Living Life Balanced Blog

Vegan Queso

11/20/2020

Oh. My. Goodness. I am so excited about this recipe. I wanted to make nachos the other day and I had everything I needed except the cheese. I decided to try a spinoff of the sauce I used in my Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta and I accidentally created the best vegan queso ever! Now, I have had some delicious vegan quesos BUT I feel like they normally are made out of nuts (yet another thing that my stomach sometimes seems to struggle with sometimes) and are very heavy and dense. I wanted to create something lighter, that I could have more than 1-2 Tbsp of as a serving...and then this vegan queso was born. Enjoy. Tell everyone about it. Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, delicious.

Vegan Queso; gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan recipes by Elena McCown, LLC a health coach in Franklin, TN

Total Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

6 Tbsp olive oil
5 Tbsp gluten-free all purpose flour (I used this)
4 cups unsweetened plain Ripple pea milk
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup nutritional yeast (I used this)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground mustard seed
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup salsa

Directions

Add the 6 Tbsp olive oil to a large pot on the stove and turn to medium high heat.
Add the flour and quickly mix while whisking pretty vigorously.
Add in the pea milk and continue to whisk, breaking up any clumps. Continue to cook until sauce starts to boil and thicken.
Once it reaches your desired thickness remove from the heat and stir in the mustard, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard seed, paprika, pepper and salt. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Add a little more milk and whisk if it needs to thin out a bit.
Add salsa and stir (this will thin it out a bit more as well).

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Stir-Fry

11/20/2020

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Stir-fry is one of those impressive meals that you can throw together quickly from pantry/fridge/freezer staples. Add whatever veggies you have on hand (we usually have a bag or two of frozen mixed stir-fry veggies like broccoli, carrots and water chestnuts), a protein (we also usually have frozen shrimp on hand but anything else would work), a carb/starch (noodles, quinoa, rice, potatoes, etc), and a sauce (we like the peanut butter sauce to add some healthy fat) and BOOM a fantastic meal appears! Try this the next time you are craving some stir-fry and it won't disappoint! Bonus: it can be gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan...or not! It's a meal everyone can enjoy.

Stir-Fry, gluten-free and dairy-free recipes by Elena McCown, LLC a health coach in Franklin, TN

Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp soy sauce, low-sodium (I like using coconut aminos)
4 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil (or 2)
2 tsp minced garlic
4 cups stir fry vegetables, frozen
16 oz peeled and deveined shrimp
1 cup dried quinoa (or 4 servings)
2 cups blackberries

Directions

Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package.
Grab a large bowl and mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce and water until it is nice and creamy.
Heat oil in a large wok or pan on medium-high heat until it starts smoking.
Add the garlic and frozen veggies and stir until heated through.
Reduce the heat a little and add the sauce and shrimp and cook until opaque.
Add a little more water to make the sauce creamier (if necessary) and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
Serve over quinoa.
Serve with 1/2 cup blackberries each.

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Quesadillas

11/18/2020

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Growing up in Texas, we ate Mexican food allll the time. So for me, comfort food = Mexican food. Anyone else? While I love the authentic stuff, I also enjoy making different versions of my favorite meals at home. This is mainly because I can't eat certain ingredients at restaurants. Quesadillas used to be one of my favorite things to order so I wanted to make a quick, healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian recipe! This recipe is something you can throw together in no-time....plus, it's cheap and doesn't use that many ingredients! I used beans because they are an affordable alternative to meat and they still make the quesadillas taste delicious! If you don't have any food allergies then you can still make this with whole wheat flour tortillas and regular cheese. Enjoy!

Quesadillas: gluten-free, dairy-free and sometimes vegan/vegetarian recipes by Elena McCown, LLC a health coach in Franklin, TN

Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

8 gluten free corn tortillas (or plain gluten-free)
15 oz can black beans (low sodium) (rinsed and drained and smashed to make refried beans)
1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese (or vegan cheddar - I love Miyokos Farmhouse Cheddar)
2 cups spinach, chopped
1 can chopped green chilies
4 green onions, sliced
4 tbsp salsa
4 apples

Directions

On one tortilla, spread refried beans to within 1/2 in. of edges. Sprinkle with cheese; top with chilies, spinach, onions, another sprinkle of cheese and top with another tortilla. Repeat for the remaining 3 quesadillas.
On a lightly greased griddle, cook quesadillas individually over medium heat for 2-4 minutes on each side or until browned and cheese is melted. Cut into wedges. Serve with salsa and 1 apple each.

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Rice Cake Fruit Pizza

10/28/2020

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This is a super easy, fun snack that you or your kids can make when looking for something filling and sweet to eat. It's naturally gluten-free and dairy-free (if you buy the allergen-free chocolate chips) but full of flavor! If you don't like rice cakes, then you can do this with a 100% whole-grain or gluten-free English muffin, pita bread or even a waffle, instead.

Rice Cake Fruit Pizza; gluten-free and dairy-free recipes by Elena McCown, LLC a health coach in Franklin, TN

Total Time: 2 minutes
Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 brown rice cake
1 Tbsp peanut butter, no salt, sugar or oil added
1/4 cup blueberries or raspberries
1 Tbsp chocolate chips

Directions

Top the rice cake with peanut butter, blueberries and chocolate chips.

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Salmon with Vegetables

10/13/2020

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Some days I feel like I need a super healthy, basic, easy dinner. This meal has complex carbs, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fat, plus it comes together in about 25 minutes. Can't beat that!

Salmon with Vegetables, gluten free and dairy free recipes by Elena McCown, LLC a health coach in Franklin, TN

Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

4 4oz salmon fillets
2 cups cauliflower
2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ lemon or 2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 cups raspberries
1 cup quinoa, uncooked (cooked and prepared according to package directions)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Lightly grease a foil lined baking sheet and put cauliflower on one side and tomatoes on the other side.
Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice and spices and drizzle half over the vegetables and mix them around to get them covered.
Put the vegetables in the oven and start preparing the salmon.
Place the salmon skin side down on a lightly oil sprayed foil lined baking sheet.
Drizzle salmon with remaining olive oil, lemon and spice mixture, transfer to the oven and cook until it flakes easily, about 10-12 minutes. Remove vegetables along with the salmon.
Serve salmon with the tomatoes and cauliflower over the quinoa.
Eat with 1/2 cup raspberries each serving.

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