*ColeWorld* THE Go-To, Work-Weekday Vegan Dinner Choice - Vegan Whole Wheat "Tostada"

I made the choice to begin a plant-based, Vegan diet on Thanksgiving of last year. Previously, I was raised in a household that ate meat and dairy as main staples in our family diet, enjoyed bacon & chorizo for breakfast and indulged on crab and seafood. The common safeway/vons/grocery store diet!

And while I do miss those foods from time to time, I have never enjoyed cooking and meal-planning as much as I do now. My body feels great, I have more energy than I ever have had, and all while eating clean foods while continuing an aggressive weekly weight-lifting & exercise program at my local gym.

It took a while for me to figure out my My Go-To, Work-Weekday Vegan dinner choices. I've found that others like me, used to eating traditional diets filled with meat and dairy, need fun and easy ideas that integrate well with their busy schedules, while not limiting their energy and nutrition levels. I will step you guys through the prep and cooking steps to make Vegan Whole Wheat Tostadas! High In protein, nutrients, and defintely a dish that fills you up and keeps things relatively easy and low-cost.

You will need two pans for this recipe, one large and one small. First, get your favorite sourdough bread (I prefer whole-wheat) and gather all your produce ingredients to chop them up. Later in the cooking process, you will need Tomato,Parsley, and your choice of canned beans! I use black bean and pinto bean commonly. Don't forget to get these items when heading to the store!
To begin prep, however, you will need:

To add spice and flavor to your dish, consider these spices!
(I go heavy on the Cumin - yum)

Now to begin:

1. Preheat a large pan on medium heat and add a few tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). Once hot, add minced Garlic and Chopped Onion, and season with salt and pepper. This will prime the pan with flavorful seasoning in preparation to braise your vegatables!

Next, after allowing the pan to season for 5 minutes, add in the hearty vegetables that take a few more minutes to cook properly. These include: Carrots, Bell Pepper, Mushroom, Celery. Stir, cover, and let cook for 4-6 minutes on medium, stirring occasionally to coat with oil and previously added seasonings.

Next, cut up the parlsey and tomato into small chunks, and add them to the pan! Cut strips of Kale or Chard or other Leafy vegetables as an addition here! It makes a nice base layer for the rest of the veggies! Stir, Cover, and let cook for another 5 minutes while preparing your beans!

As the veggie mix is doing its thing, get your small pan and preheat one teaspoon of EVOO until hot, then add one full can of beans. We have used black beans! Mash the beans with a masher, and let sit on low heat while we do the next step!

Take two slices of bread, toast them, and cut them in to two-inch wide strips, as shown below:

Spread the beans that we left simmering to the top of the bread, making the base of the "tostada" !

Add your vegatables that have been simmering on medium heat for about 15 minutes now, and serve! Enjoy everyone!

Make sure to leave a comment below if you tried the recipe or liked the idea! Tell me what you think can be added to improve the flavor or what might be nice to add next time! Thank you for reading and stay up with my many different types of original content!