Easy-Peasy Parm Zucchini

Ingredients:

Zucchini

Parmasean cheese (or Daiya shedded mozza for vegan option)

Tomato

Oregano

Black pepper

Garlic powder

Olive oil

Cut zucchini in half and brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with oregano, black pepper, garlic powder, diced tomatoes and cheese.

Bake at 350° for approximately 20 minutes, or until zucchini is tender, but not mushy. 

So easy, so delicious!

Summer Quinoa Salad

As BBQ season is quickly approaching, I figured I better form a game plan on plant-based dishes I could bring to parties that even my meat-eating friends would enjoy. My aunt made a similar dish and served it at our last family get-together and everyone seemed to love it. So I decided to experiment and add some different veggies to make my new favourite quinoa salad. It pairs great with any grilled food, veggie or not, but also stands alone quite nicely for a quick lunch or snack!

Cook quinoa in your favourite vegan broth according to package directions. I used a low sodium, vegan/gluten free "beef" style broth. 

Chop up some fresh tomatoes and kale. Toss in some black beans and cover with your favourite oil dressing. I used my mom's recipe for a homemade Italian vinagarette! 

Toss the mixture until everything is evenly coated, then refridgerate for at least 30 min or until cool. The longer the salad has to marinate in the dressing, the more flavorful it will be :)

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

2cups flour

3tsp baking powder

¾tsp salt

⅓cup oil

⅔cup milk or soy milk

½cup icing sugar

Ground cinnamon

Brown sugar

Butter or Earth Balance

Mix oil and milk together in large mixing bowl and dry ingredients together in another bowl, then add dry to wet and stir until moist.

On a clean counter top, sprinkle flour and kneed dough mixture. Roll until approximately ½ inch think.

Spread a thin layer of your favourite butter or margarine over dough, then sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Roll and cut into ½ inch pieces. Place in a round, greased baking pan and bake @ 350° for 10-12 minutes.

Icing:

Slowly add water to icing sugar with water until desired consistency and spread over baked cinnamon rolls. 

MiNESTRONE SOUP

One of my favourite Sunday Funday Meal Prep meals is Minestrone Soup! I could eat soup every day, even in the sweltering heat of the summer. It is great on it's own, or paired with a salad, sandwich or a simple slice of toast. It's also extremely cheap & easy to make in large quantities for freezing, making it a perfect candidate for meals all week long!

I like to make my Minestrone in a large stock pot on the stove, but you can easily toss all of the ingredients in your crockpot and let it simmer while you're at work or if it's just too hot to have your stove going. My crockpot is just a tad too small, so I wouldn't recommend the measurements in this recipe for anything less than 6quarts.

Ingredients:

1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp oregano
¼ of a medium white onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, diced
4 cups vegetable or vegetarian "beef" stock
2 cups frozen vegetable mix (corn, carrots, peas & beans)
1 450mL(19oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 450mL(19oz) mixed beans, rinsed and drained
1 796mL (28oz) can diced tomatoes
1 796mL (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 cup cooked pasta or egg noodles (optional)
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil, garlic, onion and celery over low heat, stirring often. Simmer just until onion becomes translucent.

Add vegetable stock, cover and bring to a boil. Add diced and crushed tomatoes, re-cover to bring back to a boil. Add the remaining ingredients, minus the pasta and simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes. Add your pasta with 5 minutes left on your timer. If you're using your crockpot, add all of the ingredients and set to low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Add cooked pasta about 5 minutes prior to serving.

I didn't add pasta or egg noodles to this batch as I am trying to reduce my carb intake and this soup is so filling on it's own; however, if you are adding pasta, pre-cook and rinse it and don't add it until the very end otherwise it gets quite mushy!

Serve with your favourite garlic bread or a spinach salad and enjoy!

Salads & Wraps

One of my go-to lunches is usually homemade soup with either a wrap or side salad. I never really explored the vegetarian wrap idea when I first went vegetarian at 13 - I also had no idea how to cook nor did I make sure I was getting enough protein. That has since changed and one of my favourites is an avocado and lentil whole wheat wrap!

It only takes 2 minutes to make and pairs great with so many things! I wasn't overly hungry after the gym so I just added some artichoke hearts and tomatoes on the side. (Obviously I ate the tomatoes while I was making my wrap!)

All you have to do is spread cream cheese on a whole wheat tortilla, mash up an avocado and mix in some lentils and guacamole seasoning. You can also add as many other veggies as you want! Bon appetit ;)

Mexican Rice

This is definitely my favourite rice recipe! It tastes amazing on it's own, or wrapped up in a burrito, quesadilla or even stuffed peppers. Packed full of protein and nutrients, this one pot wonder can be used so many ways.

 

 

Ingredients

 

 

2 cups water

1 cup rice (brown, jasmine, basmati, whatever you like)

1 vegetable stock cube



⅓ cup salsa
1 tbsp taco seasoning
1 tbsp butter
1 can black beans (washes & strained)
1-2 cups spinach

Combine all ingredients, minus the black beans & spinach, in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes, stirring often.

With 5 minutes left to go on your timer, add beans & spinach. Remove from heat and let sit for another 5 minutes or so to ensure all of the water has been absorbed.

Pita Pizza

A quick & easy snack or paired with a yummy salad, these pita pizzas are the perfect, healthier option when you're craving delivery! Not only are they way less in calories (and less greasy!), each pizza can easily customized to suit everyone's taste!