Veg Out for Dinner

Veggie delight

Whether you’re looking to cut back on beef, pack more produce into your daily dinners or even go vegan, incorporating more veg and less meat into your weekly roster is healthy, delicious, a whole lot cheaper and surprisingly satisfying. From starter to sweet, we’ve got a guilt-free dinner menu to veg out tonight… best of all, it’s so delicious, the family won’t even realise it’s packed full of veggies!

Creamy pesto pizza bites

“What’s for dinner, Mum?” It’s a question every parent dreads. It seems no matter how you answer, it’s met with eye-rolls and appalled expressions, like you just described your nanna’s lima bean jelly casserole. So kick off your meatless meal with a family favourite — pizza!

INGREDIENTS

1 pizza base or large pita (or make your own base)
1 tbs oil to grease tray
1 jar pesto sauce
1 carton cherry tomatoes, each sliced in half
½ cup rocket

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 200ºC and lightly grease a pizza pan.
2 Spread pesto sauce over your pizza base (or pita) generously and top with the sliced cherry tomatoes.
3 Bake in oven for 18–24 minutes until the edge of the crust is golden brown.
4 Remove from oven and top with fresh rocket.
5 Cut into slices or bites and serve as starter.

Meatless burger & sweet potato fries

Once home to nothing more than slimy bricks of tofu and bland lentil burgers, the meat-free section of the supermarket is now brimming with gourmet vego goodies. If you really want to fool the family, grab a pack of Next Gen or Beyond Burger patties… even the most carnivorous of the clan will be hard pressed to tell it’s a plant burger. This meatless meal will serve 4. Start by preparing the sweet potato fries…

Sweet potato fries

INGREDIENTS

2 large sweet potatoes, finely sliced
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tbs garlic
Salt & pepper to season
Serve with sauce of choice, if desired

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 200ºC and line a tray with baking paper.
2 Wash potatoes (and peel, if preferred, but not necessary).
3 Slice potatoes into thin shoestring strips.
4 Put in a bowl with oil and garlic and toss through.
5 Pour onto a baking tray and cook in oven for 15 minutes. Turn then cook for another 15 minutes until crunchy.
6 Season with salt and pepper.

Meatless burger

INGREDIENTS

1 tbs vegetable oil
4 plant-based burger patties
1 cup lettuce of your choice
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 cucumber, sliced
4 hamburger buns
Sauce or mayo of your choice

METHOD

1 Heat vegetable oil in large frying pan until hot, then fry the meatless burger patties for around 2–3 minutes on each side (or following instructions on packaging).
2 While burgers are frying, prepare all sliced vegetables.
3 Cut burger buns in half and lightly toast or grill until slightly crispy.
4 Arrange cooked patty, vegetables and sauce or mayo of your choice on burger.
5 Serve with the sweet potato fries.

Zucchini brownies

Much like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster, it’s pretty much impossible to believe zucchini brownies could actually be a thing unless you’ve experienced them for yourself. Sweet, gooey and surprisingly moist, who would have thunk zucchinis could be dessert?

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups self-raising flour
¼ cup sifted cocoa
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
2 zucchinis, finely grated
1 cup dark chocolate chips

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 20cm x 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
2 In a bowl, combine sugar, oil, vanilla, flour, cocoa, eggs and salt.
3 Fold the finely grated zucchini and chocolate chips into the batter until combined.
4 Pour mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30–35 minutes (or until cooked through).
5 Cut into squares and serve. Don’t mention the zucchini and see if the kids notice (they won’t).