Wendy's Hamburger Helper Veganized

Ok so my best friend's sister turned me on to her version of hamburger helper, I was kind of craving it today so I decided to veganize it. I started with a recipe I have been dying to try for bacon bits.

I added the bacon bits to cooked elbow noodles, sauted onion and a can of tomatoes. Heat all ingredients and give a liberal shake of garlic salt. enjoy. So I will admit that it didn't quite taste like Wendy's but it was pretty darn good.

Bacon Bits

Here is what you need:

2tbs tamari
1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
2 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp paprika
1/2 c. TVP

Combine the first 5 ingredients, bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat and stir in the TVP. Continue to stir until all the liquid has been absorbed. Crisp the bits either by using a toaster oven, shaking the pan every 2 minutes or frying in a non stick pan, stirring often.

Banana Nut Bread with Dark Chocolate Chunks

So this is my first time with this recipe and it is pretty good, but I think it could be better. My sister has requested that I post something, so here it is. It is super healthy, maybe a little too much, I think it may need more fat? It was good just a little dry. So here it goes this is what you need:

2 ripe bananas

2 table spoons of canola oil

2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 c. dark chocolate chunks

1/2 c. Lite No Sugar Added Applesauce

Place the bananas and oil in the mixer bowl and mix. Add in the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, chopped walnuts and applesauce. Mis thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Pour into an oiled loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Enjoy.

Seven weeks

I don't have a recipe to share today, but I wanted to share with those of you that read this that today is the end of week 7 for me on this new journey. People keep asking me how much weight I have lost, so today I weighed myself and did a little math, I know my best friend would be proud. I have lost 22 pounds since starting this journey which is amazing! I have had spurts of daily exercise, but I have not been consistent for a while now with little to no exercise in the last few weeks. I know I need to do it, and I honestly want to but when I get home from working 10+ hours, my energy is sapped.

I have started preparing most of my meals on the weekend, so I can simply heat and eat when I get home I am that fried. The weight loss is great! but the energy is way better, there is no way I would have been able to work 10-12 hr days on my old diet. Now if only I could find a few more hours in the day to sneak in a little more sleep.

Guac

So this is something that I have fallen in love with and make it about once a week, It is super easy, especially if you have a food processor. Here is what you need:

1 large avacado
a handful of grape tomatoes
1/4 c. tofu sour cream
juice of 2 limes

If you have a food processor place the avacado in and mix it until smooth, add the rest of the ingredients and process until you like the consistency. This recipe is super fast and good. I like to make it right after I make tofu sour cream, so I only have to clean the processor once :)

Potato and Corn Soup

My best friend Deborah came over on Friday night, she doesn't eat "fake meat", so I asked her what she wanted to eat for dinner, her response was somewhat surprising, but not difficult. Here is what you need:

1 12oz bag frozen corn

3-4 potatoes, diced

1-2 onions, diced - I used red onions

1-2 Tbs Olive Oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Not Chick'n Boullion Cube

3 cups water

2-3 cups non-dairy milk

Saute the diced onion and garlic in the olive oil, once tender add in the potatoes and the bouillon cube and water. Boil potatoes until tender add in frozen corn and milk and heat through. Serve with a salad or crusty bread.

Queso Nachos

I realize that I am a week late on posting this, but I have been working 10 hours days this week and using most of my spare time playing with duct tape. These were really good though so I figured I would post the queso sauce recipe, as far as the nachos go, any tortilla chip will do as a good base. I marinated some tofu in taco seasoning water, and then sauted it with onions, I also added in some cooked wild rice and black beans. I made the "sour cream" by using a the juice of one lime 1/2 pkg silen tofu and a little salt add all the ingredients to a food processor or mix with a hand mixer, if you don't have one until smooth. So I put the tofu, rice and bean muxture on top of the chips, along with some homemade guacamole, diced tomatoes, sliced olives, sour cream and added the queso sauce. Here is what you need to make the queso:

1c. Non-Dairy Milk
1/3 c. Nutritional Yeast Flakes
2 Tbs whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt

Whisk together all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over med heat, stirring often until thick. Serve immediately. Serves 4 You can add Rotel to make a mexican queso sauce.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite books The Happy Herbivore. It is an awesome book full of color pictures for almost every recipe, which if you know me I LOVE THAT!