vegan dinner recipes – The Superfood Goddess

I remember the day I first had a taco salad. I was 15 working at an office job, under the table and we had a lunch party one day. A few of the managers brought food and one of the meals was a t o salad. What an awesome concept. I mean, I LOVE burritos and Tacos! So why not throw it all on top of a salad with a creamy ass dressing and mix it all together!?! 😍😍

This was, of course, before I was plant based so I would use ground turkey, because I thought that was the healthier choice of Meats. I started making this taco salad a lot for my family because it was the one thing I knew how to cook well and knew everyone would enjoy it. This actually makes me realize now that at 15 I found my love of being able to feed my loved ones with a super delicious meal. There’s something really satisfying about feeding others by putting your love, hard work, and creative energy into their meal.

Once I figured out to Veganize this recipe by using a meat crumble substitute with taco seasoning and a vegan mayo based dressing I was set. Because I was still learning different recipes, this was my GO TO! I also thought it was SO good I started making it for any friend I could. I wanted to show them that vegan was super yummy.

Ok, I actually am about to let you in on a little secret… I TOTALLY use this recipe to pull a quick one on everyone and share how tasty plant based life is! Ha ha!! Now I have a big pot to fill huh? I promise, this salad is that good!! Make it for yourself a few times. See what works for you and then, do me and yourself a favor, don’t keep this recipe to yourself!! Invite your friends and family over and share your knowledge of health! To be honest, I don’t even think you need to mention that it’s plant based….? Let them figure that out later. Most of all, have fun making this and Enjoy eating and sharing it.

Taco salad

By The Superfood Goddess

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Organic Mixed Greens

Salad Topping-

-1/2 Onion

-1 clove Garlic

-1/2 head of Cauliflower

-1 Large or 2 small Zucchini

-1/2 Bell pepper

-6 Mushrooms

-Pinch Salt

-Spray oil

-1 Package Taco seasoning

-3 Tablespoons Nutritional yeast

-2 Tomatoes

-1 Avocado

-14 tortilla chips (I like Siete brand)

Optional: Shredded cheese

Dressing:

-1/2 Cup Mayonnaise or 1 Cup Cashews (soaked 4-6 hours)

-1/4 Cup Ketchup

-1 Tablespoon Hot sauce

-1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method:

-Chop the onions and place them in a pan, on medium heat, with some spray oil. Sauté!for about 5 minutes until translucent.

-Add minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.

-Add chopped cauliflower and taco seasoning and sauté for about 8-10 minutes, stirring every minute.

-Add zucchini and keep stirring for 5 minutes.

-Add the red bell pepper, mushrooms, nutritional yeast and sauté and stir for another 5 minutes.

-OPTION: to add shredded cheese, to give it a little bit more creaminess, you can add some Daiya or follow your heart shredded cheese

-For The Dressing: Put all ingredients in a small bowl and stir together until it resembles a dressing. If you’re using the soaked cashews, drain the water and throw all ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy! You will need 1/4-1/2 Cup water to help blend

-Take whatever salad amount you want and place it into a large mixing bowl. Top with some dressing and toss to evenly soar the lettuce leaves. Then place the salad in a bowl or on a plate and then top with the taco topping. For some texture and added crunchiness, crumble a couple tortilla chips on top, I recommend Siete brand.

When I first became vegan 11 years ago I did what I had to do and what I teach my clients today, I started doing research. I researched what my options were in plant based eating. There were some options but not nearly as many today. Tofurky was one of the first that I can remember with deli meats, etc.

I remember finding this brand that made a Soyrizo and thought, “Well, I have never tried chorizo, but I guess I’ll check it out since it’s on the plant based menu…” I loved the flavor of it. So I would buy it and from time to time put in my tacos when I wanted to switch it up from buying faux ground crumbles and adding taco seasoning to them. It is interesting to me today that I’ve never actually had the real thing, but I imagine from all the spices I needed to use in this recipe that it’s super flavorful. By the way, that is what cooking and especially plant based cooking is ALL ABOUT, Flavor and how you season a dish!

As I grew on my vegan journey and learned more about how I could nutritionally fuel myself, I began realizing most of the vegan meats were made with Wheat Gluten. At that time I didn’t really know much about wheat or gluten but it was starting to pop up in health journals that I was reading. I was aware of it and trying to learn more about it, but I personally wasn’t trying to avoid it. I was learning just a few of the many side effects were depression, anxiety, bloating, and IBS.

Also, a year into being vegan, I went through a pretty tough breakup and instead of going out to drown my sorrows around people, booze, and partying (yes I had done that in the past too), I just started cooking up a storm. I was making vegan cheesecakes, vegan cookies, vegan Caesar dressing, vegan pasta, vegan lasagna, vegan taco salad, ANYTHING I COULD THINK OF to turn vegan!! Then this girl moved in next door and shortly after meeting her, I found out she had to be gluten and soy free but wasn’t actually listening to her allergies. She would still eat them all and eat the food I cooked & shared with her and then she would call me most mornings telling me she didn’t feel good, she was super depressed, she couldn’t get out of bed, and she was overweight and bloated. To me, because I had already seen my body and mind change so much, it seemed like a no brainer that if something doesn’t make you feel good you should eliminate it. I told her she needed to stop eating the food she was allergic to but I saw that she wasn’t doing that. So I felt a responsibility, to at least in my home, start cooking vegan AND gluten free since she was allergic to these items and I most likely was going to be sharing with her. This upped my level of research, learning, growth, and mastery of cooking vegan and gluten free.

What I didn’t realize or make the connection to until a year or two later, was that I too needed to be eating Gluten free!! After cooking next door to her and sharing my abundance of food for a year, I decided to go to Europe and backpack alone for 6 weeks! You bet your bum I tried all the vegan breads, croissants, pasta, vegan Gelato, that I could. I came home from that trip, no joke, 20 lbs heavier. But I knew I could get that weight off by going to the gym and eating on track again. Or could I..? The weight wasn’t coming off and I was beginning to become frustrated and felt super bloated. I was back to eating my healthy vegan veggie sandwiches and pasta but my weight and my bloating wasn’t leaving. After 3 months I finally realized what I was doing differently before I had left to travel Europe that I wasn’t doing at that point anymore. I WAS EATING TONS OF GLUTEN! I finally made the connection. Isn’t that crazy? This is why I try to be so kind and unjudgmental to others and what they eat. Some of us just aren’t making the connection like I did many years ago. Many of us HAVE NO IDEA we can change our sickness through food. WOW. We’re not taught to question or take a look at our plates in depth. We’re just fine medication for being sick, as I was when I use to have bronchitis most months of the year in my early childhood. (Coughing up Phlegm most of the year wasn’t a cute thing for a girl… you know? Ugh… but I though I had to accept it and did)

I told you this story so that you could not only learn a little more about me and my journey but also why I’m so passionate about finding homemade and as close to the whole food as possible. This way, I know what’s going into my food, it’s as minimally processed as possible, there are no harmful chemicals, and it’s vegan & Gluten free.

Actually, this recipe is even soy and nut free. I get what it’s like to have allergies and I want us all to be able to eat and enjoy food. I am Italian, FOOD IS PERSONAL. 😂😂 Anyway, please enjoy this recipe. You can put it in tacos, on top of a salad, on a sandwich, in your marinara sauce, in a sauté, or your burritos. Raw or cooked you can enjoy this flavorful substitute.

Chorizo

By The Superfood Goddess

(Makes 6 Servings)

-3 Tablespoons Coconut oil (melted) or Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

-1 small Onion (chopped)

-2 Garlic Cloves (minced)

-2.5 Cups Watermelon Seeds

-1/2 Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes in oil

-2 Tablespoons Coconut or Braggs aminos

-1 Tablespoon Date syrup

-1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

-3 Tablespoon Ancho Chili Powder

-2 Tablespoons Paprika

-1 Tablespoon Chipotle

-2 Bay leaves

-2 teaspoons Tablespoon Pink Himalayan Salt

-1 teaspoon Coriander

-1/2 teaspoon Cumin

-1/2 teaspoon Cayenne

-1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

-1/2 teaspoon Liquid smoke (about 14 dashes of liquid)

Method:

-Chopp the Onions and Mince the garlic.

-In a large pan, on medium heat, heat the onions with a tablespoon of oil. Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.

-Add Garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Then turn off heat and let the onions and garlic cool while you get your food processor out and measure your seeds.

-Measure out the seeds and pour into a food Processor. Pulse the blade a few times through the seeds. You just want to chop the seeds up a little, not quite to a powder.

-Add the sautéed onions, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes to the food processor and pulse once or twice to Mix them in with the seeds.

-Now that the seeds, onions, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes are mixed in the food processor, you can add all the other ingredients, including the last bit of oil.

-Pulse the food processor a few times to mix all the ingredients and then Turn the food processor on and process for about 10-20 seconds. You want it all to mix & Chopp really well, but it’s ok if it’s slightly grainy still, it will give a little dimension and texture to the chorizo.

-You can use the mixture right away or place in a glass jar and store for later. Letting it sit for a day will allow the flavors to develop. This can be consumed raw or your can cook it. If needed, freeze it in portions up to 3 months.

When you eat well, you will feel well. And as always, Please, Enjoy.

xoxo, Stephie 💋