Creamy Roasted Veggie Pasta

 

 



Pasta. It's a food that almost everyone enjoys in some form or other, but it's often not one associated with healthy eating. I'm about to change that. This pasta dish was inspired by my love for roasted vegetables and a surplus of Follow Your Heart and Tofutti vegan cream cheese that I needed to use up.

 

There aren't many meat and dairy copycat products that I frequently buy, but, somehow, between my sister Ashleigh and I, we ended up with 2 Tofutti's and a tub of Follow Your Heart vegan cream cheese. My usual go to recipe for this particular ingredient is Earthquake Cake. If you don't know what this is, look it up, it will blow your mind! It's likely I'll still end up making and posting my recipe for this delicious dessert in the next few days as I still have 2 1/2 containers left, but I wanted to try my hand at a savory recipe first.

The addition of just 2 tablespoons of vegan cream cheese adds creaminess while still keeping the dish light and summer-y. If you're not vegan, regular cream cheese can be easily substituted. And the sauce itself is so versatile. Along with mixing it into pasta, this roasted vegetable blend can be used as a dip for crackers and a spread on sandwiches.

 

 

 

Ingredients:


-3 zucchini, cut into rounds
-1 box cherry tomatoes, halved
-1 large bell pepper, sliced
-3 cloves garlic, chopped
-2 Tbs. oil
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-2 cups pasta(I use brown rice pasta)
-1/2 lemon
-2 Tbs. vegan cream cheese(or regular cream cheese if you're not vegan)
-Salt and pepper to taste


Supplies:


-2 baking sheets
-Spatula
-Pot with a lid
-Ladle
-Strainer
-Food processor
-Measuring cups and spoons


Method:


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide first 4 ingredients equally between two baking trays and toss each with 1 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven, stirring every 15 minutes or so, for about an hour or until veggies are tender.


Before roasting:

After an hour or so:

Meanwhile prepare your pasta according to box instructions.


When your vegetables are done scoop about 2/3 into a food processor and add lemon juice and cream cheese. Blend until ingredients are combined, but the mixture is still somewhat chunky. At this point hand stir in remaining vegetables, taste, and salt and pepper if needed. And voila!


Makes 2-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are. I got about 3 servings out of this recipe.


If you try this recipe out, let me know what you think!

Coconut Sunbutter

 

 



After what feels like years of deliberation and procrastination and a pretty gory battle with technological ineptness we've finally gone and started...*trumpets sound* a vegan blog. And the crowd goes wild!


Both of us developed a love for cooking and especially baking at a young age, in large part due to our mother who is top notch and cooked family dinners almost every night for us growing up. When the two of us became vegans three years ago that love for cooking and baking developed into a passion for nutrition as well. Food has a way of bringing people together. Everybody has to eat right? Developing the ability to create dishes that are good for you, good for the animals (because none of the ingredient lists contain them) and taste amazing is an ongoing journey for us. And it's a fun one!
So even if you're not a cook, not a vegan or not a health nut, join us for a journey -an adventure if you will- in delicious.


And now for the first recipe. This is a big moment. Drum roll please. Buh duh buhduh budduhbuhduhbuhduhbuduhbuhduh...


Coconut Sunbutter!

 

This recipe's a simple one, but a good one. So good. Like reaaaaaaaaaaaal good. So what is sunbutter some of you may say. You're in luck, because answering your questions is what I'm here for. Basically it's like peanut butter, but with sunflower seeds. Health benefits you ask?


Sunflower seeds are high in:
-Vitamin E
-Magnesium
-Vitamin B1
-Iron
Along with many other nutrients


And sunflower seeds, coconut and flax seeds are all high in fiber. Mmmmmm fiber.

Now I'm not a big fan of sunflower seeds in their natural form. I like them in breads and crackers and especially in vegan nut burgers(recipe coming soon!), but there's something about blending these little suckers with a little unsweetened coconut and agave nectar that I want to compare to heaven, but can't because I've actually never been there. But I have a feeling that's what Jesus spreads on his gluten-free, vegan, brown rice toast in the mornings. Yum. But enough talk, lets get to making this heavenly spread.

 

 

Ingredients:

-2 cups sunflower seeds(raw or toasted, whichever you prefer. I had unsalted, toasted on hand, so that's what I used)
-1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
-1/2 tsp. salt(nix if your nuts are already salted)
-1/2-1 Tbs. agave nectar, maple syrup or honey*
-1 Tbs. flax meal(ground flax seeds)


Supplies:

-Food processer(Although I am a vitamix fanatic, I experienced better results with a good old fashioned food processor for this recipe)
-Spatula
-Measuring cups and spoons
-Jar or storage container


Method:

Add your sunflower seeds to your food processer and blend until smooth. This will probably take around 8-10 minutes, but believe me, the wait is worth it.


After 5 minutes:

After 9 minutes:

I waited until now to add the coconut because honestly it was a spontaneous stroke of genius substitution for olive oil on my part, but if I were to repeat this recipe(which I will) I'd probably add the coconut with the seeds in the beginning. Adding the coconut late though, I blended the mix for another 2-3 minutes. There were still some little pieces of coconut in the butter, but I didn't really mind.


Next add your salt, liquid sweetener of choice(I added 1 Tbs. but found it a bit sweet and will probably reduce to 1/2 Tbs. next time. I also do prefer my peanut butter unsweetened though.) and flax meal and... blend again! Yayyyyyyyy! Your sunbutter will probably thicken up and lump, but should smooth out after a minute or 2 of blending.


Now comes the fun part. Taste, and salt or sweeten if needed. Scrape the lovely mixture into your storage container of choice and store in the refrigerator for around 2 weeks, maybe more(Ha! Like it will last that long :P). Hope you enjoy! :)

* Honey isn't technically vegan because an animal produces it, so if you are on a strict vegan diet I would recommend using agave or maple syrup. I like the flavor of those better anywho.

Possible add ins:
-Cinnamon
-Vanilla
-Extra sunflower seeds for a crunchy butter
-Chocolate(I have failed many a time to make homemade chocolate nut butter because cocoa powder thickens it too much, so this add in idea is not for the faint of heart)