Hey PBJ Family!!
You can never have enough delicious, plant-based cookbooks. Am I right?
With The Colorful Kitchen*, you do not need fancy equipment or expensive “never-heard-of” ingredients to make delicious, healthy, vegan meals at home. Have you been in search of a cookbook that includes a colorful photo with every recipe? You wanna talk about drool city? After flipping through every recipe in this book and viewing the vibrant, colorful photos, you cannot help but drool a little.
Certified health coach and plant-based food blogger Ilene Godofsky Moreno’s cooking philosophy is “colorful, not complicated.” When you fill your plate with color, you’re not only adding flavor and visual appeal – you’re filling your plate with health. Her recipes emphasize vivid combinations of wholesome, plant-based ingredients full of essential vitamins and minerals -because counting colors is way more fun than counting calories and carbs. Ilene guides readers though easy-to-follow preparations that will make every meal as exciting as it is nourishing.
The Colorful Kitchen’s vibrant, sustaining recipes include:
- Pink & Purple Coconut Smoothie
- Pineapple & Peanut Sauce Tofu Wrap
- Coconut Crusted Avocado Fries
- Roasted Rainbow Bowl with Maple Mustard Dressing
- Harvest Butternut Squash & Apple Burgers
- Strawberry Loaf with Cream Cheese Glaze
- Chocolate Hummus
- Miso Tahini Cookies
There are recipes for smoothies, breakfast, salads, soup, sandwiches, sides, snacks & appetizers, entrees, dessert, and kitchen staples & sauces. One recipe that really stood out to me was the BKT, which is the bacon, kale, and tomato sandwich. I absolutely LOVE trying new vegan, plant-based BKT recipes, how about you? I am sure many of you have watched the video that went viral of Tabitha Brown trying the TTLA (tempeh bacon, tomato, lettuce, and avocado) sandwich from Whole Foods and fell in LOVE. If you have not yet watched this hilarious video, CLICK HERE. Now is your chance to experience plant-based heaven without having to drive to a Whole Foods store. Recipe below for the BKT. ENJOY!!

BKT (bacon kale tomato), pg. 104, Photo © Ilene Godofsky Moreno
Text excerpted from The Colorful Kitchen, © 2017 by Ilene Godofsky Moreno. Reproduced by permission of Benbella Books. All rights reserved.
BKT (Bacon Kale Tomato)
TOTAL TIME: 5 MINUTES
MAKES: 4 SANDWICHES
Bye-bye BLT, hello BKT! The perfect balance between crunchy kale, creamy mayo, and hearty tempeh makes this sandwich a true upgrade.
8 slices of bread
2–3 tablespoons vegan mayo
2–3 tablespoons mustard
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
½ batch Easy Kale Salad (see below)
1 batch Tempeh Bacon (see below)
Avocado slices (optional)
- Toast the bread.
- Spread the mayo on 4 slices of the bread. Spread the mustard on the other 4 slices.
- To assemble the sandwiches, layer the tomatoes, Easy Kale Salad, Tempeh Bacon, and avocado (if using) on 4 of the slices of bread. Top with the other 4 bread slices.
- Plate the sandwiches and enjoy immediately.
Easy Kale Salad
TOTAL TIME: 10 MINUTES
MAKES: 4 SERVINGS
DRESSING
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon tahini, plus extra for drizzling
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Salt and black pepper, to taste
SALAD BASE
1 bunch kale, shredded
ADD-ONS
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 red onion, sliced
¼ cup sunflower seeds
- Stir the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add the kale. Use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale until it wilts, about 2 minutes. Top with the add-ons (or include your own additions) and toss. Transfer to plates and serve.
Tempeh Bacon
TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES
ACTIVE TIME: 10 MINUTES
MAKES: 4 SERVINGS
1 tablespoon tamari
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 teaspoons vegan
Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon paprika
Dash of cayenne pepper(optional)
TEMPEH BASE
1 (8-ounce) package tempeh
1 tablespoon olive oil
- Prepare the marinade by stirring all the ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Slice the tempeh lengthwise into strips about ⅓ inch thick, then cut the strips in half crosswise.
- Add the tempeh to the bowl with the marinade and mix until the pieces are coated. Let the tempeh sit for at least 5 minutes—the longer, the better (overnight in the refrigerator is great).
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the marinated tempeh and fry for about 5 minutes on each side, until browned. Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. CONGRATS, CYD!!
The publisher, Benbella Books, was nice of enough to send me a review copy. Guess what? They are even more amazing, and offering a FREE copy to a PBJ reader (U.S. and Canada only please).
For your chance to win a copy, post your answer below to this question:
What colors typically fill your plate/bowl when preparing one of your favorite dishes?
Deadline for the giveaway is Monday, April 2nd at midnight (CST). I will email the winner by Wednesday, April 4th.
Pickup your copy of The Colorful Kitchen HERE*.
(feel free to pickup extra copies for your friends, and family).
We would LOVE for you to connect with us on
Facebook
Twitter @laurayblack
Pinterest
Instagram @plantbasedjunkies
Feel free to use hashtag #plantbasedjunkies so we can stay connected.
Disclosure: The publisher sent me a copy of the book to review. All opinions are my own, and I happily recommend this book to you. Also, this post contains affiliate links, indicated by a *
I try to always have some red and some green.
First, because I love colorful food, and second, I love taking pictures of my food, so not only does my food taste good but it looks pretty too.
Tofu Mom recently posted…White-Bean, Green-Chile Chili
I love to add as many colors as possible but definitely red and green!
I add greens to my mashed potatoes.
Hmmmm, so many to choose from, but a burrito recipe comes to mind. I love red and green peppers, yellow corn, dark red kidney beans, and fresh greens, drizzled with an orange cheese sauce. yummy!
Red for certain! But I do love all the colors.
Red, green and black 🙂
I need help 🙂 mostly bland colors , white potatoes, and maybe yellow corn
I would say greens usually fill my plant-based dishes! I’ve been loving brussel sprouts recently
I try to get the colors of the rainbow in every day. My plate usually has green, red and brown.
Tonight we had a bland dinner, I said to my husband, the colors were yellow and ivory! I usually try to have lots of colors, like red, purple, green and yellow!
My favorite dish is Pad Thai so brown, orange, red, green and white!
I like to add tomatoes, bell peppers, artichoke hearts, carrots and many other veggies in a salad!
Reds, yellows, greens, orange and a touch of purple!
What colors? Usually green (greens), yellow (curry) and spots of brown (mushrooms). Fun question!
I just posted on Facebook but will repost here . My favorite bowl has greens, red bell pepper red onion red tomatoes orange carrot curls steamed purple or orange cauliflower and avocado with a dressing made of balsamic vinegar maple syrup and Dijon mustard
Green and yellow