Vegan, vegetarian, plant-based and meatless meals continue to become more popular, bringing a whole new world of fresh flavor into people’s kitchens. Incorporating more vegetables into your personal menu is an easy way to enjoy natural, healthy and simple gourmet meals at home with your family.
Laurel – veggie-lover, mom and blogger at Darn Good Veggies – combined some of her favorite summertime flavors in her delicious (and super healthy) Vegan Vegetable Primavera recipe.
Her recipe combines Pure Flavor® Sangria® Medley Tomatoes and Pure Flavor® Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers for a bright and colorful gourmet meal that’s packed with flavor and essential nutrients like Vitamin C and beta-carotene.
High amounts of Vitamin C in Pure Flavor® Peppers can provide a helpful boost to your immune system. Studies have shown that your body relies on this essential nutrient to launch its immune response and help protect you from viruses.
These veggies also contain many other powerful antioxidants like lycopene and beta-carotene, which help keep your heart healthy, among other benefits – so it’s important to include these veggies in your daily diet.
Eating fresh and tasty veggies always put a smile on people’s faces – and there’s science to back it up! Did you know eating more veggies regularly has been shown to improve mental health and general well-being? According to one study, a diet high in vegetables has been shown to improve kids’ mental health in particular.
Plant-based, vegan and vegetarian meals have become popular in recent years for many reasons, including the long list of health benefits. Today, people are discovering the incredibly flavorful recipes that these diets offer.
Veggies like Sangria® Medley Tomatoes and Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers are loaded with natural flavor that shines through in any dish. In most cases, like in Laurel’s Primavera, all you have to do to enjoy is quickly chop them up and add to your dish.
Time Saving Dinner Tips
1. Keep a list of “go-to” recipes with a variety of ingredients and flavors. These can include a mix of diets – like vegan, or paleo, or keto – and cuisine types – like Indian, Mexican or Italian – to keep things exciting and ensure you always have something new on your plate.
2. Save recipes on Pinterest to a board named “Quick Healthy Recipes” or print out them for easy reference. Jot notes on them and include possible substitutions in case you you’re missing an ingredient and don’t want to go out to the grocery store. These substitution ideas will also help you keep the recipe fresh from week to week!
3. Chop up your fresh ingredients the day before and keep in the crisper drawer of your fridge. The crisper is moisture-controlled to help keep these fresh for longer!Save time tomorrow by making extra food today. Prepare a double batch of your meal on Sunday and put it away in portions you can enjoy for lunch during the week.
A wide variety of flavors make gourmet a simple affair. Pure Flavor® is constantly researching, growing and testing endless varieties of delicious veggies to make your recipes interesting. Only the best varieties are selected for your family to enjoy.
Today, healthy gourmet ingredients are more available for people to enjoy than ever before. Efficient greenhouse growing makes it possible for Pure Flavor® to bring endless varieties of tomatoes, peppers and more to kitchens across the United-States – giving you many more options when planning tomorrow night’s family dinner!
When it’s time to cook, there is so much you can do with fresh veggies. You can eat them raw as a crisp and juicy side dish or you can cook them in dozens of ways: grilled, marinated, stuffed, broiled, baked, fried – you name it.
Grilled Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers add mouthwatering, savory flavor to your backyard summer BBQ menu, especially when used as a topping for sandwiches or salads. One of the best (and easiest) ways to grill these mini peppers is to slice them in half, slide them onto a skewer and place them on high heat. When the edges start to char, you know they’re ready to enjoy!
To see for yourself how quick, simple and flavorful a veggie-based recipe can be, try this 20-minute, four-step Vegan Vegetable Primavera recipe from Darn Good Veggies.
First, boil a pot of water and add your pasta noodles. These can be any type of noodle, so pick your favorite – penne, spaghetti, macaroni, linguine, or rigatoni. To get it just right – al dente – make sure to taste a piece after about 6 minutes. Continue tasting every 30 seconds until firm but no longer crunchy.
In a pan, add in your chopped Pure Flavor® Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes. To save time, you can chop the veggies the day before and keep in the fridge.
As the peppers simmer in the pan, they will brighten up and begin to soften – that’s when you know it’s time to add the Pure Flavor® Sangria Medley Tomatoes. Sautée everything for a few more minutes until you see the tomatoes bursting with a pop of juice.
Now, all you have to do is remove from heat, add your pasta, lemon juice, fresh herbs like basil and parsley, and serve!
Voilà – your delicious, home-cooked and healthy meal is ready for your whole family to enjoy. To view or print the full recipe, click here
Enjoy! And don’t forget to Sign Up for our monthly newsletter to receive more kitchen tips and recipes.
For more easy feel-good, vegetable-based recipes, check out a few of our favorites and build up your own personal list:
