If you follow my Instagram stories, you’ll see that I’m often smashing back a chilli or curry for dinner but I’m not slaving away in the kitchen every night cooking and the key here is meal prep! It’s super easy, not at all time consuming and completely vegan. Plus, most of the ingredients in the cooking process are pretty interchangeable so if there’s anything you don’t like (or want more of) you can just change the ingredients whilst following the same steps until it’s crafted perfectly to your tastes. Personally, I change the ingredients a lot dependant on what I can get hold of easily at the time or what needs using up in my fridge. Depending on where you shop and what ingredients you choose to use, I’ve previously worked out that it comes to less than £2 per serving and I usually get 4-5 servings out of each batch.
You’ll need:
– a clean kitchen
– a large saucepan
– a sieve
– a spare 30mins or so!
– preferably someone else to chop the garlic and onion for you so that you aren’t left crying with smelly hands.
Ingredients:
– 2 onions (both white, red or one of each, your choice!)
– Garlic (as much as you like!)
– Chilli (I use two or three fresh red chillis but it’s up to you)
– Oil (I use coconut, but whatever works)
– Tomato Purée (one tube of double concentrate)
– Red Wine (300ml preferably, so either get away with a small bottle, about 250ml, or use a big one and drink the rest with dinner!)
– Lentils (one tin of green lentils, drained)
– Kidney beans (one tin, drained)
– Black beans (one tin, drained)
– Chopped tomatoes (one tin)
– Dark chocolate (I use four squares of 90% Lindt)
– Vegetable stock (I use the cubes!)
Optional Extras:
– Sometimes I also add a pack of tofu for extra protein, diced up after pressing.
– Spinach or kale (one bag)
– Mushrooms
– Sweetcorn
– Carrots
– Chickpeas
– Basically anything that’s laying around and needs using!
Step by Step:
– Pop some oil in the pan and fry the onion, garlic and chilli for a few minutes until the onion starts to go see-through.
– Squeeze in the entire tube of purée and mix well with what’s already there, sauté for another two minutes.
– Deglaze with the red wine and then simmer to a thick sauce, doesn’t take long.
– Stir in the tin of tomatoes and then each of your main ingredients one at a time, such as the lentils, kidney beans and black beans. Don’t forget to rinse and recycle those tins! You can also start to wilt and stir in your leafy greens here.
– Start stirring in the vegetable stock bit by bit, letting it simmer to thicken before adding some more. Make sure not to over-do it, you don’t want it to be too watery. I usually use around 450ml of liquid.
– Finally, stir in the dark chocolate and watch the chilli turn a beautifully rich colour!
I split this into 4/5 portions and pop it into the fridge and freezer once cooled down. This is a very low calorie meal so, to serve, I add a whole diced avocado (half if you’re less hungry!) some chopped red onion and if you have any seeds laying around, sprinkle those on too! If you’re not vegan, this recipe is also great sprinkled with feta. Otherwise, it’s great as is for a lighter bite! You can also eat with rice if you want something more filling or serve with tortilla chips for a bit of a treat – you could even use this mixture in a burrito. Let me know how you get on, especially if you find any decent extra ingredients that you recommend 🙂
ItsGemmaEdwards 