Meg's Meal Planning

Vegetarian

Vegetarian Quinoa Bowls with Cilantro Lime Dressing

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This cilantro lime dressing is tangy and just a little sweet. You’ll want to use it on top of everything, like this easy and healthy vegetarian quinoa bowl. 

Quinoa bowl

Finally the weather is getting nice and the only thing my son wants to do when we get home at the end of the day is “PLAY OUTSIDE” as he nicely tells me in his sweet two-year-old voice. I love it; we easily stay out until 6 or 6:30 pm, but just like a typical two year old, he has no patience to let me cook dinner. Insert easy vegetarian quinoa bowl to the rescue!

My favorite part about these quinoa bowls is many of the items can be prepped in advance or cooked a day or two before with another dinner. Having a baked sweet potato another night? Cook an extra one to use in this recipe.

cilantro lime dressing

The cook time for this recipe assumes you already have the sweet potato cooked. If you don’t, remember to allow for an extra 45 minutes for that to bake in the oven or you can cook it in the microwave.

Easy Vegetarian Quinoa Bowls with Cilantro Lime Dressing
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Quinoa Bowl
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • ½ cup red onion, chopped
  • 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup baked sweet potato, cubed
  • 1 cup avocado, diced
  • For the cilantro lime dressing:
  • ½ cup vanilla greek yogurt
  • 6 tbsp mayo
  • 6 tbsp lime juice
  • 3 garlic gloves, minced
  • 1 cup cilantro, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
  2. In a large bowl combine the red onion, red bell pepper, sweet potato, and avocado.
  3. In a small bowl combine the greek yogurt, mayo, lime juice, garlic, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  4. Once the quinoa has finished cooking, add it to the large bowl. Then add the cilantro lime dressing. Toss together.

 

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Vegetarian quinoa bowl with cilantro lime dressing

Sweet Potato, Spinach Buddha Bowl

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If you are looking for a healthy, filling lunch or dinner, this buddha bowl with sweet potato, spinach, avocado, and crushed walnuts will keep you full and satisfied. 

Sweet potato, spinach buddha bowl

Buddha bowls are a healthy way to get a balanced meal and an even better way to clean out your fridge.  The last few weeks, on Thursday or Friday I’ve made a buddha bowl using whatever was left in my fridge from the week. The beauty of this meal is you can add any kind of ingredient.

How to make a buddha bowl

First, start with your grain – try brown rice, lentils, or quinoa. Next, add greens/roasted vegetables – spinach, green beans, peas, Brussel sprouts, the possibilities are endless.  Finally, finish it off with nuts or seeds and your choice of dressing.

buddha bowl

Last weeks buddha bowl with quinoa, green beans roasted potatoes, sunflower seeds, and green onions

I make a very basic red vinegar/olive oil dressing. My favorite toppings are green onions because I love the taste they give, avocado, and any kind of nut. Try it out for yourself; you will quickly fall in love with buddha bowls!

Sweet Potato, Spinach Buddha Bowl
 
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If you are looking for a healthy, filling lunch or dinner, this buddha bowl with sweet potato, spinach, avocado, and crushed walnuts will keep you full and satisfied.
Author:
Recipe type: Buddha Bowl
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • ½ cup uncooked quinoa
  • ½ roasted sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • ½ avocado, cubed
  • ¼ cup walnuts crushed
  • ¼ cup fresh spinach, chopped
  • For the dressing:
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 3 tsp Dijon mustard
Instructions
  1. Cook quinoa according to package directions
  2. Add quinoa to a bowl and add the sweet potato, avocado, walnuts, and spinach
  3. In small bowl mix together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, and mustard
  4. Pour over buddha bowl, stir and serve

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Sweet potato, spinach, avocado buddha bowl

Superfood Salad

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Happy New Year! Happy 2017! Last year when I was pregnant over the holiday season, I didn’t feel guilty eating everything and anything I wanted, including all sweets! This year is a different story! So just like many others out there after the Holidays have passed, I want to start eating healthy again.  Goodbye to anisette cookies, chocolate layer bars, and panettone bread (some of my favorite Christmas sweets!). This recipe is super packed with superfoods! For Christmas I got a new cookbook and a new spirilizer, so I decided right away to test them both out. This recipe was inspired by Inspiralized, Turn Vegetables into Healthy Creative, Satisfying Meals, by Ali Mafucci. 

Superfood Salad

Ingredients for the salad

  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 2 medium beets, spiralized and chopped into tiny rice-size pieces
  • 2 cups fresh spinach 
  • 1/3 cups slivered almonds
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 1 cup cooked edamame 

Ingredients for the dressing

  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • Salt and pepper

Steps

  1. Cook quinoa according to package directions 
  2. In a large bowl, combine the beets, spinach, almonds, avocado, and edamame
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients
  4. Add the quinoa to the beet mixture, pour the dressing on top and toss
 

Summer pasta salad with asparagus, roasted peppers, and fresh mozzarella

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I made this pasta salad for a work cook out, but it’d also be perfect for a Father’s Day BBQ. I was able to use some of the fresh asparagus from my CSA farm box! This recipe was inspired by apples and sparkle . 

Asparagus ends snapped off and cut into 1 inch pieces

 

 

Roasted red peppers, stemed 10 minutes in bowl

 
 

Pasta cooling

 
Ingredients

  • 2 red peppers
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 teaspon red pepper flakes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 bundle of asparagus, tough ends snapped off, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 lb penne pasta (I used veggie penne)
  •  8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Steps

  1. Roast the red peppers – Turn oven to broil and let it heat up for 5 minutes. Wash the peppers, cut the top and ends off, then slice open and remove the seeds and stems. Lay down flat, skin side up on a foil lined cookie sheet. Broil 7-9 minutes, turning pan halfway through cooking time.Peppers are done once they start to turn black and blister. Remove from oven and place into bowl. Cover tighly with plastic wrap and let peppers steam for around 10 minutes. Scrape away skin and cut peppers into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside
  2. In a large bowl combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix together and remove 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and place into a medium sized bowl.
  3. In large dutch oven, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the asparagus. Cook until just barley tender (about 3 mintues). Use slotted spoon to remove asparagus pieces, place in colander, and rinse under cold water until cool.
  4. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until done. Drain pasta and add the hot pasta to the large bowl and toss to coat in the dressing.
  5. Add the roasted red peppers and mozzarella to the bowl with the asparagus and mix in the vinaigrette.
  6. Once the pasta has cooled, add the asparagus mix to the bowl of pasta.
  7. Enjoy!  

  

Kale, quinoa, black bean, sweet potato and avocado salad

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Super foods unite! This salad is unbelievable!  The flavors all blend well together and the avocado sauce has the perfect amount of kick!  I really enjoyed making this because it has a lot of my favorite foods to cook and eat! It was the perfect size for two people; my husband and I polished if off!

 

Spiralize sweet potato, season with olive oil and salt and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes

 

 

Add avocado , cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, and salt to food processor, blend well

 

 

Season kale with salt and massage well

 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 bunch kale, ribs removed and chopped into bite size pieces
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • lime zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1 table spoon olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 avocado, sliced and pitted
  • 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem reomoved. You can use more if you like it really spicy!
  • Handful of cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed.

Steps

  1. Prepare the quinoa as per packed directions. Set aside to cool.
  2. Spiralize sweet potato onto baking sheet.  Season with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
  3. Place kale in serving bowl and season with salt. Then massage kale with hands for 1 minute in order to really blend the salt.  Wisk together 1 tablespoon olive oil, juice from 1/2 lime, lime zest, and salt. Drizzle over kale. Set aside.
  4. Add avocado, 1/2 jalapeno pepper, cilantro leaves, juice from 1/2 a lime, lime zest, and salt to a food processor and blend well.
  5. Add cooled quinoa to kale, stir to combine. Distribute the kale to plates and top with sweet potato, black beans, and avocado sauce.

 

Top with roasted sweet potato, black beans, and avocado sauce

 

Zucchini pasta with avocado cream sauce

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First off, let me tell you I debated for a while about buying a spiralizer.  I read about them, saw recipes about them, but it wasn’t until I recently read some reviews about the Veggetti, that I decided to take the plunge!  And I do not regret it.  I bought it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $15. Can’t beat that price.  I used it a few weeks ago to add zucchini to my egg muffins. But this is the first time I’ve used it for a full meal. I was a little nervous, I anticpated calling for take-out if it ended badly, but thankfully I didn’t have to resort to that.

Most recipes say you can cook the veggie any way you like, saute, boil, microwave (ew, gross), or eat it raw.  I decided to eat it raw because that meant one less step to do! I used two zucchinis, which was enough for two people. And used a food processer to make the avacado-basil sauce.  Toppped it off with cherry tomoatoes and you have a heathy, vegetarian meal! My recipe was inspired from this one, from Damn Delicious.

Spiralize zucchini into a bowl

Add avocados, basil, garlic, salt and peper into food processor bowl

Pulse while slowly adding 1/4 cup olive oil

Pour avocado mixture over noodles, add cherry tomatoes

Ingredients

  • Two zucchinis- washed, ends cut off, do not peel
  • Two ripe avocado, halved, seeded , and peeled
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Insert zucchini into one end of the Veggetti, hold over a bowl and twist the vegetable clockwise while pushing forward.

2. Add avocado, basil, garlic, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Season with salt and pepper. Turn on to pulse, while machine is running, slowly add olive oil.

3. Pour sauce over pasta and add cherry tomatoes.

Enjoy!