Vegan Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes

Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes

Back in the early 90s, when my family first adopted a vegan diet, we had to get creative when we wanted to re-make our old favorite non-vegan dishes. Back in the day, there was no such thing as Silk soy milk in every grocery store, no Daiya “cheese”, no Gardein, no Boca, etc. (At least, if these products existed, they weren’t marketed or distributed well, as we’d never heard of them.)

While I love and appreciate many of the commercialized vegan products available across the U.S. globe today, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate some naturally vegan ingredients that anyone can find in almost any grocery store, without having to visit special health food sections, or anything like that.

Meet my new favorite tex-mex sloppy joes. The stars of the show? Beans. Yep. Good ole’ black beans and kidney beans, seasoned to perfection with lemon, cilantro, cumin, onion, garlic, and cayenne. You’re going to love the chewiness of the beans, the crunch of the bell pepper and the fresh flavor of lemon and cilantro. Add some fresh greens like lettuce, cabbage, kale, or arugula, and you’ve got yourself a nutritious and protein-rich meal.

I hope each of you enjoy a restful weekend. (Guess what? Tomorrow’s Friday!!)

And today, I just have to share with you a little food for thought that I found fascinating. Did you know that God’s original plan for the human diet was plant-based? Check it out…

“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:29 (King James Version)

Tex-Mex Sloppy Joes

Print recipe

Serves	6
Prep time	8 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	28 minutes
Allergy	Wheat
Dietary	Diabetic, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Bread, Lunch, Main Dish,Side Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Serve Hot

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
• 1 medium green bell pepper (finely chopped)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped black olives
• 1 can fire-roasted chopped tomatoes (15 ounce can, with juice)
• 1 can black beans, drained (15 ounces)
• 1 can kidney beans (15 ounces, chopped in tiny pieces)
• 2 1/4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 pinch ground cayenne
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• salt to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon.)
• 6 vegan burger buns (I chose a whole wheat variety, but any kind works.)

Directions

Step 1

Heat up olive oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add onion, green bell pepper, and garlic and saute until onion is tender and becoming clear.

Step 2

Add remaining ingredients (except buns, obviously), and allow mixture to simmer until most of the juices are cooked off. When the texture of your sloppy joes resembles that of a very thick chili, you know it's done.

Step 3

Toast your vegan burger buns, if desired, and serve sloppy joes with your favorite greens.

Source: http://veganyumminess.com/tex-mex-sloppy-joes/