The Collegiate Vegan

Edamame: Young soy beans, usually still in the pod but sometimes sold shelled. Available fresh or frozen in most grocery stores. Edamame is soft, unlike the hard, mature soybeans used to make soy milk and tofu.

1) It’s packed with complete protein: Soy has all of the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. 1/2C is 120 calories with 13g protein, and of course, cholesterol free.

2) It’s easy to cook: For fresh or frozen edamame, with shells or shelled, boil in water until thawed or microwave in a dish with a few tablespoons for a few minutes. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

3) It’s versatile: You can eat edamame by itself for an appetizer or side dish, use it to top your salad or stir fry, make a high protein hummus, or make a yummy quinoa or barley salad with it.

4) It’s high in fiber, vitamins and minerals: That 1/2C serving has 4g of fiber, which helps lower cholesterol and reduce heart disease. It’s also rich in vitamins C, B, and E, as well as calcium and iron.

5) It’s good for you: Recent studies show that women who are more soy survive certain types of cancer better.

Mexican doesn’t get much easier than this-

• 6 corn tortillas
• 1 can refried beans (I like the kind with chiles)
• salsa
• guacamole

Spoon refried beans on the tortilla, and roll up using the beans as glue to keep them shut. Lay taquitos in a casserole dish and bake at 350, flipping every 5 minutes until crispy. Usually takes 15-20 minutes. Top with salsa and guac, and enjoy!

This salad takes very minimal effort, but is delicious and so healthy!

• 3 medium/large cucumbers (or lots of smaller ones, I suppose)
• 1/4C rice vinegar
• 1T sesame oil (optional)
• 2T low sodium soy sauce
• salt & pepper

1) Cut the cucumbers in half, length wise, and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Then slice the cucumbers, they’ll make a ‘U’ shape.
2) Mix together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Pour over the cucumbers. This works best if you place the cucumbers in Tupperware, so that you can secure the lid and shake them to coat. But using a mixing bowl works fine too.
3) Let marinate in the fridge for at least one hour (I suggest overnight) then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 1t cumin
• 1/4t cayenne
• 1t chili powder
• 1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2C veggie broth
• 1/3C salsa
• 1t lime juice
• 1C corn
• avocado

1) Saute onion with a little veggie broth until translucent, then add spices and stir to coat.
2) Add the rest of the veggie broth, beans and salsa. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
3) Remove from heat, blend half the mixture and return to the pot.
4) Stir in lime juice and corn.
5) Serve with avocado on top, and enjoy!

• 1 1/2C cous cous
• 10-15 brussel sprouts, halved
• 5-7 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• olive oil
• 1T thyme
• 1T rosemary
• 1T oregano

1) Cook cous cous according to package directions.
2) Saute onion in olive oil until translucent, then add brussel sprouts, mushrooms and herbs. Continue to saute for another 10 minutes.
3) Combine with cous cous, and enjoy!

(Makes 6)

• 3 large, green bell peppers
• 1C brown rice
• 1C chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 block tofu, chopped into small cubes
• 1C Trader Joe’s Thai Green Curry Sauce (or other type of curry sauce)

1) Cook the rice, then stir in sauce, spinach and tofu cubes.
2) Slice the peppers in half and remove the seeds, then stuff with the rice mixture.
3) Bake at 350 for one hour, enjoy! I garnished mine with avocado.

Making your own sweet potato chips is EXTREMELY easy.

• 1-2 large sweet potatoes
• a little olive oil
• some salt
• cinnamon (optional)

Thinly slice your potatoes, a mandoline works best but you can slice them by hand too. Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, salt and cinnamon. Lay them out on a baking dish and bake at 425 for 25ish minutes. Check and shake the pan every ten minutes to make sure they don’t burn.

• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped
• handful of fresh chives, chopped
• 1-2T olive oil
• salt and pepper
• buttery spread or margarine, if desired

1) Steam cauliflower until mashable. You can’t over steam it, so when in doubt just let it sit.
2) Blend either in a food processor or blender, or mash by hand. Either way works fine.
3) Pour in olive oil, chives, salt and pepper. Whip with a fork.

Enjoy!

• 2 bunches of broccoli, rinsed and torn apart
• 2 medium yukon potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 yellow onion,diced
• 4C vegetable broth
• 3T nutritional yeast (optional)

1) Steam broccoli and potatoes, set aside.
2) Saute onions in a thin layer of broth until translucent.
3) Blend everything in batches, using the rest of the broth, and heat in a pot and mix it all back together.
4) Alternatively, use an immersion blender with all ingredients in the pot.

It’s been in the negatives with wind chill all week, so nothing sounds better than hot, creamy soup.