Plant Based U

Fat-Free and Low Fat Vegan Plant Based Recipes

vegan

Pre Order Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World Now!

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Hi Everyone!

I’m now accepting pre orders for Vegan Comfort Foods From Around The World.

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Just click here to go to the sales page.

I have had this available as a recipe ebook since October 2012, but now I’ve turned your favorite recipes into an all new, totally redesigned printed book you can bring into the kitchen with you!

Thank you so much for your support and all the positive feedback I’ve received from you guys. I could not do this without you!

This book has recipes for everyone in it. All of them are low fat, oil-free and contain absolutely no fake vegetarian cheeses or meats. There’s also tons of recipes for those following a gluten free, nut free or soy free diet.

Enjoy my little chefs! 🙂

Veronica

Fat Free Potato Chip Recipe

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Hands up how many people like eating crunchy snacks? What about potato chips? Mhmm that’s what I thought! You love potato chips, but wonder how you can eat them as part of a healthy diet. I love crunchy things and sometimes you want the crunch of a chip, but without all the excess fat and calories. Sure you can buy some baked or popped chips at the store, but they’re quite pricey and fairly bland. Not to mention not exactly “fresh”.



As a society we tend to overeat on packaged snack foods because they are so easily available everywhere and in such large quantities. Why not try making some of your own favorite snacks and keep them totally healthy?

In fact after making your own healthy snacks you might appreciate the amount of labor and love goes into making them. So hopefully you won’t just devour them in a few minutes, but savour your hard earned tasty snack! (At least I hope so…)

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For this fat free potato chip recipe you will need a mandolin or a V-slicer. Something that you can slice a potato on very thinly. Also please be careful and use the vegetable holder/guard that comes with your slicer, or use some safety gloves so you don’t slice your finger. Personally I have never had a problem using these devices. Just go slowly and be aware of your fingers and you will be fine.

You’ll also require a microwave oven and a roll of parchment paper. Or you can get something like “Top Chips” on Amazon that includes a slicer, spices and a microwaving tray.



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Microwaved Fat Free Potato Chips

Makes 70-80 chips Total time: 45-60 minutes

1 large russet potato
Salt and/or pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Fill a medium bowl with water and peel the potato.

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2. Using a mandolin slicer on the thinnest setting, slice the potatoes.

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3. Place the sliced potatoes in the bowl of water to prevent browning and remove excess starch.

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4. Dry potato chips thoroughly with paper towel or a tea towel.

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4. Line two large plates with a sheet of parchment paper (essential so the potatoes don’t stick) and place enough potato slices on it to cover (about 9). Make sure none overlap.

5. Mix salt, pepper and any other seasonings together in a bowl and sprinkle seasonings very lightly over the chips with your fingers. Go easy at first and taste test your first batch to know if you need more or less seasoning on the next.

6. Microwave one plate of chips at a time on high for 3-6 minutes (depending on the strength of your microwave). Watch them after 3-4 minutes and stop the microwave when they turn a golden brown in the centre. (My low powered microwave took about 5 minutes)

7. Use oven mitts to remove the plate from the microwave (it’s very hot!) and let cool a few minutes (before removing the chips from the parchment).

8. Remove the chips and set aside in a bowl or dish and repeat this process until all of your potato slices have been cooked (using the correct cooking time for your microwave).



9. Chips will harden after they cool down and become crispier. Eat when cool and crunchy!

Safety Note:

Please make sure to use oven mitts as the plates will be very hot. Also don’t microwave chips back to back for the entire amount, let the microwave have a little break after every 3 plates of chips. I overheated my microwave on the fourth plate and it turned off as a safety precaution.

Additional Tips:

Extra chips can be stored in an air tight container. Eat soon as they can go stale as there are no preservatives.

Use a large potato. The chips shrink significantly after cooking and if you start with a medium potato you’ll end up with small chips.

To Make Fat Free Oven Baked Potato Chips:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Use a baking pan lined with a non stick silicon mat or a sheet of parchment paper. Place cleaned and dried potato slices on the mat/sheet and season. Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden and crispy. Cool before eating.

Additional Seasoning Ideas:

Chipotle chili powder and salt

Salt & Vinegar

Curry powder and salt

Garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper

Grind your favorite herbs or mixes like Herbs De Provence or Italian Seasoning to a fine powder and mix with salt for herbed potato chips

Nutritional Information: Entire recipe (without seasonings) Calories 254.7 Total Fat 0.2 g Saturated Fat 0.2 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 58.7 mg Potassium 1,502.2 mg Total Carbohydrate 58.0 g Dietary Fiber 8.8 g Sugars 4.2 g Protein 6.2 g



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And no the microwave does not cause cancer,  nor does microwaved water kill plants.

What seasonings do you like on your potato chips?


Plant Based Swiss Chard and Mushroom Tofu Scramble (Vegan Breakfast Scramble)

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FTC Notice: This blog post contains affiliate links that go to support the blog. 

Psst… I have a secret to tell you…

Sometimes I like to make breakfast for dinner. 🙂 I don’t eat large or heavy breakfast, maybe only occasionally on the weekend as a brunch, but I prefer fruit, smoothies or fresh juice in the morning. So when I am writing breakfast/brunch recipes I sometimes make them for dinner! I have a favorite tofu scramble as my staple (see the recipe here), but I wanted some more variety with my greens. There was some beautiful Swiss chard at the grocery store, so I grabbed it and decided to create a new recipe for it.



I always like to add mushrooms and onions to my tofu scrambles for extra flavor as well but you can feel free to omit those or add tomatoes, zucchini or broccoli etc. This plant based tofu scramble is such a vibrant recipe it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser whenever you serve it. I also roasted some baby potatoes dry in the oven and sprinkled some salt and smoked paprika on them for a little flavor. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!



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Plant Based Swiss Chard and Mushroom Tofu Scramble

Serves 2 or 4 smaller side servings

Ingredients:

14 oz package firm organic tofu
1/2 medium onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1-2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 bell pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1-2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp Herbamare or sea salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup almond milk or soy milk (unsweetened original) or you can blend a tbsp of hemp seeds/raw cashews with 1/4 cup of water
1 bunch chard, stems removed and chopped



Directions:

1. Drain, dry and crumble the tofu. (Try to squeeze out as much water as possible so it absorbs more flavour. I like to press it between clean tea towels or a tofu press!)

2. Heat a large non-stick pan and sauté onions and mushrooms in soy sauce for 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic and bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes.

3. While the vegetables are cooking add the tofu to a bowl and season with nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, Herbamare or salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.

4. Add tofu to vegetables and heat through and cook for about 5-8 minutes.

5. Add the chopped Swiss chard or other greens and almond or soy milk. Cover and steam for 1-2 minutes. (Longer if you use kale, less if you use spinach.)

6. Stir and check seasonings.

7. Serve with toast or roasted or steamed potatoes. (I made oil-free roasted baby potatoes with it. I like to add rosemary or thyme along with garlic and onion powder and a little salt. )


Have you ever made plant based tofu scramble before? What do you put in it?



Seitan Makhani (Vegan “Unbutter Chicken”) Recipe

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Ok I have to admit something to you.

I’ve never actually had buttered chicken, but it’s because once upon a time I was a little afraid of spicy food and afraid I would not like Indian food… (Hah funny I know right.) I also stopped eating butter and dairy a long time ago and also did not eat foods with dairy products. So I will not try to argue that I know this is an “authentic” recipe or anything like that.

Just because you eat plant based now doesn’t mean you have to miss out on delicious Indian curries!

BUT I will tell you that this vegan version of “Buttered” Chicken is oil-free, butter free and cream free, so you can feel a little less guilty about indulging in a creamy Indian curry. Since I don’t like to use fake meat products often, I made my own “wheat meat” also known as seitan. (Seitan is not gluten free, so if you are allergic you can sub tofu or chickpeas).

This was a fun experiment as I’d never made “wheat meat” before but it was actually pretty easy.  See my instructions for seitan here.

This curry sauce can be used for any item really, if you want to cook tofu, vegan chicken, chickpeas, potatoes, cauliflower etc. instead of the seitan you can do that as well. It goes really well on top of rice or Indian bread such as roti or chapati (more vegan friendly than naan bread.)

Indian curries can be a little complicated to make if you make fresh curry pastes, but this recipe is very easy and uses readily available dried spices. Plus it’s also much healthier than using jarred curry sauces from the store and you can adjust the spiciness to your liking.

I hope you have fun making it!

Seitan Makhani (Vegan “Unbuttered Chicken) Recipe

Serves 6

Curry Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped
4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water
2 tsp ground ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 – 2 tsp chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
3 bay leaves
2 cups tomato puree (you can puree canned tomatoes)
2 cups almond or soy milk (original unsweetened)
1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt (I used So Delicious coconut – plain)
2-4 teaspoon garam masala
Cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Herbamare or salt or to taste
Black pepper to taste

Vegan Chicken:

1 (16 oz) package chicken-style seitan, cut into cubes (See my recipe here) Or sub tofu or chickpeas
1-2 teaspoon garam masala

Roti/chapati or basmati rice to serve with

Directions:

1. Heat a large non-stick  saucepan or wok over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, water, ginger, garlic, curry powder, chili powder, cumin, and bay leaves. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato puree and cook for 3-4 minutes more. *Note I used canned tomatoes and just pureed them in the blender beforehand.

2. Reduce the heat to low and mix in the almond milk. *For a creamier curry, transfer contents to a blender or food process and process until smooth. Return to pan and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the vegan yogurt and season to taste with garam masala, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Heat a separate medium sized non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the seitan and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and season the seitan with teaspoons garam masala. Stir in about a 1/4 cup of the tomato-yogurt sauce and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes so it can absorb some of the flavours.

4. Transfer the seitan mixture to the saucepan and heat through.

5. Serve. (Curry will be really saucy and goes well on rice.)

Variations:

Sub the seitan for sliced tofu, chickpeas, potatoes or cauliflower for variety.

You can also double the amount of seitan or add vegetables to make a chunkier curry.

Have you ever had butter chicken before? Have you ever made your own Indian curry at home?

Product Review: Amy’s Kitchen Vegetable Pot Pie (Non Dairy)

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I used to love chicken pot pies growing up (easy for kids to cook themselves naturally) and probably ate them too frequently. I loved how crispy and tasty the crust was on them. I was surprised to find a vegan version of this traditional pot pie and thought I’d try it out.

Honestly it’s not my favorite from Amy’s Kitchen, but I do commend them for trying to make this vegan pot pie lower in fat and healthier than the original. However the crust is a little hard and dry when you bake it up and not very delicious. Inside the tofu has a chicken-like flavour but there seems to be more crust than filling. I think I’ll skip trying to make vegan pot pies myself and opt for a hearty veggie stew instead when I get a craving for something like this.

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Ingredients and directions.

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Nutritional Information

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Taking it out of the package

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I tried to get a picture of the insides so I broke into the crust with my fork, but you can tell it’s got a lot of empty space in there. For around the same calories I’d pick Amy’s Bean & Rice burrito as it’s a little more filling and satisfying. If you have a craving for a vegan version of chicken pot pie, this may do it for you though.

Basic Nutritional Info: 320 calories 19 grams of fat 53% fat by calories 22 g of protein

Price: $3.74 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada about $6-$7

Taste: Dry crust, tofu not bad, missing more vegetables

Healthfulness: 2/5 (high in fat and sodium)

Looks: 2/5

Low fat: No, high fat recipe

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: No

Soy Free: No

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Probably not. It’s mostly dough and hardly any filling. The gravy is supposed to be the best part and it’s very dry overall.

What could be improved? More sauce, more filling!

Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Have you ever had Amy’s Vegetable Pot Pie? What did you think?

This is not a sponsored post. PlantBasedU received no compensation for reviewing this product. It’s just a popular brand in the vegetarian community.

Product Review: Amy’s Kitchen Roasted Vegetable Tamale

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I’ve actually never had a tamale before (you don’t often find them without meat or cheese). But I quite like this Roasted Vegetable Tamale by Amy’s. It’s much different than Amy’s Enchiladas and has some good flavor and texture to it. The tamale portion is delicious and different, the black beans? Mmm not so good. I absolutely love black beans, but these ones crushed my expectations and not in a good way. All I could taste was salt and nothing else. 🙁

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Ingredients all vegan!

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Nutritional information. This recipe is lower in fat than some of their meals, but seriously high in sodium. Over 2 1/2 times the amount health experts recommend per calorie (mostly in the beans).

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I wish these tamales came by themselves because I would enjoy eating them again. They were flavorful. But the beans are too salty. I’m not sure if they are catering to the lowest common denominator in salt lovers or what. I like some salt in beans but I don’t know why Americans eat such salty black and pinto beans, it’s hard to taste anything else but salt. Other seasonings like cumin and chili powder can add some interest and reduce the amount of salt needed in a recipe.

On to my overall product review.

Basic Nutritional Info: 280 calories 7 grams of fat 23% fat by calories 9 g of protein

Price: $3.38 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada about $6.29

Taste: Tamale 4/5 Black beans 1/5 way too salty

Texture: 4/5

Healthfulness: 3/5 (high in sodium)

Looks: 4/5

Low fat: No, medium fat

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: Yes

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Yes, but not the black beans portion.

What could be improved? Use less oil in the recipe and much less sodium in the black beans and other seasonings instead.

Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Have you ever tried Amy’s Roasted Vegetable Tamale? What did you think?

Product Review: Amy’s Bowls Brown Rice & Vegetables

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I wanted to do a few reviews on some vegan products my readers might be interested in trying. This one is a frozen dinner by Amy’s and is a brown rice and vegetables bowl.

From Amy’s website “Organic brown rice, tofu and vegetables in a delectable sesame tahini sauce. A flavorful, nutritious high protein meal, containing no dairy or gluten. Satisfying at any time of the day. (Amy’s dad eats his for breakfast on the way to work.)”

Let’s check out the ingredients:

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ingredients

So the ingredients look pretty good overall, considering most frozen dinners have things like high fructose corn syrup, sugar, MSG, preservatives and chemical flavors in them. It also has food ingredients first and not oil or sugar, so this is good.

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nutritional info

Now let’s check out the nutritional info.

This is not a low fat meal, but it is not a high fat meal either. The fat in this product is mainly coming from olive oil, tahini and safflower oil. I’m not sure why there are two kinds of oil in this food. That’s the only thing I find strange about this product.

Now let’s see what it actually looks like out of the package.

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frozen, removed from box

Microwave directions: Cut slit in package and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes.

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Now that my frozen dinner is hot and ready it’s time to eat!

While it has a nice mild taste and some colour, I would say it tastes more like a creamy mushroom sauce rather than a sesame tahini sauce (tahini means sesame paste.) The tofu had a nice flavor. It kind of reminded me of the tofurky flavor, but maybe that’s just me.

In any case it’s a nice mellow flavored bowl and if you like mushrooms, broccoli and flavored tofu you will like this. Here’s a little review breakdown for you.

Basic Nutritional Info: 260 calories 9 grams of fat 31% fat by calories

Price: $3.74 USD on sale ($4.99 reg) In Canada about $6-$7

Taste: 4/5

Texture: 3/5

Healthfulness: 3/5

Looks: 3/5

Low fat: No, medium fat recipe

Vegan: Yes

Gluten Free: Yes

Soy Free: Yes

Nut Free: Yes

GMO Free: Yes

Would I eat it again? Sure for a quick mini meal on the go. But I won’t likely buy it again soon as I enjoy homemade rice bowls better.

What could be improved? More rice so it’s not so moist and wet (and more filling) and remove the two kinds of oil which is kind of overkill and unnecessary.

*Disclosure, I’m doing this review of my own accord, I was not given any free product nor was I paid to do this review.

Hope you enjoyed my review! Let me know what you thought of your Amy’s Bowls Brown Rice And Vegetables.

Vegan Soy Curl Fajitas With Yams (Sweet Potatoes)

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I don’t often use “fake meat” substitutes and prefer to make almost everything from scratch.  But my favourite “just like chicken” product is Soy Curls because they do have a great taste and texture once they are seasoned.  They don’t contain a lot of ingredients, just soy and they are gluten free (and GMO free as well).

So far everything I have put Soy Curls in has turned out delicious. You really can’t screw up Soy Curls.  Essentially you take the dried product and soak it in warm/hot water for about 10 minutes to plump up and you drain them.  I like to add some salt and seasonings to them while they soak, or else they don’t taste like anything. They do need some salt to have flavor.

Then you can just sauté these dry in a pan (they taste better if you cook some of the water out) I cook them for 10-15 minutes until they seem done and have a good texture. You can then add the Soy Curls to any recipe you desire, but they taste best if you season them or put a sauce over them. See my previous Soy Curl recipe here that is one of my favorites.

If you don’t want to buy Soy Curls you can omit them and just use the veggies and yams in this recipe instead.

It’s also really hard to make fajitas look appetizing when you have so many brown/beige colours with the whole wheat tortillas, mushrooms, onions and Soy Curls! At least my new colorful plates help…

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Vegan Soy Curl Fajitas With Mashed Yams (Sweet Potatoes)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 small yams (orange sweet potatoes/kumara)
Roasted cumin (I use McCormick’s) to taste
Herbamare or Sea salt to taste
Chipotle chili powder or chili powder to taste
1 1/2 cups Soy Curls (dried)
1 sweet onion, sliced
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 cup mushrooms slices
9-12 small corn or small wheat tortillas
1-2 tbsp fajita seasoning (recipe found here)

Directions:

Peel and slice the yams. Place in a pot or steamer basket and steam until fork tender. 15-20 minutes depending on size. Set aside when done.

Soak the Soy Curls in warm/hot water for 10 minutes. Season with some salt if desired (I do). Drain.

In a large non-stick skillet or wok saute the Soy Curls over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add the onions and peppers and season to taste with fajita seasoning. Cook until peppers and onions are at desired tenderness (about 1-3 minutes).

Place the yams in a bowl and mash them and season to taste with cumin, salt and chipotle powder. (Don’t over season, just give it a little flavour.)

Lay out a tortilla, spread some mashed yams and add the fajita ingredients.

Serve with guacamole or salsa if desired.

Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Additional Tips:

For warm tortillas you can microwave them for a few seconds until warm or heat them in an oven wrapped in tinfoil on low while you prepare your ingredients.

Feel free to add other veggies as desired like zucchini or carrots. Cook longer if necessary.

Soy Curls can be cooked a lot without burning because they are so moist so keep cooking them until your vegetables are at desired tenderness.

 

What are your favorite ingredients in veggie fajitas?

Homemade Fajita Seasoning Mix

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Who needs to buy Fajita or Taco seasoning mix? Did you realize it’s super easy and inexpensive to make yourself if you already have the following ingredients in your pantry?

I find seasoning mixes often too hot and spicy for my tastes so this is a perfect way to adjust how spicy you want your mix to be. So feel free to add more or less depending on what you like.

Use this fajita seasoning instead of Old El Paso Fajita Seasoning Mix. You can make it as tame or spicy as you like by adjusting the amount of chili powder and cayenne.

Sprinkle this seasoning on fajita veggies, soy taco “meat”, Soy Curls, tempeh, roasted potatoes, roasted vegetables and more.

Faijita Seasoning Mix

 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp cornstarch
2-4 tsp chili powder
2 tsp sea salt (fine)
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp granulated sugar (or raw sugar)
1 tsp roasted cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

Combine in a bowl and whisk together. Store in a glass jar or airtight container.

Uses:

Sprinkle 1-2 tbsp of this mixture over your veggies as you stir fry them for fajitas. Also great to use for flavoring potatoes, roasted vegetables, tofu scramble, soy curls and more.

Additional Tips:

I really like the smoked flavour of the smoked paprika. If you don’t have it or don’t like it you can omit it or add more chipotle or chili powder. I just find it adds so much flavor without adding a lot of heat.