Flirting with veganism.
That’s a good description of what I’ve been doing the past week or so. When it comes to lifestyle eating habits, I always think it is a good thing to try different diets and see which one makes you feel more energized. I learned a lot the past week about the vegan diet, and there’s really so many great reasons to become one. In a nutshell, vegans have a deep respect towards animals and eat a plant based diet. This includes dairy products, besides from the more obvious such as meat.
I know what you’re thinking: “Oh my, that sounds so restrictive. What COULD I eat as a vegan?”. Rest assured, there’s really a WORLD of veggies, seeds and spices nobody talks much about, that you should include in your diet, regardless of whether you’re seriously planning to become a vegan or just flirting with it. Here’s 6 extremely easy and healthy vegan dinner recipes, that you can try out to discover more of this lifestyle yourself.
#1 CHERRY TOMATOES & SEEDS SALAD
I would suggest you start out with this Cherry Tomatoes and seeds salad, simply because it’s the easiest one to prepare. So, if you guys are in summer, this fresh salad will be just perfect for a light vegan dinner.
All you need to do is:
– Go to your farmers market and pick up the best cherry tomatoes you can find.
– Wash them carefully.
– Add some sesame, sunflower and chia seeds for a little crunchiness. I found a special mix of this packed together on my local organic store.
– Dress with olive oil, vinegar, black pepper and salt… and enjoy!
#2 FRUIT SALAD AND BANANA SMOOTHIE
Another perfect one for summertime!
This was my dinner choice at a vegan restaurant in my area.
– For the fruit salad: Peel and chop half a banana, half a kiwi and 1 green apple. Add 3 sliced strawberries, a handful of berries and the juice of 2 oranges.
– For the Banana Smoothie: Grab 2 bananas, add Almond milk, 2 spoonfuls flax seed and blend blend blend!
#3 OVEN-ROASTED RUSTIC CHIPS AND VEGGIES
For those of us who prefer a warm cooked dinner, here’s the dish I prepared for me and my husband last Wednesday.
– Chop some potatoes, 1 per person should do. And do NOT peel them ( but wash them well) for a nice crunchy rustic style.
– Chop some peppers. In the picture you can see red and green ones.
– Add some sliced onions. 1 per person should be enough.
– Place everything together on an oven pan sprayed with Olive Oil.
– Keep an eye on the potatoes, they’re ready when they look golden!
At least that’s the way I like them.
#4 QUINOA CARIBBEAN SALAD
Back to warmer day recipes, here’s a cold salad filled with nutrients.
The star of this one is QUINOA, the super food of the moment.
– HOW TO PREPARE THE QUINOA: Wash with cold water, as many times as needed until no more foam is formed on the water surface. The rest is very similar to preparing rice: add 2 cups of water for every cup of quinoa and boil until no more water is left to be absorbed or evaporated.
– Let the Quinoa cool down.
– Add some cherry tomatoes, avocado and mango slices.
– Pour a dressing made with sesame seeds and olive oil
… and voilá !
#5 SAUTÉED QUINOA & PEPPERS
This one is a variation of #6.
– Prepare the QUINOA just as explained on the previous recipe.
– On a wok, sauté some yellow, green and red peppers on some virgin olive oil.
Mix together … and that’s how simple it is!
#6 TOMATO SOUP & RUSTIC CHIPS
Last but definitely NOT least is my favorite of all!
– FOR THE SOUP: Blend 2 tomatoes, 3 previously boiled carrots, 1 onion, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.
– Slice ( and DO NOT peel ) some potatoes. Add some olive oil and dried red pepper powder. Put in the oven for 30 mins, or until they are dark golden brown.
A bit more time consuming than the other 5 recipes, but so much worth it!
Being a vegan is quite extreme and requires tons of self-discipline, but it can also be very YUMMY! I’m not sure if I will choose this lifestyle permanently, but if you’re planning to experiment a bit like I did, I hope you found the above vegan recipes inspiring.
If you’d like to learn more about the vegan lifestyle and look for cool tips and recipes, I suggest you checkout any of these best selling books:
heidi guttenberg 
Hello Heidi! I would like to thank you for leaving a comment on my Pinterest! I decided to do what you asked and I am very happy that I did! This is the first post that I came across and these are indeed great dinner/lunch ideas! It would be great if you could check out my blog as well, although I don't have as much content as you. Thank you in advance!
http://jasmineliangslife.blogspot.ca
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Yummy!!!!! Can't wait to make that tomato soup. It's autumn here & will be nice on a cool night! #nomnom
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