Vegetables are usually relegated to an afterthought as a side dish to the main meal, but once I started focusing on eating the ideal 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies daily this changed around our house. While potatoes are always a crowd pleaser, sometimes it’s fun to mix things up and surprise everyone with a dish that is warm, satisfying, filled with vegetables and creamy without a bit of dairy!
Growing up in the Midwest I learned the art of the casserole, so it took me only minutes to turn this Vegetable Au Gratin in to a main course with the addition of shrimp in my serving and chicken in my husbands. For those not as familiar with the idea of one dish cooking, Wikipedia says a casserole is:
Casseroles usually consist of pieces of meat (such as chicken) or fish (such as tuna), various chopped vegetables, a starchy binder such as flour, potato or pasta, and, often, a crunchy or cheesy topping.
Vegan Vegetables Au Gratin
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsweetened, unflavored Silk Pure Almond milk (or more as needed to thin out)
6 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp vegan butter spread
1 tbsp almond flour (gluten free option)
1 tbsp cashew butter (I recommend Once Again Nut Butter - it's very clean)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ spaghetti squash
1 zucchini shredded
1 head cauliflower steamed
Instructions
- Break cauliflower in to pieces and steam (approx. 5-6 minutes)
- Cook spaghetti squash
- Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds.
- Put a tablespoon or two of water inside the squash
- Put in a microwave safe dish
- Cook for 10-12 minutes depending on size
- Slice zucchini in to thin strips
- Melt butter
- Add to the butter all remaining ingredients: almond milk, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, cashew butter, salt and pepper
- Spray oven safe dish
- Fill with cauliflower and zucchini
- Pour butter mixture over cauliflower and zucchini
- Cook 20-25 min at 375 – Watch for cauliflower to get a nice golden brown
- Serve over spaghetti squash
One quick stir and this dish becomes a creamy creation!
Nutrition
Using Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Vanilla is a dietary choice for me because of a dairy intolerance, but has a few other benefits:
- Serving size is 1 cup at 92 calories, compared to the average (non-cheesy) cauliflower au gratin which is ¾ cup for 145 calories using skim milk and cheese.
- 0 grams of sugar
- 45% DV of calcium
- No saturated fat or cholesterol
- 100% free of lactose
- Completely free of GMOs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gratitude Journal
Jan 9
I am grateful for commercials that make me laugh out loud. I think it’s because I rarely pay attention to them, it’s great when something unexpectedly catches your attention in a good way.
