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You are here: Home / Archives for Vegetarian

Vegetarian

Brazilian Vegetable Feijoada

December 7, 2011 by Lucymfel

This is a guest post from one of our friends in our Veglatino Facebook group. Thanks for the recipe Cynthia Marin-Soria.

Feijoada was originally made with leftover meats, feel free to replace or add different types of veggie meats of your choice. I have made this dish with left over faux hotdogs or Gardein meats. You can experiment with different types of veggie meats and make it your own.

Vegetarian Feijoada

3 Cups Black Beans previously soaked in water for at least 24 hours or canned beans
2 Large Oranges
3 Bay leaves
1 large white onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 Boca Burger patties thawed
2 Chicken boca patties thawed
4  oz Soyrizo
1 or 2 Tofurky Kielbasa sausages

2 Tablespoons finely chopped spicy red peppers for topping (optional)

You can use canned beans, but for best taste I recommend cooking beans from scratch.

Cook beans in plenty of water, 1 garlic clove 2 bay leaves and 2 oranges with peel cut in half. When beans are tender but still in one piece, saute in a separate pan:
Onion, remaining garlic and soyrizo. You can use more or less depending on your preference.
Cut Boca patties in quarters and slice sausages in large chunks add to saute, when onion is tender add to beans add 1 bay leaf.
Season to taste and let simmer in low heat for about 30 -45 minutes. You can add to a crock pot and simmer for 1 to 1/12 hour if desired, the flavors blend well.
Serve with white rice and top with spicy pepper if desired,  fresh orange slices on the side and yucca frita.

Filed Under: Vegetarian Tagged With: vegan, Vegetarian

More Vegetarian Option @PFChangs San Juan

November 29, 2011 by Raul Colon

When I travel Stateside especially in the south part of the U.S. in places like Chattanooga, TN, Atlanta, GA, and Raleigh, NC and I am looking for a place to eat vegetarian PF Changs is my first option.

Over the year’s I have made PF Changs one of my favorite restaurants because of their solid vegetarian menu offering and the flexibility to turn and customize other plates on the menu into vegetarian.

New PF Changs in San Juan

I am also very happy that a PF Changs restaurant was opened in San Juan where I can drive to it when I feel like having my favorite PF Chang treats.

PF Changs open their new location at Plaza Las Americas Mall with plans to open a few more throughout the island.  Experiencing PF Changs from the comfort of my island for the first time was an awesome experience.

My Favorite Vegetarian Options on the PF Chang’s Menu

I went ahead and asked for my favorite appetizers the Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps that are made out of Tofu and the Vegetable Steamed Dumplings. The preparation of both was prepared the same way or better with the many times I have had those plates in other PF Changs.

Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

 

As an entree I requested the Kung Pao Tofu, which is the Kung Pao Chicken, dished modified to being vegetarian. I had been at PF Changs Boston in September and they where not able to make that plate for me. I was more than happy that the San Juan Team was able to make my favorite off the menu option and make it taste great.

Kung Pao Tofu

Overall my experience was unique and the Vegetarian they served me where delicious.

If you are looking for an awesome vegetarian lunch or dinner in the San Juan Metro PF Changs might be one of your best options!

Filed Under: Vegetarian Tagged With: Puerto Rico, Restaurant Reviews, Vegetarian

Our ThanksGiving Meal @VegLatino

November 28, 2011 by Lucymfel

When I woke up on Thursday morning, I knew I had lots of cutting and preparing to do. Thankfully Raul took care of the baby when she woke up and I was able to proceed with our meal. Our meal was a mixture of vegan and vegetarian recipes.

For breakfast I made Orange Cranberry Muffins. I prepared them the night before so I could eat and work quickly. When you have an 11 month old who is speed crawling, every second is precious.

I also made some Rosemary Olive Oil Potato Wedges. There are three of us so I cut two potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and make sure you coat them all. Add sprinkle dried or fresh rosemary over potatos. Season with Salt and Pepper. Depending on the type of potato, some might take longer than others. I put them in the oven for about forty minutes or until fork tender and golden brown. These were great for the baby because they were big enough for her to hold herself.

I also made Cranberry Chutney the day before. Raul did not like it much but I just can’t live without cranberries. They help me when I pass kidney stones, which hasn’t been for awhile this year.

I wanted some stuffing so I made a Quinoa Stuffing, modified the quantities for three people, and put them into muffin cups. These came in pretty handy when feeding our daughter and good for on-the-go food during our outings this weekend.

I knew I wanted to make a pie or tart, so I think I made a mixture of both. I wanted to eat something with pears that was going to be refreshing. So I borrowed some ideas from a recipe and added granola on top.

I made some yellow squash and zucchini circles with onions. And some Sweet Potato circles sprinkled with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove for our daughter. She is used to all of these flavors because I have been exposing her to them since she was six months old.

Even though we were all getting over a cold, and my tastebuds were not all that great, our meal was a healthy one. We bought a soy dinner roast and I topped that off with a mushroom gravy that included chanterelles, baby bellas, and shiitake mushrooms. To give us an extra boost of protein, I added chia seeds to the gravy.

The good thing about all the cooking was seeing my daughter eating everything on her tray. I have include some of the links to the recipes that I used. I did modify recipes because I was cooking for three. One of us only had two teeth.

What was on your ThanksGiving Menu? 

 

Filed Under: Vegetarian Tagged With: Recipes, vegan, Vegetarian

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

November 23, 2011 by Lucymfel

Thanks to one of our followers on Facebook Cynthia Marin-Soria for this recipe.

If you don’t know what to cook for ThanksGiving, this will cover all of your basis tomorrow or anyday of the week.  

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie

Recipe

1 1/2 C GARDEIN HOME STYLE BEEFLES TIPS previously prepared optional * see below
2 CUPS LENTILS COOKED IN WATER WITH ONION AND GARLIC
6-7 MD RUSSET POTATOES COOKED AND PEELED
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Soy Milk
2 T Vegan Butter or Vegetable spread
MD WHITE ONION CHOPPED
2 GARLIC CLOVES CHOPPED
4 MD CARROTS PEELED AND CHOPPED FINE SQUARES
Pinch of fresh Rosemary
1 tsp of Fresh Thyme
1 Cup chopped tomato
1/2 C frozen or fresh peas
1/2 C frozen or fresh corn

Cooking Instructions

Some of these things such as the cooked lentils, gardein can be prepared the day before.
POTATOES:
Mash potatoes or beat in electric beater until fluffy with 2 Tbls of Vegan Buttery spread, 1/2 cup hot unsweetened soy milk, season with garlic salt, salt & pepper (optional)  to taste, Set aside

FILLING:
*the Gardein was left overs from the day before, I had marinated them in a sofrito style with a little white vinegar marinade and slow cooked.

Saute onion, garlic, Rosemary, Thyme and carrots until tender in medium heat
add tomato, mashed up gardein & drained lentils, season to taste, let simmer over medium heat, add corn and peas, cover and cook until dry.

Take a glass 15×10″ oven safe baking dish and brush with olive oil or cooking spray.
Pour saute mixture and cover bottom of dish, spreading evenly to form a layer about 1″ thick
Scoop mashed potatoes with icecream scooper through out the dish, with plastic spatula spread evenly over the top forming an even layer.
Brush top of mashed potatoes with olive oil bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until top has formed a crispy light golden crust.

These are approximate measurements per Cynthia.

Photo Credits by Cynthia Marin Soria

Filed Under: Vegetarian Tagged With: vegan, Vegetarian

ThanksGiving Veggie Feast!

November 16, 2011 by Lucymfel

Since I started cooking vegetarian meals for Raul @rj_c , holiday menus always stumped me. Our first ThanksGiving, I made him an eggplant lasagna. As we started expanding our vegetarian menu, I found a soy based dinner roll and a mycoprotein dinner roll, with several side dishes.

 

Photo by hapatxn

This year Raul is trying to avoid cheese and heading towards veganism. So our menu will not include too many dishes with dairy products. One reference that I will use as I did last year was the New York Times Well Blog to give me fresh ideas to cook delicious dishes.

With the birth of our daughter Daniela, we will be having our first family ThanksGiving dinner. I am excited to eat with her and cook some Sweet Potato Circles with cinnamon, making some type of legume, and making her favorite Banana Bread Muffins. I will be using Chia Seeds in our food since it will give us an extra boost of calcium and protein.

The only thing I wish I could get my hands on are collard greens! We can’t get them anywhere in Puerto Rico unless you grow them but I don’t even think they sell the seeds here. I have tried unsuccessfully to have someone send them to me from the states but they would have to be frozen and by the time they get here, they might not be edible.

I asked a couple of our friends what vegetable sides/dishes they would be making for ThanksGiving and they said:

Ivan: Mashed cauliflower, buttered corn with garlic, pecan pie and one of those tofurky deals.

Ana: Yo hice Butternut Squash soup unos dias atras, creo que la voy a hacer para thanksgiving porque quedo super rica. (I made Butternut Squash soup a couple of days ago, and I think I am making it for Thanksgiving because it came out super yummy.)

When I finalize my menu, I hope that we all eat healthy and hearty. I’ll also include some recipes with a post-Thanksgiving picture and update.

Thanks to those who have written for us on Veglatino such as contributors: Ana, Ivan, Deborah, Sandra, Chenille, and Pamela. Along with Raul we want to thank you for taking the time to write for us on Veglatino.

Happy ThanksGiving!


Filed Under: Vegetarian Tagged With: vegan, Vegetarian

Labeling Vegetarian Products as Meat Substitutes

November 4, 2011 by Raul Colon

If the Veggie Product tastes like meat you are scaring me!

Months ago we bought a product that was made out of a vegetable protein and supposedly tasted like shrimp.

I have not eaten shrimp in a long time more than 6 years. Even when I use to eat it one of the most disgusting things I would find was when a small piece of its shell would go into my mouth. When I had my first bite I realized I had made a large mistake in buying such a product. The main reason why I bought the product was to review it here on VegLatino. Given that I could not eat the product or really enjoy it I did not think it would be appropriate to post a review.

No bones or Shells for me

I guess before I was vegetarian I would not enjoy either bones or shells in my mouth. Now just the thought of it really bothers me. One of the last times I visited New York I went to Lunch with my good friend Niti she has been vegetarian all her life and we stopped at a Thai restaurant that had a vast vegetarian menu. One of the menu items was faux duck in a sauce I can’t recall.

The previous time I had eaten duck was while visiting Cincinnati where I had it with ribs a year before I became vegetarian. When I had my first bite of the vegetarian protein that tasted like Duck the consistency was so close to the real thing I ended leaving my plate to the side and not being able to eat it.

My Mind Plays Tricks on me when I eat Fake Meat

On those two occasions my mind did play tricks on me and did not allow me to move forward in eating the rest.

During my almost 6 years as a vegetarian I have to say that I have tried many vegetable proteins that market themselves as one meat or the other.

Labeling Vegetarian Products as Meat Substitutes

I am not sure how appealing it is too other vegetarians to see a package with the label that states that the meal tastes like the real thing.

I am more than sure that those products are more focused on people that don’t want to leave meat but are experimenting to become vegetarian that is great. But I rather have a product stating that it taste like awesome vegetables than meat.

More Vegetables

At the household we have been moving towards eating more vegetables and staying away from most of these vegetable proteins simulating meat because we feel a lot better when we eat the vegetables in their natural form.

What are your thoughts on how these companies market their products to the masses? Should there be an exclusive brand label for the masses (who are looking for meat substitutes) and one for vegetarians who want their veggies to taste like veggies?

Filed Under: Vegetarian Tagged With: Vegetarian

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