I’ve finally uploaded all of the recipes that build the foundation for my easiest everyday meal, and so it’s time to share: here it is, my number one go-to, nutritious, satisfying, flavorful plant-based meal. If you sometimes need a meal in a hurry, this one’s for you.
I tend to get busy working and suddenly realize I don’t have anything to eat. After a few moments of hunger-driven panic, I realize I DO have something, this here meal I’m about to share, and it won’t take long to throw it together. End of food emergency. Phew! This is something I do several times every week and I’m not ashamed to admit it, because fortunately, this meal is so flexible that I never get sick of it and I can be proud of myself for eating something healthy instead of grabbing junk food.
This recipe has four elements, a starch or grain base, a vegetable, and my own vegan pesto sauce and vegan cheese sauce.
The steps to prepare a single serving are so simple:
- Prepare a baked potato (or brown rice, or pasta, or quinoa, etc. – whatever you’re hungry for)
- Heat up some vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, etc.
- Thaw and warm one pesto cube and one vegan cheese sauce cube (about 2 tablespoons each – see the recipes for freezing instructions so you’ll always have some on hand)
- Toss vegetables with the two thawed sauces
- Put over potato, brown rice or whatever you’re using
- Presto! It’s time to eat!
I bake the potato in my air fryer. If you haven’t tried baking a potato in your air fryer, now is the time to give it a go. They come out of that little oven so lovely crispy on the outside and piping hot and fluffy on the inside – the perfect baked potato in my opinion! Follow the directions for your air fryer, but for mine, the steps are simple: clean a potato and cut off the bad spots, rub lightly with olive oil, bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes (my fryer max time is 30 minutes) and then 15 more minutes at 375 degrees (45 minutes total), and the potato is perfectly done. I can bake up to three potatoes at one time.
To speed up the vegetable prep and cooking time, I usually use about one cup of frozen broccoli or cauliflower. If you prefer to cook it from fresh produce, go for it. For the frozen veggies option, during the last 15 minutes of the potato baking time, I heat the vegetables for three minutes in the microwave with a silicone lid covering the bowl so it steams, no added water. Then I add the two flavor cubes (pesto and vegan cheese, still frozen), cover with the lid again, and heat it one additional minute. (Note: you’ll need to adjust your timing according to the power of your microwave.) Then I let it sit with the lid on until the potato is ready, stir it together, and scoop it onto the potato or rice or whatever I’m using. Yum!
I often swap the cube of vegan pesto sauce for a cube of my vegan barbecue sauce. Both are so good mixed with the creamy vegan cheese sauce. Another option to add variety to your flavor line-up are to use two cubes of vegan cheese sauce and spice it up with either some smoked paprika or curry powder mixed into it. Hopefully you get the idea – there are so many ways to tailor this meal to your tastes.
I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know if you liked it!
The pretty yellow bowl used in the photo is a Fiesta bowl, which you can find on Amazon.com:
Fiesta 5-Piece Place Setting, Sunflower
The silicone lids I use in the microwave are these: QooWare Silicone Suction Lids – Set of 5 Colorful Food Covers
This is the air fryer I use. It’s a simple no-frills model on the small side and it works great! Philips HD9621/96 Viva Turbostar Airfryer (1.8lb/2.75qt), Black
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