vegan burrito with garlic jalapeno sauce

Because it's for a serious health problem this time around, I've been trying to be very strict about my vegan diet (except for eggs). When I slip up I feel very guilty. 

I see it's difficult for people to understand (or even believe) why I need to be so careful, so if I do slip up, it really doesn't help me to convince them and it also introduces things into my body that could complicate my condition. 

But if you don't do it properly, veganism can get dull pretty quick. Especially because I cannot have any of the processed delights that most vegans can treat themselves to, or tofu (although admittedly I've been eating too much of it lately). 

It does get tiring--checking labels, always cooking from scratch. And being tired leads to laziness. Laziness leads to slip ups. I'm pretty proud of myself, though, because I had to be in a room with a bunch of people gorging on pizza (my favorite food) this weekend and I couldn't have any. Sure, I was surly about it, but I held strong, anyway, so whatever.

So, to keep myself on track, I've been trying to diversify my meals by looking up recipes online. I keep up with several vegan food blogs, such as Oh She Glows, Vegan Richa and Vegan Yum Yum (which is no longer updated, but still has good recipes!). 

Sometimes the recipes are a little too complicated for what I feel like doing, or I don't have the right ingredients on hand, or they inspire me to get creative and come up with my own dish. 

For this recipe I used a sauce from Vegan Richa, found here. I made the garlic jalapeno sauce exactly as instructed but instead of having it over pasta (which I also want to try), I decided to have it over some sauteed veggies, beans and rice.

It was really yummy and sort of satisfied the dairy cravings I've been having lately (even if only temporarily). The sauce was creamy and had the flavor of the jalapeno and a little of its heat, but not too much.

Get the sauce recipe here and for the rest you'll need:

1 small orange pepper, sliced
1 small yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 a medium onion, chopped
1 cup of brown rice
1 can black beans, drain and rinsed
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or other oil)
Wraps or tortillas (I used spinach wraps because I could not find flour tortillas at the store that day)
1/4 garlic jalapeno sauce
Optional toppings: salsa, vegan sour cream, vegan cheese shreds, avocado, etc.

Start your rice according to package instructions.

In a pan, melt your coconut oil over medium high heat. When you've brought your oil to temperature, toss in all of your veggies and sauté until they begin to soften and brown.

Add 1/4 cup of the garlic jalapeno sauce, and stir until the sauce is heated and the mixture is well combined.

Warm a tortilla in a clean warm frying pan or in the microwave (10-20 seconds) until soft and malleable. Layer rice, black beans and veggies and fold into a wrap.

Best served hot.

You could add more sauce if you like, or use a different kind of rice, or rice recipe (I bet Spanish rice would be delicious, too!)

I had mine with salsa and it was just wonderful :)

Enjoy!
-A.