Mexican Tofu Tacos

All these recipes are starting off with Vegan versions of the things I loved to eat when I wasn't Vegan. Tacos are one of my favorite foods! And I didn't think I was going to enjoy a Vegan Taco more than a meat filled one.....I was wrong!!!

From the cookbook, "The Everyday Vegan," here's the recipe!

1 tbsp dark soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2-1 tsp chipotle hot sauce (or other hot sauce, adjust to taste)
1 1/2 cups firm or extra-firm tofu, mashed until somewhat crumbly
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
couple pinches of sea salt
couple pinches of fresh ground pepper
1 1/4-1 1/2 cups green or red pepper, finely chopped
*I used both red and green because I love bell peppers!
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (optional)
*I didn't use corn in mine
1 cup tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup pasta sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped (optional)
10 (or more) taco shells
*I made taco shells from fresh flour tortillas
Optional Garnishes:
avocado, chopped or mashed
jicama, chopped
soy cheese, grated
lettuce, shredded


In a bowl, mix soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and hot sauce, then add tofu and mix through. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tofu, carrots, celery, chili powder, cumin, and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring several times. Add peppers, corn, tomatoes, pasta sauce, salsa, and tomato paste, and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring several times. If there is still moisture, cook for another couple of minutes until liquid evaporates. Stir in green onions and optional cilantro/parsley a few minutes before serving to heat through. If not serving right away, reserve green onions and herbs to add before serving. Season with additional sea salt and black pepper if desired. Spoon mixture into taco shells, and top with optional garnishes.

This book also adds nutritional facts per taco:
Calories: 148
Total Fat:6.8g
Saturated Fat: 0.8g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Carbohydrates: 16.6g
Fiber: 2.4g
Protein: 5.3g

Alright, so these tacos were the bomb.com!!! There's tons or ingredients that goes into it, but it makes at least 10 good sized tacos. I even had some still leftover!

My best advise for this recipe: Have everything chopped up and ready to go! It looks like alot, but once you get started, it cooks pretty fast, so you want to be prepared!

I'll post pictures later, but i made taco shells with flour tortillas-just add a tiny bit of oil to a skillet and warm it up. Then drop the tortilla in, flip quickly to get oil on both sides, and cook on each side for about 20 seconds, just until browned. This makes for a good taco shell, in my opinion, because, well, they're bigger than normal shells, which is good for me because then I'm full on one taco. And it also leaves them with a little crunch to it, but not hard like store bought shells.

After blogging this, I want to go home and make them again!! haha

Eat well, Live well!
~Tre

Soy Chorizo with Egg Replacer

This one is pretty simple. I just bought soy chorizo from Trader Joe's and cooked it with the equivalent to 6 eggs with the Egg replacer. I'm going to learn how to make my own soy chorizo the next time I make this, that way, if you can't find it in any stores where you're at, you'll have a recipe to make it homemade.

Just cook the chorizo for about 5 min in a skillet on med heat, no oil needed. Then add in the egg replacer and cook for another 5 min, until it is mixed well and browning. I made the chorizo into burritos, but you can also eat it plain, or just use pieces of tortillas or bread to scoop it up. REALLY good stuff!!!

My dad, who is very much a carnivore and wants nothing to do with my foods, tried this and said it was pretty good! He added that it might be better with some potatoes mixed in. So, next time I make this, which will be very soon, I will try it with the potatoes and I'll see about making it all from scratch!

Until then, Eat well, Live well!
~Tre

FINALLY! And Update!! Haha

Sorry for the lag on the updating! I meant to do it on Sunday after I was done making everything, but didn't finish cooking until 11pm! And, as some of you know already, my son was sick yesterday...priorities people! =) So anyways. After MUCH cooking and some good feedback from family, here are the recipes! I'll make then all separate posts, so there's not 5 different recipes in one blog, and they'll be easier to find. And I'll post the pics later today...Didn't realize my camera battery was dead! =/ You are all so patient and wonderful! Thanks! Eat well, Live well!
~Tre

Quesadilla -The Finished Product

Hello Hello!!!! Happy Humpday everyone!!! =)


The Quesadillas I made last night.....AMAZING! I thought about it as I was making them, and realized that I have NEVER made a quesadilla before! How weird is that!? AND I'm Mexican!!! Hahaha. I was SO proud of my finished product, that I didn't even want to eat it! I took a few photos to trace my progress...

This is the start of it all. The onions, with Cumin, Salt and Chili Powder....I added bell peppers and mushrooms to my ingredients just because I love them so much! All the rest was added later.

Here's the cheese I used. It's Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese, you can find it in most health food stores, or even online!

Here's my finished product, plated and ready to grub on!!!! My tortillas are pretty cooked, cuz I like the crunchy...Of course you can cook yours a little less, or more...however you like them!! =)

AND....Just for fun, I made stir fry veggies! Really, I made them for my lunch today....And might I say, it was FABULOUS! Just threw in Broccoli, Bell Peppers, Onions, Carrots, Peas....Good stuff!!!!

I think it goes without saying, that I had a fulfilling meal last night! I had fun cooking it, enjoyed watching it all come together, and you know I LOVED eating it!!!! Although I did start off with a very simple meal, it was rewarding still! The best part? My 2 year old ate the leftovers this morning and wanted MORE!!!

It really does make me feel so much better to cook my own meals that I KNOW are not only healthy but delicious! And how freeing is it that I'm not giving in to all the fast food industries...AND that I FEEL healthy. Even if I feel like I'm getting sick, I still feel good! I feel like I have the power to control my body now, and not the other way around!

Sorry for the delay with posting, but I'm just trying to figure out how to blog from my phone without it going crazy on me! If all else fails, these will just have to be early morning blogs.

I hope you will all try this recipe and maybe even come up with your own modifications for it. Tonight's menu is still undecided....More to come on that...Thanks your time and interest!!!!

Eat well, Live well!!!

~Tre

Back on track...

Okay- Last night I obviously had trouble sending my blog from my phone, so I fixed last night's blog (below) and I am typing up the results from lasts night's meal. It will be posted soon. So, if you tried to read the last blog maddness....here it is in the correct format! haha


So here it is - Our first Vegan cooking adventure together! Tonight, I'm making it quite simple. Just based on the fact that I'm not too hungry, but I want something that will fill me up at the same time. So....Veggie Quesadillas it is! Thanks to "The Accidental Vegan" Cookbook, I will have a delicious, meat and dairy free dinner tonight!!! : )
Here are the ingredients and cooking steps:

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 yellow or red onion, halved lengthwise then cut in semicircles
2 zucchini, finely chopped
2 cups loosely packed chopped Swiss chard
1 cup chopped green or red cabbage
1 teaspoon chili powder, mild or hot
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
6 (10 in) flour tortillas
1 cup vegan cheese

Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion, zucchini, chard, cabbage, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt, and saute for 5-10 minutes, until the veggies are soft. Remove the veggies from the pan, then rinse it and dry.

To assemble the quesadillas, spread one-sixth of the "cheese" on each tortilla, then cover half of the surface with one-sixth of the veggies. Fold each quesadilla in half to form a semicircle.

Heat the 1 teaspoon of olive oil in the skillet over medium-low heat, and spread it evenly over the surface of the pan. Cook the quesadillas one or two at a time for about 1 minute on each side, until they just start to brown. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges

And there you have it. Of course, you can substitue for veggies that are in season, or just ones that you are more partial to. Now, I am off to make this delicious meal and I'll be back to let you know how it develops! I'm going to try and figure out this phone pic thing so I can post on the blog- we'll see. Until then,
Eat well, Live well!!!!
~Tre

Venturing to new depths of Veganism

In my quest to be a healthier me, I've decided that maybe I should share my thoughts and findings with others and take in any requests or tips that others might have. I have taken on a whole new lifestyle, and it has benefited me immensely. I am very eager to share wellness and prosperity with anyone open enough to receive it.
*Quick note-I was a horrible English student in school! My grammar sucks and I'll do my best to NOT annoy any of you that know how to write a proper sentence. I also apologize if my thoughts are totally random and I go off on odd tangents - it's how my head works when I just let it all pour out! Please be merciful! :)
I have yet to decide what I want to cook tonight, so the mystery probably won't be revealed until right before I'm getting ready for dinner. Tonight will be the night that I organize all my meals, for the most part, so I know I'll have time to cook, eat, and blog. I'm excited for responses from fellow Vegans, and even from Carnivores whom might come across my blog and actually enjoy some of these foods! I'm setting my own personal goal to spread healthy living to as many humans as possible. Even if it's just a minor change of lifestyle, or even just makes you think twice, I'll take it!
I guess I should clarify a bit - I am actually a Pescatarian, but I am choosing to do a Vegan blog because I don't really eat fish that often, and most times when I do, I go out to have sushi. Wouldn't be much of a cooking blog if I wrote about eating sushi at a restaurant where someone else prepared it! Plus, Vegan cooking is more beneficial. Anyone can cook fish! The challenge comes when you're trying to cook Tofu in more than one way! I will also be trying my hand at Vegan baking, so there's tons of yummies to come!
Here's a tweet from @VeganCook101
HOW TO BEGIN YOUR VEGAN ADVENTURE « Vegan Grub http://ow.ly/16gUgL
Check out the link! Lots of good info, videos, books, and all sorts of links that may be of interest.
I hope all of you enjoy the read, and maybe even get inspired in your own life. And, hey! I'm even hoping to receive more inspiration from all of you!!! Please feel free to comment, or even email with any questions, or thoughts you may have - I will be sure to give credit where it's deserved. Let's have some fun!
Eat well, live well!
~Tre