Meal Mentor

Free Recipe Sunday: Vegan Buffalo Chowder

This week I polled Facebook asking which recipe from the current meal plan everyone wanted me to share this week!

It was soooooooo close!

Curried Red Lentil Soup and Buffalo Chowder had the same number of votes, so I flipped a coin!
3rd place: "Steak" and "Cheese" Baked Potatoes
4th place also tied for Broccoli Wraps & Falafel Burgers

The winners only one by 7 votes! It was really a close race!

Thanks for participating!

Below is the Buffalo Chowder recipe!

Serves: 2
Total Time: 30 Active Time: 20

Ingredients Prep
1 small onion dice
3-4 cup vegetable broth
2-3 garlic cloves
1-2 carrots
1-3 celery stalks
1 potato (or 2 Yukon potatoes)
1 bag cauliflower florets (4 cups, 1 head)
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1/3 to 1/2 cup Frank's Hot Sauce

Directions
Line a large pot with ¼-cup broth.
Sauté onion and garlic until translucent.
Add 3-cups broth, cauliflower, carrots, celery, and potatoes. (If you are using a lot of vegetables you may need to add another 1-cup broth or water).
Cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes.
Optional: Blend a portion of this soup in a blender (or use an immersion blender).
Stir in coconut milk and hot sauce.
Heat over low until thoroughly warm.
Add salt and pepper, if desired.
Serve immediately.
Garnish with cilantro, green onions, chives, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, or a drizzle of extra hot sauce.
Notes: For smokiness, add 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. You could add 1 tbsp lemon at the end to finish.
Slimming: Use soy or oat milk. Add a can of white beans or chickpeas for a protein boost or swirl in hummus. Omit potatoes if you can.
Make Ahead: Yes.

calories 224 — fat 2.5g — carbs 42.9g — fiber 9.9g — sugars 14.5g — protein 10.9g —

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ALSO ON THE MENU THIS WEEK

“Steak” and “Cheese” Baked Potatoes (20 min)

Curried Red Lentil Soup (25min, mostly simmering)

Very Verde Enchiladas (35 min, mostly baking)

Falafel Burgers (25 min, mostly baking)

Black Beans & “Plantains” (35 min)

Balsamic Broccoli Wraps (5 min)

Margarita Farro Salad (40 min, or 5 mins with rice)

Polenta Pizza (40 min, mostly baking)

Kale scramble (8 min)

Buffalo Chowder (30 min, mostly simmering)

BONUS: Chipotle White Bean Dip (4 min)

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Free Recipe Monday: #1 Voted Firefly Chowder

This week's free recipe from the current meal plan is a #1 voted favorite by members

Firefly Sweet Potato Chowder

This version serves 2 but there is a serves 4 option in the app (and on the PDF meal plan) for families or individuals who want to take this all week for lunch.

Serves: 2
Total Time: 17
Active Time: 7

Ingredients
1 cooked sweet potato (or carrots, butternut)
1/4 small red onion (or other onion), dice
1 jalapeno (optional), slice
2 green onions, slice (can omit)
2 cup veg broth
1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
1/4 cup light coconut milk (or soy or cashew milk for lower fat)
1/2 can chickpeas, drain, rinse
1/2 avocado (or 4-oz guacamole)

Directions
Microwave sweet potato if not precooked.
Blend cooked potato (discard skin if desired) with water to create a thick puree. (Set aside).
Line a large pot with 1/4-cup broth.
Saute onion until translucent.
Stir in puree and 1 1/2 cup broth.
Add corn and jalapenos.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat.
Simmer 10 minutes.
Stir in coconut milk and chickpeas.
Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Thin with additional water or broth, if desired.
Garnish with green onion and avocado, plus more corn if desired.

Make ahead: YES!

calories 402 — fat 12.6g — carbs 62.1g — fiber 11.3g — sugars 14.8g — protein 13.3g —

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Copycat Vegan Trader Joes Red Lentil Wrap - Free Recipe Saturday

Happy Saturday!

This week's free recipe was requested by our members!

It's a "copycat" recipe of the red lentil wrap that was sold at Trader Joe's.

TJ'S RED LENTIL WRAPS

Ingredients
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 roasted red pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup dry red lentils
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded cabbage

Tahini Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 lemon (2-4 tbsp juice)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions
Place red pepper in a food processor with ¼-tsp cumin and a dash of cayenne.
Pureé into a smooth paste, adding a little water if necessary. Set aside.
Line a medium pot with ½-cup water.
Add lentils, cover, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cook lentils are soft and orange but not mushy, adding more water as needed.
Stir in remaining cumin, onion powder, and cayenne pepper to taste and cook for a minute or so.
Stir in cooked quinoa and mix well.
Set aside for a few minutes.
Spread bell pepper puree onto tortillas.
Top with lentil mixture, shredded cabbage and Tahini Dipping Sauce (or save sauce for dipping). Roll up.

Slimming: Substitute ¼-cup plain hummus for tahini.

calories 407 — fat 11.1g — carbs 62.5g — fiber 16.3g — sugars 5.6g — protein 17.4g —

Also on the meal plan this week:

Teriyaki Chickpea Burritos
Szechuan Stir-Fry
Chipotle Corn Soup
Kidney Bean Curry
Refried Bean Tacos
TJ's "copycat" Red Lentil Wraps
Texas White Chili
Moroccan Salad
5-Spice Bowl
Memphis BBQ Sandwiches
"Cheesy" Tomato Sandwich

Different Types of Paprika, Explained

This week’s menu features Hungarian Red Bean Stew.

You may have noticed that it calls for Hungarian paprika.

1 -- You can absolutely use ‘regular’ ol’ paprika in the recipe.

2 -- In non-English languages, peppers are often called paprika. (Cayenne is called “hot paprika”, to differentiate it from what we know as bell peppers).

TBH, until I started learning French I had no idea “paprika” was made from dried and ground red bell peppers. 😳😬😅 In Australia and NZ, bell peppers are called capsicum, which is the Latin name. Language is so fun!

3 -- Different Types of Paprika, Explained

REGULAR PAPRIKA: Most of the paprika sold in grocery stores is simply labeled “paprika”, or less commonly, “sweet paprika” to differentiate it from “hot paprika”, meaning cayenne pepper. Supermarket “paprika” tends to be mellow (neither sweet nor hot).

Total Meal Mentor Recipes using paprika: 50

HUNGARIAN PAPRIKA: Paprika is the national spice of Hungary and there you’ll find 8 different grades of Hungarian paprika. 😱 (They mainly differ in pungency and heat, but also “quality”).
Hungarian gulyas (goulash), the national dish of Hungary, heavily emphasizes paprika (it is both the main spice used and provides most of the flavoring).

SPANISH PAPRIKA (or PIMENTON): Spanish paprika can be mild or hot, it depends on the blend of chiles used. It also tends to be less intense (less pungent) than Hungarian paprika, but could be more bitter than “paprika.” I would caution against substituting with Spanish paprika unless you’re familiar with the spice.

SMOKED PAPRIKA: Smoked paprika adds a lovely smokiness to “regular paprika.” The smoke flavor is created by drying the peppers over wood fires. In Spain, smoked paprika is called pimentón de La Vera, and it is frequently used in Paella.

SUBSTITUTIONS: I find you can usually substitute “paprika” for smoked paprika (though some flavoring is lost) but smoked paprika isn’t always a possible replacement for “paprika.”

Total Meal Mentor Recipes using smoked paprika: 159

MORE HUNGARIAN RECIPES:
If you love the Red Bean Stew and want to try other Hungarian recipes, check out the Hungarian Goulash and Szegedin Goulash (Székely Gulyás) recipes in the app (or web planner).

You could also make Hungarian Meatballs using any of the meatball recipes in the app (or web planner) and serving them with Paprika Sauce (saute ½ to 1 small onion, 1 garlic; Stir in ¼ cup flour: Stir in 2 cup veg or no-beef broth, ½ cup light coconut milk, ½ cup almond milk, avoiding clumps. Bring to bubbling. Stir in 2 tbsp paprika, pinch salt. Heat until thick.)

Viszontlátásra,
Lindsay

Free Recipe Sunday: Lentil Chili + 3 Ways to Use Up Leftover Chili

Happy Sunday!

Here's how I "repurpose" my chili leftovers:

1. 1 Stir it into vegan mac and cheese (recipe is in the app)

1. 2 serve it over a baked potato and/or kale for lunch

1. 3 Quick Chili Wraps (recipe on this week's meal plan too).

This week's free recipe is.... LENTIL CHILI

Serves: 4
Total Time: 70 Active Time: 10

Ingredients Prep
1 qt vegetable broth
1 onion dice
3-4 garlic cloves mince
1 bell pepper (any) seed, dice
2-4 tsp chili powder
1 1/4 cup dry lentils (not red)
1 can (14-oz) diced tomatoes

Directions
Line a large pot with 1/2-cup broth.
Saute onions, garlic, and peppers until fork-tender.
Stir in chili powder to coat well.
Add tomatoes (with juices), breaking up any big pieces with your spatula.
Stir in lentils.
Add bay leaf (if using) and remaining broth.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer 40-50 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
If it's too soupy, cook last 10 minutes uncovered.
Remove bay leaf.
Optional:Transfer 1-2 cups to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir back in.
Add salt and pepper to taste, or more chili powder.
If it's acidic, add a squirt of ketchup or a pinch of sweetener (or maple syrup).
Garnish with red onion, if desired.
Notes: I like to add a diced carrot.
Make Ahead: Yes.

calories 235 — fat 1.1g — carbs 40.5g — fiber 17.7g — sugars 6.8g — protein 16.3g —

P.S. THERE ARE 29 OTHER CHILI RECIPES IN THE APP! TRY THEM ALL!

Free Recipe Friday: Detox Bowl

Happy Free Recipe Friday!

Each week (-ish) in 2023 I'll be sharing a recipe from the current meal plan.

This week I'm sharing the Detox Bowl.

This bowl has all the right foods that will nourish you, leave you satiated, and help combat any bloat or cravings you're still shaking from the holidays.

If you need more detox recipes, checkout the 7-day Detox Plan, a special free collection available with membership (download the detox plan as a PDF or view it in our app or using the web planner).

Detox Bowls
Serves: 4
Total Time: 3
Active Time: 3

Ingredients
3 cups cooked quinoa (or other grain)
1-3 apples (or roasted beets), slice
1/2 cup almonds (or 1 sweet potato, cooked and diced)
2 bags spring mix (or other greens)
1 avocado, pit, slice (or guacamole, or hummus)
low-sodium soy sauce (optional)
1-2 oranges (or lemons) (optional), cut in half
seeds (e.g. chia, hemp) (optional)

Directions
If using spinach or kale, steam or leave raw.
Serve grains, greens, apples (or beets), almonds, and avocado over greens.
Garnish with seeds (e.g. chia seeds, hemp seeds), if desired.
Squeeze orange juice over top (or fresh lemon and soy sauce), if needed.

Notes: I prefer Braggs Liquid Aminos over soy sauce or coconut aminos in this dish. I add lemon juice.

Slimming: Omit avocado. Add 1 cup shelled edamame (OR 1½-cups green peas, or lentils) or more fruit (e.g. blueberries) and vegetables. Replace almonds with roasted diced sweet potato too, if you like.

Make Ahead: Yes. (Omit avocado, apples)

calories per serving 403 — fat 18.8g — carbs 2.9g — fiber 52.3g — sugars 12.2g — protein 11.9g —