Give Them Something Better

Author: Stephanie Howard

It’s A Meatless Monday Taco Party!
Tacos are my birthday meal! They have been my favorite ever since I was a kid. So last year my birthday fell on supper club night and we had a taco party. I was shocked when I realized I had not posted about it yet!

In fact, the only taco post I have made was more than a year ago with a homemade taco burger using bulgur wheat. So I owe you all some taco recipes!

Like my homemade taco seasoning it tastes way better than store bought and it doesn’t have a lot of additives that I don’t really like to eat. I use it on fajita style veggies, in my chili, and of course to make taco meat! If I don’t have time to make the homemade bulgur burger I use a store bought ground meat substitute or some TVP Beef Bits. They all work great!

But one of my favorite parts of a taco is the beans. I really love refried beans. I have a friend who moved here from Mexico and she showed me how her family makes refried beans, so I thought I would share that recipe with you too!

Refried Beans
- 2 cups dry beans (pinto, black, red, pink, cranberry, or combination)
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon garlic, minced (optional)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
1. Soak and cook beans overnight.
2. Drain off soaking water. Add fresh water at least 2 inches over the beans.
3. Add onion and garlic. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours.
4. Using a slotted spoon, scoop beans into a food processor or blender, reserving some of the water. Add oil and salt to blender; blend mixture until smooth, using reserved water as needed to achieve desired consistency. Depending on the size of your blender, you may need to blend the beans in two batches.
Taco Seasoning Mix
- 1/3 cup ground cumin
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 ½ tablespoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1. Mix all ingredients together; store in an airtight container.
February 16, 2015
Garbanzo Sandwich Spread
I love a good sandwich; so when I saw this Garbanzo Sandwich Spread on the Minimalist baker blog I had to give it a try! I made a few adjustments to suit my own tastes and I really like it. I hope you like it too!

On a side note I am really loving that blog! I have tried several recipes and they have all came out great. And the pictures are AMAZING!

Garbanzo Sandwich Spread
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup roasted sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons vegan mayo
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- ½ tablespoon dried dill weed
- ½ teaspoon sweetener of choice (optional)
- salt to taste
- Optional toppings: sliced avocado, onion, tomato, and/or lettuce for serving.
Garlic Herb Sauce
- ¼ cup plain hummus
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon dried dill weed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Water to thin (If sauce is too thick)
- Salt to taste
1. Prepare garlic herb sauce by mixing all the ingredients and set aside.
2. Add garbanzos to a food processor and process until broken up. (it works great if they are different textures; some more whole, and some more mashed up.)
3. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. To build a sandwich by spread a little sauce on a slice of whole grain bread, then top with some of the garbanzo spread. Add avocado, onion, tomato and lettuce as desired.
Slightly Adapted from this recipe http://minimalistbaker.com/chickpea-sunflower-sandwich/
February 9, 2015
Scrambled Tofu Seasoning Mix
I am a huge fan making the cooking process get done more quickly, so I like to make mixes ahead of time. One of my very favorites is Scrambled Tofu Seasoning. If you plan to make our Scrambled Tofu on a regular basis this will help it get done way faster!

Scrambled Tofu Seasoning
- 2 cups nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 ½ cups Chicken Style Seasoning
- ¼ cup garlic powder
- 2¾ tablespoons onion powder
- 2¾ tablespoons salt
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
1. Mix all ingredients in an airtight container for breakfast another day.
2. Whenever you want scrambled tofu for breakfast, add 1/2 cup of prepared seasoning mix to two packages (14-ounces) of tofu; cook according to the directions for Scrambled tofu.
Makes 8 recipes of Scrambled Tofu.
February 5, 2015
How to Scramble Tofu Recipe and Video
I used to flip through cookbooks and just skip over any recipe that said “tofu”. I had decided that I just didn’t like tofu. It had no flavor, and the texture was so “mushy!”

Until the day I actually tried scrambled tofu. To me it is really all about the texture. And I learned that the longer you cook it the firmer the texture. So I tend to cook my tofu to death so it is nice and firm!

I usually make this simple version but you can really do anything you want with it; add mushrooms, chopped spinach, diced tomato, anything you would add to your eggs or omelet! I use this basic recipe when a recipe calls for scrambled eggs, like fried rice or this amazing Tex-Mex recipe for Chilaquiles from my first cookbook, Give Them Something Better.

Scrambled Tofu
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 packages (14 ounces) water-packed tofu, extra firm, well drained
- 1 small onion, petite diced (optional)
- ½ small green or red bell pepper, petite diced (optional)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 3 tablespoons Chicken Style Seasoning
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- Parsley, to garnish (optional)
1. Drain excess water from tofu.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble tofu into pan with your fingers or use a spatula to break it up in the pan.
3. Add remaining ingredients to skillet; cook until tofu is browned and slightly dry, stirring occasionally. This could take from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on desired texture. The longer the tofu is cooked, the firmer the tofu will be.
Makes 6 servings.
February 2, 2015
Hearty Vegan Split Pea Soup
Vegan Split Pea Soup is the ultimate hearty soup for cold winter nights. It is, filling, and low calorie with plenty of protein and vegetables. Back when I was a kid my mom always put a big ham bone in the soup. But that’s not how we do it. This completely vegan split pea soup is not missing anything in flavor!

At Supper Club this month one of the ladies said she would never eat Split Pea soup, but she loved this recipe. So, if you are one of those people who think you don’t like split pea soup, I recommend you give this recipe a try.

It takes a little time to cook but it is all hands off time. If you want, you can just put it all in a slow cooker and forget about it until suppertime!

Enjoy!
Hearty Vegan Split Pea Soup

Yield: 12 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This Hearty High protien meal that will warm you up on cold winter night. Made with dried splti peas and lots of vegetables.

Ingredients

Split Pea Soup

12 cups water

4 cups split peas

4 medium potatoes, diced (optional)

3 ribs celery, chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 ½ tablespoons salt

2 teaspoons minced garlic, or 1-teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried marjoram

2 bay leaves

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan or Slow Cooker.
Bring to a boil over high heat; lower to a simmer and cook 60 to 90 minutes, until split peas are tender.
Or cook in a slow cooker on high for 6-8 hours.
© Stephanie Howard
January 26, 2015
Fed Up with Sugar … Eat Date Bars!
After all the holiday sweets, traveling and cookie experiments (more on that later) I was ready for a sugar detox so I decided to try a 31-day sugar fast. For the entire month of January I will try to avoid all sugary foods. I have been at this for about 14 days and it has been quite the challenge. I guess it is true what they said in the Fed up documentary that sugar is addictive. When this is all over I hope to keep my sweet tooth in check but doubt I will give up sugar all sugar forever.

At the Supper Club we celebrated soup weather. I served two of my favorite soups with a hardy sandwich, fresh salad and an amazing all natural dessert. But it wasn’t all a party; this month I decided to extend my “no-sugar challenge” to the whole club. I did however, only ask them to join me for a 10-day sugar fast. I shared some highlights from the Fed Up to help get them motivated.

The menu for the evening was:

Split Pea Soup
Corn Chowder (Recipe and Video here)
Garbanzo Sandwich Spread (adapted from this recipe )
Power Greens Salad
Sugar Free Date Bars (adapted from this recipe )

It is hard to tell what the favorite was this month they seemed to love it all. Many split pea haters said they loved the soup and someone wants me to start selling the Date Bars on the side. So with that said I will share my version of the Sugar Free Date Bar with you.

Tip of the day…buy pitted date when you decide to make these especially if you are making 6 batches ; )

If you want to get the hand-out from Supper Club sign up for the Newsletter in the sidebar.

Sugar Free No Bake Date Squares

Crust:
- 1½ cups whole raw almonds
- 1½ cups regular oats
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup whole dates pitted
- ¼ cup coconut oil
Date filling:
- 2½ cups whole dates, pitted
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
1. Line pan with parchment or wax paper for easy removal of bars.
2. Place Almonds, oats and salt in a food processor and process until it becomes like flour.
3. Add dates and continue to process until a crumble begins to form.
4. Melt coconut oil and add to the mixture and process until sticky. You may need to add a little water if your dates were drier, you are looking for a sticky, slightly crumbly dough. Set aside ½ cup of this mixture for the topping.
5. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a crust.
6. Add the remaining dates, water and vanilla to the food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. Pour the mixture onto the crust and spread evenly.
8. Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the dates and gently press into the dates. Refrigerate until firm at least 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve. Store in the fridge or freezer.
January 19, 2015