Jambalaya with Vegan Sausage...and deep thoughts about vegan meat products

After I created this recipe I had to google the difference between jambalaya and gumbo...I decided it was jambalaya, I might be wrong about that though.  No matter what you call it, it is delicious and simple to make.  Since it's football watching season, it is also slow cooker season, so I busted out the slow cooker for this recipe.  I have never had a "light" meal come out of a slow cooker so I was worried about how a plant-based version of this dish would come out.  I was not disappointed, it was hearty, rich, and definitely football season worthy.  Here is what we are making:

Yes, that is sausage that you see in there.  It's vegan sausage!
Here are my deep thoughts about vegan meat substitutes:  When you are buying a vegan meat substitute first recognize that you are buying a processed food, so eat it in moderation.  Make sure that you are looking closely at the packaging and buying products that are made of whole foods (ie. vegetables, whole soy, tofu, tempeh, spices, herbs) and not soy isolates, derivatives, hydrolysed components etc.  A few brands that I buy are tofurky, Lightlife, and Dr. Praeger's.  FYI not all of the Dr. Praeger's products are animal free, some of the veggie burgers have egg whites.  Personally I would rather have a little bit of egg whites than deranged soy protein, but that's just me.  Questions?  Leave them in the comments or email me!

It's Jambalaya (or maybe Gumbo?) time!

Jambalaya with Vegan Sausage

Ingredients:
6 cups low sodium vege broth
1 cup brown rice
2 14.5 oz cans no salt added diced tomatoes (1 can plain, 1 can fire roasted used here)
4 vegan sausages (Tofurky Italian Sausage used here)
1 cup okra (optional, frozen works)
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1-2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme



Now just dump everything into the slow cooker!  Maybe give it a stir or two.

Put the slower cooker on the "high" setting, throw the cover on, and go outside and rake some leaves before the football game.  Let it cook for about 4 hours, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

By the way, if you are just not feeling it with the vegan sausage, feel free to substitute beans or mushrooms.

JAMBALAYA!











Happy eating and best health,

Dr. G