Yesterday's Lunch: Gyro From The Greek Spot

Yesterday's lunch is brought to you by The Greek Spot. Gyros were one of my disgustingly delicious favorites when I ate meat, so when a friend of mine told me there was a vegan version in D.C., I had to check it out. This was another one of those meals where the vegan version is just as filling but didn't leave me feeling awful. The faux meat is grilled to perfection; I love that they're slightly crunchy on the edges. And the pita is pillow soft. The only downfall is that they don't have a vegan tahini, so I got hummus instead. Overall, this is one of my favorite fast food meals in D.C.

Sunny-Side Up "Eggs" On Bagels

I went vegan about four years ago (I was vegetarian for four years before that), and I used to live on eggs. You name it, I ate it: deviled, scrambled, hard boiled, etc. One of the meals I miss the most is eating a gooey sunny-side up egg with toast and Maggi soy sauce (a personal family favorite).

When I saw that a vegan "egg yolk" product came out, my mouth dropped. See! Vegans can have their cake and eat it too. For this recipe, I used THE VEGG, which is available through various health food grocery stores across the U.S. and at select online retailers.

It definitely took a little thought coming up with how to make the rest of the egg, but I figured silken tofu would have a similar texture and taste.

You'll definitely see more recipes featuring this in the future because I loved it! The finished product has the same sulfury smell of an egg and it tasted great. I can't wait to try this in quiches and french toast.

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
bagels
cream cheese
avocado
silken tofu
THE VEGG "egg yolk" product
Earth Balance soy butter

1. In a pan, melt the butter.
2. Gently slice a 1/4 inch thick piece of silken tofu (note: this can be tricky because silken tofu can fall apart easily). It should be about the size of a palm. Fry the slices in the pan until slightly crunchy and brown on each side and around the edges.
3. Prepare THE VEGG like the package describes (I only used a small amount because the whole package would've been way too much).
4. Toast the bagels.
5. Take a table spoon full of THE VEGG and place it on top of the fried silken tofu pieces. Pile everything else onto the bagels.
6. Nom nom nom like there's no tomorrow because you can eat "eggs" again!

(Oh, and I made sauteed spinach on the side.)

Avocado, Fakin' Bacon & Basil Sandwich

Can you tell I have an obsession with avocado and tempeh fakin' bacon yet? I get bored of using the same lettuce and tomatoes combination on a sandwich, so I always try to mix and match my ingredients. What can I say? I like a fancy sandwich. 

Here's another sandwich where I used unlikely ingredients for toppings. Instead of vegan mayonnaise, I used avocado instead; it's much healthier and has the same great creamy flavor. Instead of lettuce, I used basil for an extra pop of flavor. 

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

french bread

avocado

chopped garlic

sliced cherry tomatoes

basil

tempeh fakin' bacon

1. Toast bread.

2. Sauté tempeh fakin' bacon in a pan.

2. Mash avocado and spread on toast with other ingredients.

3. Nom nom nom!

White Bean Dip

Here's one of my favorite snacks that's super quick and easy to make. I love this dip because it's very filling, but it doesn't make me feel awful like after I eat french fries. Darn you, french fries.

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
canned white beans
chopped garlic
2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
black pepper

1. Mash beans.
2. Add all other ingredients until the mixture becomes a smooth paste.
3. Nom nom nom with crackers or veggie sticks!

Jalapeno Cream Cheese & Avocado Bagel

Sometimes plain vegan cream cheese just doesn't do it for me, so tonight I decided to spice things up and add chopped sauteed jalapenos, nutritional yeast and black pepper to the mix. And of course, everything is great with avocados -- every single thing.

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
bagels
jalapenos
spinach
cherry tomatoes
avocados
vegan cream cheese

1. Toast bagels.
2. Sauté jalapenos.
3.  Pile everything onto toasted bagels.
4. Nom nom nom!

Tempeh Fakin' Bacon Sandwich

I could probably eat tempeh fakin' bacon all day, everyday. 

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

tempeh fakin' bacon

french bread

spring onions

cherry tomatoes

1. Toast bread.

2. Pile all other ingredients onto toast.

3. Nom nom nom!

Modified "BLT"

I love a good ol' traditional BLT, but tonight I decided to spice up the recipe a little and use red peppers and spring onions instead of lettuce. 

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

tempeh fakin' bacon

chopped spring onions

sliced red peppers

Toffuti cream cheese with fried garlic

french bread

1. Toast the french bread for some crunch

2. While the bread is toasting, sauté the tempeh fakin' bacon in a pan.

3. Pile all of the ingredients onto the toasted bread. Add black pepper for some extra heat.

4. Nom nom nom!

Welcome!

Hi all, and welcome to my little space on the blogosphere! Ever since I became vegetarian when I was 16, I have learned to cook for myself. After almost 8 years of trial and error, I figured I would document what a vegan eats and prove that we just don't eat grass. Here you will find posts of my vegan food experiments and recipes. Here's to the beginning of something new! xo, Nicole