Wednesday, July 6, 2022

My Wednesday Pantry- Easily Plant Based

      It was easier to make meals that were inclusive of my daughter's food choices when she was vegetarian, but not vegan. There's dairy or eggs in so many options. I pay attention more to ingredients, but also just try and avoid processed stuff that often includes milk, whey, or egg whites. I'm getting better at just simply having more foods we all enjoy, but happen to be entirely plant based. Then, I can add the proteins separately or on the side. Here are a few meals.

Hippie Bowls

  • Basmati rice
  • Sweet potatoes and carrots- diced and steamed
  • Sweet corn, black bean, and Rotel salsa
  • Garlic and butter (plant spread)glazed green beans, as the sauce and more green. 
Start with rice, add vegetables, then beans and salsa last. If I had an avocado, they would have been even tastier.

Sheet Pan fajitas
  • Thin sliced, peppers, onions, and zucchini,  with onion powder, cummin, chili powder, and course ground pepper, and light vegetable/olive oil of your choice. Roast in the oven (425°) or grill pan.
  • The same Salsa
Serve in Tortillas, corn or flour,  with or without vegan or regular cheddar. Make up more rice and perhaps refried beans on the side if you like the added carbs.

I roll burrito style.


Vegetable Bolognese over Penne Pasta
  • About a cup each of grated carrots, diced onion, diced green pepper
  • Sauteed with a bit of olive oil, salt pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. Add garlic cloves or jarred garlic and 2 tsp Italian seasoning
  • Added large can diced tomatoes and two tablespoons olive oil, and a touch of sugar. Simmer to thicken, add more seasoning ( any to taste)
     I'll add frozen meatballs on the side but it will be hearty just with the pasta and Bolognese. That's tonight's dinner plan. I'll use regular pasta, but could make with gluten free or a brown rice pasta too.

     None of these are recipes, just idea combinations if serving multiple people with different nutritional needs and preferences. As more local produce comes in, we'll expand on all these options and hopefully create some more combinations. 



 

14 comments:

  1. We are enjoying all of the summer veggies and herbs right now. Summer is all about fresh veggies for me. I'm starting to dehydrate some of the herbs, veggies will be next. They'll add some zip to our winter meals.

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    1. Your own herbs in winter will be nice. I look forward to making fajitas with local produce.

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  2. That's often how I approach M's Keto eating. I make something that we can all have (a protein, veggies) & then Sam, Nick & I have ours with some sort of carb side dish. That's probably the right amount of carbs for us all to eat anyway, which is less than most recipes call for.

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    1. It's sensible. I love carbs too much- a good hotdish is pure comfort.

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  3. This is how we eat often--vegetables separate from meat. Of course, there are dishes/meals that would not work for vegan or vegetarian.

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    1. She finds her own meals most of the time but these were just examples of when we all ate the same.

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  4. Yum, I'd eat that happily. Can I ask was the 'carrits' a spelling mistake or is it a veg I haven't heard of.

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    1. You found a typo. Carrits are carrots spelled wrong. No new hybrid.

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  5. Gosh I would have a hard time catering for a vegan - but then I suppose you've always got her to guide you, haven't you!

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    1. I don't do this every night. She fends for herself, but this shows I can sometimes with us all enjoying the meal.

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  6. Yum! I cook vegan meals all the time, not because we are vegan, but it's way cheaper not to have that expensive meat in there. One of the things I add to my pasta sauce is half a can of refried beans - it thickens the sauce, and stretches it to an extra meal for us.

    I'm making burritos tonight for dinner! I use veggie sausages that I chop up finely.

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    1. I'd never think of beans in pasta sauce. Interesting. Your burrito sounds delicious.

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  7. If my middle son didn’t require so much meat I would probably eat it once an week at most and it would be fish. I just like most vegetables better than meat. Cindy in the South

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    1. That's my youngest. She's not even vegetarian but just prefers meatless meals often. If your son is a big guy or very active, I can see limiting meat might be hard. My son eats a lot of meatless meals, but needs to eat a lot.

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