How will you survive???

Since becoming vegan I have gotten a lot of questions like, "No meat?!? What do you eat???" The first week of the vegan journey, I really didn't have an answer. I had done plenty of research, but in reality I had no clue how I would keep myself alive, or what I would be consuming...3 meals a day...21 meals a week...bean burritos? It's funny now because that is what Jason ate for an entire week. What a disaster. I don't recommend living exclusively on bean burritos. #beanlife

As I have continued to learn on this journey, I still find that question hard to answer but for a different reason. There's an endless amount of things I can eat, and I have only begun to scratch the surface. Every time I go to the market I see a new food I have never tried, or a new spice combination to play with. I can eat most typical American dishes with minor substitutes or tweaks to the recipe. Another bonus I have found is that being vegan has sparked my creative side. Until now, I had not consider myself a creative person (thought my brothers got those genes).

This weekend I made my own version of a veggie lasagna. I...am at a loss for how good it was. It was unreal. I have not had a lot of experience cooking with or eating tofu, and honestly, it still creeps me out a little bit. But it was absolutely perfect in this recipe. It looks a little bit like ricotta cheese mixed in with the veggies, and I didn't even think about it when I was eating it. After scarfing down a monstrous piece, I was satisfied but not uncomfortably stuffed to oblivion. Even if you are not planning on becoming vegan, I highly recommend adding this plant based recipe to your rotation. 

Veggie Lasagna Medley

Adapted from Engine 2's Raise the Roof Sweet Potato Lasagna

2 cloves garlic, chopped
12 ounces mushrooms (baby bella), sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 1/2 cup corn
1 1/2 cup peas
2 red peppers, chopped
12 ounces silken tofu
1 tsp dried basil (if using fresh, add more)
1 tsp dried rosemary (if using fresh, add more)
1 tsp dried oregano (if using fresh, add more)
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
3 medium sized sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
2 jars pasta sauce
1 package lasagna no-boil noodles
4 tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup raw cashews, ground

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Saute mushrooms and garlic over medium heat until the mushrooms have reduced in size (about 7 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside in large bowl. 
Using the same pan, saute broccoli and carrots with 1/4 cup water. Cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and add to mushrooms.
Saute peppers, corn, and peas until heated through (about 3 minutes). Remove from pan and add to bowl with other veggies.
Drain the silken tofu with a paper towel and add to the bowl of veggies.
Add spices to the veggie bowl and combine.

Assemble the lasagna in a 9x13 pan. Here are the layers from bottom up:
Sauce
Noodles
Sauce
Veggie/tofu
Sauce
Noodles
Sauce
Sweet potatoes
Sauce
Noodles
Sauce
Sliced tomatoes

Now that's a lot of veggies!

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove foil and sprinkle ground cashews over the top. Bake for 15 more minutes uncovered.

Put under broiler for a few minutes until the cashews are toasted.

Enjoy!

The ground cashews toast up perfectly, you will not miss the Parmesan cheese.

Check out that sweet potato layer, oh yeah!