02 Dec Budget-friendly Veggie Bean Bowl

This is what we had on Saturday night. I wanted to share with you a fairly typical meal that is not only plant-based, high fibre and high protein, but also very budget-friendly. It’s an easily adaptable recipe, which generally uses vegetables that we have on hand. I had scored a bag of “ugly” sweet potatoes at an amazing price. I’m so happy to see grocery stores carry produce that isn’t perfect. Every day, there is needless food waste which is heartbreaking. I applaud embracing produce that is perfectly fine, just maybe not “camera ready.”

A quirky trait I have (and my family has to suffer through) is to count the number of plant-based items of every meal. Nerdy, I know, but I can’t help myself! This particular meal weighed in with an impressive 12!

Here’s how it went:

Base layer: a mix of spinach, arugula, micro-green pea shoots, and parsley = 4
2nd layer: brown basmati rice = 1
3rd layer: roasted (ugly) sweet potatoes, sauteed onion, peppers, guacamole (avocado + garlic), black beans and green onion = 7

In addition to purchasing “imperfect” vegetables, another budget-friendly option is using an Instant Pot (I am not in any way sponsored by the makers of this fabulous product). I figure our Instant Pot has paid for itself many times over simply from the savings of being able to quickly and easily pressure-cook beans vs purchasing canned. If you’re wishing to eat more plant-based foods, I can’t recommend this appliance highly enough. I hear, too, that it makes for quick and easy bone broth. 🙂