If you’ve been following my series on plant-based eating, you’ve not only seen how easy it is to go plant based, but you’ve also seen some great plant-based alternatives. This time around I’m going to show you some easy plant-based meals that you can put together quickly and will love!
Breakfast
I like to have a banana cut up with either Teddie’s or Smuckers natural peanut butter on it (most peanut butters are plant-based, but these are simply peanuts and salt vs others that have a lot of added junk). I add some berries of my choosing and maybe a Gardein breakfast sausage which many grocery stores carry as well as Target.
I also might have a Nature’s Path waffle found at Target and real maple syrup (again, most syrup is plant-based, but the real stuff is so much more awesome). I could also make pancakes with King Arthur Gluten Free pancake mix using Earth Balance butter, oat milk, and an egg replacer. Target or your local grocery store should have these items although I wasn’t able to find the sticks at Target.
Lunch and Dinner
My favorite lunch is to use Green Giant cauliflower rice (although rice is fine) covered by a dish of veggies. If you want to be a little friendlier to the environment, you can make your own cauliflower rice to avoid the throwaway packaging.
To make the veggies I typically cut up my favorites (peppers, onions, mushrooms) and put them in a crock pot with a red sauce (marinara is typically plant-based) or something like Frontera’s Garlic Pork Carnitas Slow Cook Sauce which is surprisingly plant-based unlike their Fajita sauce. I add some black beans and kidney beens and maybe some fake meat like MorningStar Farms Grillers Crumbles, Chicken Strips, or Chorizo Crumbles which are all available at Target or possibly your local grocery store.
You can also use these “meats” in tacos with vegetarian refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, and vegan cheese. The thing people often don’t realize is most of what we eat is plant-based. A lot of what’s in tacos is plant-based. The same is true with burritos. Remove the meat and cheese or replace them with plant-based options, and you’ve got a tasty and easy plant-based meal.
More Options
Unless someone is going crazy at the factory and just throwing anything into it, pasta is plant-based. A plain red sauce is usually plant-based.
You can get the market pantry pizza crusts and sauce at Target or your typical pizza dough and pasta sauce at your local grocery store, add plant-based mozzarella, chorizo crumbles, or veggies and have a great pizza.
My favorite pizza to use a nice multi-grain pizza dough, slather it with sauce from Field Roast’s Fruffalo Wings (plant-based boneless buffalo wings), then cover it in the “wing’s” themselves, and shower it in plant-based mozzarella. I typically cut the wings into bite-sized pieces when I do.
It’s an easy plant-based meal and it is heaven. Add some peppers or onions to bring it over the top.
Desserts
There are a ton of beautiful dessert options out there.
For awesome make-it-yourself cookies, brownies, and such, check out my post on plant-based alternatives.
For ice creams, Ben & Jerry’s has over a dozen plant-based choices many of which are carried at most stores. Haagen Dazs not only has a few flavors, they have ice cream bars too! So Delicious has been doing this for years with ice creams, ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches, creamers, yogurts, milks and more. Magnum also has some great ice cream bars.
Additionally, many stores are now carrying their own ice creams including Whole Foods, Aldi, Target, Trader Joe’s and a bunch more. Target has one of my favorites: Vanilla Cake & Cookie Dough.
There are a ton of other dessert options out there. Get out and check them out!
So Many Other Options
Most grocery stores now carry plant-based options for you to make almost anything. The great thing is that you can experiment. Anything from Field Roast or Gardein should be plant-based. There are often vegan sections in grocery stores and you can look up the “v” label. Making easy plant-based meals is something pretty much everyone can do.
If you want some great plant-based meals, you can make delicious options easily, so get out there and see what you make. Enjoy a wonderful meal today!
