Many people like the idea of moving towards a plant-based whole food diet, but find it difficult to make the transition from a regular eating plan.
The truth is that preparing delicious, plant-based meals doesn’t have to be super time-consuming or an uninspiring chore.
In fact, plant-base meals and snacks are among the easiest to prepare.
Here, we want to share with you five of our favourite, simple recipes, that will open your eyes as to how easy and delicious plant-based cooking can be.
And the good news is you don’t even need any cooking skills to enjoy them!
Recipes like these are extra great when you need something tasty and nutritious in a short amount of time.
1. Banofee Breakfast Smoothie
"Banoffee" stands for Banana and Coffee!!
This amazing super-smoothie is delicious, nutritious, energising and can be prepared in just a few minutes for breakfast.
To prepare this recipe, you'll need:
- 1/2 cup Frozen Banana Chunks (peel, slice and freeze ripe bananas in a zip lock bag the night before)
- 1 pitted medjool date
- 350 ml chilled coconut or almond milk
- 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
- 1/4 cup cold brew coffee (make yourself at home or source from your local health food store)
- *1 scoop vegan protein powder
Add all of the ingredients to your blender or vitamix and whizz together until smooth. Add more milk if you prefer a runnier consistency.
Pour into a glass and enjoy right away or into a glass container or therma drink bottle and take with you as a mid-morning snack. This smoothie is very satisfying and will keep you going for hours.
2. Green Burrito
A burrito is another versatile meal, because you can include many different ingredients. So long as you have 2 to 3 key ingredients you can customise your green burrito into something delicious and nutritious!
For this recipe you will need:
- Organic Flour Tortillas (from your health food store or whole food supermarket)
- Red Onions or Spring Onions/Schallots
- Kidney or Black Beans
- Spinach Leaves
- Tomatoes
- Capsicum
- Avocado
- Coriander/Cilantro
- Grated Vegan Cheese or Organic Cheddar
Lightly fry the onions and capsicum in a small amount extra virgin olive oil in a fry pan. Add the beans, lightly saute, then add some chopped tomatoes, spinach leaves, sea salt and chilli flakes or cracked pepper. Combine and lightly simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Lay out the tortillas and gently spoon the bean and vege mix on top.
Top with slices of avocado, grated cheese and a sprinkling or chopped coriander (cilantro).
Roll up the tortillas nice and tight. Enjoy on its own or with an easy green side salad. Experiment with this recipe to create your new definition of heaven!
3. Avocado Toast
Ok avocado toast may sound a little mainstream, but it can be jazzed up into a nutritious, taste sensation in a few simple steps.
Avocado toast is beautifully simple, foolproof and delicious when done right with the amazing bread and perfectly ripe avocado.
Here, we're going to give you a next level version of this trusty plant-based meal staple.
For this recipe you'll need:
- 2-3 slices of wholegrain bread (best sourced from your local organic baker)
- Fresh ripe avocado
- Drizzle of olive oil or grass-fed butter
- Fresh lemon
- Sea Salt, Pepper and/or chilli flakes
How to prepare:
Brush the bread lightly with olive oil and then toast to your liking.
Meantime, in a small bowl, peel and mash the ripe avocado with a fork. Once mashed, add a good squeeze of lemon and sprinkle sea salt and ground black pepper to taste. Combine.
Spoon and spread the avocado onto the toast. As an optional extra, add a slice of tomato and a dash of chilli flakes.
This makes a delightful breakfast or brunch, but also can be dinner if you're too tired to cook and want something quick, easy and healthy.
4. Mushroom Tempeh Tacos
There’s always time for tacos, but this easy and healthy version can be made in less than ten minutes. Like the green burrito, what you choose to include in these tacos is really only limited by the ingredients you have available or your imagination.
To prepare mushroom tempeh tacos you will need:
- Taco shells (try to find those prepared with organic flour or corn)
- Tempeh (available in most major supermarkets and health food stores)
- Taco Seasoning (Preservative-Free if you can find it)
- Mushrooms (any kind you like)
- Ice Berg Lettuce
- Red Onion
- Coriander
- Grated Vegan Cheese or Organic Cheddar
How to prepare:
Start by lightly frying the onion, tempeh and mushrooms in olive oil. Add the seasoning, combine and continue to fry for 2 minutes.
Chop tomatoes, lettuce and cilantro and store and store on a side plate.
Warm the tacos in the oven.
Remove the tacos from the oven and half fill with the fried tempeh mix, before layering the other ingredients on top.
Add some vegan cheese and enjoy!
5. Crunchy Green Salad
A crunchy green salad using fresh ingredients is one of the quickest, easiest and tastiest ways to get your daily fix of whole food vitamins and minerals into your diet.
The wonderful thing about green salads is that you can dress them up or down depending on your mood and whether or not you're preparing it as an accompaniment to a main meal or as the main event itself.
For the base of your salad, start with a selection of organic greens such as:
- Cos Lettuce
- Iceberg lettuce
- Rocket
- Spinach leaves...
Or you can use a combination of these, or buy a pack of mixed salad leaves from your local fruit & vege shop or farmer's market which are available year round.
From there, add a combination of the following ingredients to suit your salad theme, desires and taste:
- Spring Onions / Schallots
- Red/Spanish Onion
- Vine Ripened Cherry Tomatoes
- Lebanese Cucumbers
- Avocado chunks
- Capsicum
- Snow Peas
- Alfalfa Sprouts
- Carrots
- Walnuts
- Raw or Toasted Slivered Almonds
- Raw or Toasted Sesame Seeds
- Raw or Toasted Pine Nuts
- Fetta Cheese etc.
For a quick, easy, healthy home made dressing, simply combine extra virgin olive oil with fresh lemon juice, a sprinkling of chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Drizzle over your salad, toss and enjoy!
The Main Takeaway
It should go without saying, that the more whole plant-based food you can incorporate into your diet, the healthier you're going to be.
The trick is to find ways to keep plant-based eating interesting, which means you need to look for little sources of inspiration to help keep you on track.
Whether you try or experiment with the easy recipes shared with you here, or you tap into some of the other amazing, plant-based food recipes and resources out there, we just wanted to remind you that there is so much colour, nutrition, variety and even excitement when you get the hang of plant-based whole food meal preparation and cooking.
The more you practice preparing plant-based meals, the more you will develop the healthy habit of eating less meat and processed food and more whole food from nature's table.
Tolman Self Care.
