Estee Raviv, a chef and creator of the online community From Estee’s Kitchen, has released a vegan mediterranean cookbook titled, “Oy Vey Vegan: Vegan Cuisine with a Mediterranean Flare.” The cookbook contains recipes for traditional Jewish foods like matzo ball soup, “cheese” blintzes, shawarma made of soy, and a veggie-based cholent, along with dishes like baked okra, cheese-free parmesan, decadent eggplant soup, and chocolate banana bread.

Raviv, a vegan herself with an Ashkenazi Jewish background, decided to start creating plant-based food because of the positive effect it had on her. “My inspiration for the book was my journey into a plant-based diet,” she said. “I was so happy with the change it made for my health and my digestive system in general, that I felt the need to share my knowledge with the world and to help as many people as possible that might have the same symptoms I had.”

In her kitchen in Portland, Oregon, Raviv creates recipes on a daily basis, sometimes putting twists on her childhood favorites, and coming up with new ones at other times. “I am a very curious person,” she said. “[I’m an] artist in my soul and it’s in my nature to try and create new recipes all the time. I stock my pantry with tons of dried beans, rice, quinoa, buckwheat, and many other dried ingredients, as well as [stock] my fridge with plenty of fresh produce, all the time, and play ‘Chopped’ with myself.”

Raviv believes that the Jewish community should not eat so many animal products for the sake of the animals, the environment, and people’s health. She said “Oy Vey Vegan” is important because it encourages readers “to try healthy and delicious recipes. [It also breaks] the stigma that vegans only eat seeds and lettuce.”

The author and chef also claims that if you follow her recipes, it can help reverse type 2 diabetes, allow you to lose weight naturally “without compromising on good, tasty food,” and add a few years to your life if you have cancer. Plus, she said her food is, “great as preventative medicine. My motto is don’t change your diet when you get sick. Start today and prevent sicknesses.”

If you’d like to start incorporating more kosher vegan recipes into your diet, here is some inspiration, courtesy of From Estee’s Kitchen.

Matzo Ball/Kneidlach Soup

Ingredients

3 red potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed (1 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup matzo meal

2 tablespoons arrowroot

1 tablespoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons club soda

Directions

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and place in the fridge for about a half hour.

Create balls from the dough, and cook them in the boiling soup. They are ready when they float.

Take them out as soon as they are ready. When you’re ready to serve, simply add 2 to 3 balls into a serving plate, pour the soup on top, and serve.

You can add it to any vegetable soup.

Eggplant Lentil & Butternut Squash Moussaka

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants cut length wise, roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper

2 cups green lentils, washed and steamed

6 cups butternut squash cut into small cubes

1 medium onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

Olive oil, about 2 to 3 tablespoons or olive oil spray

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Salt

Pepper

For the sauce

2 cups boiling water

1 can tomato paste, about 6 oz

1 tablespoon, no chicken paste

For the black rice

2 cups rinsed black rice

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups water

Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes until all the water has soaked into the rice.

Take a large 10×14 inches Pyrex dish and spray oil. Put aside.

In a baking sheet, spray some olive oil and lay the butternut squash with olive oil, rosemary, pepper, and salt.

Drizzle with olive oil and make sure it’s well coated, or you can spray the bottom and the top.

Roast until golden but not completely soft.

In a nonstick pan, sauté the onion with the garlic, salt, and pepper until golden brown.

Layer the dish. First, lay the roasted eggplants on the bottom of the Pyrex dish.

Next, add the steamed lentils and then the onion mixture, and then pour the sauce mixture on top.

Lastly, add the butternut squash, spread evenly on the top and bake at 350F for 50-60 minutes.

When ready, let it set for at least 15 minutes before serving.

I chose to serve this dish with black rice, because black rice is a great way to feed your kids whole grain, and homemade tahini sauce.

Author: Kylie Ora Lobell Kylie Ora Lobell is Jewess in chief of Jewess. She is also a freelance writer who lives in Los Angeles with her husband, comedian Danny Lobell, and their two dogs, six chickens, and tortoise. Twitter Facebook

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