Simple Plant Based Lunch & Dinner Ideas

Thought I'd throw together a post of simple plant based meal ideas for you today, all of which can easily become strictly vegetarian. I like to eat healthy, but I don’t always want my meals to take much time to cook, be complicated to make, or use too many ingredients. For me, simplicity is key. And sometimes I just really want to slap-dash something together, which you will see here, too!

I've been putting these recipes/ideas in my Facebook Embrace Health private women's group so I thought I’d do a roundup of what's gone up lately.

All of these are simple, protein/fat/fiber balanced meals.

Veggie Protein Pasta
Coming at you with one of my favorite vegetarian meals that I love to make for dinner. Use a protein based pasta such as Ancient Harvest green lentil or Banza chickpea (which are both delicious) and you've got yourself a wonderful, healthy veggie meal!
BTW, nobody in my family loves zucchini (they mostly tolerate it), but everybody gobbled this meal up.

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of GF legume based pasta
1 jar of Marinara Tomato sauce (I used Glen Muir Tomato & Basil)
2 Tbs of olive oil
1 C of diced yellow onion
2 chopped zucchinis
2 portobello mushrooms cleaned and diced
2 C of packed spinach (2 large handfuls)
Salt & pepper
Shredded parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Sauté onions and olive oil in a medium skillet/pan until lightly brown – about 5 minutes.2. Boil water and cook pasta (follow directions on box).3. Add zucchini to the onions and cook for about 3 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms to the veggie mixture and cook for another 5ish minutes – until vegetables are almost cooked (not mushy).
5. Fold in spinach and continue cooking for about 2 minutes until it’s lightly wilted.
6. Pour in marinara tomato sauce. Cook until sauce is heated back up.
7. Strain pasta when it is done.
8. Time to dish up! Place arugula in the bottom of a bowl (optional). Layer on pasta, vegetable marinara tomato sauce and sprinkle with shredded parmesan. Enjoy!

Kraut Protein Wrap
I love this quick and easy lunch meal. Grab a few romaine leaves, swipe a healthy amount of hummus over them, throw on some turkey and sprinkle with sauerkraut (a fermented food we all need for good gut health!). I know it may sound odd, but it really is tasty. Again, a fat/fiber/protein meal, and so easy to make.

Chop Salad

Make a huge chop salad (love this for the protein/fat/fiber ratio) and eat off it all week. Artichoke hearts have been shown to lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar, and boost your liver function. Can't go wrong here!

This one includes:

romaine
radicchio
artichoke hearts
olives
turkey
garbanzo beans
a sprinkle of feta

You can make your own vinaigrette or for store bought I'm using Primal Kitchen's Italian dressing (so good on this!).

Hormone Balancing Bowl

This is a fun meal to play with. For instance, instead of sauteeing the veg, you could roast a huge pan of veggies ahead of time and make them last a couple of days. Combine the roasted veg with some raw kale in the bowl (or spinach) and then add in a big scoop of hummus and some sunflower seeds.

You can use brussel sprouts, onion, green beans, carrot, zucchini (whatever floats your boat!). The cruciferous vegetables are what makes this a hormone balancing meal.

INGREDIENTS: