Red Beans & Rice Recipe | Veganize It

Even though I was excited to start our vegan journey back in 2010...I was also a bit hesitant.

I wanted us to live a more healthy and cruelty-free life but I was also concerned that I would lose some of my favorite dishes and all of those meals that remind me of my childhood.

I haven't been able to veganize my mom's meatloaf recipe (*tears*) but l still enjoy many of the dishes from my omnivore life.

It will be a bit of an adjustment but I promise you will also enjoy many of your favorite meals! 

This red beans and rice recipe is an example of that...

The smell of red beans & rice reminds me of summers in the country with my grandmother.

Fortunately it was very easy to veganize a classic version of this recipe (I got the original recipe from Chef John).

Just a couple of adjustments to veganize this recipe...

• Instead of beef/pork/chicken sausage,  I used a vegan sausage by Field Roast.
• Instead of ham hocks, I used liquid smoke (usually found in the same aisle as BBQ sauce or you can order it online).
• Instead of a meat-based broth (like beef), I used vegetable broth

Start thinking about some of your favorite vegan recipes and how you can make them vegan-friendly.

Get in the kitchen and start experimenting! You got this!

Song playing while I cooked.... "Tell Me" Groove Theory

Red Beans & Rice

by Brown Vegan

Keywords: slow-cooker entree vegan vegetarian

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke (you can find this in the same aisle as BBQ sauce)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pound red kidney beans, soaked overnight
• 2 links of vegan sausage, chopped (Field Roast & Torfurky are options)
• about 2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
• To serve: 5 cups of cooked rice, chopped green onion and hot sauce to taste

Instructions

In a large stockpot, saute onion, celery, green pepper and garlic for 5 minutes on medium heat.

Add in all the remaining ingredients (except the vegan sausage) and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 3 hours or until the kidney beans are soft.

During the last 30 minutes stir in the vegan sausage and salt to taste.

Mash some of the beans against the pot (with a large wooden spoon or potato masher) to give your beans a more creamy texture.

Remove the bay leaves

Serve with rice, chopped green onion and hot sauce.

*You can also slow cook this recipe for 6 hours on low or until kidney beans are soft*

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What is A Vegan?

I used to think vegans were crazy and mean.

I grew up near PETA's headquarters and heard about their nonsense around Hampton Roads.

Stories about people affiliated with the organization throwing paint on the Ronald McDonald House and on folks who decided to wear fur...

I pretty much wrote vegans off as deranged assholes...

...until I read Sistah Vegan in 2010.

This book changed everything for me.

For the first time, I saw veganism as a lifestyle that related to me.

I saw it as loving, compassionate and necessary.   

 I made the decision to change for the better.

So what is a vegan?

• A vegan is a person who doesn't consume any animal or animal byproducts (including fish, honey, eggs, gelatin).  So if it comes from an animal...we don't fool with it.
• Veganism also includes what you wear, put on your body and every other part of your life (including not attending the circus, zoo or a rodeo).
• It's trying your best every day not to contribute to animal cruelty, improving your health and spreading love and compassion to others.
• Vegan life is not perfect. It's definitely a process to completely transition to vegan life and it still won't be perfect when you transition. Always remember progress over perfection!
• Being a vegan doesn't necessarily mean healthy (Oreos and plain Lay's are vegan)...even though you will probably eat better than before.  Here's what vegans eat

In a nutshell....vegan life is love, peace and soul!

Veganism is love....love for yourself, other people, our planet and our animal friends

Veganism is peace... a beautiful silent protest against factory farming 

Veganism is soul....it's fun (not uptight), there's so much variety and yes, you can still enjoy some of your favorite meals.  Like my boo, Eryah Badu said, “Vegan food is soul food in its truest form. Soul food means to feed the soul. And, to me, your soul is your intent. If your intent is pure, you are pure."

love, peace and soooul

What's stopping you from starting your own journey? If you're already a vegan, what did you think about the lifestyle before you started?

Let me know in the comments

Vegan Chili Recipe | Slow Cooker (Video)

Click to watch the video

Remember that 90s infomercial with the "Set it and Forget It" tagline?

Well that's exactly what you will do once you toss all the ingredients for this chili into a slow cooker. Gon' bout your business

I used to love the smell of chili simmering in the slow cooker when I came home from middle school back in the day. 

Chili is one of those recipes that is super easy to veganize because most of the ingredients are naturally vegan. If you prefer ground beef in yours, you can easily switch that out with a vegan version from brands like Beyond Meat and Gardein.

Also,  you can serve it with vegan cornbread, vegan cheese (Field Roast or Daiya are options), vegan sour cream and/or crackers (the regular Ritz crackers are vegan).

So go ahead - set it and forget it!

wHAT do you serve with your chili? Let me know in the comments.

Song playing while I prepped the veggies:

Ginuwine: So Anxious

Click below to watch the video.....

Chili

by Brown Vegan

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 6-8

Ingredients (Serves 6)

• 1 lb kidney beans, soaked for 8 hours-then drained & rinsed
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 24 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced (add seeds based on how spicy you want the chili to be)
• 1 package of vegan meatless crumbles (optional)

Instructions

Add all the the ingredients into a slow cooker except for the vegan crumbles and jalapeno.

Turn on and cook for 6-8 hours or until the kidney beans are soft.

During the last 30 minutes, mix in the crumbles and jalapeno. Also, check your seasoning and add more salt, if necessary.

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Get Uncomfortable This Week

I truly believe our best life is just outside of our comfort zone.

I've been working on doing more of the things that scare me...putting myself out there more, experimenting with new recipes, new ideas and meeting new people.

It's scary but so worth it. Growth is necessary.

Last weekend I went to a local event and connected with several vegans and vegetarians. Even though I am an outgoing person, social situations with strangers scare the shit out of me. It was a lot of fun and I ate some decent food (it was a vegan restaurant and the food was just okay), but most of all I made genuine connections with like-minded people.

Restaurant eats at the event..it was kind-of bland lol
Cumin crispy tofu & minced vegetable nest (wild rice, 
lily bulb, zucchini, red bell peppers, dried cranberries, spinach, rice vermicelli and yellow squash)

I mentioned all of that to ask, what's holding you back from finally starting your vegan journey with the family? Are you afraid you will be bored with the meals? Do you think your kids are too picky to try the food? Is your boo too much of a steak & potatoes type of guy? Do you think vegan life is too time consuming?

Step outside of your comfort zone! Don't be scurred!

What will you do this week to move closer to a vegan lifestyle?
 

Vegan Hot Chocolate Recipe

The snow is still here (*side eye*), so I wanted to share a simple hot chocolate recipe that I enjoy with the fam.

You only need cocoa powder, raw sugar, salt, almond milk and vanilla extract to make this recipe.
I usually top ours with lots of marshmallows because I go overboard with everything. lol

Speaking of marshmallows, did you know the conventional ones aren't vegan? 

They're actually made out of pig skin and bones. Nasty, right?

No worries-You can easily buy vegan ones from Whole Foods and Amazon (I've seen about 3 brands out there) or just skip the marshmallows. I purchased ours from a local health food store and used the Dandies brand.

Let me know what you think when you try the recipe. :-)

Stay warm...unless you're on a beach or something. If that's the case get offline and have some fun. :-)

Click below to watch the video.....

Hot Chocolate

by Brown Vegan

Keywords: beverage vegan vegetarian

Ingredients (2 coffee mugs)

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup raw sugar (you may want to add more sugar if you don't like a bitter hot chocolate)
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups of almond milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In a saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder raw sugar, salt and 2 tbsp of the almond milk.

Warm for about 3 mins on med-lo heat.

Then add in the remaining almond milk.

Increase the heat to medium and whisk occasionally until hot.

Remove from heat and mix in vanilla extract.

If you prefer a frothy hot chocolate, blend for a few seconds in a blender.

Serve with vegan marshamallows

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Recipe adapted from Epicurious