Vegan Small Businesses Skyrocket
VEGAN SMALL BUSINESSES ARE GAINING THE LEAD
Vegan small businesses are popping up like springtime daffodils. Everywhere you turn, you spot another one. While the chattering classes are obsessed with the blockbuster vegan corporations, like Beyond Meat and Oatly, that have gone public and are trading on the stock exchange, this other less discussed trend is equally potent. This mom-and-pop, plant-based capitalism is happening all over America.
Tracy Childs of San Diego is a perfect example of a vegan small business owner. A mom of two young adults, Tracy has been involved in the vegan food movement for years. She became a Food for Life Instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. And, recently, being a fabulous cook in her own right, decided to launch her own food company called Tracy’s Real Foods.
Tracy makes and ships a variety of absolutely delicious cookies. But, they are no ordinary cookies. On her website, she explains:
“They are uniquely NUTRITIONALLY BALANCED based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains & legumes, along with whole food fats from seeds/nuts for maximum nutrient absorption!
“These moist, soft-baked cookies are made from all-natural, whole foods based on dried fruit, legumes, oats, and nuts/seeds.”
And, now, you can get 10% off by using the Promo Code: Jane10 at tracysrealfoods.com
Tracy is also collaborating on a vegan cookbook. She will also be doing a PCRM Let’s Beat Breast Cancer cooking and nutrition class 10/27 (online). Find out more HERE.
In this #LunchBreakLIVE she whips up a Rainbow Cobb Salad and gets some help from her son Zach! Let’s watch the magic happen….
VEGAN SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, AND MASTER IN THE KITCHEN
Tracy is a super passionate healthy food advocate who fully embraced a plant-based lifestyle after first becoming vegetarian as a teen, then vegan as a young adult. She’s dedicated to spreading the message of how plants & lifestyle choices can heal the planet, protect animals and help us avoid needless suffering from lifestyle-related diseases.
She is co-founder, chef, and director of Tracy’s Real Foods a whole-foods, plant-based company that ships healthy Goodies nationwide. She’s a certified Nutritional Consultant and holds a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell. Tracy has also taught nutrition and cooking for over a decade as a Food for Life Instructor, certified with the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine. As the Founder and Director of Veg-Appeal in San Diego, she offers healthy cooking classes, corporate wellness, individual & cooking lessons, store tours & personal health coaching. Tracy is also the Founder and Director of PlantDiego, a San Diego-based nonprofit “PlantPure Pod” inspired by the movie PlantPure Nation to educate and support people in living a healthy, whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. She loves sharing healthy food tips so much she’s a frequent contributor, filming live cooking demos for #LunchBreakLive on Facebook with the Jane Unchained News Network. In addition, Tracy is a cookbook contributor! She contributed over 100 recipes for the book by —David Kater: Handbook to Higher Health Consciousness and the brand new book by Glen Mercer, “Food is Climate.”
VEGAN SMALL BUSINESSES, MANY OWNED BY PASSIONATE CHEFS
Tracy not only supports vegan small businesses, but she also owns one too, cooking delicious goodies for the masses to enjoy! But today, instead of a sweet treat, she made a delicious comfort food salad. Yes, it is possible to have comfort food in a salad! She took the old-fashioned American favorite COBB SALAD and made it not only vegan but HEALTHY. She calls this masterpiece a RAINBOW COBB SALAD! Just wait till you see how delicious a meal-in-a-salad can be!
Rainbow Cobb Salad
Ingredients
- Salad:
- 6 cups chopped greens of choice: romaine red leaf lettuce, arugula, kale
- 2 cups sliced red cabbage
- ½ cup Marinated Red Onions
- 1 ripe avocado
- ½ English cucumber halved and sliced
- 1 cup frozen corn thawed
- 10 cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes cut into ½ inch cubes
- Black salt “Kala namak” optional
- Vegan tempeh bacon Lightlife brand for example
- 1 cup Butler Soy Curls
- ½ cup Edwards Better than Bullion
- Marinated Beans using the remaining chickpeas from the dressing
- ½ cup pomegranate kernels
- “Blue Cheese” Dressing:
- 1 1/2 cup Tofu-Cashew Mayo
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dill
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke optional
- Black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup chickpeas mashed in a bowl with a fork to chop
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425.
- Heat a pot of water to boiling, add a pinch of salt and then add the potato pieces. Stir and cook at medium low until the potatoes are just tender – about 7-10 minutes. Remove and allow them to cool in a large bowl.
- Crumble the bouillon cube on the soy curls in a small bowl. Add hot water, stir to dissolve the cubes and marinate the soy curls for about 10 minutes, then drain well.
- While the soy curls are marinating, lay the “bacon” pieces on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Broil the “bacon” on both sides for about 5 minutes until crispy, cooled and cut into ¾ inch pieces. Don’t use parchment paper as it will burn.
- After the “bacon” is crispy, lay the soy curls on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and broil for about 5-7 minutes until browned and crispy.
- In 4 shallow salad bowls, arrange the greens.
- Toss the potatoes with a dash black salt to add an eggy flavor.
- Add sections of the salad ingredients over the lettuce in the serving bowls.
- Drizzle on the dressing and enjoy!
All the fixings for the Rainbow Cobb Salad
Ingredients
- Tofu Cashew Mayo:
- Makes about 1 1/2 cups
- 1 cup firm tofu drained well and crumbled
- 1/4 cup cashews soaked (Ok to not soak, but better)
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon
- 1 Tablespoon light miso
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Marinated Red Onions:
- 1 red onion halved and thinly sliced
- apple cider or white vinegar
- water
- Marinated Beans:
- 1 1/4 cups white beans garbanzo, northern, navy, cannellini
- 1 tablespoon balsamic
- 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon each: Italian seasoning garlic powder & onion powder
Instructions
- For The Cashew Mayo:
- Blend all ingredients until smooth. Add water by the tablespoon if needed. This depends on the amount of water in the tofu.
- For the Marinated Onions:
- Place the onions in a small bowl and pour apple cider vinegar and water to cover, about ½ and ½, or whatever ratio you like. Allow this mix to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Store covered in the refrigerator and use in salads, buddha bowls, tacos, you name it!
- For The Marinated Beans:
- In a small bowl, add all of the ingredients and stir well to coat the beans with the marinade.
SUPPORT VEGAN SMALL BUSINESSES!
Thanks for stopping by the #LunchbreakLIVE kitchen for this delicious meal! And don’t forget to support your local and online vegan small businesses! Go ahead and order some of Tracy’s delicious healthy treats from Tracy’s Real Foods, using code JANE10 for 10% off. If you are interested in other easy vegan recipes to cook up, be sure to stop by the #LunchBreakLIVE page, where we have a ton to choose from. Until next time…keep cookin’!
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