When thinking about sustainability, it's important to talk about the impact eating meat has on the environment. We sat down with local mom and business owner Rachel Mahoney to learn some delicious meatless recipes that the whole family will enjoy. Rachael Mahoney, a classically trained chef and health enthusiast, is brains and muscle behind Kinney Lane Foods.
Kinney Lane is a delivery service designed to provide healthy, prepared meals for busy families and professionals. The menu is comprised of local, organic, nutrient-dense ingredients and comes in packaging designed to go directly into the oven -so all you need to do is heat and eat! Kinney Lane's mission was to bring health to people’s doors and make it easy as possible for people to feel good about their food choices.
After graduating culinary school, Rachel was still working in media and was left with little time to focus on her health. "Overworking and overlooking proper nutrition had me run down and faced with serious health problems that forced me to re-examine my relationship with food". Eating a little less meat, focusing on healthy fats, removing chemicals and refined ingredients, and including more plant-based nutrition in the form of leafy greens and nutrient dense veggies, she was able to turn her health around. "Once I saw the transformation, I was determined to put my culinary training to use. When I moved to Greenwich I saw that there weren't a ton of healthy options, so the pieces kind of fell into place from there. Our food is healthy because it's organic, we use local and nutrient dense vegetables and we never use refined sugars, grains or oils in our food - which I feel is especially important."
As a working mom, she is aware of the challenges of getting healthy meals on the table. Finding time to shop for organic produce, prep and cook is challenging, I love that we are able to bring an easy solution to people's door. One of our favorite things about food is that it brings people together. We're happy to allow families to eat and spend time together without the pressure of cooking.
"I feel lucky for the support I have received from the Greenwich community and feel fortunate to share the space with so many other women entrepreneurs. I love that I am able to be a mom and a business owner and actually think that being a mom helps me understand the demands that busy families face. We're all just trying to "do it all" and we like giving back time with healthy prepared meals".
Grain-Free Vegan Pasta Alfredo
Ingredients:
Pasta:
1 box chickpea penne (can be made with any kind of pasta you like, ie, Trader Joes Gluten Free Rotini or fresh made zoodles are both great options)
Veggies:
3 cups spinach
1 red pepper, diced into small pieces
1 zucchini, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cashew Sauce
2 cups cashews
1 cups broth or water (or almond milk optional)
2 garlic cloves
3-5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soak cashews in hot water for an hour. Remove cashews and rinse thoroughly.
- Add to blender with water or stock, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and blend until very smooth. If sauce is too thick add more stock or water, or even almond milk. If you would like a “cheesier” flavor add more nutritional yeast a little at a time. Leave covered while you cook veggies.
- Boil water and cook pasta to desired consistency.
- Heat skillet over medium heat with a dash of avocado or olive oil. Add diced peppers and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add in zucchini cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is fully wilted.
- Pour pre-made cashew sauce over the vegetables and stir until veggies are combined.
- Pour sauce over pasta with added black pepper and enjoy immediately.
Spring Roll
Serving: 8 Spring Rolls
Ingredients:
1 (7 oz.) package dried rice noodles (vermicelli)
8 10-inch rice spring roll paper wrappers
Butter lettuce leaves, slightly teared to fit on roll, if necessary
Fresh cilantro, stems removed and chopped finely
Fresh mint, stems removed and chopped finely
5 green leaf lettuce leaves, torn into large pieces
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced into matchsticks
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cucumber, cut into long matchsticks
1 avocado, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. crushed peanuts or cashews
Sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter
4 teaspoons tamari
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons coconut sugar
1-2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup hoisin sauce (if sauce is super-thick, add a few tbsp of warm water to dilute)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Instructions
- Make peanut sauce: Whisk together peanut butter, tamari, hoisin, rice wine vinegar, honey, coconut sugar and ginger. Add in a few tablespoons of hot water if too thick. Set aside.
- Bring water to boil. Add vermicelli noodles and boil 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Chop vegetables and have them ready to assemble: Chop carrots, bell pepper, cucumber into long matchsticks. Shred purple cabbage. Slice avocado into thin slices. Chop herbs. Prepare lettuce.
- Working one at a time, wet rice paper for 10-15 seconds and transfer to a flat work surface, like a cutting board. Place lettuce and herbs in the center of each wrapper. Top with thin layer of noodles and even out. Top with carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, cucumber, avocado and salt and pepper to taste.
- Tightly fold in sides over filling and then bring the bottom edge of the wrap tightly over the filling rolling from bottom to top until the top of the sheet is reached, being careful not to fold too tight or tear the rice paper. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.
- Serve whole or gently slice into 5-6 pieces – sushi style. Top with crushed nuts.
- Serve immediately with peanut sauce.
Sweet Potato Brownie
Servings size: 9 brownies
Ingredients:
1/3 cup almond flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips + a handful for sprinkling over brownies
1 sweet potato
2 eggs *
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup
*Can be made vegan by subbing eggs with chia eggs. Chia Eggs: 2 Tbsp chia seeds + 5 Tbsp water. Will make a much fudgier brownie.
Directions
1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Pierce sweet potato with fork a few times and bake until tender, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool. Peel the potato and mash by hand or run through food processor. Reduce oven to 350°F.
2) In a small bowl, mix dry ingredients: almond flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, chocolate chips and salt.
3) In a separate bowl, whisk eggs (or chia eggs, if vegan). Add sweet potato, maple syrup, almond butter and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until combined.
4) Coat an 8-by-8 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread batter evenly. Sprinkle with chocolate chips (optional).
5) Bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool and cut into even pieces. The brownies need to stay refrigerated for best results, especially if using the chia eggs.