January's Guest Contributor is Laura with a Vegan Shepherds Pie Recipe.

Hey, hey, hey! It’s time for yet another guest contributor (GC). This guest contributor is my lovely friend Laura, I met her online several months ago in a woman’s group that we are both apart of. Laura and I have been networking and marketing together from the very beginning of our friendship, so I thought that having her be a GC over here on the sensual food blog was just a natural progression plus she is a fellow foodie too. So now let me turn things over to Laura:

Hey sensual soul's! My name is Laura; I am the main writer at Beloved Ophelia. I am doing a variety of things over there this year, including overhauling my whole life- going plastic free/sustainable, doing a No Spend Year Challenge, completing my journey to the Vegan promise land, and last but not least, writing a Vegan Comfort food Cookbook! The last one was inspired your own near and dear Lady L! This lady is such a hard worker and so amazingly talented! If you want to keep up with my journey, find new recipes, frugal tips, and diy's, follow me at my website, pinterest @belovedophelia, or instagram @glitternawesome.

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy the recipe! This time of year, I want food that sticks to my ribs. I have been honing my vegan cooking game for quite awhile, and the recent cold weather was the perfect excuse to drum up a healthier version of one of my fiancé’s favorites. He doesn't do mushrooms, so that meant mushroom gravy was out for this...but how to make a thick creamy interior? Pink lentils break down into a creamy thick soup texture, and with a little help from the starchy potatoes- a hearty meal is within reach! The best part about this dinner is it is packed with nutrients, so not only is it a delicious comfort food, but it is a healing meal. It is a Vitamin A powerhouse, with over 105% of your daily needs. This is fantastic news for your immune system during flu season. It's also incredibly high in iron (30%), with a pretty healthy dose of protein at 19.6g. This is also SO customizable! You don't like peas? Switch them out for a vegetable you do like! Don't want green beans? Replace with mushrooms! You can make this as wholesome and comforting as you wish. *This Recipe has the Option to use or omit oil- if you use the oil you will have a roasted garlic potato topping. If you omit the oil, you will use fresh garlic in the pie, but have a plain potato topper.

Vegan Shepherds Pie

Ingredients

Yukon Gold Potatoes/1 cup cooking water 2 pounds

Red Lentils 1⁄2 cup

TruRoot Accents sprouted organic lentils, green brown & black trio 1 Cup

Better Than Bouillon, Seasoned Vegetable Base 3 tablespoon

Sam's Choice Vegan Protein Broth 3 cups

Garlic 1 whole

Frozen Vegetable Seasoning Blend or Fresh Celery, Onion, Red & Green Pepper, Parsley 1 Cup

Shallot 1 whole

Green Beans 1.4 pounds

Corn 1⁄4 pound

Chopped Carrots 1⁄4 pound

Peas 1⁄4 pound

Spinach 1 cup

Thyme 1 teaspoon

Rosemary 1 teaspoon

Soy Sauce or Vegan Worchester or Liquid Aminos 1 tablespoon

Optional Olive Oil 3 tablespoon

Nutrition Information

This makes six 1 cup servings.

Calories: 380/serving (oil version) 340/serving oil-free version

Protein: 19 grams

Fat 7 grams (oil version) 2.5 oil-free version

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 f

1. Cut the potatoes into quarters, and place in quart sized pot, cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. These will cook for 15-20 minutes, until fork tender. When finished cooking, drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water to set aside. Mash potatoes with salt and pepper. If you are using the roasted garlic clove, take 3 cloves and mash into the potatoes. You can also add any vegan butter or non-dairy milk at this time if you choose. They are equally delicious without!

2. Take reserved cooking water and stir in the Better than Bouillon - this adds even more nutrients and flavor to the broth, as well as adding a little natural thickener to the lentil mixture.

3. Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat, if you are using oil, put two tablespoons in the pan to heat. If you are making this recipe oil free, take 1⁄4 cup of your vegetable broth, and heat it in the pan.

4. If you plan to use olive oil in the recipe, slice the top off of the garlic, place on a sheet of aluminum foil, and drizzle one tablespoon carefully over the garlic, making sure to fill all of the crevices. Then wrap the garlic up, and place in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the garlic is golden brown, and soft. If you do not plan to use the olive oil, finely mince 4 cloves and set aside.

5. Mince the shallot, and chop the carrot into 1⁄4 in chunks.

6. Place the carrot, shallot, and the seasoning blend in the pan, cover, and stir occasionally until translucent and aromatic. If making this oil free, add the four cloves of garlic at this time, and cook until translucent.

7. Now you can add the lentils to the vegetable mixture, along with the cup of veggie broth, and protein broth. Bring to a low boil, cover, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

8. After 30 minutes, add the corn, peas, and green beans, and cook for another 10 minutes. Then you can stir in the spinach until wilted-about five minutes. Take two heaping spoonfuls of the potatoes, and mix into the lentils, to thicken up the mixture. If you are using the roasted garlic, now you can mash two cloves into the lentils. Stir in the soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

9. Place the lentil mixture into a 9x13 oven safe dish, and carefully top with the mashed potatoes. In case of boil over, you can place this on an aluminum tray, and slide into the oven for 30 minutes, or until the inside is bubbly and the top is golden brown.

Until next time!

xo

Lady L