Steamed Veggies and Brown Rice

Yep, that's right... pretty basic.  Today I woke up sore from the gym, without an ounce of creativity in my blood stream.  All I could think of was "healthy... must eat healthy".  Vegan food is sort of known for being healthy, yet, one could eat nothing but potato chips and still be considered vegan.  So without further or due, a vegan meal that is unmistakably healthy, and pretty good too!

(GF)This meal is naturally gluten free, if you opt. not to use a faux meat.

Under all of that luscious gravy, there's a vegetable or two!

Ingredients:

4 Cups of cooked brown rice (I chose organic)

1 head of broccoli

4 or 5 medium sized potatoes

4 carrots

1 cup loosely packed baby spinach

Gravy Ingredients:
1 Cup of cashews (roasted or raw)
2 tsp. onion powder
1/5 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt (I like to use pink Himalayan salt, just because it's healthier than regular, but that's optional)
2 Tbs. Cornstarch
2 tsp. chicken-like seasoning
2 cups of water

Directions:
~First, start cooking your rice according to the package directions (don't forget to keep an eye on it, while you're cooking the other stuff)
~Second, cut your vegetables into bite size pieces (you don't want them to big, or it'll take a while to steam) Leave the spinach out, til you're making your plate, it's raw in this recipe.
~Blend your gravy ingredients until no graininess can be felt between the fingers (smooth), it's easier if you blend with 1 cup of water until smooth, and then add the second cup and blend for a few more seconds.
~Pour your gravy into a small pot and heat on medium low to thicken.  It should be runny after blending, but the cornstarch and the heat thicken it quickly, so watch and give it a stir once per minute or so.
~Throw your veggies into a steamer (except spinach).  You can steam them all together, but I like to first steam the carrots and potatoes, and add the broccoli in the last 10 minutes, so that it retains it's bright green color.
~Steam for about 30 minutes, and check with a fork to make sure they're soft.  If not, steam 10 more minutes.
~Once your rice is cooked, your gravy is as thick as you'd like, and your veggies are soft, layer them as follows:

Brown rice on bottom, then sprinkle with raw spinach, then veggies, then gravy.... Enjoy!

**Feel free to add a faux meat like Morning star "chicken strips", if you don't mind the gluten