Food, Uncategorized

What’s On Your Plate? Meatless March!

Retirement Reflections

Richard and I eat a variety of different types of foods, including meat, fish and dairy. As we were home alone for the majority of March, we tried to focus on eating meatless meals as much as possible. While I greatly enjoy plant-based meals, it can be easy to run out of ideas of what to make. If you, too, find yourself drawing blanks in this area or relying on the same repeat dishes, here are some meatless meals we recently tried. If you have any meatless recipes you enjoy, I would love for you to share them as well. I am always looking for new ideas!

Portobello Pot Roast
Tuscan White Bean Soup Thickened with Day Old Bread
Sweet Potato and Bean Chili
Roasted Cauliflower, Broccoli & Chickpeas with Brown Rice, Salad and Hummus
Falafel Flatbread with Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Salad
Halloumi Pita Wrap
Vegetable Skewers with baked Haloumi
Fridge Leftovers Mashup
Pappardelle with Porcini Mushrooms
BJ’s Indian Kitchen – Qualicum Beach, BC
Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower-Potato Curry*
Chana Masala and Vegetable Butter ‘Chicken’
  • While buddy-reading The Covenant of Water, Richard and I have been desperately craving Indian food (as shown in the last three photos).
  • For the Aloo Gobi and Chana Masala, we used a local spice kit from Daksha’s Gourmet Spices. Sadly, Daksha recently retired, so no longer accepts orders. Remaining spice kits are still available on Vancouver Island (Goats on the Roof, Salish Sea Market) or via some sellers online.
  • The Vegetable Butter ‘Chicken’ was made quickly and easily by using Sharwood’s Sauce (with 25% less sodium). We simply substituted the chicken with fresh cauliflower and extra firm tofu. This worked out very well. This sauce is vegetarian (before adding the chicken, that is)!
  • For Richard’s cooking nights, he often likes using Hello Fresh or Fresh Prep (which I ironically find time-intensive). However, both services do offer well-balanced vegetarian selections. Fresh Prep also includes two vegan selections each week and is zero waste. In our experience, both have excellent customer service. Hello Fresh recipes are free to all online (no membership required).

What’s been on your plate lately? Have any cooking tips or tricks to share?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Oh, and if you’ve been wondering where in the heck I have been for the past week, I am away from home helping my parents with their move to a seniors’ residence. This has been a very difficult transition for my mom, and a very time intensive move. I am very happy that I wrote this post in advance, or else right now I would be begging my cohost, Deb, for mercy! Deb has also shared a meatless recipe for this linkup. You can check out her post here.

Published by Retirement Reflections

Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ā€˜Retirement Reflectionsā€™ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.

74 thoughts on “What’s On Your Plate? Meatless March!”

  2. Hi Donna – I hope the parental move is progressing smoothly and your mum finds seniorretirement living better than she expected. I think it would actually be a very pleasant place to spend our latter years.

    You’ve done well with all those meatless dishes – very pretty and very healthy – so win/win for you both. šŸ™‚

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    1. Thanks, Leanne – The actual moving day went as well as could be expected — even better than I had hoped. But the transition is currently very tough for my mom and her memory. Lots to do on many, many levels. This moment when I am focussing on something in my own life is a rare one for now.

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  4. Pingback: An extra chocolatey treat for Easter…and a special chicken – Deb's World

  5. An excellent collection of meals Donna, and very colourful! We have used Hello Fresh a few times recently and enjoyed them.ā€‚They are easy to follow and decent sized meals plus they’re delicious.

    I hope your parent’s move has gone well and they settle down in their new abode.ā€‚They are lucky to have you help them with it all. Take care x

    I’ve joined up with a chocolatey snack, just in case you haven’t had enough chocolate!!

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    1. Hi, Debbie – That is cool that Hello Fresh has made its way around a good portion of the world. I wonder how they differ from country to country or even amongst cities/provinces.
      The moving transition is a tough one. If you do not see me on line in the next couple of weeks that is why.ā€‚I do hope to catch up soon and I greatly look forward to reading about your chocolately snack.

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  6. Looks delicious,ā€‚especially the portobello pot roast. We are vegetarians who also eat low-carb, not an easy combination. We eat lots of beans. šŸ˜‰ Once a week, I make some kind of bean dish in the crockpot, and this usually lasts for several days. I go through a rotation of curried lentils, black bean soup, tomato chickpea soup, and white bean soup. Thursday is usually tofu for tofu,ā€‚which I bake, toss with broccoli, and drizzle with peanut butter sauce.

    Good luck with your parents. A difficult transition, I am sure.

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    1. Hi, Laurie – Eating lots of beans is a very healthy choice. Actually, it’s one of the consistent features across much the areas where the longest living people have been clustered. The portobello pot roast was great. l highly recommend it. I love tofu and tossing it with broccoli and peanut butter sauce sounds delicious!

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  7. When I read the Covenant of Water, I came away also craving all those wonderful Indian flavors.ā€‚That is why I suggested to the Cookbook Confidential reviewers “An Invitation to Indian Cooking”.ā€‚Since then I found a cookbook named “Indianish” which is full of easy Indian recipes.ā€‚My thoughts are with your mother.ā€‚I hope her transition becomes easier soon.

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    1. HI, Bernadette – Your recommendation of CoW was one of my inspirations in choosing that book. His rich food descriptions likely cause many readers to crave Indian cooking. “Indianish” sounds great. I will take a look for it.
      Sadly, the transition is rough for my mom. We are currently trying to get the supports in place that she will need.

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  9. After you mentioned Aloo Gobi on Instagram, I looked up a recipe for it and discovered we had all the spices in our cupboard, no need to buy a pre-made packet.ā€‚So I made it and it was delicious.ā€‚I meant to tell you this on IG but forgot, so I’ll say thank you here.ā€‚We loved it.

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  11. A go-to vegetarian dish is tortellini soup. There’s a pot in the fridge as we speak. It’s loaded with red kidney beans, spinach & tortellini, of course. I use home-processed tomatoes in the recipe. Another favorite: tikka masala naan pizza using naan bread, commercial tikka masala sauce, chickpeas, spinach & feta cheese. I’ve recently been introduced to peanut butter spinach soup with sweet potatoes. The recipes are all available on-line. A recipe is merely a suggestion so see where it takes you.

    I’m thinking of your experience moving your parents. Transitions are always hard. Bear with & trust that all will be well in the end.

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    1. Hi, Mona – Your vegetarian tortellini soup sounds amazing. Spinach, beans and tomatoes are all favouties of mine. And yummmm to tikka masala naan pizza. That also sounds extremly delicious.
      Thank you for your wise words on transitions for elderly parents. It is a dificult time.

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    1. Hi, Dorothy – I began responding to your comment at 7:40 this morning and am just landing back into my own life at 9:15 this evening. It is full on with my parents right now — I hope my own children are taking notice!ā€‚<3
      The Aloo Gobi truly is delicious, but if you have the ingredients (and I am sure that you do), I would go with the individual spices so that you can get the ‘heat’ just right for you!

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    1. Hi, Jacqui – ‘Fridge Leftover Mashup’ is on regular rotation at our place. We call it “Small Plate Dinner” (because lots of small portions of several individual dishes are usually involved). One friend of ours calls this “Fridge Picnic.” Another friend calls it “Musgo Meal” because everything ‘must go’!

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  16. This is obviously right up my street! I was hungry when I started reading, and Iā€™m famished now – but fortunately, in just over an hour, I will be sitting down to an Indian meal with John and a friend.

    I hope your mother can become more settled, itā€™s such a difficult time for everyone, I feel for you.

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    1. Hi, Anabel – Thank you for your kind comment. I hope your Indian meal with John and friends today was delicious. How could it not be?

      This has been a very difficult transition for my mom – but we are getting lots of 1:1 quality time together which is the silver lining.

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    1. Hi, Gluten Free A – Z: Thank you so much for joining in. I’m delighted that you liked these plant based meals. I would love to point out a favourite – but I truly enjoyed them all! Tonight was Japanese Veggie Roll, with Miso Soup and Green Salad which was also extremely delicious!

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  18. These all look healthy and delicious. We have been eating ‘hurried’ and not so healthy as we transition to our new residence. Hopefully, we will get back on track next week.

    I hope things went well with your mom. You must feel a measure of relief that she is safe and secure and will be well cared for. Take care.

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    1. Hi, Suzanne – I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago (I am typically nerdy that way). For the past seven days I have been in Kelowna helping my parents move and providing care giving for my mom. So I am joining you in the hurried, less healthy meals. I have a brand new appreciation for full time care givers. It is a non-stop, heavily multi-taking, emotionally exhausting job. My parents moved into an Independent Senior Residence so there are several support steps that will need to be put in place before I can return home. Right now they feel like “insert miracle here.”

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      1. Iā€™m happy to share my recipe with you. Hopefully there will be a few more chilly evenings so we can enjoy soup for dinner.

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  20. Hi Donna, Your meals in March all look colourful, healthy and delicious. I hope your mom feels more settled each day and you feel better as she’s more settled in her new home. Thinking of you and sending you warm hugs and positive vibes.

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    1. Hi, Sue – Between my last post and this one, I have been absent from this blogging world. I hope to catch up soon but will likely need to call a ‘blogging break’ for a little while. But, I will definitely read the posts to this link up and look forward to your Versatile Zucchinni post. I LOVE zucchinnis!!!

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  23. A whole mostly meatless month! I’m in awe. I’ve only just managed to stop Grant wrinkling his nose and saying something like “I don’t know how I feel about that darlin” when I do meatless Monday. Thinking of you with the move …

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    1. Hi, Jo – In our “regular life” with just the two of us at home, Richard and I typically eat meatless. My favourite meals (with the exception of salmon) are meatless. (My sincere apologies to salmon everywhere).

      But, when we are with friends, or traveling, or in Kelowna (where I am right now), all healthy, meatless meals are off the table. I’d love to master the art (and discipline) of healthy-on-the-go-surrounded-by-others-timerestrained-and-lotsa-restaurant-food eating, but this is where I fall apart. The struggle is real! ā¤

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  24. Those meals look super colorful, fresh, healthy, and tasty, Donna! Yum! We stick to a plant-based diet as well, but as you can imagine, itā€™s much harder to be creative in South America than in the north, because of the lack of ingredients. Itā€™s a basic life here, including the cooking.

    I love you comment about the subscription services. My mom (in Belgium) used to order Hello Fresh for us when we were there for visits, because she knows Mark eats healthy. So, sheā€™d order the food boxes and weā€™d cook.

    Wellā€¦ I canā€™t say that was easy or fast! It often took us an hour to create meals for the whole family of four adults and we rarely had the right equipment or extras needed for the meals! šŸ™‚

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    1. Hi, Liesbet – I admire your commitment to healthy, mostly plant-based eating when you are constantly on the go and in new cultures and countries!
      And I totally agree with you about Hello Fresh. I love that Richard enjoys cooking these meals (that’s my number one here). I also really appreciate the awesome customer service that I have repeatedly received from Hello Fresh. And I like the nutritionally balanced vegetarian and vegan dishes that they provide so that I don’t have to think!ā€‚But 40 minutes to a weekday meal is a huge commitment for me! ā¤

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  26. I am not truly vegetarian because I eat fish, eggs, dairy products etc. But the idea of slaughtering a cow or sheep is too awful to think about.

    Your Portabello pot roast looks delicious.

    Hels

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  29. Donna,

    I’m certain that the meals pictured above are as delightful to the tastebuds as they are to the eyes in the photographs. We usually prepare meatless meals in the summer because we have many excellent Farmer’s Markets around our area, and I love fresh vegetables from the farm. Best wishes with your Mom. My mother (age 96) is in a nursing home and, although she receives excellent care and attention, it is never easy on the family. Sending hugs. BTW, “Musgo Meal” is a staple in our house! Best wishes, Joe

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      1. I remember taking a week off from work to move my mom. It was so much work. I also had to get her apartment ready for sale, which meant sorting through a lot of stuff. I was exhausted when I got back. But it has to be done. xo

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  32. Hi Donna – I’m very late here … but a post to mull through at some stage – ‘my life’ briefly as of 2017 – no mention of Canada in 2018 … life changes.ā€‚

    https://positiveletters.blogspot.com/2017/01/history-herstory-with-hilary.htmlā€ƒI’m including this … as it has a picture of Spanokopita – which is my favourite meatless dish – I love it.ā€‚I can email my notes re a recipe if yo’d like – I have my own version, which is probably simpler than many.

    I know you’ve helped your parents move and things are settling down for one and all … take care – apologies so late here!ā€‚Cheers Hilary

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    1. Hi, HIlary – I was just thinking of you when I saw this comment. Great minds think alike. And it is never ever to late to comment on a post — at least in my mind! A simple version of spanokopita sounds fabulous. I would love your recipe if you have time to share. Thank you for the link. I am off to read that post now. See you there!

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