Congrats to Jeni who won my Nourish Snacks giveaway today! Jeni, shoot me an email back so I can send you prize. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for another chance to win healthy snacks.
During the month of November, I did not cook meat once. I didn’t blog publicly about it but dropped hints that Roomie and I were eating a vegetable based diet at home during the week. We did not follow these rules if we ate outside our home because it was near impossible.
Why did we do this?
I guess 7 years after dating a health obsessed girl, Roomie was intrigued and requested that we try it. He even ate a vegan/gluten free lunch every day Monday through Friday. He took weekends off and didn’t really follow his own rules if he had a work event but still, I was proud! I have been wanting to try eating more vegan meals but didn’t want to bother making two dinners at night. For our last November supper, I made one dish good enough to keep around even after we go back to eating meat, roasted vegetable tacos with fall produce!
Roasted Fall Veggie Vegan Tacos
Serves 2, Time 35-45 minutes
A serving equals, 3 stuffed tacos
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Sweet Onion, chopped
- 2 Sweet Potatoes, medium, skinned and chopped
- 2 cups chopped mushrooms
- 1 cup Kale, shredded
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 2 tbsp EVOO
- 1 tbsp Mexican Fiesta or other taco spice blend
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 6 corn tortillas
- Salsa Verde for topping
1) Preheat oven to 400F. I bought my sweet potatoes pre cut and added olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and a salt free Mexican Fiesta spice blend from McCormick. I laid them out on a cookie sheet forming one single layer for about 25-35 minutes. Tossing half way through.
2) Heat large skillet on medium. Add in 1 tbsp olive oil and sliced onion. Roast slowly until they are wilted. Add in mushrooms and cover for 2-3 minutes. Remover top and let liquid evaporate. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3) Add kale and black beans to skillet, mix well. Once kale has wilted, turn heat off and set aside.
4) Add in roasted sweet potatoes once they have become crisp enough and mix together.
5) Spoon 2 large tablespoons of mixture into corn tortilla. Top with green salsa verde and enjoy!
This was one of my favorite vegan creations. Simple and delicious. You can’t really screw this one up and if it doesn’t taste “good” to you, just add more salsa, salt or pepper. Also, make sure the sweet potatoes are done well!
I had a few successes in the kitchen as well making vegan/gluten free dinners like these lentil cakes. They do need some tweaking as they were falling apart. They tasted great though! I actually already forgot what I used to make them but they were simple and fast to make.
To be honest, I’m glad I can eat some meat again. I love eating vegan meals but they take a lot more flavor and creativity to get them to taste good in my opinion. I already made Turkey Meatloafs for tonight.
LARABAR GIVEAWAY
While eating a vegan diet, LÄRABARs, the Original Fruit and Nut Bar, were a favorite of Roomie’s for mid-day snacking. They feature a delicious, gluten-free blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices, with some flavors including coconut oil, chocolate chips or other simple ingredients. In total, no bar has more than 9 ingredients. I was surprised at first how much he liked the LARABARs but couldn’t blame him, they are delicious. My seasonal favorites include Gingerbread and Snickerdoodle.
In honor of my man’s efforts to try eating a vegan diet, I’m giving away a special gift bag from LARABAR. One winner will receive an assorted case of LARABARS, pair of ear phones, as well as a copy of No Meat Athlete: Run on Plants and Discover Your Fittest, Fastest, Happiest Self
