Hey Team! Happy New Year! I hope y'all had a fantastic holiday season! Now that the partying is over, I've got a plethora of clean-eating recipes coming at ya in 2020! I've been working in the food business for 17 years. I've been a clean-eating private chef for 10 years. Something I've noticed that has become more prevalent in my industry is the plant-based diet.
Guys, I've mostly ate healthy all my life. Aside from being a vegetarian for 4 years in my twenties, and working at a vegetarian restaurant for 5 years, I've never fully converted to a plant-based diet. The chef in me says no, but the health professional in me says, possibly?! Either way, creating plant-based recipes has become amongst my favorite recipes to develop. There is no right or wrong way to create a vegan recipe - if it's nourishing, flavorful, and packed with protein, colors, and textures, then we have a winning dish! If you like sweet, smokey, and southern flavors then you're going to love my Vegan Hoppin John! I featured this recipe on a New Year's segment on Daytime with Kimberly and Esteban! Here is the link to check it out:
http://watchdaytime.com/eat-drink This dish features 2 lucky new year's foods: black eyed peas and collard greens. Black eyed peas represent prosperity, whereas collard greens represent money! Feel free to add extra collard greens to this dish! 😂 As far as nutrition goes, black eyed peas are great for fiber and protein. Collard greens promote detox, thus creating a perfect post-holiday meal! Now without further ado, here is the recipe!
TIME: 30 MINUTES YIELDS: 6-7 SERVINGS CAL 265g | CARBS 44g | FAT 7g | PROTEIN 14g 2 tablespoons of avocado oil one yellow onion, small dice 1 red pepper, small diced 1 Orange pepper, small dice 4 celery stalks, small dice 5 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon of Pink Himalayan Salt 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika 2 teaspoon cumin of cumin 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper (depending on your level of heat index) 2 tablespoons of D'vash cayenne date nectar ***see below for substitution or link to get your bottle of cayenne date nectar***
3 tablespoons white vinegar Zest and juice of one lemon 3-4 handfuls of chopped collard greens 2 cans of black eyed peas, rinsed and drained 2-3 cups of water 1. Chop all vegetables as listed above. 2. Place a large stock pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Once the pan gets hot, add the avocado oil. Allow the avocado oil to swirl all over the bottom. 3. Add all of the diced vegetables except for the collard greens. Saute and stir the vegetables around so the garlic doesn't burn. The vegetables will slowly start to soften and create moisture, slowly creating it's own stock. We want this to happen. This process can take up to 10-12 minutes. 4. Once the vegetables are soft and caramelized, add salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, cayenne date nectar) and vinegar. Stir for another couple minutes or until everything is well-combined. 5. Add the water, drained black eyed peas, chopped collard greens, and zest and juice of one lemon. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low. Cover and simmer for another 8-10 minutes. 6. Add salt & pepper to taste! Serve over a bed of brown rice (1/2 cup serving) Garnish with green onions or chopped jalapenos
Link for D'vash Cayenne Date Nectar:
https://www.dvashorganics.com/collections/frontpage/products/squeeze-bottle
Substitute for date nectar: 2 tablespoons of real maple syrup plus 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.