Spicy Coconut Lentils and Sunshine

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Jamie

I was craving something warm and hearty after a double workout day and decided on spicy coconut lentils with a little sunshine. I had never tried cooking lentils in coconut milk before and to be honest, I had no idea how it would turn out. I ended up adding a little turmeric, chili powder, and salt to give it a little kick and man, it was good. But it still wasn’t perfect. It still needed a little something more – so decided on some broccoli, oyster mushrooms, and Falafel Sunshine Burger patty.

Sunshine Burgers, Sunshine Burger, vegan burgers, vegan burger, Fit ApproachIngredients:

  • 2 cups lentils, cooked
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp turmeric
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • salt, to taste
  • one cup of broccoli
  • one cup of oyster mushrooms
  • 1 Falafel Sunshine Burger patty, warmed and crumbled
  • Kohlrabi sprouts (or any others you have on hand), to taste

Combine lentils, coconut milk, water, turmeric, chili powder and salt in a medium sauce pan. Bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add the broccoli and mushrooms. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until lentils and veggies are soft. Add in the Sunshine Burger patty and top with your favorite sprouts.

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Going bunless

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Jamie

I’m not much for hamburger buns or bread in general. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a bread hater, I just think it gets in the way of the taste sometimes. One of my fave ways to enjoy Sunshine Burgers is sans bun and topped with a yummy sauce, ketchup or hummus with some avocado. And a side of salad. Amazing.

Sunshine Burgers Fit Approach recipesSpicy Tahini Sauce:

  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp brown rice vinegar
  • organic taco seasoning (to taste)
  • Fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

Mix all ingredients together and spread on your burger or drizzle over salad (or both!)

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The kitchen sink dinner – quinoa with veggies, beans and sunshine!

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Jamie

Sunshine Burgers, Sunshine Burger, Vegan Burger, Fit Approach

It’s been a busy couple of weeks and I honestly haven’t had time to really prep or plan for meals the way I usually do. So last night I pulled together what I like to call a kitchen sink dinner and it turned out pretty yummy.  What are your favorite kitchen sink dinner recipes?

Here’s one of mine!

Ingredients:

  • Quinoa or brown rice, cooked
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Mushrooms, sliced
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • 1 Garden Herb Sunshine Burger patty, warmed and crumbled
  • Fresh rosemary, to taste
  • Dried basil, to taste
  • Dried thyme, to taste
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • Sprouts
  • Tortilla chips (optional)

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add mushrooms, and saute over medium heat until they start to brown. Add tomatoes, rosemary, basil, thyme, salt and pepper and saute for about 5 more minutes or until tomatoes start to soften. Turn the heat down low and add the quinoa and Sunshine Burger patty. Mix everything up, pour it on a plate, add sliced avocado, sprouts and a handful of tortilla chips. Enjoy.

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Asian Inspired Lettuce Wraps

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Jamie

Sunshine Burgers Fit Approach Vega Burgers

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love a good lettuce wrap. I love the crisp and crunch of the lettuce mixed with the warm deliciousness of a veggie filled mixture. And then there’s the sauces – oh, the possibilities!

After a long run on the trails near Pt. Reyes, I decided it was time for some lettuce wraps and noodles. It ended up being the PERFECT way to fuel up after a long, tough run. And the best part was, it was also so very easy to make.

Ingredients:

  • 4 romaine lettuce leaves (other leafy greens will also do!)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 original Sunshine Burger patties, warmed and crumbled
  • 1.5 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa (or a mixture of both)
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • shredded carrot, for garnish
  • 1/4 cucumber sliced
  • For the sauce, you can use a good peanut sauce OR simply mix miso paste, brown rice vinegar, soy sauce, agave nectar and Hoison sauce
  • Sprouts

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Turn down the heat and add the crumbled Sunshine Burger patties and cook for another minute or so. Remove from heat and place mixture on the romaine. Add in the quinoa / brown rice. Top with avocado, slices, shredded carrots, and cucumbers. Add sprouts and drizzle on sauce of your choice.

For the noodles, I simply soaked the rice noodles for about 5 minutes in hot water and mixed in some sauteed asparagus and mushrooms. I added in a very made up sweet and sour type sauce (totally delicious!) which consisted of brown rice vinegar, soy sauce, agave syrup, and a dollop of Hoison Sauce.

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Southwest Kale Salad

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Jamie

One of my go-to recipes when I need something quick and easy is my southwest kale salad. It’s quick, easy, delicious, nutritious and super filling. I usually make a bunch of quinoa at the beginning of each week which makes preparing this delicious salad even easier!

Sunshine Burgers vegan burgers dairy free soy free gluten free

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups shredded kale
  • 3 small carrots, chopped
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 1/2 large avocado, sliced
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 Southwest Sunshine Burger patty, warmed and crumbled
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Tortilla chips (optional)

I usually top this salad with a sweet agave lime dressing but anything you have on hand (and love!) will work too. This salad is extremely versatile. For the salad dressing recipe I love on this salad, click here.

Put kale, carrots, tomato and avocado in a bowl. Set aside. Over medium-low heat, warm the quinoa, black beans, sunshine burger crumbles and olive oil.  Add salt, pepper and chili powder and stir. Heat until warm. Pour mixture over veggies and mix together. Stir in dressing and tortilla chips if you so desire. Serve and enjoy!

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It’s a meatball!

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Jamie

For Father’s Day, I headed out to my parent’s for the usual hot summer day BBQ that involved both delicious homemade (fresh from the juicer) margaritas and tons and tons of food. Since my mom concentrated a bit too much on making desserts and hadn’t prepared any apps, I decided to make some vegan meatballs.

Vegan meatballs fit approach vegan cooking

A perfect appetizer or addition to any pasta dish!

Ingredients:

  • 3 Southwest Sunshine Burger patties, warmed and crumbled
  • 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground red pepper
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 375. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until starts forming into little balls (a few chunks here and there are totally fine!).  Form into little balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are browned. Serve and enjoy!

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Tofu Scramble Breakfast Tacos

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Jamie
Sunshine Burgers Sunny Seed Up

Perfect for a vegan brunch!

After over a week of traveling and living out of a suitcase, it felt nice to be home.  Since it had been awhile since I was in my own kitchen, I decided to stray from my ordinary breakfast routine.  I’ve actually never done a tofu scramble before and was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 10 mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 bell pepper, diced
  • 1 package of extra-firm tofu, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup spinach leaves, rinsed and dried
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • Tortillas
  • Tempeh or other fakin bacon strips (optional)
  • Avocado (optional)
  • Green salsa (optional)

Heat olive oil in a pan and then add onion and garlic, saute for two minutes. Add mushrooms and pepper and saute until tender.  Meanwhile, crumble tofu with your hands into a bowl.  Add to pan and stir to combine. Add the spinach, turmeric, cumin, paprika, and nutritional yeast and saute for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until tofu is bright yellow and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

Add to tortillas and garnish with avocado slices and salsa if you’d like!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Mochi Squares

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Jamie
Fit Approach Sweat Pink

A delicious and easy dessert!

I recently discovered Grainassance’s Superseed Mochi which is a nutritious bake and serve rice snack made from whole grain brown rice, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and sunflower seeds.  It packs a protein punch and is gluten and dairy free.

I was craving something sweet but didn’t want to compromise the rest of my very healthy day so I decided to bake a few squares of mochi and top with a dollop of peanut butter and vegan chocolate chips.

Delicious!

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Baja Style Vegan Soft Tacos

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Jamie

I was craving Mexican food and wanted to make something that my meat eating boyfriend would also appreciate so decided to create my own version of a Baja style “fish” taco…only of course without the fish.

Vegan Soft Tacos

A New Twist on "Fish" Tacos!

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp miso paste
  • Fresh lemon juice (about a quarter of the lemon)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 small red onion, chopped
  • 1 cup mushrooms (I used oyster but any will do)
  • 2 leaves kale, chopped
  • 1 Southwest Sunshine Burger patty, crumbled
  • 2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 cup shredded Daiya cheddar cheese
  • Tortillas

Mix miso paste, 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Use a little more than half of the mixture to coat the shredded cabbage and set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until translucent.  Add mushrooms, kale and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add the remaining miso mixture and cook until liquid is absorbed.

Heat the tortillas and shredded cheese until melted.  Meanwhile, warm and crumble the Sunshine Burger.  Add the veggie mixture, sunshine burger, and cabbage to tortillas and top with salsa, hot sauce, lime, sprouts or whatever else you want!

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Roasted Squash and Kale Salad

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Jamie

Sunshine Burgers vegan burgers

Did I mention I have a ton of winter squash?  Since I already made enough squash soup to last me a lifetime, I thought a nice light salad would be a really great addition.

Sunshine Burger vegan burgers

A light and fresh meal!

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium kabocha squash, roasted
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 3 leaves of kale, chopped
  • 2 big handfuls of toasted pinenuts
  • 1/4 cup dried currants (or raisins)
  • 2/3 cup beer (like Anchor Steam)
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Make dressing by whisking together beer, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, brown sugar, and salt. Set aside.  Toss the squash in a bowl with about a third of the dressing. Let it sit for about a minute and then add the rest of the ingredients and the remaining dressing. Let sit about 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

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