HLife | Healthy Living Redefined

Vegan Stuffed Peppers by HLife Photography

Flavor and texture are prime in this Silvie 3.33 version of stuffed bell peppers. Why 3.33? Because I looked through a myriad of recipes to create and perfect this nutritious vegan one, and it turned out divine. If you needed healthy comfort food, look no further – this recipe will do.  Healthy, made from scratch, and delicious is our specialty. Let the salivation begin!

Prep: Preheat oven at 400 degrees. In a large pan, add the butternut squash and 1 1/2 cups of water, turn it to high heat, and let in boil for about 10 minutes.  Once the squash is kinda soft and the water is almost consumed, add the garlic, onions, soy butter, sea salt, black pepper, and cumin and saute for 2 minutes or until the onions are a bit transparent. Add the tempeh, mushrooms, zucchini and tamari and blend well, then turn the heat to medium high and saute for 5 minutes. If the pan in too hot, add a bit of water to let steam out. Add garlic powder and raisins and continue to mix for about 2 minutes, then turn heat off. Slice the top of the bell pepper, remove the core and seeds. With a teaspoon, add the sauteed mix inside the bell peppers and press down to stuff it tight (but not too tight). Put them in an oven-safe dish and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Nutritional info: This is a dish high in protein and vitamins C and A.  Tempeh is fermented soy beans with about 10 grams of protein in 1 cup, no fat, no cholesterol. It has off-the-charts amounts of manganese, a trace mineral that serves in numerous physiological functions. Tempeh is loaded with riboflavin, a B vitamin essential for the transfer reactions that happen in order to produce energy in the mitochondria of the cell and also a co-factor in the regeneration of one of the liver’s most important detoxification enzymes, glutathione. Tempeh is made from high-fiber soybeans; the fiber is able to bind to cancer-causing toxins and remove them from the body, so they can’t damage colon cells. Bell peppers are extremely high in Vitamin C, which is why we pair them with raisins and crimini mushrooms, which are rich in iron, because iron is much better absorbed with Vitamin C.  With their content of Vitamin B6 and folic, bell peppers reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Because the peppers are green, they are high in blood-cleansing chlorophyll.  The orange color of the butternut squash tells us of its betacarotene content, great for healthy eyes and skin. Our crimini mushrooms contain powerful antioxidants and phytonutrients that promote optimal health, especially a rich supply of selenium. Selenium is needed for the proper function of our body’s antioxidants, which keep us young, and protect us from cancer-causing toxins, free-radical damage and are also involved in DNA repair.