However, certain types of restaurant cuisines are friendlier to plant-based eaters than others. And today, we’re going to talk about one of them: Thai food.

When visiting a Thai restaurant, diners often have the welcome dilemma of having many options that are adaptable to suit plant-based eaters. And with over 10,000 Thai restaurants in the US alone, it’s pretty darn easy to enjoy eating Thai food.

Thanks to the Thai government using food as a gateway to globalization (a concept known as gastro-diplomacy), Thai food has become more prominent and popular than ever. In fact, pad thai was originally developed because of a rice shortage — it wasn’t even a significant cultural dish to begin with. And those tasty noodles opened the floodgates for Thai food’s entrance into Western culture.

With the development of the Global Thai program, trainings, grants, and information were provided to Thai investors who wanted to open restaurants abroad. It also standardized what diners could expect on Thai restaurant menus. If you’re a Thai food lover, this may explain why you often see the same options at any Thai restaurant you visit, no matter the location.

So how do you replicate the flavors and dishes that make Thai food, Thai food? What ingredients are essential? And what Thai dishes are already free from animal products, or only require minimal changes?

If you’re a Thai food fan and want to enjoy some of the most popular dishes in your own kitchen, or if you’re looking to expand your palate, read on to discover how to create vegan Thai recipes (or Thai-inspired dishes).

What Makes Thai Food Unique

Thai food is unique in that it includes a five-flavor profile: sweet, salty, spicy, bitter, and sour. You could have a whole meal with each of these tastes: a sweet salad, spicy curry, sour soup, salty noodles, and bitter greens tossed in a stir-fry.

Thai food also stands out because of the merging of different flavors and ingredients due to the country’s geography and influence from neighboring countries.

According to May Kaidee, vegan Thai food restauranteur and author of May Kaidee’s Thai Vegetarian and Vegan Cookbook, Thai cuisine is classified into four regions: Northern, Northeastern, Southern, and Central.

Says Kaidee, “Northern Thai dishes include the well-known Khao Soi, a noodle dish bathed in a curry soup base. This region is known as Lanna, and the dishes trace their origin to the ancient Kingdom of Lanna from several hundred years ago.

Northeastern Thai food is heavily influenced by Laotian cuisine, as this region of Thailand has a large population with historic roots in Laos. Known as “Isaan,” cooking in this region makes liberal use of dill, the only region to do so. Dill is, in fact, casually referred to as “Laotian Cilantro,” whereas many Thai dishes in the other regions of Thailand use what is commonly known as cilantro or coriander. Isaan cooking is also influenced by Cambodian cuisine since Cambodia also borders part of Northeastern Thailand.

Southern Thai food is influenced by neighboring Malaysian and Indonesian cooking, all with traditions originating in countries with majority Muslim populations. Many, if not most, of Thai curries come from Southern Thailand. Dishes from this region make generous use of coconut, and use ingredients such as potatoes which are not as common in dishes from other regions.

Central Thailand (Editor’s Note: Where capital city Bangkok is located) is where most of the Thai dishes with worldwide popularity come from. These include Pad Thai (which is actually a young dish relative to the history of Thailand) and green curry. In most countries outside of Thailand when people mention Thai food, they’re usually referring to Central Thai cooking. However, by no means are the dishes better than those from other regions, they’re just better known. Cooking from all of Thailand’s regions is equally good, and collectively, they make for a diverse and complex cuisine.”

No matter what the region, however, Thai food has several core ingredients that make it recognizable, adaptable, and relatively easy to replicate. As a result, it’s approachable for many dietary preferences, including plant-based eating.

Thai Cuisine Essentials

Before we dive into tasty Thai creations, let’s talk about what you’ll need to create a more authentic experience.

Meal base:

• Jasmine rice (a fragrant long-grain rice)
• or rice noodles (used in dishes like Pad Thai)

Protein:

Traditionally, many Thai dishes often include either chicken, pork, or seafood. But you can easily sub in a meat analogue or plant-based foods such as:

• Tofu
• Jackfruit
• Mushrooms

Condiments:

• Coconut milk (used in curries, soups, and desserts)
• Tamarind (a sweet, tangy fruit that is blended into a paste)
• Red, green, and yellow curry pastes
• Lime (an acidic addition to salads, soups, and sauces)
• Peanuts (crushed and sprinkled on top of meals or used in sauces to create a nutty flavor and creamy texture)
• Prik Nam Pla/Fish sauce

To achieve the same umami flavor profile as fish sauce, without harming any fish, you can try soy sauce or tamari instead. You can also make your own vegan fish sauce with mushrooms or seaweed or purchase one premade from Tofuna Fysh or Ocean’s Halo.

Some common herbs and spices used in Thai cuisine are:

• Lemongrass
• Galangal
• Thai chilies or chili paste
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Thai basil
• Cilantro
• Shallots
• Garlic

Indeed, spices may be some of the most important ingredients for replicating Thai dishes at home. “​​At a minimum, keep a quality chili paste along with galangal and lemongrass; those ingredients can be kept in a freezer for long-term storage,” explains Kaidee.

Some of the more exotic spices may not be available at everyday grocery stores. Look for these spices at health food stores, Asian supermarkets, and South Asian and Indian markets. Many are also available online.

To balance out the sour, spicy, bitter, and salty flavors, a little sweetener may also be added in the form of palm sugar. Unlike ultra-processed white sugar, palm sugar is unrefined and comes from palm tree sap. And unlike palm oil, palm sugar is a more sustainable ingredient choice as trees are maintained for their sap for up to 100 years, and, therefore, not cut down. A suitable whole food substitute for palm sugar is date sugar or date paste.

Vegan Thai Food

Buddhism is the predominant religion in Thailand, and many Buddhists are vegetarian or vegan. The term je or jey, meaning without animal products, is used to describe many Thai dishes that are already vegan or plant-based or can be prepared that way.

But while Thai cuisine and many of its commonly used ingredients may have been more vegetarian or vegan in ancient times, gradually, meat and seafood have become the norm as Thai cuisine has become more Westernized. However, many dishes can still be easily made plant-based. As May Kaidee told us, “Since there is heavy use of fresh herbs, spices, and plentiful amounts of fruit and vegetables in Thai cooking already, the dishes can easily stand on their own when omitting animal products.” 

With the omission of meat — or by swapping out meat with plant-based alternatives such as tofu, tempeh, or jackfruit, and replacing fish or oyster sauce with a vegan option — you can still enjoy many of the flavors and dishes popular in Thai cuisine.

If you follow a SOS-free (salt-, oil-, sugar-free) diet, you can also make Thai dishes oil-free by stir-frying in vegetable broth or water and baking rather than deep-frying.

What Thai Dishes Are Plant-Based or Can Be Modified to Be So?

Now that you’re aware of the plant-based nature of Thai dishes and ingredients, let’s talk about which Thai dishes are naturally plant-based and which can easily be modified into plant-based deliciousness when ordering out or making them at home.

• Appetizers:
  • Spring rolls or summer rolls (vegetarian options are usually veggies only)
  • Tao hu tod/Fried tofu
  • Som tam/Papaya salad (omit dried shrimp, crab, or egg)
  • Pad Pak Boong/Stir-fried morning glory (omit or replace fish sauce and oyster sauce)
  • Nahm prik noom/Green chili dip (some recipes include fish sauce)
• Mains:
  • Green curry, panang curry, pumpkin curry, etc. (omit or replace fish sauce; use a plant-based protein of choice)
  • Pad Thai with tofu (omit or replace fish sauce; omit egg)
  • Fried rice (omit or replace fish sauce; omit egg or use tofu instead; use a plant-based protein of choice)
  • Tofu satay (omit or replace fish sauce in peanut sauce)
• Desserts (Many Thai desserts are naturally vegan since they’re made with rice, coconut, and fruit!):
  • Mango sticky rice (mango and sticky rice in coconut milk — need we say more?)
  • Khanom krok/Coconut pancakes
  • Ruam mit (starchy noodles, tapioca pearls, and fruit in a sweet coconut milk syrup)
  • Khao lam (naturally plant-based with sticky rice, beans, and coconut cream — yum!)
  • Woon Nam Maprao (coconut milk jelly made with agar)

Note that you can also try other entrees not on this list by omitting the meat. Or, when eating out, try looking for a plant-based Thai restaurant in your area. May Kaidee has vegan Thai restaurants in NYC and Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai).

Vegan Thai Recipes

If your mouth isn’t already watering from the helpful tips and tricks above, just wait until the aromas of Thai cuisine begin to fill your home. From our sweet and sour Thai salad to our naturally sweet and humble sticky rice, these recipes are your one-way ticket to Thailand. Buckle up and get ready for a culinary and nutritional adventure of a lifetime!

1. Vegan Som Tam

Vegan Som Tam is our version of the very popular Thai papaya salad, som tam, and is bursting with lots of rich and robust sweet, savory, sour, and spicy notes. Slightly chewy with a nice bite from the shredded papaya, this salad hits nearly every taste and texture, plus it has nutrients galore! Enjoy this wholesome fruit-based salad any night of the week!

2. Tom Kha Soup

You may have heard of Tom Yum, the famous hot and sour soup from Thailand that is traditionally made with shrimp, lemongrass, garlic, and lime. Tom Kha soup is the creamy version of Tom Yum, made with the addition of coconut milk. We’ve substituted mushrooms for shrimp to make it plant-based and to create a creamy, flavorful, and nourishing soup that will bring Thailand to your dining room.

3. Tofu Satay Skewers

One of the most beloved flavors in Thai cuisine has got to be the zingy, sweet, and nutty combination commonly found in satay sauce. Our Tofu Satay Skewers bring the delightful flavors of traditional satay to life with wholesome plant-based ingredients that are every bit as delicious and just as fun to eat. Enjoy these tasty bites as a mouthwatering appetizer or a flavorful addition to your favorite salad, roasted veggie plate, or grain bowl.

4. Drunken Broccoli in Thai Almond Sauce

As the story goes, Thai culture adopted the term “drunken” for dishes that are the perfect cure-all after a party-filled night with friends. In this case, our Drunken Broccoli in Thai Almond Sauce is a delicious way of enjoying broccoli smothered in a slightly spicy Thai almond sauce that is perfect as a side or just as delicious over a wholesome bowl of chewy rice noodles!

5. Tofu Pad Thai

Tofu Pad Thai is a vibrant, flavorful dish that brings the essence of Thai cuisine right to your table with a healthful, plant-based twist. This dish starts with firm tofu, marinated and baked to perfection, offering a wonderfully chewy texture and a protein-rich base. The tofu is then tossed with stir-fried rice noodles, lots of colorful veggies, and the classic sweet and sour pad Thai sauce. Our pad Thai recipe is a hearty and nourishing meal that’s simple to make and even better than takeout.

6. Sweet Chili Broccoli and Tofu

Crispy baked tofu, tender broccoli, and chili sauce add a little sweetness with a kick to our Thai recipe roundup! Spoon all the nourishing ingredients over organic brown rice, mix it with your favorite noodles, or top it with extra Sweet Chili Sauce for more of that somethin’ that makes this Thai dish so special!

7. Sticky Black Rice with Mango

Sticky Black Rice with Mango gets the whole food, plant-based treatment! Inspired by the classic Thai dessert mango sticky rice, this naturally sweet and fiber-rich version is a sumptuous and exotic dessert that captures the essence of the tropical flavors of Thailand in a simple yet indulgent way.

Try Your Hand at Thai!

Whether you’re a seasoned Thai food lover or newly initiated, Thai cuisine offers an enriching and delicious experience that is adaptable to different tastes.

Remember, if you stumble upon a meat-based Thai dish outside of this article, many Thai dishes can easily be made plant-based with one of the substitutions we offered above.

If you’re looking for a little guidance on where to start, try beginning with the Vegan Som Tam (a simple salad), then move on to the soup or skewers before making your way through the mains. No matter which recipe you choose, we hope you enjoy exploring the vast flavors and wonderfully diverse world of Thai cuisine.

Tell us in the comments:

• What’s your favorite Thai dish?
• Which Thai recipe will you make first?
• Which common Thai ingredients might already be in your pantry or fridge?

Featured Image: iStock.com/IriGri8

Read Next:

• Vegan Sushi: How to Make It & the Benefits of Fish-Free Sushi
• The Fifth Taste: Exploring Umami Foods and Recipes

The post 7 Irresistible Vegan Thai Recipes for the Adventurous Cook appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

And that really didn’t begin to change until the First International Symposium on Umami Taste, held at the University of Hawaii in 1985 — despite the discovery of the “fifth flavor,” umami, at the turn of the 20th century.

In fact, it’s really only recently that umami has gained its rightful place in the flavor spectrum outside of Asian cultures.

For example, the restaurant chain Umami Burger has focused on making burgers using umami-rich animal- and plant-based ingredients like fish heads, caramelized onions, and roasted tomatoes since 2009. It became so successful, it spawned a chain of establishments dedicated to providing ultra-umami culinary experiences to their patrons.

Now, many a restaurant reviewer likes to point out the “rich umami flavor” of certain dishes across the spectrum of world cuisine. Umami has become a venerated part of the foodie landscape.

But umami is not just associated with gourmet natural foods, it’s also associated with a much-demonized synthetic food additive called MSG, or monosodium glutamate. MSG was first formulated and produced in 1909, originally from seaweed, and later from wheat and defatted soybeans. Since then, it’s become a mass-produced flavor enhancer that may or may not be a health risk (you’ll have to read on to find out the scientific verdict).

So what exactly makes a food umami? Do all umami tastes that derive from glutamate have the same effects as MSG? And do you have to eat meat to enjoy the savory flavor of umami? In this article, we’ll explore the world of umami tastes, and also provide opportunities for you to get a mouthful of non-MSG-based umami by sharing seven recipes featuring umami-rich foods.

How Was Umami Discovered?

The flavor we call “umami” was discovered by a Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, in 1908. After a trip to Germany, during which he first tasted asparagus, tomatoes, cheese, and meat, he began to suspect that the four known tastes — sweet, sour, bitter, and salty — didn’t account for every food flavor.

When he later came home to Japan and enjoyed a particularly delicious bowl of his wife’s dashi (seaweed broth), the rich taste reminded Ikeda of the foods he had encountered in Germany. As a result, he quickly put the seaweed (kelp) under the microscope, literally and figuratively. That’s when he discovered the chemical compound responsible for this savory and satisfying flavor: a molecule called glutamate.

Ikeda dubbed the flavor umami, putting together the Japanese words for “meaty flavor” and “essence.” The term has long had an association with Japanese cuisine — especially the dashi broth that inspired its discovery — but has become popular outside of Japan and other Asian countries in the last few decades.

What Is Umami?

Umami is now recognized as the fifth basic taste, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Humans have taste receptors specifically for umami foods. And it’s mostly associated with meaty, nutty, and savory-tasting foods with a high amino acid content.

But in order for something to taste umami, those amino acids need to be released — either by cooking or through fermentation.

In what I’m going to call the “umami paradox” (which sounds like a rejected movie title from the Jason Bourne franchise), researchers have found that umami compounds actually taste kind of bad alone, but they improve the taste of food when combined with other flavor profiles.

So umami is not only a taste in its own right but also a flavor enhancer for other tastes. Umami substances trigger the secretion of saliva, enhance appetite, and increase food palatability, qualities that often make MSG a key added ingredient in many food products and cuisines.

Glutamate vs MSG

Before we get to umami foods and recipes, we need to clear up a common misconception: that glutamate, the molecule primarily responsible for umami taste, is identical to monosodium glutamate, or MSG. While they sound similar, they’re quite different chemically.

Glutamic Acid

Natural glutamate is a safe compound that you get as part of a healthy dietary pattern.

Glutamate in food comes in the form of glutamic acid, a naturally occurring amino acid. In your body, it gets converted into glutamate, which is an amino acid neurotransmitter — a chemical that helps nerve cells in the brain send and receive information. It’s a precursor to the neurotransmitter GABA, which the brain requires to generate feelings of calm and well-being.

MSG

MSG, on the other hand, is a synthetically produced food additive and flavoring. Although it is structurally similar to glutamic acid, MSG contains a greater percentage of glutamate than is naturally occurring in foods.

It used to be extracted from ingredients like sea vegetable broth, wheat, and soybeans, but is now produced much more economically, and at a much larger scale, via fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugarcane, or molasses. Sugar beets, in particular, are often bioengineered (GMO), a process with unknown effects on the environment and long-term human health.

Is MSG safe?

That’s a complicated question with an even more complicated history.

MSG is on the US Food and Drug Administration’s GRAS list, an acronym for “Generally Regarded As Safe.” And while you might think that’s a good thing, being on that list comes with no actual guarantees.

As the nonprofit Consumer Reports puts it, being deemed GRAS actually means that little to no research exists on the additive’s safety, and food manufacturers are free to shoot first and ask questions later — or not at all. Some items that have been on or are on the GRAS list include probable carcinogens, GMOs, and trans fats. So having the FDA characterize MSG as GRAS is kind of like Al Capone bragging about never having been convicted. (I know, they got him on tax fraud in the end.)

MSG got a very bad rap starting in the 1970s — one that was not entirely backed up by research, and which may have been inflamed by racial prejudice aimed at Chinese people. MSG is a common ingredient in many Asian dishes and has a strong association with Chinese restaurants in the US.

Many people reported unpleasant symptoms after consuming food flavored with MSG. Headaches, numbness and tingling, flushing, muscle tightness, and generalized weakness are alleged side effects of MSG. However, these reactions all but disappear during controlled trials in which participants are unaware of whether they are consuming MSG or an inert placebo.

That said, there are still reasons to avoid or limit MSG. Several recent studies have shown that chronic MSG consumption can be toxic to the nervous system, causing an excitotoxic effect on neurons. The excessive amounts of glutamate seen in MSG may wreak havoc on normal levels of neurotransmitters and potentially contribute to neurodegeneration.

And while glutamate levels in foods are within ranges that the human body is accustomed to, there’s often no way to know just how much glutamate is in a serving of MSG, especially if it’s added to restaurant dishes or processed foods. MSG products like Ac’cent or Aji-No-Moto don’t disclose this information, as it’s not a required line item on the Nutrition Facts part of the packaging.

For these reasons, you may want to avoid foods containing added MSG and stick to glutamate that occurs naturally in food.

Animal Products and Umami

Many animal products are rich in umami, with meat, seafood, and cheese among the most intense. When you cook meat, glutamic acid is released along with other umami-producing compounds. Aging and fermenting typically concentrate these compounds, accounting for the intense umami tastes of cured ham, aged cheeses, and the like.

Cooking meat, and especially grilling, frying, or roasting, also contributes to the umami taste through the Maillard reaction. But this is the same reaction that creates the formation of acrylamide, which may have carcinogenic effects.

That’s one reason animal products, especially cured meats and cheese, can increase your risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Cooked meats also form other harmful compounds, including TMAO. And dairy products can contain hormones and antibiotics, contributing to the risk of cancer and antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

These days, it may be far safer and healthier to get your umami from the produce section. Fortunately, there are many other umami foods to choose from.

Plant-Based Umami Foods

While humans may have evolved our love of umami to keep us from getting sick from undercooked meat, we can also find the fifth flavor in select plant-based foods.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are naturally rich in glutamic acid. When you cook tomatoes, you concentrate those glutamates, intensifying their umaminess (I thought my spellchecker would have a problem with that word, but apparently it really exists. Who knew?). Sun-drying concentrates those flavors even more, creating a potent umami taste that can contribute to mouthwatering salads, pizzas, and sauces.

To find out more about the health benefits of tomatoes, including a recipe for Umami Sun-dried Tomato and Almond Burgers, check out our comprehensive article, here.

Mushrooms

While all mushrooms, even white buttons, have some umami qualities, varieties like shiitake and porcini contain a large amount of natural glutamates. Cooking makes their umami taste even more pronounced.

For a deep dive into the world of edible fungi, check out our article on The Power of Mushrooms: Nutrition, Benefits, & Risks of Edible Mushrooms.

Seaweed

Seaweeds are rich in glutamic acid, which makes historical sense since umami was first identified and extracted from seaweed broth. Certain varieties, kombu (or kelp) in particular, are packed with umamimity (Ha! My spellchecker informs me that I just used an umami word that doesn’t exist yet!).

If you’d like to learn more about sea vegetables, check out our in-depth article, Are Sea Vegetables Good for You and the Planet? — And Are Some Better Than Others?

Fermented Foods

While some soy-derived foods, such as tofu, are famous for their blandness (taking on flavor profiles from marinating and cooking), once the humble soybean has been fermented, we’re talking umami fireworks. Fermented soy foods include tempeh, natto, miso, and soy sauce.

And while we’re talking about bland, let’s not forget the poster child: boiled white cabbage. But once you subject cabbage leaves to fermentation, such as in sauerkraut and kimchi, umami is in the house!

Hard and aged cheeses are also umami powerhouses, which means that cultured plant-based cheeses can also achieve umami greatness.

For more on the wide world of fermented foods, along with their health benefits (and some concerns), here’s our full article.

Matcha Green Tea

You might be surprised to find out that you can experience umami yumminess in green tea — unless you’re already a fan of healthy and delicious matcha. In this case, the umami taste comes not primarily from glutamic acid, but from another amino acid called L-theanine in combination with caffeine. The compound is found in all tea plants but breaks down in the sun, but plants designated for matcha are grown mostly in shade.

The polyphenols in green tea also may protect you against neurotoxicity, including that induced by consuming large quantities of glutamate.

For more on the stunning health benefits of matcha tea, here’s our full article.

Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast may be the plant-based umami poster child, imparting a cheesy, savory flavor that has helped many a parmesan lover transition to a dairy-free diet. Like all yeast-based products, it contains glutamic acid.

If you aren’t familiar with nooch, as it’s fondly called by those who love it, check out our comprehensive article, here.

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are chock-full of amino acids, including glutamic acid. This may not be news, however, given that one of the words commonly used to describe umami is “nutty.”

Included in this group are peanuts, even though they’re technically legumes.

If you’re looking for the umamiest (yay, another new word!) experience in the world of nuts and seeds, you’ll find that peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds have the highest concentrations of glutamic acid.

Umami Recipes

Now that you know the many foods that create that delectable fifth taste, it’s time to put it into action and have some tasty fun in the kitchen. From savory breakfast to rich umami pasta bakes, there is something for everyone in this tantalizing recipe roundup!

1. Japanese-Inspired Breakfast Bowl

If there is one thing we love about Japanese cuisine (and there are many), it’s how well it captures the essence of umami. So it’s no surprise that this Japanese-Inspired Breakfast Bowl contains so many nourishing umami ingredients. From the tomato to the tamari, sea veggies, miso, and mushrooms, this dish takes inspiration from classic Japanese breakfast staples to create an umami-riffic meal that is satisfying in so many ways.

2. Umami Vegan Dashi

Dashi is a traditional Japanese seaweed stock that has a savory, salty, and umami flavor. Drawing inspiration from classic recipes, we created an ultra-nourishing and mineral-rich plant-based version using green onion, shiitake mushrooms, and seaweed. Together with the miso paste, these ingredients make a delicious and soothing stock that is great for your health and offers a rich umami taste you will adore!

3. Rainbow Millet Roll with Miso Peanut Sauce

Set aside what you may think of as sushi and take the nontraditional route by using millet instead of rice, peanut sauce instead of soy sauce, and, of course, veggies instead of fish. What is traditional about this roll is the nutrient-packed nori seaweed that lends its crunchy texture and signature umami flavor. What’s more, the delightful miso peanut dipping sauce cranks the umami meter of this recipe up to 11!

4. Kale Caesar Salad with Cheesy Chickpea Croutons

As we mentioned before, nutritional yeast may be the plant-based umami poster child thanks to its cheesy, savory flavor that is irresistible. As a toothsome cheese substitute, when combined with miso paste, these two umami ingredients elevate even the simplest of recipes. Savory, cheesy, creamy, and crunchy, this salad has the makings to be one of our dreamiest. Plus, the Dehydrated Cheesy Chickpea Croutons add a special touch that will keep you coming back to this recipe again and again!

5. Creamy Veggie Ramen

Have you ever wondered what gives ramen that remarkable flavor that you can’t quite put your finger on? If you guessed the broth, you’d be right — sort of. In reality, it’s the umami ingredients in the broth that make ramen a savory, craveable, and slurpable delight. While there are many ways to enjoy ramen, our Creamy Veggie Ramen is simply the best (in our humble opinion). Infused with fragrant aromatic vegetables, umami-rich mushrooms, miso, and a blend of creamy coconut, this is one recipe you won’t want to pass up!

6. Tempeh Sausage Stuffing

Tempeh Sausage Stuffing is one of those dishes you look forward to consuming, partly for all that umami flavor and also for the crunchy texture! The tempeh (which is fermented and has lots of umami flavor in its own right) and whole grain bread absorb the essence of the earthy mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, and aromatic herbs and spices, creating a medley of savory richness that is simply satisfying. As the dish bakes, the flavors concentrate, making an umami-delicious dish that is perfect for sharing!

7. Broccoli and Tomato Pasta Bake

What’s not to love about a rich and cheesy pasta dish? In our Broccoli and Tomato Pasta Bake, nutritional yeast and creamy cashews complement the sweet and savory tones of broccoli and tomato to create a captivating combination of textures, umami-rich flavors, and nutrients. We encourage you to add other veggies that you know the family will love, as well — after all, this recipe is likely going to be in continuous rotation!

Embrace Natural Umami

Umami is a complex, nuanced taste that transcends traditional Western flavor categories. It originated within the Japanese culinary tradition and, over the past 40 years, has enchanted gourmets and gourmands around the globe.

Although umami is often associated with MSG, there may be significant differences in how synthetic glutamate acts in our bodies compared to natural sources. And while the umami receptors may have evolved to guide us to favor well-cooked meat, there are plenty of plant-based sources of umami to enjoy. Try some of the recipes above to put umami’s transformative power into culinary practice.

Tell us in the comments:

• When did you first hear about umami, the “fifth flavor”?

• What are your favorite plant-based umami foods?

• Which umami-rich dish or recipe will you try next?

Featured Image: iStock.com/ALLEKO

Read Next:

• What is Miso? Introducing a Longevity Food of the Blue Zones
• 7 Plant-Based Bitter Foods Recipes For Picky Eaters

The post The Fifth Taste: Exploring Umami Foods and Recipes appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

EAT, a global nonprofit that works on food system transformation, surveyed more than 30,000 people in 31 nations. They found that 4 out of 10 respondents think plant-based food will become more popular than meat in the next 10 years.

But while Europeans and North Americans of European descent are experiencing a plant-based renaissance and “discovering” foods like tofu, tempeh, and teff, people in many parts of the world have eaten a mostly plant-based diet from time immemorial. And some still do. In fact, anthropologists largely agree that the bulk of human calories over the course of history have come from plant-based sources.

The most widely available (and nutritious) food for early human populations was likely leafy greens, sweet grasses, nuts, seeds, tubers, berries, roots, fruit, and pulses. A small number of calories from insects, wild animals, and fish also rounded out many traditional human diets.

Eating this way makes sense. Plants, unlike most animals, do not run away or defend themselves with teeth and claws when they’re threatened (although they may have other defenses). As such, this way of eating has survived into the modern world in many places around the globe, especially Africa and Asia (which, probably not coincidentally, is where the EAT survey’s prediction of a plant-based future was most common).

Not all cuisines remain mostly plant-based, of course. There are many meat- and dairy-centric cultures on the planet. And their prevalence in industrialized nations can make it easy to forget that getting lots of calories from animals is a relatively recent phenomenon.

But in this article, we’ll take a look at some of the surviving plant-based cultures around the world. We’ll also explore the factors that often influence the development of plant-based cuisine. And we’ll look at five regions of the world whose cuisines skew more plant-based, exploring the ingredients and dishes they’ve gifted to the world.

Why Some Cultures Eat Mostly Plant-Based

When you look at the range of human diets, you notice that we’ll eat just about anything. Whether or not we are biological omnivores, as Michael Pollan argues, humans tend to consume plants, birds, rodents, mammals, eggs, milk, insects, honey, lizards, and just about anything else that contains calories and won’t immediately kill us.

So given our wide range of edible options, why are some cuisines so much more plant-based than others?

The Economics of Plant-Based Eating

One of the reasons our Paleolithic ancestors were actually more vegan than “Paleo” boils down to economics. The cost of sourcing animal products was typically much higher than the cost of procuring plants. The higher up the food chain you went to get your nutrients, the more resources you’d have to consume. Hunting is a riskier proposition than harvesting, which means that the return on effort is often lower.

And getting food from livestock requires an even greater investment of land, water, and soil than, say, horticulture or small-scale agriculture. Plus, large concentrations of domesticated animals inevitably create more negative environmental impacts than domesticated plants (i.e., crops).

Some societies disguise these costs through subsidies for meat and dairy products, and by passing on some of the costs to vulnerable human populations in the form of compromised health, air and water pollution, habitat loss, and so on.

In India and many other countries with large rural populations, many people who live in the countryside have access mainly to grains, legumes, and various fruits and vegetables. For them, plant-based eating is an economic necessity and not a lifestyle choice. They simply don’t have the resources to diversify their diets beyond their staple foods.

Wealthier members of these societies may consume more meat, which often serves as a status symbol due to its high cost and relative scarcity. And less developed countries often have basic agricultural systems that cannot support large-scale meat or dairy production. In these countries, it’s common for many people to grow their own food, often in their backyards — which creates more local self-reliance and reduces dependence on often scarce monetary resources.

Vegetarian Religions

Religion often exerts a huge influence on the cuisine of its faithful; specifically, many creeds impose restrictions of one kind or another on the consumption of animals. Many of the world’s religions prescribe some level of plant-based eating, either all the time or during particular religious holidays.

Adherents of Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism often follow a vegetarian diet. Many of the world’s one billion Hindus honor the concept of ahimsa, or nonviolence and compassion toward all beings, which leads them to avoid eating meat. Buddhism’s first precept also prohibits taking a life, which many of the faith’s estimated 488 million adherents extend beyond humans to all animals.

Various Christian denominations have their own take on meat eating, too. Catholics, for example, may skip meat on Fridays and during Lent. And many Seventh-Day Adventists are nearly or completely plant-based.

The other Abrahamic faiths, Islam and Judaism, while featuring many traditional meat dishes, also contain scriptural references to at least moderating animal consumption. The Muslim prophet Muhammed is said to have rarely eaten meat or engaged in animal sacrifice — and to have been known for his compassion towards animals. And the Jewish dietary laws, called kashrut, align closely with veganism.

Vegan and Vegetarian Cuisines

Now that we’ve explored the historical and sociological factors leading some societies to embrace plant-based eating, let’s get into the mouthwatering details! Here are five cultures that have contributed mightily to vegan and vegetarian cuisine around the world.

1. Indian

India is the second most populous country in the world, with 1.3 billion people. It contains thousands of tribes, many castes, sixteen official languages divided into hundreds of different dialects, and several of the world’s largest religions.

As you might suspect when contemplating such scope and variety of experience, there’s no such thing as a single Indian cuisine. Each region has its own traditions, defined by local history, availability of ingredients, caste, trade, colonial influences, and preparation.

Some of the vegetarian-friendly religions that originated in India include Jainism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Many modern Jains, in particular, interpret their faith as commanding veganism. They point to a text in the 2,300-year-old Acharanga Sutra: “All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away.”

But it’s not just Jains. A 2021 survey found that 80% of Indians consciously limit meat, and 4 in 10 consider themselves vegetarians.

In fact, India’s Gujarat state is home to Palitana, touted as the world’s first vegetarian city. Here, killing an animal for food is a crime, as is selling eggs. Dairy, on the other hand, is allowed.

Haryana also boasts more vegetarians per capita than any other Indian state. Interestingly, the numbers skew heavily along gender lines. While 56% of Haryana’s men reportedly never eat meat, almost 80% of women are strict vegetarians.

Vegetarian Indian staples include rice, sorghum, and wheat, depending on the region. These foods often complement vegetable curries, cured and dried vegetable dishes, lentil soups and stews (dals), and spicy, sweet, or savory herb and spice mixtures called masalas. These condiments can be dry or wet powders and are often served with plain yogurt, salted pickles, chutneys, and fried or baked breads and wafers.

A Plant-Based Indian Recipe to Try — Super Easy (and Tasty!) Mint Chutney

Chutney is an essential Indian condiment eaten alongside many different dishes. And for some people, no dish is complete without a generous dollop of fresh and vibrant chutney. Made with fresh mint, cilantro, avocado, and lemon, this flavorful, minty chutney provides a delicious dose of nutrients (and a burst of fresh flavor) with each bite. Eat it with samosas, chana dal, or alongside any of your favorite, aromatic plant-based dishes.

2. Ethiopian

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christian religion teaches its adherents that abstaining from meat and dairy is part of the process of repentance. And Wednesdays and Fridays are fast days in which believers avoid animal products. This religious influence, coupled with Ethiopia’s endemic poverty, results in the nation’s low per capita meat consumption.

Over 60% of Ethiopia’s population doesn’t eat meat on about 250 days of the year. During these fasting days, they may consume fish and vegetarian dishes, including stews containing pulses, lentils, peas, field peas, chickpeas, peanuts, and whatever vegetables are in season. These stews are called “wats.” Some common wats include shiro wat, misir wat, and red lentil stew served with a stretchy, tangy teff flatbread called injera. These vegetarian dishes, along with salata (salad), are commonly served during Lent.

A Plant-Based Ethiopian Recipe to Try — Misir Wat

If Ethiopian cuisine is new to you, you’re in for a delightful flavor experience that showcases lentils in a new light. Misir Wat (also spelled misir wot) is a plant-based Ethiopian stew filled with lentils, vegetables, and layers of fragrant spices that will wrap you in comfort and warmth. Its aromatic spice blend, berbere, often includes more than ten spices such as coriander, cumin, fenugreek, chili powder, and paprika. Enjoy this flavorful stew on a bed of organic brown rice or with injera, the traditional Ethiopian flatbread.

3. Jamaican

Jamaica is the birthplace of the religious and social movement known as Rastafarianism. Most Rastafarians follow dietary guidelines called ital: a largely plant-based code based on the biblical book of Leviticus.

Ital food consists of a natural diet free from chemical additives and most meat, both of which are considered “dead” food, or lacking the energy granted by God. One way to connect with the natural world is by eating organic plant-based food. Many Rastas grow their own food to ensure its purity and lack of chemical biocide residue.

The cuisine of Jamaica also has an Indian influence due to indentured servitude during British colonial rule. Many signature Indian ingredients grow in Jamaica as well: coconuts, whose milk forms the base of many ital meals; herbs and spices such as lemongrass, allspice, nutmeg, thyme, and hot peppers; tropical fruits like mango, avocado, passion fruit, and banana; as well as leafy greens, peppers, and pumpkins.

Popular Jamaican ital dishes include jerk tofu, hearty pumpkin stews, and red pea (kidney bean) loaf.

A Plant-Based Jamaican Recipe to Try — Jamaican Jerk Tofu with Sweet Pineapple Salsa

Jamaican Jerk Tofu with Sweet Pineapple Salsa offers the fresh, hot, and sweet flavors of the Caribbean. Tofu is generously rubbed with a nourishing and robust Jamaican jerk spice and baked until slightly crispy, then topped with juicy and sweet pineapple salsa. This dish is equal parts colorful, wholesome, and 100% pure plant perfection!

4. Japanese

As Buddhism spread east from India, its principle of ahimsa influenced cooking styles across East Asia. A style of vegetarian cooking known as shojin ryori was adopted by Buddhist monks in Japan, and became widespread with the emerging popularity of Zen Buddhism in the 13th century. Served in restaurants as well as Buddhist temples across Japan, shojin ryori literally means “devotion cuisine,” referring to the heartfelt expression of ahimsa that informs the style of eating.

Shojin ryori relies on seasonal ingredients, necessitating frequent menu changes to showcase the freshest, locally-sourced produce. Waste is frowned upon, so cooks use ingredients in their entirety. Common ingredients include tofu, kuzu or kudzu (a starch powder made from the same plant that’s become an invasive pest in the American South), and a wide variety of vegetables.

This last group includes lotus root, mushrooms, various head and leafy greens, wakame and nori (types of seaweed), and pumpkin, among many others. The Japanese may pickle these vegetables, serve them in a vegan dashi broth, steam them, or boil them.

On the Japanese island of Okinawa, many people are largely plant-based, which may explain their life expectancy — the highest in the world. This qualifies the region as one of only five “Blue Zones,” whose habits and characteristics were chronicled by Dan Buettner as part of National Geographic expeditions dedicated to uncovering the secrets of long life.

The traditional Okinawan diet consists mostly of purple Okinawan sweet potatoes (which comprise up to 70% of their total calories), rice, lightly processed soy products (tofu, tempeh, edamame, miso, etc.), and a range of veggies.

On the island, which has the highest percentage of centenarians of any known human population, you can find many home gardens that include not only produce but medicinal plants as well.

A Plant-Based Japanese Recipe to Try — Japanese-Inspired Breakfast Bowl

Believe it or not, sushi is a common breakfast in Japanese culture. This plant-based twist on a traditional Japanese sushi breakfast contains an abundance of phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals galore. Gorgeous tomatoes stand in for tuna (in color) and mushrooms play the part of eel (in texture) while cucumber, avocado, and seaweed make up the rest of the ingredients. If this is your first time trying this sort of dish for breakfast (or any time!), have fun experimenting with the experience as you invite the culture of Japan into your home!

5. Mediterranean

The Mediterranean diet has long been considered one of the healthiest in the world. While the Mediterranean refers to a region rather than a single country or culture, there are enough similarities in Italian, Greek, Spanish, Israeli, and Palestinian cuisines to justify the umbrella term.

Vegetarianism has a long history in Western Europe, where it was known as the Pythagorean diet, after the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, who abstained from meat. Adherents of this way of eating would be confused by modern meat and dairy substitutes, as they ate “everything that is vegetable, tender and fresh, which requires little or no preparation to make it fit to eat, such as roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds.”

While many people now think of olive oil, fish, and wine as mainstays of the Mediterranean diet, the real health benefit likely comes from the fact that it’s still a primarily plant-based diet, consisting largely of green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts (chiefly walnuts, almonds, and pistachios), fresh fruits, and whole grains.

Religion also plays a role in predisposing residents of the Mediterranean toward a plant-based lifestyle. Both the Catholic and Greek Orthodox faiths observe fasting days in which meat is prohibited by law or custom.

And one of the themes of the kashrut laws in Judaism is the separation of meat and dairy. The two classes of food are not to be cooked or consumed together. The Jewish laws of ritual slaughter also place many restrictions on how an animal may be killed and what must be done to the carcass following slaughter. Together, these laws tend to limit the amount of meat eaten by observant Jews.

The class of food that doesn’t get restricted by Jewish law is known as “pareve,” meaning neither meat nor dairy. All plant-based foods fall into this category, with the exception of wine, which has a bunch of rules all to itself.

A Plant-Based Mediterranean Recipe to Try — Grilled Mediterranean Eggplant “Steaks”

These Grilled Mediterranean Eggplant “Steaks” harness the flavor (and nutrition) of this wildly popular cuisine, making it a simple and delightful plant-based dish to make again and again. When you top the eggplant steaks with nourishing Mediterranean veggies, like tomato, onion, olives, and cucumber, you have yourself a meal that makes your belly happy short-term and your body happy long-term.

Take a Page Out of the Books of These Plant-Based Cultures

In conclusion, while plant-based eating may seem like a recent trend in certain parts of the world, it’s actually deeply rooted in human history and has long been a way of life for many cultures around the globe. By exploring the plant-based cuisines of different regions, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the diversity of human diets and honor their ethos of eating from the land and prioritizing unprocessed whole ingredients over industrialized foods. And we can enjoy some delicious new flavors, too!

Tell us in the comments:

• What are some of your favorite plant-based cuisines?
• Have you ever traveled to a country with a strong plant-based culinary tradition?
• How might you eat “closer to the earth” in your diet?

Featured Image: iStock.com/Anna Shalygina

Read Next:

• 11 Whole Foods Plant-Based Recipes from Around the World
• The Blue Zones: Longevity Secrets from Centenarians

The post 5 Plant-Based Cultures and Cuisines Around the Globe appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Leprechauns, bagpipes, and shamrocks? St. Patrick’s Day must be near!

The March 17th holiday began as early as the 9th century as a Catholic feast day, paying tribute to the patron saint of Ireland. Today, it’s a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and heritage, often culminating in a St. Patrick’s Day parade or festival.

Food plays an important role in modern St. Patrick’s Day festivities, bringing friends and family together over a shared meal. But most of what many people think of as traditional Irish food typically includes heavy dishes that are high in meat and dairy. And while many Irish families raised animals in addition to farming their own vegetables in previous centuries, according to a 2016 study, the Irish diet was primarily plant-based over 2,000 years ago. Barley bread and other plant foods were the staples, while meat and dairy were “restricted to certain occasions.”

So if you want to add a healthier, plant-focused twist to your shamrock shenanigans, take inspiration from the Iron Age Irish and discover how to make plant-based Irish food — and enjoy trying these seven healthy St. Patrick’s Day recipes!

Traditional St. Patrick’s Day Food

The traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal of recent memory was often Irish bacon (pork joint) and cabbage. In Ireland, pork was more affordable than other meats like beef or chicken. Many families were tenant farmers of the British crown and couldn’t always eat everything they grew or raised. But they did have access to pork.

As the Irish emigrated to the United States through Ellis Island, bacon was replaced with corned beef, which was more readily available at the Jewish delis in New York City. The dish’s popularity and association with the St. Patrick’s Day holiday really took shape in North America during the Great Potato Famine, as Irish immigrants sought to recreate a familiar dish amongst the unfamiliar.

Other dishes associated with St. Patrick’s Day include:

• Irish stew or stobach — a peasant dish that includes root vegetables and mutton or lamb.
• colcannon potatoes — mashed potatoes with greens like cabbage or kale.
• shepherd’s pie — minced meat and vegetables topped with mashed potatoes.
• soda bread — a quick yeast-less bread made with baking soda.

Making Irish Food Plant-Based

While many of these St. Patrick’s Day foods are heavy on the meat, they don’t need to be. In fact, as we’ve seen with the rise in veganism and plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, it’s easier than ever to replace or eliminate animal products altogether. Not only that, but adopting plant-based versions of traditional St. Patrick’s Day meals is better for your health and the planet.

Interestingly enough, Ireland now ranks as the number three country per capita in terms of veganism. One study found that Dublin is the most vegan-friendly city in the world, with over 21% of its restaurants offering vegan options to diners.

So how can you make plant-based versions of Irish recipes at home?

Meat Alternatives

While you can certainly leave out the meat entirely from a recipe, sometimes you do so at the risk of losing a particular texture. One of the best ways to replace meat in Irish recipes is by substituting beans or lentils. Legumes offer a chewy texture similar to meat while also providing an abundance of protein and nutrition. With the right seasoning, tempeh can stand in for bacon or corned beef. And lentils go well in shepherd’s pie because they have a similar color to browned meat.

Plant-based meat alternatives are another option that may get you even closer, from a culinary standpoint, without the saturated fat and harmful dietary compounds like TMAO or nitrates. But they’re processed foods, and for health reasons, you may want to keep them to a minimum.

Dairy Alternatives

Replacing dairy in St. Patrick’s Day recipes is also easier than ever. The variety of plant-based milks available continues to increase, allowing you to sub in almond, soy, oat, or other milks. You can use olive or avocado oil in place of butter, or a store-bought cultured vegan butter like the one from Miyoko’s Creamery. In baked goods like soda bread, you can replace butter with applesauce or nut butter. And you can create vegan buttermilk from apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and plant-based milk.

7 Healthy St. Patrick’s Day Recipes That Are Packed with Plants

Get ready to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day the plant-based way! The flavors of Ireland are known to be humble, wholesome, and comforting, which makes them perfect for a day full of feasting! However you choose to pay tribute to the Emerald Isle and St. Patrick himself, we’re sure these Irish-inspired recipes are a mouthwatering way to celebrate the holiday!

1. Dublin Fog Latte

Robust, malty, and earthy flavors of Irish Breakfast Tea — a unique blend of black tea leaves, mainly Assam and Ceylon — play the lead role in our Dublin Fog Latte. This slightly bitter, intensely flavorful, and lusciously silky latte is a great addition to your morning Irish Boxty or hearty breakfast favorites! Plus, the addition of cashews and banana makes this latte extra creamy, sort of like a festive St. Patrick’s Day sweet cream mocktail… if you catch our drift!

2. Boxty Potato Pancakes

Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake that is simple, savory, and ultra-comforting. It’s like a cross between a fluffy pancake and a crispy hash brown. A combination of mashed potatoes, grated potatoes, tangy buttermilk, and whole-food quinoa flour, these light yet hearty pancakes are a humble breakfast offering that is wonderfully delicious!

3. Creamy Colcannon Potatoes

Colcannon is a beloved comfort food dish in Ireland, so much so that a traditional children’s song is dedicated to the delicious decadence of these creamy mashed potatoes. While traditional colcannon is made with generous amounts of butter, cream, hearty winter greens like cabbage or kale, and green onions or leeks, our equally luscious plant-based version is just as creamy, wholesome, and delicious with a few additional nourishing ingredients mixed in! Bonus: The vibrant kale ribboned throughout makes it a standout side on your St. Paddy’s Day table!

4. Hearty Irish Stew

Can any St. Paddy’s day celebration be complete without a bowl of warm and comforting Irish stew? We say, “Níl!”  Hearty Irish Stew is a true stick-to-your-ribs “meat and potatoes” dish, but instead of meat, we used beefy mushrooms and hearty root vegetables! A gentle simmer brings out an intensely flavorful and rich stew that even the pickiest of meat-eaters will love!

5. Corned Chickpea “Beef”

While this may not be exactly like Grandma’s, our Corned Chickpea “Beef” is surprisingly tender and, well, beefy! Plus, it hits all the right flavor notes of the traditional St. Patrick’s Day favorite. Made with chickpea flour and marinated in traditional corned beef spices, these lightly crisped chickpea beef strips are delightful, tasty, and very versatile. It makes an excellent addition to a vegan corned beef hash, corned beef with cabbage, or as a meaty filling for a corned beef sandwich on rye!

6. Corned Beet Reuben

A slightly sweet and tangy twist on a traditional corned beef Reuben is our Corned Beet Reuben. Pickled beets add just the right bite to give this sandwich a unique and delightfully craveable taste. Layered with tart sauerkraut and generously topped with creamy Thousand Island Dressing, these loaded “sammies” make the perfect assemble-and-go sandwich any day of the year!

7. Vegan Shamrock Shake

What better way to celebrate the luck of the Irish than with our naturally sweet and creamy Vegan Shamrock Shake! Vibrant green spinach, cooling peppermint, and creamy frozen banana make a cool, frosty, and velvety plant-based treat that is a festive addition to your holiday celebrations!

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the Healthy Way!

Although many traditional Irish dishes are based on meat and dairy, you can easily create plant-based versions of St. Patrick’s Day recipes. In fact, early Irish diets may have been primarily vegan or vegetarian. Eliminating meat or using a meat or dairy alternative is easier than ever and can help you go green without the need for food dye (green beer, anyone?). We hope you enjoy these seven St. Patrick’s-inspired Irish recipes in good health — or, “le do shláinte” as they say in Irish!

Tell us in the comments below:

• Do you plan on making any of these healthy St. Patrick’s Day recipes?

• What are some of your favorite St. Patrick’s Day recipes?

Featured Image: iStock.com/gorchittza2012

Read Next:

• 11 Whole Foods Plant-Based Recipes from Around the World

The post 7 St. Patrick’s Day Recipes That are Great-Tasting and Good for You appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

While these foods are undeniably satisfying and enjoyable in the moment, that feel-good moment doesn’t typically last long. (If you’ve ever enjoyed endless servings at Thanksgiving dinner, you know that food coma feeling well.) This is because most comfort foods are processed — loaded with refined sugars, unhealthy fats, sodium, or refined carbohydrates, or they include animal products that are inflammatory and wreak havoc on your health. Fortunately, there’s a solution to enjoying comfort foods and feeling really good after eating them — nutrient-dense, magical plants that transform into the most decadent and delicious dishes! By making healthier, plant-based versions of the comfort foods you know and love, you can enjoy those same textures and flavors while nourishing your body with what it needs to thrive — in that moment and in the long run.

In this article, I’ll offer tips and tricks to help you make comfort food healthy by swapping out animal products and processed ingredients with healthy whole-food plant-based substitutes. And, I’m including seven tasty recipes that demonstrate how plants transform into comforting — and healthy! — decadence. But, first, what is comfort food and why is it important to minimize added sugars, sodium, animal products, and oils if you want to feel your very best?

What Is Comfort Food?

Whether it’s Mom’s famous mashed potatoes or Grandma’s irresistible apple pie, many comfort foods evoke memories of home, childhood, or cultural heritage. It makes sense, considering Merriam-Webster defines comfort food as “food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.” But not all comfort food has to have a deep, sentimental meaning attached to it. Sometimes you just love a food simply for its deep, rich flavor or satisfying texture. Some prefer savory comfort dishes, like Shepherd’s Pie, while others get cozy on the couch with their spoon and a pint of ice cream (perhaps while watching Friends reruns or The Great British Bake Off). (P.S. If the latter is you, check out 7 Sugar-Free and Dairy-Free Chocolate Desserts.)

While “comfort” food is often associated with “unhealthy” food, it can actually come packed with nutritional goodness. For example, many classic comfort comestibles — like mac ‘n cheese (and other pasta dishes), chocolate, pizza, chili, soups, stews, dumplings, and baked goods — can be created with nutrient-dense plant-based ingredients that create that same comforting experience. Really!

Comfort food doesn’t have to be indulgent, either. Sometimes a warm, nourishing meal — like homemade soups or stews filled with veggies and beans that pack a healthy dose of nutrition — on a cold winter day can satisfy your belly and soothe your soul.

How to Make Comfort Food Healthy

If you can’t fathom living without your favorite comfort foods but want to avoid their negative health consequences, eliminating animal products from them is the most impactful action you can take for your personal health and the health of the planet. Fortunately, simple swaps can “veganize” your favorite comfort dishes, like replacing dairy milk with plant-based milk or using a flax egg in place of a traditional egg.

If you want to optimize nutrition in your comfort meals, choose whole or minimally processed plant-based food whenever possible. Swapping in chickpeas or tofu in place of meat, using a nut or seed milk instead of dairy milk, or blending cauliflower and squash into a (nut-free!) creamy cheese sauce are just a few ideas.

And that’s just one example of a vegan substitute for dairy. Nut cheese made with cashews is a delicious alternative to any cheese product. Nutritional yeast is the key ingredient that provides a remarkably cheesy flavor in plant-based recipes. Swap out dairy milk (as well as the saturated fat and inflammatory compounds that come with it) for one of the many options of nondairy milk substitutes — almond, soy, oat, cashew, hemp, and coconut. These plant milks can be significantly healthier for both you and the planet.

Using plant-based meat and cheese may be okay occasionally — they can be decent replacements for traditional meat and dairy when it comes to mimicking flavor and texture — but they have their pros and cons, so it’s best to use them sparingly. The healthiest options are whole foods like beans, lentils, tofu, and tempeh. Beans and lentils are whole foods, while tofu and tempeh are minimally processed, but also nutrient-dense, protein-rich, and mimic meat in texture and their ability to absorb flavors. Mushrooms and eggplant also make great whole-food substitutes with their meaty textures, and can be used as a meat replacement in anything from burgers to hearty soups to sandwiches.

Replacing Sugar and Oil

Many comfort foods also contain vegetable oils. However, since oil is processed and only contains a single component — fat — of the food it came from, and none of the fiber or other nutrients, it’s best to use it sparingly. Oil may be especially problematic for those who struggle with heart disease or obesity. (The next time you’re craving a salad, try these 5 Easy Oil-Free Salad Dressings for a Healthier Mealtime.)

The type of sugar that causes inflammation is refined sugar, not the sugar found naturally in fruits. Refined sugar can be addictive, harmful to your health, and may contribute to several chronic diseases. Instead, sweeten your favorite comfort dishes with fruit or natural fruit-based sweeteners, such as Medjool dates. Minimally processed maple syrup is also a favorite here at FRN, as a little bit goes a long way. Plus, there are lots of antioxidants in maple syrup!

Plant-Based Comfort Food Recipes

Comfort foods often feel like a warm embrace. Or they may help to remind us of life’s sweet moments, thanks to their mesmerizing aromas and mouthwatering flavors. Whatever the reason, comfort foods always seem to do the trick! Inviting a sense of comfort into your home through food can be both tasty and nourishing — and these recipes prove it! So whether you’re reminiscing about pizza nights with your family or missing the taste of Mom’s mac ‘n cheese, we hope these yummy (and ultra comforting) vegan comfort food recipes are exactly what you need to feel nourished!

1. Creamy Asparagus Risotto

Can’t believe that a bowl of creamy and delicious risotto can be rich and mouthwatering yet still be healthy? You’ll believe it once you try this scrumptious recipe, made with whole-food plant-based ingredients! Risotto can sometimes take some time with lots of steps, but this recipe couldn’t be simpler (with a little bit of prep). To achieve that creamy — and oh-so-comforting — mouthfeel, cashews are blended into a silky, creamy, umami cheese sauce and then simmered with asparagus, spinach, and brown rice. Feel the plant-based nourishment fill your body and soul!

2. Jackfruit Carnitas Pizza

Pineapple on pizza may be a debatable topic, but after just one bite there is no denying that pineapple belongs on top of this sweet and savory delight! Jackfruit Carnitas Pizza hits the nail on the head when it comes to healthy comfort food. Jackfruit mimics the texture of meat and takes on any flavors you add to it, making it a versatile ingredient that is perfect for a “meaty” pizza. The robust spice blend and the array of colorful fruits and veggies add the most exquisite flavors! We think you’ll be extra happy with the textures, flavors, and nutrients in this comforting meal.

3. One-Pot Tempeh Sausage Pasta

You can always count on a hearty bowl of pasta to wrap you in warmth and create all the feels after a long day. Tempeh Sausage Pasta hits all the right notes for a wholesome meal that has tons of flavor and nutritional value. Tempeh is a hearty plant protein that takes on any flavor you add to it. In this case, savory herbs and spices transform tempeh into meaty sausage crumbles. The result is a healthy and delicious hearty meat substitute that gets even better with the addition of red tomato sauce and pasta!

4. Shepherd’s Pie

If you like mashed potatoes — one of Ocean’s favorite comfort foods — then you’ll love this recipe. And it’s easy to see why he loves them, considering potatoes are packed full of nutrients and do a great job of satisfying your appetite with healthy, comforting carbohydrates. Layers of high-fiber and high-flavor plant-based ingredients might make this Shepherd’s Pie more satisfying than any other version you’ve probably tried. Omega-3-rich walnuts, protein-packed lentils, vitamin C-abundant potatoes, and beta-carotene-filled squash come together to make one spectacular meal!

5. Comforting Mushroom Casserole

This wonderful cheesy Comforting Mushroom Casserole delivers satisfying cheesy goodness and so much more! Cauliflower Squash Cheese Sauce and Vegan Walnut Parmesan give this yummy casserole two remarkable cheesy flavors that will really hit the spot. The best part is that they have veggies! If you are of the notion that veggies can’t be comforting, this recipe may change your mind. We promise the rich flavors and veritable cornucopia of veggies — cauliflower, squash, onions, mushrooms, garlic, carrots, and kale — will have your heart singing!

6. Broccoli Mac ‘n Cheese

Let’s take a trip down memory lane: Remember mac ‘n cheese when you were a kid? We sure do! Mac ‘n cheese is a classic comfort food that’s a favorite of many of Food Revolution Network’s staff. Whether homemade or from a certain blue box, chances are that, at that time, it was one of the most delicious things you’d ever eaten on the planet. What if you were able to recreate that fond memory to satisfy your inner child, but with plant-based ingredients to satisfy your wise adult? Now you can! This Broccoli Mac ‘n Cheese — a new favorite of the FRN team — is made with whole-food healing ingredients, like cashews, nutritional yeast, and miso, and is as creamy and satisfying as the fun mac ‘n cheese you had as a kid.

7. Lentil Spinach Dal

Indian food ranks high among our team’s favorite comfort dishes here at FRN. Creations like this Lentil Spinach Dal are creamy, loaded with tons of spices, and get more satisfying with each bite. Our home-cooked version is fragrant, flavorful, and packed with nutrients from lentils, spinach, tomatoes, aromatic herbs, and spices to give you all the comforting feels!

Enjoy Comforting & Healthy Food

While comfort food is often associated with nostalgia and emotional contentment, it can also provide physical comfort in terms of nourishment and warmth. Such comfort can be deeply satisfying and nutrient-dense when using plant-based ingredients. For ultimate comfort and health, swap animal products, refined sugar, salt, and oil with whole plant ingredients. By using whole plant-based foods in your comfort meals, you’ll ensure they give you back the love you deserve — and provide not only comfort but health and nutrition, too.

Tell us in the comments:

• What’s your go-to comfort food or meal?
• Which plant-based comfort food recipe are you going to try first?
• What other healthy food swaps do you make?

Featured Image: iStock.com/RuslanDashinsky

Read Next:

• 5 Fabulous Vegan Soups You’ll Want to Whip Up Straight Away
• Vegan Casserole Recipes that Are Healthy, Delicious, and Dollar-Stretching 

The post Plant-Based Comfort Food Recipes That Will Wrap You in Warmth & Love! appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

It’s often the first thing taught to kids when they learn Mandarin Chinese, and it basically means, “How are you?”

Of course, that’s not how the greeting is written in Mandarin. That would be 你好吗. But Westerners trying to get around Beijing or Shanghai needed a way to render the Chinese characters into something they could recognize. And given the vast differences between Chinese and the vocalizations and worldviews of Romance and Germanic languages, this was no easy task.

For example, take the Mandarin syllable “ma.” Depending on the tone used by the speaker, it can mean mother, hemp, horse, or scold. Or, as in the case of the greeting above, it can transform a declarative statement into a question.

Can you see how this sort of ambiguity can make cross-language understanding a bit dicey? And that’s to say nothing of the famously cringeworthy attempts by Western companies to advertise in China — KFC’s “Finger-licking good” turned into “Eat your fingers off,” and Pepsi’s “Pepsi adds life” promised that “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the dead.”

Enter one of the most important scholars of the 20th century, the Chinese linguist, poet, composer, and scholar Yuen Ren Chao. Blessed from an early age with a natural gift for languages and an exquisite ability to distinguish between very similar accents and dialects, Chao was instrumental in creating the Gwoyeu Romatzyh, a system for writing Mandarin Chinese in Roman characters. His system, unlike previous attempts, was flexible enough to prevent many of the ambiguities that can lead to translation errors and greatly facilitated cultural, scientific, and commercial exchanges between China and the West.

The Globalization of Chinese Food Through Stir-Fry

Unless you’re a Chinese speaker or an expert on Chinese history and culture, you may not be aware of the influence of Chao’s work on your life.

With one exception.

In 1945, Chao’s wife, the physician and writer Buwei Yang Chao, published an English language Chinese cookbook, How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, one of the first books to bring the techniques of Chinese cooking to America. She enlisted her linguist husband to translate some of the more unfamiliar terms and techniques. And in that book, the phrase “stir-fry” entered the English language.

Since the publication of the book, stir-frying has gone global. Many of the dishes you can order from a Westernized Chinese restaurant are stir-fries, as we call dishes prepared using the technique.

But cooked in unhealthy oils, high in sodium and sugar, and often high in animal products like chicken broth and beef, these entrées may hyperstimulate our taste buds at the expense of our health.

The good news is, it’s pretty easy to make delicious stir-fries at home. You can prepare them quickly, which makes them a good option for busy weeknights. They’re versatile and can accommodate a wide variety of ingredients, which means you can express your creativity in the kitchen. I’d bet that you can probably throw one together with whatever you’ve got in your fridge and freezer, or on your counter, right now.

And, of course, you have control over the ingredients, so you can make your stir-fries as healthy as you like, full of tasty and nutrient-rich, plant-based ingredients.

In this article, you’ll discover what you need to make a stir-fry, including different ingredient options and kitchen tools, and even how to stir-fry oil-free. Plus, you’ll get a handful of delicious, plant-based stir-fry recipes to try.

What Is Stir-Fry?

Stir-fry refers both to the cooking technique and the dish that technique creates. Traditionally, food is cooked in oil, in a wok or similar cooking pan, over high heat. The “stir” part means that you’re stirring rapidly to heat and sear the individual ingredients without letting them burn or turn mushy. As Chinese chef, Martin Yan is fond of saying, “Remember it’s called stir-fry, not stare fry — it means you keep tossing it, you don’t stand there and just stare at it.”

Stir-frying is similar to sautéing but done hotter and faster. Woks, with their small heated area and high sides, are ideally suited to this because they allow you to toss the ingredients well without them soaring out of the pan. (If I might be permitted a little pun in homage to Martin Yan, “It’s called stir-fry, not stir fly.”)

Because the heat is centered — and largely limited to — the bottom center of the pan, you can cook ingredients evenly by rotating them into the center and up to the cooler sides as needed.

Stir-fries often include meat, but it’s easy to omit. You can transition to purely plant-based stir-frying by using animal-free meat analogues, adding tofu or tempeh, or keeping it simple and just cooking fresh and frozen veggies along with any desired whole grains.

How to Make Stir-Fry

Let’s start with techniques, cover the equipment you’ll need, and then explore the wide variety of ingredients you can use in your stir-fries. We’ll finish up with a few stir-fry recipe examples to get you going.

There are three basic steps to stir-frying.

Step 1: Make a Sauce

The flavor profile of the many stir-fry sauces out there generally includes salty, sweet, and sometimes creamy. They’re often based on pungent or spicy ingredients, such as garlic, ginger, lemongrass, or chilies. Make enough to satisfy the culinary dictum, “No dry bites,” which refers to each solid element of the dish carrying at least some of the sauce on it.

Step 2: Cut and prep your ingredients

Because the timing and pacing are so important in stir-frying, having all your ingredients ready to go before you begin to heat your wok or pan is essential. Choose a shape and size for each ingredient that allows everything to cook evenly. You don’t want large raw pieces of broccoli alongside small florets that have turned to mush.

Some ingredients, like fresh produce, can go in as-is. Others, such as tofu and tempeh, can benefit from marinating in a sauce from 20 minutes to overnight.

Step 3: Adding in Stir-Fry Ingredients

Begin by heating your wok — don’t start adding ingredients or liquids to a cold wok.

The traditional method involves heating the wok first, then coating it in a thin film of oil and allowing it to get hot before adding the rest of the ingredients. One of the best oils for stir-fry is light sesame oil, because of its neutral flavor and high smoke point.

(The smoke point of an oil is the temperature at which it begins to smoke. Once an oil reaches this point, it gives off toxic fumes and starts producing free radicals that can create inflammation and lead to disease.)

Go easy on the sesame oil because of its high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. As a matter of principle, go easy on any oil in stir-frying; you’re looking to lightly coat, not submerge, your food.

An alternative with a more favorable fatty acid ratio, as well as a high smoke point, is avocado oil. (For more on the pros and cons of avocado oil, and how to get the “real thing,” click here.)

How to Stir Fry Without Oil

If you prefer oil-free stir fry, you can keep the food from burning or sticking with water, vegetable broth, (very) diluted soy sauce, or a soy sauce alternative (such as Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or Coconut Aminos), or some extra sauce from your recipe. If you aren’t using any oil, you’ll probably need to use lower temperatures, in general, in order to prevent sticking.

Depending on the quality of the wok and the evenness of the heat source, you may be able to begin stir-frying with a dry pan, adding liquid to prevent burning. Or you can start with the liquid.

One way to tell if the wok is hot enough is to splash a few drops of water onto its surface — if they ball together and “dance” for a couple of seconds before evaporating, you’re ready to start frying. (That’s only true of stainless steel — water droplets on non-stick pans will not exhibit this behavior.)

Do the Stir-Frying

Once the wok is hot, start adding your ingredients. If you’re using an uncooked protein-rich ingredient, such as marinated tofu, start with that one and stir-fry until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

Next, add any spices to the wok and let them heat up to release their flavors.

Then toss in your veggies, one at a time, starting with the ones that take the longest to cook. You can keep laying ingredients in, or if you want to get more elaborate, you can remove early ingredients to a separate pan when they’re cooked, and add them back right before serving.

Just before the veggies are fully cooked, coat the entire contents of the wok with sauce and stir to mix it fully and evenly with the ingredients. You can add toppings directly into the wok before serving individual portions, or allow your diners to help themselves to the toppings once their meal has been plated.

Stir-Fry Pans & Other Cooking Tools

To create an authentic stir-fry in which the ingredients are cooked but still crispy, you need a pan that can produce sufficient heat, and that allows you to stir and toss ingredients somewhat vigorously.

If you don’t want to invest in a wok and you have a large pan, that could serve. For example, here’s a large cast-iron skillet that’s a reasonable alternative. The size and shape are somewhat wok-like.

If you choose to go with a wok, you can opt for Mandarin or Cantonese styles. Mandarin woks, such as this carbon-style model, have one long handle and a flat bottom, which makes them suitable for electric and induction burners. Cantonese woks come with two small handle grips, which make it easier to shake the whole pan to move the ingredients around. They also tend to have rounded bottoms, which are more appropriate for gas burners. (You may need a wok stand if your burner grill doesn’t provide enough stability or depth.) Here’s a cast-iron wok (with a flat bottom) that is relatively inexpensive.

Stir-fries are generally served on top of noodles or grains, which you’ll cook in a separate pot. We’re big fans of Xtrema here at Food Revolution Network. Here’s a really nice ceramic stock pot (that won’t work on an induction stove) which you can get in sizes ranging from 1.5 to 5.5 quarts. There’s also a lot to love about the Instant Pot.

Utensils for the actual stirring will also come in handy. While technically lots of things can do this job, including regular wooden spatulas or even stainless steel stirring spoons (for metal pans only), you may enjoy using a tool designed specifically for the task, such as this bamboo-handled wok spatula (again, for metal surfaces only).

A sharp chef’s knife will make cutting the veggies not only easier but much safer than using a dull knife. If you like the shape and feel of German kitchen knives, this Zwilling 8” chef’s knife is a high-quality and relatively inexpensive choice.

A couple of optional tools you might want to check out once you commit to wok life (or, as Lou Reed might have put it, taking a “wok on the wild side”) are a wok brush, which you can use to clean your wok without scratching it, and a wok spoon, which can serve double duty as a stirrer and serving ladle.

Stir-Fry Ingredients

Now that you know how to stir-fry and what equipment to use, let’s talk about the food itself. The heart of your plant-based stir-fry will be your veggies. You can be minimalist, and limit a dish to a single veggie, such as the ubiquitous broccoli, or the always-better-in-season and less common asparagus. Or you can mix and match, experimenting with different combinations. An easy first step is to let someone else decide for you, by dumping the contents of a stir-fry veggie mix, either fresh or frozen, into your hot wok.

Best Stir Fry Veggies

Here’s a short list of the veggies you might consider including in your stir-fry:

• Stir-fry vegetable mixes (fresh or frozen)
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Bok choy or other cruciferous greens
• Bean sprouts
• Bell peppers
• Onions
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Baby corn
• Snap peas
• Bamboo shoots (either canned, frozen, or fresh from an Asian grocery store)

Chewy and Umami Stir-Fry Ingredients

To add chewiness and/or umami flavor, you can add any of the following meat-free (and generally protein-rich) options:

• Organic tofu
• Organic tempeh
• Organic seitan (can be very tasty, though definitely not gluten-free)
• Commercially produced meat analogues
• Organic edamame (fresh soybeans)
• Nuts
• Jackfruit (learn more about this versatile fruit that you cook like a vegetable and that can taste like chicken shreds or pulled pork)
• Mushrooms (button, shiitake, Lion’s Mane, portobello, etc.)

Stir-Fry Bases

The base of your stir-fry, usually noodles or rice, should be able to soak up the flavors of the sauce and stand up to the veggies. If you’re avoiding gluten, some varieties of Asian noodles that aren’t made from wheat include rice and mung bean noodles, and noodles made from sweet potato starch and kelp.

Rice is a common stir-fry base. You can keep the rice separate from the veggies until you mix them in a bowl or plate, or you can add cooked rice to the wok with the rest of the ingredients to create a fried rice dish. Other grains that you can use the same way include quinoa, wild rice, buckwheat, and millet.

If you’re avoiding all grains and cereals, you can still rock a wok. Serve the stir-fry over cauliflower rice, or spiralize zucchini or sweet potatoes to mimic noodles. You can even use a crunchy-leaf variety of lettuce such as Boston, Bibb, or butter.

(Optional) Fruit in Stir-Fry?

Some tropical fruits can add sweet and/or sour notes that meld nicely with a sauce. These include pineapple and mango. You might also experiment with certain dried fruits, too, such as raisins and currants.

Vegan Stir-Fry Sauces

You can try many different kinds of (organic) soy sauce-based sauces on your journey to becoming a soy sauce-based sauce sorcerer (and don’t get me started on where to source the soy sauce for your soy sauce-based sauces). What I’m trying to say, before you get too ex-sauced-ted, is that it can be fun to make your own stir-fry sauce.

You can use tamari (we generally prefer reduced-sodium), which is a soy sauce made without wheat (or with very little; if you’re gluten-sensitive or intolerant, be sure to read the label), or avoid the soy entirely and add a little sweetness with coconut aminos.

To add depth of taste and some healthy fats, you can try nut or seed butter sauces that may include peanut butter, tahini or ground sesame seeds, cashews or cashew butter, or sunflower seeds or sunflower butter.

Stir-Fry Seasoning with Herbs & Spices

To ramp up the flavor and health of your stir-fries, generously include your favorite herbs and spices. Here’s a short list of stir-fry all-stars.

• Ginger
• Garlic
• Onion
• Lemongrass
• Chinese 5-spice
• Whole peppercorns
• Chili pastes or chili sauces (Thai and others)

Stir-Fry Toppings

A good topping can add a complementary flavor or texture to a stir-fry, as well as adding visual appeal. Here are some suggestions for healthy stir-fry toppings:

• Sesame seeds (black or white)
• Seaweed flakes
• Kimchi and other fermented vegetables
• Jalapeños or other hot peppers (fusion anyone?)
• Fresh herbs like Thai basil or cilantro
• Green onions

Vegan Stir-Fry Recipes

As it’s been said, variety is the spice of life. But, in this case, stir-fry is the spice of life! Whether you are a stir-fry connoisseur or a newbie, these vegan and plant-based stir-fry recipes are sure to become staples in your culinary repertoire!

Sweet Chili Broccoli and Tofu Stir-Fry is the best of both worlds with sweet and spicy notes that are deliciously satisfying. Coconut Red Curry Tempeh and Veggies takes inspiration from classic Thai curry dishes, but you might find our version a bit lighter and, of course, it’s brimming with nutrition! Veggie Lo Mein is a stir-fried masterpiece — who doesn’t love a good noodle to veggie ratio? And Ginger Carrot Edamame Noodles is an updated twist on traditional Asian noodle flavors that’s bursting with fresh and savory flavors.

Savory Bok Choy Stir-Fry delivers a surprising delight that is sure to be a new favorite way to eat leafy greens! And speaking of surprises, Kimchi “Fried” Rice is a game-changer if you want fried rice with all the taste and none of the oil. Last but not least, with its somewhat tangy, slightly spicy, and delightfully aromatic sauce, Spicy Peanut Tofu and Broccoli is a must-try. No matter which stir-fry you choose, we hope you have a blast while you rock your wok!

1. Sweet Chili Broccoli and Tofu Stir-Fry

Crispy baked tofu, tender broccoli, and chili sauce add a little sweetness with a kick to our stir-fry roundup! Ready for some fun nutrition facts? Cruciferous veggies like broccoli contain a powerful phytonutrient, called sulforaphane, which has been shown in research studies to prevent certain types of cancer and protect your heart. Tofu has plenty of nutrition thanks to its essential minerals like calcium, iron, and selenium. The combination of baked tofu with oil-free, stir-fried veggies and sweet chili sauce is not only wholesome but a recipe for the entire family.

2. Coconut Red Curry Tempeh and Veggies

Does curry count as stir-fry? For us it sure does! Creamy, light coconut milk is combined with red curry paste and tamari to create a velvety sweet and slightly spicy cooking sauce that is delightful in this one-wok meal. Red curry paste contains ingredients, such as ginger and lemongrass, that have anti-inflammatory, gut-loving, and immune-supporting properties. Toss it with protein- and fiber-packed tempeh plus broccoli — or any veggies you love or would love to use up! — for a meal that is creamy, dreamy, and delicious.

3. Veggie Lo Mein

Lo mein may be one of the most popular Asian wok meals on the planet — and for good reason. Noodles tossed in a savory sauce with crunchy veggies and hearty (plant-based) protein are fun to eat, not to mention absolutely delicious. These Veggie Lo Mein noodles are just as satisfying as the restaurant version, but with even more colors, textures, and nutrition for you (and your body!) to enjoy.

4. Ginger Carrot Edamame Noodles

Feeling inspired to think outside of the stir-fry box? Ginger Carrot Edamame Noodles are an updated twist on traditional Asian noodle flavors. Bright, colorful, and full of flavor in every bite, this dish serves up protein, fiber, prebiotics, probiotics, and plenty of phytonutrients. There’s no shortage of plant-based goodness here!

5. Savory Bok Choy Stir-Fry

Bok choy is a beloved staple in Asian cuisine and holds up well to the high heat of a wok, which makes it a star ingredient in many stir-fry recipes. It has a milder flavor and aroma than green cabbage, not to mention it’s brimming with calcium. This dish is bursting with flavors and textures, as well as minerals from the bok choy, fiber from the rice, and phytonutrients from the ginger and garlic. We hope you’ll agree that this restaurant-style Savory Bok Choy Stir-Fry is simple to prepare and absolutely delicious!

6. Kimchi “Fried” Rice

Depending on your knowledge of Korean cuisines, kimchi may be a new food experience for you. Kimchi “Fried” Rice is an excellent way to expand your culinary palate, cooking skills, and, perhaps most fun, your stir-fry repertoire. Our sautéed, not-fried, version includes traditional rice and piquant kimchi along with plenty of broccoli, carrots, peppers, and snap peas. Topped with nuts and seeds, it also offers healthy plant-based fat, protein, lots of phytonutrients, and some fun crunch!

7. Spicy Peanut Tofu and Broccoli

There are few things better, in our humble opinions than a warm bowl of broccoli cooked to perfection. Combine it with satisfyingly spiced peanut sauce and crispy baked tofu to take the nourishing and delightful crucifer to the next level. A classic takeout menu item, Food Revolution Network’s version of Spicy Peanut Tofu and Broccoli is a scrumptious and wholesome meal you can feel good about serving any night of the week.

Say Yes to Healthy, Plant-Based Stir-Fry!

Stir-fries can be a healthy and nutritious addition to your recipe rotation. They’re relatively quick and easy to make and don’t require a lot of fancy or expensive equipment. You can make a stir-fry with many different types of plant foods like vegetables, protein-rich legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, spices, and even some types of fruit. And when you make your own at home, you can control what goes into your stir-fry to avoid unhealthy ingredients that you might not be able to avoid with restaurant dishes.

Tell us in the comments:

• What’s your favorite stir-fry dish?
• Do you use a wok in your cooking? If so, what’s your favorite thing about it?
• What’s one stir-fry recipe you’re looking forward to trying soon?

Feature Image: iStock.com/zeljkosantrac

Read Next:

• Power Bowls: 10 Easy & Nutritious All-in-One Meals
• 11 Whole Foods Plant-Based Recipes from Around the World

The post How to Make Vegan Stir-Fry Recipes That are Better Than Takeout appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

And for good reason. The fact is there’s a strong human connection between food, place, ethnicity, and culture.

You can see it in the etymology. The word “culture” comes from a Latin word that means to tend or till — as in “cultivate.” Much of what is fundamental in human culture arises from the food that sustains us. Festivals, rituals, divisions of labor, and even spiritual practices spring from the daily necessity of procuring nourishment from the land.

Staple Foods

The most important foods in any culture are often the “staples” that people can rely on year-round, either because they are always available, or because part of the cultural transmission from one generation to the next includes how to preserve those staples by drying, storing, fermenting, canning, freezing, or in some cases feeding them to domesticated animals.

The three main types of staples are grains, legumes, and roots. Grains that have traditionally served as cultural staples include wheat, rice, corn, barley, sorghum, millet, and teff, among many others. Cornerstone legumes include lentils, black beans, chickpeas, and soybeans. Important roots and tubers include potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava, and yucca (from which tapioca is made).

But in addition to variation in staple crops, different regions also feature particular horticultural crops that have become a part of their cuisine. Germany’s most important fruit crop is apples, which comes across in their desserts. Cabbage has been used since 4,000 BC in China. And citrus trees in the Mediterranean are not only aesthetically pleasing but have a long history dating back to Roman times as a status symbol and the fruit as a delicacy.

Also, different parts of the world produce different herbs and spices, which become cornerstones of particular cuisines, like basil and oregano in Italy, cardamom and turmeric in India, chili and cilantro in Mexico, and lemongrass and galangal in Thailand.

Differences in Global Cuisine

For those of us in the modern supermarket world, it’s easy to lose sight of the significant differences in global cuisine. After all, we can get oranges and grapes in the middle of winter, thanks to global trade, refrigeration, and distant farmworkers. Buying a box of quinoa from Peru is as easy as grabbing a sack of jasmine rice from Thailand or a canister of Scottish oats. But for most of history, a culture’s cuisine was based on what grew locally — on what could be reliably gathered or sown. (See the word “culture” riding at the end of “agriculture”?)

Even as cultures get homogenized through Westernization and globalization, memories and traditions around “home cooking” remain strong. Tourists to different countries often choose to experience the traditional cuisine of those countries. Heritage festivals feature samples of dishes from the “home country.” And especially around holidays and religious festivals, we may be drawn to the meals our ancestors ate.

Culture and Change

Lots of people would like to eat a healthier diet, or a more ethical one, or one less environmentally taxing, but they lament the need to give up their cultural heritage. How can a Cajun from Louisiana still be a Cajun without chicken and sausage jambalaya? Who would a Haitian be without their griyo (grilled pork) or chicken and cashew stew? A Colombian minus meat-stuffed arepas and Ajiaco (a chicken, corn, and potato soup)?

Do the various forms of plant-based eating have to be at odds with honoring our cultural traditions? Absolutely not.

First, vegetarianism is not a new phenomenon — or unique to any one culture. Many cultures’ cuisines are influenced by their religions as well as their environments. Since non-violence and other forms of harm reduction are fairly common religious ideals, many civilizations extend these ideas beyond the human realm, and into interactions with other species.

One obvious form of non-violence regarding animals is to refrain from eating them, which is just what we see in parts of India, Ethiopia, China, Japan, and other regions where Hinduism or Buddhism are prevalent.

Secondly, what we think of as “traditional” foods are sometimes actually once-a-year treats rather than daily fare. Jambalaya was a “throw in whatever you catch or gather” dish eaten by African slaves who were forced to live in the deep swamps and live off their environment. How often would those folks have access to andouille sausage, or smoked ham, or even chicken stock?

In many cultures, rich foods — especially those sourced from animals, like eggs or dairy — weren’t always accessible, were saved for holidays and important life-cycle events, or were a product of dire need. As a Yiddish proverb put it, “When a poor man eats a chicken, one of them is sick.”

11 Global and Diverse Whole Food Plant-Based (WFPB) Recipes

So it’s actually quite easy to return to a culture’s pre-industrial “peasant roots,” or indigenous foods, and discover and recreate their traditional recipes made with grains, legumes, roots, vegetables, herbs, and spices. And, with the endless meat and cheese-like analogs that plant-based foods can create (cashew cheese, lentil chorizo, and mushroom bacon, to name a few), we can easily nourish ourselves through plants without missing favorite flavors and textures. A little bit of experimentation can turn a meat-based meal into a delicious WFPB recipe.

You can take advantage of the positives of living in a global world and experiment with and enjoy dishes from a variety of different lands and cultures. We’ve put together a few international recipes that are either naturally plant-based or have been modified slightly to remove any animal products. Try something new and expand your culinary horizons with new flavors, textures, cooking techniques, and international ingredients.

1. Mexico – Black Bean Street Tacos

Street tacos are a central component of Mexican culture and are called antojitos, meaning “little cravings.” They’re meant to be enjoyed while walking about, as a small snack. Traditionally, they’re made using corn tortillas, meat (beef or chicken), pico de gallo, lime juice, and cilantro. In this recipe, protein-rich, black beans are spread on top of organic corn tortillas with more nutritious ingredients layered on top. The result is a flavorful and nutrient-dense street taco!

2. Italy – Cheesy Spinach Lasagna

Lasagna first appeared in the ancient Roman book Apicius de re Coquinaria (although in a very different form) before being laid down in print in a version we’re more familiar with in the 14th century. Lasagna is traditionally made with a variety of cheeses, such as ricotta and mozzarella, as well as tomato sauce, meat, and vegetables. “Cheesy” Spinach Lasagna includes plant-based ricotta (made with tofu!) and mozzarella cheese (made with cashews!), plus tomato sauce and spinach. There’s no need for meat as it’s heavenly as is. However, feel free to add your own lentil-based or walnut chorizo for more flavor and nutrition!

3. Lebanon – Yummy Tabbouleh Salad

Tabbouleh is so important in Lebanese culture that the first Saturday of July has been dedicated to National Tabbouleh Day. It includes festivities around — you may have guessed it — tabbouleh! This traditional plant-based dish was first introduced in Lebanon and Syria in the Middle Ages and was initially mocked for not including meat, but then later embraced for its high nutritional value. Yummy Tabbouleh Salad is Food Revolution Network’s tribute to a WFPB dish we already embrace and love, just the way it is.

4. Spain – Spanish Paella Burger with Chickpeas and Spinach

Travel to Spain in the comfort of your own home by making these tasty Spanish Paella Burgers with Chickpea and Spinach. It is believed that the Spanish dish paella originated in Valencia, Spain. It’s typically made with short grain rice, meat or seafood, vegetables, and saffron. We’ve created a paella-inspired veggie burger made with short-grain brown rice, chickpeas, spinach, and two signature spices used in Spanish cuisine — saffron and paprika.

5. Ethiopia – Misir Wot (Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew)

Wot (also spelled wat) is a traditional Ethiopian stew that is made with chicken, beef, lamb, or vegetables. Misir Wot is a plant-based Ethiopian stew filled with lentils, vegetables, and layers of fragrant spices. Its aromatic spice blend, berbere, often includes more than ten spices such as coriander, cumin, fenugreek, chili powder, and paprika. Enjoy this flavorful stew on a bed of organic brown rice or with traditional Ethiopian bread, injera.

6. Western Africa –  Sweet and Savory African Peanut Soup

Peanut stew, also called groundnut stew, is a staple food from West Africa where it’s called domodah or tigadegena, meaning ‘peanut butter sauce’). It can be made with or without meat, but always includes peanuts and tomatoes. We added chickpeas (plant protein to replace meat protein) and extra nutrition through veggies (sweet potatoes and spinach). It’s scrumptious hot or cold!

7. New Orleans/French-Creole – Red Bean Gumbo with Okra

This legendary dish has a rich history in New Orleans that includes a mix of cultures in southern Louisiana. It’s believed to be a dish of mixed origins of French, Spanish, African, Native American, Caribbean, and German influence. The name gumbo derives from a West African word for okra. It can be made with meat, seafood, or simply veggies. Sticking with the plant-based tradition, here is Red Bean Gumbo with Okra!

8. Pakistan – One-Pot Cauliflower Dal

Dal is a staple dish in South Asia, including Pakistan. Inherently vegetarian, it’s made with lentils, peas, or beans and, sometimes, cream. We’ve substituted coconut milk for the cream and kept the original fragrant and vibrant spices like ginger, garlic, and curry, which make this dal burst with flavor. Another wonderful trait of most dals is that they’re simple to make and this One-Pot Cauliflower Dal is no exception!

9. Vietnam – Tofu Bánh Mí

Bánh mì or banh mi is the Vietnamese word for bread. But what you put in the middle is up to you! It typically includes something spicy, something pickled, and some kind of protein. In this case, we’ve chosen tofu, but you could also use tempeh. While portobello mushrooms aren’t high in protein, they would also make for a great substitute (plus, you still get lots of other nutrients from mushrooms!). Take a trip to Vietnam without leaving the comfort of your own home with this tasty WFPB sandwich recipe!

10. British Isles – Shepherd’s Pie

You might wonder how a dish that is traditionally made with minced meat covered in gravy, possibly cheese, and topped with mashed potatoes could be recreated using plants. It’s easy, thanks to the magic of plant-based foods! Layers of high-fiber and high-flavor, plant-based ingredients might make this Shepherd’s Pie more satisfying than any other version you’ve tried. Omega-3-rich walnuts, protein-packed lentils, vitamin C-abundant potatoes, and beta-carotene-filled squash put this dish on the (pie) charts for most nutrient-dense.

11. South Korea – Kimchi “Fried” Rice

Kimchi Fried Rice, or kimchi-bokkeumbap as it’s called in Korea, is typically made with rice and kimchi (which may have been obvious to you based on the title!), but may also contain pork, egg, vegetables, and aromatic sauces. Our sautéed, and not fried, plant-based version includes traditional rice and kimchi along with plentiful veggies like broccoli, carrots, pepper, and snap peas. We topped it with nuts and seeds that add healthy plant-based fat, protein, lots of phytonutrients, and some crunch!

Your Turn

Which of these recipes will you try first? Is there another cuisine or dish you’d like to see “plant-base-ified”? Let us know in the comments.

Tell us in the comments:

• Have you made any of these recipes? If so, what do you think?

• What are your favorite plant-based international dishes?

Featured Image: iStock.com/KatarzynaBialasiewicz

Read Next:

• 7 Festive and Healthy Mardi Gras Recipes That Are Powered by Plants
• Bring on the Green (Veggies)! 10 St. Patrick’s Day Recipes That Are Great-Tasting and Good for You

The post 11 Whole Foods Plant-Based Recipes from Around the World appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Don’t worry if you aren’t a history buff; we’ll also explore the delicious side of curry as we follow its progress through time and space. We’ll learn which spices make up Indian curries as opposed to those found in Thai, Chinese, Filipino, and Caribbean kitchens. We’ll see the latest research on how these spices can support our health. And, of course, we’ll end with some delicious curry recipes so you can turn all this information into appetizing aromas and tantalizing tastes.

The Popularity of Curries

The first thing to know is that the word “curry” can refer to many things: the dishes, the spice blends used in those dishes, and even a specific curry plant whose leaves are often included in South Asian spice blends. Also, basketball star Steph Curry and actor Tim Curry (Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show), but I digress.

The second thing to know about curries is that they are among the most popular dishes in the world, beloved for their fragrant, spicy flavors. You may have encountered them only in Indian or Thai restaurants (if you live in the US, that is; for reasons we’ll get into soon, you’ll find something curried on just about every restaurant menu in the UK), but they have a long history in the West. In fact, the first known American curry recipe, for apple curry soup, appears in a manuscript written by Catherine Moffatt Whipple, born in 1734 and wife of a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

So curries have been making their way around the world for hundreds of years. But if you’ve never cooked a curry, it can seem mysterious. Chefs guard their secret spice blend formulas. And food writers argue passionately about the proper composition of garam masala and Chettinad masala. So what exactly is a curry, and how do you make curry dishes?

What Is a Curry?

The term “curry” originated with the British to refer to the variety of fragrant spices used in Indian cooking. In traditional Indian cookery, the spice mixtures, called “masalas,” are prepared in the home. Many of these are blended with a liquid, such as water or vinegar, to create a curry paste or sauce.

Fresh ingredients and pastes didn’t travel well, however. So when British officials of the East India Company returned to England with their fortunes, they tried to figure out how to continue enjoying the cuisine they had enjoyed on the Indian subcontinent. The Brits then discovered that they could import what they loved about Indian cuisine back to England in the form of curry powders. Armed with these spice blends, English chefs began to recreate Indian dishes in their own kitchens.

As we’ve seen, curry can refer to a flavor element or a dish itself. As an element of a dish, curry is not a specific spice but a mixture. This can be confusing since there is a plant called a curry tree, and leaves from that tree are sometimes used in curry blends.

Curry Spices

Curry mixes can include many spices — roughly 20 different kinds are used in different combinations, depending on the flavor desired. Common curry spice blends include cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg, asafoetida (which shares a root with the word “fetid,” referring to the aroma of this spice before it’s cooked), fenugreek, fennel seeds, saffron, and, perhaps most significant of all, turmeric.

The specific ingredients, ratios, and methods of preparation vary from country to country, region to region, and even family to family. But the nice thing about this, of course, is that it’s impossible to get a spice blend “wrong.” As long as you like the taste, you can’t mess it up.

The trick with curries is to get the flavors of those spices into the dish itself in ways that enhance rather than overpower the other ingredients. Most curries are liquid-based, which is reflected in the etymology of the word. Linguists identify the origin of the word curry from the Tamil word kari, which means “sauce.”

In Thailand, home of red, green, and yellow curries, these dishes are called gaeng (also written as kang, gang, or geng), which means “any wet, savory dish enriched and thickened with paste.” Hats off to a language that can put all of that in one word!

Curry Origins

Central to curry’s origins appears to be in the Indus civilization Harappa, the land we now know as  Pakistan, circa 2500 BCE. The original curry was probably a slurry of onion, garlic, and ginger, three potent roots that also turn out to have tremendous health benefits. The innovation spread geographically, soon appearing in the cuisines throughout the rest of the Indian subcontinent, Thailand, Japan, China, the Philippines, and other regions.

Eventually, curries reached the Americas, primarily through the cooking traditions of indentured Indian servants who were brought to work on British-owned plantations in the Caribbean. Soon, curries became staples in the cuisines of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and other islands in the region.

As curries spread, they morphed according to local preferences, spices, and food availability. Caribbean curries’ distinctive flavor is allspice. In Thailand, curries often include lemongrass and galangal root with coconut milk as the liquid base of the sauce. Every region has its own chili peppers, and these get incorporated into the curries as well. Interesting fact: chili plants are native to the American continents and were introduced to Europe by Columbus. They made their way to Africa, India, China, and the rest of the world via mercantile travel.

UK Curries & Curry Houses

More than any other western country, however, the UK has adopted curries as a central element of its national cuisine. In the 19th century, curries were popularized both by merchants and administrators enchanted by the food they had enjoyed while plundering India, and by Queen Victoria herself, who may have been introduced to the dishes by her close friend and servant, Abdul Karim. (Their unlikely friendship was popularized by the 2017 film Victoria and Abdul.)

It wasn’t just taste, multicultural appreciation, and deep bonds of friendship that motivated the queen’s promotion of curry, points out historian Lizzie Collingham, author of Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors and The Taste of Empire. Spreading the word about this “exotic” cuisine also lined up with her imperial agenda. The more of the world the British Empire controlled, the more new and exciting foods her citizens could enjoy.

The UK found a source of chefs from the Indian subcontinent who could prepare these dishes thanks in part to the terrible working conditions found on British merchant ships. The work was so unbearable, many of the workers jumped ship when they reached English ports and found work in restaurant kitchens. By the 20th century, a number of these immigrants and their children had saved enough money to open their own establishments.

This led to the rise of curry houses — restaurants that provided anglicized versions of Indian dishes. Despite their Hindi names and curry spices, dishes like chicken tikka masala are as English, historically speaking, as fish and chips and bangers and mash. For many years, in fact, tikka masala was the most commonly ordered dish in English restaurants.

Types of Curry

We can classify the wide variety of curries in a few different ways. One is by color: red, yellow, and green. Red and green curries are generally spicy, although this characteristic can, of course, be adjusted by varying the types and amounts of spices. Typically, yellow curries are the mildest, lacking the red and green chilies that give those curries their heat.

The colors come both from the spices and other ingredients as well. Red curries can include tomatoes as well as red chilies. Examples of red curries include the Indian tikka (whose red comes primarily from tomatoes and Kashmiri chilies — or sometimes paprika) and vindaloo (red vinegar) curries, and the Thai panang and massaman (both red from chili peppers).

Yellow curries, like the Indian korma, get their hue from turmeric. And green curries use green chilies, as well as other green ingredients like lime leaves and cilantro.

Health Benefits of Curry

The more science learns about the health effects of the spices that make up curries, the more it becomes clear we should consume a whole lot of them. In this respect, the West is just catching up to the traditional Indian health system called Ayurveda, which prescribes spices, individually and in combination, for a variety of health conditions. Turmeric, for example, may be part of the reason that India has one of the world’s lowest rates of Alzheimer’s (roughly half of that in the US); it’s called the “king of spices” for good reason.

Cumin, another key curry spice, may improve digestion, can help regulate blood sugar (important for those with diabetes), and appears to be protective against heart disease, among many other beneficial characteristics.

Ginger, whether fresh or powdered, aids in digestion and also acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It appears to aid in weight loss and can lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. It’s also potentially helpful in reducing swelling and pain from osteoarthritis.

The variety of curry spice blends and recipes provide a wide range of potential health benefits. Chili peppers, garlic, cinnamon, and onions also come with documented health effects, including reducing inflammation, preventing cancer, reducing Alzheimer’s risk, improving bone health, and promoting heart health.

Where to Find Curry

You can find commercial curries as a paste or powder, or, increasingly, in a jar or packet as a premade sauce. Many supermarkets and grocery stores have a selection of these products in their spice aisles, or in the international section (often near Asian foods).

You can find a much wider selection of curry products at Indian and Asian grocery stores, upscale health food stores, and online. (Note: if you’re fish-free, check the ingredients on Thai curry pastes and sauces, in particular, as they’re often flavored with shrimp paste or fish sauce.)

Choose your spice blend based on the cuisine and the dish you want to make. And remember that heat levels can vary. It’s probably a good idea to start with milder blends and work your way up. I once bought a few ounces of an extremely hot curry blend, which, so far, has turned out to be a lifetime supply. The mildest curry powders will often have turmeric as the first ingredient.

You can also make your own curry spice blends. Here’s a DIY recipe using a combination of whole and ground spices: Indian Curry Powder.  And here’s one featuring ground spices only: DIY Curry Powder.

How to Use Curry

Typically, you add curry paste, powder, or sauce to a broth- or sauce-based dish. Many of the most common curries are meat-based (chicken vindaloo, lamb rogan josh, beef kofta “meatballs”), but it’s easy to substitute plant-based ingredients. Thanks to India’s robust vegetarian traditions, there are many vegan and vegetarian options already: lentils, veggies, and even fruit like pineapple. These dishes, like all curries, can be served over rice, another grain like quinoa, or with Indian breads like naan, roti, or paratha. And, of course, if you like, you can use plant-based meat analogues, from the familiar tofu or tempeh, to plant-based meats.

You can also add curry powder or curry spice mixes to a number of other dishes, like soups and stews, stir-fries, potato dishes (any Indian dish with the word “aloo” contains potatoes), condiments like ketchup (if you’ve never tasted curry ketchup, you’re missing out!), and marinades for tofu and other meat analogues. One of my favorite ways to add curry spices to my day is to include them in a breakfast tofu hash, also known as scrambled tofu. The turmeric makes the tofu curds look a lot like scrambled eggs.

Curry Recipes

Whether you’re a curry newcomer or longtime devotee, we think you’re going to love the curry options below.

If you’re looking for an appetizer, dive into the Crispy Curry Tofu Poppers with Sweet Mango Sauce (yum!). Want to start the day with amazing burritos that have a kick? Then the Curry Tofu Breakfast Burritos are for you! If experimenting with a variety of grains is your thing, then you’re going to crush on the Buckwheat Tofu and Broccoli Curry. And if you’re looking for a dinner date, the Sweet Red Lentil Curry has you covered. Finally, feel like you’re dining out at your favorite Thai restaurant with the Thai Almond Chickpea Curry!

1. Crispy Curry Tofu Poppers with Sweet Mango Sauce

Don’t let the ingredient list fool you — this recipe is super simple to make! If you’re new to curry (or even a “seasoned” curry enthusiast), enjoying these poppers with a sweet and tangy mango sauce is a great way to start (or continue) your curry journey! The spices in both the crispy tofu and the sweet mango sauce are what give this dish its “wow” factor!

2. Curry Tofu Breakfast Burritos

One common practice when substituting tofu for eggs is to add ground turmeric to create the yellow hue that typically comes from egg yolks. Turmeric also adds a subtle earthy flavor as well as healing qualities from the curcumin. This tofu curry also includes cumin and garlic — two other nutrient powerhouses that enhance flavorful curries. Pro tip: Sprinkle a little ground black pepper on top before serving, which helps to activate the healing compounds in turmeric.

3. Buckwheat Tofu and Broccoli Curry

Hearty, satisfying, and invigorating thanks to curry spices, this dish delivers both flavor and nutrition. Fun fact about buckwheat: It’s actually a cousin of rhubarb, so it’s not technically a grain at all. But its nutrients, nutty flavor, and usage have allowed it to become classified as a grain. Combine nutritious buckwheat with superfood broccoli, tofu, and healing spices, and you have a recipe that is guaranteed to please the palate and the soul.

4. Sweet Red Lentil Curry

This curry is like the ideal dinner date: a little sweet, a little spicy, extremely satisfying, and when it’s all over, you can’t wait to see them for dinner again. And, don’t be surprised if you have that post-dinner-date glow the next day from all of the healing ingredients like garlic, ginger, sweet potatoes, and lentils!

5. Thai Almond Chickpea Curry

Get enchanted by the aromatic mingling of nutty coconut sauce infused with lime, ginger, and curry spices while this dish is baking. It’s a deeply flavorful dish that is almost effortless in preparation. The result? A restaurant-style meal that you can serve over cauliflower rice or your favorite whole grain.

Cultivate a Love for Curry

Curry is many things: a cuisine, a dish, a sauce, a spice blend, and a link to cultures around the world. Its flavor varies from country to country and even kitchen to kitchen. But because it’s beloved and adopted by many cultures, curry can bring the world together in a positive and peaceful way. And both curry dishes and curry spice mixes are incredibly versatile and can be used to make an endless amount of flavorful and nourishing, plant-based dishes.

Tell us in the comments:

• What’s your favorite curry dish? What cuisine is it from?
• How many curry spices do you have in your spice cabinet?
• Which curry recipe do you want to make at home?

Read Next:

• How Curcumin Can Help You Hack Your Genes And Avoid Disease
• Whole Foods Plant-Based Recipes from Around the World

The post What Is Curry? — And How to Use It in Your Kitchen appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

On the extreme end of the spectrum, there’s also sushi made with a kind of blowfish (called fugu in Japan) that’s so potentially lethal (in the hands of a poorly trained or momentarily inattentive chef) that it kills about 100 people per year.

Plus, eating fish has its own set of environmental issues (if current trends continue, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans) as well as being high in mercury and other contaminants.

Yet sushi is so popular and just tons of fun. It’s finger food; it travels well to a picnic or potluck; it can be beautiful; and it involves dipping. Can we get all the benefits of sushi without the fish? Can we even enjoy it safely in Omaha? And, most importantly, can vegans eat sushi?

In this article, we’ll explore the world of sushi and how to go fish-free with vegan sushi. We’ll look at different forms of sushi, see how to make it exclusively with veggies, and check out some delicious plant-based sushi recipes.

Types of Sushi

Sushi comes from the word sushimeshi, meaning “sour rice,” a nod to the vinegar-seasoned rice used in sushi-making. Sushi is a traditional Japanese dish featuring rolled seaweed sheets, specially prepared rice, and usually some type of seafood, nuts, and/or vegetables. Its ingredients are typically raw, cooked, or pickled. And there are different types of sushi differentiated by their structure and composition.

The types of sushi include:

Makizushi

Makizushi is the best-known type of sushi, which consists of a single sheet of seaweed rolled around rice and fillings and cut into 6-8 pieces. The word “maki” means “to roll.” Makizushi comes in two basic sizes: larger circumference rolls with more fillings are known as futomaki, and slimmer rolls consisting of a single filling are called hosomaki. Each piece is meant to be dipped in soy sauce and eaten in a single bite (thus avoiding double dipping).

Another word for makizushi is norimaki; nori is the name of the seaweed sheet that’s lightly toasted, filled with rice and filling, and rolled.

Uramaki

Uramaki is inside-out makizushi. Same form, same ingredients, but with the seaweed hidden inside the roll, and a decoration of sesame seed, fish eggs, or other toppings typically clinging to the outer rice layer. Uramaki is an American invention, from the days when sushi was unfamiliar and seaweed altogether unheard of. The most well-known version of uramaki is the California roll, with cucumber, avocado, and crabmeat inside the nori, and rice outside.

Nigiri

Nigiri is an oval-shaped mound of rice, topped with a slice of something. Sushi makers mold the rice mound and press the topping on the mound by hand, which explains the name nigiri, which means “gripped or pressed (by hand).” Traditionally, the sliced ingredient on top is a fatty fish like tuna, salmon, or shrimp.

Temaki

Temaki, also known as a hand roll, consists of a nori sheet wrapped around fillings in a cone shape. These are typically larger and more filling than the other rolls — one or two of these can make a complete meal.

The Evolution of Sushi

What Americans think of as sushi is quite different from traditional Japanese sushi, which itself isn’t that old. Whereas sushi in Japan is often eaten at special occasions, many Americans consume their favorite finger food multiple times per week. In fact, sushi is now more popular in the US than in its country of origin.

Sushi originated in southeast Asia as a way of preserving fish. Fishermen (and women) would press their fresh fish between piles of salted rice, pile on a heavy stone, and leave it to ferment. Initially, this process took several months. Once complete, the rice was tossed as waste. And since it was so labor intensive, only the wealthy could enjoy this delicacy.

Over time, people figured out that adding vinegar to the rice could speed up the rate of fermentation from months to week or even days. At these speeds, the rice itself stayed tasty and safe enough to consume and fish and vegetables became popular toppings and fillings because they were readily available.

The evolution of sushi continued in the port city of Edo, Japan (now Tokyo), where fishmongers found that putting the fish next to hot cooked rice could reduce prep time to just a couple of hours. But modern sushi as we know it really came about in the 1820s when entrepreneur Hanaya Yohei opened a sushimeshi stall on the banks of the Sumida River. With access to fish so fresh, Yohei dispensed with cooking and fermenting, and simply sliced raw fish over cooked and seasoned rice in the nigiri sushi style. In a sense, sushi became an accessible, fast food thanks to Yohei (albeit healthier than the modern version).

The Problem with Eating Fish

When it comes to fish consumption, speaking purely from a health perspective, there are some significant positives. Studies tell us that people who eat fish tend to live longer and enjoy healthier lives, with lower risk for chronic diseases that impact much of the Western world. But fish also has some serious drawbacks. (For a whole article on the pros and cons of eating fish, click here.)

Overfishing

The problem is, we aren’t actually fishing our oceans — we’re overfishing them. Thanks to nets that are up to two miles long and have openings the width of a football field, fishing trawlers catch marine life like whales, dolphins, sharks, and sea turtles. In fact, up to 40% of all catch is what’s termed “bycatch” — marine animals that will not get sold, and may end up dead or disfigured due to these extremely inefficient and cruel methods of industrial fishing.

Farm-Raised Fish

So maybe we can avoid the problems associated with fishing by raising fish in farms, rather than catching them in the wild? Nope. Farm-raised fish — which now comprise half of the world’s fish harvest — are, if anything, actually worse than wild-caught fish on most counts. They generate massive amounts of pollution, and large amounts of antibiotics are required to keep fish alive under toxic conditions. Other chemicals, including pesticides and anticorrosives, are liberally used and leach into the environment. Not to mention that the fish raised in captivity aren’t as healthy as wild-caught, with less protein and a less favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

Pollution & Other Contaminants

On the topic of health, wild-caught species are often nearly as polluted as their farm-raised counterparts. We’ve been treating our oceans, rivers, and lakes like garbage dumps, resulting in the fish we love eating becoming riddled with toxins such as mercury, PCBs, and even pharmaceutical drugs.

To add potential injury to injury, fish used for sushi is typically raw, which also means a heightened risk for bacterial and parasitic infections.

Ethical Concerns of Eating Fish

From an ethical perspective, eating fish also means taking another creature’s life. And studies tell us that fish do feel pain, as evidenced by their ability to produce endogenous opioids (natural painkillers). Many people prefer not to cause pain to other sentient beings if they don’t need to.

Fish Tastes Fishy

And finally, not everyone loves the taste of fish, especially when it’s raw.

The good news is, you can still enjoy sushi if you don’t eat or like the taste of fish (for whatever reason). The trick is to view sushi as primarily a rice, veggie, and seaweed dish, rather than a delivery system for raw fish.

Types of Vegetarian Sushi

Rice seasoned with salt and vinegar is a pretty good base for a vegan meal. However, to make vegan sushi, the trick is to replace the fish with fish-free fillings and toppings. You can make sushi out of almost any food you can think of. But these are some of the typical vegan sushi offerings that you can find at restaurants or make at home.

Cooked Vegan Sushi

One favorite, cooked vegan sushi filling is mushrooms, which can sort of mimic the texture and mouthfeel of certain kinds of sushi fish. In addition to the common white button mushroom, you can also use shiitake, portabella, baby bella, or just about any other kind of edible mushroom.

Cooked veggies that go well in sushi include eggplant, carrot, and sweet potato. You can steam or microwave these vegetables, or even cut them into strips, marinate them, and bake or air fry them to mimic the taste and crunch of bacon.

Baked tofu also adds a chewiness to vegan sushi and can absorb whatever flavor you soak or cook it in. And lately, the inventive vegan blogosphere has been abuzz about techniques for turning beets and even tomatoes into very convincing mock raw fish. Done well, it even looks like raw tuna!

Raw Vegan Sushi

To make raw vegan sushi, we can start with the plant-based ingredients from traditional sushi making. Avocado and cucumber pair well together in sushi. Avocado is the classic substitution for fatty fish, and the cucumber adds moisture and crunch. You can cut and slice either veggie in many ways to accommodate the form and visual appeal of whatever kind of sushi you’re making.

Carrots, sliced thin or julienned, also add color, flavor, and texture to your rolls. And raw cashews or macadamia nuts, laid in a tight row over the rice before rolling, can add a fatty crunch to every bite.

You can also sprinkle raw sesame seeds on the rice for visual and flavor appeal. Black sesame seeds, available in specialty shops and online, make a nice black and white contrast that shows up especially well if you make uramaki sushi (the inside-out variety).

Pickled or Fermented Sushi

You can also pickle or ferment many types of vegetables for vegan sushi. Some of the classics include radish, summer squash, and asparagus, but you can go to town here, and consider pickling carrots, cabbage, beets, or whatever’s in your garden or fridge. A word of caution here: some Asian grocery stores sell commercially-produced pickled squash and radish, which may include preservatives and artificial coloring. Check the label before purchasing, or do the fermenting yourself.

You can also ramp up the flavor of your sushi with the fermented soybean dish known as natto (which is one of the best sources of the essential vitamin K2), or use the tangy, slightly sweet, and very salty, umeboshi plum paste.

How to Make Vegetarian or Vegan Sushi

If you’ve seen the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, about a master sushi maker who approaches each cut and roll with the attention of a surgeon performing a heart transplant, you might be intimidated about your own ability to make sushi. Certainly, becoming a master sushi chef takes decades of practice. But just as you don’t have to win the Indy 500 in order to drive to work, you can start enjoying vegetarian or vegan sushi right away at home. Sure, your initial rolls might look a little rough around the edges. But the good news is, they’ll probably taste awesome from Day 1.

Here’s how to get started.

Sushi Tools for the Kitchen

First, you’ll need some basic kitchen tools. The only tool most people don’t already have in their kitchen is a sushi mat. You’ll need this for making neat and tight rolls that are even in diameter all the way through, and to apply sufficient pressure to get the rolls to maintain their shape once you cut them into pieces. Here’s one that I like for under seven bucks.

If you don’t have a sharp knife, your sushi will look like you tried to shape it with a hammer. Dull blades rip the nori, and squash the edges of each piece. This 8” gyutou knife pairs traditional Japanese design with German engineering and costs about $30. It also includes the very helpful advice, “Do not use your hand to test the hardness of the blade.”

Along with a knife, you’ll need a cutting board, unless you enjoy designing scratches into your countertop and ruining your knife on a regular basis. While you can always find a cheap plastic cutting board, I recommend using a natural material such as wood or bamboo. Here’s a beautiful, organic bamboo cutting board that should last you a long time.

Sushi-Making Supplies

One thing you definitely need for making sushi is the seaweed wrap. You can get sheets of nori, usually in packs of 10 or 50, in Asian grocery stores and upscale supermarkets. You can also order nori online, where you’ll have a better selection. I recommend buying organic nori if at all possible. You can find lots of options here.

Next, you need your grain filling. Rice is traditional, but we’re adventurous food iconoclasts here, so you might want to try quinoa or millet or even riced cauliflower if you’re concerned about arsenic in rice. If you do go with rice, get sushi rice or short-grain rice, as it will get stickier than basmati or other longer grains. And you definitely need your rice sticky, so your rolls don’t fall apart.

Since the word sushi refers to the sour taste of the rice, you’ll need rice vinegar to flavor your grain. Some rice vinegars are pre-sweetened with refined sugar (they’re often called “sushi rice vinegar” or “seasoned vinegar”). But if you want to avoid white sugar, get plain rice vinegar and then (if you so desire) add your own sweetener, such as maple syrup or date paste. These are good for making your rice stickier. To add umami flavor to the grain, you can use tamari soy sauce (or a soy-free alternative such as coconut aminos), umeboshi vinegar, or umeboshi paste.

Finally, choose your optional dipping sauce. This is usually a salty liquid, such as tamari, soy sauce, coconut aminos, and the like. If you enjoy the taste and sensation of horseradish or Chinese mustard, you can mix green wasabi paste with the tamari for that special feeling of having your sinuses cleared by a power washer. Again, beware of commercial wasabi paste; that bright green hue is almost certainly due to artificial colors. Look for natural wasabi paste, or buy dry wasabi powder and make your own.

How to Make Vegan Sushi

Now that you have your sushi-making tools and supplies, it’s time to roll up your sleeves — and your sushi. If you haven’t done this before, I recommend starting by watching some videos. It’s much easier to watch someone make sushi than explain all the steps in print. (Writing them out makes it seem much harder and more complicated than it really is.) But if you prefer to read instructions, check out this WikiHow on how to roll sushi.

For visual instructions on rolling sushi, here’s a short (three-minute) video by a professional sushi chef that shows you everything you need on How to Make Sushi.

Let me tell you from experience that your first rolls will probably not be anything to write home about, unless your letters home include statements like “My sushi looked like a bunch of gladiators had a food fight.” Be patient, and enjoy the process. Even a roll that falls apart when you look at it isn’t a complete waste — just dump it into a bowl, add some condiments, and pretend that was your plan all along. You’ll be making fine-looking, delicious, and healthy vegan sushi before you know it. To get you started, here are some recipes for inspiration.

5 Fish-Free Vegan Sushi Recipes

How many versions of vegan sushi are there? The options might just be endless! While we had to limit ourselves to just five for this article, we would encourage you to experiment in your own kitchen with a variety of veggies and grains after trying our offerings below.

Our Veggie Nori Rolls are the classic vegan sushi you may already know and love. Then kick your culinary experience up a notch by making the Vegetable Hand Rolls using a nori sheet (which is sort of like replacing whole grain tortillas used in traditional wraps). Have fun experimenting with grains other than rice by using quinoa to make the Avocado and Mango Quinoa Nigiri or millet to make Rainbow Millet Rolls with Miso Peanut Sauce.

Finally, deconstruct your sushi (which might happen naturally during early sushi-making sessions!) to make a Vegan Sushi Bowl with Wasabi Mayo. No matter how you roll it, err, create it, have fun making these vegan sushi options!

1. Veggie Nori Rolls

We provided a list of suggested vegetables to include in the nori rolls, but anything goes! Use whatever veggies you have on hand, just make sure they’re julienned or cut small enough to fit in these plant-based sushi rolls without busting the seams!

2. Vegetable Hand Rolls

You can enjoy temaki sushi like any other wrap. Add whole grains such as brown rice or quinoa, a plant-based protein like tofu or tempeh, colorful vegetables — think carrots, sprouts, and peppers — and your favorite sauce to a nori sheet before wrapping it into a unique little cone shape. This vegan sushi is a great way to switch things up with your wraps by adding variety to your diet with mineral-rich nori.

3. Avocado and Mango Quinoa Nigiri

Sushi-making can bring out your inner artist! Forming the oval-like nigiri shape, wrapping the quinoa with a piece of nori, carefully placing the mango and avocado on top, and finishing it off with a drop of Sriracha and a sprinkle of paprika make this piece of art almost too good to eat. Almost! Because it tastes pretty darn good, too, just be sure to take in your artistry before you dive in.

4. Rainbow Millet Roll with Miso Peanut Sauce

Set aside what you may think of as sushi and take the non-traditional route by using millet instead of rice, peanut sauce instead of soy sauce, and, of course, veggies instead of fish. What’s traditional about this plant-based sushi roll is the nutrient-packed nori seaweed that lends the sushi its crunchy texture and signature flavor.

5. Vegan Sushi Bowl with Wasabi Mayo

Vegan sushi roll transforms to Vegan Sushi Bowl, with all the usual tasty (vegan) sushi ingredients, but disassembled! Make it your own by using veggies from your fridge or garden. Pretty much any veggies are a-go here, but to truly create the sushi experience, don’t skip the sushi rice, nori sheets, or wasabi mayo!

Roll Up Some Fish-Free Sushi

Sushi is a fun and portable food that originated in Japan and has now spread around the world and become immensely popular. Although it’s often made with fish, vegan options that use a variety of plant-based ingredients are fun to make, and delicious, too! So don’t be afraid to experiment, get creative, and give fish-free, vegan and vegetarian sushis a try!

Tell us in the comments:

• Have you ever tasted vegan sushi? What did you think?
• What ingredients do you want to try in your homemade vegan or vegetarian sushi?
• Have you tried any of the vegan “mock fish” sushi on the market? How did it taste?

Read Next:

• Healthy Snack Ideas That Taste Good & Are Good for You
• Healthy Plant-Based Starters and Appetizers for All Occasions

The post Vegan Sushi: How to Make It & the Benefits of Fish-Free Sushi appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

While researching for this article, I was mildly crushed to discover that the story of Italian explorer Marco Polo bringing pasta back to Italy from China is almost certainly a legend, not historical fact. What is fact is that Asian cultures have been noodling around with noodles for thousands of years. And there’s evidence for pasta-making in China since around 3000 BCE. One archeological dig unearthed an actual bowl of millet noodles that was carbon-dated to 4,000 years ago. The bowl, which was buried under 10 feet of sediment, contained long, thin noodles that indicated great noodling skill. I can only imagine what circumstances caused that bowl to go uneaten for four millennia. I’m sure glad the archeologists weren’t hungry when they found it!

Italians and Pasta

While the Italians may not have been the pasta founders of the world, they have been at it for a very long time as well. A painting on a 2,400-year-old Etruscan tomb from what is now central Italy appears to show people making pasta. Although, I’ve seen the image, and it is also possible that it’s depicting curls of steam rising out of the serving dish. In any case, the Italians are the undisputed masters of pasta taxonomy, coming up with cool names for every shape: spaghetti, macaroni, rigatoni, farfalle (literally “butterfly”), vermicelli (“little worms” — yum!), linguini (“little tongues”), orecchiette (“little ears”), and the alarmingly named strozzapreti, which literally translates to “priest-chokers.”

Italian pasta is almost always made from wheat. And the kinds of pasta held in highest culinary regard are those that have been formed from refined white flour that’s been stripped of its bran and germ. These white pastas are far from the healthiest kinds you can get, especially if the wheat is grown in the US, where if it isn’t organic, it’s likely to contain glyphosate and other pesticides.

History of Plant-Based Noodles

Asian cultures have the longest known history of noodle-craft using plant-based noodles: examples of modern fare include ramen, pad thai, pad see ew (a Chinese-influenced Thai dish similar to fried noodle dishes served in Singapore and Malaysia — how’s that for cultural mixing?), lo mein, cold sesame noodles, and many more. Asian noodles are made from a far wider variety of plant sources than just wheat, including rice, seaweeds, sweet potato, sorghum, millet, buckwheat, tapioca, and tofu.

Noodles check a lot of positive culinary boxes: they last a long time in the cupboard; they’re light and easy to store and transport; they’re easy to cook; they can be eaten hot or cold, and they’re incredibly versatile, taking on the flavor of whatever sauce or additions you serve them with.

Healthy vs Unhealthy Pasta

You can dress up your pasta however you like, which means that the toppings you serve can make much of the difference between a healthy noodle dish, and an unhealthy one. In the unhealthy category, look no further than the menu of any chain Italian restaurant: lots of cream and cheese, butter, and red and processed meats adorn many pasta dishes. They are also typically quite high in sodium.

You can create stunningly healthy pasta dishes by using plant-based sauces, spices, and vegetables. Your sauces can be as simple as a jar or can of tomato puree, or as fancy as a slow-simmered arrabbiata or puttanesca sauce with tons of stewed veggies and a rich helping of herbs and spices. If you’re going meat-free but wanting a “meaty” taste, you can also add small amounts of meat analogues, such as plant-based sausages and organic soy-based chicken or beef substitutes.

There are lots of commercially available pasta sauces. But the most widely sold brands are heavily salted and contain added sugar. They may also contain dairy in the form of parmesan cheese, whey, or butter. You’re much better off using a simple and naturally sugar-free sauce, or making your own so you can determine exactly what ingredients get included. Many-a-parent has discovered that a homemade pasta sauce is the perfect vehicle for sneaking “stealth” veggies into the diets of their picky eaters.

While the toppings and sides are the biggest determinants of the healthfulness of a pasta dish, the type of pasta also matters. The traditional wheat pastas tend to be the least healthy choices, while other plant-based pastas, including organic whole grain wheat, can provide a better nutritional profile and contain fewer pesticides. And with the explosion in the gluten-free market, more and more acceptable alternatives to classic spaghetti and macaroni are now available for consumers.

Best Types of Plant-Based Pasta and Noodles

From a health perspective, the best types of plant-based pasta and noodles are made from whole grains or legumes. Because these are whole foods, rather than refined, they are rich in fiber and generally cause a slower, steadier rise in blood sugar than refined grains. They’re also often rich in nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Whole grains, despite being vilified in the popular press as “bad carbs,” are nevertheless linked to lower risk of age-related illnesses, including cardiovascular disease and gum disease. If you aren’t allergic or sensitive to wheat, whole wheat pasta, especially organic, can also be an excellent choice. It has the added benefit of being “familiar” to picky eaters who may balk at pasta with a very different look, taste, and texture.

Pasta made from legumes such as chickpeas, mung beans, and green and red lentils also confer lots of health benefits. These foods are high in fiber and protein, as well as many vitamins and phytochemicals. Lentils are rich sources of folate and iron, as well as other important minerals such as magnesium, potassium, manganese, and zinc. They are also rich in polyphenols, which partially explains why diets rich in lentils are protective against diabetes, cancers, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Quinoa and corn are also commonly substituted for wheat in gluten-free pastas. And brown rice pastas are widely available in natural foods stores, Asian markets, large supermarket chains, and of course also online.

Asian Plant-Based Noodle Options

In addition to spaghetti and the vast array of colorfully-named Italian pastas, there are several types of Asian noodles with different properties and uses. Soba is made from buckwheat, which despite its name is not related to wheat at all. (It’s actually not a grass at all, but is botanically related to rhubarb and sorrel.) If you’re gluten-intolerant, check the label, as most soba noodles contain wheat flour as the first ingredient. Make sure you’re getting noodles made from 100% buckwheat flour.

Shirataki noodles are made from the flour of the root of the konjac plant and contain a lot of a very healthy fiber called glucomannan. Glucomannan can absorb huge amounts of water and acts as a powerful prebiotic in your gut, where it nourishes your good bacteria. Shirataki noodles are also almost entirely free of calories, and in fact are 97% water by weight, which makes them a favorite of those trying to lose weight. A fun thing about shirataki is their name, which means “white waterfall” in Japanese.

Rice noodles are ubiquitous in Thai dishes such as pad thai. They are gluten-free, and if made from brown rice, contain a modest helping of fiber. They come in many different lengths and widths and go well with Asian broths and soups, as well as healthy stir-fries.

Glass noodles, also known as cellophane noodles, get their name from their appearance when cooked: at which point, they’re translucent. They’re typically made from the starch of mung beans, potatoes, or sweet potatoes. You may have encountered glass noodles in spring rolls, hot pots, soups, and salads. They’re highly processed, and not rich in nutrients. But they can be a pleasant carrier for more nutritious sauces.

To avoid pesticides, try to find organic versions of these pastas and noodles whenever possible.

Noodle Alternatives

Even the healthiest noodles are still processed foods. The whole grains are broken and ground into a fine powder before being mixed with water. And so they tend to be calorically dense (except for shirataki) and may spike blood sugar in those with diabetes or prediabetes. If you’re committed to eating as many whole foods as you can, or if you prefer a largely raw diet, you don’t have to forswear noodles forever. You can also make plant-based pasta and noodles out of vegetables with a spiralizer. Common vegetables used for this purpose include zucchini, which lends its first letter to the dish, “zoodles,” as well as other summer or winter squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Zucchini and other summer squash spiralize easily, while you might need a more heavy-duty spiralizer to handle raw sweet potato or butternut squash. And, don’t forget spaghetti squash, which is exactly as it sounds. Once it’s baked, there’s no spiralizer necessary, just a fork to remove the squash’s abundant “spaghetti” strands.

Pasta Types to Avoid

The least healthy pasta is, alas, the most commonly available in stores and restaurants: wheat pasta made with refined white flour. The refined starches and carbohydrates in white pasta actually act a lot like sugar once you digest them. And the good stuff found in wheat — the vitamins, minerals, healthy oils, and fiber — are found almost exclusively in the bran and the germ, both of which are removed in the refining process. The lack of nutrients and the high speed of absorption of refined carbohydrates makes white pasta a fairly empty calorie food. As such, they can contribute to disease rather than helping prevent it the way whole grains can. Of course, some brands try to compensate for the lack of nutrition in the products by “fortifying” them. Some pastas have B vitamins and iron added in. But fortified nutrients act more like supplements than the same nutrients found in foods in their natural and whole state.

To avoid pasta made from refined white flour, here’s the list of synonyms to avoid:

• Semolina
• Durum wheat flour
• All-purpose flour
• Wheat flour

Plant-Based Pasta and Noodle Recipes

If you’re a lover of health, and of all things noodles, then you’re in the right place. From Legume Pasta with Spinach and Cashew Bechamel to Spaghetti Squash with Garlic, Tomato, and Mushroom Sauce to Miso Shiitake and Bok Choy Soup with Shirataki Noodles, we have you covered. It’s a healthy noodle extravaganza, and you’re invited! Let us know which plant-based pasta recipes below become your new, go-to favorites.

1. Legume Penne with Spinach and Cashew Bechamel

Serve this to your friends and family, and you don’t have to tell them it’s a healthy vegan pasta dish! Chances are, they’ll think you made it like a traditional-style white sauce with cream and butter. The trick to perfecting the cashew bechamel is soaking the cashews and blending them until super smooth. The creamy bechamel with the legume pasta, crunchy peas, and earthy spinach will have everyone coming back for more!

2. Buffalo Pasta Salad

Want the sauce without the wings? This plant-based pasta dish has all the flavor in addition to a ton of fiber, plenty of nutrition, and just as much protein, as the meat-based version. Enjoy it by itself, serve as an appetizer, or savor it alongside a veggie burger.

3. Lentil Minestrone

This Lentil Minestrone has all of the elements of a healthy soup — phytonutrient-filled vegetables, fiber-filled whole-grain pasta, healing herbs and spices, and protein-powered beans. Pro tip: Make extra and freeze in freezer-safe containers so that you can enjoy it for months to come!

4. Quinoa Spaghetti with Basic Red Tomato Sauce and Lentil Quinoa Meatballs

The tiny quinoa seed is not only a nutritional powerhouse with its protein, fiber, iron, and B vitamins, but it can also be used in so many ways. In this recipe, it’s the pasta and the meatballs! And, while making your own tomato sauce might sound daunting, our Basic Red Tomato Sauce is actually quite simple. Pro tip: Double the sauce so you have extra for dipping your meatballs!

5. Spaghetti Squash with Garlic, Tomato and Mushroom Sauce

Looking for a pasta-style dish without the heaviness of a pound of pasta? An equal amount of spaghetti squash will leave you feeling light yet still very satisfied! Fresh and bright sauces pair nicely with spaghetti squash, like this vegetable-broth-based garlic, tomato, and mushroom sauce. We love this as a light dish for a warm summer evening or a warming dish for crisp fall nights.

6. Drunken Noodles

While its name sounds woozy, there’s no alcohol to be found in these Drunken Noodles. Don’t be surprised, however, if you get a healthy “buzz” from the nutrient-dense rock stars like broccoli, red pepper, and organic tofu. Unlike alcohol, the warm color in your cheeks will be from the natural antioxidant activity of whole plant-based foods!

7. Miso Shiitake and Bok Choy Soup with Shirataki Noodles

Love noodle bowls? We do, too! Shirataki noodles provide fiber, bok choy provides calcium and other phytonutrients, and mushrooms provide the adaptogenic and immune-supporting nutrients your body needs year-round. This restaurant-worthy bowl is easy to make in the comfort of your own home. Cooler still is that you can add even more vegetables, plant-based protein, and herbs of your choice!

Explore the Wide World of Pasta

Plant-based pasta and noodles can be part of a healthy diet when they’re made from whole grains, legumes, or in some cases, vegetables. Toppings also matter. Steer clear of animal products, unhealthy oils, and excessive sodium and go for whole plant foods and homemade sauces when possible. And spend some time exploring the wide world of pasta; humanity’s love of noodles is one of the things that unites almost all of us!

Tell us in the comments:

• Do you have a favorite pasta dish from when you were a child? Have you tried to make a healthy version, while keeping the flavor and texture you love?
• What non-Italian pasta dishes have you tried?
• What’s your favorite homemade pasta dish?

Read Next:

• Healthy Pantry Foods You Should Have On Hand
• How Home-Baked Bread and Ancient Grains are Defying the Industrial Food System

The post 7 Healthy Plant-Based Pasta & Noodle Recipes appeared first on Food Revolution Network.