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Harvest season is coming to an end but thankfully there are a few things still in the farmers’ markets. This last week we were able to buy plenty of orange bell peppers, pumpkins, squash, onions, garlic and so on. Orange bell peppers are normally about $1.50-2 each but this week we found them for $1 each! Pie Pumpkins are additionally around $1 each in Michigan right now so get them when you can for this price. Seeing as the temperatures have been rapidly decreasing, these prices are not going to stick around long.

As a time saving strategy, Genki Husband and I made a lot of meals ahead of time and have them sitting in the refrigerator or freezer waiting to be eaten throughout the week. This is a great tip for people that are too busy in the week with work or other activities. If you want to feel more domestic but without the time for it in the week, try preparing (chopping and dicing) the vegetables ahead of time and place in seal-able containers to just pull out in the week. These little steps really do make a difference during the week ahead.

Since we made all of our meals ahead of time (as much as possible), I figured it might be nice to share with all of you that might be strained for time too. Note: There are two of us eating these meals for the entire week and lunch is always served cold.  Note:  Click on the Links to get the recipes.

Breakfast Delights:

Apple Pie Pancakes made with real apples. Delicious! We love making this recipe from Post Punk Kitchen every Autumn season. It really puts you in the mood for the cooler season.

Vegan Breakfast Sandwich. If were at our own house, we would made our own homemade English Muffins. For now, we will continue to use the Meijer Accidentally Vegan brand. We tend to use different ingredients but this week we made seasoned tofu squares with garlic powder/onion powder/pepper/salt, Vegan Gimme Lean Sausage, Earth Balance Butter and Trader Joe’s Vegan Cream Cheese. No vegan cheese was available in our area. This is actually easy to whip together in the morning in less than 10 minutes. Or, made ahead and place in the fridge or freeze for later.

Vegan Brown Sugar Oatmeal made from cinnamon, brown sugar, oats and 1/2 c Silk cashew milk mixed with 1/2c water. Boring, I know but it’s cold in the morning and this is what I like when cold.  Anyone else tried the Cashewmilk yet from Silk?  We found it to be a bit too nutty what about you?

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Scones Recipe – Starbucks has this same recipe but it is not only made with eggs and milk but also has a ton of calories. (Also, if you are allergic to Nutmeg like me, it can cause an allergic reaction.) Don’t be tricked by the size, the Starbucks pastries are not healthy. So I made this recipe with double frosting types but if you are watching your calorie or sugar intake, go ahead and skip the frosting all together or just use one of them. Recipe Available Here on October 31, 2014.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Breakfast for Autumn (or whenever you need it). I find this is a super way to get your nutrients in right at the start of the morning. It also uses up some of that leftover 100% pure organic pumpkin puree. Make your dry oats with any non-dairy milk (I used cashew milk), 1/8-1/4 c walnut halves, 1/8-1/4 c raisins, 1/4- 1/2 c pumpkin puree, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and make like normal. This is super delicious and so nutritious! If you like sweet in the morning, drizzle with a little maple syrup.

Vegan English Muffin Homemade Toast with Vegan Earth Balance butter and Vegan Silk Vanilla Yogurt. Not bad for a fast vegan breakfast during the week. Not shown, raspberries.

Lunch/Dinner Entrees:

Un-Fish and Chips Dinner. The ‘fish” is a new Gardein product that is now available at Target stores. Not sure if it’s available elsewhere but it’s the only location around us. They are perfectly delicious and even contain a slight fishy smell. This entire dinner reminded me of our fish and chips dinner in Australia on the ocean. Chips recipe is a simple combination of potato wedges, vinegar, olive oil, salt and some cornstarch mixed all together and baked for 40 minutes on 350F. Super easy!

Add the accompaniment of homemade vegan tartar with the above dinner and you have a super delicious meal. My Recipe Here available on November 2, 2014.

Vegan Un-Fried Rice made without the unhealthy bits. Recipe will be available here on November 3, 2014.

Healthy Vegan Mexican Inspired Pasta Salad Recipe. This is really easy to put together within ten minutes or less. It gets better with age too, so go ahead and make an entire batch or two and save in the fridge for a few days before serving. This is a one-pot dish.  Recipe available here on November 4, 2014.

Vegan Macaroni n Chez Recipe – this is the only recipe you will ever need again as a substitute. Delicious! This is my comfort dinner – guess that’s why we eat it just about every week. Genki Husband has perfected this recipe and memorized it now we’ve made it so many times.

Vegan Pumpkin Soup for those cooler nights in Autumn. Super easy to put together! My Recipe Here.  The photo makes this recipe look a bit dull but it is super bright orange in person. Recipe Available on November 1, 2014 Here on Genki Kitty.

Super easy Vegan Broccoli Chez Rice Dish. I saw on Pinterest many people made this type of dish with chicken and it took a long time. Who has that kind of time? So I came up with this recipe for a super creamy casserole dish that doesn’t have to go in the oven. It’s super, super easy!

Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers are so easy to put together but do look impressive. We used the recipe above for the un-fried rice and stuffed an orange bell pepper. You can either place in a 350F oven for about 10-20 minutes or you can just place in the microwave for about 1 minutes until the pepper gets a little bit soft if you are running out of the house. Super easy!

Here’s a look at our entire dinner. Sometimes we use vegan approved spaghetti sauce over the top but tonight we used a bit of hummus on the bell peppers. It was a delicious substitute and gave the peppers a creamy texture and taste. Mmmm We also used another 2 bell peppers and sliced to dip in the hummus. We didn’t manage to eat even 1/2 the extra pepper slices but at least they were ready for the next day’s lunch.

Snacks:

Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe.  I found this recipe a while back and had it saved for this fall season.  You can find the original recipe at the lovely website of The Wannabe Chef.  I made the recipe just about to the original since it was so simplistic but I did make it with gluten (since we aren’t a gluten-free family) and veganized it.  I used regular all-purpose flour.  Additionally I used 1 tsp ground flaxseed instead of an egg to make it vegan.

Fresh raspberries this time of year? These were from California but still, normally we only see raspberries on the eastern coast in the spring. Double production this year because of global warming?

*Please note all recipes will not be available on Genki Kitty until the available dates. Links will not work until these dates.  I’d love for you to come back for the recipes and taste them in your kitchens.