Simple, Easy Recipe Help?

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

I'm nearing desperate with explaining a cheap way of eating healthy to my mom.

I'm not partial to recipes but was hoping any vegan friends could throw me a few simple meals to help present to my mom to get off the meats, quit the processed, and give a better life style a go?

Everything to desserts is welcome, especially pizza recipes, salads, and baked goods.  Delicious baked goods...  flaky toasty n'yummy croissants...

Just try to have it not be more than 7 ingredients not including spices.

I was going to ask Jade in her thread but alas, I could not find it!

[Minyatur]

I am no vegan but I found this thingy :

http://www.peta.org/living/food/vegan-re...il-payday/

[Jade]

I think my thread's in the Corkboard? I think I put it there at your initial suggestion, but maybe it is better suited for Health & Diet.

Here's a recipe for easy banana bread. I sent it to my MIL (she's vegetarian, but hardly healthy). No word from her yet if she tried it:

This recipe is for one loaf pan, but I double it usually and put it in a 9x13 cake pan.

1 cup flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil (coconut is the best!)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar (raw/turbinado sugar is the best)
1/8 tsp of salt
2 ripe bananas
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp vinegar

First, mix the vinegar and milk together - this makes a buttermilk! It takes a few minutes though so set it aside.

Mash the banana with the sugar; add oil. I usually throw all three into the food processor for a few pulses to get it liquefied.

Mix together the rest of the dry ingredients - combine well. Mix the milk + bananas and sugar and oil together, then add it to the dry ingredients. Stir thoroughly (no clumps) but don't over stir - the more you work the flour, the tougher the gluten gets.

Sometimes I add walnuts to the batter, too!

This gets cooked for 25-30 minutes @ 350.

Sometimes after it cools I dust the top of it with powdered sugar for a bit extra sweetness.

[Diana]

I have some easy go-to meals.

1. Pasta. 

—pasta (I like angel hair)
—EVOO (extra virgin olive oil; Walmart carries Wild Oats brand and their organic EVOO is a great low price) 
—fresh garlic, crushed with the flat of a knife and chopped finely
—veggies (any you like) e.g.: diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, asparagus, eggplant, broccoli, brussel sprouts, green bell pepper,  etc., one or all or any combination
—if you want the taste of meat, you can add a vegan burger thawed a little and chopped into pieces or vegetarian sausage
—salt (you can get bulk pink Himylayan sea salt at Winco), spices: basil, oregano, onion powder

Cook the pasta and set it aside. Saute the vegetables, except the fresh garlic, in EVOO with a little salt. When done, add the pasta and the spices to taste. Drizzle a little more EVOO over the top. Add the fresh garlic (it's better added at the end and not cook it too much), stir it to mix everything and let it sit over low heat enough to mix the flavors—just a few minutes.

Good with fresh salad of tomatoes and cucumbers, tossed with a little EVOO and balsamic vinegar, add dill and a little salt, then sprinkle with chia seeds.

2. Tacos

—taco shells
—rice
—guacamole (avocado mashed, garlic—powder or fresh copped—cilantro, salt, and a little salsa)
—lettuce sliced into strips
—diced tomatoes
—cheese (I use vegan smoked cheese) shredded

I shake this up by sometimes sautéing meatless crumbles (a vegetarian "hamburger") with chili powder, salt, onion powder, garlic

Layer in the taco shells. Serve with salsa. 

3. Burritos

I freeze these and they are great just taken out of the freezer one at a time (I wrap them in wax paper then put them into the empty tortilla bag and zip it up for the freezer)

—rice (for 12 burritos, 1 cup of uncooked rice is enough)
—beans (I use whatever I have—pinto, black, even brown lentils). I first sauté onions, bell pepper, and diced tomato in a pan, then add the cooked beans and simmer a bit.
—black olives
—grilled or sautéed veggies such as zucchini
—cheese optional (I use vegan cheddar but the burritos are good without cheese at all)
—large tortillas (I like the sun-dried tomato tortillas)

Get all the ingredients ready in separate bowls or pans within reach. Turn a stove burner on high and heat up the tortilla by rotating it over the burner carefully and quickly both sides (be careful not to burn your hands). Place heated tortilla on a large wooden cutting board (or whatever surface you choose to work on). Start with a scoop of rice, then a smaller scoop of beans spread across the tortilla's middle, not too near the sides. Add 3 or so olives; lay on some grilled veggies; sprinkle on the cheese. Roll the tortilla up and set aside.

When you have made all the burritos you are making, coat a large frying pan with EVOO and heat it to low to medium heat. Lay the burritos in the pan (my pan usually fits 4 at a time), and brown them lightly on both sides. Serve them with salsa while still warm, or wrap them and freeze them after they cool.

3. Easy Pizza

—chabatta sandwich breads or French bread cut lengthwise and into individual (sandwich size) square pieces
—tomato sauce (there are many good jar sauces)
—pesto sauce (you can get jars of pesto in grocery stores or make your own with olive oil and fresh basil)
—cheese (I use vegan mozzarella)

any ingredients you like; I like these:

—thinly sliced tomato
—fresh mushrooms sliced
—green bell pepper
—black olives
—if you like sausage, there are really good meatless sausages in the freezer sections of grocery stores such as Morning Star)

Spread a little EVOO on the bread slices. Add the tomato sauce, layer on the ingredients. Sprinkle with cheese. Add dots of pesto sauce. Bake.

[The_Tired_Philosopher]

These are perfect!! Thank you all!!

Even though I don't have a working oven this is still perfect for when I do! In the mean time, have any snacky recipes??

I totally didn't check the corkboard, sorry Jade!