Make-ahead vegetarian recipes?

This veggie lasagna is so good! I made it last night with broccoli, mushrooms, and red peppers.

http://pinchofyum.com/skinny-veggie-lasagna

My fiance and I are vegetarians too, and we like to make a lot of our meals with "Light Life" brand "meat". We use 'Smart Ground' to make vegetarian tacos. Simmer the 'meat' with some taco seasons (or you can buy the kind with the seasoning in it). Then you can store it in the fridge and re-heat it later (put a little water on it) with soft taco shells, cheese and veggies. (I lLOVE mine with avocado). They also have 'chicken' cutlets that you can just put in the microwave.

And, Lean cusine and some other brands are featuring vegetarian microwavable lunches that have vegetarian meats and are usually under 350 calories (and pretty good and filling!). They have them at Jewel and Target.


I hope this helps a bit!

Bump.

As someone who is also a vegetarian, in grad school full time, and working full time, I totally understand your situation! I also use sundays as my "cook day." I do do soups, as other have mentioned, and a lot of vegetarian chili (last month's Cooks Illustrated has an amazing veg chili using walnuts and barley - great for on top of veggie chili dogs, too), but I also do burritos. They freeze really well and are great to grab on the go. I like sweet potato/black bean because the consistency is pretty good when you defrost/reheat it. Just make an assembly line, wrap the burritos individually in tin foil and pop them in the freezer.

Making quesadilla filling ahead of time is good, too. Just put in an airtight container and keep it at the back of your fridge. It will last a few days and then all you need to do is heat up a skillet, put filling on half the tortilla, fold over the other half, flip it, and done. I do it this way to use only 1 large (whole grain, from Trader Joe's) tortilla instead of two tortillas.


Black Bean Zucchini Quesadillas
1 lb zucchini (two small-ish), grated
3 tsp salt
1 can black beans - I use low sodium
6oz pepper jack, grated - I use less. vegan cheese melts well, too
2 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
6 tortillas (or 3 large)

Grate the zuch, sprinkle with salt and toss in colander, then press extra water out with a paper towel. Usually I do this, then prep other veggies, so the zuch has time to dry out a bit

Mix all the ingredients

Spoon mix into tortillas and cook until tortillas are golden brown, about 2-3 min per side in an oiled skillet.
Usually I top it with a good heap of my favorite salsa, and sometimes gelatin-free sour cream


Good luck and hang in there - grad school is a test of many strengths!

I'm in the exact same boat as you OP! Throw in the fact that I have lactose and gluten intolerance's and making food can be a bit of a chore. I have some great go-to recipes on my computer at home that I'll post later this evening, posting this now so I don't forget!

One suggestion I haven’t seen anyone make yet is to make vegetarian spaghetti sauce ahead of time. It freezes well if you want to make a really big batch, too. You can serve the sauce over real pasta or vegetable noodles made from zucchini, squash, carrots etc., make mini pizzas using tortillas or pita bread, eat it by itself (which is totally satisfying if you fill it with enough hearty vegetables) etc.

Last night I made a batch of sauce that will provide me with enough for dinner for four nights (maybe even a little more). I included veggies I had on hand, like onion, carrots, bell pepper, spinach and used a little vegetable stock, organic crushed tomatoes, fresh garlic, basil, parsley, crushed red pepper etc. I was craving a little bit of creaminess, so I added a few tablespoons of organic Greek yogurt. I served it over half of a package of kelp noodles and was super full and satisfied. I’ll probably have it every night this week until I run out. You can always change it up a little bit here and there, not to mention you can change what you serve it over/with so you won’t get bored with it.

Best of luck!