12 Quick Vegetarian Family Friendly Recipes

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Foodie.com. All opinions are my own. 

Lately I have been really into finding quick and easy vegan family friendly recipes so that when baby #2 finally arrives (my due date is today BTW) we have a stock pile of recipes. Neil is going to be doing most of the cooking for the first two weeks so the easier and quicker the recipe the better. Another important factor for me was that not only are the recipes quick and easy and of course healthy but that we also have a good variety of recipes to choose from.

Check out 12 Quick Vegetarian Family Friendly Recipes

by Lindsay at Foodie.com

My top five favorites from the collection above are:

  • Loaded Lentil Sloppy Joes: these bring me back to my childhood although back then they weren’t vegetarian and the sauce came from a can.  This is a much healthier version and what’s more fun then a delicious, messy meal?
  • Super Creamy Vegan Mac & Cheese: honestly I could eat vegan mac and cheese most days of the week and Edith and I usually have it at least once per week for lunch. This recipe is super creamy and you can easily bulk it up with some veggies.
  • Creamy Sundried Tomato & Avocado Pesto: another pasta dish but this time a little different and more sophisticated but still kid friendly.
  • Tempeh Chow Mein: I love Chinese take out but for one we haven’t found any great Chinese take-out in Portland and it’s not always the healthiest option. This however is a great at home option and way healthier!
  • The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich: Sandwich night is one of my favorite night of the week and this recipe is filled with lots of veggies and can easily be customized to the taste of the each family member.

What are your favorite quick family friendly recipes? 

 

#WFMCherryFest // Fresh Cherry Limeade Recipe + Giveaway

Disclaimer: Whole Foods Market provided me with my own $50 gift card to purchase ingredients for the recipe below. As always all opinions are my own.

Cherry season is here! I have seriously never been so excited for a fruit to be in season. I LOVE cherries and am lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest where a large portion of the cherries and North America are grown. When we lived in Vermont we hardly ever bought cherries, not because we didn’t enjoy them but because they were hard to come by and super expensive.

WFCherryFest-Fresh Cherry Limeade Top View Currently our fridge is filled with cherries (although I bet most will be gone in the next day or two) because we took advantage of Whole Foods Cherry Fest and the $1.99/lb (!!!!) deal that happened this past Friday. We have been eating them by the handful but since we have so many I have been trying out some new recipes with them including the recipe I am sharing below for Fresh Cherry Limeade.
WFCherryFest-Fresh Cherry Limeade Recipe

FRESH CHERRY LIMEADE

Recipe Provided by Whole Foods Market 

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pound cherries (about 6 cups), pitted, divided
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup lime juice, plus 2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
  • Sparkling water
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges

WFCherryFest-Fresh Cherry Limeade Syrup    WFCherryFest-FreshCherryLimeadeSeltzerPour

Method: 
  • Put 1 pound of the cherries, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water into a medium pot; cover and simmer over medium heat (reducing heat, as needed, to maintain a simmer) until cherries are very tender and have made a fragrant syrup, about 20 minutes. Set aside to let cool and then purée in a blender with lime juice and zest.
  • To make each glass of limeade, pour about 1/2 cup of the cherry-lime syrup and 3/4 cup still or sparkling water over ice in a tall glass. Stir well and then top with a small handful of the remaining cherries, garnish with a lime wedge and serve.
Nutritional Info: 
Per Serving: Serving size: 1 drink, 150 calories (0 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat,0mg cholesterol, 0mg sodium, 39g carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 35g sugar), 1g protein
I shared this with Edith after photographing and we both really enjoyed it (don’t worry I drank 80% of it). I am keeping the leftover syrup in the fridge to make up more Fresh Cherry Limeades this week because they were just well YUM!. With the remaining cherries I’m thinking of diving into a big bowl right now and also topping my bowl of oats with them tomorrow. I’m going to be sad when cherry season ends but until then I am going to eat all the cherries!

WFCherryFest-Fresh Cherry Limeade

Giveaway // $50 Whole Foods Gift Card

Whole Foods has generously offered to provide one reader with a $50 gift card! If you win you might like to try the recipe above or one of these cherry recipes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recipe | Arugula Pesto | Vegan

Arugula PestoI don’t know what it is but in the last two years I have been nuts for pesto. It’s something I am making over and over again and there honestly aren’t a ton of things that I make over and over again. However, the thing is I am kind of meh about basil. I like it fine but only in small amounts and I don’t really care for basil pesto, so that’s when I started trying other greens.

I have tried baby kale pesto (too bitter), I’ve tried parsley pesto which I like (hmm I should make it again soon), I have tried spinach pesto (that was a flop) and then I found baby arugula (it was just right). I have absolutely fallen in love with arugula pesto and it is my FAVORITE.

The other dilemma I have run into when it comes to pesto is what type of nut/seed to use. I love the traditional pine nuts but they are SO expensive so I have been playing around with less expensive nuts and seeds to try and find what I like. I have tried sunflower seeds and hemp seeds (both make for chunky pesto), pumpkin seeds (good but not my go to), cashews (make a super cream pesto, but not nutty enough), and then there are walnuts (again these were just right.)  So walnuts are my go to nut component in my pesto because it makes a smooth pesto with a nice nutty taste.

So how do you make my arugula pesto?

  • 1/2-3/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 3/4 cup raw walnuts
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Place that all in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the s-blade and process until crumbly.

  • 4 cups loosely packed arugula
  • juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

Add and pulse 10-12 times.

  • 1/2-1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Now with the processor on slowly drizzle in the olive oil until you have reached a smooth consistency.

Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week or freeze!