


Eating Veggies with Ease and Fun
by Chef Eric
by Chef Eric
by Chef Eric
Not counting cooling time, this method only takes 5 minutes to make some of the most delicious Chocolate pudding and it’s actually good for you (shhh don’t tell anyone).
Cooking Tips: I use a high speed blender and Blender Ball shaker for ease
Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons Almond Butter
1 Tablespoon Cacao Powder
4 Medjool Dates
1/2 cup Chia Seeds
Directions:
1) Place water, almond butter, cacao powder, and dates in high speed blender. Blend on high for 1 minute
2) Pour mixture into Blender Ball Shaker. Add Chia Seeds.
3) Shake occasionally for 3 minutes
4) Pour into serving dishes
5) Chill for as long as you can stand it since once you taste, you probably won’t be able to stop yourself
Runner Tip: This is a great recovery pudding. Just add some frozen cherries and enjoy.
by Chef Eric
This is stupid easy and only 5 minutes effort if you have already cooked the beans and rice. I used an instant pot(electric pressure cooker) to cook the beans and rice in advance.
Ingredients:
Brown Rice, cooked
Black beans, cooked
Diced tomatoes, drained (2 cans)
Garlic, diced
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Chipotle powder
Smoked Paprika
Directions:
1) Pour tomatoes, raw garlic, and spices into black beans. Mix well. Add more spices to taste
2) Enjoy with tortillas or freeze in meal prep containers to enjoy later
This recipe was inspired from the PlantPure Frozen Meals https://www.plantpurenation.com/pages/frozen-entrees-ingredient-and-nutrition-information
by Chef Eric
No usual recipe today but instead I wanted to share a recent review I did of meal prep containers. Also don’t worry since more meal prep recipes are coming
your way soon since my previous posts have been a hit. Links below are non-affiliated and 100% bias-free so just sharing in case you find the information useful too.
==What is Meal Prep?==
This is simply cooking in bulk ahead of time and freezing the homemade meals. They are super convenient for work since I can just grab one from the freezer
and run. I place this in the Hot Logic (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EC7XJ28) when get to work so never have to use a microwave. Creating your own
meals is great because it’s easy, cheaper, better quality, and you know exactly what is going in them.
==The Faceoff==
Judging by the overwhelmingly positive Amazon reviews, the meal prep containers I tried out were plastic and glass.
1) Plastic – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0128YT76S. These cost ($11 for 7 containers). While freezer safe, reusable, and microwave safe, they aren’t
all that sturdy especially after one use. I don’t see these lasting more than a few uses judging by the quality.
2) Glass – 2-compartment(5 cups) – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L9Z57L6 and 1-compartment(3.5 cups) – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0175EUOL8 at
$30 for 3 and $22 for 3 respectively. These are hands down outstanding quality. The only drawback I could possibly give them is they are a little heavier than the plastic kind. Other than that though, they seem well worth the investment to get the glass containers instead. Also I prefer the larger size because although .5 cups doesn’t sound like much, there is a noticeable difference in how much food can fit while both take up about the same space.
Final Verdict: Glass containers by MealPrep
I got the inspiration for these meal prep adventures from the non-profit meal prep frozen meals at PlantPure https://www.plantpurenation.com/collections/foods but wanted to make my own to customize them even more. Don’t be surprised if you see some similar recipes on future posts.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, just let me know.
by Chef Eric
I plan to experiment more with meal prep. The idea here is I can make tasty and healthy meals in batch, freeze them, and then later enjoy them at work. I’m trying out these (https://www.amazon.com/Certified-BPA-Free-Reusable-Microwavable-Containers/dp/B0128YT76S) and while they are reuseable and sturdy, I’m switching over to the glass kind (https://www.amazon.com/Container-Leakproof-Microwave-Dishwasher-Rectangle/dp/B0175EUOL8). At work, I use a Hot Logic heating plate (https://www.amazon.com/HotLogic-Mini-Personal-Portable-Black/dp/B00EC7XJ00) so don’t have to bother with a microwave.
So today I created meal prep for Spaghetti and Veggie “Meat” Balls. My recipe for the plant-based “meat” balls is at http://www.vegcheferic.com/recipe/veggie-meat-balls-draft-edition/. Other than that I just cooked the pasta, added some spaghetti sauce, frozen peas, and some brazil nuts for good measure. This is very similar to the PlantPure frozen meal version they have.
by Chef Eric
This is my first attempt at making plant based “meat” balls. My goal was to make something healthy but also tasted good. They turned out wayyyy better than
I thought and must say I’m hooked since they are delicious. Also I’ve been toying with meal prep so the idea is I can make big batches, freeze them, and th
en enjoy them later at work. I may post my progress for different recipe ideas on this if others are interested too.
NOTE: This is a draft release so I don’t have exact measurements yet but I will let you know roughly how I did it. I wasn’t specifically trying to make them
Gluten-Free too, but turns out these are.
Ingredients:
Red Onion, chopped finely
Carrots, chopped finely
Garlic cloves, chopped finely
Chia Seeds, Soaked
Sesame Seeds
Multi-Grain 5-Seed Baked Crackers (I get these at Costco)
Cashews, unsalted
Nutritional Yeast
Benson’s Table Tasty
Italian Seasoning
Celery Seed
Chipotle Powder
Tofu, Extra Firm, Pressed
Directions:
1) Sauté Onions and Carrots
2) Blend Cashews and Crackers in dry Vitamix attachment until fine powder
3) Crush Tofu into tiny bits. Add Chia seeds, spices, garlic, and onion/carrot mixture. Mix well.
4) Add enough of the Cashew and Crackers powder till have firm mixture
5) Mold into balls and coat lightly with powder mixture
6) Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes
by Chef Eric
Okay this recipe I completely changed to make it a healthy energy brownie. Also used my famous blender method to make things simple. NOTE: you will need a
high speed blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec.
You can test your own substitutions to see if you have good luck too. Substitutions from the original recipe included:
Eggs → Replaced with → Chickpea flour
Sugar → Replaced with → Dates + Maple Syrup
Oil → Replaced with → Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chips → Replaced with → 100% unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Ingredients:
½ Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup Water (+ more as needed)
¾ Cup Pitted Dates
½ Cup Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
2 Cups Purple Sweet Potatoes (cooked)
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup Chickpea Flour
1/3 Cup Cacao Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
100% unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate (optional)
Directions:
1) In high speed Blender, mix Water, Peanut Butter, Dates, Maple Syrup. Blend till smooth
2) Add sweet potatoes. Blend till smooth
3) In separate mixing bowl, mix flours, cacao, baking powder, and cinnamon
4) Add blender mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well and add water in small amounts as needed till batter is consistency of brownie mix (ie. little bit thicker than pancake batter).
5) Scoop into baking pan. Cover with shaved chocolate bits(optional)
6) Bake for 50 minutes at 375 degrees. NOTE: These will be a little gooey inside but will firm up when chilled.
by Chef Eric
by Chef Eric