Quick & Easy Vegan Meal Ideas For The Whole Family
I love going online and paging through my cookbooks to find new vegan recipes and trying them out with my family. I am currently obsessed with trying new recipes from the cookbook, Plant Pure Nation, and I am having a lot of success with making them. That being said, cooking like this is not always possible, nor do I always want to be spending an exorbitant amount of time in my kitchen preparing meals. So, here are a few simple and easy meals I make for my family that have minimal ingredients and take minimal time. These are not exact recipes, so play with the amounts and ingredients to meet the taste and needs of your family.
Easy Bagel Meals or Snacks
We love bagels in our house, and use anything from peanut butter to avocado as toppings. Two of my favorite recipes are:
Toasted bagel with avocado, oregano, and tomato
Toast your bagel to whatever crispiness you desire and spread avocado on it. Add a few shakes of oregano to each side and top with a few slices of tomato.
Oven baked bagel pizza: (Bagel, marinara or pesto sauce, Miyoko’s VegMozz)
Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees. Spread marinara or a vegan pesto sauce on both sides. Add Miyoko’s VegMozz in small chunks on top of your sauce. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese has started to bubble and brown slightly.
Sandwiches
Grilled avocado and tomato sandwich (Bread, avocado, oregano, tomato, vegan butter)
Just like the classic grilled cheese, this grilled avocado sandwich hits the comfort food spot. Spread vegan butter (we use Earth Balance) on both pieces of bread on one side, than flip the bread over and spread avocado on the other side. I do this on a wooden cutting board and use a spatula to unstick the butter side of the bread from the board when it is time to stick them in the pan to cook. Place your first slice of bread in the pan and add a few shakes of oregano and a few slices of tomato. Cover with the other slice of bread. I usually cook each side on medium heat for 5-8 minutes, or until each side has browned to my liking.
TLT (Smoked tempeh, bread, tomato, lettuce, vegan mayo or avocado)
This vegan version of a BLT is great for lunch or dinner. Cook your smoked tempeh as directed by the package. We use Lightlife brand smoked tempeh for ours, and I cook it on low-medium heat in a pan for about 5-8 minutes on each side. Toast your bread to your desired crispiness and add vegan mayo or avocado as a spread if you desire, than top with your tomato, lettuce, and smoked tempeh.
Tacos/Burritos
Sweet potato and black bean tacos/burritos (sweet potatoes, black beans, brown rice or quinoa, soft or hard tortilla shells, avocado, and enchilada sauce)
Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into chunks and boil in a pot of water until soft. This usually takes 10-15 minutes, but depends on the size and amount of chunks you are boiling. Once the sweet potatoes are soft, drain them and mash them (I just throw them back in the pot they were boiled in and mash them with a fork). Add the mashed up potatoes, a can of black beans, and a cup of prepared brown rice or quinoa to a large pan and combine together. I use anywhere from a ¼ cup to a ½ a cup of the enchilada sauce from the Oh She Glows website (http://ohsheglows.com/2016/01/31/enchilada-sauce/) when I make these, but you can add store bought enchilada sauce or salsa to this recipe as well. Top them off with avocado slices to give them a creamy consistency.
Rice and Bean tacos/burritos (black beans, pinto beans, brown rice, soft or hard tortilla shells, seasoning, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado)
For when I am not feeling overly creative but still want something tasty and filling for dinner, I make rice and beans and stick them on a tortilla. I use brown rice, black beans, and pinto beans. You can use any seasoning you want to spice the beans up while cooking, but my favorite is Simply Organic Fajita Seasoning. I just add a ¼ to a ½ teaspoon of the dried seasoning into the beans while they cook, and it gives it a great flavor. The toppings are what make these a meal. Pile on diced tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, avocado, guacamole, onions, sweet bell peppers, or whatever else you have handy.
Pasta
Pasta is such a versatile food to cook with. You can toss it with fresh veggies, make it into a cold salad, or top it with a marinara or pesto sauce.
Pasta with herbs, butter, and nutritional yeast. (pasta, dried oregano, dried basil, garlic powder, vegan butter, nutritional yeast)
This is truly a comfort food for me. It is simple and easy to make, but has a creamy taste to it that hits the spot. Cook your pasta of choice according to the box. While you are draining your pasta, in your already warm pasta pot, place about 2-3 tablespoons of butter (I use Earth Balance soy free), 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and a ½ teaspoon or more of oregano, basil, and garlic powder. Mix ingredients together and pour your drained pasta back in the pot. Mix everything together until pasta is coated with your butter and herb mixture.
Pasta Salad (pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and Italian Dressing)
This is one of my favorite summer foods. You can go as simple or as complex as you want with this. I usually stay simple and just toss together cooked pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and Italian dressing. Cook the spiral pasta according to the box and drain and rinse with cold water. Add sliced cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumbers to the pasta. I usually add half a bottle of Italian dressing, but some people prefer adding the full bottle. Mix all ingredients together and enjoy right away, or chill in the refrigerator for a few hours and let everything marinate. You can also add any or all of the following: carrots, broccoli, peas, olives, mushrooms, and bell peppers.
Pasta with veggies and other additions
You can get as creative as you want when adding vegetables and other foods to your pasta. Some things I do are:
Roasted mushrooms, eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, and onions. Roast your veggies in the oven and put them over your plain pasta or pasta with sauce.
Add steamed broccoli with your pasta and sauce.
Add peas with your pasta and sauce.
Add cooked lentils to your sauce to make a Bolognese style pasta sauce.
Make or buy a vegan pesto sauce. I buy a vegan garden pesto sauce made by Le Grand at my local Wegman’s store, but there are a ton of vegan recipes that you can find on-line. I like making orzo pasta when I use pesto and adding cherry tomatoes to it.
Blend spinach into your sauce if you are trying to get more veggies in, especially with children who may not love the added veggies on their plate. I use my vitamin or nutribullet to do this.
Blend chickpeas into your sauce to add protein without an overpowering taste. I use my vitamin or nutribullet to do this.
If you are in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs, Gardein makes a great vegan meatball that you can add to your pasta or make sandwiches with. They are a little spicy, so we add Miyoko’s Kitchen VegMozz to our sandwiches. You can also find some great recipes on-line for vegan meatballs.
For my toddler
With the exception of the bagel meals, which my daughter loves, I usually have to put ingredients on her plate separately instead of having them mixed together in a burrito, pasta dish, or sandwich. When we have our TLTs for example, I spread avocado on a piece of toast for her, add a little oregano, and keep the tomatoes and tempeh cut up on the side. When we make burritos, I take beans and rice out for her before I add seasoning or before I mix them together with the sweet potatoes. She is currently addicted to guacamole, so I give her some in a small bowl with added mashed up avocado. The best part of feeding her is that she is really happy with simple meals. She will eat a bowl of lentils or cannellini beans like it is a bowl of ice cream. I serve them to her with a side of cut up fresh fruit or vegetables.
Preparing vegan food does not have to be complicated, time-consuming, or expensive. Cooking from scratch instead of buying processed foods is definitely one way to save money, as well as buying from bulk bins and farmers markets. With a toddler in toe and a baby on the way, I am always looking to find simple, easy to make, and nutritious meals for our family. I hope these ideas inspire you to create something different in your kitchen, or to adapt them in a way that your family will also enjoy.
Love, Laughter & Light,
Julia
