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Vietnamese Fresh Basil Spring Rolls

These rolls are fresh and loaded with flavor and  veggies! You will not be able to eat just one, I promise! Bonus: these rolls are very healthy and will fit almost any kind of diet. They are gluten free and vegan. This recipe is also great for anyone on an elimination diet.

spring rolls

I know we are in the middle of winter but that doesn’t mean it’s not the perfect time to eat something fresh and light. These rolls are so versatile. I love to use basil in mine, but they would also be great with fresh mint or cilantro. You could switch out the veggies, play around and make it to your particular taste. 

fresh veggies for spring rolls

These came together very quickly. It’s a good idea to have all your veggies chopped up before you get started putting your rolls together. I find it works best to put all your fillings together in the middle of the wrap and then roll it up tight like a burrito. The rice paper is very flexible just make sure you do not get it too soft or it will rip when you try to roll it together, but if you follow the directions according to the package it will work great!

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Soy is off limits to me but I have found I love Coconut Aminos even more and it is the main ingredient for the sauce to dip these delectable rolls in. 

Vietnamese Fresh Basil Spring Rolls
Yields 10
These rolls are filled with fresh veggies and are perfect as an appetizer or a meal.
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For the Rolls
  1. 2 carrots (shaved with a vegetable peeler)
  2. 2 cucumbers (sliced thinly)
  3. 1 avocado (sliced)
  4. handful of fresh basil
  5. 2 green onion tops
  6. thin rice noodles
  7. 10 Vietnamese spring roll rice wrappers
For the Sauce
  1. 1 tsp of minced garlic
  2. 1 tsp of chopped ginger
  3. 1/3 cup of coconut aminos
  4. 1 green onion top
Instructions
  1. Begin by chopping all the vegetables.
  2. Then cook the rice noodles according to the directions on the package.
  3. When the rice noodles are done get a bowl of warm water to prepare the rice wrappers.
  4. Dip the wrappers into the warm water until they begin to get soft. You want them soft but still a little firm because they will soften up as you are working with them,
  5. Lay the wrapper out flat on a cutting board and put all your veggies, basil and the rice noodles in the middle of the wrapper. Roll them up like you would a burrito. You can fold them ends in or leave them open. Be sure that you do not stack the completed rolls as they will stick together.
  6. To make the sauce you will need a small sauce pan. Combine all the ingredients and gently cook for about 5 minutes and you are done!
Notes
  1. If you have left over rolls you can wrap them each individually in saran wrap and store in the refrigerator up to two days.
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Tagliatelle with Artichokes and Roasted Tomatoes

This post is sponsored by Melissa’s Produce. Their steamed veggies are one of my staple grocery items. We used Melissa’s Steamed Artichoke Hearts to make this delicious pasta. Enjoy!

I’ve always been a bit intimidated by artichokes. I’ve had them in restaurant dishes several times, so I know I like them. But that green, spiky looking vegetable in the grocery section is another matter entirely. I’ve never cooked with them, and didn’t really know how to. So I was excited to get my hands on some of Melissa’s Steamed Artichoke Hearts. They took all of the intimidation (and the hard work) right out of the equation. The artichokes are ready to just throw into a recipe… so fast and simple! The artichokes come vacuumed sealed to preserve their just picked flavor. You can pick them up in the refrigerated section of your grocery store and have them on hand for when ever you need them. I love how convenient this is and how I don’t have to worry about them going bad before I get the chance to use them! Another great thing about Melissa’s artichokes is that they are Non-GMO and contain no allergens.

Melissa's Steamed Artichoke Hearts

Artichoke Pasta

This recipe is super-simple and very healthy. I like to roast tomatoes for a few minutes before adding them into a sauce because I think it makes them a tad sweeter. Adding a healthy splash of a sweeter white wine (we used a Vintner’s White from San Sebastien Winery in St. Augustine in this recipe) certainly helps as well. The artichoke hearts and onions worked well with the roasted tomatoes and resulted in a nice, chunky sauce. We like our pasta sauces very rustic, so feel free to chop your veggies a little finer if you prefer it that way.

Tagliatelle with Artichoke Hearts and Roasted Tomatoes
Tagliatelle goes great with this rustic sauce comprised of roasted tomatoes, artichokes, and onions.
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Prep Time
25 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
45 min
Prep Time
25 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
45 min
Ingredients
  1. 5 ripe tomatoes (the kind on a vine work great)
  2. 1/2 large onion, chopped
  3. 1/2 C basil, roughly chopped
  4. Juice from 1/2 lemon
  5. 4 cloves garlic, diced
  6. 1/2 C white wine
  7. Tagliatelle pasta, cooked according to directions
  8. 1 box Melissa's Steamed Artichoke Hearts
  9. 2 Tbsp olive oil
  10. Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Peel, quarter, and remove the cores from tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast for 20 minutes.
  3. Add the tomatoes (and any liquid) to a large pan over med-high heat. Add onions, garlic, artichoke hearts. Sautee for 10 minutes, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
  4. Add lemon juice and white wine. Sautee for 10 minutes more, stirring often. Check for seasoning and serve over tagliatelle.
Notes
  1. You can substitute vegetable stock or water for the white wine.
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Pasta Ingredients

How to cook artichokes

The sauce for this pasta is so light but so flavorful. The wine and lemon juice, as well as the copious amount of garlic, really make it stand out. 

Tagliatelle with Roasted Tomatoes and Artichokes

Thanks again to Melissa’s for sponsoring our post. Check out Melissa’s full selection of steamed veggies… I love them all!

Best Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Happy November! I hope the weather is still nice where you live. It’s been absolutely gorgeous around here lately, especially for Halloween! We’ve eaten way to much candy lately, so it’s definitely time for something a little healthier….

Jim and I are going to start making a conscious effort to have more meatless meals. Jim’s a big-time “meat-a-tarian” (as he calls himself), so meatless meals are quite an adjustment for him. Most of the time he will say that he likes my meatless creations when we’re eating them only to say the exact opposite when I bring up the idea of making them again. I am perfectly fine eating several meatless meals a week… it’s not as big a deal to me.

So we’re working on coming up with a few meatless meals that we can keep start working into our busy weeknight schedules. We’re off to a good start… we made a roasted vegetable lasagna for dinner a couple of nights ago and it was a winner. Jim even suggested that we make it again next week!

Roasted vegetable lasagna recipe

It’s a meatless “lasagna”. There are plenty of veggie layers, but no lasagna noodles. So it’s gluten-free & grain-free. 

Roasted vegetable lasagna recipe

Lots of veggies here, including grilled eggplant, roasted yellow bell peppers, roasted mushrooms, and roasted shallots. You could actually taste every single veggie in there. The star here was definitely the eggplant (it wasn’t actually roasted, Jim cooked it up in his grill pan). 

Roasted veggie lasagna recipe

Best Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Serves 2
Roasted veggies and grilled eggplant make this "lasagna" a winner. No carbs here!
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Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
1 hr
Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
1 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1/2 Eggplant, cut into thin rounds
  2. 1 large shallot, split in half
  3. 2 yellow bell peppers, sliced into quarters and seeded
  4. 1 C baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
  5. 1 C shredded mozzarella
  6. 1 C tomato sauce
  7. Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper as needed
  8. 1 Tsp dried basil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Saute (or grill) eggplant with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Wrap shallot in foil with about 1 tsp of olive oil and season with salt. Cook for 20 minutes, or until soft.
  4. Place bell pepper on a baking pan lined with foil. Roast for 30 minutes, or until skin starts gets slightly blackened.
  5. Place mushrooms on a baking pan lined with foil. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, or until browned.
  6. Change oven temp to 350F.
  7. Remove the skin from the bell pepper as much as possible. Remove the skin from the shallot and chop roughly.
  8. In a baking dish, layer eggplant, bell pepper, mushrooms, and shallots. Spoon tomato sauce over veggies and then cover with cheese. Sprinkle basil on top.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes.
Notes
  1. There are a lot of veggies here, so there's a chance that this can get watery. Just spoon out any liquid that cooks out.
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 Roasted vegetable lasagna recipe

 What are your favorite meatless meals? Do you do Meatless Mondays? Tell us about it in the comments!