Fridge Voyeur is a virtual visit into the chill zone of the Spoon Crew — our team, our friends, and some of your favorite wellness gurus. We may eat a lot of plants, but you better believe there’s a whole lot of variety, and a little bit of naughty, going on behind closed doors. We know you want a peek!

This week, we’re peeking into the fridge of cookbook author, podcast host, women’s health advocate, and creator of One Part Plant, Jessica Murnane.

Splendid Spoon: Hey Jessica! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Jessica: Hello! I’m the creator of the One Part Plant Movement (my mission to get the world to eat at least one plant-based meal a day). One Part Plant started after my own personal transformation through changing my diet. I have Stage IV endometriosis. Seven years ago, I could barely make it out of bed because of the pain. After years of surgery, pain killers, and being severely depressed, my doctor said my only option was a hysterectomy.

As a last ditch effort to avoid the surgery, I tried a plant-based diet (with zero expectations of it working). But it did! Within months I started to feel better. There is no cure for endometriosis (a disease that affects 1 in 10 women), but I am now managing it with food and lifestyle changes. Changing my diet was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I never want it to be that hard for anyone else. I want to help make that transition easier and more delicious. I do that with One Part Plant!

SS: What are the five staples you can’t live without?
JM: In my cookbook, I cover my Top Ten Pantry Essentials. If you have these and some veggies, anything is possible.

Narrowing it down to five is gonna be tough, it’s like choosing my favorite child, but I can do this: 
1. Nuts (you can make both nut butters and milk with them, so they’re a BOGO!) 
2. Coconut Milk 
3. Tahini (I love Soom Tahini) 
4. Beans and lentils
5. Good salt (I’m a big fan of Bulls Bay Saltworks)

SS: What’s the weirdest thing in your fridge?
JM: Right now, it’s the giant bag of boiled peanuts. Boiled peanuts are so, so gross to me. The texture alone…I just threw up a little. But since my family moved down South (to Charleston, SC), my husband buys them all the time. Even though I won’t eat them, they are still pretty fun to see in the fridge. I love living in the South so much and those little nuts represent our special city.

SS: What’s your fave sweet and what’s your fave savory?
JM: For sweet: I’m a cookie girl. I also love having ice cream between cookies. I’ve been obsessing over Nada Moo ice cream lately. It’s the best dairy-free ice cream I’ve ever had.

For savory: Middle Eastern food always hits the spot for me. A big mezze of baba ganoush, Jerusalem salad, hummus, and some batata harra (spicy potatoes with garlic and cilantro) is my dream dinner!

SS: If you were one thing in your fridge, what would it be?
JM: A jar of almond butter: reliable, versatile, sometimes a little salty, sometimes a little sweet.

SS: Finding time to cook for ourselves midweek can be challenging. Can you share your go-to weeknight dinner recipe?
JM: I know! When I changed my diet one of the hardest things was not knowing what to eat after a long day at work.

Here’s my go-to recipe for the week:
1. Make a little basmati rice.
2. While the rice is cooking. Sauté whatever veggies are in the fridge with some garlic.
3. Make an easy sauce. Blend together almond butter, tamari (you can sub soy sauce), whatever spicy sauce you have on hand (buffalo, red curry, or sriracha), add a little veggie broth, and a squeeze of lime juice.
4. Fill the bowl with a little rice, all the veggies, and smother it in sauce. Dinner’s ready in 25 minutes (basically as long as it takes to make the rice).

SS: What food do you turn to when you want something comforting or nostalgic? Although we eat to keep our bodies strong and healthy, food also connects us to our past, to friends, and to different times in our lives.
JM: I grew up in the Midwest, so it has to be some sort of casserole/a-bunch-of-ingredients-baked-in-a-big-pan situation. When I crave that, I usually make my Creamy Mushroom Lasagna.

This recipe is definitely an adaptation from the one I grew up with. I’ve subbed a cashew cream sauce for the cheese and used brown rice noodles to make it gluten-free. But it’s just as good. It’s also one that I frequently serve to my non-plant-based eating friends: no one ever guesses that it’s 100% plant-based, which always feels like a win!

One Part Plant Creamy Mushroom Lasagna

Serves 8

Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, minced
16 ounces mushrooms, chopped (you can use a mix of different mushrooms)
1 tablespoon tamari or coconut aminos
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for a few hours (overnight is best), drained
1 cup veggie broth + a little more to sauté garlic and mushrooms
2 big handfuls spinach
10 ounces gluten-free lasagna noodles (I love Tinkyada’s brown rice pasta)
4 cups marinara sauce, store-bought (a 32oz jar) or homemade
Nutritional yeast (optional)

Steps
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat a glug of veggie broth over medium. When the pan is hot, add the garlic and sauté until it becomes fragrant. This will take about a minute. Add the mushrooms, tamari, and thyme. Cook, stirring every minute or so, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the mushrooms release their water and a little broth starts to form.

Combine the cashews and veggie broth in a high-speed blender and blend until the mixture is completely smooth. This might take up to 5 minutes, depending on the speed and power of your blender. Pour the cashew sauce into the pan with the mushrooms. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for a couple minutes to let the sauce thicken, stirring frequently. Throw in the spinach and stir for another minute.

Prepare the lasagna noodles according to the package instructions. Make sure to do this after your mushroom sauce is ready to go, so the noodles don’t sit for too long and start sticking together. Spread a third of the marinara sauce on the bottom of an 8-by-11-inch baking dish. Add a layer of noodles. Cover the noodles with half of the mushroom cream. Add a layer of noodles. Use another third of the marinara to cover these noodles. Add the remaining mushroom cream. Add the last layer of noodles and cover it with the remaining marinara sauce.

Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast over the top, if you like, and bake for another 15 minutes. Let the lasagna rest for 5 minutes before serving.