Nava Atlas‘ latest beautiful book, Plant Power is a heavy and sturdy hardcover. It reads like a compelling and sweet beginner vegan textbook with everything you need to know about going vegan. Recipes range from the best of the vegan basics to delicious and flavorful ethnic cuisines. There’s something for new vegans and seasoned vegans alike on every page. It is as much a tool for plant based education as it is for harnessing the power of plants in your kitchen.
Today Nava is sharing her Guide for7 Simple Meal-Planning Strategies for the Plant-Based Kitchen below and a Hummus Wrap with Grains and Greens from her book.
7 Simple Meal-Planning Strategies for the Plant-Based Kitchen
Here are some of my tried-and-true meal-planning tips for making cooked-from-scratch meals a daily reality, even after the most exhausting days. You’ll find much more detail on how to accomplish all of these strategies, plus lots more of these kinds of tips inPlant Power: Transform Your Kitchen, Plate, and Life with More Than 150 Fresh and Flavorful Vegan Recipesby Nava Atlas, from which this was adapted (©2014, published by HarperOne, reprinted by permission).Photos byHannah Kaminsky.
Back when my kids were growing up and I still was in the midst of the classic juggling act, I was a lot more disciplined about meal planning. I found that it really did buy me time and sanity. For our family of four, I planned three meals per week. If I made ample quantities, I could count on leftovers for three more dinners. And leftovers can always be tweaked so that they’re slightly different the next day. For example, today’s salad can be tomorrow’s wrap; tonight’s soup-and-wrap dinner can become tomorrow’s soup-and-vegan-quesadilla dinner.
Black Bean Tostadas, Pages 228-229
What do you see as your ideal meal-making style? Decide whether you want to make different meals every night or most nights and rotate them through the season or whether you want to try the three-meals-with-leftovers strategy. If you want to be a seat-of-the-pants cook, more power to you. For that kind of spontaneity, you’ve got to have an especially well-stocked pantry and fridge as well as the imagination to look at a bunch of ingredients and envision what they can become.
- Plan three full meals for each week. From those meals, you can plan two nights of leftovers, which makes life easier—though this is challenging if you have hungry teens or athletes at home. Don’t think of leftovers as boring. They can be repurposed in ways that might not make it into the culinary hall of fame, but with a few tweaks they can be as tasty as the original preparation. For instance, leftover chili can become Cincinnati chili mac.
Classic Veggie Chili with Corn-Kernel Cornbread, Pages 140-145
- Plan meals before going shopping. Planning your meals before you go food shopping will ensure that you don’t waste time, money, and energy running back and forth to the store all week. A mere twenty to thirty minutes of meal planning per week will simplify your life immeasurably, especially if you have a tight schedule, young children, or both.
- Plan meals after going shopping. What? Didn’t I just say to plan meals before going shopping? Sometimes it’s good to think outside the box. When farm market or CSA season is in full swing—or during the summer and fall harvest season in general—and you’re getting basket loads of fresh produce, it may be wiser to retrofit your meal plans to your fresh food finds.
- Prepare a few basics for the week ahead. On whatever day or evening is the most home- centered, prepare a few basics for the days ahead. Sunday afternoons and evenings are ideal as you’re looking to the coming week, but do whatever is good for your schedule. Even the simplest things can ease weeknight meal preparation immeasurably.
- At least once a week, prepare a big one-pot or one-pan meal. This kind of meal can stretch to cover at least two nights. Such meals include hearty soups and stews, bean dishes, abundant pastas, and casseroles. You’ll find many such recipes later on in this book. Double the quantities if you need to, especially if you have a large family. Then you need little more than salad and fresh whole-grain bread to accompany the meal.
Unbaked Fudgy Brownies, page 347
- Develop a weekly repertoire. Make slight variations on your standard recipes each week so that meals don’t get boring. For example, Friday dinner has long been a pizza and salad meal, but within this basic framework, there are endless variations!
- Create a seasonal repertoire. An alternative to a weekly repertoire is a seasonal repertoire, consisting of ten or fifteen basic meals that you like best. These ten tasty meals— one for each weeknight for two weeks—are repeated as needed throughout the season. Weekends can bring a heavenly leftovers buffet. That doesn’t sound too daunting, right?
Hummus Wraps with Grains and Greens
This hummus wrap is chock-full of flavor and a good use of leftover grains of all kinds. Once you have your grain cooked, the wrap comes together in minutes. The recipe also doubles easily. Serve with a simple potato dish, and/or fresh corn—these wraps go with most anything! Or, pair with a soup. I especially like this with Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup.Recipe fromPlant Power: Transform Your Kitchen, Plate, and Life with More Than 150 Fresh and Flavorful Vegan Recipesby Nava Atlas. ©2014, published by HarperOne, reprinted by permission. Photos byHannah Kaminsky.
Makes: 2 wraps
- Two 10-inch wraps, at room temperature
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup hummus, homemade or store-bought, or as needed
- 2 tablespoons hemp seeds or 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
- 1/2 cup or so cooked quinoa, brown rice, or black rice
- A big handful or two of mixed baby greens, shredded lettuce, baby arugula, or baby spinach
- 1 medium ripe fresh tomato, thinly sliced
- 1/2 medium firm ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
- Strips of sun-dried tomato, as desired, optional
Place one wrap on a plate. Spread with about 1/4 cup hummus and sprinkle with hemp seeds, if desired.
Arrange half the quinoa down the center of the wrap. Put a big handful of leafy greens next to it on one side and half the tomato slices on the other. Sprinkle half the avocado strips here and there, followed by a few strips of sun-dried tomatoes, if desired.
Tuck two ends over the fillings; then, starting from one end, roll tightly, making sure that the ends are kept tucked in and that everything remains snugly inside.
Repeat with the second wrap. Cut each wrap in half and eat out of hand.
Nutrition information:
Per wrap: Calories: 400; Total fat: 13g; Protein: 15g; Carbohydrates: 65g; Fiber: 13g; Sodium: 500mg
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