Tag: breakfast

2 Weeks of Meals under $99

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After writing the meal planning post earlier this month, the c-virus ramped-up and the closings, cancellations and run on toilet paper are now in full swing. As everyone is getting creative while in quarantine, with kids who are now off from school for at least a month, and adjusting to the different work environment, I thought I’d share some recipes you might like to add to your list of creative activities because you’ll actually be home and have a little more time to cook. These recipes really don’t take much time, just a little planning.

I planned a two week menu. I chose 8 meals because I like flexibility and sometimes just having a salad is enough and allowing for a take out meal to support the local restaurants is important to me. I did have a couple things in my pantry or freezer already, but most of the ingredients were purchased for a total of less than $70. That’s pretty good for 8 dinner meals and some leftovers for lunch. I typically cook for two people now, but most of these recipes are for four servings, some serving six.  Follow the links to the actual recipes.

BBQ Shrimp & Tahini Greens is a quick meal that comes together in under 30 minutes, if your shrimp is thawed.  (I eat an occasional meal with clean/wild caught animal protein, maybe once or twice a month.)

Chickpea Hot Pot and the Ginger Carrot Soup are recipes that are quick to put together because everything can go into one pot and allow time to cook. These two recipes hold well when frozen and can be made in larger batches to have one for the week and another to freeze for a later time.

Peanut Soba & Broccoli and Pad Thai take a bit of chopping and preparing vegetables, but once that’s done the cook time is minimal.

Veggie Enchilada Bake, Curry Red Lentils and Walnut Falafels take a little time but not difficult and definitely worth the time. These are great dishes to make a head and freeze as well, or double the recipes and make one meal for you and another to bless a neighbor.

If you want to limit your trips to the store during this time, pick up enough greens and salad veggies that you can eat in a week, kale lasts for more than a week if wrapped well and kept cold. Then rely on frozen vegetables: chopped spinach and kale, broccoli and cauliflower for sauteed sides or in the above recipes. Root vegetables and cabbage will last well and can be made into soups, roasted and served over boiled grains. Think about having canned tomatoes and beans on hand as well as dried lentils, rice and quinoa. Those things could carry you for two weeks at least, before having to shop again.

For breakfast, having oats and fruit combined with plant milk is delicious, or freeze or buy frozen berries and spinach to make green smoothies. If green is a turnoff, be sure to blend any greens with blueberries or cherries, for a beautiful purple shake. Check out the recipe page for more ideas.

For lunches, eat any leftovers from dinner, try different kinds of toasts, salads or even smoothies.

I know you don’t want to be spending more time in the kitchen than you need to. But I hope while you have some extra time at home, you’ll take a look at the recipes and try a few. They don’t take long, just a little planning. If you want more info about meal planning, check out THIS post.

Let me know how you like the recipes!

 

 

Berry- Spacho

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This is a wonderfully refreshing cool starter or dessert soup. Perfect at the height of berry season or you can use frozen berries that have been thawed.

  • 2-3 cups fresh berries, mixture is nice (strawberries, black, blue or raspberries)
  • 1 kiwi, diced
  • 1 apple, diced
  • 1/2 cup cucumber, diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
  • 1 lemon, squeezed
  • 11/2 cup fresh / frozen berries ( these are for blending so frozen and thawed is fine, I like strawberries  and raspberries for this. Blueberries will thicken up because of all the pectin they naturally have, so use more l juice or water if using them.)
  • 2 oranges, peeled and seeds removed or 1 cup juice
  • 5 softened dates
  • 1 cup water
  • pinch of cayenne, optional

In a mixing bowl, add fresh berries, diced kiwi, apple, cucumber and mint. In a blender, combine the lemon juice, fresh/frozen berries, dates, oranges and water. Blend into a creamy sauce. Pour this over the diced fruit and serve or chill. Sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne when ready to serve.

 

 

No Sugar Pumpkin Muffins

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  • 1 14 oz can of pumpkin puree
  • 2 ripe bananas
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ tsp pumpkin spice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups oat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • Optional stir in: ½ c chopped cranberries and/or 1/3 c pumpkin seeds or chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin, bananas, applesauce and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the oat flour, spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add cranberries if using, and coat with flour mixture.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix with a spoon until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated.

Lightly spray or line a muffin pan with papers. Divide batter between muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool before removing muffins from the pan.

Notes: Spelt or Einkorn flour can be substituted if gluten is not an issue, You can make your own apple puree by blending a chopped apple with a little water and adding to the recipe.  To make your own oat flour, grind rolled oats in a blender until fine.

Savory Plant Based Scramble

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I’ve made chickpea crepes and quiche before but I haven’t tried a chickpea scramble until today. I like the texture but unless you have a sulfurous salt like kala namak it does not taste like eggs. It’s more like fluffy savory bread chunks and veggies. But it’s a nice combination and very filling. The chickpea flower has a decent amount of protein and if you add in a variety of veggies, each one brings more protein to the table along with lots of fiber and phytonutrients. I used onions, mushrooms, yellow peppers and arugula.

For a large single serving of the chickpea portion:

  • 1/4 cup chickpea flour
  • 1T nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 tsp each, turmeric and cumin
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
  • 6 T of water.

Add dry ingredients to a bowl and stir. Add the water and whisk until smooth. Let sit while you prepare your veggies. Slice or chop your desired vegetables. I used about 2 cups total of chopped veggies and then a couple handfuls of arugula. Sauté the veggies to your liking, then remove from pan. Add 1tsp of olive oil to the pan then the chickpea flour mixture and cook on medium heat until the edges start to bubble and look a little dry, then flip and separate into bite size pieces. Scramble stirring gently until all the dough is dry. Add in the veggies to warm and then serve with pepper and hot sauce if desired.