So you’ve worked all day, sat in traffic, ran errands, helped the kiddos with their homework, and chauffeured them around from soccer to gymnastics. What next? Don’t feel like creating a gourmet meal? Would rather crash and burn? Try one of these quick (less than 30 minutes) dinner ideas and relax…
Side note: Lunch and Dinner is always interchangeable.
- Vegetable Chili: Simmer a can of diced tomatoes, corn (optional), and kidney or navy beans, and optional frozen veggie crumbles (for added protein) with a packet of chili seasoning or cumin, garlic powder, onion powder. Enjoy with Fritos’ Scoops. Save the leftovers for lunch
- Leftover Vegetable Chili served over baked potato
- EP4L’s Crispy Baked Tofu served over cooked quinoa or cauliflower rice and alongside favorite cooked greens or steamed veggies
- Store-bought Veggie or Black Bean burger served between 2 large, roasted portobello caps (drizzle with a little oil and roast in oven on 400 degrees for 15 minutes). Serve with home or sweet potato fries
- EP4L’s Cannelini Kale Stew
- Beans (any) & Rice
- Amy’s Vegan Burritos (found in freezer cooler section of most major grocery stores)
- EP4L’s Spicy Tofu Tacos
- Tacos: Sauté veggie crumbles in veggie broth. Add can of pinto or black beans. Serve in taco shells with favorite taco toppings (i.e. rice, lettuce, sliced avocado, salsa, diced tomatoes, Vegan sour cream, etc.)
- Veggie Beef Tips (i.e. Gardein): Sauté in sesame oil, add broccoli florets and chopped bell peppers. Stir in a few teaspoons of low-sodium soy sauce. Served over a bed of rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds
- Faux Chicken Tender Salad: Gardein’s 7-Grain Chicken Tenders, baked and served over mixed baby lettuce, thinly sliced Granny Smith apple slices, and blueberries
- Cooked stir-fry veggies tossed in spaghetti or rice noodles and store-bought peanut sauce
- Spiralized yellow squash topped with mushroom marinara sauce
- Chickpea Tacos: Roast on 400 degrees, drained and rinsed chickpeas in taco seasoning for about 20 minutes. Add to taco and dress up with favorite taco toppings.
- Homemade Burritos: w/ cooked refried beans, brown rice, scrambled tofu, corn, diced tomatoes, or grilled mushrooms and bells peppers, etc.
- Tofu, drained (excess water pressed out with clean dry dish towel), cubed, and sautéed in favorite jar of sauce/marinade (i.e sweet and sour, sweet chili, or teriyaki) and served over basmati rice and microwavable stir-fry veggies
- EP4L’s Pumpkin-Black Bean Quesadillas or quesadillas made with refined beans, corn and Vegan cheese
- Taco Bowl: Shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, jasmine rice, can corn and black beans, diced red onions, cucumber slices, and diced avocado tossed in a bowl and served alongside tortilla rounds, salsa, and Vegan sour cream
- Brussels sprouts, roasted and drizzled with maple syrup served with a baked sweet potato.
- Cauliflower Fried Rice: Cauliflower florets crumbled in food processor and sautéed in oil with garlic, diced onions, sweet peas, and shredded carrots
- Zoodles topped with marinara and chopped cashews
- Colorful fingerling potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, and parsnips roasted in fresh thyme, a little oil, sat, pepper, garlic powder roasted on 400 degrees until potatoes are tender. Drizzle with balsamic glaze
- Oven-roasted root vegetables drizzled with a little vegetable oil and tossed in cooked penne pasta
- Couscous or other grain topped with roasted veggies
- Potato wedges and cauliflower florets drizzled in a little oil, seasoned with taco seasoning and oven-roasted and a side salad
- Curry seasoned cauliflower florets, oven-roasted and served alongside wild rice and organic canned green beans
- EP4L’s Buddha Bowls
- Roasted Vegetable Pizza: Top a Vegan pizza crust with marinara sauce and some fresh peppers, mushrooms, sliced onions, optional Vegan cheese shreds, etc. Bake according to instructions for crust.
- Steamed, roasted or raw veggies and/or bean tacos or burritos
- EP4L’s super-quick Creamy Avocado Pesto
- Pasta doused in marinara sauce or plum tomatoes and garlic sautéed in olive oil and topped with shredded basil leaves.
- EP4L’s Harvest Pumpkin Soup
- Oven-roasted, fresh corn on the cob, red peppers and red potatoes, seasoned with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and chili powder
- Bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, sautéed and seasoned in taco seasoning and loaded into a fajita shell or burrito
- EP4L’s Kale Yeah Pesto recipe
- Shredded cabbage and dried cranberries tossed in Vegan Thai dressing and topped with chopped peanuts
- Tofu scrambled and black bean tacos served with mango salsa, diced avocado, rice
- Sautéed mushrooms and sliced veggie sausage topped with salsa and diced avocado
- Cooked lentils simmered in fire-roasted diced tomatoes and served over Vegan yellow rice
- EP4L’s quick and easy Herb-Roasted Tomato Sauce recipe over linguine
- Sautéed kale or spinach, beans or black-eyed peas, atop a bed of lovely rice (add a little fresh squeezed lemon juice to the greens
- EP4L’s Lemon-Garlic Linguine & Heirloom Tomatoes recipe
