Using carrots, celery, and onion as a base to a recipe helps add a wonderful flavor and texture to your dish. By cooking these vegetables first, you’re allowing them to soften and release their flavors without browning; this process is called sweating. This base is usually used along with fresh or dried herbs to give a dish a wonderful flavor powerhouse. This medley can be used in roasts, stuffings, and holiday dishes, but also in your everyday cooking.

This blend of vegetables is popular at this time of year because it’s a great starting point for soups and stews, as well. This ingredient spotlight focuses on those sweating vegetables (celery, carrots, and onion) to make an excellent dish that’s both warm and savory.

We also highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App  — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, vegan, plant-based, and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help you get healthy! And, don’t forget to check out our Weekly Meal Plan Archives!

Are you ready to have a week full of delicious vegan food that leaves you nourished and content? Let’s get started!

This week, we’re bringing you meals inspired by fall spices to enjoy for your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert! And, they are fully vegan and plant-based!

Everyday Entrees:

Source: Lentil Loaf With Cauliflower Mash

These everyday entrees are excellent to make for dinner or if you’re going to have a few friends over during the week. It’s also great to make these if you’ve got a busy week ahead and are looking for a meal or two to leave you with some leftovers to eat for lunch and dinner. These entrees come together easily and use the celery, carrot, and onion base to give the dish a wonderful flavor!

• Healthy Country ‘Meatloaf’ With Gravy by Katie Koteen
• Buffalo Tempeh Meatballs by Rhea Parsons
• Lentil Loaf With Cauliflower Mash by Liz Martone
• Sweet Potato Noodle Bolognese With Toasted Crushed Almonds by Alissandra Maffucci
• Mini Pot Pies With Black Lentil, Fennel, and Thyme by Hannah Sunderani

Holiday Entrees:

Source: Mushroom Sage Stuffing

This holiday season might look a bit different than past years, but if you’re looking for a wonderful centerpiece to your dinner table, look no further than these meals. From stuffing to lentil loafs, these meals all use the sweating vegetable base to bring out the most flavor possible in your dish.

• Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing With Gravy by Josh Latham
• Lentil Pot Pie with Biscuits by Caroline Doucet
• Mushroom Sage Stuffing by Taavi Moore
• Curry Gravy Vegetable Pot Pie by Wendy Irene
• Lentil Loaf With Celery Root Mash by Gabrielle St. Claire

Sides:

Source: Blooming Onion with Dipping Sauce

Let’s not forget about sides! Sides are a great addition to your weekly rotation and is a great way to fit in more vegetables in your diet. These dishes don’t use the vegetable base because most times, that base is for entrees than sides. So, these sides focus on what to do with those extra carrots, celery, and onion that you might not have had a plan for. Try out roasting your carrots or even making a blooming onion!

• Spicy Maple Roasted Carrots by Angelina Papanikolaou
• Maple Glazed Carrots by Alexandra and Eian
• Skillet-Roasted Chili Carrots by Wicked Healthy
• Blooming Onion with Dipping Sauce by Gabrielle St. Claire
• Beer Battered Onion Rings by Ashley Hankins

Soups

Source: Split Pea Soup

It’s definitely the season for soups, and the sweating vegetable base is perfect for soups. They give the soup a deeper flavor and allow the aromatic herbs and spices to mingle wonderfully together. These soups offer a dynamic flavor profile and can be used both as a starter on a holiday or as dinner during the week!

• Split Pea Soup by Rouxbe
• Irish ‘Lamb’ Stew by Vaishali Honawar
• Vegetable Lentil Soup by Rachael Campbell
• Beef-Style Stew by Zsu Dever
• Cleansing Detox Soup by Shannon Leparski

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home!

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Unfortunately, dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer, and has many side effects. 

For those interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend purchasing one of our many plant-based cookbooks or downloading the Food Monster App which has thousands of delicious recipes making it the largest vegan recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some resources to get you started:

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep

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