Quinoa & Black Bean Lettuce Wraps

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If you like quinoa, you might want to make these lettuce wraps today for lunch. A few weeks ago, I made quinoa porridge, and that was the first time I experimented with quinoa in a sweet recipe. But this is one of my new favorite savory quinoa recipes.

My friend Liz and I came up with this recipe at work a few weeks ago. We created it for an elementary school nutrition class. We tried out two versions – this one and an Asian flavored one (more gingery with soy sauce and sesame oil). We liked both, but we decided to serve this one. Most of the kids liked it, although some were freaked out by the word, quinoa.

Lettuce Wraps with Quinoa, Black Beans, and Avocado

Ingredients

• ½ cup chopped raw onion
• 1 red or yellow pepper (washed, seeded, and diced)
• ½ can black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 cup quinoa (dry and cooked according to package)
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 avocado, diced
• Frank’s Red Hot (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• Bibb lettuce

Directions

1. Cook quinoa according to directions on package.
2. Prepare onion and red pepper.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients above (except for lettuce leafs).
4. Once the mixture is combined, spread ¼ cup of the mixture onto each lettuce leaf and wrap/fold over like a taco shell.
5. Enjoy as a snack or a quick lunch!

Overall, I would say it was a success because we didn’t have any leftovers and we didn’t get any thrown at us. Just once in my life, I would like to see someone throw a rotten cabbage….not at me of course, and not to harm anyone. Just for fun. Now that I think of it, cabbage leafs would make a very sturdy alternative to lettuce leafs in this recipe. See what happens when you let your mind wander?

Black Bean Soup from Happy Herbivore

• Okay this recipe is seriously SO easy and it tastes reallyyyyy good.

The cast:

• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup salsa
• 1½ cups vegetable broth
• ½ tsp cumin
• a dash of hot sauce
• 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

Step 1: Put 1 cup of the can of black beans (not the whole thing), cumin, vegetable broth, and salsa in a blender and blend up nice and good.

Step 2: Pour the stuff in the blender into a pot to warm on the stove. Also add the corn, the rest of the black beans, and a dash or two of the hot sauce. Warm it up until it's at the temperature you like to eat your soups and enjoy! 

It's really good with tortilla chips and I think that we're even going to take our leftovers and put it on baked potatoes for Sunday dinner tomorrow. 

Here's a link:

http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/salsa-soup/

Chickpea and Corn Chili

Made this last night: http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/chickpea-and-corn-chili/

...and loved it! The flavors are really good, the beans are really good, it's filling, and it made me happy. :-) It's also pretty easy to make, you just throw stuff in the pot and let it simmer for an hour and then add a few more things. Do it, you won't regret it!

Baked French Fries & Ketchup by Cathy Fisher Serves 4 Instructions: Ketchup: 1 6-ounce can no-salt-added tomato paste 1 half of an apple diced (with or without skin) 1/3 cup water 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder 1⁄4 teaspoon dried oregano Baked French Fries 3-4 potatoes washed and unpeeled; any variety (russet, Yukon Gold, sweet potato, or yam), cut into 1⁄4-inch x 1⁄4-inch lengths Ketchup: Combine all ingredients in a blender or Vitamix until smooth. Preparation: 5 minutes; makes: 1 cup Fries: Place cut potatoes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Take out and flip the fries over and bake for another 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown and puffed up. Serve immediately with ketchup or mustard. Preparation: 10 minutes; cooking time: 30 minutes; serves: 4 Notes: For the ketchup: 1/3 cup apple juice may be substituted for the apple and water. / 1 tablespoon vinegar may be substituted for the lemon juice. / For the fries: add some flavor by placing the cut potatoes into a plastic bag with 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder (or dried herb/spice of your choice) and shaking to coat the potatoes before baking. I haven't tried this yet, but it came from the Forks over Knives website and I know how we all like fries---it just looked interesting to me. If someone tries it and doesn't like it, just delete it--we probably ought to have a policy of trying it before posting it---then we know they will always be something we love---taking out the guesswork!

Mighty Muffins for Mother’s Day By Rip Esselstyn | Posted on May 11, 2012 Makes 6 large muffins or 1 enormous loaf Ingredients: • 3 cups oat bran
 • 1 teaspoon baking powder
 • 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
 • 4 tablespoons sweetener
 • Juice of 1 lemon
 • 1 large apple, grated
 • 6 brown bananas, lightly mashed (leave some chunks) 
 • 1⁄4 cup walnuts, chopped or halved
 • 1⁄4 cup raisins
 • 3⁄4 cup water Instructions: Preheat oven to 375F. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lemon onto the combined apple and bananas. Add walnuts, raisins, and water. Combine the wet and dry ingredients into one bowl. Pour into sprayed muffin tins and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown on top. I have tried these---I really liked them and so did Cameron---but Sarah didn't much care for the consistency, it isn't like a flour muffin!

Black Bean Enchiladas

Here is the ingredients that Melissa used to make the Black Bean Enchiladas! They were super yummy and very filling!  Cut out the cheese if you want it to be 100% vegan! YUM!

Ingredients:

1 carton of Mushrooms

2 Cans of Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

1 onion chopped

1 green pepper (cut into thin strips)

1 small can of green chilis

Enchilada Sauce (recipe below)

Low Moisture Mozzarella Cheese

5-6 Whole Wheat Tortillas

Directions:
1) Chop mushrooms to desired size. (I cut mine pretty small for the kiddos) Heat a tiny bit of oil in pan and add mushrooms. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add beans and cook 4-5 more minutes until liquid is almost gone.
2) In second saute pan heat tiny bit of oil. Cook Diced Onion, and green pepper. Cook until soft, add green chilis and cook for a couple more minutes.
3) Place a little bit of sauce in bottom of casserole dish. Take a dish plate and ladle a little sauce on it. Dip both sides of tortilla in sauce. Place bean mixture and pepper mixture in tortilla. Top with a little cheese and roll. Place in casserole dish. Continue with all the tortilla's.
4) Top with a little more cheese if desired and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
ENJOY!

Enchilada Sauce:

(adapted from vita mix cookbook)

2 C Chicken/Veggie Broth

1 Tbl of Olive Oil

1 Tbl Red Wine Vinegar

1 Roma Tomato, halved

1/2-1 Can of Tomato Paste (taste sauce to see how much you want)

1 Garlic Clove

1/4 tsp Dried Oregano

1/4 tsp Cumin

1/8-1/4 C Chili Powder (depending on how hot you want it)

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour

Blend all ingredients. If you have a vitamix turn on high for about 6 minutes until steam is coming out of lid. Slow speed and watch it until it thickens. Add a little cornstarch if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Serve with Low Fat Greek Yogurt! That made it the best!!

ENJOY!

Sweet Potato Veggie Lasagna

Here is a link to what is supposedly Rip Esselstyn's (one of the main guys in Forks Over Knives) lasagna: Sweet Potato Veggie Lasagna

I made it last night and it was really good! Jayce thought so too--you know that's a plus! I had a hard time finding tofu and in the end just decided to do it without it, so feel free to do the same. I also halfed the recipe and put it in an 8x8 pyrex. I still had a ton of the veggie mix left over that wouldn't fit into the dish, so I froze it for next time. I don't know what kind of a casserole dish Rip uses, but mine could only hold so much! I know it seems weird to put in sweet potatoes and cashews, but it tasted great! Also, don't stiff the mushrooms, I decided to give them a chance and was glad I did! I highly recommend it, but it is a little more time consuming of a meal.

Video

Hey, I thought you ladies might find this interesting/fun. It is probably pretty biased, but I thought it was neat!

http://youtu.be/2zVxA6yipv4