If you’re a part of my Chooselove tribe (sign up here if not because you definitely should be!) – then you know that I am now a founding member of the Food + Wellness Equity Collective. The Collective is a diverse group of content creators and entrepreneurs committed to being change agents for equity, diversity, and anti-racism in the food and wellness industry. Read more about our mission and initiatives here
This week, each of the members paired up to host our #SharethePlate campaign on Instagram where we discussed various health topics, diversity, equity, recipes, and more. I personally had the privilege of being partnered with Kim Rose – a registered dietitian, diabetes expert, and Nutrition Lifestyles Podcast co-host.
Aside from our passion for wellness and plant-based health, Kim and I both also come from Caribbean roots. With this in mind, we thought it would be great to showcase a traditional dish from our islands (Jamaica and Puerto Rico) with a vegan twist. Below you can find the recipes for the dishes we chose to highlight in our discussion.
Enjoy!
Kim Rose’s Jamacian Coconut Ceviche
Course: Uncategorized4
servings10
minutes8
minutesIngredients
2 cups coconut meat
2 cups plum tomatoes
1 small white onion
1/2 large cucumber
1/2 large avocado
1 lemon
2 cups of crimini mushrooms
1/2 jalapeno
Salt & pepper to taste
Directions
- Begin by dicing your onion, jalepeno, avocado and cucumber.
- Next, finely chop your coconut meat and mushrooms.
- Add all ingredients into a large bowl except for the mushrooms.
- In a pan on medium heat, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and toss in your mushrooms. Cook for 3 minutes or until brown.
- Once they are cooked, let them cool and add them in to the bowl with your other ingredients.
- Last, juice your lemon and pour over your bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Chantel’s Vegan Empanadas


Details
8-9
30 minutes
15 minutes
Ingredients
- Empanada Masa (dough)
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 tbsp pink Himalayan salt
1 cup of water
1 tbsp coconut oil (refined for no coconut flavor)
- Vegan “beef” Filling
1 package of vegan “ground beef”
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup Sofrito (blended onion, red peppers, green peppers, cilantro and recao)
1 tsp sazon
(I use the Eat Loisa brand and have a code under my discount tab )Tomato sauce (you can also use paste)
1 tsp Adobo
Himalayan salt, Oregano and Black pepper to taste
Directions
- Empanada Dough
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt well.
- Add in the oil and water slowly and mix with a large fork. Once it’s combined as best as you can with the fork, use your hand to knead the mixture until a dough ball forms.
- Once the dough resembles a large ball, cover it with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. Set aside on the counter for 30 minutes while you begin cooking your filling.
- Empanada Filling
- In a medium/large pan, add in a little coconut oil, minced garlic, and sofrito on medium heat until it slightly bubbles. Add in your vegan beef grounds.
- Cook on medium until crumbles soften and start to brown. Add in tomato sauce and spices.
- Continue cooking until fully tender. Add more spices as needed.
- Empanada Assembly
- Once your filling is done, grab your dough ball and spread a bit of flour on a cutting board to avoid sticking.
- Pull off a small piece and roll it into a flat circular shape. You can do this with a rolling pin or the palm of your hand. Once the dough is flat put in a large spoonful of filling in the center.
- Fold over one side to the other in the shape of a half moon and use a fork to press the edges together.
- The last step is to either fry the empanadas in a pan (flipping each side), air fry them, bake them or store in the freezer for later use. Enjoy!
Delicious