Fried plantains and homemade kimchi

Brunch of champions. It's best when the store has good plantains and your friend has shared with you some of their special home-made kimchi - add a nice avocado and delicious fruit for a great brunch. Bake the plantains with chili, salt, pepper and a dab of oil, or dry fry them in a cast iron skillet.

Flavored vinegar

Cooking with garlic can upset IBS and causes really bad breath. But garlic vinegar gives a nice garlic flavor but without the bad reaction. Use it in everything soups, dressings, and stir fry. Flavoring the vinegar with ginger is also nice! Use apple cider vinegar for extra flavor. Store in the fridge: otherwise the fresh herbs will rot, but when refrigerated, this will keep a very long time. To make your own, chop up about 6 cloves of garlic or a large ginger root, cut in half or in smaller pieces, and put in the vinegar of your choice, wait a couple days for it to "steep" and enjoy.

Pumpkin seeds are a great snack

Salt, pepper, a little paprika to spice it up, splash of olive oil and a little roasting and you have a high fiber high protein snack to get you through the workweek. Also, works great as a topping.  Bake in the oven, optional: broil to brown.  Pumpkins are cheap this time of year, take advantage.

Ceviche tostadas!

Gluten Free, Vegan ceviche. Hearts of palm, green onion, mango, bell pepper, jalapeño, cilantro, a lime and white miso sauce (to give it a fishy taste) salt and pepper. Scoop it with a chip, or make tostadas, nice refreshing summer meal.

Spicy corn on the cob

A great time of the year.... corn with hot sauce, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Maybe you like other spices? Apply generously, eat often!

Popcorn!

Popcorn :) Add some olive oil, nutritional yeast, liquid aminos, and your favorite spices, I like paprika, salt, pepper, and maybe even some dill. But others might enjoy chili powder, garlic, vinegar or other spicy flavors.

Mushroom tacos - add some hot sauce!

Mushroom tacos. Sautéed the mushrooms w a jalapeño, heated up the tortillas, chopped up some cabbage, radishes, avocado, lettuce, and add hot sauce. Quick, easy, and delicious.

Roasted veggies are an everyday treat!

Roasting for the week. Purple sweet potatoes liven up any meal. Artichokes are a treat and we love them boiled then roasted w oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Who needs gluten when you have potatoes - and other delicious vegetables?

Extra pepper? Extra toppings?

Avocado, cucumber, tomato, green olives, and spicy mustard w extra pepper. Throw it on some GF bread with a side of veggies and you have a quick,healthy, and yummy lunch. Again, preparing toppings or fillings ahead of time makes lunch (or dinner) super quick, easy and nutritious.

Grits is also Polenta, Lunch is also Dinner

Savory grits/polenta. Bobs Red Mill gluten free corn grits, with some tomatoes, spinach and pumpkin seeds, and an olive tapenade. I like to add some nutritional yeast to the grits along w salt and pepper. This makes a good lunch for work as well.

Add-ins are just as easy as toppings or fillings

Quick meal prep for a busy week ahead. Made some GF pasta and then loaded it with what I had available: tofu, frozen peas and corn, mushrooms, and tomato. Through in some Italian seasoning and you are ready to go. Add-ins are just as easy as toppings or fillings!

Don't forget snacks and dessert

Hunger is sometimes surprising – think ahead to when you’ll be hungry. Pack a lunch, and don’t forget snacks – like this healthy snack and dessert. Loaded w protein, GF and vegan. All you do is food process: nuts, seeds, GF oats, dried fruit, bind it together w some maple syrup and molasses. Then make balls and roll it in coconut flakes. I just used what I had in the house and they came out great. Message us for more detail.

Preparation saves time

Spicy tofu rolls, vegan, GF, it is easy to make different rolls for different dietary needs. Here we have an anti inflammatory roll and a low fodmap roll. For extra bite I made a spicy vegan mayo sauce for inside the roll. It's also nice to have extra tofu for a quick lunch or two. Preparing ingredients means quick assembly later: the same tofu can be used in sushi, sandwiches, salads, or anything else! And chopped vegetables are always useful, too. Just as preparing a week's meals at once saves time overall, so does preparing ingredients in batches.  Think of them as toppings - but inside!

Cheating with Pizza

If you are a new or inexperienced cook, there are plenty of "cheats." Daiya Pizzas are gluten free and vegan - and present opportunity to practice cutting ingredients, and assembling them. And they're delicious.

Toppings are quick

Quick dinner on your mind? Vegan, GF tostadas are yummy. Can of beans, tostada shells and your favorite toppings, these have: avocado, tomato, sautéed mushrooms, vegan cheese, and some peperoncini. Under 20 min based on what you top it, with always a hit. It is sometimes too easy to fall into the trap of thinking what is not gluten free, or not vegan or vegetarian. But most ingredients are. It is also easy to fall into the trap of thinking most meals take too long to prepare.

Sandwiches are easy

Lunch! Open faced GF cucumber sandwich w vegan mayo and spices, easily made w whatever you have around. Sandwiches are easy with gluten free bread - this one, a vegan vegetable sandwich, can be made with whatever is handy. But the combination of sweet vegetables, creamy vegan mayo, and salty spicy pickled peppers with smoked paprika and black pepper is worth repetition :) Gluten free bread can be found at many supermarkets, or can be baked at home.

Great day for a hike!

Great day for a hike and the perfect hiking food is pasta salad. GF pasta, baked tofu, spinach, dikon radish, garbanzos, roasted red pepper, and a creamy Dijon dressing....good stuff! Packing a gluten free and vegan meal to work (or on a hike) is easy and quick - and more affordable and nutritious - than eating out! And, if you can take an hour out of your weekend, you can even cook a week's worth of meals at once, pack them in individual containers, and have them ready in the refrigerator!