Hi Reader, here’s a gift from me to you!

This year VeggieJeva has grown so much, and I’m thankful for all of the support that I’ve gotten. My series Veganized Puerto Rican started as something that I was going to work on once in a while, and eventually, it became most of my recipes. The response that recipes like the Vegan Puerto Rican Burger & Vegan Arroz con Salchichas got, was overwhelming!

So, as a thank you to you, I decided to put together a small Free EBook containing VeggieJeva’s four most successful Holiday recipes. This way you can have those recipes really handy when you’re preparing them for your Holiday Gatherings.

Here’s a preview: 

Download here: Veganized Puerto Rican_ Holiday Edition by The VeggieJeva Blog

Happy Holidays,

VeggieJeva

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Vegan | Gluten-free | Soy-free

Sandwiches de Mezcla are the most famous Puerto Rican finger food that I can think of. This staple can be found in practically in every single gathering; birthday parties, office parties, funerals, beach days, road trips, Christmas parties, school parties and way more. This is a phenomenon that everybody in Puerto Rico grows around with, and dare I say that a vast majority of people love them.

Puerto Ricans love these little sandwiches so much, it’s always the first appetizer to go; seriously put a plate of these on the party table, and they get attacked… Ever seen Animal Planet documentaries? It looks a lot like that, not joking! I have to admit, when I used to eat meat & cheese, I was all about the sandwichitos and probably ate unholy amounts; they’re kind of addictive. Guilty as charged!

My problem with them now? The original recipe is made with Spam (jamonilla or luncheon meat) & Cheez Whiz, two things that I haven’t eaten in years! Canned ground meat & fake cheese, yuuuuum (barf). But hey, this is why VeggieJeva & my series Veganized Puerto Rican exists! This is a recipe that I’ve been doing for quite a while, but haven’t gotten around to share: Vegan Sandwichitos de Mezcla.

How to: VeggieJeva’s version on this classic appetizer is clean, healthy & just as addictive. The ingredients used are super simple & you probably already have them in your kitchen; white beans, red bell pepper, cashews or walnuts, garlic & vinegar. So let’s talk about the texture of these? A lot of people like the mixture to be really chunky, and other people, like me, rather have the texture to be super smooth. To be able to nail the texture of your preference, it all comes down to how you blend this. I’ll explain more of this in the procedure.

Notes:

• For a gluten-free version, just use gluten-free bread.
• The color that you’re looking for while making this recipe is a redish-orange (blood orange?). Please don’t make the mistake of adding too much turmeric, as it can make your mixture yellow.
• Texture: The way to get the texture that you want (chunky or smooth) will depend on when you add the white beans. This batch is enough to make approximately 48 sandwichitos, maybe even more. This will depend on the amount of mixture that you put into each sandwich.
• It doesn’t matter how many of these you make, it will never be enough!

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Sandwichitos de Mezcla

Rating: 3.1/5

( 27 voted )

Serves: 15 Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes 15 minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• ½ cup cashews or walnuts, softened
• 1 (10 oz.) can white beans
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped (about ½ cup)
• Splash of plant-based milk of choice
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Dash of turmeric
• Splash of white vinegar or lemon juice
• 1-2 bags of sliced bread of choice

Procedure

1. Smooth Texture: Add softened cashews, white beans, bell pepper, cloves of garlic & a splash of plant-based milk to a food processor, blender or bullet. Blend until smooth, but make sure to make some stops along the way to see if more milk is needed. You want the consistency to be thick & creamy, not at all runny. When you reach the desired creaminess, add salt, pepper, a dash of turmeric (for color), and a splash of white vinegar, and blend again.
2. Chunky Texture: Add softened cashews, bell pepper, cloves of garlic & a splash of plant-based milk to a food processor, blender or bullet. Blend until smooth, but make sure to make some stops along the way to see if more milk is needed. You want the consistency to be thick & creamy, not at all runny. When you reach the desired creaminess, add the white beans, salt, pepper, a dash of turmeric (for color), and a splash of white vinegar, and blend again.
3. Pair up your sliced bread, and remove the edges. Spread on the mixture into each of the pairs to make sandwiches. Cut each sandwich into fours to make the Sandwichitos de Mezcla.
4. Serve and enjoy!

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Did you make this recipe? I would love to know how it turned out for you! Tag me in your Instagram creations for a chance to be featured in my insta stories! Use @veggiejeva and the hashtag #veggiejevaskitchen.

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Vegan | Gluten-free | Soy-free

Wondering what appetizers to have at your party? I got you!

This wonderful recipe I’m sharing with you today was actually inspired by an appetizer on the menu of one of my favorite restaurants. There is this wonderful restaurant in Old San Juan named Café Berlin that has the most incredible vegan menu. The best part is, the restaurant is not even vegan, they just have a separate vegan menu from appetizers to dessert. Even though it’s a bit of a drive (& a tad expensive), it’s absolutely worth it.

So, after I finished my last class this semester, me & my grad school friends headed over there for a celebratory dinner. Out of everything that we tried, the one that stood out for me was these plantain cups stuffed with bean salad. However, I thought that they were missing something & I challenged myself to replicate it.

The result was incredible! I can’t begin to tell you just how good and mouth watering these are. You get the crunchiness of the fried plantain and the burst of flavor from the spices in the grain salad.

How to: You can choose how to make your tostones, but for this particular recipe it’s best to fry them. To make the cups, I used a regular tostonera & then shaped them, but there’s a tostonera that presses the plantains into cups. If like me, you don’t own this type of tostonera, you can press the plantains with a regular tostonera and simply form into a cup using your hands, but be careful because they’ll be hot. Finally, stuff the cups with the grain salad. You can even serve with a dipping sauce like vegan mayo-ketchup, sriracha or guacamole if desired.

The filling for stuffed tostones can vary, use your imagination and try them with: vegan ceviche, pico de gallo, Puerto Rican stuffing (ground soy + fried sweet plantain), etc. The possibilities are endless!

Recipe: Stuffed Tostones Cups

Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:

• 2-3 green plantains
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• ½ onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Juice of 1 lemon (or sub for apple cider vinegar)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat canola oil in a large pan, to high-med heat.
2. Peel plantains and slice into wide rounds.
3. When the oil is ready to fry, reduce the heat to low-med.
4. Fry plantains in the heated oil until golden and completely cooked, about 8-12 minutes.
5. While the plantains are cooking, prepare your grain salad.
6. Drain all of the grains and rinse them well. Place in a large bowl.
7. To the grains, add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, minced garlic & chopped onions. Mix well and place in the fridge.
8. With a tostonera, press the plantains to flatten them into a disk, then shape into a small cup.
9. If you find that your plantains are still a bit raw, you can return them to the hot oil, and fry for 5 minutes more. Remove from the oil, place on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
10. Fill the plantain cups with the grain salad and top with cilantro, and avocado if you have some.
11. Serve immediately with your favorite side sauce, and enjoy!

Did you make this recipe? I would love to know how it turned out for you! Tag me in your Instagram creations for a chance to be featured in my insta stories! Use @veggiejeva and the hashtag #veggiejevaskitchen.

When you leave feedback it helps me improve and grow, leave me a comment below.

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I created some templates for you to use on your Instagram Stories. They’re all food related, but I also include templates for my Puerto Rican readers.

I really hope you love & enjoy them, as much as I enjoyed making them. Don’t forget to tag and challenge your friends in some of these!

Also, tag me in your answers!

Puerto Rican Food: This or That

Refrigerator Bingo

Local Vegan Friendly Restaurants

Vegan Q&A, for your followers to know you better

Which Vegan Food Have You Tried?

Check Your Wellness

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Last Saturday was my 23rd Birthday (YAAAY)! And contrary to the typical party that my family usually throws, this year I opted for a nice vegan dinner with friends & family.

Here’s a recap…

Early in the morning, my mom made my favorite pancakes, Oreo Pancakes! Complete with melted non-dairy chocolate chips on top.

The 11th of August is also the day that I received my lovely Barbs <3 This year is our 7th year anniversary together!

Later in the afternoon, I went to local jewelry designers, Muns Jewelry, a brand new shop opening event.

And then in the evening, we had dinner at my favorite plant-based restaurant, El Grifo. We had previously reserved their second floor for about 25 people.

Here are some photos & Instagram stories regarding the food (unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures of our meals since we didn’t want anyone in my family to feel uncomfortable).

Now, let’s talk about the cake. Midweek the person who was in charge of making my vegan cake, canceled. Midweek? A vegan cake for 25 people? Where?! I quickly remembered that one of my Instagram followers has a Vegan Bake Shop called Atabey’s Vegan Shop. I was so relieved when she agreed to work on the cake.

I ended up getting their Vegan Double Chocolate Cake with Avocado-Chocolate Ganache, and I couldn’t be any happier! Everyone loved it…

aaaaand that’s a wrap everybody!

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