Happy Friday, friends!
The weekend is finally upon us (hallelujah), and I’m very much looking forward to a somewhat restful weekend at home. This weekend’s plans include hanging out with friends, lots of pizza (gluten-free and dairy-free for me because I’m currently testing for allergies), working out, church, and baking a cake with a friend for her daughter’s birthday party.
Random fact: I used to bake “professional” fondant cakes and sell them. I seriously thought that I would eventually end up opening a bakery and doing that as a profession! But every time I made a cake for pay, it would really stress me out. Have you ever worked with fondant? It’s so finicky! You just never know how it’s going to turn out. Or maybe that shows just how beginner I was. 🙂
Anyway, glad I didn’t go that route in life! Lesson learned, some hobbies don’t need to turn into a business. And I’m grateful to still be able to do it as a hobby!
Also, (#RealLife) I never would have been able to control myself around all that sugar if I had owned a bakery. Let’s be honest. If you own a bakery and have self control, you’re a rockstar. I just love sugar WAY too much!
Which brings me to this life changing point: meal prep is everything!!!
For the most part, running this blog forces me to meal prep because I’m constantly making healthy vegan friendly recipes which everyone including your pets can enjoy and photographing them in advance. But even before I started Jar Of Lemons, meal prep was a way of life for me! Mainly because I knew myself, and if I didn’t meal prep, I knew I would most likely make bad nutrition decisions on the fly. I mean, I’m obsessed with fried stuff and sugar. I KNOW myself, haha. If you’re a junk food lover gone healthy, I’m so glad you’re here and that we can relate on this crazy topic. Much love for you, dear friend!
These Vegan Meal Prep Black Bean Quinoa Bowls are perfect to pack up and take on-the-go!
They’re also (as always, with Jar Of Lemon’s recipes) super easy to make. The only cooking required is the quinoa, sautéed spinach, and fajita veggies! Everything else just get’s thrown together and packed up into meal prep containers (<—-love these!).
And if you’re looking to bring more meal prep into your life, you MUST check out A Month Of Healthy Eats For The Busy Girl! It’s such a great resource if you’re wanting to plan out meals and really get serious about eating healthy. The approach is realistic, which means simple/easy recipes, common ingredients, and efficient workouts. 4 weeks of planned out meals, workouts, grocery lists, 20+ recipes, and tips for eating out are all included in this book! It’s a great way to start meal prepping and making healthy, delicious recipes (like these Vegan Meal Prep Black Bean Quinoa Bowls)!
A few notes about these Vegan Meal Prep Black Bean Quinoa Bowls:
- I used frozen fajita veggies because, well, LIFE. But feel free to use fresh if you would prefer!
- I’m always all about canned organic beans and canned organic corn. Trader Joe’s sells them for a relatively lower price, and they’re the best!
- This recipe creates 4 meals, but feel free to adjust! A serving of this recipe for Cody is about 1.5 of the serving I would eat, so sometimes I double up servings for his meal (or add tortilla chips, hehe).
- Be sure to let me know if you make these bowls by taking a photo and using #JarOfLemons on social media! I always love seeing your variations and beautiful healthy meal creations. 🙂
- If you’re looking for an easy approach to preparing quinoa, check out our post How To Cook Quinoa Perfectly Every Time.
That’s it! Enjoy the recipe, friend!
Vegan Meal-Prep Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 4 cups spinach
- 1 1/2 cups frozen fajita veggies
- 1 cup black beans, canned
- 1 cup corn
- 1 avocado
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to directions.
- While the quinoa is cooking, sauté the spinach. Next, heat up the fajita veggies.
- Fill each meal prep container (or each bowl) with quinoa, black beans, corn, spinach, fajita veggies, corn, and avocado. Refrigerate for later or serve immediately!
Alexis says:
I needed a quick vegan meal for dinner this week. This bowl was perfect, thank you.
Jen | Jen's Food Lab says:
Ooo healthy recipes! I’ve been looking for some since I’ve been eating so unhealthily lately. Thanks for sharing!
Gail Montero says:
Love that with just a handful of ingredients I can make myself a healthy and tasty meal. Need to make soon!
Jayashree T.Rao says:
Loved your blog and this recipe. It looks delish and would explore more of your recipes soon.
Emily says:
I love this plant baked black bean quinoa bowl! It is my favorite type of salad or light dinner— nutritious and packed with flavor!
Sarah James says:
What a delicious looking salad and so healthy too. I like how you can make ahead and have enough for a few days, perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Maria says:
I use to make fondant cakes as well and can relate on how stressful it can be. These bowls looks delicious and I love the color of them. It’s like sunshine in a bowl.
Amy Liu Dong says:
This recipe is loaded with delicious and healthy ingredients. I am not a vegan but I still love to try this, thank you for sharing this with us.
Stine Mari says:
This black bean quinos bowl looks perfect for meal prepping! So easy and flavorful. And I would definitely add the tortilla chips too!
Lesli Schwartz says:
That’s a beautiful, healthy bowl of goodness! I would eat this for sure, every day!
Fred Nonterah says:
Oh my goodness! This is definitely a healthy quinoa bowl loaded with all the great anto-oxidants and fiber. Thanks for sharing!
Taleen | Just As Tasty says:
I love how colorful and healthy this looks! I’m always looking for new healthy dinner ideas, so I can’t wait to try this. Thanks for sharing!
Tara says:
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Thanks!
Christine McMichael replied:
If you leave the avocado out (until you are ready to serve), they should last about 2-3 days. Enjoy the recipe!
Erin says:
What is each individual serving size?
Christine McMichael replied:
Each serving is the size of a small bowl or rectangular glass container. The recipe makes 4 servings. Enjoy! 🙂
Rayshawn J. Trapp says:
Do you eat this hot or cold?
Christine McMichael replied:
Since everything is cooked (except for the avocado), I typically eat it hot. However, if you wanted to eat it cold, I recommend not sautéing the spinach! Use fresh spinach instead. I hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂