Peanut Sauce

Our go to lunch or quick dinner is a peanut quinoa bowl. We make loads of roasted veggies and quinoa to have in the fridge for the week, then reheat in the oven or have room temperature. The bowls consist of veggies (peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and kale), sweet potato, quinoa, avocado, pepitas, sunflower seeds, chickpeas or kidney beans, and sometimes baked tofu. The bowl is topped with slightly warmed Peanut Sauce and cilantro.

To make the sauce boil water and then add it to the peanut butter in a pan, add more water if too thick, heat if too watery. For the best consistency heat the sauce on low heat and stir well with wooden spoon for a few minutes.

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (no salt or sugar added)

1/2 Cup Boiling Water

1 Tsp Sweetener (honey, agave, raw sugar)

1 Tbs Braggs Amino Acids (or Tamari)

2 Tbs Sesame Seed oil

Crushed Red Pepper (as desired)

Season with more or less of the above ingredients to taste

Quinoa Patties

My Mum recently sent me this recipe and I found it's really good to keep a batch in the fridge and then fry up one or two for my afternoon snack. There's a lot of variations you can make with this recipe but I found they don't really hold together well so I make them into Falafel sized balls instead of burgers.

1/2 Cup Cooked Quinoa

1Tbs Tomato Paste

1 Cup Black Beans

1 Cup Corn

1/4 Cup Chopped Onion

1 Clove Garlic

1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs

Olive Oil

Chili Powder

Salt, Pepper, to taste

Mix everything together and put in the fridge for at least an hour. Form into balls and fry until brown on the outside.

Mushroom Farro Risotto

This recipe is not going to be exact, so you might need to adjust ingredients to your liking. It goes well with Field Roast Italian Vegan Sausage and you can mix it up with different types of mushrooms.

2 Medium Leeks

2 Cloves of Garlic

1 Quart White Mushroom

1 Quart Cremini Mushroom

1-2 Cups of dry Farro

2-3 Cups Veggie Stock

1-3 Cups Water

Salt and Pepper

2-3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Fresh or Dried Thyme

In large stew pot, saute Garlic in olive oil, be sure not to brown. Slice leeks down center and cut into half rounds. Wash well and add to garlic, cook until soft. Cut mushrooms in quarters and add to leeks, saute for 2 minutes. Add dry Farro to pot and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add warm Veggie Stock just enough to cover Farro. Add Salt and Pepper then leave uncovered and stir occasionally. Periodically add Stock or Water so that it is always just above the Farro. Cook 40-60 minutes, the time will depend on the Farro so try occasionally and season to taste with Fresh or Dry Thyme and Nutritional Yeast when almost done. The dish should have a risotto texture but the Farro will have a slight bite and never be as soft as rice.

Vegan Pesto

My go to pre-race meal is Gnocchi with Pesto. Sage also likes to make this for our son as a way to get him to eat veggies without realizing it.

2-3 cups Fresh Basil (large stems removed)

1 cup Fresh Kale or Spinach

3 Tbsp Cashew nuts (or walnuts)

1 Large Clove Garlic (roasted)

3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil

Roast garlic in oven safe covered dish on low (275F) until soft. In a food processor or small blender, add the basil, kale or spinach, nuts, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and blend/mix on high until a loose paste forms. Add olive oil a little at a time and scrape down sides as needed. If needed add 1 Tbsp of water until the desired consistency is reached. Taste and adjust flavor as needed. Store leftover paste topped with olive oil and tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Cannellini Beans

We eat these beans as a side when I need a bit more protein with dinner, or an immune boost. They are best served with bread but they can be added to pasta or made into a dip.

Cannellini Beans

2-3 cloves of Garlic

Fresh Italian Parsley

Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper

Preheat oven to 275. Mix beans, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, careful not to break beans. Put in oven safe dish with cover. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until garlic is roasted, stir once. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Add chopped parsley, more olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Beans and garlic should be soft enough to spread easily on bread not dried out or broken.

Vegan Chili

Sage has been working on perfecting the taste for this chili for 20 years, that said Chili is all about personal preference so her advice is to do everything to taste.

Fresh Chili Peppers (Jalapeno, Habanero, any kind if you want extra spice)

1 Clove Garlic

1 Large Onion

1 Red Pepper

1 Green Pepper

2 tbs Tomato paste

Chili Powder, Salt, Pepper, Sugar to Taste

48 oz Crushed/Chopped Tomato

30 oz Black Beans

30 oz Kidney Beans

1 cup Frozen Corn

Brown Rice or Shell pasta

Cilantro and Fresh Jalapeno

Chop fresh chilis with or without seeds depending on your heat tolerance (cut chilis CAREFULLY, wash your hands, knife and cutting board after handling fresh chilis) saute in olive oil with chopped garlic STIR constantly until peppers are soft and be sure not to brown the garlic. Then TAKE most of it out, you may have made that too spicy and it's best to add it back in bit by bit.

Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, then add chopped red and green peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes. On MEDIUM heat, add tomato paste and stir for one minute, then add 1 tbs of chili powder and stir until all combined. Add chopped or crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper and 1/2 tsp of sugar then let cook on low, covered for 30-60 minutes. TASTE the chili occasionally and add more powder, fresh chilis, salt or pepper.

Add half the beans and cook for another 30-60 minutes. Once it tastes done add the rest of the beans and the corn. You can let it sit until you are ready to eat or let it sit overnight for the best taste. Serve over brown rice or shells, with fresh jalapeno and cilantro on top.

Veggie Pie

1 Large Leek

1 Red Pepper

Bunch of Asparagus

12 Mushrooms

Handful of Brussel Sprouts

Half Butternut Squash

Vegan Pie Dough

Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice leek in half, wash well and cut into half rounds, saute in olive oil. CUBE butternut squash and add to leeks, cook for 10 minutes, salt pepper to taste. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425, chop the rest of the vegetables and ROAST for 3-5 minutes.

Add veggies to leeks and squash and saute for one minute adding salt and pepper to taste. Make sure there is no excess moisture in veggie mixture, if so then drain. Cover a baking pan with parchment paper, roll out dough and place on paper, put veggies in center, turn up sides and pinch. BAKE for 20 minutes or until brown.