Pasta and *Cheese* with Vegetables

Pasta and *Cheese*

1c. vegetable broth
2tbsp. flour
1/2tbsp. oil
1 clove garlic
1/2c. nutritional yeast
1/2tbsp. lemon juice
1/2tsp. yellow mustard
quick splash of soy sauce
pinch of salt
pinch of turmeric
1/3c. alphabet pasta, cooked
1/4c. frozen peas or any vegetable of your choice


Combine everything but lemon juice and mustard in small sauce pan, whisk continually for 3 minutes; mixture should be bubbling. Cook 2 minutes, mix in lemon juice and mustard. Mixture should be thick and cheesy. Remove from stove and mix with pasta, add peas (the heat from the pasta and *cheese* will cook them).

Maybe add some bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 10 minutes!

Get PERSONAL with your PIZZA

Pizza is the quickest, easiest, relatively healthy food you can make. On top of all that, it can be made while involving your children! I think this is such an important part of cooking. Letting your kids help, get them excited about the food they're going to eat. I think more people should have a relationship with what they put into their bodies. I'm a firm believer that you are what you eat. :) Although I try to use this logic with him (hahaha), I still have a difficult time getting Y to eat his vegetables. But for some wonderful reason, he happily eats them on his pizza. Phew! Today, while talking to some girls in the neighborhood, he proudly told them his favorite pizza topping was peppers. Sooooo cute.

Y's Favorite Personal Pizza

6" Pita Bread
Pizza Sauce
Spinach Puree
Vegan Rella Cheese, shredded
Green Pepper, diced
Red Onions, diced
Black olives, sliced
Gimme Lean Sausage, broken up into tiny pieces and browned.


Preheat oven to 400. Assemble Pizza's (spinach puree first) and cook 6-8 minutes.



^ Our friends Sara and Aayla came over today to help cook.



^ Y enjoys "seasoning" everything. I have an empty shaker that I let him "season" his food with.



^ Max is a wonderful eater. He'll at the very least, try everything once. :)

Baked Potatoes and Gravy

I think potatoes are a very misunderstood vegetable. They don't get the appreciation they deserve. Potatoes are more than just carbohydrates! Potatoes are a very good source of vitamin C. They are also a good source of vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber. With that being said, here is a recipe for

Seitan and Gravy Baked Potatoes by S. Watkins

1 /2 package of Westsoy traditionally seasoned Seitan, cut into very small pieces (Y won't eat Seitan if the pieces are too big)
Packet of Vegan Brown Gravy or make your own! It's super easy.
2-3 Russet Potatoes, washed, forked (pierce with a fork about 4 times) and wrapped in foil
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 small onion
salt and pepper
Vegan Butter

Cook potatoes for 60-90 minutes at 350. Once they are cooked, take out and allow to cool until you are able to touch them. While the potato is cooling, make gravy. Should take about 10 minutes to heat thoroughly. Saute garlic and onion in 1 tbsp butter. Add seitan and cook 3-10 minutes. I like mine very brown and crisp. Mix seitan and gravy together. Unwrap the foil, slice an "X" in the tops of each potato and add butter to the top of the potato. You want the butter to melt down into the center. Spoon a generous amount of gravy/seitan mix on top of potato. Y enjoys this next part. Mash together. I'm pretty sure this is the only reason he eats this.

Spinach Puree

Steam 1 1/2c. baby spinach for 30-40 seconds, or cook in a skillet with 1tbsp waster for 90 seconds.
In a food processor, blend with 1 garlic clove until smooth and creamy (about 2 min).

I use this under pizza sauce. Nobody ever knows, and its a healthy dose of iron, and calcium.

Pasta and 'Nuggets'

I wrote about this in my family blog months ago. In my personal opinion, pasta has the nutritional value of a roll of toilet paper. But, occasionally pasta is necessary to use as a vehicle for vegetables and other healthy, delicious sauces. Anyway, the "pasta shape" of choice in our house (among the children) is "nuggets". Maybe it's because Y gets excited when I say "nuggets", because he thinks he's getting a fried 'chicken' product. But it works. He eats it every time! Here is an easy, yet healthy, pasta and butter recipe.

2Tbsp Cauliflower Puree
1/3c. nugget shaped pasta, cooked
1/2Tbsp Vegan Butter

Mix it together and serve while repeating "nuggets! nuggets! nuggets!"