Ohh my goodness, you guys. I am so impressed with how well this meal came out. Jeff said that it was restaurant quality. I’ll take that as a huge success! Since going (almost) vegan, I have had to push myself to find healthy options that are not bland and boring (ahem, chickpea pasta). Before removing meat from my diet, I was a protein and vegetables type of gal – with the intention to be healthy and toned as I worked on building muscle for an athletic physique. I still have the same health goals, exercise 5 days per week, and try to live a mostly paleo/gluten free lifestyle. This is harder to do as a vegan. So, when I came across a similar recipe to this one on Instagram (@letscookvegan), I had to try it for myself with some tweaks to make it paleo and vegan.

What you’ll need:

+ 2 large sweet potatoes or jewel yams (I used jewel yams)

+ 2 bunches of bok choy

+ 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

+ 1/2 cup sugar free/gluten free miso paste (Here is the one that I use)

+ 1.5 tablespoons tamari

+ 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

+ 1 teaspoon chili paste

+ 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

+ 1/2 cup vegan butter (Here is what I use)

Directions:

+ Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

+ Cut sweet potato into 2-3 inch thin pieces

+ Toss sweet potato slices with olive oil and place in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes.

+ While sweet potato is baking, mix together 1/4 cup miso paste, 1 tablespoon tamari, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, and 1 teaspoon chili paste.

+ Remove sweet potato from the oven and pour sauce mixture over the sweet potato pieces. Let marinate for 20 minutes.

+ While marinating the sweet potato, chop the bok choy into small pieces. Sauté with olive oil or vegan butter for 3 minutes until soft, remove from heat.

+ Put the sweet potato pieces covered in sauce in a large pan and cook on stove top for 8 minutes.

+ While sweet potato is cooking on the stove, melt 1/2 cup of vegan butter in a pan. Add 1/2 a tablespoon of tamari to the butter, 1/2 tablespoon of diced garlic, then 1/4 miso paste. Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.

+ Pour desired amount of miso butter mixture onto a plate. Add the bok choy, then top with a few sweet potato pieces. 

That’s it! The process might sound long and daunting, but it really only took 45 minutes including cooking time. 

Next on my list of vegan foods to try is cashew butter. Let me know if you’ve tried it in the comments below!

xo
Lynn