Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

These cupcakes are too good to be true. Get yourself some fresh strawberries to top these. I got the original recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. They were enjoyed by everybody in the house.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
½-tsp baking soda
½-tsp fine salt
¼-cup applesauce
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp lemon extract
sliced strawberries

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
red food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. 
3. In a large bowl, whisk applesauce, raw sugar, almond milk, and lemon extract until well combined. 
4. Pour dry mixture into wet mixture in 3 to 4 batches, stirring until just combined. 
5. Bake in lined muffin cups for 15-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Icing

1. Whisk powdered sugar, almond milk, vanilla extract, and a drop of red food coloring in a small bowl, adding more sugar to thicken or more milk to thin it out. 
2. Once the cupcakes have fully cooled, slather icing over top and garnish with fresh strawberry slices. 

Notes:

• Makes 12

Spinach Strawberry Salad

I LOVE Strawberry Salads!! This one is an excellent salad. It's strawberry season, so enjoy! I got the original recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. 

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh spinach 
2 cups sliced strawberries 
1 cored and diced apple
1-2 cups cooked white beans, rinsed 
3 tbsp walnuts

Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette 
¼ cup applesauce 
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 
pure maple syrup, to taste

Directions:
Vinaigrette 

1. Whisk together until well combined. 

Salad

1. Toss salad ingredients with Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette until well combined.

Notes:
You can make this as a side salad for dinner, or eat it as dinner, serving 2.
Per serving: 390 calories, 9.5g fat, 62.2g carbs, 18.1g fiber, 20.1g sugars, 18.2g protein

Thai Taquitos

Wow! These were good. Something I could make regularly. I got the original recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. Shown is 1 serving.

Ingredients
oil
12 oz riced cauliflower, thawed
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup fresh basil, chopped
2 cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
8 whole-wheat flour tortillas

Sriracha Peanut Sauce
2 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp (1-oz) almond milk
2 tbsp sweet red chili sauce
1 lime (juice)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
dash garlic powder
dash ground ginger
1+ tsp Sriracha

Directions:
Sriracha Peanut Sauce

1. Whisk peanut butter into 2 tbsp hot water until runny. 
2. Whisk in milk, chili sauce, lime, soy sauce, vinegar, a few dashes of garlic and ginger, and 1 tsp Sriracha. 
3. Taste, adding more Sriracha as desired. 
4. Chill.

Taquitos

1. Preheat oven to 400F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Sauté onion and garlic in oil until translucent. 
3. Add cauliflower and basil. Cook until soft. 
4. Transfer to large bowl, and mix with mashed potatoes until well combined. 
5. Spread ¼-cup of the cauliflower-potato mixture in the center of each tortilla. 
6. Roll into tight wraps. 
7. Place seam-side down, and bake 6-10 minutes, or until crisp and browning. 
8. Cut in half and serve with chilled Sriracha Peanut Sauce.

Notes:

• Makes 4
• Per serving: 391 calories, 6.4g fat, 72.5g carbs, 12.9g fiber, 12.3g sugars, 14.9g protein

Chocolate French Toast

This was a big hit! Mmmmmm! I modified this recipe from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor.

Ingredients:
8 oz Mori-Nu silken tofu
¾ cup (6-oz) soy or almond milk 
1 tsp agave syrup
1 tbsp peanut butter 
2 tbsp cocoa powder 
8 slices bread (a little thicker is better) 
¼ cup chocolate chips or chunks
2 tbsp finely chopped peanuts

Directions:

1. In a blender, combine tofue, milk, agave, peanut butter, and cocoa powder. 
2. Puree until smooth, adding more milk if needed.  
3. Transfer mixture to a shallow bowl. 
4. Dip bread slices into mixture.
5. Heat a nonstick skillet and cook a few minutes on each side or until warm and crisping. 
6. Top with chips and nuts.

Notes:

• Serves 4.
• These can also be baked. Bake at 400 F on a parchment-lined baking sheet, 7 minutes each side.

Samosa Pizza

I really enjoy the "samosa" things that Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor does. This one is supposed to be pizza-like, but I never do the potato quite right to make it like a spread, so it ended up as a wrap. 

Ingredients:
¼ small onion, diced 
dash of ground cumin 
¼ tsp garam masala 
¼ tsp mild curry powder 
dash of turmeric 
1 carrot, diced 
½ cup frozen green peas 
1 cooked potato, mashed

Directions:

1. Sauté onion until translucent. 
2. Add spices, stirring to coat. 
3. Add carrots and cook until carrots are just forktender. 
4. Stir in peas and cook until warm. 
5. Spread warmed potatoes on tortilla. 
6. Top with vegetable mixture and serve, or roll up and eat as a burrito.

Notes:

• Serves 1
• Per serving: 338 calories, 1.6g fat, 71.2g carbs, 12.8g fiber, 9.6g sugars, 12.3g protein

Strawberry Shortcake Polenta

This is another breakfast that could be dessert, depending on your sweet tooth. The original recipe for the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor served 4, but I made it serve 2. 

Ingredients:
1-18 oz tube Polenta
5 oz strawberries, sliced
6 oz yogurt
maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cut polenta into 1/2" rounds.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden in color and crisp (no need to flip.)
5. Top each polenta with strawberry slices and a dollop of cold yogurt.
6. Drizzle with maple syrup.

Notes:

• Serves 2. To serve 4, double recipe.
• Per serving: 262 calories, 1.3g fat, 49.8g carbs, 4.0g fiber, 12.1g sugargs, 10.4g protein
• You can use frozen strawberries instead of fresh for a winter breakfast. In that case, warm the strawberries on the stove or in the microwave before adding to polenta.
• You could add more fruit or nuts to this. 

Caesar Taco Salad

This is an everybody-approved salad. It's delicious! I got the recipe from Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. This is a great salad as a side or main dish.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce 
2 tsp fresh lemon juice 
2 tbsp taco seasoning 
1.5 - 2 cups chickpeas  
2 corn tortillas 
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped 
5-oz cherry tomatoes, sliced 
2-oz guacamole

Caesar Dressing 
½ cup yogurt 
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
1 tbsp Dijon mustard 
1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce 
garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Make dressing by whisking all ingredients together until well combined, adding garlic powder to taste. 
3. Chill until using.
4. Combine soy sauce, lemon juice, taco seasoning and chickpeas, stir to coat.
5. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake 20-25 minutes, until crispy but not hard. 
6. During last 5-10 minutes, place tortillas right on the rack and bake until crispy. 
7. In a large mixing bowl, toss chickpeas with lettuce and cherry tomatoes. 
8. Pour dressing over top, and toss to coat. 
9. Crumble corn tortillas over the top. 
10. Top with guacamole.

Notes:

• Serves 2.
• Per serving: 418 calories, 8.6g fat, 63.4g carbs, 12.7g fiber, 9.1g sugars, 19.2g protein

Spaghetti and "Meatballs"

The "meatballs" here are perfect! Having a low calorie, homemade meatball that I can use for anything, like a meatball sandwich or pasta, is wonderful. Typically, if I wanted meatballs, I'd buy Gardein's, which I like a lot. This gives me a homemade meatball to use. Putting it on spaghetti squash is probably the healthiest option of spaghetti squash, pasta, or hoagie bun. It's your pick. I got the original recipe from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. 

Ingredients:
oil 
¼ small onion, diced 
1 garlic clove, minced 
¾ cup cooked brown rice 
¾ cup prepared white beans 
2 tbsp tomato paste 
1 tbsp Panko 
¼ tsp dried oregano 
1 cup marinara sauce
1 spaghetti squash (or pasta or bun if that is your meal)

Directions:

1. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent. 
2. Remove from heat and transfer to a food processor along with rice, beans, tomato paste, Panko, and oregano. 
3. Process for 10-15 seconds total, stopping every 3-5 seconds to scrape sides. (Mixture should be slightly chunky.) 
4. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 
5. Cook spaghetti Squash (see below)
6. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
7. Form mixture into meatballs and bake for 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch. 
8. Serve meatballs with spaghetti squash and warm marinara sauce. 

Spaghetti Squash Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Slice lengthwise, place in an oven-safe dish face down with 1/2-inch water. 
3. Bake for 30-45 mins at 400F. 
4. Remove seedy matter and use a fork to pull away the spaghetti strands. 

Notes:

• Serves 2
• 370 calories, 6.2g fat, 69.7g carbs, 9.2g fiber, 13g sugars, 11.7g protein
• You can also microwave the spaghetti squash: Poke holes in it with a fork, microwave for 10-15 minutes until fork tender. Then slice lengthwise, remove the seedy matter, and pull spaghetti strands away from sides.
• Serve with parm. 

Chocolate Lover's Quinoa

Quite frankly, there is no reason this shouldn't be a dessert. I'm serious. If you aren't a big "sweet breakfast" eater, but you like out-of-the-ordinary desserts, this would be a good one. This breakfast came to me from the Happy Herbivore Meal Mentor. I've changed some of the directions because it took me a whole cup of quinoa, ie 4 tries, to get the quinoa cooked without a problem.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup dry quinoa
1/2 cup (4 oz) almond milk (or other milk)
1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp chocolate chips
1 cup strawberries

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine quinoa with milk.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, cover partially, and cook until quinoa is fluffy, about 15 minutes.
3. While quinoa is still hot, stir in cocoa powder, maple syrup, and vanilla until well combined.
4. Add chocolate chips. When they start to melt, swirl in.
5. Serve with strawberries on top or on the side.

Notes:

• Serves 1
• Per serving: 295 calories, 7.1 g fat, 52.5 g carbs, 7.8 g fiber, 17.6 g sugars, 8.5 g protein
• I recommend fresh strawberries, but you can use frozen and thaw them before serving.
• You can add more chocolate chips or nuts, too.