This super simple Creamy Tomato Thyme Soup will satisfy your craving for a warm meal as the fall temperatures continue to drop.
To make this a heartier meal, I highly recommend serving the soup with a vegan grilled cheese sandwich! And if you’re over the age of 10, don’t worry there’ll be no judgment. You’re never too old for grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Creamy Tomato Thyme Soup
Yields 4 servings.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 28 oz can of tomatoes, diced, crushed, or pureed
½ cup coconut milk
½ teaspoon salt, you can omit this if the canned tomatoes are salted
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
1 cup water
Directions
In a medium-sized pot, heat olive oil on medium low heat and add the onion and garlic. Saute lightly for 2-3 minutes.
Add canned tomatoes and all other remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes, until heated through and fragrant.
Serve as is or blend to desired creaminess. You can use either an immersion blender or you can transfer to a blender and puree in batches. If you’re using a traditional blender, be sure to let the soup cool before blending.
Quorn, a readily available vegetarian meat substitute is now offering vegan versionsof their popular meat-free products!
Having tried my share of vegan meats, I can easily say Quorn’s measure up! The texture is spot on—not too chewy, not too tough, and so flavorful. It would please vegans and meat-eaters alike!
The only issue I had with these vegan meats was deciding how I wanted to cook them and what I wanted to enjoy them with.
I whipped up some gravy to pair with the Vegan Breaded Chicken/Chik’n Cutlets. I added a side of slaw I had leftover in my fridge, and it was a great, filling meal! These cutlets are the perfect main dish, especially for meat-eaters incorporating more vegan food into their diets.
Quorn Vegan Breaded Chicken/Chik’n Cutlets
And with Quorn’s Vegan Chicken/Chik’n Tenders, I put together a delicious, cheesy breakfast hash.
Your stomach is growling now, right? No problem! My tasty hash recipe is listed below.
Before you run out to get yourself these vegan meats, check out the store locator on the Quorn website. You can specify which products you want and locate the stores closest to you that are carrying them.
Cheesy Breakfast Hash with Quorn’s Vegan Chicken/Chik’n Tenders
Cheesy Breakfast Hash
Serves about 2.
Ingredients
Hash
½ of a 32 oz bag tater tots
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
½ bag of Quorn Vegan Chicken/Chik’n Tenders
2 vegan sausage patties (I used Hilary’s Apple Maple Veggie Breakfast Sausage)
½ cup broccoli florets
¼ cup edamame
¼ cup raw cashews
Cheese Sauce
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 tablespoon flour
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Directions
Preheat oven and heat tater tots according to instructions on bag.
While the tots are cooking, heat oil in a large skillet. Add Quorn Vegan Chicken/Chik’n Tenders, vegan sausage, broccoli, and edamame. Cook over medium heat.
When heated through, add cashews and lower heat.
Meanwhile, for the cheese sauce, combine milk and flour in a small saucepan over medium heat and mix thoroughly.
When sauce begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and add nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt.
When tater tots are finished cooking, carefully add them and the cheese sauce to the skillet and mix well. Serve hot and enjoy!
Small amount of flour for dusting (after dough has risen)
Filling
6 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
⅔ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 shot of bourbon
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ to 1 cup roughly chopped mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
Icing
3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
2 tablespoons plain vegan cream cheese, room temperature
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange juice
Directions
For the Dough: Heat the almond milk on the stovetop to 120°F. Add milk and yeast and to small bowl and stir. Let stand for a few minutes.
Place sugar, butter, salt, and egg replacer in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until combined—lumpiness is ok. Pour in the milk/yeast mixture and stir for a few seconds.
Add flour, lemon zest, and spices. Stir with the paddle attachment just until the mixture starts to stick to the paddle. Then replace the paddle with the dough hook. Continue mixing on low speed until the dough forms a ball in the center of the bowl. If the dough is still very sticky, you can add an additional ¼ cup of flour.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Lightly oil the dough ball with olive oil or coconut oil and cover the bowl. Let sit for 2-4 hours—until it’s doubled in size.
For the Filling: Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Stir together all ingredients except for the berries and set aside.
After the dough has risen, dust the rolling surface with flour and roll the ball into a rectangle, about 10” x 14.” Spread the filling as evenly as possible over the rectangle. Make sure the filling reaches the sides so the outer rolls will have enough filling. Sprinkle berries over the filling. Roll the dough up tightly from the long end.
Slice roll into equal sized rolls. If you want large rolls, you’ll cut about 10. Place the rolls into a greased 9” x 9” pan or 9 ½” round pie plate. Chill the rolls for at least 4-6 hours.
Bring the rolls to room temperature by removing from fridge. Preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 25-30 minutes or until they’re golden brown.
For the Icing: While the rolls are baking, cream the butter and cream cheese with a whisk in a small bowl—“creaming” is the whipping together of fats.
Add powdered sugar in small amounts until the mixture is thick.
Add the liquids and whisk mixture until the frosting streams slowly from the whisk.
Drizzle over the rolls when they’re done baking. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips/Variations
I like to cut the roll into roughly 13 rolls and place them in greased cupcake/muffin tins to bake.
Fact—Pizza is one of those meals that’s so delicious it can be eaten at any time of the day, including breakfast time.
A big thanks to Renee Press, founder of Fire and Earth Kitchen, who clearly understands this very important fact. Forget your bowl of cereal tomorrow morning and give this recipe a try!
Breakfast Tortilla Pesto Pizzas
Yields 1 personal pizza.
Ingredients
1 tortilla
Pesto
¼ cup nuts or seeds of choice—pumpkin, sunflower, walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, or almonds work well
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup spinach—kale, Swiss chard, or arugula will also work
¼ cup fresh basil—parsley, mint, or cilantro will also work
⅓ cup water
Suggested Toppings
Thinly sliced potato
Mushrooms
Onions
Corn
Chives
Spinach
Greens
Peppers
Avocado
Broccoli
Directions
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400°F.
For the Pesto: Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process for 30 seconds—scraping down the sides a few times—until creamy.
Pour onto tortilla and spread out evenly with a spoon. It should be a nice thick layer.
For the Toppings: Prepare desired veggies as needed and arrange on top of the tortilla. Place tortilla on baking tray and bake for 10 minutes, or until it starts to brown and gets crispy and toppings are soft and cooked through.
Remove from oven and top with avocado, salt, pepper, and any other favorite flavors. Cut into slices or roll up like a burrito. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Variations
If you’re using avocado slices, don’t add them to the pizza until it comes out of oven.
Here’s a little motivation to wake up and conquer the morning—Cranberry Almond Biscotti. Thanks to Gena Hamshaw at The Full Helping for providing this sweet, seasonal breakfast idea.
Cranberry Almond Biscotti
Yields 2-3 Dozen Biscotti
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour—or a half and half combination of all-purpose and whole wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of 1 orange
⅔-¾ cup sugar
½ cup—8 tablespoons—vegan buttery spread
3 tablespoons aquafaba or 1 flax egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped—or a chopped, dried fruit of choice
½ cup chopped, slivered, or sliced almonds—or a chopped nut of choice
Directions
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
If using a flax egg, whisk together 1 tablespoon ground flax meal and 3 tablespoons warm water and allow the mixture to thicken before using.
In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the orange zest, sugar, and buttery spread on medium speed, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the aquafaba or flax egg and the two extracts. Beat for one more minute.
Turn the speed of the mixer to low, then add half of the flour mixture. When the flour is fully incorporated, add the orange juice to the mixer and beat until it’s incorporated. Add the rest of the flour mixture, the cranberries, and the almonds. Beat until the dough is evenly mixed and forming large clumps. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes (and up to 2 hours).
Preheat the oven to 325 °F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Divide the dough into two evenly sized pieces and shape each of them into a log that’s about 8 inches long, 1 inch high, and 3 inches wide—space the logs a few inches apart on your baking sheet.
Bake the logs for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and firm to the touch. Raise the oven heat to 350°F. Remove the logs from the oven and allow them to cool for 15 minutes. Use a serrated knife to cut the logs into slices that are about ½-¾ inch thick. Arrange the slices on your cookie sheet cut side up and transfer them back to the oven. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until the biscotti are golden brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.
I often refer to myself as the, “Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” kind of cook. I look at what I have in the fridge, and see what I can literally throw together to make a delicious meal. For me, no dish illustrates this better than my vegan breakfast hash. I really think I’ve never had the exact same ingredients every time I’ve made this meal. The only ingredient that I always include is the pre-cooked polenta, which I buy at Safeway and has a long shelf life.
This is a hearty meal that can can be served at any time of day, and is easy to make for a group of people. The best part is that you don’t need exact measurements of anything and it’s a great way to use that produce in the fridge whose days are numbered.
Ingredients:
Pre-cooked polenta
olive oil or another plant based oil
any variety of potato or sweet potato
your choice of greens (such as kale or spinach
canned beans
fresh (steamed) or frozen vegetables
salsa (optional)
avocado (optional)
vegan cheese (optional)
vegan meat (optional)
nutritional yeast (optional)
To prepare: Wash all of your produce. Skin and cube potatoes, chop veggies, cube polenta, de-spine greens and chop into strips. Open and rinse canned beans.
To cook: steam potatoes and fresh vegetables, if using, either with microwave steamer or in steamer basket over a pot of boiling water. Set aside.
Warm beans by either putting in microwave or heating on stove over low heat, stirring occasionally. Do the same with vegan meat, if using.
Put a dollop of olive oil on the bottom of a frying pan. Turn on to medium-low heat, and add polenta. Make sure the cubes are coated in oil, and cook until they start to turn golden, flipping occasionally. Add greens. Keep stirring and add more oil if needed. After greens start to shrink, add potatoes, then vegan meat and nutritional yeast (if using), beans and steamed vegetables. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until everything is warmed.
Put on a plate and serve. Feel free to top it with vegan cheese, salsa, avocado, vegan sour cream, or any of your other favorite vegan condiments. We even added tortilla chips here. Get creative, and enjoy!
When my friend Aaron moved to Seattle, WA a few years back, we kept in touch through snail mail. He typed up his grandmother’s banana bread recipe on his typewriter, mailed it to me and I’ve made it about 100 times since. It’s seriously the best! It’s fun to make it with kids, and super delicious with breakfast tea in the morning
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and many thanks to Aaron and his grandma for sharing this recipe.
Ingredients:
1/3 c non-dairy margarine, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c applesauce
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-3/4 c of flour
2 ripe bananas
1 cup chocolate chips, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, mix the non-dairy margarine and sugar. Make sure to beat until fluffy. Add the applesauce and mix well. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mush the bananas together, making sure to break up all the dense parts until it becomes a gooey dough. Add the flour and bananas alternately, starting with the flour. Mix each time so the flour is mixed. Add the chocolate chips if using. Spoon into the bread pan. Bake for one hour.
When changing your diet, it may take time to explore new foods and develop a routine.
There are a lot of different products to choose from—experiment with various flavors and brands to find your favorites.
Opposing animal cruelty can be as easy as substituting marinara for meat sauce, opting for bean burritos instead of chicken or beef tacos, and trying some of the many delicious and convenient vegan products that are available.
“When I met my first vegetarian, he told me he had not eaten meat for fourteen years. I looked at him as if he had managed to hold his breath that entire time. Today I know there is nothing rigorous or strange about eating a diet that excludes meat.”
Gardein mock meats come in a variety of styles and flavors. Shown above is a Gardein Tuscan chick’n breast.
Mock meats, made from plant protein, come in a wide range of textures, shapes, and styles: burgers, hot dogs, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ground meat, meatballs, breaded cutlets, deli slices, “unchicken” salad, and more!
Dairy alternatives, made from soy, rice, nuts, seeds, and plant starches, include milks, cheeses, butter, mayonnaise, sour cream, yogurts, frozen desserts—you name it!
It’s best to sample as many products as you can. You might dislike certain soymilks and veggie burgers, but think others are great!
With the right substitute ingredients and a little experience, you’ll discover you can still enjoy your favorite meals. Vegan twists on most any familiar recipe can be prepared using seitan (or “wheat meat”), homemade “cheezes,” and other meat and dairy alternatives. You’ll find countless vegetarian recipes on the Internet, as well as a huge selection of vegetarian cookbooks.
Beans are a good source of protein and relatively inexpensive. You’ll find an array of heat-and-serve options at most supermarkets, and a number of recipes for bean-based dishes in our online starter guide, including hearty soups and a chili made with “textured vegetable protein,” which also costs less than ready-made faux meats.
While nearly all supermarkets carry tasty, animal-free fare, natural food stores and co-ops are great places to explore your vegetarian options. Besides all the ready-made products, you may discover unusual grains, beans, or other ingredients you’ve never tried. In fact, by becoming more conscious of what they eat and by experimenting with new foods and recipes, many people find themselves with a more diverse diet after becoming vegan!
