Vegan Gumbo

Delicous and very good for you!  I've heavily adapted this recipe from Emeril Lagasse's Chicken & Smoked Sausage Gumbo.  The vegetable ingredients are totally negotiable.  I've swapped in mushrooms, tomatoes, or zucchini and it always comes out delicious.

1 cup vegetable oil (or your favorite plant oil)
1 cup all-purpose flour (or whole grain flour) 
1 1/2 cups chopped onions 
1 cup chopped celery 
1 cup chopped bell peppers
 1 package of Tofurkey Italian Sausage - cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices 
1 1/2 teaspoons salt 
1 tsp cayenne
1 cup of Textured Vegetable Protein
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped green onions

2 tsp paprika (smoked paprika if you have it)
Fresh cracked pepper
1 tablespoon of minced garlic 
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of dried thyme.
Salt to taste if you prefer.
6 cups vegetable stock or water
2 cups of cooked brown rice.

Directions

1. Combine the oil and flour in a small pot over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly for 15 - 20 minutes  minutes, make a medium brown roux, the color of light peanut butter. 
2. Saute the tofurkey sausage, onions, celergy and bell peppers in a large stock pot with a few teaspoons of your favorite plant oil.  Saute until onions soften and the sausage browns a bit, then add the vegetabel stock/water.  Add spices, cilantro/parsley and textured vegetable protein.  Bring to a simmer.
3. Once the roux is a nice light brown (careful, once it starts to burn it burns fast), add it to the stock pot of gumbo.  Add it slowly and be careful as it will bubble up some.  Stir well and continue to simmer for another 10-15 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves if you can find them.  (I end up just warning everyone that they're in there.)
4. Serve in bowls over rice, topped with the green onion.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Shake

Adapted from The Vegan Stoner's Oat Shake Recipe

Blend together:
12 ounces of almond milk
1 banana, chopped and frozen
1 apple, sliced
3 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 cup cooked old fashioned oatmeal
2 scoops of soy protein powder - vanilla

Makes 2 full glasses of shake.  Share with a friend or save one for later!

I replaced the soy milk with almond milk due to my own preference.  Feel free to use soy instead if you wish.  Instead of the pinch of cinnamon that the original recipe calls for, I added the peanut butter to give the shake more calories and good fats from the nuts.  Vegans sometimes struggle to get their calories in and nuts are a great way to get some healthy fats.  The original recipe didn't call for adding protein, which seems to be a big oversight.  Getting enough protein every day is vital!

Spicy Sausage and Bean Soup

I made this soup on the fly the other day with ingredients on hand.  My friends were impressed, so I thought I'd share the recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 lb of spicey sausage
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cloves of sliced garlic
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3-4 cans of beans various beans of your choice
• 4 cups chicken broth 
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons caynne pepper
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

1. If using ground sausage, break into small pieces.  If using sausage in a casing, slice into 1/2 inch coins.
2. In stock pot, saute sausage, onion and garlic in the olive oil until sausage is browned over medium heat (approximately 5-7 minutes).
3. Deglaze pan by adding 1/2 cup of chicken broth.  Add the beans.
4. Stir in spices, pepper sauce and soy sauce and simmer for 30 minutes to incorporate the flavors and heat the soup.

White Bean Stew

Adapted from TheStoneSoup.com

1 yellow or white onion chopped2-3 cloves of garlic
2 cans of white beans, pinto beans, lima beans or other beans (14 oz each)
2 cans crushed tomato or tomato sauce (14 oz each)
2-3 zucchini and/or yellow squash sliced into coins
2 tablespoons smoked paprika (or regular paprika and a tablespoon of liquid smoke)
1 bag washed baby spinach leaves
1 cup of fresh, chopped cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons of olive oil

1)      Drizzle extra virgin olive oil into a large sauce pan, then caramelize the onion and the garlic.
2)      Place beans and their canning liquid, tomato, zucchini/squash and paprika (and smoke) in large saucepan.
3)      Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes until the zucchini is soft.
4)      Add spinach and cilantro.  Continue to cook, stirring, until the spinach is just wilted.  About a minute or so.

It's a pretty thick stew and is very filling.  The recipe makes quite a few servings though, so it might work better to try to scale down the recipe for gastric bypass patients that don't have families to help them eat it.