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Next Level Vegan Lasagna with Creamy Tofu Ricotta

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Plant-based comfort food to the max. Vegan Lasagna. Or is it lasagne? We’ll stick with the first one.

Lasagna. This word usually means the cheesiest, most tomato-y pasta bake you’ll ever have.

Well, this lasagna still brings that, without the cheese.

Your taste buds and comfort-feels will be completely satisfied while the tofu ricotta and roasted garlic hummus come together to create the most decadent party-in-your-mouth lasagna experience ever.

This vegan lasagna is a good dish to serve up after the holiday indulgence. Your palate is probably still craving that comforting meal, but your brain and bod are begging for that lighter, get-back-to-the-greens kind of meal. Ya know what I mean?

Not to mention there’s just something special about diving your fork into the layered masterpiece we know and love as lasagna.

All that’s in between you and this yumminess is…

Mix

Sauté

Layer

Bake.

Easy it up by using store-bought hummus and tomato pasta sauce.

Or, go for it and make your own roasted garlic hummus from this recipe (double it so you have extra, because what’s a fridge without a tub of hummus anyway…)!

Benefits:

–Brown rice pasta is the pasta for you if you’re sensitive to gluten at all. Pasta isn’t something to be afraid of! YES, avoid white pasta (which is completely stripped of it’s nutrients, vitamins, and fibre), but the other options like quinoa pasta, sprouted whole grain pasta, spelt pasta etc… are all great options! 

–Miso Paste is fermented soy that gives the dish a salty, umami taste. It also is packed with beneficial probiotics to help combat digestive issues by balancing out your gut micro flora. Plus it takes this vegan lasagna to the next level.

–Spinach (lots of it) is pop eye’s fave. I mean common’ what’s not to love. It’s packed with plant protein, chlorophyll, and when it’s cooked you’ll absorb higher levels of vitamins A and E, protein, fibre, zinc, thiamin, calcium, and iron!


Next Level Vegan Lasagna + Creamy Tofu Ricotta
 
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Cheezy and creamy tofu ricotta make this lasagne a plant-based comfort food staple, and one that won't bust your belt!
Author:
Recipe type: lasagna, pasta, dinner, lunch
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 package brown rice lasagna pasta
  • 2 cups (one large jar) tomato basil marinara sauce
  • 6 large cremini mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 large sweet onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder
  • 2 small or 1 large zucchini, chopped
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2-3 cups packed spinach, chopped
  • ½ cup nutritional yeast
Tofu Ricotta:
  • 1 package firm tofu, pressed 15 minutes (or put in 110°F dehydrator for 1 hour)
  • ¾ cup roasted garlic hummus (store bought, or make this recipe)
  • 7 large leaves of basil, chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp miso paste
  • ¾ cup nutritional yeast
Instructions
  1. Make the hummus (or used store-bought).
  2. Pre-heat oven to 400°F. While you're at it, press your tofu if you haven't already (I use a plate, then wrap the tofu in a tea towel, then stack books or a heavy bread board on top for 10 minutes at least)
  3. Heat a pan to medium. Add the onions and mushrooms until the pan browns, then de-caramelize the pan with a bit of water. Add the garlic, vegetable bouillon, and zucchini. Let sauté a few minutes (add a splash of water if it's sticking). Add the peas and spinach. Let sauté a few more minutes until the spinach is cooked down.
  4. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta noodles 2 minutes less than recommended on the package (this helps them stay in tact for layering). Rinse immediately with cold water to prevent them from sticking.
  5. Meanwhile, make the tofu ricotta! Crumble the pressed tofu into a bowl with all the other tofu ricotta ingredients. Mix well to combine. Steal a taste. It's delicious.
  6. In a 12 x 8 inch baking dish, assemble the lasagna: First a thin layer of tomato sauce, Second a layer of ⅓ of the noodles, Third, a layer of ½ the ricotta, Fourth a layer of ½ the sautéed veggies, and again, tomato sauce, ⅓ of the noodles, the rest of the ricotta, the rest of the veggies. Finish it off with the last of the noodles, rest of the tomato sauce, and a generous sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
  7. Cover with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes.
  8. Take tinfoil off and bake for 5 more minutes.
  9. Remove and serve. Will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

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Roasted Garlic Oil-Free Hummus

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Roasted garlic hummus is a staple that should be waiting for you in your fridge at all times.

Spread it, dip it, smother it all over everything.

Even add a tablespoon to some water, and voila: salad dressing!

The flavour and texture of this hummus is on point, and will bring any bland sandwiches, wraps, macro bowls, or veggies to life.

What I love about this hummus, is the oil-free action. Unless you’re suffering from heart disease, you’re fine to have some oil here and there. But when it comes down to it, oil is refined fat with the fibre and water content stripped from what ever  whole food ingredient it’s made of. I always say to eat the whole food instead of the refined version (olives, instead of olive oil, sesame seeds instead of sesame seed oil, flax seeds instead of flax oil, avocados instead of avocado oil… you get my drift).

Adding oil to dressings and sauces is a good way to gain some weight if you need to, but limiting it by making versions of your favourite condiments without oil is a great way to shed some pounds, if that’s what you’re going for.

I personally can’t stop dipping my veggies if there’s hummus kicking around. So, the less refined fat calories there are in the stuff, the better (keep on dippin’ baby!)

The roasted garlic gives this hummus a creamy feel and deep flavour.

Other magical ingredients to add to your hummus for flavour, minus the oil, are:

  • miso paste
  • tamari
  • nutritional yeast
  • coconut aminos
  • pickle juice
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • fresh herbs and spices (dill, paprika, cumin, curry, chipotle, parsley, chives…)
  • Sriracha

 

Roasted Garlic Oil-Free Hummus
 
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A hummus with exceptional flavour, but no refined oils, so you can snack on for days.
Author:
Recipe type: snack, appetizer
Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained (keep aquafaba/chickpea liquid in your fridge for other recipes)
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 1 tbsp miso paste
  • Juice of 1 lemon juice (about ¼ cup of juice)
  • Optional: Nutritional yeast to taste (for a cheezier flavour)
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 375°F
  2. First, cut off the top of the head of garlic (so you can see the tops of each individual clove).
  3. Peel off the loose outer layers of garlic paper and wrap it up tight in aluminum foil
  4. Place it in the middle rack and roast for approximately forty-five minutes or until you can easily pierce the garlic with a sharp knife. The cloves should look caramelized and brown.
  5. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out and add them to a food processor with all the other ingredients.
  6. Blend until smooth!

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Perfect French Fries | Crispy & Oil-Free

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Don’t be a afraid of the tater! Especially when they’re perfect french fries made right.

The poor potato has such a bad reputation.

I’m here to tell you: it’s not the potato’s fault, it’s the way humans have prepared it. Fryin’ it up into french fries or chips creates a saturated calorie bomb with all the wrong fats. Hydrogenated fat being the worst of them all.

The reason being,“hydrogenated fats are difficult for the body to “grab onto” and metabolize, and can neither be incorporated into cell structures nor excreted in the normal fashion. Thus, hydrogenated or “trans-” fats tend to remain “stuck” in blood circulation, becoming oxidized and most importantly, contributing significantly to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and possibly also cancer.” ~ World’s Healthiest Foods.com 

So, we go back to that simple fact that eating a food in it’s whole form is just the bomb dot com.

A potato is actually one of the most perfect foods around… if you eat it in it’s whole form as a potato, baked or boiled without any extra oils or deep fryin’.

Come as you are potato! Come as you are.

Of course, upping the anti and adding spices or healthy sauces to the experience makes the naked spud shine brighter than the best potato chip or french fry you’ve ever bought!

This can be done with sweet potatoes too! But, you might be surprise to know that they’re not much different in nutrition than the white potato!

My favourite way to eat these is in a boat. Get that romaine out, throw a fry in there, then take a dip.

Savoury heaven.

Benefits of potatoes:

  • packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre
  • no saturated fat, sodium or cholesterol
  • more potassium than a banana
  • a great source of vitamin B6 (for mood, brain function and eyesight),
  • magnesium is in these babies to reduce anxiety, plus relieve muscle aches and migraines
  • antioxidants are in there for combat disease and protect your cells from free radicals

 


Perfect French Fries | Crispy & Oil-Free
 
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These fries are crispy and completely guilt-free. Let's fall in love with the potato again in it's whole-food, naked form. This is a go-to simple dinner idea, or a great appetizer dish for a potluck.
Author:
Recipe type: dinner, appetizer
Cuisine: Canadian, potluck, simple
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 3-4 Russet potatoes
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt (optional)
  • (Get creative with your spices! These are good: curry, cumin, onion powder, tarragon)

  • Curry Ketchup Sauce:
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp maple syrup

  • 1 head romaine lettuce (optional)
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F
  2. Chop potatoes into thick fry-shape slices
  3. Pour them into a zip-lock bag with the spices and shake shake shake until evenly coated (kitchen dancing recommended)
  4. Spread the fries evenly across a parchment or silicone mat- covered baking tray (if you want em' crisp, don't let them touch)
  5. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip each one over.
  6. Bake for another 15 minutes, or until you can see the golden brown edges puffing up
  7. Mix all sauce ingredients together
  8. Serve in a romaine leaf and dip it all in your sauce!

 

Curried Collard Greens with Sweet Potato

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For those times that your fridge is bustin’ at the seams with greens.

I had this problem (not really a problem) at the end of this growing season. The garden created SO MANY GREENS, I didn’t know what to do with them.

Do you have this problem ever?

If so, here are some good ideas for you:

  • Kale chips or collard green chips
  • Chop and freeze for your smoothies or soups
  • Use them as wraps
  • Use this recipe to curry them up and stew them down!

This recipe does an awesome job of compressing a countertop full of greens into a pot of green goodness.

What are you waiting for? Get em’ in ya!

Benefits:

  • Greens are packed with protein and fibre. Keeps those muscles ripped, and your digestion smooth
  • Collard greens and kale are part of the cruciferous family, making them incredibly detoxifying and anti-inflammatory
  • Turmeric and ginger act together as an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic.


Curried Collard Greens + Sweet Potato
 
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A delicious way to eat as many greens as your pot can handle.
Author:
Recipe type: dinner, lunch
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 sweet potato, diced
  • 2 sweet onions, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press
  • 2 tbsp miso paste
  • 1 tsp ginger powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ can coconut milk
  • 1½ cups water
  • As many collards and kale you can fit in your pot, de-stemmed and chopped
  • Vegan parmesan from this recipe
  • Sunflower seeds to top
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F
  2. Bake sweet potato for 20 minutes (on parchment paper covered pan)
  3. Meanwhile, oil-free sauté onions and garlic for about 10 minutes (heat frying pan to medium, add chopped onions, let sizzle for 2 minutes, then add ½ cup water to get the caramelization off the pan, add a bit more water if it's still sticking after a few minutes).
  4. Add miso, ginger, turmeric and coconut milk. Mix until combined.
  5. Add 1 cup of water and all the greens.
  6. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
  7. Add sweet potato to greens just before they're done simmering.
  8. Serve in your favourite bowl and top with vegan parm and sunflower seeds

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Chocolate Blueberry Turmeric Smoothie

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Smoothies….The best way trick your body into eating an entire head of greens.

My day isn’t complete without one.

Typically, the blender is packed 3/4 with greens, then topped off with a big handful of berries, and a couple frozen ‘nanas.

Sounds like a whole forest of greens, but once you blend it all up they hide from your taste buds just like black beans in brownies.

Blending is one of the best ways to get your fruits and veggies in. In smoothie-town, you get to keep the fibre, along with all of the vitamins, phytonutrients, and minerals. Efficient or what!

The more whole, plant foods you can get into your day, the better your body will feel, and the more energy you will have. In other words… a blender is definite BFF material.

Adding in a scoop of this chocolate vegan protein powder that packs in sacha inchi, spirulina, chlorella, maca, greens and all 22 amino acids, takes this smoothie to the next level! The beauty of adding this powder is that you can add even more veggies, and the bitterness of extra kale or chard will be masked by the chocolatey goodness.

And it’s chocolate goodness to the max, with the only sweetener being stevia (a zero calorie plant that’s 200 times as sweet as sugar and related to the daisy!).

Smoothie tips:

  • chew your smoothie! This is why I like to add less liquid sometimes and make it into a smoothie bowl I eat like a soup. Sounds weird, I know, but it’s important to chew your smoothie to start the production of digestive enzyme, amylase, in your saliva. The mouth is where the breakdown of carbohydrates starts. Adding cacao nibs to your smoothie is a great way to remind yourself to chew your smoothie, rather than guzzling it down in a hurry. This makes sure you’re not sending undigested chunks of food down to your stomach.
  • add the greens and additional powders first, then the heavy stuff like berries and bananas on top. This order of things will help the greens blend up without air bubbles and stalls.
  • start your blender on low and pulse a few times, then crank er’ up to the top speed. If it’s not blending, use a tamper.
  • make a mega smoothie in the morning (fill your blender to the brim). Then you’ll have a smoothie in the morning and more waiting for you in the fridge for the afternoon. Having a smoothie ready to grab all day long will kick that afternoon junk food craving in the a$$ and give you a burst of clean energy.

Benefits:

  • Blueberries are packed with antioxidants and vitamin C. The vitamin C helps you absorb all of the iron from the spinach and other greens, and the antioxidants protect you from cell oxidation that comes from pollutants and other stressors leading to early aging, illness or cancer.
  • Turmeric is nature’s anti-inflammatory. All disease begins with inflammation, so the less inflammation you have, the healthier you’ll be and the better you’ll feel!
  • Greens are the most nutrient-dense food group, packed with minerals, vitamins and fibre. Get them in ya whenever you can. Pack that blender with greens… then add one more handful.


Chocolate Blueberry Turmeric Smoothie
 
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An easy, chocolate-y smoothie recipe packed to the brim with greens, with a kick of anti-inflammatory turmeric.
Author:
Recipe type: breakfast, snack
Cuisine: Raw Vegan
Serves: 2 large full mason jars
Ingredients
  • 1-2 cups blueberries (or other berries of choice)
  • 3 cups (or more) of packed greens (spinach, lettuce, kale, collards)
  • 1 cm of fresh turmeric, or ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 -3 frozen bananas (un-frozen works too)
  • 1½ cups almond milk or this hemp milk
  • 1 scoop of chocolate Ground Based Nutrition powder
  • 1 tbsp cacao nibs (optional)
  • water (optional)
Instructions
  1. Add everything except the cacao nibs to the blender. Start with the greens, turmeric and powder on the bottom, then top it with everything else
  2. Blend! Pulse a few times, then slowly increase the speed to max and blend until smooth.
  3. Add water if you want a thinner consistency
  4. Pour into your fave jar and top with cacao nibs

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