Tomato & Chickpea Soup

Today I’m sharing literally the easiest recipe ever with you all! This is my go to meal when I have no time at all and still want to eat healthy. This keeps me on track with my health and wellness goals. My yummy Tomato & Chickpea Soup is so delicious and filling.

I also love how easy it is to whip up for work. If I’m unsure as to what to bring with me, this recipe is great. It takes very little time to make and it’s packed with nutritious ingredients to fuel me for a long shift ahead. It’s also great as a meal prep option for go to dinners after work. It’s easy to store in a container and reheated for a quick dinner option.

I like adding chickpeas to my tomato soup to bulk it up a little and make the meal more filling and satisfying. Chickpeas are a powder house of protein too! They pack in at 14.5 g of protein and 12.5 g of fiber in just one cup of chickpeas! They also contain magnesium, iron, calcium and potassium. I feel so good about adding them to my meals for all the added health benefits.

I don’t add any oil to my meals in order to reduce the over all calories content. Just one tablespoon of oil is an added 120 calories. I don’t feel good about adding empty calories into my meals. Most people will add way more than one tablespoon of oil to meals. That’s a lot of extra unnecessary calories! It won’t add any added flavour to the meal. I feel like people put in their heads that they need it for flavour. In reality you really won’t miss it! You can add extra flavour with oil free broth, bouillon, herbs and other seasonings. Skip the oil to save on calories!

I hope you enjoy my easy recipe. Please tag me on IG @ VeganMommyDee if you decide to make it. I hope it helps you on busy days when you don’t have time to cook a complicated recipe. This recipe takes very little time and it’s absolutely delicious. I will also add the recipe video below for those of you who enjoy watching me make my easy recipes. If you haven’t already Subscribed to my YouTube channel, then please consider doing so now. I have loads of easy to make recipe videos on my channel. Thanks for the support and love! I appreciate each and every one of you!


Tomato & Chickpea Soup

Ingredients:

⁃ 796 ml can of fire roasted tomorrow

⁃ 796 ml can of whole peeled tomatoes

⁃ 398 ml can of chickpeas, rinsed

⁃ 398 ml of water or oil free veggie broth

Seasonings:

⁃ 1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

⁃ 1 tsp. Onion Powder

⁃ 1 Tbsp. Dry Oregano

⁃ Sprinkle of Black pepper

⁃ Sprinkle of Umami mushroom seasoning

⁃ 1 Tbsp. of Basil, fresh or dry

⁃ 1 tsp. Oil free Veggie Bouillon (Optional)

Method:

1. Add the tomatoes, water and seasonings to a soup pot.

2. Use a potato masher to chop the whole tomatoes a little. You can also just buy chopped tomatoes in a can and skip this step all together.

3. Allow to cook on a medium heat for 15-20 minutes with the lid on.

4. Add the chickpeas to the soup and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes with the lid off.

5. I add a little Himalayan pink salt when serving the soup.

Enjoy! 💚

Best Ever Vegan Lasagna!

I’m sharing my Best Ever Vegan Lasagna with you all today! Welcome back to my blog! This recipe is seriously pretty epic and I’m so excited to share it with you!

It has such a depth of flavours and it’s easy to put together. I feel like even a beginner cook could make this lasagna pretty easily. The only time consuming part is cooking the elements for the layers of the Lasagna. Assembly goes quite fast and then it does it’s thing cooking up in the oven for 1 hour. You don’t have to keep checking it while it cooks up either. I suggest just uncovering it for the last 10 minutes.

My lasagna is made using wholesome ingredients and you can feel good about eating it all up. Trust me you will want to eat every last bite of it! As always with my recipes I always make sure I’m using easy to find ingredients. All of the components to this lasagna are super easy to find at any grocery store. I feel like there is nothing more annoying than having to search multiple grocery stores looking for certain ingredients. You won’t be doing that with this one. You actually probably already have most of the ingredients on hand at home. I love making pantry staple meals. I don’t like having to buy too many ingredients for my meals.

The cheese sauce used in my recipe is a modified version of a recipe I found on YouTube. I will make sure to add it to this post for your reference. The thing I love about homemade “cheese” is that you can customize it to your liking and needs. You can make it thick and spreadable or on the runny side depending on what your cooking.

I love how little money I spent on the ingredients needed for this recipe as well. Most of the ingredients are staple items I always have at home. I love when meals are low cost and provide an abundance of nutrition. You can find cans or a jars of tomato sauce for pretty cheap at pretty much every grocery store. Just make sure it’s pure tomato sauce without any added oil. This will keep the calories lower by skipping any added unnecessary oil to the meal. Lasagna noodles are inexpensive as well and a fantastic variety can be found depending on where you shop. Organic tofu is often on sale, and frozen veggies are the cheapest to buy at the grocery store. The only ingredient I find that can be sometimes costly is the nutritional yeast. If you can buy it in bulk that will save money. You only need a little amount for this lasagna and the rest will store for a long time in the pantry.

This recipe will be enjoyed by even the most picky eaters. I’ve even served it to meat eaters and they loved it too! I think that says a lot because they tend to be quite reluctant to try meals like this in my experience.


Best Ever Vegan Lasagna


Ingredients:

– 2 680 ml cans of tomato sauce
– 500g firm tofu
– 2 tbsp. Nutritional Yeast
– 2 tbsp. better than boullion
– 2 tbsp. Garlic power
– 2 tsp. Onion powder
– 1 tsp. Dry Oregano
– 1/3 cup fresh Basil
– 3 cups frozen mixed veggies
– 1 cup frozen edamame
– 1 package frozen spinach, thawed
– 1 box 375g whole wheat lasagna noodles
– homemade cheese sauce or a bag of vegan shredded cheese


Method:

1. Thaw out the spinach before hand.

2. Preheat the oven to 400° F.

3.In a frying pan cook up the frozen vegetables and spinach. Use water instead of oil to cook them up. Add 1 tbsp. Of better than boullion, 1 tbsp. Garlic Powder and 1 tsp. Onion Powder to the vegetables. Set aside until ready to use.

4. Add the tofu to a pan and crumble it up using your spatula. Saute in water instead of oil. Add 1 tbsp. of Better Than Boullion and 1 tbsp. Nutritional yeast. Cook well and set aside until you need it.

5. Add the tomato sauce to a pan and add 1 tbsp. Garlic Powder, 1 tsp. Onion Powder, 1 tsp. Dry Oregano and 1/3 cup fresh Basil. Heat up on a medium heat for 10 minutes with the lid on.

6. Make cheese sauce or skip this step and just use store bought vegan cheese. The homemade cheese sauce only takes a few minutes to make in the blender. Just heat it through in a pan on the stove top.

7. Cook the lasagna noodles as per box instructions. I splash some cool water on them in the colander just to make sure they don’t stick together too much.

8. Grab your lasagna baking dish and start to assemble the lasagna. I add tomato sauce to the pan first and the lasagna noodles. Then I add the veggie mix, a drizzle of tomato sauce, tofu mixture and then the cheese sauce on top. Keep repeating until you’ve filled the lasagna dish. Finish with tomato sauce. Add more cheese sauce on top too if desired.

9. Cover with foil  and cook for 1 hour at 400° F. Uncover for the last 10 minutes.

10. Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing it up.

ENJOY!

NOTE:

I used a modified version of Jill McKeever cheese recipe. I added lots of garlic powder, extra onion powder, black pepper and extra water to the sauce when I made it. I also transfered the sauce from the blender to a pot to thicken up. Keep a close eye on the sauce because it will stick to the bottom of the pan easily.

I will add a link to Jill’s recipe video below.

I will also add my video version of my recipe below. I know many of you prefer to watch the recipe video.

Thank you for the support and love on my YouTube Channel. If you find my recipes helpful on your health journey then please Subscribe to the channel. Please give the video a Like as well because this helps my little channel tremendously. Thank you!

Health, Joy & Positive Vibes,

Debbie

~VeganMommyDee ~

2 ingredient Potato & Veggie Patties

Who needs a recipe that can be made super fast but will still help you stick to your wellness goals? Fast food can definitely be made with a healthy twist if you put some thought behind it.

I love making Potato and Veggie patties because they taste super delicious and keep me on track with my health and wellness goals. I also love how I can use the same mixture to make a variety of things too. I make patties and veggie bites using the same simple mixture. I love easy recipes like this that can provide us with many different meal options. Let’s face it if we don’t have a variety of quick recipes then we will seek unhealthy alternatives.

Easy Potato & Veggie Patties with Hot Sauce
Super simple & delicious Potato & Veggie Patties

The number one excuse people make for not eating healthy is that they don’t have time to cook.

I just don’t agree with that because I can cook up a healthy meal using just a few ingredients on a normal basis. In the time it takes you to order food and get it picked up or delivered you can make a healthy meal at home. It doesn’t take much effort to cook up potatoes, rice, open a can of beans or legumes and whatever veggies you have on hand. Frozen or canned veggies are wonderful to have at home because they cook up really fast. I feel like these types of convience foods are extremely helpful in order to keep us on a track with our wellness goals.

I use my instant pot to cook up most of my meals because I’m short on time. You can make pretty much anything in this amazing small appliance quickly. I love to fill up my instant pot with healthy starches like potatoes or rice. Having it pre-made gives me the opportunity to make a meal super fast. I also love having precooked potatoes in the fridge so you just have to grab them and reheat them when you get hungry. Rice can also be frozen which I find very helpful when I know it’s going to be a super busy day.

Having time saving hacks will prevent you from going out and buying terrible junky foods. Being prepared will help you stay successful and on the right track.

POTATO & VEGGIE PATTIES

Ingredients:
– 4-5 lbs of potatoes
– 4-5 cups of veggies (I used frozen veggies, my favorite is brocolli and green beans)
– seasonings of choice (optional)

1. I cook my potatoes in my 6 quart Instant Pot (about 4-5 lbs of potatoes) for 20 minutes and allow it to naturally release. You can also cook potatoes in a regular pot on the stove if you don’t have an Instant Pot.

2. Cook up 5-6 cups of frozen mixed veggies on a frying pan using water or broth to saute them.

3. Add the potatoes into a large mixing bowl and mash them up. Depending on the size of the bowl, you may need to do this in batches.

4. Add in the cooked veggies and mix well.

5. Add in any optional seasonings or spices of choice.

6. Shape into patties and pop them into the air-fryer to cook up. You can also use the oven if you don’t have a air-fryer available to you.

I cook mine at 350 F for 14 minutes, flipping them half way. Adjust the timing according to the size of patty you make.

I dip mine in sugar free ketchup most of the time. I also like to make veggie burgers using this recipe too.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. I’d love it if you could tag me on IG @VeganMommyDee if you make the recipe.

Health, Joy & Positive Vibes,

Debbie

~VeganMommyDee~

Holiday Lentil Loaf & Chestnut Rice

Hi everyone! I hope the holiday season has been enjoyable so far. I know it’s hard to feel positive and happy during a pandemic but we have to push through this difficult time. We have to focus on the positive things we have in our lives and practice gratitude.

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