Ingredients:

• 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.

Spicy 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!)

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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!