#myveggitorials

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Asian Style Quinoa Miso Soup

This post is sponsored by Path of Life. As always, all opinions are straight from my own noggin’. I only work with brands I 100% believe in & use regularly. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Life of a Vegaholic going.

Fun fact, Miso Soup is one of my favorite soups. My mother would make it all the time when I was younger. What I love about miso soup is that it is not only good for you, but it’s delicious, easy to customize and easy to make. If you’re not familiar with miso soup, miso soup is a mild broth-based soup. The broth of miso soup is made from water and miso paste. Traditionally miso soup has cubed tofu, green onions, and nori in it, but today’s recipe for miso soup has a little twist to it. Today, I’m going to be sharing how to make this Asian Style Quinoa Miso Soup. 

This Asian Style Quinoa Miso Soup is perfect for soup season, which is just around the corner. This miso soup is packed with some traditional ingredients such as tofu and green onions, but it is also filled with some yummy surprises like Path of Life’s Asian Style Quinoa, mushrooms, bok choy, and rainbow chard. Incorporating Path of Life’s Asian Style Quinoa adds not only more flavor and color to the dish but it also adds more veggies and protein to it thanks to the red and white quinoa and brown rice that’s in it. There’s a blend of green peas, yellow squash, red bell pepper, gluten-free soy sauce, green onions, garlic, ginger, extra virgin olive oil and toasted sesame oil in the Path of Life’s Asian Style Quinoa steamable bag. Yes, I said steamable bag because you have the option of either preparing the quinoa on a stovetop (like I opted to do for this recipe) or you can prepare the quinoa by putting it in the microwave for 5 minutes or less. This soup tastes so smooth and clean. It’s really great for taking care of yourself inside and out when you catch yourself sniffing or when you’re just in need of some good ‘ole nourishing, healing, comfort food. 

What You’ll Need: 

(Serves 2)

4 cups of water 

1 10 oz package of Path of Life’s Asian Style Quinoa 

3 Tbsp of miso paste (I used a chickpea-based miso)

1/4 cup of bok choy 

1/4 cup of rainbow chard 

1/2 cup of chopped green onions 

1/4 cup of sliced mushrooms (I used a combination of shiitake and white mushrooms)

1/4 cup of tofu, cubed 

Directions: 

1. Prepare Path of Life’s Asian Style Quinoa as instructed on the packaging. 

2. Place water in a medium saucepan and bring to a low simmer. 

3. Place 3 Tbsp of miso paste into a small bowl, add a little hot water and whisk until smooth. This will prevent it from not clumping. Set aside. 

4. Add rainbow chard, green onions, mushrooms, bok choy, and tofu to the pot and cook for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

5. Add Path of Life’s Asian Style Quinoa to the pot, stir, and cook for 2 minutes. 

5. Remove from heat, add miso mixture, and stir to combine. 

6. Taste and add more miso or a pinch of sea salt and black pepper if desired. Serve warm and it’s best to serve when fresh. 

7. Enjoy! 

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Pizza Quesadillas

This post is sponsored by Go Veggie Foods. As always, all opinions are straight from my own noggin’. I only work with brands I 100% believe in and would honestly recommend. 

Happy Monday guys! We are currently in Back To School season. Most of us have started school already *raises hand* and some of us don’t start until after Labor Day (aka the lucky ones) haha! One of the fun things about Back To School season is all of the Back To School recipes. You’re able to try new things to take as lunch options. Today’s post is a #BTSWithVal recipe and this one is all about pizza, again. Haha! If you saw my last recipe post, you would know what I mean. What can I say, guys pizza is the best. I mean with its fluffy crust and the oh-so delicious toppings that are on it, it’s hard to say no to it sometimes right? I’m not gonna lie though, even though pizza is well....pizza sometimes I get sick of it. It can get greasy and we all know that it’s not exactly the healthiest food out there. If you like pizza but are sick of the same ole, same ole or want a healthier alternative that’s still delicious I have two words for you. Pizza. Quesadillas.  This Italian twist on a Mexican traditional dish will fulfill your pizza craving and leave you feeling satisfied. 

These Pizza Quesadillas are so yummy and are very easy as well as fun to make. Plus they will be ready in like minutes, which is why they make a great dinner option that is quick! They are so flavorful and aren’t messy all. These quesadillas are vegetarian, gluten-free, and even dairy-free thanks to Go Veggie! I used their Vegan Mozzarella Shreds for this recipe. Their Vegan Mozzarella Shreds melt really nicely. I feel like I’m eating actual pizza and not dairy-free, vegan pizza you know? For all of your cheesy needs, I highly recommend using Go Veggie! To find out if Go Veggie is located at a store near you, click here. 

They are not only perfect for the little ones but also great for young and grown adults because you’re never too old to enjoy some pizza, right? Right. These are perfect if you want to up your regular pizza night at home. Also with football season being right around the corner, these are perfect for all of your party needs (GO FALCONS!). Hehe!

What You’ll Need:

4 corn tortillas 

1/3 cup of Go Veggie Vegan Mozzarella Shreds (if you want your quesadillas more cheesy, feel free to up the amount of cheese)

2 tablespoons of marinara sauce 

marinara sauce for dipping, optional 

1/2 teaspoon of dried basil leaves 

Directions:

1. Lay tortillas on work surface and spread marinara sauce evenly over the entire tortilla.

2. Distribute the cheese and basil leaves between the two tortillas on top of the sauce on the bottom tortilla. 

3. Place the remaining two tortillas on top of the bottom tortillas. 

4. Preheat a medium nonstick pan over medium heat. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until the cheese has melted and it’s golden-brown.

5. Remove quesadillas from pan and cut into quarters. Serve with additional pizza sauce for dipping (optional).

6. Enjoy!

Thank you to Go Veggie Foods for sponsoring this post! As always, all opinions are straight from my own noggin’.

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Chickpea Pizza Burgers

This post is sponsored by Go Veggie Foods. As always, all opinions are straight from my own noggin’. I only work with brands I 100% believe in and would honestly recommend. 

Hey guys! Today, I’m going to show you guys how to make these Chickpea Pizza Burgers. My mom and I enjoyed these burgers while watching the MLS All Star Game. If you follow me on Twitter or have seen this video on my YouTube channel, you would know that my love for soccer is like REAL. The burgers were delicious, but let’s not talk about the game. I have three words for ya, Why. Stefan. Why?! Let me stop before I go into full on rant mode lol. If you want to see my series of rant tweeting, click here to follow me on Twitter. 

Back to these burgers! These Chickpea Pizza Burgers are perfect for a healthy weeknight meal when you’re in an Italian mood. If you’ve always wanted pizza and burgers to come together in one delicious dish, these burgers are for you. Honestly, these burgers taste and smell like you’re eating regular pizza. Haha! They made the kitchen smell like an Italian place because of ingredients such as the marinara sauce, oregano, basil, etc. When I smell those things, my mind immediately thinks Italian. Since we’re talking pizza, you can’t have pizza without cheese right? I know my fellow dairy-free eaters are like, “But I’m dairy-free.” I have two words for you. Go Veggie. If you guys have been following my blog for a bit, you would know that I love using Go Veggie. It’s one of my go-to brands for dairy-free cheese. I used their Vegan Mozzarella Shreds and their Vegan Mozzarella Singles for this recipe (I know, I didn’t vegan mozzarella was a thing either). I love Go Veggie because their products don’t make me feel like I’m dairy-free since they taste very similar to regular cheese and they have a similar texture to regular cheese. I also love how their cheese melts and their products are even healthier than ordinary cheese. Yep, you read that right. Go Veggie products have 40% fewer calories, equivalent amount of protein, 50% less fat, and 50% more calcium when you compare the two so definitely check them out. These burgers are dairy-free and vegetarian and they are definitely game changers in the burger game. You have to make them! 

What You’ll Need: 

Serves 4-6 (depending on how big you make the burger patties)

1 can of chickpeas

1 egg, lightly beaten 

1/4 cup of Go Veggie Vegan Mozzarella Shreds

Slices of Go Veggie Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon of dried basil 

1 teaspoon of dried oregano 

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

3 tablespoons of marinara sauce

pizza sauce for topping

Hamburger Buns of your choice  

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil 

Directions: 

1. Mash the beans with a fork fully. 

2. Combine chickpeas, egg, Go Veggie Vegan Mozzarella Shreds, salt, dried basil, dried oregano, pepper, oil, and the 3 tablespoons of pizza sauce with the mashed chickpeas. Stir everything until even. 

3. Form mixture into patties that are roughly the size of your hamburger bun. Fry over medium heat with little oil for 5 or so minutes on each side. Flip patties VERY carefully since they are delicate. The burger patties do hold together nicely as long as you use a spatula to move them.  

3. Serve them on hamburger buns of your choice topped with pizza sauce and slices of Go Veggie Mozzarella cheese. Enjoy! 

Thank you to Go Veggie Foods for sponsoring this post! As always, all opinions are straight from my own noggin’.

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Asian Slaw with Ginger Sesame Dressing

Hey guys! Sorry I’ve been a little MIA on the blog. If you guys didn’t know, I’ve been putting a lot of attention to my new YouTube channel. I’ve been posting new videos weekly on my channel, so you should definitely subscribe to my channel if you haven’t done so yet. I would love for you guys to be able to interact with me in a different way. Now let’s get into the blog post, shall we? Haha! Today, I’m going to be showing you all how to make this delicious Asian Slaw with Ginger Sesame Dressing. This Asian Slaw has been made on constant repeat in my kitchen, kind of like your favorite song. Honestly, this slaw is like my newest and latest obsession guys. I even brought it to the 4th of July gathering my mom and I went to and it was a MAJOR hit. Everyone loved it, so I was like YES SUCCESS! ALL I DO IS WIN WIN WIN NO MATTER WHAT! *ends singing rampage*. 

This slaw is the kind of thing that you’ll be excited to have as a side to any meal you have. It’s fresh, crunchy, and full of flavor. Can we just talk about how beautiful this slaw looks? Like it almost looks too pretty to eat. Key word, ALMOST. Haha! The great thing about this Asian slaw, besides its beauty and the fact that it is delicious, is that it takes about 20 minutes to make. How sweet is that?! Speaking of sweet, let’s talk about the thing that brings this beautiful slaw together. The Ginger Sesame Dressing. This dressing is just full of all the flavors you want and that you need to make this slaw amazing, so don’t forget the dressing. If you forget it, it would be boring and just be toppings for a regular salad. Bahaha! So don’t forget the dressing. 

The dressing holds up really well pre-mixed into the slaw if you want to prep this for your lunch (which is usually what I do). You can also add the dressing when it’s time to eat. Whatever floats your boat. If you try this Asian Slaw, be sure to let me know how it turns out by taking some pictures of your creation and tagging me on my socials (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) so I can see your creations! 

What You’ll Need: 

For Coleslaw

- 2 (16 oz) prepared shredded coleslaw mixes 

or 

- 2 cups of shredded green cabbage

- 2 cups of shredded red cabbage 

- 1/2 cup of shredded carrots

Ginger Sesame Dressing 

- 2 teaspoons of soy sauce 

- 1/4 cup of rice vinegar 

- 1 small clove of garlic 

- 2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger 

- 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar 

- 1/4 cup of sesame oil 

- salt and pepper to taste

- juice of 1/2 a lime

Directions: 

- In a food processor or a blender, combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, grated ginger, coconut sugar, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and the juice of 1/2 a lime. Blend until everything is evenly mixed and is smooth. 

- Place shredded coleslaw mix (or shredded red cabbage and green cabbage) and shredded carrots into a large bowl. 

- Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss to combine or add the dressing as you eat the slaw. 

- Enjoy!  

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Black Bean Dip | The Hunger Challenge Day Four

This post is sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market. As always, all opinions are straight from my own noggin’. I only work with brands I 100% believe in & use regularly. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Life of a Vegaholic going.

Welcome to day four aka the last day of The Hunger Challenge on Life of a Vegaholic. Today, I’m going to be showing you guys how to make this oh, so delicious Black Bean Dip. Black Bean Dip is one of my favorite appetizers/snacks. I’ve always liked it since I was younger and thought that it was time to make my own dip. It turned out really good and I just had to share it with you guys. This Black Bean Dip makes THE perfect appetizer/snack to have and you can pair it with my Baked Tortilla Chips to fully complete the dish. This dip is super easy to make, it’s inexpensive to make, and you can impress all of your friends with this dip at social gatherings (Super Bowl is just around the corner my friends). The can of black beans I used is from Sprouts. I love the quality of their canned beans. They taste very high quality and it’s even better that they are set at a reasonable price of $0.89. 

What You’ll Need: 

Makes about 2 cups 

Serving size: 1/4 cup / $0.23 per serving 

1 (15 oz) can of black beans ($0.89)

1 clove of garlic, peeled ($0.33)

1/2 tsp of ground cumin ($0.03)

1/4 tsp salt ($0.01)

1/4 cup of cilantro leaves ($0.26)

1 lime or 1 tbsp of lime juice ($0.32)

1/3 cup of water ($0.00)

Directions: 

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender. 

2. Spoon dip into a microwave safe dish and cook for 5-7 minutes or until dip is warmed thoroughly. *You can also spoon the dip into an oven safe dish and bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for the same amount of time or until the dip is warmed thoroughly. 

3. Serve and enjoy!

I’m not going to lie, this Hunger Challenge was not easy and I’ve definitely learned so much from doing this challenge. I want to thank Sprouts Farmers Market for partnering with me on this challenge. The goal of this challenge was to spread hunger awareness and to also show you guys that healthy living can be convenient, super yummy as well as affordable. Sprouts and I both believe that hunger and food insecurity are serious issues in America. Sprouts Farmers Market helps with putting a stop to food insecurity through their Food Rescue program. They provide more than 1 million pounds of food to local food banks each year. We also wanted to inspire as well as encourage others to live a healthier life. Whether living healthier for you is cooking more at home, eating more vegetables, drinking more water, or even exercising more often.

I didn’t realize how much I would use my calculator throughout this challenge. The calculator was literally my best friend. Haha. This challenge has made my creative juices go into overdrive since I had to stick within a certain budget. This challenge has taught me how to make meals that are fulfilling if I’m in a situation where I have a certain budget that I have to stick to. This challenge has also taught me that you really can live a healthy lifestyle without breaking the bank and make food that tastes really good. If this challenge has inspired just one person and has given them the motivation to live a healthier lifestyle, then this challenge has been successful.  

My Latest Posts: 

Vegetarian Chili Macaroni | The Hunger Challenge Day Three 

Chickpea Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps | The Hunger Challenge Day Two 

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Chickpea Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps | The Hunger Challenge Day Two

This post is sponsored by Sprouts Farmers Market. As always, all opinions are straight from my own noggin’. I only work with brands I 100% believe in & use regularly. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Life of a Vegaholic going.

Welcome to day two of The Hunger Challenge on Life of a Vegaholic. If you haven’t checked out day one of this challenge, you probably should. I’m partnering with Sprouts Farmers Market on this series to spread awareness about hunger and food insecurity. Hunger and food insecurity are two issues that Sprouts and I are very passionate about. Today is all about lunch. Lunch is the 2nd most important meal of day (behind breakfast of course). I’m going to be showing you guys how to make these Chickpea Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps. When I went to Sprouts to pick up the ingredients, they had 3 pack Organic Romaine Lettuce Hearts on sale for $1.98. ORGANIC. I was shocked (the good kind of course), I’m not gonna lie. I’ve seen organic romaine lettuce for as much as $3.99+, so I was really happy to see organic lettuce at such a good price. 

You can’t have chickpea tuna salad lettuce wraps without the chickpea tuna salad. Hehe! I got a can of chickpeas from Sprouts for $0.89, which is really affordable. Making this mock tuna salad is a great way to have chickpeas in a different way instead of having your typical hummus. This mock tuna salad seriously smells like tuna and tastes very, very similar to tuna. When I first made this and asked my mom to taste it, she totally thought that this was tuna. She was super surprised to find out that it was actually chickpeas (I fooled her hehe!).

What You’ll Need: 

Makes 4 lettuce wraps

Serving: 2 lettuce wraps / approximately $0.43 per serving

1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas, drained ($0.89)

Juice of 1/2 lemon ($0.14)

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise ($0.07) *adjust amount based on how creamy you want it to be 

1/4 cup of a small red onion, chopped ($0.17)

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder ($0.03)

Romaine lettuce leaves ($0.40)

Directions: 

1. Drain and rinse garbanzo beans. Then, transfer beans to a food chopper or food processor. 

2. Pulse beans in the food processor a few times. Then, add remaining ingredients. Pulse until the mixture had reached your desired consistency. 

3. Pour chickpea mixture into a separate bowl. Distribute chickpea mixture into romaine leaves. 

4) Serve & Enjoy!

My Latest Posts:

Eggcelent Breakfast Muffins | The Hunger Challenge Day One 

December Favorites

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Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Breakfast Bars

We all know that it’s that time of the year where you bring out your snuggly blankets & have an excuse to have pumpkin everything. Any day. Any time. It honestly wouldn’t feel like fall without a little pumpkin magic, so I’m going to be showing you all how to make these Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Breakfast Bars in today’s #FallingWithVal post. Now I know you’re thinking, “Uh Valencia, don’t you strongly dislike quinoa? Why are you doing a recipe with it?” I know guys, I know. 

The first time I had quinoa, I wasn’t really feeling it at all. Maybe it was because the person seasoned it wrong or made it wrong. Who knows! After that, I pretty much stayed clear of quinoa because of that incident. Lately, I’ve been wanting to try quinoa again and see if I could make it at least tolerable for me. When I tasted these bars, all of my previous thoughts about quinoa went out the window and I was so happy that these were the absolute bomb.com. They are like little squares of deliciousness that smell so much like pumpkin pie. It’s insane how much they smell like pumpkin pie, but the good kind of course. I could literally smell these all day, everyday.

These bars are perfect if you are in need of some new ideas for a healthy & easy on-the-go breakfast option or if you just want to have an excuse to have pumpkin for breakfast. That always works too because who wouldn’t want pumpkin for breakfast?!

What You’ll Need: 

- 1 cup of rolled oats

- 1 cup of cooked quinoa

- 1 teaspoon of baking powder

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt 

- 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice 

- 1/4 cup of coconut sugar

- 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin puree 

- 1/4 cup of vanilla non-dairy milk

Directions: 

1) Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray. 

2) Combine oats, quinoa, baking powder, baking soda, coconut sugar, and pumpkin spice in one mixing bowl. Set aside.

3) In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin puree and non-dairy milk. Gently stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Stir until well combined. 

4) Spread pumpkin mixture evenly into prepared baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick can come out clean. 

5) Enjoy!

My Latest Posts:

Broccoli and Cauliflower Tots

6 Lies You’ve Been Told About Food

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Broccoli and Cauliflower Tots

For some people, vegetables aren’t necessarily their food of choice. If they HAVE to have a veggie, they would rather have something like fries as their “vegetable”. I put quotes around vegetable because saying fries are a vegetable is like saying a tomato is a fruit. Yes, it is technically a fruit but it’s usually associated with vegetables. Fries are technically a vegetable, but it’s usually associated with starches. You know what I mean?

Speaking of potatoes, do you remember when you were younger and when everyone would get super excited about tater tots? I liked tater tots when I was younger and most likely you did too (or you still might like them). I thought to myself why not make a healthier alternative to tater tots? Don’t go reaching for your potatoes guys because I turned vegetables into tots with the help of my veggie friends broccoli and cauliflower. I love those veggies so much to the point where I think I may have a problem, but it’s okay. Haha! 

These veggie-packed, slightly cheesy Broccoli and Cauliflower Tots are a fun way to incorporate more veggies into your diet because let’s be real everything tastes better in tot/miniature form. These tots are super yummy and make the perfect appetizer, side dish, or snack. With football season being here, you can make these for your next watching party.

What You’ll Need: 

- 1 cup of broccoli, cut into small florets

- 1 cup of cauliflower, cut into small florets

- 1/4 cup of scallions

- 1 egg

- 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning

- 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

- salt & pepper to taste

- 1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs 

- 1/4 cup of shredded dairy-free cheese 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Cut up cauliflower & broccoli into florets and process them in the food processor. 

3. Transfer riced cauliflower & broccoli to a microwave safe dish & microwave on high for 8 minutes or until cooked. 

4. In a mixing bowl, add broccoli, cauliflower, scallions, seasonings, egg, panko, and dairy-free cheese. Mix well & chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. 

5. Shape the mixture into small shaped tots & spread them evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

6. Bake for 8-9 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 8 to 9 minutes on the other side until golden brown. 

If you guys couldn’t tell, I love me some broccoli & cauliflower, okay? Haha! What are your favorite veggies? Also, since I mentioned sports, what’s your favorite sport and favorite team? Tell me in the comments below. I hope that you guys enjoyed this recipe & if you recreate this recipe or any recipe from the blog, send me pics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #lifeofavegaholic. I would LOVE to see them! I hope that you all are having a great day & I’ll see you in my next post! Bye :) 

My Latest Posts:

6 Lies You’ve Been Told About Food 

September Favorites 2016