A vegan Thanksgiving dish to bring to any dinner to curb those fall comfort food feels!
Rainbow forests, crunchy leaves, crisp mornings & cozy teas.
Does that count as poetry?
But really, I do love fall. Seasons make you truly appreciate each one when you’re in it. The summer (as usual) went by in a blink. We always pack it to the brim with as much adventure in the sun as we can fit.
Paddle boarding. Biking. Camping. Hiking. Dancing.
Now is the time, with the changing of seasons, to have an excuse to take a step back.
Cooking, minimizing the closet, dinner catch ups, catching up on … everything?!
Well, here is a recipe to add to your autumn vibes. Even if this holiday is traditional with the turkey and all, this is a perfect vegan Thanksgiving recipe to bring for everyone to try.
After living in France for years in her 20s, ratatouille is something my Mom has conquered and makes all the time. I decided to give it a bit of a twist this time to make it even more comfort-food approved.
This recipe tastes ‘melt in your mouth-y’, and gives you that feeling of eating something heavy, but it’s actually packed with veggies and nutrients, light on the tummy, great on the digestion, and nice to your waist-line.
Win win.
This passed the comfort-food taste test from the comfort-food lover (aka Davey), so I’m confident that you’ll get those comforting vibes from this dish too.
I always get my smoked tofu from Spud, but if you head to any vegan meat section of the grocery store these days, you’ll be able to find an organic smoked tofu block.
You can use any vegan cheese for the topping (this is optional, but totally takes it to next level awesomeness).
Or, top it off with some vegan parmesano with this easy recipe from here.
Benefits:
- Eggplant is a great veggie for weight loss because it’s packed with fibre, with no fat or cholesterol. It’s also beneficial for bone health, not only because of the calcium content, but also the potassium content to help the uptake of the calcium! Also, if you’re worried about anemia, eggplant is the veggie for you because it’s packed with iron. It’s brain food too because of all the phytonutrients it packs!
- Brown rice pasta has just 2 ingredients; brown rice & water. SO many people are afraid of pasta, or any carbs for that matter. But white pasta, refined sugars, and overly processed or fried carbohydrates with a bunch of ingredients are giving carbohydrates a bad name. Carbohydrates, even pasta with minimal whole food ingredients, are what our body thrives on. So go for it with the brown rice pasta, quinoa pasta, soba noodles, baked potatoes, and brown rice! It’s brain food and good energy that our body loves.
- Veggies galore! This recipe is a great way to pack in a bunch of veggies. The more veggies we have in our diet, the longer we’ll live and the better we’ll feel. Duh.
- 3 onions, diced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 10 small cremini or white mushrooms, diced
- 2 red peppers, diced
- 1 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder (or 1 cube, or ½ cup vegetable broth)
- 1 tbsp garam masala spice
- 1 large eggplant, cubed
- 2 zucchinis, cubed
- 1 small can organic diced tomatoes, OR 5 chopped roma tomatoes
- 1 package smoked tofu, diced
- 1 package brown rice pasta
- Vegan cheeze of choice for topping (I used Gusta) or top with Vegan Parmesan
- Oil-free sauté the onions, add garlic after a few minutes
- Add mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini and eggplant. Sauté for a few minutes with ½ cup water.
- Add diced tomatoes (or can of tomatoes).
- Stir, then let simmer 20 minutes.
- Pre-Heat oven to 350°F.
- Bring pasta water to a boil.
- Cook pasta according to directions, then strain.
- Mix pasta and smoked tofu into the ratatouille pot.
- Sprinkle with cheeze (the Gusta was amazing. It's easy to grate and browns up!)
- Bake, lid-on for 5-10 minutes, and continue baking with the lid off for 3 more minutes to brown to top layer.
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