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Spring Meal Templates: Current Favorite Quick Vegan Meal Ideas

diet & exercise on being vegan podcast Mar 11, 2021

We’ve been covering so many varied subjects in the podcast and blog in the past few weeks that from time to time I have to keep reminding myself to give you lots of meal ideas and cooking support too! Today’s post and episode is going to be just that, I’ll give you a short list of quick and easy meal ideas that we’ve been making during a particularly busy time, in the hopes that they bring inspiration for your meals this week. Rather than specific recipes, these are templates that you can tweak and where you can substitute whatever you have in the fridge for simple easy meals, using three main batch cooked staples as the jumping off point and some store-bought items for quick snacks. Put on some tunes this weekend, make these three bases, and use the templates for different meals and snacks throughout the week.

Spring Meal Templates: Current Favorite Quick Vegan Meal Ideas and Snacks that are Easy to Make throughout the Week | Brownble

Batch cook a tray of roasted vegetables:

Roast a big tray of vegetables in the oven with some olive oil, thyme and /or rosemary, salt and pepper. I love using vegetables like squash, red onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, and garlic cloves with the peel still on to prevent them from burning (then removing the skins once cooked). A good temperature/timing range to always think of when roasting veggies is high and fast, or low and slow.

For example: Roasting at 425ºF for 30-35 minutes. Or roasting at 350ºF for 1 hour. When I don’t want to follow a specific recipe I usually roast at anywhere between 400-425º F until the vegetables are golden and tender.

Here’s a great example and recipe for roasted vegetables and vegan pesto:

 



Meal Template 1: Toast or bruschetta version 1

Roasted veggies + Legume spread (like hummus, lentil, walnut and dijon spread, white bean spread, etc.) + Toast



Meal Template 2: Pesto pasta

Roasted veggies + Pesto sauce + Your favorite pasta



Meal Template 3: Toast or bruschetta version 2

Toast + Vegan cream cheese + Vegan deli slices like Tofurky or your favorites + Roasted veggies to top


 Spring Meal Templates: Current Favorite Quick Vegan Meal Ideas and Snacks that are Easy to Make throughout the Week | Brownble 

Batch cook a pot of beans or lentils

I cook a pot of beans during the weekend or on Monday mornings and that means I have my main proteins for a few meals all sorted out. You can of course also use canned beans and buy an assortment to have lots of different options.

 



Meal template 4: Basic veggie bowl

The bean or lentil you’ve made (or use canned if you prefer) + Grain of choice + Steamed greens (kale, broccoli, broccolini, collard greens, etc), topped with lots of nutritional yeast and garlic powder + A topping of guacamole or salsa or both, all served as a bowl



Meal template 5: Instant turmeric stew with rice

Any vegetables you have in the fridge, chopped and quickly sautéed in a pan + Your cooked beans + Spices (for example cumin, paprika and turmeric) + Tomato paste + Coconut milk + Rice for serving + Fresh herbs for topping (optional) + Mango chutney for serving (optional)



Meal template 6: Taco salad

Your favorite greens and dressing + Chopped tomatoes and cucumbers + Warmed up beans with some cumin, chili powder and salt + Guacamole + Salsa + Crunchy tortilla chips stuck whole into the toppings to scoop up all the goodies


 Spring Meal Templates: Current Favorite Quick Vegan Meal Ideas and Snacks that are Easy to Make throughout the Week | Brownble

Batch Cook a Grain (Quinoa, basmati rice or brown rice, couscous, sushi rice or your favorite)

The simplest way to cook a grain is to cook it with the ratio of water to grain recommended in the package, a veggie bouillon cube, a few dashes of garlic powder, salt and pepper.

 



Meal template 7: Easy peasy vegan meat, veggie burger, veggie sausage, seitan, tofu or tempeh

Cooked grain + Grilled vegan meat alternative of choice with grilled peppers and onions + a big raw salad with lots of greens and crunchy vegetables + A simple dressing with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper



Meal template 8: Japanese bowl

Cooked and seasoned sushi rice + Rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms, sliced and quickly sautéed with soy sauce + shelled edamame or tofu tossed with ponzu sauce and scallions + Nori seaweed strips or wakame seaweed salad (or both) + Grated daikon + Sesame seeds + Extra soy sauce or ponzu sauce for serving


 Spring Meal Templates: Current Favorite Quick Vegan Meal Ideas and Snacks that are Easy to Make throughout the Week | Brownble

For snacks: Buy non-dairy yogurt, peanut or almond butter, walnuts and fruit to have on hand

For my snacks I know I always need to keep the following staples stocked: bread for toast and quick sandwiches, crackers, fruit, crunchy vegetables and hummus for dipping, non-dairy yogurt, peanut butter and jelly. Here are some of my quickest go - to’s when it comes to snacks:

 



Snack template 1: Yogurt peanut butter bowl

Non-dairy yogurt + Walnuts + Fruit (I love blueberries and banana in this one) + A drizzle of agave or maple syrup + A drizzle of peanut or almond butter



Snack template 2: Dippers

Peanut butter or almond butter for dipping + Thick banana slices, Halved strawberries, or apple slices + Nuts or seeds to roll the dipped portion over, for some crunch



Snack template 3: Classic pb and j

We sometimes forget about the classics, Carlos loves to take a pb and j sandwich for his afternoon snack at work. I love spreading crackers with pb and j and having some peppermint tea alongside it.


 

There you go! By just batch cooking three main staples and keeping some extra ingredients in the house, you have so many meals to choose from, in which you can swap ingredients out based on what you have on hand.

Remember that store-bought items and vegan alternatives can be part of that very varied diet you’ll be eating when you focus on abundance and not restriction, so make the job easier by combining what you make, with staples that come ready made for quick and easy cooking throughout the week, so you can focus on attunement and enjoyment and take as much stress out of the equation as possible.


Happy cooking!

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