Black bean burgers.

These gems are rich in fiber, protein and iron. Honestly, I don't miss meat at all. Not even a little. (I'm on day 19.) 

Ingredients:

• 2 cans black beans (15 ounces each), drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed plus 6 tablespoons water
• 3 cloves garlic
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• Salt to taste
• ½ cup grated zucchini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Place ground flaxseed and water in a bowl. Mix well, and set aside for at least 10 minutes or until it forms into a thick, gel-like subtsance. If mixture does not gel, add 1 more teaspoon ground flaxseed at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
2. Place garlic cloves into food processor, and mince finely.
3. Add one can of beans to garlic. Pulse to combine. Add cumin and salt, and pulse until mixture resembles chunky black bean dip.
4. Transfer mixture from food processor to a large bowl.
5. Stir in bread crumbs, flaxseed-water mixture, and zucchini. Stir well until everything is combined. Add remaining can of black beans.
6. Prepare 8 patties from mixture.
7. Heat olive oil in skillet on medium.
8. Heat black bean burger about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown

We served it on a whole wheat bagel thin and top with vegan cheese, avocado, tomato and veganaise. You can freeze these and eat them another time (since this mixture makes 8 patties).

Spinach artichoke hummus.

I have good news, and bad news. Good news first: I have another delicious vegan recipe to share. Bad news: my photos are still craptastic. I feel like by taking horrific cell phone pictures the internet people of the world won't take their time to really look at the recipe and try making it. Anyway. You can trust me when I say this is a keeper. The original idea came from here, but as always, I made my own tweaks (and I think they're pretty special ones).

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (use reduced sodium)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seen paste. can be found on natural aisle.)
• The juice of one full lemon
• Olive oil to taste
• Salt and cayenne to taste
•  1/2 package of frozen spinach (6 ounces) thawed, squeezed, drained and choppped
• 1 (14 ounce) can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

Directions:

1. Puree chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini and enough olive oil to get your preferred consistency. We used about 4 tablespoons. 
2. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper.
3. Remove from food processor and put the mix into a large bowl. 
4. Add the chopped spinach and artichoke hearts.
5. Stir well. 

Eat it with chips or veggies and use it as a spread for sandwiches. 

Green dream smoothie.

Here's what I've already discovered about juicing/smoothie-making: I like to give my creations dumb names, the method is foolproof, you can make something magnificent from anything you find lurking in your fridge, they are easier to eat than salads, spinach (in juice form) doesn't taste like anything, you don't need a fancy/expensive blender.

Ingredients:

• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 frozen banana
• 5 strawberries
• Water
• Ice
• 2 tablespoons flax seed (if you need the extra fiber, like I do)

Blend it all together. Drink from a straw. Freeze the leftovers in an ice tray then make more the next day. 

Blender tip: In case you are like me, and you're deciding suddenly to cut out all meat, all processed foods, most dairy, and live mostly on smoothies and salads, and you're worried you'll have to buy a fancy new blender, don't. I have an old Back-To-Basics Elite Smoothie Maker and it works fine. It even blends the tiny flax seeds and liquifies spinach. Long term, I may end up needing something nicer. I'll keep you posted on how long this one lasts. I have a feeling I might wear it out fast by making three smoothies a day.

Pico de gallo.

 

This recipe came from Gwnyth Paltrow, originally. She pairs it with grilled tilapia. Pre-vegetarian,we tried it and it was yummy. Now, though, we make this stuff and eat it with almost anything, because it's just that yummy and fresh. Tonight we had it with black beans and avocado in a vegan wrap. I also recommend trying it piled high on Melba Toast.  

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered (in this photo, we used roma, and it didn't turn out as well)
• 1/2 small red onion, peeled and very finely diced
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (we used more, like twice as much)
• Sea salt
• 1 lime

Combine the tomatoes, onion and cilantro in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and lime juice.