Agave and Date Scented Moroccan {Vegan!} Beef

Agave and Date Scented Moroccan {Vegan!} Beef
*Prep time: 15 mins  *Cook Time:  45 minutes *Servings: 4

Once you have the ingredients for this dish you can whip it up pretty quick. Most of the cook time is down time. 

Ingredients

1 bag Gardein Beefless Tips

1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

1 Red Onion

4 Teaspoons Minced {the jarred kind} Garlic 

1 lb Carrots, cut into chunks

9 oz Canned Diced Tomatoes

4 oz Dried Dates

4 oz Dried Prunes, roughly chopped

2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar

2 Cups Vegetable Broth

1 Cinnamon Stick

2 Teaspoons Cumin Powder

2 Teaspoons Coriander Powder

1 Teaspoon Ginger

1 Teaspoon Turmeric

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom

Step 1: Flash boil the carrots for 3  minutes

Step 2: Chop the onion and throw it in a skillet with 1 tsp olive oil. Let it cook over medium heat for 7-10. You want the onion to be a little charred with a lot of color. Your stove may be better or worse than mine, so keep an eye on it. Throw the minced garlic in and let that brown for a minute, stirring so that it doesnt burn. 

Step 3: Throw the carrots, onion and garlic into a large pot. Add all of the remaining ingredients *EXCEPT the beefless tips. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling turn the heat down to a simmer and set your timer for 30 minutes. 

Step 4: Once the timer goes off its time to make the Quinoa. First: turn the heat down on the scented beef to low. Microwave the beefless tips for 60 seconds then add to the pot. Leave this on low heat while the quinoa cooks. 

Ginger Masala Quinoa

Ingredients

1 tsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Ginger Paste (or 2 tsp fresh grated ginger)

Pinch Red Pepper Flakes

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 Cup Quinoa

2 Cups Water

Step 5: Now to the Quinoa: Cook the ginger paste over low/medium heat with the Olive oil in a small pan for 3-5 mins. Toss in the red pepper flakes and Garam Masala. Cook for another minute. Add the water and quinoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Set your timer for 15 minutes. 

Step 6: Fluff the quinoa. Your ready! Serve the Moraccan {vegan!} beef over the Ginger Masala Quinoa. 

This dish smells like sweet perfume and tastes exactly like what you wished sweet perfume tasted like. 

Favorite Quick Vegan Meals & Foods You Can Buy at the Store

Don't get me wrong, I love cooking. Its akin to meditation, gets my Chi all ocean like and calm.
But, I'm busy- Often. So, some quick foods that I can just put in my mouth come in handy.

Keep an eye out on this post, just like my list of awesome alternatives this one will keep growing as I keep eating.

Quick Meals

Annie Chun's Deliciousness

Annie Chun makes a whole line of microwavable foods. Take a look at the bottom of the box and you will see little symbols and what they signify. Talk about convenience.

Here is a list of her vegan options:
Teriyaki Noodle Bowl: for a microwavable meal this is freaking amazing.
Udon Soup: again, for fast microwavable meals these are pretty fantastic.
Miso Soup: Totally uninspiring.
Kung Pow Noodle Bowl: Havent tried this one yet
Korean Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl: Havent tried this one yet, but I really want it. Its new so don't hate, I'll get it and then I will tell you about it.

Where I buy it: Walmart, Target, Publix

Amy's Organic
For a frozen dinner Amy's makes a mean meal and she has plenty to choose from. She has way more vegan options than I have listed here, these are just the one's I've tried.

Asian Noodle Stir Fry:  better than average yummy
Indian Mattar Tofu: better than average yummy
Indian Vegetable Korma: I love cashews. Super Yummy (for a microwavable meal)

Where I Buy it: Target, Whole Foods
(Don't write Whole Foods off right away, if your there check it out, sometimes they have really great sale prices on Amy's products)

Healthy Snacks- 

Melissa's Microwavable Edamame
I love edamame. The beautiful think about Melissa's edamame is that is comes sans salt, so you can go without or add as much/little as you want for all of you trying to keep your sodium intake at a somewhat reasonable level. Also, you can slide the box out of the container to look at the edamame beans and pick the freshest looking of the lot.


Where I Buy it: Target






Unhealthy Snacks- 
because sometimes you need an Oreo

Halloween Oreos

Yep, there is nothing that is actually real food in here. Healthy, no way. Vegan? For sure. 3 cheers for make 

believe milk product! 

I'm not rating these, they are freaking Oreos. You know what they taste like. 

Most Back to Nature Cookies-

This includes California Lemon ( my favorite, by the way), Chocolate Chunk (also my favorite, yes I can have two equal favorites, don't judge, and Chocolate Delight Granola. And while they might not be good for  you, they are definitely not as bad as eating the oreos I told you about. ll get 5 stars out of 5. 

Where I buy them: Walmart, Whole Foods






Marshmallow Fluff

Yep. Again, all make-believe ingredients. Terrible for you? Probably.
Will I still eat it? Yes.











Cracker Jacks! 

The 'prizes' that come in the bags are always so creepy.

Mambas

I LOVE Mambas! If you've never had them go to your local gas station creepy little store (during the day, and it doesnt have to be the creepy one- that just makes it more exciting) and purchase them.
5 out of 5 stars
Where I buy it: Gas Stations 


Nutter Butter Cookies

Yep.










For more easy to find Vegan food this list is pretty comprehensive.