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Raw Eatery Carrot Sun Seed Taco Meat | Vegan

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Carrots. They’re good for snackin’, shreddin’, cakes n’ muffins… BUT, did you know, when paired with the sunflower seed, they can morph into a delicious, meat-y taco filling? That’s right. Welcome to my kitchen, carrot sunflower taco meat. I’ll be seeing you again and again and again.

Thanks to the amazing ladies and co-owners of the Raw Eatery and Market in Calgary, Megan and Ali, for allowing me to share their yummy recipe with all of you! If you’re in Calgary, I HIGHLY recommend checking out their beautiful vegan café in Kensington. These two girls are full of positivity and contagious passion for plant-based food. The space is beautiful, (equipped with a gratitude tree and Talk Vegan To Me apparel), and I simply can’t go to Calgary without lunching here at least once.

This is one of their most popular dishes, served on butter lettuce with cashew sour cream, hummus, sprouts and avo… and OH EM GEE, it was tasty. Check out Meg serving it up for the Calgary VegFest promo on Global TV last year:)

This stuff is perfect for taco night of course, but also works for loading up your potatoes, topping your salads, amping up your lunch wraps, or pumping up your pizzas.

It’s ridiculously simple, and packed with all the noots!

Carrots bring the vitamin A and beta-carotene, sunflower seeds bring the vitamin E, protein and a bunch of beneficial minerals.

Happy taco meat night!


4.0 from 1 reviews
Raw Eatery Carrot Sun Seed Taco Meat | Vegan
 
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A raw vegan taco meat to taco-about!
Author:
Recipe type: tacos, raw, dinner, lunch
Cuisine: raw vegan
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 3 cups carrots, chopped
  • 2 cups sunflower seeds
  • ¼ of a red onion
  • ¼-1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup chili powder
Instructions
  1. Throw all ingredients into your food processor. Pulse a few times, then let it run. Turning off to scrape down the sides a few times.
  2. Done!
  3. Serve on lettuce wraps to keep it raw, or taco shells with cashew sour cream, salsa, avocado and sprouts!

Tag me if you make this! (@hookedonplants on instagram)

I love seeing your recipes.

For more inspiration and info on eating plant-based, sign up to my emails for bi-weekly inspiration, recipes, plus a free PDF on How to Get Hooked On Plants!

Have me guide you towards a plant-based lifestyle, try the MostlyPlants program.

Try the #PlantsForAWeek challenge by grabbing my new E-Book

 

Lentil Quinoa Burgers that don’t suck

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Sun’s out, buns out!

Lentil Quinoa Burger buns all the way.

It’s feeling pretty springy around here, which means, that BBQ needs some tender attention.

Time for another veggie burger recipe.

This time I was going for a flavourful patty that DOESN’T FALL A PART.

 

We’ve all heard it before… ‘vegan burgers always fall a part’. Just like that. Heard it a million times, and had it a million times.

Well, give this one a chance. It’s one that you can flip, and one that won’t squish outta that bun of yours.

It even fairs well on the ol’ barby.

OH and this avo dill sauce…

I say every sauce I make is an everything sauce… but seriously, this sauce is most def’ an everything sauce. Put it on anything, and BOOM, immediate chef-y points.


Vegan Lentil Quinoa Burgers
 
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A veggie burger to impress your friends with. Not all vegan burgers are super squishy, fall-a-part-y. This one is flavourful and the texture is on point!
Author:
Recipe type: burger, BBQ
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
  • 1 cup quinoa, pre-cooked
  • 1½ cup green lentils, pre-cooked
  • 1 flax egg (mix 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water and let sit for 3 minutes)
  • ½ cup white onion, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • ½ cup oats, blended to a flour (use gluten-free if needed)
  • 1 tbsp miso
  • 1 tbsp vegan BBQ sauce (sub with ½ tbsp mustard + ½ tbsp ketchup)
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper

  • Avocado Dill Sauce:
  • 2 avocados
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp dill
  • 1 tbsp vegan mayo
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ + ⅛ cup water

  • Extra Toppings:
  • Caramelized onions + mushrooms
  • Dijon
  • Tomato
  • Red onion
  • Sprouts
  • Pickles
  • Vegan Mayo
  • Vegan Cheese (add to the burger after the 2nd flip with just 2 minutes left to cook) ~ I used Gusta Cheese here, but you can find any cheese you want on Vegan Supply or Spud! (you can use code: CRVAN-MURJUB for 20$ off)
Instructions
  1. First of all, make sure your flax egg is soaking away for just a few minutes.
  2. Heat pan to medium, add onions and garlic, sauté for a few minutes. Add 1 tbsp of water or balsamic vinegar at a time to de-glaze the pan. Do this until the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes)
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the flax egg, miso paste, BBQ sauce, cumin, paprika, nutritional yeast, salt + pepper.
  4. In a large bowl, add that mixture plus the rest of the ingredients and wake up those arm muscles! Mash away with a potato masher. The mixture should be paste-y, stick together-y, but still have a few whole lentils in tact. If it's too wet, add a bit more nutritional yeast (Nooch). If it's too dry, add a little bit more BBQ sauce.
  5. Form the burgers into patties (about a ½ inch thick and 3 inches in diameter).
  6. Place the patties on a parchment-covered plate and store in the fridge for 10 minutes while you turn your pan to medium heat, or while your BBQ fires up.
  7. Either brush the grill surface with avocado or coconut oil, or add 1 tsp of oil to your pan.
  8. Cook 7 minutes per side, adding cheese for the last 2 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, make your avocado dill sauce. Add all ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth!
  10. Pile up your masterpiece!!

Tag me if you make this! (@hookedonplants on instagram)

I love seeing your recipes.

For more inspiration and info on eating plant-based, sign up to my emails for bi-weekly inspiration, recipes, plus a free PDF on How to Get Hooked On Plants!

Try the #PlantsForAWeek challenge by grabbing my new E-Book

 

Creamy Vegan Chipotle Sauce aka Everything Sauce

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Always, ALWAYS have a sauce in arms reach. It just makes life so much easier.

So many options… this chipotle sauce… or this Garlic Cream Sauce, or Hollandaise Sauce, or Orange Sesame Sauce, or Cashew Cheese Sauce, or Curry Tahini Sauce, or this Chickpea Tahini Drizzle.

SO SAUCEY.

Now, back to today’s chipotle sauce.

This stuff is great to drizzle all over anything savoury to take it up to the next level on the yum-o-meter.

I personally love it on loaded potatoes, roasted veggies, beans n’ greens n’ grains, or in tempeh lunch wraps. YUM.

Where ever or how ever you use it, there’s no doubt that you’re gonna feel totally chef-y with little to no effort. Perfect.

Chipotle Cream Sauce aka Everything Sauce
 
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A spicy, creamy, tofu-based sauce that will add wow-factor to any savoury dish!
Author:
Recipe type: sauce, condiment
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 package firm tofu
  • 2 tsp chipotle (more if you like it even spicier)
  • ½ cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 clove garlic
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • ¾ cup of unsweetened almond or soy milk
  • pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to the blender, and blend until smooth!
  2. Drizzle on loaded potatoes, toona sandwiches, lunch wraps,pastas, roasted veggies, nachos, tacos...

Tag me if you make this! (@hookedonplants on instagram)

I love seeing your recipes.

For more inspiration and info on eating plant-based, sign up to my emails for bi-weekly inspiration, recipes, plus a free PDF on How to Get Hooked On Plants!

Try the #PlantsForAWeek challenge by grabbing my new E-Book

 

Interview with Vegan Registered Dietician: Pamela Fergusson + Tahini Brownies

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Pamela Fergusson a Vegan Registered Dietician with a PhD in nutrition, and a Mama of 4!
In her 15 years of experience in changing lives through better nutrition, she’s worked as a lecturer in nutrition at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Ryerson University.
Let’s just say, her experience with plant-based nutrition is vast!!
Her blog and instagram ( @drpamela_rd ) are both incredibly informative, making the plant-based lifestyle approachable, fun and delicious.
Her instastories are always a go-to where she backs her facts with stats and studies, and simplifies delicious and nutritious vegan meals. She recently moved out of the city and into the mountains, and now bases her private practice out of Nelson BC.
Well, I put it out to all of you over on my @hookedonplants Instastories:
What do you want me to ask a vegan dietician!?
Here are some questions you wanted answers to (some of these questions have been answered in other areas of my instagram and blog, but I’m excited to hear it in the words of the amazing Pamela!):
You asked:
What is the best way to get Calcium and Vitamin D without dairy?
Pamela answered:
Calcium can be found in a wide variety of plant foods, including tahini, apricots, kale and tofu. One of the best ways to get it, though, is by drinking a fortified plant-based milk. In Canada, those will also be fortified with vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 is better absorbed, but you will need to get that through a supplement. The best source of vitamin D is the sun! You’ll need 20 mins of spring/summer or autumn exposure with no sunscreen.
You asked:
Should I limit fruit sugar? 
Pamela answered:
Fructose is the sugar in fruit and it is metabolized in the liver. Please don’t limit your intake of fruit. The sugar in fruit is just one of the nutrients found in nature’s candy.  You will also be getting fibre, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. You should, however, limit your intake of high fructose corn syrup. That stuff is stripped of any additional helpful nutrients and increases your risk of chronic disease.
 
You asked:
What is your view on the animal-based Keto diet and the vegan Keto diet?
Pamela answered:
I’m very cautious about the keto diet in general. I think the research is still very new and unfortunately so many people are attracted to the ‘dirty keto’ involving meals like steak slathered in butter. My advice, if you are trying keto, is make sure your fibre intake is still high.
 
You asked:
What plant milk is the best to give babies?
Pamela answered:
When introducing a milk to children’s diets, the recommendation in Canada for families wishing to avoid dairy is to continue with soy-based formula until your children are two years of age.  Remember that continuing to breastfeed, along with complementary solid foods is a wonderful source of nutrition for your baby, to two years of age and beyond.
Some parents don’t want to offer formula to their babies, and would prefer to offer a milk. At the moment, fortified soy milk is the only milk that offers the calcium, vitamin D and the protein that your baby will benefit from. You can look to other sources for healthy fats. One tip is to blend hemp hearts into your store-bought soy milk to bump up the nutrition, including protein, and healthy fats including omega-3s.
 
You asked:
What can be done to help reduce and bloating throughout the day on a vegan diet?
Pamela answered:
Keeping your portions small is a good idea. Try a gentle approach to intermittent fasting of 12 hours of eating window and then 12 hours of fasting. If that works well, you might want to extend your daily fast slightly to 14 or even 16 hours. Increase your fibre intake slowly.
You asked:
I went vegan for a few months, but felt really tired. What was I doing wrong?
Pamela answered:
It’s unusual for a dietary change to affect you so quickly. This points to the idea that you might not have been eating enough calories. Plant foods are mostly lower in calorie density than animal foods are, and you may need to increase portions of frequency of meals when you go vegan. Longer term, fatigue may be a sign of iron or B12 deficiency, but that takes a long time to develop. You can always ask your doctor to check your blood work if you have any concerns. I recommend annual bloodwork to my clients if possible.
 
You asked:
Why do vegans need to supplement B12?
Pamela answered:
B12 is derived from bacteria. So, although meat is a source of B12, cows and pigs don’t produce it themselves, they simply store it in their tissues. Also, many farmers supplement their animal’s diets with B12. There is no B12 in plants, so we need to get it from supplements or fortified foods.
 
You asked:
What other supplements do you recommend everyone takes on a vegan diet?
Pamela answered:
B12, Vitamin D in the winter and possibly a vegan omega 3 (DHA/EPA).
*Side note: Complement has all three in one. Head here and use the code ‘hookedonplants’ for 10% off at the check out.*

Enough talk, it’s time for Pamela’s brownies

 

Pamela Fergusson's Fudgey Tahini Brownies
 
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Super dense brownies with benefits! Perfect for the lunch box.
Author:
Recipe type: dessert, snack
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1 cup white sugar (can sub ½ coconut sugar. Batter will be extra dense and a bit fudge-y)
  • ½ cup brown or coconut sugar
  • 1¾ cup flour can use 50/50 white/whole wheat
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2 flax eggs (1 tbsp ground flax and 3 tbsp water or aquafaba per 'egg')
  • ¼ cup apple sauce
  • ½ cup tahini
  • ¾ cup plant based milk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
  • 2 tsp vanila
  • 1 cup boiling hot coffee
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Mix flax eggs and set aside to gel while you prepare the other ingredients
  3. Add lemon juice or vinegar to your plant-based milk. Set aside for 10 mins to sour. This will improve the flavour of the brownies (like vegan buttermilk!)
  4. Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl so they are evenly distributed.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry (don't forget the flax eggs), EXCEPT for the coffee, save that til last. Hand mix gently with a spoon until well combined, but don't over-mix.
  6. Pour in the coffee and mix gently. Batter will be wet. Don't worry!
  7. Grease a 9X13 in baking pan or line it with baking paper.
  8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350F for 30 mins, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to complete cooling.
  9. Enjoy warm! With vegan ice cream. Life is delicious.
Notes
Top with vegan chocolate chips or coconut chips!

 

Tag @hookedonplants and @drpamela_rd if you make this! We love seeing your creations.

For more inspiration and info on eating plant-based, sign up to my emails for bi-weekly inspiration, recipes, plus a free PDF on How to Get Hooked On Plants!

Try the #PlantsForAWeek challenge by grabbing my new E-Book

 

Vegan Mac & Cheese (with Carrot Potato Cheese Sauce!)

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Time to get saucy! Carrot Potato Cheese Sauce-style.

This week is all about creating that decadent flavour and texture, amping up the nutrients, and ditching the high fat, high calorie ways of those usual culprits in your typical creamy or mac n’ cheese pasta sauce (I’m lookin’ at you butter, cheese and heavy cream).

This sauce is so healthy, that there’s no shame in drinking it from the blender.

Actually, it’s highly encouraged.

When you’re just dying for that creamy pasta experience…but you don’t want to dose yourself with a big ol’ bowl of heavy cream sauce, this is the pasta sauce for you.

Carrots and taters to the rescue.


Vegan Mac & Cheese (with Carrot Potato Cheese Sauce!)
 
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A super healthy version of your typical mac & cheese, but still so creamy, flavourful and more than satisfying!
Author:
Recipe type: dinner, lunch
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Pasta noodles of choice (around 450g)
  • 1 large head of broccoli florets, chopped (save stalks for your next hummus plate as dippers!)
  • 1 package vegan sausage (I used Field Roast from Spud. You can use code: 'CRVAN-MURJUB for 20$ off your first order)
  • Smokey Vegan Parmesan

  • Carrot Potato Cheese Sauce:
  • 3 medium-sized russet potatoes, chopped
  • 4 large carrots, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ¼ cup miso paste
  • ⅛ cup dijon
  • ¾ cup nutritional yeast
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • ¾ cup unsweetened, unflavoured soy milk
  • pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Steam potatoes and carrots for 10-15 minutes (until you can poke a fork through them)
  2. Add all the sauce ingredients to your blender, including the carrots and potatoes
  3. Bring your pasta pot to a boil.
  4. Place broccoli in the steamer (add more water if needed), and steam for 5 minutes.
  5. Back to the blender: blend sauce ingredients until smooth (you may need to use a tamper to help in the beginning, but it should blend on its own. Let it blend for a couple of minutes for optimal creaminess)
  6. Cook pasta of choice 1 minute less than what directions say.
  7. Meanwhile, heat a pan to medium, add 1 tsp of oil (avocado is best), then the vegan sausage. Cook for 5 minutes, flipping around every minute or so.
  8. *OPTION: to use 1 less pan, wait until the pasta is finished, and add the sausage to the bottom of the pasta pot while the pasta sits in sink in the strainer*
  9. Strain, pasta, then put back into the pot with the broccoli and sausage.
  10. Add the sauce to the pot and mix until each pasta noodle is super creamy delicious!
  11. Whip up some Smokey Vegan Parm to sprinkle on top!

 

Tag @hookedonplants if you make this! I love seeing your creations.

For more inspiration and info on eating plant-based, sign up to my emails for weekly inspiration, recipes, plus a free PDF on How to Get Hooked On Plants!

This week’s email is all about Colon Cancer Awareness month, and what doc’s to follow on instagram for the month of info!

Try the #PlantsForAWeek challenge by grabbing my new E-Book