Vegan friendly chicken and cheese nachos



Ingredients
3/4 cup pinto beans (I prepped mine from scratch, but canned works great too!) 
+ 1 tbsp oil, pinch of salt + 4 tbsp water, if re-frying

2 handfuls taco chips
2 Gardein chipotle lime crispy fingers

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/3 red onion, slivered


1 jalapeño, chopped
1 avocado, pitted and sliced

Generous handful of Follow Your Heart fiesta shreds

To garnish
Cilantro
Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
Hot sauce (I used homemade, but El Yucateco is a household favourite)



Method

Preheat oven to 375F.

Arrange chips on a large baking sheet.

Sautee chipotle lime crispy fingers in a frying pan on medium for 5-10 minutes.

Optional: Place beans, water + oil in a small pot or pan, heat thoroughly, and smash to your liking. Set aside
Going for whole beans instead? Skip this step, including the water, salt and oil. 

While strips are crisping up, prep your vegetables.

Once strips are crispy and heated through, chop each strip into 10-12 pieces.

Layer your toppings, starting with your mock meat and cheese, top with veggies, then cheese and avocado.

Bake at 375F for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Top with sour cream alternative, hot sauce, and cilantro. Add a squeeze of lime if you fancy.




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Vanilla almond granola with toasted coconut.


Ingredients I
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups oat flour (process rolled oats in food processor to achieve this)
3/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup shelled, raw, hemp seeds

Ingredients II
1/2 cup organic brown rice syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp water
Vanilla
Almond extract

Ingredients III
1 cup coconut (unsweetened, shredded) - toasted in pan

Preheat oven to 320F.

In a large bowl, combine Ingredients I.  Set aside.

In a sauce pan, combine Ingredients II until bubbly and thoroughly combined. Carefully pour the liquid onto the oat mixture and stir well until oats are moist.

Spread this mixture on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

Turn your stove top on to medium/medium-high. Place coconut in a pan for 3-4 minutes and lightly stir until coconut is golden brown in colour. Place in a small dish to cool.

Remove granola from oven, and break up mixture with a spatula, re-stirring and breaking up so no bits get stuck to the pan.

Bake for another 25-30 minutes.

Once the granola is lightly browned, stir in the toasted coconut and let cool. Store in an air tight container. Serve with almond yogurt & berries, almond milk and agave, or enjoy on it's own.