A Week of Vegan Meals #2

Hello everyone! First of all, I want to thank you so much for appreciating the last post I made with my vegan recipes of the week, I'm very happy that you enjoyed it. I decided to do it again this week, as I cooked some different things and I hope they can give you some ideas and inspiration, or even just that you have a nice time reading them.

Monday

This is actually not something I cooked: I usually do research at the SOAS library, and just outside there is a stand where an association gives away free vegan lunch for students every day. So, on Monday, I got my lunch from them; it was rice with vegetables and chickpea curry, and it was so delicious. I think it's such a beautiful initiative to help students and also encourage people to eat plant-based.

I stayed at the library until late, so for dinner I wanted to make something quick. I toasted a bagel and filled it with vegan pesto, hummus and fresh spinach. It's very simple, but always tasty.

Tuesday

For lunch, I just heated up some leftover soup. This one is made with red lentils, onion, cannellini beans, spinach, vegetable broth, and two spoons of tomato sauce. I just put it in the microwave for a minute and ate it with some multiseed bread.

For dinner, I didn't have much time, so I just put some zucchini and a little bit of onion to cook in a pan with a bit of olive oil. I always put salt on them as soon as they are in the pan, because it helps them release water and they cook faster. Then I put them on my multiseed bread with some hummus, and it was delicious.

Wednesday

I was so happy about this lunch, because I made Brussels sprouts, which is my favourite vegetable. I let them cook a bit in a pot with olive oil, then i add a little bit of water and cover the pot, and I know they're ready when their colour starts to change. With them, I ate a slice of my multiseed bread with hummus and one of the vegan cordon bleus I got from Lidl, which I cooked in a pan with a bit of olive oil like the last time. 

For dinner, I tried to make a new recipe, but it was not very successful, because I didn't add enough condiment. I made tofu and zucchini, and cooked them in a pan with a sauce made of hummus, soy sauce and a bit of water and olive oil. I still think the recipe had potential, but this time it was a bit bland. I still had some multiseed bread, so I ate it with the tofu and zucchini.

Thursday

I didn't have much time, so I just made pasta with tomato sauce. It's simple, but always good. You just need to heat the sauce up in a pan and, when the pasta is cooked, you add it. I got this sauce from Lidl, and it's good, but not very tasty; I suggest you to get the Mutti one, which is the best brand, according to me.

For dinner, I redeemed myself from the night before: I had made a double portion of the tofu and zucchini, so I decided to make fried rice with them. I heated them up in a pan with some onions and olive oil. When the basmati rice was ready, I added it to the pan, and added more soy sauce, since the day before it was not enough. Then I left it there to cook, waiting for it to get crispy. The result was so good, and I think it was the best thing I cooked this week.

Friday

On Friday, I spent the day at the library again, and I got my lunch from the vegan stand. I don't know the name of the dish, but it had some rice and then lentils, carrots and other vegetables with some spices. It was delicious just like the last time.

On Friday night, I was very proud of my dinner, because it tasted amazing. I think it was the first time that I cooked a sweet potato and I loved how this dish turned out. It's just toasted musltiseed bread with hummus, a few chickpeas and a sweet potato (all with a bit of salt and olive oil), but I loved it so much. Before adding it to the bread, I cooked the sweet potato in the microwave. You have to put it in a wet paper towel and microwave it for two minutes, put it upside down, cook for two more minutes and then add minutes if you feel it's not soft enough (I cooked mine for 5 minutes, and it was not very big). I didn't think it would be so simple to cook and that it would taste so good.

Saturday

On Saturday, I went to a vegan restaurant that I was dying to try: it's called Tofu Vegan, and I think it's kinda famous in London. I had never been to a fully vegan restaurant, and it was amazing to have so many options, but also so hard to choose. They have so many interesting dishes, and they offer vegetable and tofu dishes as well as options that imitate meat and fish. I ordered the wonton, which is one of their most famous plates, and the twice cooked fish, which is also very popular. The wonton had an amazing spicy sauce, and they were good, but I think the filling is supposed to be similar to meat, and since I really don't like meat's taste and texture, I didn't enjoy this too much. But if you like meat wontons, you're definitely going to like this, and I think overall it was a good plate. I also had high expectations for the vegan fish, and they were exceeded! The taste of the "fish" slices alone was so amazing, and they were served with three baos and a spicy sauce that you could put in your bao, which really enhanced the taste of the fish. It was so delicious and the quality of the food was amazing.

In the evening, I was actually still full and kinda tired from my day, so I ended up not having dinner. I just drank a cup of hot oat milk and went to bed.

Sunday

On Sunday, I didn't have much energy to cook lunch, so I toasted the remaining slices of my multiseed bread and put hummus on them, and then I cooked some Brussels sprouts in the same way I did on Wednesday. It was easy to make and still delicious.

For dinner, I really needed a hearty soup. I made this one with red lentils, chickpeas, kale, onion and vegetable broth. It's a simple recipe, but every time it's so tasty and comforting to eat.