One of the biggest challenges of living independently, having a hectic lifestyle, and staying healthy is eating right. It is significantly more challenging if you are a vegetarian because most places you can find quick takeout meals don’t cater to vegan needs. What else can you do then? Well, how about trying the following Sacramento meal prep ideas?
Instead of cooking on the day itself, it will save you time, money, and effort to prepare your meals ahead of the week. In addition, meal preparation can ensure that you meet all your nutritional needs since you made them yourself. You can ensure that the ingredients provide the nutrients you lack after eliminating animal foods from your diet.
You have figured out how meal prepping can help solve your problem. The issue now is looking for meals that can last you at least five days. You need recipes that can provide your nutritional needs, prepared in less than 45 minutes, and fit your plant-based diet. In that case, the following five quick and easy plant-based meal prep ideas might suit you.
1. Healthy Cauliflower Rice
Out of the different plant-based meal prep ideas in this post, this healthy cauliflower rice is one of the easiest. You can prepare it in 10 minutes and cook it in 15 minutes. Thus, you can make it in a total of 25 minutes. In that short amount of time, you can make four servings of a healthy meal for the week ahead.
The main ingredient is cauliflower, which you can cook in many different forms. In this plant-based recipe, you can turn cauliflower into a low-carb meal with only about 1/4 of the carbohydrates usually in rice. You can use it as a base for your other meals, like beans, tofu, or anything you typically eat with rice.
How To Cook:
To prepare, trim as much stem from your cauliflower florets first. You need them to look like couscous by breaking them away in a food processor. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions when the oil’s ready, stirring to coat until the onions have softened and golden brown at the edges.
Now, stir the cauliflower in to combine with the onions. Add a teaspoon of salt to taste, frequently stirring until the cauliflowers become soft. Once softened, you can now remove it from the heat and spoon it into a serving bowl. You can now garnish your cauliflower rice with parsley, season with salt, and sprinkle with lemon juice to adjust the taste.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
2. Vegan Queso
In this Sacramento meal prep idea, nuts play the most important role. But eating nuts all the time isn’t appetizing, so you need a better way to eat them. Good thing there is a better way to eat nuts – by turning it into a creamy, savory dip. Not only is this easy-to-make, delicious vegan queso recipe flavorful, but dairy-free as well.
How to Cook:
It is an easy recipe, but you will need a high-powered blender. To cook, pour the tomatoes and green chiles into the fine-mesh sieve. Squeeze them to get the liquid, then set both aside for later. Put the squeezed out juice into a cast-iron skillet with the cashews, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, 3/4 water, and a teaspoon of salt.
Cook over high heat and bring to a boil. Once it boiled, reduce the heat to simmer, letting it cook slowly while occasionally stirring. Do this until the cashews have softened, and then transfer the mixture to your high-powered blender. Now add – vinegar, nutritional yeast, two tablespoons of the tomatoes and green chiles you reserved, roasted red peppers, hot sauce, and a cup of water.
Blend the second mixture until it is smooth and creamy. Be sure to scrape the sides of the blender whenever needed. Transfer it again into the skillet and heat over low heat. Stir it occasionally until the mixture thickens and becomes scoop-able. Use the leftover tomatoes and green chiles, plus cilantro and jalapenos as garnish.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
3. Kale and Sweet Potato Soup
If it is a super easy and quick to prepare plant-based meal prep idea you need, this Kale and Sweet Potato Soup recipe is perfect. You will love that it is nutritious and does not need oil or butter, which means it is fat-free. Its main ingredients are known superfoods, so you can expect this recipe to result in a hearty, nourishing meal you can enjoy.
How To Cook:
There are only three steps to this recipe – start by pouring chicken or vegetable broth into a 4-quart saucepan. Add water, garlic, salt, sweet potatoes, and cayenne. Cook it over high heat, bring it to a simmer, and then reduce it to low. Let the mixture simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender enough.
The next step is to mash about half of the cubed sweet potatoes in the broth to thicken the mixture. Once it is thick enough as you want it, you can now add the kale. Put it down at the bottom of the soup and wait until it wilts. Simmer the broth once again in low heat until the kale is tender. Make sure to cook the kale well, or it can add a bitter flavor to your soup.
With the kale cooked and tasty, you can now add salt and pepper to season the soup. The best way to serve your Kale and Sweet Potato Soup is to bring out its flavor with a squeeze of lemon, but it is optional. Either way, this meal is rich in vitamin B6, potassium, and dietary fiber. Most importantly, you can just heat it throughout the week.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
4. Green Goddess Chickpea Sandwiches
Chickpea sandwiches are a fantastic plant-based meal prep option for lunches. They are easy to prepare and can last you a week. These are nutritious sandwiches filled with fiber and protein and flavorful at the same time, thanks to the fresh herbs. One of the best things about this plant-based sandwich is you can make the chickpea salad beforehand.
You can make the chickpea salad ahead of the week, then just smear it over your choice of bread. If you want, you can add a few more vegetables like alfalfa sprouts, shredded carrots, or spinach. As for the bread, whole-grain bread is perfect enough. If the bread is a bit crispy, enjoy a chickpea salad sandwich that tastes so much better.
How To Prepare:
You can begin by making the green goddess dressing. For this, you will need either a blender or a small food processor. The sauce consists of parsley, basil, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest. After making the dressing, just add the chickpeas and carrots into the sauce. Pulse it until chunky but adequately combined, then add a pinch of salt to taste.
Your chickpea salad is now ready. Spread the mixture on your sandwiches anytime you feel like making a Green Goddess Chickpea Sandwich.
Tips: If not basil, you can also use cilantro or parsley. You can also turn this recipe into a Chickpea wrap using lettuce wrap if you want a low-carb recipe.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 0 minute
Total: 10 minutes
5. Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pecans
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pecans is a plant-based meal prep option that won’t take much of your time. A bit of prep is necessary, but only if you don’t have shaved Brussels sprouts yet. If not, you will have about 20 minutes of prep time to get all the ingredients ready. But after you get them ready, the cooking time is super quick.
How to Cook:
Once you have everything ready, start cooking by heating the pecans over medium heat. Stir them occasionally until they become lightly toasted, for about five minutes. After you have cooked them, set them aside to cool, then chop coarsely. Next is to toss the pecans, Brussels sprouts, lemon juice, and olive oil into a large bowl. Season them with salt and pepper. If you have them, you can also top the salad with chives.
This meal prep idea is a good source of carbohydrates, protein, and calories. It is a tasty meal easy enough to make any day. Prepare some on Sunday, and now you’ve completed your five-meal weekly plant-based meal prep plan.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Wrapping Up
Preparing meals every day is challenging whether you are a vegan or not. Good thing there are plenty of Sacramento meal prep ideas you can try. By preparing your meals ahead of time, you don’t have to worry much about lunch and dinner while busy at work and other things. You can just open your fridge, pop up some pre-prep meals, heat them, and be on your way.
