These Braised Garlic Green Beans are awesome. Period. Seriously, if you want to get your kids to eat their green beans, make them this way! My kids go crazy for these, and every time I make them, I make more than we need for one meal, because they will snack on them! I first fell in love with these delectable green beans when my husband and I used to camp in Santa Barbara. We would drive up the coast, and when we got to Santa Barbara, we would stop at a health food store and get some deli items to eat while camping. Our favorites included BBQ’d tofu, and these green beans. When we bought them, they would sometimes have sesame seeds and red pepper flakes on them. Occasionally, I make them like that too, but to keep this recipe kid friendly, we’ll stick to basics and add the sesame and red pepper as options….
Kale Quinoa Harvest Bowl with Ranch
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Hi guys! Super happy that you dropped by, because I have the most delicious bowl to share with you! These bowls are packed with plant- powered protein, veggies, and LOTS of flavor. They are definitely worth the effort, and when I say that, it’s not even that much you guys. I’m all about maximum impact with minimum, to maybe medium, amounts of effort. Bottom line… these Kale Quinoa Harvest Bowls take a little under an hour to prepare, they are addictively delicious, and you’ll get a whopping amount of nutrition in one dish! Oh, and you’ll probably have enough for lunch the next day, so.. WIN! (Did I mention that my kids and their friends LOVE these?)
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Creamy Cheddar Bacon Cauliflower Soup
Hi Friends! It’s raining outside (yay – rain in Southern California!!), I’ve got a fire in the fire place, and soup season is officially in full swing! I LOVE making soup, and it just doesn’t get any better than this gluten free and vegan, Creamy Cheddar Bacon Cauliflower soup! It’s a full meal by itself, although, I can’t blame you if you want to eat some crusty bread with it, and improve the situation even more with a beer… just saying’. 😉 This soup is so incredible, that it has been officially, and permanently added to my list of family favorites. It’s joining favorites like my Tortilla Soup and my Classic Chili, and my (yet to be posted) vegan Chicken Noodle Soup! I have recently developed a bit of an obsession with cauliflower, and this soup is the result! I know, I’m a little late to the cauliflower party, but I’m here now, and I’m making up for lost time! You gonna want to get this on your favorites list ASAP, so let’s talk about how you can whip up a batch of this soup in no time flat! …
Vegan Turkey Roll
Whaaat?! Yeah, you read that right… this is a Vegan Turkey Roll, and it’s gluten free too! This is one of my absolute favorite recipes, and I’ve been making this Vegan Turkey Roll for my family, friends, students, and clients for over 20 years! Many people prefer this to store bought tofu or seitan ‘turkey’, as the texture is more pleasing (it’s not chewy or spongy). When I went gluten-free in 2012, I filled this with gluten free stuffing, and it’s still just as good (no one even noticed!) If you aren’t gluten free, you can stuff this with any vegan stuffing. So what is this? What we’re talking about here is well seasoned, firm tofu rolled around stuffing (gluten free if needed), baked till firm, sliced and served with gravy. This vegan turkey roll makes a beautiful centerpiece for a main course, and no one will miss the bird! You can also make this in advance and refrigerate or even freeze it and just warm it up when it’s time. It’s a hit with vegans and non-vegans alike, and it is the prefect main course for any holiday meal! Just in case you are looking for the Best Vegan Gravy Ever, I have you covered! Click here for the must have recipe for the Best Vegan Gravy Ever (with gluten free option), to serve with this Vegan Turkey Roll. It’s a match made in heaven!…
The Best Vegan Gravy Ever
Bold Claim, I know, but I promise, this gravy is definitely the Best Vegan Gravy Ever! It just happens to be gluten free too! It’s so delicious, no one will ever know or even care that it’s vegan and gluten free. It’s awesome on potatoes, on rice, and especially on my Vegan ‘Turkey’ Roll! (Get that recipe here.) This gravy is easy to make too, so let’s jump right into the ‘how to’!…
Gluten-Free Chow Mein w/ Rainbow Veggies and Tofu
Chow Mein is one of the ultimate comfort foods, and one that I’ve sincerely missed since going gluten free! As a vegan it’s sometimes hard to find good Asian style food that doesn’t contain fish sauce, and if you are gluten free and vegan, it’s even harder because soy sauce has wheat in it. Well, now you can have this yummy comfort food again! This Gluten-Free Chow Mein w/ Rainbow Veggies and tofu is a healthier, veganized, gluten free version of your favorite take-out. With tons of veggies and yummy tofu, this dish goes from side to main! Now you can satisfy your Chow Mein cravings, and with this large recipe, you can feed your whole family and/or have leftovers! #winning
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Parmesan Polenta Bowl w/ Roasted Tomatoes, Greens and Beans
Hi guys! How’s your week going? Did you happen to check in here last week? I added my first travel post to this blog! If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here. I travel with my family in an RV, and we like to camp, so sometimes it’s a quick trip and sometimes it’s an epic journey. Either way, I wanted a space to share my adventures with you, and of course every post will have great vegan/GF food, travel/camping tips, and lots of photography! In this first installment, we visited a mineral springs resort in a little beach town on the Central California Coast. If you get a chance to check it out, leave a comment to say HI! 🙂 Okay, so I’ve probably (hopefully) made you really hungry with that photo above and you would probably like to know more… so let’s talk about that! This, my friends, is my Parmesan Polenta Bowl w/ Roasted Tomatoes, Greens, and Beans, and it is absolutely everything that is wonderful about food. It’s not difficult to prepare, it’s super healthy, it’s beautiful and it’s absolutely delicious!
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22 Plant-Based Dinners in 45 Minutes or Less
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Hi guys! I’m super excited about this post. I’ve been combing the web for the very best in quick, plant-based dinners. A lot of people are under the impression that eating healthy has to be a time consuming ordeal. While it does take more effort to prepare an actual meal than it does to stop at fast food, or pop in a TV dinner, the benefits are so worth it! This collection of recipes from some very talented food bloggers will help you put some amazing, healthy food on your table this week, in 45 minutes or less. Your body, your family, and your wallet will thank you! Another bonus to making dinner at home, is that sometimes you have leftovers for lunch the next day! Yay! Most of these recipes are naturally gluten free, and if not they have gluten free options. My mission with this blog is to help as many people as I can, to learn to eat healthfully and to feel supported when making a dietary transition. If you have any questions about anything you see here, please reach out and I will do my best to help you. Let’s dive in!
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Mexican Style Stuffed Peppers
Hi guys! As I promised last week, I’m introducing you to my Mexican Style Stuffed Peppers! It’s a kind of ‘Part 2’ of that post. If you aren’t a regular around here, Welcome! As you can guess from the name of my blog, ‘Cheftographer’, I cook and I take photographs…. and sometimes I go a little carried with both, as in I cook way too much (leftovers anyone?) and I take way too many pictures (is that even a thing? I don’t think so!). They’re two of my greatest passions in life, so I can’t help it. Anyway, that’s kind of what happened last week, when I made these cute little patty pan squashes, and I posted the Vegan Stuffed Summer Squash recipe on here. I took too many pics for one post – you can’t blame me, they are super cute and extremely photogenic! Also, I had more stuffing than I had squash, so I ended up stuffing some bell peppers and a couple of zucchini with the same filling. Good news for me – they were both extremely delicious, and good news for you – it turned into one more fabulous recipe to serve to family and friends! So I hope you enjoy the sequel, ‘Mexican Style Stuffed Peppers’! Oh, and I should mention, that not only is this recipe extremely easy, you don’t even need to do any chopping or spice gathering, the peppers will be ready in under an hour. You can make them on a weeknight for your family, or you can bring these to any gathering – they are a crowd pleaser!
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Vegan Stuffed Summer Squash
Hi everyone! I have the yummiest recipe for you today! First of all, don’t let the fancy presentation in the photo above fool you. While this stuffed summer squash is extremely photogenic, (and I got a little carried away when I was displaying it… I’m talking about the sour cream being piped out of a bag and onto the plate…. I mean, who does that?!), it is nothing short of tummy filling, any night of the week, comfort food! Seriously, you can dress it up fancy and serve it to company, bring it to a potluck, or you can serve it straight out of the skillet to your hubby and kids on TV trays, and it doesn’t take long at all to make (piping the sour cream is very optional!). When I say any night of the week, I really mean it… you don’t even need to break out a single spice for this recipe! Not one. It doesn’t get any better than that! So let’s dive right in and get you cooking!! So what exactly are we talking about here? The three sisters. Squash, corn, and beans.
The ‘three sisters’ concept was invented by the Native Americans, thousands of years ago, and I learned about it from a master gardener when I was turning my front yard into a garden. Basically, these three plants are very beneficial to each other, and work together in a concept called companion planting. The corn grows straight up, and beans need a trellis, so they wrap around the corn. Squash grows low to the ground with giant leaves, and has spiny stems. The giant squash leaves spread out and shade the roots of the other plants, retaining moisture in the soil, and the spiny stems help prevent pests from climbing onto the other plants. The beans put nitrogen back into the soil, where most crops pull it out, so they literally feed the other plants. So you can grow these three crops together with great success! When you are ready to harvest them, they are delicious together in all sorts of dishes. So, that’s the Three Sister concept, and even if you don’t garden, you can still enjoy this amazing trio, because they rock in many recipes together! (Click here for a fantastic salad recipe that features the three sisters!) Did I mention that you can make this Vegan Stuffed Summer Squash in under 45 minutes? Here’s what you need to do….
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Angel McNall is the author and photographer of High Vibe Lifestyle. For over 20 years, Angel has been teaching people how to live more vibrantly by eating a plant based diet, and using plant based medicine. 
