Homemade with Heinen’s | Happy Vegan Tacos, Silver Linings & Cinco de Mayo

For 25 years creating vegan recipes has brought joy to Heinen’s shopper, Lori Young. In March, the mother-of-two and co-pilot at CYPainting launched Silver Lining Vegan, an instagram page documenting her family’s adventures in veganism. Lori says our stay-at-home order has inspired her to explore even more ways to eat the rainbow.

Today, Lori is sharing a popular family dinner she calls “Happy Vegan Tacos” for Homemade with Heinen’s, our culinary tour of favorite family recipes around Barrington.

Happy Vegan Tacos, Silver Linings & Cinco de Mayo

by Lori Young of Silver Lining Vegan

My plant-based food journey began 25 years ago and is still going strong, even during these days of Illinois’ stay-at-home order. That’s thanks, in part, to Heinen’s Grocery. These days we order all the groceries we need from Heinen’s online and it feels like a holiday when they’re delivered to our doorstep!

From the front porch to our kitchen counter, homemade plant-based cooking is as easy as ever.

A plant-based diet became a staple of my life 25 years ago. During a philosophy class which I took toward my economics major, I was randomly assigned to study the topic of speciesism for the semester. That’s when I decided that a plant-based diet was, not a phase, but the right choice for me.

As a vegan chef and mother of two, my goal is to teach people how easy and fun vegan cooking can be. Have you been thinking about adding a few more healthy choices to your family’s table? As a mom, I know how challenging that can be. I have so many tips, tricks and short cuts to make easy vegan meals that your family will benefit from and, more importantly, LOVE.

So what is my first choice? That easy! Who doesn’t love tacos? And who needs meat when cauliflower is so delicious? With Cinco de Mayo coming up next week, the timing is perfect to give them a try.  Bring on my “Happy Vegan Tacos” with Grilled Romaine Side Salad, Cabbage Slaw, Onions, Peppers & Mushrooms. Here’s a tip. Let your family help! It’s always fun to give your husband a job. Mine runs a painting business but his veggie chopping skills are pretty solid, too 😉!

And put your kids in charge of dessert to get them in on the action. A few simple ingredients make Vegan Oreo Bites a snap and a fun task for all ages.

I purchased all the ingredients for our simple vegan meal from Heinen’s Grocery and you can, too. Here’s our shopping list plus recipes. Enjoy!

Heinen’s Shopping List

• 3 cups of cauliflower
• 2 cups of mushrooms, I use baby bella or choose your favorite
• One red pepper
• One green pepper
• ½ white onion
• One can of Heinen’s Re-fried beans
• 3 cups of purple cabbage
• 2 tbsp vegan Mayo
• 2tbsp spoon of chili powder
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp of cayenne pepper (you can always add more for heat)
• Frozen pack of corn
• One small bunch of romaine lettuce
• One small container of Heinen’s Pico De Gallo
• 1 Tsp spoon of cumin
• 1 Tbsp spoon of garlic powder (Mom Hack: you can SUB above cumin and garlic powder for 1 packet of taco seasoning.)
• 1 pack of small cherry tomatoes
• 2 avocados
• 1 Tbsp of nutritional yeast
• Favorite Taco Shells
• 10 oz bag of Dandles Marshmallows
• 1 package of Oreos
• 2 Tbsp of vegan stick butter
• 2 Tbsp of coconut

Cauliflower Taco Meat

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups of Cauliflower
• 3 Tsp Salt
• 3 Tsp Pepper
• 2 Tsp Cumin
• 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 3 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast (you can leave this out and it won’t make much difference. Although, if you plan to start cooking more plant based meals, it is good to have in the pantry.)

Instructions:

• Chop Cauliflower add to pan
• Add spices or sub all of them and use half taco seasoning packet
• Add 1 Tbsp of nutritional yeast
• Add 2 cups of water bring to boil, then simmer 10 min
• Strain and done

Grilled Romaine Side Salad

• Cut the Romaine lengthwise in half and rinse. Leave it a bit wet. Not sopping but some drops of water helps it steam
• Lightly rub oil on both sides
• On a very hot grill, grill cut side down grill 2/3 min. flip and grill 2/3 min on other side
• Put grill Romaine on serving dish and add ½ cup of Pico to each half of Romain
• Add warmed up frozen corn on top of Romain
• Romaine will be chard and crispy on the outside and cool and crisp on the inside. The flavor and texture are blissful together!
• *Optional: Add Chipotle Bitchin’ Sauce (It’s so good). You’ll find it in Heinen’s produce section

Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients:

• Fine chop 3 cups cabbage
• 2 Tbsp Vegan Mayo
• 1 Tbsp of Chili powder
• ½ Tbsp of Salt
• 2 Tsp of Cayenne Pepper

Instructions:

• Chop cabbage, rinse, add mayo, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper, mix.
• It’s best if you can chill for 2 hours but not necessary. The crunch it has is great either way.

Onions Peppers Mushrooms

Chop half onion, red and green peppers, and mushrooms, add 1tsp of cumin, 1 Tsp on garlic powder, 2 Tbsp of Chili, 2tsp of salt and 2 Tsp of pepper.

Heat your pan, add small amount of oil if using nonstick pan. Cook on Medium/High heat about 8/10 min.

Tip: You can substitute all of the above spices and use ½ taco seasoning pack.

Refried Beans

When heating the refried beans in the pan, add ½ cup of water and heat on low, stirring often until warm. *Optional: Add 1 tablespoon of green chiles. Chop Tomatoes and Avocado for taco toppings

Vegan Oreo Bites

Ingredients:

• 10oz bag of Dandies Marshmallows
• 5 Cups Oreo smashed without the filling (take out filling and only use cookie part)
• 2 Tbsp vegan butter
• 2 Tbsp of coconut oil

Instructions:

• In a microwave safe bowl, combine marshmallows, butter and coconut oil.
• In 30 second intervals with quick stir between each, microwave mixture until marshmallows are fully melted.
• Mix in Oreos (crushed cookies only), stir and ball them up. You can microwave the cream middle and drizzle or we sprinkled powdered sugar and added cherries. **Make it gluten-free & use gluten-free Oreos.

Thanks to my test kitchen, which includes tasters who are friends, neighbors, painting customers, 18/8 hairstylists, local realtors and more! They’re the ones who are helping perfect my recipes. We hope you’ll follow along at Instagram.com/SilverLiningVegan.

Family owned & operated, Heinen’s Grocery is located at 500 N. Hough Street, between E. Main Street and Route 14 in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click here for the latest on how Heinen’s is serving customers, associates, suppliers and communities during the COVID-19 crisis. For more information, visit Heinens.com.

Heinen’s Grocery | 500 North Hough Street – Barrington, Illinois