottom part of the stem and slice the stem flat on the veiny side of the leaf.

I slather a bunch of Kale Spread on the bottom, slap a sandwich sized amount of the Tempeh Salad Mixture on top of that followed by Daikon Sprouts, Avocado and a little Salt & Pepper. After I finished rolling the green wrap I realized I forgot bean sprouts! I’ll add that next time as well as some leftover blanched asparagus!

Collard Wraps with Tempeh Filling

I’ve noticed that the leaves roll better after sitting in the fridge for a couple days. I’ve been making a few of these at a time, wrapping them in plastic wrap and storing them in the fridge for lunches or snacks on the go.

YUMMY!!!!