Food Love: Nourishing Yourself, Your Family, and the Planet by Tess Challis is a beautiful book with over 100 delicious and healthy recipes. With foreword by Victoria Moran of Main Street Vegan and gorgeous food photography by Michelle Donner, Tess makes the reader immediately feel welcome by sharing her personal story of her unhealthy childhood and her journey to wellness.
The book is divided into easily digestible sections. We learn how to use food as medicine and how to properly nourish ourselves and our families. I particularly enjoy that she includes advice for children from her own daughter Alethea.
Tess also teaches us about the effects our choices have on the planet. And before sharing her incredible recipes with us, she teaches readers how to set up our kitchens so that we always have the necessary ingredients on hand to make a myriad of healthy, scrumptious dishes.
Tess was kind enough to let me share one of the recipes from Food Love with you, and I chose the Easy Vegan Pad Thai. It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and is gluten-free.
Easy Vegan Pad Thai by Tess Challis
Makes 8 servings
Easy, quick, and so very delicious—plus, no trips to the specialty store for unusual ingredients!
Ingredients:
- 16 oz. brown rice noodles (the kind labeled for Pad Thai)
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup tamari
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil (or melted non-virgin coconut oil)
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons raw agave nectar
- 3 tablespoons ketchup (I’m not kidding)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons basic hot sauce (cayenne or tabasco)
- 4 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt
Stir-ins:
- 3/4 cup chopped scallions (about 8 scallions, trimmed and chopped)
- ½ – ¾ cup chopped cilantro
Toppings:
- ½ cup crushed peanuts
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- Lime wedges
Method:
Prepare the noodles according to the directions on their package. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile: In a large bowl, place all of the sauce ingredients. Stir well. Add the stir-ins. Stir them in. Say “stir” a lot.
Add the noodles to the big saucy bowl. Stir gently. Plate and serve topped with the bean sprouts and peanuts. Garnish with lime wedges for maximum Thai cuteness. This will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, for up to five days.
One of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten was from a lovely lady named Lavender Booth. She’d had Pad Thai made by the man who beat Bobby Flay in a Pad Thai cook-off—and she said she liked mine even better! I hope you agree that this recipe is a winner.
Reposted with permission from Veggies Save The Day.
