Who would have thought that there would be so many variations for basic vegan mashed potatoes? Oh, but there is! I searched far and wide and came up with the following delicious recipes for basic vegan mashed potatoes. All the recipes have fewer than 10 ingredients (woohoo!) and are made with whole foods. I’ve separated the recipes from those of the traditional style of mashed potatoes (i.e. mostly potatoes) from those with a fun twist (see below for recipes with cauliflower and navy beans).
I’ve indicated whether the recipes are the following:
✓ Gluten free
✓ Grain free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free
If you don’t see a certain condition noted, you can assume that it doesn’t fulfill it’s criteria. None of the recipes are raw and, as the name suggests, none of them are nightshade free as they all require potatoes. (I usually indicate on my posts whether recipes are raw and nightshade free).
Why this makes the cut: Disclaimer: this my creation. 🙂 I wanted mashed potatoes and I had almond milk. I couldn’t find a vegan mashed potato recipe that called for almond milk so I created one myself. It was really yummy! See how to veganize this recipe with the instructions above.
Why this makes the cut: I love that the main ingredients in these mashed potatoes are eggplant, cauliflower and cashews! It sounds absolutely delectable!
I call this one the best vegan gravy ever recipe. Why “the best gravy recipe ever”, you ask? I searched for the cleanest vegan gravy recipes online that I came across many on different blogs. I picked out the ones that were (mostly) made from whole foods, with ingredients you would likely find in your pantry. I also curated the recipes based on some dietary restrictions.
I’ve indicated whether the recipes are the following:
✓ Gluten free
✓ Grain free
✓ Vegan
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free
✓ Sugar free
✓ Raw
✓ Nightshade free
If you don’t see a certain condition noted, you can assume that it doesn’t fulfill it’s criteria.
I’ve separated the vegan gravy recipes between those recipes that use mushrooms and those that don’t (some people love mushrooms while others don’t 🙂 ) . Do let me know what you think of my list and what improvements can be made. 🙂
I’m surprised I did a post on the best vegan lentil loaf recipe. To be honest, I never cared much for normal meatloaf growing up. I probably have had meatloaf only once in my life, and didn’t like it very much. The only thing I did like about meatloaf was the sauce or the gravy that accompanied it.
Fast forward about 20 years and I was craving that gravy. What can I eat with gravy, I thought. Well, being on a (mostly) anti-inflammatory diet I can’t have meatloaf or potatoes but what I can have is a lentil loaf. Aha! Brilliant! Well done Kiran. 🙂
And so, I was on the search for the best lentil loaf recipe. My friend Fatima was coming over for dinner and I need a recipe that would not disappoint.
I searched for a really long time for the best vegan lentil loaf recipe. In searching for the best vegan lentil loaf recipe I also came across of many vegan loafs that were made without lentils. I did a separate post on these non-lentil loafs recipes that you can find on my blog post for the best vegan meatloaf recipe.
I hunted for lentil loaf recipes that were clean, made with whole food ingredients, along with being easy to make and delicious. I tried to search for unique recipes that would cater to everyone’s unique dietary needs and preferences (God knows, I have my share of them!).
Let me know what you think of my curation for the best vegan lentil loaf recipe. Have I missed any lentil loafs that you think I should include? Let me know in the comments below. 🙂
Why this makes the cut: Full disclosure, this is my recipe creation. 🙂 This is the only nightshade free lentil loaf (this is the reason I created it) topped with a vegan mushroom gravy.
This post for the best vegan meatloaf recipe is similar to my post on the best vegan lentil loaf recipe. The difference is that the recipes found in this post are without lentils while the lentil loaf is made with lentils, as the name suggests. 🙂
For me, sometimes my gut is okay with lentils and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes my gut’s okay with beans and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes my gut’s okay with tempeh and sometimes it’s not. You get the drift. 😉
I originally was going to combine the lentil loaf recipes with this post on the best vegan meatloaf recipe but ended up with 14 recipes in total! I tried to cut some recipes out but they were but it was really hard. They all seemed unique, delicious and worthy of making the cut. In the end, I decided to do two separate posts, one for the best vegan meatloaf recipe and one for the best lentil loaf recipes.
Sorry for the long explanation, I was probably trying to justify separating the lists more to me than you to you. 😛
Anyway, see my curated list below best vegan meatloaf recipe. 🙂
Between this post and the post on the best lentil loaf recipe you should find a vegan loaf to fit all of your needs. Do let me know if there you are further limited in your diet and I will see if I can come up with one that fits your needs as well.
Baked stuffed acorn squash vegetarian, one of my personal favourites!
I love Fall, it is my third favourite season, after summer and spring. 🙂 Seriously though, Fall is amazing. I’ve lived in a few different parts of the world, and a couple of different provinces in Canada. What I’ve learned is that there are only a few places that that have a complete and beautiful fall. Fall is great because the weather is cold enough that you can wear a scarf (and who doesn’t love wearing scarfs?) but just warm enough that you can have a coffee (or in my case, a green tea) on a patio. The colours are absolutely breath-taking with bright reds, golden yellows, radiating oranges and sometimes even crimson purples. 🙂
Ever wondered why leaves change colour in Fall? Me too! This is why while writing this blog post I decided to call my genius 11 year old nephew, Faisal.
Here was our conversation:
Me: Hi Faisal, how’s it going?
Faisal: Good.
Me: I have a question for you, why do leaves change colour in Fall?
Faisal: Its because not enough chlorophyll gets through to the leaves and the other colour pigments take over.
Me: Why doesn’t enough chlorophyll get through?
Faisal: Because the days are shorter and there’s less sun.
Me: Oh, okay, that makes sense. Thanks Faisal!
Faisal: Okay bye!
Me: Bye!
My nephew Faisal is actually the smartest person I know!
So now you know why leaves change colour in the Fall. 🙂
Well, thank you chlorophyll for taking a backseat for a few months so that we can enjoy all the beauty that Fall has to offer. The beautiful changing leaf colours are my favourite thing about Fall. You want to know what my second favourite thing is? Acorn squash (see how I brought it back to the original theme of the blog post without you even noticing? Bam!). 🙂
Acorn squash is so cool! It actually looks like an acorn! Do you know of any other fruits that look like something that falls from a tree? I don’t!
Aside: I also learnt while writing this blog post that squash is a fruit and not a vegetable. Other sneaky vegetable lookalikes that are also fruit include avocado, pea pods, corn kernels, cucumbers, olives, peppers, pumpkin, and tomatoes.
Along with being a vegetable look-alike, acorn squash is also a good source of fiber and potassium, and has small amounts of vitamin B, C and magnesium.
Who would’ve thought this blog post would be so educational? I certainly didn’t when I started writing this post. 🙂
Though my love for acorn squash is all year round, it definitely intensifies in the winter.
My friend Zehra was coming over dinner and I knew I wanted to make something with acorn squash. After doing some quick googling, I decided to make a stuffed acorn squash as I’m a sucker for foods that can be used as bowls. 😛 Zehra is also a vegetarian (and has actually turned vegan, you go girl!) and so I was on a hunt for a baked stuffed acorn squash vegetarian recipe. Though in the end I decided to come up with my own recipe (a warm quinoa salad with roasted butternut squash), I discovered many other delicious recipes that are on my to-make-soon-list.
Here is my curated list for the best recipes for baked acorn squash vegetarian. All of them are made with healthy whole foods with items you are (likely) to find in your kitchen already. They are all vegetarian, as the name implies, with many vegan options that will cater to all diets (I hope!).
You will find many gluten free, grain free, nut free, soy free and sugar free options. Let me know what you think of my baked stuffed acorn squash vegetarian list, and if you find any other recipes that I have missed!
Baked Stuffed Acorn Squash Vegetarian with Quinoa and…
Why this recipe rocks: I’m all over any recipe that uses brussels sprouts and makes it sound amazing. Though this is not an acorn squash, I couldn’t resist sharing the recipe!
Why this recipe rocks: With green chillies, cumin and coriander, I suspect this recipe will have a lovely indian-style flavour. I can’t wait to test it out!
Why this recipe rocks: A simple grain free meal that makes for a great side meal. Or, throw in some protein (beans, lentils, tofu, etc.) to make a complete meal.
Why this recipe rocks: A simple grain free meal with roasted veggies and molasses! A delightful side or add in some protein (beans, lentils, tofu, etc.) to make a complete meal.
In the search for the best vegan pumpkin pie recipe, I looked at many options on different blogs. Though, in the end, I decided to make my own version, I wanted to share those recipes that I had marked “to make soon.” I always like to have different meal options available depending on who I am cooking for. We have many different dietary needs in my family so I have to be very careful. I can have a vegan pumpkin pie made out of tofu, for example, but my nephew cannot. I’ve laid out the best vegan pumpkin pie recipes I came across and their corresponding diet details. Let me know if you find this helpful.
You’ll find recipes that are gluten free, grain free, vegan, soy free, nut free, sugar free and raw. All of the recipes are nightshade free, as well.
The number of ingredients and main items listed are for the pie fillings only and not the crust.
Why this makes the cut: Full disclaimer, this is my recipe. 🙂 I created it because I couldn’t find another pie that was vegan with coconut milk. It came out absolutely delicious.
✓ Gluten free
✓ Grain free
✓ Vegan (*recommends almond or dairy milk)
✓ Soy free
✓ Nut free (*recommends almond or dairy milk)
✓ Raw
Why this makes the cut: If you dig your no bake pies, this one will not disappoint. The recipe recommends almond or dairy milk, so choose whichever you have handy!
I searched far and wide for an amazing gluten free dairy free pie crust. It turns out there’s many of them! I’ve narrowed it down to 10 gluten free dairy free pie crust recipes. I choose those that I thought were cleanest (i.e. recipes made out of whole foods with ingredients that you would have in your pantry), had the fewest ingredients and that seemed the easiest to make.
They all look superb though the only one I have personally tried is Elana’s. I’d love to hear back about which gluten free dairy free pie crust recipe you choose and why 🙂
Why this makes the cut: Protein rich, with chickpea flour, and made with buckwheat flour this crust seems to very similar to “normal” pie crust in it’s texture.
Why this makes the cut: Though not vegan, this is a nut free and grain free crust made with coconut flour (instead of the more commonly used almond flour).
You know what’s better than a whipped cream recipe? A vegan whipped cream recipe. And, you know what’s better than a vegan whipped cream recipe?
Options for easy vegan whipped cream recipes 🙂
I initially started my search for a vegan whipped cream recipe with coconut but didn’t know that there were so many options out there! Coconut is the norm for a vegan whipped cream recipe but I also came across recipes with almonds, cashews and tofu. You should be able to find a vegan whipped cream recipe that caters to your dietary needs / preferences.
Note that the only vegan whipped cream recipe I have tried has been with coconut. That worked well, but I haven’t personally tried the other variations. Let me know how it goes on your end! 🙂
The mung bean salad indian style is so delicious and super quick. The perfect weekday meal with such few ingredients. I’m always looking for fast protein packed meals that are yummy. I basically used the same ingredients for my Quinoa Salad with Cilantro, Tomato, & Cucumber but with an indian twist.
I made this one with mung beans but feel free to use the beans of your choice. I try to use dry beans over canned beans when possible (for the advantages of using dried beans over canned beans see Dry Beans Vs. Canned Beans). The problem with using dry beans though is the soak time. Dry beans usually require 8-12 hours of soak time. I can sometimes bypass at least some of the soak time by using my pressure cooker. I often opt for mung beans as they require less soak time and they better for the tummy (see here for more info). Make sure to not overcook the beans, as even a few minutes too long will cause them to go mushy.
Mung Bean Salad Indian Style | happygut.caMung Bean Salad Indian Style | happygut.ca
Ingredients for Mung Bean Salad Indian Style
2 cups dry mung beans (or another type of beans, can also use 3 cans of beans)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
half a small red onion or 3 green onions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup chopped cucumber
1 avocado, chopped
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
juice from one lemon
1-2 fresh chillies chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Directions for Mung Bean Salad Indian Style
For cooking dry beans: wash beans and soak overnight/8-12 hours (can soak for less time but just know that it will require more cooking time). Place beans in a pot or pressure cooker with 6 cups of water. If using a pressure cooker, cook beans for about 10-15 minutes, checking frequently. If using a regular pot, cook for 40-50 minutes, checking frequently.
Combine cooked or canned beans with the rest of the ingredients.
