4.01.2021

6 Vegetarian Dinner Ideas | Meatless Meals | What's for Dinner?




I have listened to your requests and today I'm sharing a vegetarian-themed What's for Dinner? episode. These recipes are really easy to make and full of flavor. We are not vegetarians, but we do like to have a few meatless meals a week. 


A great benefit to vegetarian cooking is that your grocery bill will be smaller! When planning for this video, I purchased all of the ingredients in one week. I couldn't believe how low our grocery bill was. Meat is expensive! 

This video is a collaboration with my dear friend, Robin, from Faith and Flour. Robin is also sharing her 6 favorite meatless meals and you can check out her video here.

⚜️ Featured in the video
Healthy Noodle (mine is from Costco but I found it on Amazon)
⚜️ What I'm wearing
Rungolee silk blouse code DAILYC for free silk face mask with order
SKYE 18K gold Genevieve earrings Jennifer20 for 20% off
SKYE Laure freshwater pearl bracelet Jennifer20 for 20% off
Londontown nail polish "mudslide" JenniferS for 25% off

Let's take a look at the meals we made in today's video: 


Vegetarian Tostadas

Vegetarian Tostadas

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil 
  • 6  whole wheat tortillas
  • 1 15oz can refried beans
  • 1 1/2  cup cooked black beans
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 mango, sliced in long strips
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 cup pico de gallo
  • 4 Tbs guacamole 

Instructions

  1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Brush the tortillas lightly on both sides with extra virgin olive oil. Heat under a broiler for one to two minutes (don't let them burn). Remove the tortillas from the broiler and spread with refried beans, black beans, and shredded cheese. Return to the oven for another minute or two until the cheese is melted, but not rubbery. Remove from the oven and top the tostadas with whatever toppings you enjoy. In this recipe I use red pepper, mango, guacamole, pico de gallo, cilantro, and green onion. 
Created using The Recipes Generator



Veggie Burger

Veggie Burger

Ingredients

  • 4 - 6 whole wheat hamburger buns (for however many you are serving)
  • 4 - 6 veggie burgers
  • 4 - 6 slices Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • 1 apple, sliced to create discs
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 1 large handful sprouts
  • sliced pickles
  • favorite condiments: mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Ranch dressing

Instructions

  1. Grill the veggie burgers on the grill or in the oven according to the package directions. For the final minute of grilling, top the burgers with the Monterey Jack cheese and allow the cheese to melt (but not get rubbery).
  2. Toast the hamburger buns on the grill or in the oven for a few minutes. Spread with your preferred condiments, such as mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Top the buns with the cooked veggie burger and melted cheese. 
  3. Top with your preferred toppings: sliced red onion, sliced tomato, sliced apple, sprouts, and pickles.  Serve with sweet potato fries and Ranch dressing. 
Created using The Recipes Generator



Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fry Nachos

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fry Nachos

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs sweet potatoes, chopped into wedges or fry shapes
  • 2 Tbs oil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 1/2 cups black beans, cooked  (or 1 15oz can)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 3/4 cup chopped bbq seitan or tofu (optional)
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrot
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup pico de gallo (or salsa)
  • 3 large scoops of guacamole

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Preheat your air fryer according to your model's instructions. 
  2. Chop the sweet potatoes in 1/2 in French fry wedges or with a crinkle cutter chopping tool. Coat the sweet potatoes in oil and season with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. 
  3. Cook the sweet potatoes in your air fryer according to your air fryer instructions. I am using the Cosori Air Fryer model in this recipe, which requires you cook the fries in the preheated air fryer at 400 degrees F for 10 - 12 minutes.
  4. Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, spread them on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil lightly sprayed with cooking oil. Top the fries with black beans, bbq seitan or tofu (if using), and cheese. Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for up to 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. (I like to cook the black beans beforehand so they are already hot.)
  5. Top with your favorite toppings. I use cilantro, shredded carrot, diced bell pepper, red onion, green onion, pico de gallo, and guacamole.  Enjoy! 
Created using The Recipes Generator


Thai Peanut Noodles

Thai Peanut Noodles

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

  • 1 package (150 g) Rice noodles or any noodle 
  • 4 Tbs peanut butter
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbs soy sauce
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 1/2 Tbs sesame oil
  • 5 Tbs water
  • juice from one lime
  • sesame seeds
  • 1 small bunch chopped cilantro
  • 4 green onions, chopped
  • 1/4 cup crushed peanuts

Instructions

  1. Boil the noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Place the following ingredients in a blender: peanut butter, garlic, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, water and lime juice. Blend until smooth.
  3. Pour the peanut sauce on top of the noodles and top with the sesame seeds, green onions, cilantro, and crushed peanuts. Enjoy! 
Created using The Recipes Generator


Caribbean Black Beans

Caribbean Black Beans

Yield: serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Caribbean Black Beans
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 4 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or 3 16oz cans)
  • 3/4 orange juice
  • 1 Tbs organic no salt seasoning (or other favorite seasoning)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • salt and pepper to taste
Tropical Fruit Salsa
  • 1 mango, chopped
  • 1/2 papaya, chopped
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • 1 small bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • Juice from one lime

Instructions

  1. Sauté the onions and garlic in oil for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the beans, orange juice, and seasonings. Cook on low for ten to fifteen minutes. 
  2. To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients and stir. 
  3. Serve beans over white or brown rice and top with salsa. Enjoy. 
Created using The Recipes Generator



Bruschetta

Bruschetta

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

Bread
  • 1 French baguette or other crusty, coarse-textured bread
  • 2 fresh garlic gloves, peeled
  • Extra-virgin olive oil for brushing
Tomato topping
  • 4 large tomatoes, diced
  • 1/4 cup basil, sliced
  • 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 4 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Create the tomato marinade first so the flavors have time to marry. Combine the tomatoes, basil, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the bread on the diagonal in 1/2 inch slices. Rub garlic on both sides of the bread. Brush both sides with olive oil. Place bread on a prepared baking sheet.
  3. Toast the bread for ten minutes, turning the bread halfway through. Top bread with the tomato marinade right before serving and enjoy. 
Created using The Recipes Generator



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Comment of the Week

MaryZ writes, "Your meals seem healthy to me, and give you a well-balanced and well-nourished day with a few veggies, some meat, bread, carbs, fruit, sweets, and healthy beverages. You look fantastic and healthy (glowing), so it obviously works for you. :) No obsessing or counting or deprivation."

Thank you, Mary! That's how I feel about food... I think meals should be well-balanced and I don't deprive myself of carbs and sugar... it's working for me! Thanks for watching. 


I hope you enjoy today's video. I would love to know your favorite vegetarian or vegan meals you like to include in your repertoire. 


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6 comments:

  1. Thank you for the great recipes. We really enjoy eating a halloumi and quinoa salad. Very simple and satisfying. Just heat up some slices of halloumi in a dry pan, and cook up some quinoa (or use the microwavable packaged quinoa for a speedy option). Mix in uncooked salad ingredients like cucumber, baby spinach, carrot, tomatoes, red onion and avocado, and then stir through your favourite salad dressing like balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jennifer,
    the right pronunciation is "brusketta", with the hard sound "K". In Italy if you pronounce it the other way, like Ben does, no one will have the slightest idea of what you're talking about.
    I can't wait to try one of your recipes this week, but I'll have to replace some of the ingredients because, apart from fruits and vegetables, I think we don't have the same industrial products. I've never seen those dressings nor that type of cheese, for example. :)
    Thank you so much for sharing these ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These look great! Looking forward to trying them all!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gee, Unknown: who are you, the 'Pronunciation Police'? We don't live in Italy. This is the way we pronounce the word in America. (That's the pronounciation in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary - just looked it up on-line to make certain.)Different countries pronounce all sorts of words differently from each other and correcting people, Ms. Unknown, most certainly strangers, as Ben is to you (I assume), is considered quite rude everywhere. You owe Ben and Jennifer an apology.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi everyone,

    Thank you for watching! Cynthia-Claire, I think Unknown is trying to be helpful. I asked for people's opinions on the subject so I expected to hear a range of opinions, haha. I appreciate all of your comments and thank you for being a part of the blog. Happy cooking!

    ~ Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Jennifer,

    Thank you for sharing this video and recipes. Especially at this time when people are being told by an industry and its puppets that the key to health and longevity lies in a for-profit pharmaceutical product, it is important that people have the tools and inspiration to build up their immune systems naturally, which vegetarian eating will do for them. Thanks again,

    Alexandra Dana

    ReplyDelete