- The secret to making
delicious healthy meals all week long is sauces. Let me explain. Eating a wholesome nourishing diet can be kind of complicated. Healthy food is often bland. Meal prep gets boring real quick. And who has the time to
cook fancy pants meals every night of the week. That's where sauces come in. Take 20 minutes on a Sunday to prep one or two flavorful sauces and your life will get so much easier. A good sauce transforms simple
foods into something gourmet and makes it a breeze to whip
up delicious weeknight meals. Today I'm sharing four
delicious yet easy sauces. More importantly, I'm gonna
show you how to use these sauces so you can make tasty and fast plant-based meals all week long. First up, we're making vegan tzatziki, which is a yogurt sauce. It's basically Greece's
superior answer to ketchup. It goes great with so many
things, fritters, sandwiches, raw veggies, pita chips, salads, and more. For tzatziki, it is really important to
use the right kind of yogurt. So traditionally it's
made with Greek yogurt. To keep things vegan, I like to use a thick coconut yogurt, ideally one that's on the tart side, kind of like a traditional yogurt. These are my current two
favorites that fit the bill. But if you can't have
coconut for some reason, this is a thick Greek
style almond based yogurt. You definitely wanna avoid
the thin vegan yogurt, especially those that
have a sweet undertone because it's gonna taste a bit weird here. Grab an English cucumber or a couple Persian
cucumbers and a box grater. It is gonna take a little elbow grease wrap the remains of your cuke
in a thin dish towel like this or a nut milk bag and squeeze
with all of your might. If you've been skipping
wrist day at the gym, this might be a struggle. (gentle music) Fresh dill is another classic
ingredient in tzatziki. I remove the tough portion of the stems but I don't really bother
about the tender ones. I leave those in. And just mince this up finely. Add the dil to the bowl along with the cucumber and the yogurt. And then grate two fat
garlic cloves right in there A couple teaspoons of red wine vinegar for that punchy brightness. Can use lemon juice if you don't have any. And of course some salt and pepper. And just give that a mix. If you're making the tzatziki on Sunday as part of your meal prep, but not planning to eat it
until a couple days later, I would actually wait until
the day you're eating it to grate the cucumber and fold it in, cause the cucumber starts
to release water as it sits. Also, I'm gonna finish
with some olive oil now, cause we're gonna eat
this with dinner tonight. But if you are serving
this a couple days later wait to add the olive oil
until you're ready to serve. Now that you have some
tzatziki in your fridge there are so many great meals you can throw together quickly. (gentle music) If it's tomato season, my personal favorite
is a Greek salad bowl. Start with a simple Greek
salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, capers, olives,
and extra virgin olive oil, plus red wine vinegar. To add some bulk add in roasted chickpeas and crumble in some vegan
feta if you have it. Dollop the tzatziki on top and pair with toasted pita and you have yourself a truly incredible Greek inspired meal. Tzatziki is super underrated as a replacement for mayo
in sandwiches and wraps. Pile it on your wrap. Add some dressed greens and crisp veggies, some creamy white beans and avocado. Just make sure to buy a big enough wrap or you'll end up looking like this. (gentle music) I also love to use this as an everything sauce on my grain bowls. Pair your favorite grain. Mine is faro with a roasted
vegetable, like cauliflower, your protein of choice, dollop a generous amount
of the tiki on top and add something crunchy from your pantry for the perfect blend of textures. This is also a great sauce
for plating roasted vegetables like carrots, cabbage, or broccoli. And you can easily turn that into something more hearty by
adding simply dressed beans or roasted nuts like pistachios. And if you have more time on your hands, you can whip up Greek zucchini fritters and pair those with the tzatziki or take the lazy way out
and pick up some falafel from the freezer section
of your grocery store and have yourself a little
Mediterranean feast. Next up, we're making beet hummus. This is definitely our most
involved sauce slash dip but she's worth it. I mean, have you ever seen
anything so beautiful? I didn't think so. Place your washed and scrubbed beets in an ovenproof baking dish. Rub them with just a
little bit of olive oil so they have a thin coating. And add a half cup or so of water. (water pouring into dish) Cover this tightly with
foil or an ovenproof lid and we're gonna steam
roast, kind of hybrid them, in an oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 to 60 minutes. If you're in a time crunch, you can use those pre steamed beets that some grocery stores
sell in the produce section. But if you want the best
flavor in your hummus and the most vibrant color, I really recommend
roasting your own beets. It takes a little time, yes, but it's completely hands
off work in the oven. And once you go through the
trouble of roasting one beet it's really easy to roast
multiple beets at once. So not only can you have
beet hummus during the week you can also have some roasted beets to add to your salads and grain bowls. While the beets are roasting, let's go work on our chickpeas. I am a huge proponent
of using dried chickpeas in a classic hummus recipe, but with beet hummus you get some extra flavor
and moisture from the beets. And in our many tests we found that canned
chickpeas worked totally fine. So that's what we're using
to be a little bit quicker. For the smoothest texture though, it does help to simmer
your canned chickpeas. After you drain and rinse them, add them to a sauce pan, cover
with an inch or two of water. A little baking soda here helps
to tenderize them even more. And once this comes to a boil reduce the heat to a rapid
simmer for 20 minutes or until the chickpeas are very soft. Once you drain them, if you see any loose
skins floating around, that doesn't sound great, does it? Go ahead and remove them so you get that irresistible,
silky, smooth texture. It's time to check on our beets. If they're easy to pierce
with the fork, they are done. Otherwise, throw them back in the oven. Well don't throw them, gently place them back in the
oven for another 10 minutes. While the beets are still warm, you want to run them under cool water, that's gonna make it really easy for them to slip right out of their peels. I recommend using food safe gloves, if you don't wanna get
your hands stained pink. I couldn't find mine, so clean dish gloves it is, works fine. Yes, your sink will
look like a crime scene but it is worth it. (production bleep) Now that we've got our super soft chickpeas
and roasted beets, it's time to blend our hummus up. I am using a Vitamix today just because it gives you
the smoothest results. Totally not necessary. A food processor works fine. If you are gonna use a blender, make sure your blender
cup is on the small side cause otherwise it won't blend. Since there's not really
any liquid in here. You'll blend the chickpeas
for one to two minutes until they turn into a paste like puree. You're gonna need to scrape
down the sides a couple times. Now add in the cooked beets and a heaping one-third cup
of a good quality tahini. Make sure it's not a bitter one. I've got some recommended tahini brands in the description box below. Three garlic clothes. I like to chop them up so I don't accidentally get some unblended garlic in my hummus. The zest of one large lemon. And we need to squeeze
out all of the juice, I told you not to skip wrist day. And a quarter teaspoon of
ground cumin and coriander. Salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a half tablespoon of
extra virgin olive oil for a little richness. Now for the fun part, blending. Okay, it's actually not that fun if you use a blender like I did because you have to stop
and go every five seconds to scrape down the sides. But in the end you get
this incredibly gorgeous and very tasty hot pink goop. I mean, just look at that. You're gonna be so happy to
have this in your fridge. (gentle music) On really hot days where I'm so sweaty I
can't be bothered to cook, I'll make a mezze platter for dinner. So top the hummus with some
olive oil, parsley, and za'atar and then pair it with your
favorite accoutrement, pickle vegetables, fresh
vegetables, pita, olives. You get the point. Another obvious option is to
dollop this on a grain bowl. Start with some brown rice or any rice. Add some massaged kale,
a protein like tofu, a seed sprinkle for some healthy fats, and then the beet hummus. Simple, but really, really good, especially if you have
some toasted crispy panko to add at the end. Now let me share a
couple less obvious ways I like to use this. It is so good as a sandwich spread. My current favorite
features this beet hummus, sliced and pan fried
tofu, sprouts, cucumbers, some crisp lettuce, pickled
onions, and vegan feta. It's delicious and it's prettier than all the other sandwiches. I love using this in salads too. So start with your
favorite blend of lettuces. I like kale and romaine. Some chopped veggies and fresh herbs, like mint and parsley are really nice. Your best olive oil and vinegar to dress, some roasted chickpeas for protein, and that crispy panko topping or something crunchy like nuts. This is good on its own, but it gets taken to the next level with a dollop of creamy beet hummus. If I have leftover beet hummus, I'll even use it to make a salad dressing. Just thin it out with a few splashes of
lemon juice or vinegar. Add a little water and a
pour it over your salad. Add in some lentils, a crispy,
nutty topping, and avocado and you have a great variety
of texture and flavor. Next up, we're making the
best vegan queso sauce you will ever eat. We'll start with one cup of raw cashews. I'm using a high powered blender today so all I need to do is cover the cashews in boiling water for 15 minutes. But if you're working with
something less powerful, you'll wanna soak your cashews
overnight in cool water or boil them on the stove for 15 minutes. And from here it is exceptionally easy. Everything just goes in the blender, drained cashews, a
container of vegan yogurt. It should go without saying,
but let me just remind you, it should be unsweetened vegan yogurt. No blueberry yogurt here please. One teaspoon of ground cumin and a half teaspoon each of
smoked paprika and chili powder. Two tablespoons of nutritional
yeast for that cheesy flavor. Two tablespoons of pickled jalapenos, and two tablespoons of the
brine from the very same jar. This is gonna give our queso
some serious Tex-Mex vibes. And a couple grounds of black pepper. Last thing we're gonna
add is a half cup of salsa and this is where you can tailor the heat. So if you want a spicy
queso, use a spicy salsa. If you want a mild queso,
use a baby mild salsa, I mean a mild salsa, you know what I mean? I'm gonna use a spicy salsa. It's time to blend. Again, you might need
to scrape down the side or tamp things down a couple times but this should be ready
in just a few minutes. (gentle music) I've been making the
sauce for over four years and it never gets old. It is like liquid gold and it's so easy. You are kind of limited to
Mexican-ish or Tex-Mex meals, but they're so delicious, I don't think you will mind very much. Some of my favorite ways to use it are in a quesadilla like this
buffalo chickpea quesadilla, any kind of burrito, a
crunch wrap supreme, nachos. If I've meal prepped
my Mexican black beans I'll probably make some tacos. I like to char some tiny corn tortillas or you know regular sized
ones if I have them, add avocado, pickled onions,
the queso and cilantro. They're really easy to make and they're adorable and so fun to eat. For a burrito bowl, if you're keeping it simple, you can start with rice and beans, add some fajita veggies and
store bought pico de gallo, and then your queso. If you're feeling really ambitious, go ahead and make a copycat
chipotle burrito bowl with sofritas, guacamole,
and homemade salsa and dollop the queso on top. Up next we're making one of
my favorite classic sauces that is so versatile, vegan pesto. Start by heating up a
skillet over medium heat. Add your nuts and toss 'em around. Ah, that came out weird, again, I'm sorry. Anyhoo, we're looking to get
them toasted but not burnt. It should take about four to five minutes. We're making a pretty
classic basil pesto today. So I'm using pine nuts. I know they are pricey, so
if you wanna substitute them with walnuts or cashews or
pistachios, those all work well. And that's the nice thing
about pesto in general is that it's very
adaptable and customizable. So if basil's not in season you can use dill, or parsley,
or cilantro, or mint. Just um, don't tell anyone
from Italy I said that. I like to blitz the nuts
in the food processor first so I get a fine crumb. And to this we'll add in about three cups of fresh basil leaves, two chopped garlic cloves, the zest and juice from
half of a lemon to start, salt and pepper, and some nutritional yeast. Since we're not using Parmesan we want a little bit of umami. Blend all of this until a paste starts to form. The sides of the food processor are definitely gonna need
a little scrape down. Now we'll stream in our
extra virgin olive oil while the blades are running. Taste for seasoning. And at this point you can
add more lemon if you like, salt, garlic, or nutritional yeast. And the finished product
should not be perfectly smooth. It should still have a little
bit of texture like this. The pesto should last up to five days in an airtight container
or jar in the fridge or even longer if you choose to freeze it. (gentle music) When it comes to pesto the obvious move is to add it
to your pasta or pasta salad. And don't get me wrong, that is delicious. I do it often, but there
are so many other ways you can use this. Pesto also makes a
phenomenal sandwich spread. Put it on some sourdough along with fried tofu, sliced tomatoes, other vegetables you might like, and you have a kind
of, sort of very loose, vegan crazy sandwich. I also love dolloping pesto into soup. It's a fantastic flavor booster. Pesto is also a great way to
dress up a vegetable salad. Take some blanched green beans or even asparagus if it's in season. Add some thinly sliced
shallots or red onions, fresh basil and parsley,
capers, toasted nuts, and pesto. This is such a lovely side dish or even a light dinner
alongside some good bread. Likewise, this pesto
elevates a super simple salad of shredded carrots and zucchini from something admittedly blah into something quite gourmet, especially if you toss in some roasted pistachios and vegan feta. And I really recommend trying other herbs instead of basil when it's not in season, like cilantro. Cilantro pesto is great
with Mexican flavors. I have a recipe for 20
minute chickpea tacos with cilantro pesto in my blog. And obviously if you
make the pesto in advance the tacos will take you like 10 minutes. I've linked all four
of these sauce recipes in the description box
below for you to check out. As for me, I have some eating to do. Thanks for watching, bye. (production bleep) (gentle music)
