For Life: Go Vegan

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sloppy Vegan Joe's

This is one of my favorite recipes.  I always make enough so that there are leftovers for lunches during the week.  Textured Vegetable Protein can be found in the bulk section of Fred Meyer, Winco, or Whole Foods.  Bob's Red Mill also packages it and can be found in the health food section of most stores.

Sloppy Vegan Joe's

Ingredients
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
Pinch of salt and ground black pepper
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
3 tbs tomato paste
1 cup Kraft Original barbecue sauce
1 cup water
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp hot sauce of choice

2 cups tvp (textured vegetable protien)
4 wheat french rolls, split
Barbecue sauce, for topping (optional)

Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the bell peppers and garlic.  Saute until tender, about 3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, barbecue sauce, water, balsamic vinegar, hot sauce and tvp to skillet.  Stir.  Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Serve on wheat rolls with extra barbecue sauce.

Menu for Week of Feb 21st

Sunday:  Vegan Sloppy Joes with Cole Slaw
Monday:  Grilled Tofurky Sausage with Marinara and Pasta
Tuesday:  Scrambled Tofu
Wednesday:  Shanghai-style Chow Mein
Thursday:  Gyoza
Friday:  Vietnamese Fried Rice
Saturday:  Vegetable Pancakes

Most of these recipes are from the cookbook The Asian Vegan Kitchen by Hema Parekh

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Back on Track

Yes, I gave up blogging just as soon as I was trying to begin.  Each time I thought I had something great to share I would realize it didn't fit the vegan lifestyle.  I have learned a lot though through this process.  Having the blog and wanting to post has made me read labels more and investigate the ingredients in foods my family is eating.  For those of you who are more experienced vegans my finding will not surprise you.  But for me, someone who is just starting out, I couldn't believe how many items contained animal-based ingredients!  I have now learned that to stick to the vegan lifestyle I will need to cook from scratch more and research deals before I shop. 

From this day forward Cheap Vegan Livin will be taking on a new approach.  Each Sunday I will post a menu with great recipes and the plan for sticking to a budget and eating healthy.  Stay tuned...
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