Vegan Oil-Free Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Recipes

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite ingredients. They are versatile, easy to cook and inexpensive, making them a great option for any meal. This particular meal is great because you can eat it any time of day depending on what ingredients you use. I used this recipe for lunch for the last couple of days and it is so filling and delicious! The other great part is that this recipe does not use any oil making it an especially healthy plant-based dish.

Like I said before, this recipe is incredibly versatile. You can sub out whatever ingredients and spices you like and use them to stuff your sweet potato. These particular ingredients were what I had on hand which made it super easy to make for a somewhat quick and healthy lunch. I’ve seen breakfast variations as well that include almond butter and bananas and maple syrup and definitely think I will have to try that next.

Vegan Oil-Free Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

2 medium to large sweet potatoes, washed

1/2 red onion, diced

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained

1 cup quinoa, cooked

1 large tomato, diced

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

Juice of 1 lime

Salt & pepper

Toppings: guacamole, Fritos, cilantro, vegan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Poke sweet potatoes all over with a fork and roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until soft when stabbed with a fork.
Meanwhile, cook onion in a pan over medium-high heat until soft.
Once cooked add beans, corn, spices, lime juice and quinoa and mix until well combined.
Cook ingredients until warmed through.
Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and once cool enough, cut them in half.
Place one half in a bowl and top with quinoa mixture.
I topped mine with homemade guac, some fritos and some vegan cheddar cheese. Top with whatever you like or have available! Enjoy!

Vegan Black Beans and Greens Meal Prep

Recipes

Sunday is meal prep day! And today I made delicious protein and fiber-packed bowls that I can’t wait to eat throughout the week. This recipe is also super simple to make, inexpensive, and extra filling. The ingredients are also available pretty much year round making this the perfect meal prep for any season.

Black beans and rice are a protein-packed combination. Add the broccoli, zucchini and mushrooms to that and you’re adding even more fiber as well as a calcium boost. I love heating this dish in the winter time or eating it cold in the summer months – both ways are delicious! My favorite part is definitely the dollop of hummus added at the end. Simply mix the entire bowl together to create a delicious comfort food feeling meal. Let’s show you how to make it.

Vegan Black Beans and Greens Meal Prep

2 zucchinis, sliced

3 small crowns of broccoli, chopped

1 box of baby Bella mushrooms, sliced

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup of brown rice (cook to package directions)

Garlic powder (if desired)

8 Tbsp Hummus

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Cook 1 cup of brown rice according to package directions. My bag says that 1 cup of dry rice makes 5 3/4 cup servings. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
While rice is cooking, prepare a baking sheet (I like to use foil for easy clean up), place all vegetables and beans on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and season with garlic powder and salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through.
Once everything is cooked, place even portions into 4 food containers (or more if you want smaller portions).
Top each filled container with 2 Tbsp of hummus.
Place lid on container for eating throughout the current week. Enjoy!

Vegan Hummus Wrap

Recipes

The last 3 weeks I’ve been trying to eat as healthy as possible. Well, actually, I’ve been eating healthy during the week and sort of cheating on the weekend – haha. Anyway, this hummus wrap is something that I made for lunches last week and was able to spend a small amount of money to have healthy delicious lunches for the entire week. All of the ingredients cost me a total of around $15. This makes saving money so much easier versus eating out everyday and it gave me a lunch I could actually look forward to. I purchased all of the ingredients and was able to prep the vegetables. Prepping consisted of simply slicing the tomatoes and cucumbers and placing them in containers. The wraps and avocado and spinach I brought with me to work so I could make the wraps at lunch. This was better for me because I didn’t want the wraps to get soggy throughout the week.

This wrap is easily one of my favorite lunches and is so easy to make. You can substitute any of the veggies if you’re not a fan of cucumbers or tomatoes, and the hummus could also be plain if you don’t prefer the red pepper type. I also brought the avocados to work with me along with a knife so that I could cut those open as I went throughout the week. This kept the avocado from going brown. Simply stack the ingredients on top of each other and wrap the tortilla around it (or eat like a taco in my case, because I put way too many ingredients into my wrap). I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did last week!

Vegan Hummus Wrap

Gluten free tortillas

Red Pepper hummus

Spinach

Cucumbers, sliced

Tomatoes, sliced

Avocado, sliced

Simply layer the ingredients in the order shown in the image above. Wrap as best as possible and enjoy!

Vegan Smoothie Freezer Packs

Recipes

Making meals or smoothies ahead of time (also known as meal prepping) has quickly become one of my favorite weekend rituals. Having a stock of items that are prepped and ready to either eat or quick to prepare makes it so much easier for me to eat healthy. It eliminates so much time spent planning, thinking and preparing that I don’t think I’ll ever go back to not having at least an item or two in my arsenal that is ready to eat. These vegan smoothie packs are a great lunch meal replacement. I made 4 packs on a Sunday to blend throughout the week. I’d take a pack out of the freezer in the morning, blend it all together, put into an insulated cup and place it back in my freezer at work until it was time for lunch. These would also be great for breakfast or for a snack.

This particular combination was made with items I had on hand that I didn’t want to go bad, but you could literally do this with any items you like to have in your smoothies. I think this combo ended up being great because it has protein (spinach), loads of antioxidants (berries) and potassium (bananas). It also tastes great! Of course if you don’t want to freeze your items you could also use them raw, just be sure to add a cup or two of ice so your smoothie gets cold. You could also add protein powder or chia seeds for some extra protein. Simply place all ingredients in a freezer zip bag and place in the freezer. I had them in the freezer for the week and the items kept well. When you’re ready to blend, add about 10 oz of almond milk (or your favorite dairy free substitute). I hope you enjoy!

Vegan Smoothie Freezer Packs

1 large handful of spinach

1 cup of blueberries

1 cup of strawberries, sliced

1 banana, broken into halves

Place in the freezer for future consumption. When ready to eat, break items up as best as possible and place into the blender with about 10 oz of almond milk. Blend for about 3-4 minutes or until items are smooth.