Vegan Kale & Cream Pasta

Looking for a fun way to introduce kale into your meal? Try this sautéed kale, tomato, onion, and garlic pasta in a vegan cream sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 servings of spaghetti noodles

• handful of grape tomatoes, halved

• chopped fresh kale (about 1 large leaf, or whatever amount you want)

• 1/2 cup of diced onion

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 2 tbsp vegan butter

• 1/2 cup almond milk

• 1/3 cup almond flour

• 1/3 nutritional yeast

• salt and pepper to taste

LET'S COOK

1. First, boil some salted water in a saucepan and cook the spaghetti noodles of your choice. Once done, drain and set aside.

2. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add a little oil and add the onions, chopped tomatoes, and chopped kale.

3. Turn heat to low, cover, and let sauté, stirring occasionally. You'll want the kale to wilt and get softer.

4. While that sautés, start the sauce by heating a saucepan over medium heat.

5. Add the butter and let it melt. Start whisking in the flour, then pour in the milk.

6. Whisk in the nutritional yeast. It will start to thicken some, so stir occasionally for a minute or two.

7. In the meantime, add your garlic to the kale, tomatoes, and onions.

8. Pour your sauce into the pan with the kale mix. Stir and let cook for a minute.

9. Turn the heat off and toss in your noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste.

#veganfood #veganmeal #vegandinner #veganpasta #plantbased #plantbasedfood #plantbasedmeal #dairyfree #meatfree #veganrecipe #veganblog #katskulture

Seitan Reuben Sandwich

Here's a vegan spin on a little treat I like to have for St. Patrick's Day*.

*I had plans to make a bunch of veganized Irish food, until everyone raided the grocery stores and started to quarantine, so the rest may be delayed based on what I can get my hands on.

OK GUYS - this was my first time ever making homemade seitan, so be kind, I am still learning. And let's be real, I do NOT remember what corned beef tastes like whatsoever, so I am using "vegan corned beef" very lightly. I took inspiration from different recipes I found on the internet and went with it.

I think what really made this great was using homemade vegan Worcestershire sauce (which traditionally contains fish), using apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, and dijon mustard, simmered on low heat for just a few minutes. Seriously, while my seitan was cooking, it smelled exactly how I remember my mom cooking up some sort of beef wayyy back in the day when we ate meat - it was pretty bizarre.

What is seitan?

Seitan ("say-tan" or "say-tahn" as I say) is basically wheat gluten and water, which forms a dough that can be seasoned and cooked in many ways to mimic meat. The texture is pretty convincing as a meat substitute. Bread it, grill it, bake it, marinate it, and the list goes on.

Next time a fellow American thinks you're gross for eating seitan, remind them that wheat gluten has been around and used in other cultures for centuries. We're talking since at least the 6th century.

Though seitan is not a complete protein (it lacks lysine), it's still high in protein - you can easily make up for this by adding a complete protein to the meal. It's also lower in carbs, calories, and fat. Not everyone should have seitan however, since it is pure gluten. Anyone with gluten intolerance or celiac disease should avoid seitan. I would say to have it in moderation as well, like most other meat substitutes.

The process of making wheat gluten from wheat flour can take some time. Luckily you can buy vital wheat gluten, which is the powdered form of wheat gluten and can be used to make seitan. I've seen it in the organic/healthy aisle at most local grocery stores, but I bought this bag of Anthony's Premium Vital Wheat Gluten from Amazon. You can also buy already prepared seitan, however I did once and I was not a fan. I really enjoyed making it myself and can't wait to experiment with it more. Next time, I am going to form the dough a bit better because it was very hard for me to make consistent and thin slices.

INGREDIENTS

Seitan Dough

• 1 cup + 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten

• 1 cup water

• 1/4 cup almond flour (I used almond flour because it's what I have on hand - generally I see chickpea flour used in other recipes)

Soaking Broth

• 5 cups of vegetable broth (I used Orrington Farms vegan broth base)

• 1/4 cup red wine

• 1/3 cup soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 3 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

Cooking Sauce

• 1/2 cup onion, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp vegan Worcestershire (up to preference)

• pinch of clove spice

• pinch of allpice

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Reuben Things

• rye bread

• sauerkraut

• dressing (vegan mayo, ketchup, vegan Worcestershire sauce, diced pickles)

LET'S COOK

Make The Seitan

1. In a bowl, add the vital wheat gluten and flour, then add the water and mix to form dough.

2. Move the dough to a flat surface and begin kneading. Make sure to knead for at least 5 minutes. Make sure the dough is springy - you may need to add a bit more vital wheat gluten.

3. Let the dough rest while you prepare the broth. Pour all ingredients into a big pot. Please note that the dough is going to EXPAND, so use a big enough pot.

4. Bring the broth to a boil and reduce heat to a very low simmer.

5. Cut the dough into 3 or 4 pieces to allow them to soak up the broth better and place them in the pot.

6. Let them simmer for about an hour, uncovered.

7. Remove from heat, let the pieces soak and cool off some, then remove and slice away!

You'll be left with a decent amount and can use just some or all to continue on with the next part for the reubens.

Sauce the Seitan

1. In a skillet over medium heat, saute the onions.

2. Prepare the mixture of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and spices in a small bowl.

3. Once onions start to become translucent, add the garlic cloves.

4. After a minute, add your seitan slices. Once they start to get some brown spots flip them over and let the other side cook.

5. Once the slices seem done, pour your sauce mixture over and flip the seitan slices to coat. Remove from heat.

Reubens - ASSEMBLE!

1. In a small bowl, mix a scoop of vegan mayo, a slightly lesser amount of ketchup, a few drops of vegan Worcestershire, and some diced pickles. (Alternately, leave the pickles out and just put a layer of pickles on the sandwich).

2. Take 2 slices of rye bread and spread a thin layer of vegan butter.

3. On a pan over medium heat, toast the rye bread slices.

4. Remove and assemble the sandwich with a layer of seitan, cooked sauerkraut, and the dressing.

Sláinte!

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Sad About SAD

There's a reason the Standard American Diet is called SAD.

The Standard American Diet is high in meat, dairy, eggs, highly processed and refined foods, fried foods, and sugar. Not only does this diet lead to obesity and chronic illness, but some of the leading causes of death in Americans, like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease can be attributed to this SAD diet (and yes, I am saying both the acronym and the word). And sadly, studies show that most Americans are not eating enough fruits, greens, and grains to even reach the minimum recommended amounts.

There's a very interesting history behind how American society got to believing the more meat and dairy you have, the stronger and better off you'll be - and I can tell you very little science was involved. Because if you take a look at some very important nutrition studies, you'll see just how very bad this diet can be for you.

Science LITERALLY tells us to eat less animal products for health and environmental reasons. Yet marketing ads and biased studies backed by lobbyists profiting from the multi-billion dollar industry that is the meat industry, are consistently shoved down our throats. Historically, the meat industry has influenced the USDA's dietary advice $ignificantly (get it? with money?). The meat and dairy corporations have trade and front groups, disguised as the good guys telling us what we want to hear, but really they're just funded by corporations profiting from our SAD way of life. This is why being a smart consumer and checking sources is so important.

Long story short: corporate greed trumps science - people stay uneducated - people eat like shit - people stay sick, overweight, and unhealthy - people look for unhealthy fad diets - cycle repeats.

Before I bust out information based on nutritional studies, let me say that yes I completed my Plant Based Nutrition certification and am studying to become a Nutrition Consultant, but I am not a licensed medical professional and what I say is in no way medical advice. I've just done my research and am spreading the good word of our lord and savior, plants.

What's so sad about SAD?

Everything. But let's break it down.

Meat

• Studies abound saying red meat takes a toll on heart health.

• A recent study says chicken is no better than red meat when it comes to bad cholesterol.

• Processed meats increase cancer risk, and lets face it - all meat is processed.

• I count fish as meat and never understood those that don't. Fish contain contaminants from the shit we dump in our waters. They're also the middle man for omega-3s.

• Many believe you can only get certain nutrients from meat, when the "meat" is getting these nutrients from plants and acting as the middle man.

Processed Foods

What falls in this category? Most items in the grocery store.

• These are packed with preservatives and are often high in sodium, which can cause inflammation and issues with blood pressure, leading to heart disease and stroke.

• Includes the obvious foods like microwave meals, hot dogs, chips, pop, candy, ice cream, cereal, canned foods, frozen dinners, ham, bacon, cheese, milk, yogurt, etc.

• And then there's things with hidden sugars and sodium that you want to avoid.

• Most of these items have no nutritional value.

Eggs

• Studies show an increased risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease with egg consumption.

• Egg whites are a concentrated source of protein, which seems great to most, but many studies show too much protein, as is the SAD way, can actually be bad for you. Most Americans get way more than needed when compared to other healthy and plant heavy diets around the world.

• Eggs are high in cholesterol. We've all heard that eggs are good for cholesterol, but a recent study shows that eggs can increase risk for cardiovascular disease.

Dairy

I shouldn't have to explain why humans should not be consuming the milk of another species (gag).

• Dairy is high in saturated fat and has been linked to so many issues - heart disease, cancers like prostate and breast, type 2 diabetes, etc.

• Studies are finding that milk may not benefit bone health the way we were all lead to believe.

• And those vitamins in milk? They're added.

• Diseases are rampant when cows are forcefully impregnated for milk and living in trashy conditions on factory farms.

• Cows are pumped with antibiotics and this can cause issues in humans, such as antibiotic resistant bacteria.

• Cheese is high in fat and processed cheeses are packed with ingredients and preservatives to extend shelf life. This is the stuff that can lead to heart issues and high blood pressure. And no it isn't just Kraft singles - it's your bags of shredded cheeses and prepackaged slices you grab out of the cooler at the grocery store.

• Many yogurts and other dairy items are loaded with sugars and highly processed.

Sugars

• Cavities, diabetes, depression, obesity, heart disease, blood pressure, inflammation, liver disease, cancer.

• The problem with sugar is it can be hiding in many things under many names.

• Always check your sugar content and ingredient list, and avoid processed sugars like high fructose corn syrup.

The Answer to SAD?

The answer is a plant based diet. People can no longer argue (even though they do, and to the absolute death) that the meat industry is destroying our bodies and planet. Mass meat production is contributing to global warming at an alarming rate. Studies show meat and dairy increase risk for so many diseases. Countless studies have shown that a plant based diet has reversed disease and chronic illness in many people. The answer is literally in vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, and fruits.

Giving up the SAD doesn't mean you have to give up some of the staples of this diet, like a burger and fries. Meet this bad boy:

Hi, I'm plants.

You can see my post about this burger here.

This is the Perfect Burger by Dr. Praeger.

• 20g of protein

• 230 Calories in one patty

• Low sodium

• No cholesterol

• 8g of carbs

• gluten free

• soy free

• non GMO

And here's the best part - you can actually read and understand the ingredients (taking away most of the argument against processed plant based foods):

• Hydrated Pea Protein Blend (Water, Pea Protein), Sunflower Oil, Beets, Natural Flavors, Sweet Potato Puree, Butternut Squash Puree, Carrot Puree, Methyl Cellulose, Oat Fiber, Fruit And Vegetable Juice (For Color), Sea Salt, Onion Powder

People can still enjoy the familiar flavors of the comfort foods many have grown up with on a Standard American Diet, while improving their health and the environment, and to me, that is an absolute win-win.

#vegan #veganblog #veganfood #vegannutrition #plantbased #plantbasednutrition #plantbasedblog #plantpowered #poweredbyplants #dairyfree #meatfree #crueltyfree #veganhealth