Mushroom Barley Soup
To all the naysayers who think eating vegan is too hard or expensive, I offer 10 simple and healthy vegan meal ideas:
- Spaghetti and red sauce. Add some mushrooms or broccoli to a jar of red sauce and voilà, a healthy meal.
- Big salad with toast smeared with Mexican butter (aka avocado). Add a whole grain, like quinoa or brown rice, to the salad to make it more filling.
- Soup/stew/chili: Make a batch on Sunday and eat it all week. I make a lot of soups in my slow cooker. My fiancé likes his pressure cooker. (What does that say about our relationship!)
- Stir fry veggies and tofu with brown rice. Keep frozen veggies on hand, and make a batch of brown rice on Sunday to use all week.
- PB & banana sandwich. Try almond or cashew butter for a change of pace.
- Veggie wraps. My personal go-to, quick meal.
- Oatmeal topped with almond milk, raisins and nuts. I prefer steel-cut oats but rolled oats cook faster.
- Beans and brown rice with fresh salsa.
- Bean burritos.
- Tofu scramble and veggies wrapped in a tortilla.
If you keep the following items on hand, you will always have the ingredients for a simple and healthy meal:
- Cans of beans (Last time I checked, we had seven different kinds of beans in our pantry.)
- Extra-firm tofu
- Salad greens for salads, smoothies, sandwiches
- Fresh and frozen veggies of your choice
- Garlic and onions
- Brown rice and quinoa or other grains
- Oatmeal
- Whole grain bread
- Fresh fruit
- Tortillas and/or wraps
- Jars of tomato sauce
- Cans of diced and crushed tomatoes
- Pasta
- Non-dairy milk
- Assortment of nuts and seeds including cashews for cashew cream
- Humus
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
What is your favorite simple, vegan meal?
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I always have a big pot of soup in the frig. It is easy to cook and last all week. A go to for both me and my husband. Warms the soul and the body at this time of year. Today white bean and swiss chard soup to make.
Soup is the best! I made a hominy and white bean chili last Sunday. It was delish. I like to freeze some of the soup to keep an emergency stock available. :)
home made baked beans are also great, use maple syrup, a bit of brown sugar and if you like black sauce or soy, a bottle of pasata and a couple of cans of beans – my kids are made for them
Thanks for the tip, Melinda. I haven’t made baked beans before. I will have to give these a try.
mmmmm pb and banana sandwich – life is always good after one of them! :-)
I love PB and banana sandwiches too. :)
That list of foods looks like my kitchen! I agree, very easy being vegan.