A Menu of Plants

Life is running along quite quickly.  It would have been tough week getting nutrition if I didn’t have a prepped and stocked fridge.  Because I took the time to chop and store veggies and fruits for the week I was successful in eating healthy, nutritious food everyday.

Breakfast looked like this every day:

I would take a small baggy of veggies out of the fridge and saute then in my copper pan for a few minutes with a little Himalayan pink salt and I was good to go!  My husband loves veggies for breakfast so he had some too!

Lunches looked like this:

My salads in a jar varied from day to day.  Things I put in a salad jar included cucumbers, bell peppers, cauliflower, artichoke hearts, Greek olives, carrots, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, broccoli, and spring mix greens.  I had some left over black bean soup from the week before and I made Japanese ramen soup in a jar for lunches. You can find the recipe for my version of Japanese ramen here.  Next time I make it for lunches I will leave out the broth and add it just as I am packing lunches.  I used buckwheat ramen noddles this time and the absorbed all of the liquid as the jars were stored in the fridge.  Don’t get me wrong, it still tasted great!  I loved it!  I just want to see it be more soup like.

Dinners looked like this:

Because I had prepped chopped veggies in bags for the week.  All I needed to do at the end of the day was to dump the bag in my nifty copper pan, saute for 8-15 minutes and maybe add a little Himalayan pink salt and black pepper.  One bag had Swiss chard, onions, bell peppers and carrots.  On bag had spinach, bell peppers, zucchini from my garden and just as the veggies were finishing I added a chopped tomato that I picked from the garden.  One bag had zucchini from the garden, Swiss chard and onions.  I added fresh corn from the farmer’s market to this meal.  One bag had asparagus, onions, mushrooms and fresh green beans from my garden.  On bag had zucchini, yellow summer squash, and onions.  I added a chopped tomatoes from the garden.

I have also become fond of eggplant chips.  I slice the eggplant real thin, sprinkle the pieces with Himalayan pink salt, and bake them until they are crisp.  I tried it with zucchini this week.  Zucchini doesn’t work.  It turned out slimy.  I don’t recommend that, but I do recommend the eggplant.

I also made two crock pot meals.

The first was my version of…

Crock Pot Enchilada Quinoa

2 cans of black beans, drained

2 cans of corn, drained

3 15 oz cans of enchilada sauce

1 can diced green chilies

30 oz of tomatoes (I used a jar of my home canned tomatoes so I am guessing at the quantity here)

2 c uncooked quinoa

salt and pepper to taste

2 c vegan cheese

• Add beans, corn, 1/2 of the enchilada sauce, tomatoes, green chilies, quinoa, salt and pepper to the slow cooker.  Stir it all together.
• pour remaining enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 5-7 hours on low.
• Uncover and enjoy.  You can top it with tomatoes, avocados, cilantro or more cheese.  I topped this one with a mixture of vegan mozzarella and cheddar cheese.  My family enjoyed eating it like a bean dip with chips.

I also made my version of a veggie lasagna of sorts…  First, I do eat eggs every couple of weeks.  I used eggs in this dish to get the texture of lasagna.  I was trying for lasagna with zucchini for noodles, but it was more like soup when it was done.  In the long run it didn’t matter.  It was good.  I reminder me of an Italian version of Ratatouille.

Crock Pot Veggie Lasagna (or maybe Soup 🙂

about 8-10 serving, 30 minutes to prep, 4 hours to cook

1 medium zucchini

1 medium yellow summer squash

1 medium eggplant

Himalayan pink salt

3 cups spaghetti sauce

1 red onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 large package sliced mushrooms

2 eggs, scrambled

30 oz. vegan cheese ( I used a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella)

• Slice the zucchini and the eggplant into thin pieces (you could slice them into long slices like noodles. I just sliced them).  Spread out the pieces on a paper towel and sprinkle them with salt.  Let them stand for 15 minutes to allow excess liquid to drain off. Pat dry. Place the zucchini and eggplant pieces in the oven.  Broil for 8 minutes or until they are lightly browned. pat dry again.
• Beat the eggs. Stir in a little of the vegan cheese.
• Spread a little spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the crock pot. layer zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, egg mixture, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and vegan cheese.  Add a little spaghetti sauce.  Repeat layers of veggies and vegan cheese. Top with the remainder of spaghetti sauce and vegan cheese.
• Cover the crock pot and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 5-6 hours (or until the eggplant is tender.  When the eggplant is tender, turn off the heat and let it stand to absorb the liquid.
• Scoop and serve!

Well… there it is… a week of veggies!