07 Mar 2013
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: agave, almond butter, apple cider vinegar, brown rice, comfort food, garlic, jalapeno, lime, lime juice, peanut butter, peanut oil, peanuts, quick and easy, red pepper, sauces, scallions, sesame seed oil, soy, Stir-fry, tamari, tofu, vegan, vegetarian, water chestnuts
Stir-frys are the ultimate quick one-pot vegan meals. Typically it is a super balanced meal with proteins, veggies and a grain. Perfection! Quick, easy, Deelish!
Check out these other stir-frys for a quick meal. You can always get super creative and change it up easily for variations. Thai Vegan Tofu, Quick Seitan Stir-Fry, Super Fast Veggie Stir-fry, Spinach and Tofu with Peanut Sauce and Rice Noodle and Vegetable Stir-Fry.
Peanut Sauce is my typical go to sauce as we all love it! Check out these other variations on this super deelish sauce. Amazing Raw “Peanut” Sauce and Zucchini Noodles, Cold Sesame Noodles, Mixed Veggies with Peanut Sauce (slow cooker style), Raw Zucchini Noodles and ‘Peanut’ Sauce II, Lettuce Wraps with Almond Butter Sauce and Kelp Noodles & Veggies in Peanut Sauce.
Tofu and Veggie Stir-fry with Peanut Sauce

sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup tamari
3 tablespoons agave
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
veggie stir-fry
3 teaspoons peanut oil or sesame oil
2 blocks extra firm tofu, drained, pressed & cubed
6 cloves garlic, minced
8 scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated
2 jalapenos, minced
2 red pepper, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
Dash of lime juice or lime wedges
Roasted Peanuts
Cooked Brown Rice
- Combine vinegar, tamari, agave and peanut butter and whisk until smooth.
- In a skillet or wok, add the oil and saute tofu, garlic, white part of scallions, jalapeno, and red pepper for 2-3 minutes. Add water chestnuts.
- Add the sauce and turn heat to low, stirring until combined.
- Serve over brown rice, garnished with green part of scallions, peanuts and either lime wedge or drizzled with lime juice.
28 Feb 2013
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: angel hair, anti-pasto, capers, caponata, chick peas, comfort food, dip, eggplant, garbanzo beans, garlic, parsley, pasta, raisins, red wine vinegar, sauces, shallot, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian
I always love a bright and vibrant caponata as part of a anti-pasto platter. I figured why not cook one up and use it as a sweet sauce for pasta instead of just a dip. It came out super lovely! I also added garbanzo beans to make it a more substantial and complete meal.
You could also just serve this as a dip with pita wedges or chips.


Eggplant Caponata over Pasta
1 lb angel hair pasta, cooked
1/4 cup golden raisins
1-2 large eggplant, stem removed, and chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of canola oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2-3 tomatoes, diced and seeded
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons capers
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
- Place the raisins in a bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.
- Pour the canola oil into a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the eggplant cubes and cook for 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Turn heat down to medium and pour the remaining tablespoon of oil into the skillet. Add shallots and cook until soft, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for 45 seconds. Then add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the eggplant back to the skillet and the garbanzo beans. Add the vinegar, raisins, and capers, stir cooking for 2 minutes to cook down the vinegar. Turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the parsley. Let it cool slightly before serving over pasta.

Before adding the garbanzo beans
15 Jan 2013
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: balsamic vinegar, crushed red pepper, green, lemon juice, maple, maple syrup, marinade, quick and easy, quinoa, quinoa pilaf, saffron, saffron pilaf, sauces, sesame, sesame oil, soy, spinach, sriracha, tofu, tumeric, vegan, vegetarian, vinegar

I have always valued a quick and delicious meal but now it is more important than ever! This was a great meal where I could cut and marinate the tofu in just a few minutes while the kiddos were playing and then whip this all up as soon as they went to sleep. Perfect! I was also able to use the marinade twice; cooking the spinach quickly after the tofu. I have always loved Saffron Rice Pilaf and thought a quinoa twist on it would be fun!
Maple-Balsamic Tofu & Spinach with Saffron Quinoa
Tofu & Spinach
- 1 block of tofu, pressed to remove water and cut in triangles
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- dash of salt
- 6 ounces of baby spinach
Combine and marinate anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. Heat a frying pan and sear the tofu for a few minutes on both sides. Remove from pan and add spinach and any remaining marinade. Stir for just a few brief moments to wilt spinach and coat in the sauce. Remove and serve.
Quinoa Pilaf
- 2 cups quinoa (4 cups water or stock)
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
- salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- lemon juice to taste
- sriracha, to taste (optional) (I love that extra kick!)
Combine water and quinoa in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat, add saffron, tumeric and salt, and cover to cook for 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Stir in other ingredients and serve.
23 May 2012
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: almond milk, brown rice, brown rice pasta, butternut squash, cayenne, cheddar, coconut oil, comfort food, cream cheese, daiya, entertaining, mac & cheese, mac & cheeze, mustard, pasta, quick and easy, rice milk, sauces, sides, Skinny Bitch, soy milk, squash, vegan, vegan cheese, vegetarian, whole-wheat, winter squash
Mac and Cheese is one of my ultimate comfort foods and I am always up for trying out different vegan versions 🙂 I love that this recipe uses 20 ounces of squash for the sauce so you “sneak” in the veggies and help make it a creamier sauce without needing extra vegan cheese. (although we didn’t really skimp on that:)) Check out Cheesy Baked Penne with Cauliflower (one of my fave versions ever!) and Quick, Easy & Healthy Vegan Mac & Cheeze (I also used winter squash in this one).

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese
adapted from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
Serves 8
• 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
• About 2 tablespoons fine sea salt
• 1 pound whole-wheat or brown rice elbow macaroni
• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
• 2 cups soy, rice milk or almond milk
• 8 ounces vegan Cheddar cheese, shredded
• 4 ounces (about 1/2 cup) vegan cream cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Oil a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside.
- In a 4- to 6-quart stockpot over high heat, combine 3 quarts of water with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the salt. Bring the water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the squash and milk, stirring and breaking up the squash with a spoon until the squash is defrosted. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Cheddar, cream cheese, mustard, cayenne, and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of salt.
- When the pasta is done, drain it, then return the pasta to the pot. Stir the cheese sauce into the macaroni. Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking pan.
- Sprinkle with more cheese and salt and pepper and then bake for 20 minutes.

Bring on the troops!
24 Feb 2012
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, New York Highlights, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: artichoke, broccoli, capers, comfort food, corn, daiya, dough, eggplant, flour, garlic, herbs, homemade, marinara, mushrooms, non-dairy cheese, olive oil, olives, onion, pala, pepper, pesto, pizza, sauces, sausage, soy, sugar, sun dried tomatoes, tempeh, tofu, tomato, tomatoes, vegan, vegan cheese, vegetarian, viva, yeast, zucchini
Who doesn’t appreciate a good slice, especially here in NYC where pizza is so very important and such a point of contention – even for vegans! Our favorite place to order from is Viva Herbal Pizzeria where we can get spelt or gluten-free crusts with daiya and even vegan sausage as toppings (our personal fave combo!) Pala Pizza also has great vegan options and that brick-fired pizza taste, yum!
Sometimes it is easy to buy dough and tomato sauce quickly whip up a pie at home, but if you are interested in making your own dough, here is a great recipe! My mom made the dough and I added the homemade sauce (thanks mom!!). It was really very very good!
Check out here for some of my other fun pizza nights 🙂 Flatbread Pizza with hummus, green olives, cherry tomatoes and za’atar (this is a raw one and Well Worth the effort!), Raw Eggplant Pizzas and the quick at home whipped up kind with purchased dough.

Vegan Pizza with Homemade Dough & Daiya Cheese
Pizza Dough Recipe
- 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon finely ground sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast (1 packet of dry yeast)
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 cup warm water
- Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees (if using a pizza stone – place in the oven to get hot and heat for an hour)
- Mix together the warm water, sugar and yeast. Put aside to get foamy. If it does not foam then the yeast is not good – redo this step.
- In a separate bowl mix all of the other ingredients. Add in the yeast mixture and mix well until dough forms a ball. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough – Use the palm of your hand and keep pressing in and folding it over and repeating for about 5 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 4 – one pound balls. Place these dough balls into containers and cover the container with anything that will keep the air out. Set the dough to rise in a warm spot for at least 45 minutes. (you can freeze any unused dough after rising*)
- Prepare your topping. Stretch out the dough and aim for it to be even thickness all around. Top your pizza and place in the oven. Bake for 8 minutes. Let it rest. Add any herbs to your pizza afterwards.
*If using frozen dough – allow dough to defrost in fridge 12 hours
- Either use a jar of Marinara Sauce or make your own
Basic Sauce Recipe
- 28 ounce pureed tomatoes
- sugar to taste
- salt to taste
- 3-6 finely grated fresh peeled garlic cloves
Mix all the ingredients together.
Topping Suggestions:
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Fresh or Roasted Garlic
- Broccoli
- Sweet Corn
- Peppers
- Olives
- Fresh Tomatoes
- Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Grilled/Fried/Baked Eggplant
- Grilled Zucchini
- Roasted Red Pepper
- Capers
- Saute Spinach
- Pesto Sauce
- Artichokes
- Soy Pepperoni or Soy Sausage or Tofu/tempeh
- Daiya Vegan Cheese or other vegan cheese
- Herbs

Unbaked Pizza
02 Oct 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: comfort food, ginger, maple syrup, quick and easy, sauces, sesame, sides, snack, soy, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
OMG! So Simple and So Amazing! This was one of the best dinners. So healthy (paired with steamed Kale! YUM!) deeeeeeelish and simple! These were amazing to keep in the fridge and soooo good cold even! I doubled the recipe and wish I had quadrupled it!!! So good!


Sesame Ginger Maple Baked Tofu
adapted from Averie’s recipe from Love Veggies and Yoga Thanks!
1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
1/8 cup Sesame Oil
1/8 cup Maple syrup
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Optional: Garlic, Onions, Salt, Nama Shoyu/Bragg’s Liquid Aminos/Soy Sauce, to Taste
Optional: bake and/or garnish with sesame seeds
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Blot the tofu with paper towels & cut into uniform slices
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stir and pour over tofu slices.
- Bake for 35 Minutes, flipping over halfway through baking.

18 Aug 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: agave, basil, comfort food, entertaining, green, lemon, nutritional yeast, olive oil, onions, pignoli, pine nuts, pistachios, raw, sauces, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini, Zucchini Pasta
I have made this dish many times over the last couple of years, sorry for waiting so long to share it with you! It is one of my faves!! And you can use each component on its own in other dishes as well 🙂 SO versatile and deelish! A total crowd pleaser – beautiful and amazing! Plus it has been one of their top sellers at the restaurant for years!

Zucchini and Green Zebra Tomato Lasagne with Basil-Pistachio Pesto
Recipe by Matthew Kenney of Pure Food and Wine
Serves 6
Lemon-Pignoli “Ricotta”
2 cups raw pignoli nuts, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons water
Place the pignoli, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add water, and pulse until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.
Tomato Sauce
2 cups good-quality sun-dried tomatoes (dry-packed), soaked in water for at least 2 hours
1 medium ripe tomato, diced
1/4 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon agave
2 teaspoons sea salt
Pinch hot-pepper flakes
Place all ingredients in a Vita-mix or high speed blender, and process until smooth.
Basil-Pistachio Pesto
2 cups packed basil leaves
1/2 cup raw pistachios
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Place all ingredients in a Vita-mix or food processor and process until well combined but still slightly chunky.
Lasagne
3 medium zucchini, ends trimmed
3 medium green-zebra tomatoes (or other heirloom variety)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Pinch of sea salt and fresh pepper
Garnish: whole basil leaves
- Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shave zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices, then cut in half crosswise. Cut the tomatoes in half, and each half into thin slices.
- Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with two layers of zucchini slices. Brush the zucchini lightly with olive oil, spread 1/3 of the tomato sauce over it, and top with small dollops of “ricotta” and pesto, using 1/3 of each. Layer on 1/3 of the tomato slices, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the oregano and thyme. Add another double layer of zucchini and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, pesto, ricotta, tomato slices, and herbs. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Garnish with basil. (or make individual portions by layering into square shapes on plates)
24 Jul 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Home Cooking, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: basil, comfort food, gluten-free, olive oil, onions, pasta, pesto, pine nuts, quick and easy, quinoa, sauces, tofu, vegan, vegetarian
We had such a super lovely week of vacation! We spent most of the week out in Sag Harbor relaxing, cooking, practicing yoga with the amazing Colleen Saidman at Yoga Shanti, hanging out with my wonderful sister & brother in law and their adorable twin girls and just generally taking it super easy. (I’ll post some of our other super quick vacation recipes soon!)
We then headed out to Northport to stay with our friend Lisa Dawn. She has a beautiful studio there, Project Yoga, that I was honored to be teaching at this weekend. Such a sweet and blessed space. We spent the rest of the time there at the beach and of course cooking a little more 🙂
As many of you know, I love onions! We bought the most beautiful onions at the Farmers Market in Northport and I wanted to use them right away. Lisa had this amazing Vegan Pesto from Delpozzo at the farmers market so it was just a perfect quick and easy beach meal to throw both these together with quinoa pasta. Easy Peasy!
The pesto was Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Basil, Garlic, Pinenuts, Tofu, Salt and Pepper. Super easy! I have never tried tofu in the my pesto and this was out of control amazing! I usually make my pestos with olive oil, pinenuts (or sometimes other nuts), salt and pepper -occasionally I will add some nutritional yeast. I always like to try new things of course, so I am excited to experiment with this one soon myself.
Caramelized onions are one of my favorite things ever. They come out so sweet and deelish!! All you have to do is cook them down and the sugar in the onions make them super sweet. Yum!

Carmelized Onions and Pesto Quinoa Pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-6 onions (depending on how much you love onions and if you want some for leftovers)
- 4 ounces of quinoa pasta
- 2-3 ounces vegan pesto
serves 2
To caramelize the onions, just peel and chop the onions. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and add the onions, stirring. Continue to let the onions cook for a while, stirring occasionally to make sure the onions don’t burn. You can either cover the onions with a lid and let their liquid cook themselves down or for a browner more caramelized version, keep the lid off and the liquid begins to evaporate as the onions begin to brown, just make sure you are stirring frequently to prevent them from burning. You can cook both versions for about 10-20 minutes till you reach your desired color and texture.
After you get the onions in the pan, boil the pasta water. Add the pasta and cook according to instructions.
Then simply combine the onions, pesto and pasta with a bit of salt and pepper and Enjoy 🙂

I kept the cover on for the onions, so they are not as brown, but they are soft and super sweet!

I LOVE it when it says Vegan on it!! So Special!!!
05 Jul 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Cleansing, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: agave, almond butter, bragg, Cleanse, comfort food, cucumber, ginger, lime, Nama Shoyu, pepper, quick and easy, sauces, sides, soba, vegan, vegetarian
I have used Blue Print Cleanse many times over the years and always love their juices. When the fabulous ladies behind the juice company came out with a cook book of course I had to check it out. So far this first one is a winner!
I love pasta, but of course I don’t want to eat plain, white pasta all the time (especially after doing this cleanse). There are fabulous alternatives to traditional pasta – quinoa, rice, buckwheat (soba), etc. Soba is a deeeelish buckwheat noodle that cooks up super fast and tastes great with this sauce. This dish was great for dinner and just as good cold the next day for lunch. YUM!
Check out my Ginger-Poached Noodles with Soba Noodles as well 🙂

Asian Cold Noodles With Spicy Almond Dressing
Recipe adapted from ‘The 3-Day Cleanse’ by Zoe Sakoutis and Erica Huss (The Blue Print Cleanse Ladies 🙂
Makes 4 servings
12 oz. buckwheat soba noodles
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup scallions, sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
Spicy Almond Dressing (see below)
lime for garnish
1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and add the noodles.
2. Lower heat and simmer for 6-8 minutes until soba is tender, then remove from heat.
3. Strain noodles and rinse with cool water. Drain.
4. Place noodles in a bowl and add the cucumber, scallions and red bell pepper. Toss with spicy almond dressing.
5. Squeeze of lime before serving.
Spicy Almond Dressing
Makes 8 ounces
1/2 cup raw or roasted almond butter
1 tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp. Nama Shoyu or Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 tsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. agave nectar
3/4 tsp. ginger, peeled and chopped
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until completely smooth.

Spicy Almond Dressing

30 Jun 2011
by marisashealthykitchen
in Raw Vegan Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
Tags: artichoke, Cashews, comfort food, dates, dressing, green, maple syrup, non-dairy cheese, nutritional yeast, olive oil, pasta, pine nuts, quick and easy, salad, sauces, sesame, sides, snack, spinach, tahini, vegan, vegetarian
As you know I LOVE Potlucks! And now we have a pretty regular Vegan Themed Potluck Party happening 🙂 Last nights theme was Italian Night! (last month was Asian) SUPER YUM! Not kidding this meal was out of control. We didn’t end up having dessert, but we all happily had seconds of the deelish food!
Lisa Dawn made this OUT of this world lasagna! We have seen her amazing Ricotta Cheese in her Stuffed Shells, but to taste this you would think that this was gourmet ricotta cheese made in Italy. But happily it was Vegan (but still super gourmet :)) And the homemade tomato sauce was also deelish!
Joey made this amazing pesto pasta sans cheese of course. It was so gorgeous with the fresh grape tomatoes and basil! Beautiful and super tasty!
I made my favorite Raw Crisp Caesar Salad with Pinenut parmesan and Artichoke Guacamole with mulit-grain pita chips. Yum!!!
On a side note, I can’t help but brag about Lisa & Paul’s overly impressive and adorable son Luke! Lisa had this great deck of cards with all the US Presidents pictures on them. Luke was able to go through all of them and name them!!! SO CUTE!! And he is under 2 years old!
Such a super great night with friends and deelish vegan food!

Amazing photo courtesy of Lisa's fabulous husband Paul!
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