Insanely Easy Vegan Crockpot Chilli

Cost: $12                                 Servings: 5                   Time: 20 Mins on, 4-8 hours off

I really do not use my slow cooker enough. Today, I had both work and school, so the time I had to cook was significantly depleted. This morning I did 20 minutes of prep work, and the result was dinner, as well as lunch four more portions for lunches. How else can you do that? Not to mention the result was an insanely good, nutritious, and filling chilli. 

● One Can Tomato Sauce          ● One Green Pepper

● One Can Corn Niblets            ● 4 Cloves Garlic

● One Can Diced Tomatoes       ● One Onion

● One Can Red Kidney Beans   ● 1 Cup Raw Lentils

● 2 Parsnips (or Carrots)            ● 2 Stalks of Celery

Add all canned item into the slow cooker along with the lentils and turn on. Pour out and rinse the bean juice. Make sure to use dry lentils because they will absorb the flavour of the chilli and be extra delicious!

Then, slice all the vegetables and add them into the slow cooker as well. The bitterness of the green pepper will balance out the sweetness of the corn and parsnips. Instead of using parsnips, you may use carrots, but it won't have that same "spice" to it.

Add some spice to your liking (I used a mixture of oregano, cayenne pepper, paprika, black pepper, and chilli powder) then turn put the lid on and let stew! As a general rule of thumb, let heat until all the vegetables are tender. The longer the time and the lower the heat, the more the flavours will be brought out and mingle. The higher the heat, the shorter the cooking time. I let mine cook for four hours on high.

Serve with some fried tortilla or rice for a starch and garnish with cilantro for a bang! Vegan chilli that may be better than the original, and because of lack of any meat, easier to prepare.

Lentils with Broiled Eggplant - PLENTY

Cost: $6-8                                     Servings: 3                       Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Despite this dish's gelatinous, almost slop like appearance, it is incredibly vibrant in flavour with a natural "sweetness" from the eggplant and carrots. Serve it warm with a crisp green salad. This dish is very low in fat, while being high in protein. It has around 370 calories per serving. 

● 2 Medium Eggplants                ● 2 Large Celery Stalks

● 1 Cup Uncooked Lentils          ● 2 Bay leaves

● 3 Small Carrots                         ● Thyme

● Balsamic Vinegar                     ● Parsley

First thing, wash and cut holes into the eggplant. Then, stick directly under a broiler for an hour, flipping them every 15 minutes or so. You want the eggplants to decompress, and the skin to blacken.

While waiting for the eggplant to broil, slice the celery, onion, and one carrot into large pieces. Add this with thyme and a bay leaf into a pot with the lentils. Cover it with water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then let simmer for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Drain the lentils  Then, remove the bay leaves, onion, carrot, and celery, leaving only the lentils.

Cut the eggplants in half, and scoop the insides out into a colander, making sure not to take any of the skin. Let the eggplant drain it's liquid, and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar.

Slice the carrots and celery thinly, and quarter the tomatoes. Place the carrots and celery into a pan with oil and some vinegar then cook for five minutes.

 Then, add the tomatoes. After cooking for three minutes, add the parsley, reduce to low heat and let simmer for two minutes constantly stirring. 

After letting the mixture simmer, add to the lentils, mix thoroughly, then serve with a scoop of eggplant on top.

Calories - 371  Carbohydrates  - 73g  Sugar - 18g  Fat - 2g  Protein - 22g 

Chickpea, Tomato, and Bread Stew - PLENTY

Cost: $12-15                                   Servings: 4-5                                   Time: An hour

This is an incredibly filling and healthy stew with fennel, tomatoes, and chickpeas. At just over 350 calories per serving, this stew is low in fat, and high in both fibre (has 75% of your daily intake) and protein (with just under 20 grams per serving). This recipe makes 4-5 servings, which I always look for since I'm always down for leftovers as lunch.

● One Large Onion                        ● Parsley

● One Medium Fennel Bulb          ● Oregano 

● 3 Cups Chickpeas                       ● Thyme

● 28-oz Can Diced Tomatoes        ● Bay Leaves

● 1 Large Carrot

● 3 Stalks Celery

● 2 Cups Vegetable Broth

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then, slice both the onion and fennel and sauté in a large sauce pan with some olive oil for four minutes.

Peel and quarter the carrots, slice the celery stalks, then add them into the sauce pan. Now, the original recipe calls for tomato paste and white wine to deglaze the pan, but I'll be honest with you, I left these items out, to deglaze instead, I used half a cup of water with two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. 

Deglazing the pan (letting a liquid simmer, with or without the ingredients still in the pan/pot) allows the flavours baked into the pan to be rereleased into the dish.

Then add the tomatoes, herbs, and the vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Then let simmer for half an hour. With ten minutes left, put the sourdough in the oven and drizzle with olive oil.

Add the chickpeas and let simmer for another five minutes, then serve with crispy sourdough bread!

Calories - 362  Carbohydrates  - 68g  Sugar - 14g  Fat - 4g  Protein - 19g