Sunday, February 21, 2010

Oil Free Vegan Recipes


I just discovered a great website for fat free (or sometimes just oil free, but natural fat) vegan recipes. It's called fatfreevegan.com

This website even has a section of recipes that follow the Eat to Live guidelines. How great is that?

If you're not completely vegan, this website can still give you a host of healthy dishes and treats to make to keep your eating clean.

I observed pretty quickly that it's not actually fat-free. She just doesn't add oils to most recipes and uses natural fats at times. Here's what SusanV, the web host said about this:

What's this "fat-free" business all about?
In general, I don't cook with refined fats (oil, margarine, and shortening). This simply means that instead of sautéing in oil, I use water or broth. In baking, I substitute apple sauce or flax seeds or some other substance for margarine, butter, or shortening. I do use a little sesame oil now and then because a little bit imparts a lot of flavor. And once in a very long while, I go crazy and make something with a little olive oil in it, but this is rare, and I don't use whole heaping gobs of it.
Wait a minute . . . I saw a recipe with coconut milk and another with walnuts. Those aren't fat-free ingredients!

You're very observant! Yes, I sometimes use lite coconut milk (though I'm trying to cut down), and I do include avocados, nuts, and seeds in my diet as forms of healthy, unrefined fat. This blog probably should have been called "Oil-free Vegan Kitchen," but I didn't like the way that sounded.

But if you don't use any fats, how do you get your Essential Fatty Acids?

Again, I do use avocados, nuts, and seeds in my cooking. In fact, what you don't see from looking at the blog is that just about every day I eat walnuts and flax seeds on my lunch salad. Flax and walnuts are both excellent sources of Omega 3 fatty acids. I definitely believe in getting EFA's, just not in the form of refined oils but in their natural "packages," along with all the other beneficial nutrients that nuts and seeds contain.
The recipe at the top is Stormy Black Bean Soup. Doesn't it look yummy? Here's the recipe if you don't feel like clicking on the link just yet:
Stormy Black Bean Soup

Vary the amount of spices in this to suit your taste. I used the minimum amounts given, which put this right at the outer edge of my daughter's spice tolerance.

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cans (or 3 cups) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
2 bay leaves
1-2 tsp. chile powder
generous grating of black pepper
1-2 tsp. minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
4-5 cups vegetable broth or water
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (optional)
lime wedges

In a large pot, sauté the onions, garlic, and bell pepper until the onions soften, about 3 minutes. Add the beans, seasonings, and tomatoes, and stir to combine. Add 3 cups vegetable broth or water. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, for about 1 hour, adding additional water or vegetable broth as needed to keep a soupy consistency. Just before serving, add the corn, if you like, and heat through. Serve in bowls with lime wedges. Makes 4-6 servings.

6 comments:

  1. Why are you trying to cut all fat out of your diet? Not all fats are bad for you! take a look:

    http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/foods15.php

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  2. I'm not trying to cut oil out. But I do like to find recipes at times without oil added when it's not necessary.

    If you look at my other posts, I talk about eating foods with with natural oils, vegan butter, etc.

    And in this post, I mention that this website isn't fat-free. They just don't add oils to most recipes. They use ingredients with natural oils like nuts, seeds, avocados, and coconuts. They also use some oils like olive oil, but to a minimum. I certainly agree with you that not all fats are bad for you.

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  3. Well, processed oil is not good for your body and Renee we all should be cutting oil out of our diets. You should be getting your oils from WHOLE FOODS (not the store) the fresh produce we eat. You're right "Bean" not all fats are bad for you, but all processed fats are, so get your fats from avocados, nuts, beans,so on...not from processed oils. Renee, you are on the right track, thanks for sharing your recipes.

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  4. Well, processed oil is not good for your body and Renee we all should be cutting oil out of our diets. You should be getting your oils from WHOLE FOODS (not the store) the fresh produce we eat. You're right "Bean" not all fats are bad for you, but all processed fats are, so get your fats from avocados, nuts, beans,so on...not from processed oils. Renee, you are on the right track, thanks for sharing your recipes.

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  5. I think the ideal is getting your fats from whole foods too. I'd much rather add avocados or pecans to my salad than oil or dressing. I don't know if I've posted a dressing I came up with using soaked nuts. I've made a few from recipes too. I'll have to post because I doubt I put them on here. Thanks for the reminder.

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  6. Hi your post are very interesting and also very healthy , everyone should be cutting oil out of there diet that is not natural from whole foods . If any one queries this please watch a documentary on Netflix called Forks over Knives then you will believe !!!

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