Veganuary - 7 days lunches
Day 2 of our Veganuary meal plan. Today is all about lunches.
I love to lunch, it's probably my favourite meal of the day, it needs to be delicious and full of nutrients but not to heavy as it would make you feel sluggish.
So here are some of my favourite vegan lunches for you to try.
Pasta with aubergine ragu
Ingredients:
1 medium aubergine
1 white onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
10 ripe tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
5/6 basil leaves
1 Tbsp tomato pure
3 Tbsp tomato passata
400gr pasta
Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
- Put the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water, enough to cover them and let them sit for a little while.
- Finely chop the onion, celery and carrot. Add 3 tbsp of olive oil to the pan and sauté onions, celery, carrot and garlic until soft.
- In the meanwhile cut the aubergines in small chunks and add them to the pan.
- Now peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds. Roughly chop them and add to the pan.
- Add the tomato sauce and tomato pure, basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste and let cook on low for 10-15 minutes.
- In a separate pot add water and salt and wait for it to boil. When boiling add the pasta and cook for the indicated time.
- When the pasta is ready drain it and then add to the pan. Stir the pasta and sauce until everything comes together nicely.
- Serve hot
Veggie meatballs
Ingredients
1 medium courgette, sliced
1/2 cauliflower cut into florets
1 big bunch of spinach
400g chickpeas
1 red onion
1tsp paprika
1tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Rapeseed oil
Method
- Steam the courgette slices and cauliflower florets for 10-15 minutes.
- In the meanwhile sauté the finely chopped onion in a little rapeseed oil until soft and set aside.
- Boil the spinach for a couple of minutes and once ready drained them and squeeze them of excess liquid and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Mash the chickpeas with a fork.
- Once the cauliflower florets and courgette slices are ready add them to a mixer together with the chickpeas, red onion, spinach, all the spices, salt, pepper and egg. Mix together until you have a soft paste. If the paste is too wet, add some flour to dry out some of the moisture.
- Shape the mixture into small balls and bake for 10-15 minutes.
- You could fry them, if you prefer, if you do please remember to coat them in flour, then fry in vegetable oil until golden.
- Serve with some pitta bread, coconut yogurt, guacamole or fresh tomatoes.
Roasted cauliflower rice
Ingredients
1 cauliflower head cut into florets
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic clove
Salt, lemon and pepper to taste
Method
- Add the cauliflower florets into a food processor an blitz until the cauliflower resemble rice. Do this by pulsing a little at the time and keep on checking the cauliflower so you don't take it too far.
- In the meanwhile heath the oven 180C.
- When the cauliflower is ready, mix with with the oil, salt and pepper.
- Prepare a oven tray by laying some oven paper on it.
- Spread the cauliflower on the paper and roast for 20-25 minutes. Make sure to check it occasionally and give it a good stir.
- Once it's ready add some lemon juice to taste and serve.
Roasted sweet potato and carrot soup
Ingredients
3 medium sweet potatoes
200g carrots
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 tbsp olive oil
800ml-1000ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Preheat the oven 180C.
- Roughly chop the sweet potatoes and carrots and coat them in 2 tbsp of olive oil.
- Roast the sweet potatoes and carrots until nice and soft inside.
- In the meanwhile, add the remaining olive oil, finely chopped onion and crushed garlic to a hot pan and sauté until soft.
- Once the vegetables are ready add them to a food processor with the onion and garlic. Add the stock a little at the time(so it doesn't become to liquid) and blitz until you have a smooth soup.
- Bring back to a pot and heath on low heath until piping hot.
- Adjust salt and pepper and serve.
Quinoa, tomato and orange salad
Ingredients
80g uncooked quinoa
1 diced orange
Handful cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
2tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Rinse the quinoa under cold water and add to a pan with double the amount of salted water.
- Bring it to boil and then let it simmer until the quinoa is cooked and the liquid absorbed.
- Fluff the quinoa with a fork and let it cool down a little.
- Add tomatoes, orange, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.
- Serve.
Chickpeas and potatoes salad
Ingredients
300g chickpeas (to be soaked, no tinned)
2 medium potatoes cut in small chunks
10 cherry tomatoes cut in quarters
2 tbsp olive oil
Handful crushed almonds
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
Method
- Soak the chickpeas overnight. Then rinse and pat dry.
- Bring a pot of salted water to boil.
- Add the chickpeas and let them cook for 30 mins, adding the potatoes chunks after 15 minutes of cooking.
- When ready, pass the chickpeas and potatoes under cold water.
- Add the tomatoes, olive oil and salt and pepper to the chickpeas and potatoes.
- Top with the crushed nuts.
Spirilised Courgettes and tomatoes pasta
Ingredients
1 large courgette, spiralised
1 garlic clove, crushed
250g cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of chilly
Salt, pepper to taste
Method
- Heath the olive oil in a non stick pan and then add the garlic.
- Add the tomatoes and chilly, salt and pepper and cook on a low heath until the tomatoes are soft and start to release their juice. Usually 10-15 mins
- Add the courgettes and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
- Serve hot
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