Quick
Meals
Arriving home late from work and
preparing a healthy delicious meal is a challenge at the best of times.
Following are a few suggections, using some "starter" products. These products
should be mostly available form regular supermarkets, with the exception of
Montreal Smoked Wheat
- available now in Canada in specialty food shops
1. Mushroom Risotto and a tossed
salad.
Risotto from scratch is quite time consuming, but there are
"starter" packages, such as Lundberg risotto mixes, available in
most supermarkets. You simply add water and a flavouring pack and simmer for 20
minutes. Meanwhile, cook some mushrooms and chopped onions in olive oil and mix
with the risotto. Serve with a tossed salad.
2. Mock Salisbury
"Steak" - 2 veggie burgers
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 2
tbsp olive oil
Sauce:
- 2 tbsp margarine
- 2 tbsp
flour
- 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup good quality
vegetable stock
Cook the veggie burgers and the onion in the same pan
with the olive oil. In a separate pot, melt the margarine over a medium heat,
add the flour, salt and pepper and stir well. Add the vegetable stock and
continue cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens. Place the onion on top
of the veggie burgers and add the sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes and peas.
(You can also add sliced mushrooms, cooking them with the onion and veggie
burgers.) Serves 2.
3. Another mock meat
Montreal Smoked Wheat
It is made from wheat gluten and has the taste, texture and look of real meat.
It takes only a few minutes to cook and can be served as a sandwich on rye
bread with coleslaw and dill pickles.
4. Veggie Fajitas Wrap
flour tortillas in foil and warm in the oven. Meanwhile, "stir fry" some
onions, red and green peppers, perhaps some other veggies. Chop some lettuce
and tomatoes as toppings and serve with salsa and guacamole. Let everyone
assemble his/her own fajita. 5. Pizza from a mix.
Start
with a pizza mix with crust and sauce. Add lots of veggies - onion, mushrooms,
tomatoes, olives, maybe even broccoli, and vegan or real cheese (or a mix) and
bake for 18 minutes.
6. Falafel in a Pita Pocket
You
can make falafel from scratch, but there are a number of brands of mixes
available. Generally, you need only to mix with water, let stand for a few
minutes and shape into balls. You then fry them in vegetable oil until crisp.
Stuff the pita pockets with salad fixings and add the falafel, for a delicious
healthy meal.
7. Vegetable Medley with soy/maple syrup
sauce
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
- 1 celery stalk, cut into
2-inch pieces
- 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1/2 head
broccoli, cut into florets
- 6-8 mock meatballs such as Yves Veggie
Neatballs or Veggie Patch Portobello Mushroom Balls
- 2 tbsp soy
sauce
- 2 tbsp real maple syrup
Cook the vegetables until just
tender crisp. Combine the soy sauce and maple syrup and warm in the microwave.
Also warm the mock meatballs. Toss all the ingredients together until the
vegetables are well coated with the sauce. Serve with rice.
Serves
2.
8. Turtle Island Foods
Tofurky Feast
This actually takes about 1 1/4 hours to cook, but
the preparation is easy. Be careful to follow the directions (including
defrosting for 24 hours in the refrigerator.) The web designer suggests cooking
the vegetables separately from the "roast."
9.Veggie Burgers,
Spicy Fries
- 2 medium potatoes
- 2 to 3 tbsp. olive oil
-
Cajun Spice, salt, pepper
Wash the potatoes, but do not peel. Slice
lengthwise into chunky fries (about 1/2 inch thick.) In a roasting pan, toss
the potatoes in the olive oil until well coated. Sprinkle with the spices
(Cajun Spice is very spicy, so be careful how much you use.) Bake at 350F for
30-40 minutes, turning once while cooking. Cook your favourite veggie burger
according to package directions. Serves 2..
10.Take-Out
Meals
We all resort to take-out probably more often than we like to
admit. Chinese, Thai, Indian, and Japanese restaurants offer tasty, healthy,
vegetarian meals, with lots of variety. |
