Everyone loves chili mac!

Hearty Chili Mac
https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/plant-based-diets/recipes/hearty-chili-mac
This recipe is super simple to make and I usually have all the ingredients already on hand.
I've served it with success to guests as well.
To make life simple, sometimes I cook the onion & garlic on the stove top and then dump everything in the crock-pot, mix, and then cook on low for a few hours.  

Simple, quick, and healthy curry

Ridiculously Easy Curried Chickpeas and Quinoa
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2010/04/ridiculously-easy-curried-chickpeas-quinoa.html

I often use this recipe when I have leftover plain quinoa in my fridge and I'm short on time to make dinner.  I never seem to have fresh ginger on hand, so I use 3/4tsp powdered ginger instead.    I rarely have the fire roasted tomatoes at home so I use fresh tomatoes (which taste wonderful!) in the summer or just regular canned & diced tomatoes the rest of the year. 

If you haven't tried curry with your kids before, don't be afraid.  All of my kids love this recipe!

Chocolate muffins... or are they cupcakes?

Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins
http://dashingdish.com/recipe/triple-chocolate-chunk-muffins/

These muffins are so yummy that they can be served as dessert!

To make things simple, I just add the chocolate chips at once (in step #3)... I actually think they taste better this way.  

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/03/01/pumpkin-spice-muffins/print/

These muffins are very easy to make and can be a tasty snack or breakfast treat.

I have only used white whole wheat flour to make these - let me know if you try another kind.   I really enjoy the spices in pumpkin bread, so I recommend adding a little (1/4tsp?) pumpkin pie spice as well.   Sometimes I separate out the batter and add mini chocolate chips to one section and raisins to the other.

The yield for me is 17-18 muffins.

Here are the nutrition facts for a yield of 18 muffins as I prepare them with raisins.

Chocolate chip cookies with beans?!?

Butter Bean Cookies
http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/butter-bean-cookies/

These cookies are very popular with everyone.  Don't worry about the beans... you don't actually see the beans in the cookies, they are pureed and used as a butter/fat substitution.

I use my Vitamix instead of a food processor when called for in the recipe and I think they turn out great.

The liquid in bean cans kind of grosses me out, so I drain and rinse my beans and then use water in the recipe when the reserved liquid is called for.

The interesting thing I've found in "healthy" low-fat baking is that when you remove traditional sources of fat (like butter and oil), the batter does not behave the same while baking... ie. the cookies don't really "grow" much while baking.  They pretty much stay in the same size & shape... so you don't need to put much space between them on the baking sheet.

Finally, I found it easier to double the recipe... gives us some leftover cookies to enjoy for the next couple of days.   I prefer to eat them heated up in the microwave for a few seconds... just so the chocolate is a little bit melty.  Yum!!

Delicious and simple soup

Provencal Red Lentil Soup
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/pressure/provencal.htm

I had a bunch of leeks and a lot of carrots from our CSA sitting in my vegetable drawer.  I'm so glad I found this recipe.  It was easy to make and tasted delicious (even my pickiest eater loved it!) 

Right before finishing, I scooped out a few cups of the soup (tried not to get too many carrots in there) and pureed it in the blender and then added it back into the pot.  I recommend this step!