We are only two days away from our due date!  But little girl is still cooking and so are we 🙂  I have more vegetarian recipes for you to check out this week.  And they can all be made vegan by leaving out the cheese in the acorn squash and beet salad recipes.  I must confess that I did add some shrimp to the spring rolls the second time we made them – so we were not entirely vegetarian this week.  But there are lots of good veggie choices nonetheless.  Visit the links and let me know what you think!  Love, M
Basic Zoodles

Recipe from: simplyohanaco.com

What we changed:  We were out of carrots so I left them out.  I added a little minced garlic when we sautéed the onion.

My thoughts on the recipe: I reblogged Stephanie’s post with this recipe earlier in the week.  I have loved using spaghetti squash as a healthier pasta alternative, but had never thought of using zucchini noodles before.  They were a really tasty and healthy way to enjoy some of the leftover sauces we had in the fridge.  Will had peanut sauce with his and I had tomato sauce.  Both were delicious.  The zucchini noodles are also less stringy than spaghetti squash noodles sometimes are, so that was a nice change.

Overall rating: 9/10

Beet, Apple, and Quinoa Salad

Recipe from: greenkitchenstories.com

What we changed:  I’m not supposed to be eating sprouts since I am pregnant so we left those out along with the sunflower seed topping.  Instead of “cashew cheese” we used regular old herbed goat cheese so our version wasn’t vegan.

My thoughts on the recipe:  This was really good as a side dish.  We didn’t find it filling enough to be a meal on its own.  I actually think it was better later in the week when we had it for leftovers because the beets softened up a little bit.  The first night it honestly made my jaw hurt a little haha.

Overall rating: 8/10

Avocado and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Recipe from: loveandlemons.com

What we changed:  The recipe calls for small acorn squash – and they get even smaller when you roast them.  So we only used half of the quinoa pilaf for the stuffing and thus only one diced avocado.  Other than that, we actually stuck to the recipe for this one.

My thoughts on the recipe: This was my favorite recipe this week.  It was delicious!  I am super excited that we had leftover quinoa pilaf because we froze it and will make this again after the baby arrives.  I think I may have to find a way to add more acorn squash into our diet.  It was so good roasted that I could’ve eaten it even without the filling.

Overall rating: 10/10

Rainbow Spring Rolls

Recipe from: minimalistbaker.com

What we changed: We left out the mango and added shredded cabbage.  The first time we made these we made them all veggie.  The second time we made them we added shrimp and vermicelli noodles.  For the sauce, we used unsalted peanut butter, an extra tablespoon of soy sauce, a full teaspoon of chili garlic sauce, only 1 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup and jarred chopped ginger instead of fresh grated ginger.

My thoughts on the recipe:  Minimalistbaker.com has definitely earned a spot on my mental list of favorite food blogs with this one.  These were really fresh and made a great to go lunch.  We made them Monday night and they were still good to take for lunch on Wednesday.  After that, they started to dry out though – so don’t make them more than 48 hours ahead.  The peanut sauce was really yummy – thick and with a nice kick from the ginger and the chili garlic sauce.  The trickiest part of this recipe is getting your wrapping technique down.  I am still working on it, but here’s a little video to demonstrate the technique that I found worked best.

Overall rating: 10/10

Strawberry Banana Chia Pudding

Recipe from: collegiatevegan.com

What we changed: We doubled the recipe, but I was a little short on the coconut water so I used about a 1/4 cup of almond milk to make up the entire 2 cups.

My thoughts on the recipe:  This was really yummy and filling.  In fact, I couldn’t finish my full serving and it still tasted good the next morning.  It was also super easy to make and perfect for taking to go in the morning if you are in a hurry.  I really liked the chia pudding texture too.

Overall rating: 9/10