Creamy non-dairy mashed potatoes

Okay, so maybe you like dairy in your mashed potatoes just fine, thank you.  Carni-Mom makes mashed potatoes with butter, cream cheese and sour cream.  And they taste good.  But dairy is rough on a lot of people’s waistlines, heart health and digestion, …. The good news is that if you are trying to cut back on dairy, or have someone who is lactose intolerant, or are just trying to eat less animal stuff and more plant stuff, you do not have to sacrifice delicious mashed potatoes.  Honest.  I swear up and down and sideways too.

You also don’t have to work that hard, because mashed potatoes are just a little more interesting with skin in.  Carni-Mom does not peel her potatoes ever since she burned them a bit one Thanksgiving and told us all that the brown bits were from peels.  Nobody minded.  My cousin dubbed them “Whole Wheat Mashed Potatoes” and there have been few peelers in the family ever since.  One little white lie can go a long way and become family tradition… Uh – that didn’t sound right, did it?

At any rate, these plant-based mashed potatoes arose out of leftovers, but will become the main point of cooking in the future!  They begin with an incredible and easy chickpea stew created by the wonderfully innovative Annie at anunrefinedvegan.  It is called Smoky Chickpea Stew with Spinach, Sausage, and Cashew Cream.  It is to die for and quite easy.  My family loves this and I highly recommend it.

Now as far as the cashew cream goes….. Well, it goes, baby.  It goes down real easy!  Yet, we have not used it all on any of the 3 occasions I have made the stew recipe.  I have added leftover cashew cream to an oil and vinegar salad dressing, used it as a dip or spread and when I had some leftover boiled red potatoes sitting next to the cashew cream in the refrigerator, it was a simple leap and a joyous union.  (I think they had been flirting for some time and I just abetted their inevitable relationship.)

I recommend you make the chickpea stew for dinner one night, and maybe even have some potatoes on to boil while it’s cooking if you won’t have time the next night.

On the next night, if you can keep your family away from the leftover chickpea stew that you wanted to take to lunch, haul out those leftover boiled red potatoes (with skins), heat them up and stir in the leftover cashew cream.  Now I didn’t measure this but you can hardly go wrong.  Just add cashew cream and a little unsweetened almond milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice) so that you can mix ’em up.

Add some salt to taste and watch them disappear.  My 12 year old does not use the cashew cream on his chickpea stew and in general is not a fan of the cashew concoctions we’ve been trying, but he LOVED these potatoes.

While I won’t bore you with lots of scary data, the data is out there that more plants in the diet is an excellent thing for health.  How lovely when you don’t have to lose an old favorite while getting healthier!

If you try the Chickpea Stew, make sure and let Annie know you liked it!

More help increasing the veggies in your life?… Veggie Basics and Dinner

More cashew goodness: Plant-based Creamed Kale

Cashew, sunflower seed cheese on burritos

And how about even easier Slow cooker burritos?

The options are endless when cooking with plants.  So celebrate Springtime, renewal, and hope (and reward your body) with delicious plant-based bounty.