Saturday, December 25, 2010

Vegetarian Recipes For the Crock Pot


Being a Vegan is a lifestyle choice that can often make it difficult to find appropriate foods to eat. Also, some of these recipes can be time consuming with regard to cooking them. With the introduction of a slow cooker to your life, maintaining a vegan lifestyle has become easier than you could imagine.

French Onion Soup has always been a favorite for many but vegans have had to pass on this option due to the beef based broth. With some easy substitutions, French Onion Soup is now a viable and delicious recipe to try out in your crock-pot. By replacing the beef broth with vegetable broth, making the soup with the other usual ingredients, vegans will find this dish to be satisfying and filling. If there are no dairy dietary restrictions, don't forget to sprinkle the top of each soup bowl with bread cubes and Swiss cheese.

If you have a yen for something from south of the border, why not try Black Bean Burritos in your slow cooker? By mixing chopped onions, carrots and garlic cloves with corn, black beans, a diced jalapeno, soy sauce, fresh chopped cilantro and a cup or so of vegetable stock, you are creating a delicious and tasty burrito filling that will make you glad to be a vegan!

For something a little different, making Falafel in your slow cooker is easy and healthy. With a base of garbanzo beans, have no fear of accidentally violating your nutritional choices. In a food processor, combine onion, some garlic cloves, dried parsley to taste, an egg, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste, lemon juice and bread crumbs. The last ingredient to add would be the garbanzo beans, processing just enough that it is a paste with chunks of garbanzo. Pour enough olive oil on the bottom of your slow cooker and turn on high. While the oil is warming, shape the mixture into meatball size balls and place in the bottom of the Crock Pot, turning over to coat each falafel ball with olive oil. The usual shape of each ball should be slightly flattened. Cook these in the oil for about four hours or browned. Serve as is or inside a piece of pita bread. A traditional sauce for Falafel is Tzatziki, made of cucumber, plain yogurt and garlic. This would also taste great with hummus, a sauce made of garbanzo beans as well.

In the morning, who really feels like making an elaborate breakfast when you're still bleary? However, there's a simple recipe that uses soy sausage and egg substitute, making it easy to remain within the guidelines of your healthful diet options. Make layers of sausage, diced chilies, bell pepper, onion, crookneck squash, carrots and mozzarella cheese. Once this is done, pour some water and the egg substitute over everything and cook on low until the eggs set and the vegetables are soft, roughly eight hours, a perfect night's sleep. If you have a coffee pot that works from a timer, all you need to do in the morning is wake up and dig in.

Slow Cookers and a Vegan diet don't have to be mutually exclusive. A primary complaint from vegans is not enough options and too much time needed to prepare and cook the meals but with some imagination, this doesn't have to be the case. A varied and delicious menu is possible and the only limitations you might have are those you place on yourself.








Lisa is an avid home cook who loves to share her favorite recipes with the rest of us. Find all her easy crockpot recipes at http://www.A-Crock-Cook.com. And be sure to try one of her vegetable crock pot recipes.


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