For the recipe today I wanted to talk about simple cleaning.  I clean almost exclusively with baking soda and vinegar.  I love the fact that they are both cheap and safe to use around the kids. Read the rest of this entry →

Welcome to Super Simple Suppers.  Every Thursday I share a vegan recipe that can be made with a simple kitchen.  I do all my cooking in a tiny apartment kitchen with just a few cupboards and minimal counter space.  There are times I wish it was bigger, but I like how it keeps me cleaning as I go so I never end up with a huge kitchen mess at the end of the day.

Today we are doing a vegan fried rice.   Read the rest of this entry →

Welcome to Super Simple Suppers!  On this Thursday series I am sharing simple vegan meal ideas that can be made in a minimalist kitchen.  Check the recipe page for lots more great ideas.

Today is pretty simple. Baked potatoes are a gold mine for a simple, nutritional, filling meal.  My husband is a big gravy guy so this time we did them up with a garlic dill gravy.   They are also great with chili.  Click through for the recipe. Read the rest of this entry →

Welcome to our simple minimalist kitchen!  Lunches or ‘sack-meals’ can be tough when trying to go natural, simple, and vegan.  I wanted to share a few recipes with you today for home made bread and a seitan hummus spread that is really yummy.  I have been taking this for picnic lunches on hikes this spring. Read the rest of this entry →

My husband doesn’t like spaghetti but will sometimes let it pass if I make meatballs like this.  Often, like this week, we are just eating the meatballs by themselves because they are good. Lots of vegetarian meatballs have lots of eggs and cheese in them. While that tastes good  here is a vegan option that also works.  I use this recipe when I have bread crumbs to use up.  Whenever bread starts getting a bit old in the fridge I grind it in the blender and store it in the freezer to use in recipes like this.

Meatball Ingredients

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Welcome to Loving Simple Living.  Every Thursday we focus on simple recipes for healthy, vegan living that can be made in a minimalist kitchen.  The days are getting warmer where I am at and I am ready for more salads.  Quick cool and full of lots of vitamins.

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Yum!  If you are new here this week “Welcome”!  This week has been crazy, fun, and exciting with the book release for 321-Stop.

Here at Loving Simple Living we talk about food on Thursdays.  Specifically food that requires simple preparation, minimal kitchen tools, and is a vegan recipes.  Don’t let the word vegan scare you  We are simple here, all about minimalist simple living, and I am not here to convince you to go totally vegan.  I am frustrated by the idea that people have to live on two drastic sides of eating meat and animal products for every meal or people who refuse to touch anything with any animal product in it.  The first group is loosing the health and environmental benefit of less animal product and the second group often make it a stressor.  So, I feature vegan meal ideas for more health and less stress  Try and fit some of these vegan meal ideas into your week and I would love to hear of more that you might know of.  Personally, I am a vegetarian wanna be vegan but there are many steps and stages between the two extremes.

So on to the chili recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups dried beans of 2-3 cans canned beans.  I used pinto, but you can use a combo  if you want.  I like half pinto half black sometimes.
• 3-4 cups ground seitan patties
• 2 tbsp of canola oil (or other med to high heat oil)
• Chili pepper to taste (I like about 1 tbsp)
• Cayenne pepper to taste (love this stuff too)
• 14 oz of crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• pepper to taste
• Optional ingredients (onion diced, or a few tsp of dried basil or cilantro)

Cook beans if using dried (rinse, soak 8 hours, rinse, and cook on low till soft).  Heat oil in skillet.  Add ground seitan and fry until it starts to brown.  Depending on your pan you might need more or less oil. More oil will give it more of a meaty texture and taste.  Mix in the rest of ingredients and simmer for a 5-10 minutes to mix the flavors.  Serve with corn chips.  Enjoy!

Update on 321-Stop:

Released yesterday with the help of so many amazing people.  Thank-you!

Giveaways that started yesterday:

• Raising Memories
• The Things I Love Most
• Overcoming Busy
• Midwesternsewinggirl
• Townsend House
• Minimalist Mommi

Welcome to super simple suppers.

Now this post is painfully simple but makes a great meal.  Potatoes are great at any meal.  Somehow in the last few years white potatoes have gotten a bad reputation.  I have never understood why.  This is probably a good example of heath information going crazy.  Check out the nutritional data.  In a world full of tons of processed full of preservative foods, this whole food is a meal.  This is whole, natural, vegan, low fat (depending on how much oil), no sugar (depending on the amount of ketchup), and low sodium.

I never realized that potatoes would cook up into these nice patties until I learned it from some friends (deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, but that is another story).  Not only is it pretty this way, but it uses lots less oil to fry.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 Tbsp Oil (canola works good), spray oil also works
• Salt to taste
• Optional ketchup

Heat skillet and oil to medium heat.  Shred potatoes with cheese grater.  Place potatoes on hot oil and form patty.  Flip when bottom is brown and brown on the other side.  Serve

For more vegan meal ideas check out the recipe page.

’321 Stop – stop running and start living’ book update:

6 days till release on March 21!

“I have been a simple living blogger for two years and yet I still found lots of tips and ideas for simplifying all aspects of life while reading 3-2-1 Stop. In fact, the book not only teaches how to get rid of tangible clutter, but also how to simplify our emotional clutter. There are many things that made 3-2-1 Stop a standout, but I think what impressed me most about the book is the simple, conversational tone in which it was written.” — Amanda Amanda Bretz.com 

I love stir fry!  It is perfect for a simple, minimalist, vegan kitchen.  Vegetables can vary with the seasons to keep variety and keep costs down and it is a great way to use up extra vegetables before they go bad in the fridge.

My issue with stir fry up till now was that the sauces were processed with lots of ingredients.  I love the veggies, but not with a side of yellow #5 and whatever else is put in there.

I decided to google making my own stir fry sauce.  This is what I came up with on ehow.  Turns out it was way easier than I thought and the flavor was WAY better.  I changed up the recipe a bit.  Feel free to use their version, my version or something in between.

Stir-Fry Sauce

• 1/2 cup soy sauce (if you want low sodium use Liquid Aminos)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp graded ginger
• Some cayenne and hot pepper flakes (as much as you want depending on heat preference)
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Mix up, works great in the measuring cup you measure the soy sauce with.  Set aside.

Stir Fry Veggies I Used (you can change up as you want)

• 3 carrots
• 2 celery stocks
• 2 peppers
• 1 head broccoli (this is my favorite veggie in stir fry because it holds flavors so well)
• 4 seitan patties
• 5 oz spinach
• 1/2 orange

Cut up everything.  Heat big skillet or wok to about medium or medium high heat.  Add a bit of oil and fry up the seitan till brown.  Add veggies from hardest to softest letting each cook down a bit before adding the next.   Add stir fry sauce (above) as needed for liquid.  Don’t over cook and make mushy veggies.  Cook until desired vegetable texture.  Serve on cooked rice and enjoy.

321 Stop Book Review:

“3-2-1 Stop is a great look at how one family changed it all in the name of simplicity. Full of great tips, 3-2-1 Stop proves useful as Lorilee gives advice based on her own experiences. For those that are concerned about moving towards a simpler life, 3-2-1 Stop is a realistic account of how you can turn life around. The proof is in Lorilee’s honest account and journey.” — Megyn Minimalist Mommi

Coming March 21, in 13 days!

Welcome to Loving Simple Living!  In our simple minimalist kitchen we cook up vegan recipes. Vegan eating is better for the environment and the health. Not sure you want to become fully vegan?  How about trying to substitute a few meals for vegan alternatives, or do a few days a week with no animal products.  There are lots of great recipe ideas.  Love taco’s.  It is possible to do this vegan recipe with beans, but I much prefer it with seitan.

What you need:

• Corn taco shells
• 2-3 tbsp canola or med-high heat oil
• 3-4 cups of ground seitan – depending on how much you want to cook
• optional spices
• Lettuse or spinach
• Olives, other veggies - avocados are great for a cream rich flavor and healthy fat to substitute for dairy.
• Salsa
• anything else you want to throw on

Heat oil in pan to medium or medium high heat.  Add ground seitan and fry until brown.  I love adding a bit of garlic, cayenne, and dried cilantro to my seitan.  Stack as shown in picture.  Enjoy

Come back tomorrow for big news!