recipes Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Compassionate Women

Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

November 20, 2014 by Jillian Leave a Comment

I love alfredo sauce. I love it too much. I’d put it on everything if it was socially acceptable. Unfortunately, not only is it heart attack in sauce form, but because of the massive amounts of dairy it contains, alfredo sauce is a very cruel food choice. If you aren’t already aware, the dairy industry is one of the most horrific and abusive places for an animal to be. Plus, dairy is very unhealthy for humans to consume. It’s an inflammatory, which is why our bodies aren’t made to consume it, and therefore causes a myriad of health issues including cancer and heart disease.

But wait! There’s hope for all you compassionate, alfredo-sauce-loving people out there. A brilliant woman named Lindsay over at Pinch Of Yum created a plant-based version of this creamy sauce. She even created an eCookbook dedicated to creamy cauliflower sauce recipes! To clarify, Lindsay’s recipe does call for 2 tbsp of butter and 1/2 a cup of milk, but I loved the idea of using a vegetable as the base instead of dairy, so I decided to completely veganize it! And it’s super easy!

First things first, let’s briefly discuss the benefits of eating cauliflower:

It contains sulforaphane, a sulfur compound that has been shown to kill cancer stem cells.
Sulforaphane also improves blood pressure and kidney function.
Cauliflower contains nutrients that help prevent inflammatory responses in the body (inflammation causes disease).
One serving of cauliflower contains 77% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C.
It’s also a good source of vitamin K, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, fiber, vitamin B6, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, and manganese.
It contains choline, which supports healthy brain development.
Cauliflower aids your body’s ability to detox.
The fiber promotes a healthy digestive system, and the sulforaphane protects the lining of the stomach and also prevents bacterial overgrowth in the stomach.
It’s packed with antioxidants.

Wow! This cruciferous veggie is quite the superfood, am I right? And enjoying it in a creamy sauce form makes it even more awesome. Let’s get started!

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Vegan & Gluten Free Banana Nut Scones

September 23, 2014 by Jillian Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t love a good scone? That’s one thing I missed when I switched over to a gluten free, vegan lifestyle. There was a bakery in Austin that had the most amazing chocolate chip scones and I miss them, but now that I have a foundation for plant-based scones, the possibilities are endless! I originally found this amazing recipe on CookieandKate.com and it was so delicious looking (and easy) that I had to try it. The scones came out great! I’ve tweaked the recipe so that’s it gluten free and vegan (original is not gluten free), added one minor ingredient, a couple of other small changes and bam! – scones that are yummy, healthy, and cruelty-free. I’ve made this recipe so many times – I’ve tried it in scone form, muffin form, and full on cake form. I have to say the scones are still my favorite.

First things first, toasting the pecans. It calls to toast them in the oven on parchment paper, but of course I never have parchment paper (sigh…) so instead I used coconut oil spray on the baking sheet and it worked perfectly. After 3 minutes, pull them out of the oven and chop them up. I don’t get too focused on chopping them finely, otherwise my OCD will kick in and it will take me an hour just to chop the pecans.

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Vegan Mexican Taco Salad

September 3, 2014 by Jillian 3 Comments

So I was going to write a post about something else this week but I’ve been thinking about food so much lately, that I couldn’t help but post another recipe! Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. When I walked into my kitchen the other night, starving, there was barely anything decent to be found. I had some leftover black beans in the fridge and that got me thinking about what I could whip up with them. I ended up creating a tofu crumble reminiscent of ground beef or turkey, with sauteed onions, the black beans, and salad fixings. And it was so, so good! It took twenty minutes at the most and filled me up without leaving me feeling heavy. Ready for this super simple, quick, nutritious meal?!

This recipe starts out very white, but don’t fear, it ends up very colorful! I cut up some thick slices of white onion and put them in a pan with a splash of olive oil on medium heat. I let those sizzle for a couple of minutes. Take any kind of tofu you like. I used the Trader Joe’s Organic Sprouted Tofu Extra Firm, it works the best for crumbling and having a ground meat consistency. This particular brand is in the refrigerated section. Use your hands to crumble it into the pan and give everything a quick stir. You can turn the heat down to low or med-low.

Next I added seasonings: Cumin, chili powder, and paprika. I wait to add the salt and pepper until all the ingredients are in the pan. It’s easier for me to see how much S&P I need when everything is mixed together, but do whatever works for you.

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Steel Cut Oats Breakfast Cereal & Coconut Whipped Cream

July 21, 2014 by Jillian Leave a Comment

Welcome compassionate women (and men)! This is my first post on the blog and I thought I’d start with a recipe because I love to cook, and more importantly, I love to eat. Some people claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should never be skipped. I’ve heard other nutritionists say that if you aren’t hungry in the morning, don’t force yourself to eat. I can see both sides, but me personally, I’m usually starving when I wake up. And sometimes finding a vegan and gluten free breakfast that is filling can be difficult.

Why vegan? Because animal protein causes a wide array of serious health issues and equally as important, animals must suffer for us to consume it. Why gluten free? Because gluten is a silent killer. It’s a substance that when consumed on a regular basis and over time, causes just as many health problems as animal protein. Gluten and animal protein are both inflammatory. When you’re body becomes inflamed, it causes everything from cancer to heart disease to diabetes to IBS to acne to everything in between to arise. It’s pretty crazy. The good news is, I have a healthy and delicious breakfast recipe to share with you all. There’s no animal protein and there’s no gluten. Just yummy, insanely nutritious plant based food. Plus, it’s quick and easy. Ready? Let’s get started!

One of the first foods I discovered several ago when I first decided to go vegan and gluten free was steel cut oats. They’ve been described as a tastier, heartier version of oatmeal. I’ve never been a fan of oatmeal, but I was hearing such rave reviews about steel cuts oats that I decided to give them a try. You can buy them in bulk at pretty much any natural foods store, as wells as bigger chains like Whole Foods and Central Market. I used to buy them at Austin’s largest grocery store chain HEB. They are stinkin’ cheap too. I eat steel cut oats practically every morning, and a month’s supply costs me less than $5. In fact, it probably cost me about $3. Can’t beat that. When I’m feeling organized, I like to transfer them from the plastic bag you put them in at the store to a mason jar, and then I store it in the fridge to improve freshness.

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