Pantry Supplies:

• A simple electric rice cooker like Aroma brand that has warm and cook features
• A panini press
• A crockpot
• A metal vegetable steamer that fits into a pan
• An air popcorn popper
• Rada pairing knives
• A large skillet with a glass lid
• Some mason jars

Joy Body Meals that Make Your Bones Sing:

Brown rice, jasmine rice, and sushi rice with pinto beans, cannelloni beans, fava beans, black beans or kidney beans with pick a pepper sauce or Cholula, cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and avocado.

Basmati rice with dried mung beans, twelve beans, lentils of all colors with major grey chutney and cilantro. These are good in the crockpot but you need all day and you usually have to add more water. A way to make flavorful mung beans is with a lot of red wine, the wet kind of minced garlic in a jar, ginger and soy sauce with water or vegetable stock. Lentils are good with coconut milk, especially the orange kind.

Steamed vegetables, tofu and rice with peanut sauce, sesame garlic sauce, general Tso’s sauce or Korean barbecue sauce. For sautéed vegetables and tofu with noodles or rice, you can use kale, carrots and tofu in the frying pan with the lid and add the sauce. To make tofu crunchy dip in cornstarch and fry in oil then add sauce until it’s reduced. Italian meals can be made like this with lemon juice and olive oil or butter and white wine and also marsala wine as well. Vegetarian chicken works great for this, or you can go Thai with coconut milk and a little soy sauce or use peanut sauce. Any kind of pasta or noodles work, including wheat and rice, depending on the culture story. Ramen noodles are also delicious.

Cheese subs with lettuce, tomato, no onion, oil and vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper and cheesesteaks without the steak.

Enchiladas or burritos are corn, wheat or corn and wheat tortillas, beans- refried black or pinto or whole pinto or black or pink or kidney beans, with cheese or without, rolled and placed in a lasagna pan, top with enchilada sauce, or salsa or salsa verde with or without cheese on top, and a can of sliced black olives. Bake the dish in the oven. Serve with sour cream and cilantro. Sliced avocado, guacamole and wedges of squeezed lime are also nice additions.

Tacos can be made in hard or soft shells with corn, vegetarian crumbles with taco seasoning or enchilada sauce, romaine lettuce, cheese and sour cream. Homemade red onion pickles (the quick kind) and red cabbage instead of lettuce can also be nice.

All your meat favorites with plant based vegetarian meats instead like roasted chicken (Gardein) with canola or olive oil and rosemary baked in oven with some side vegetables or rigatoni with veggie grounds meat sauce and parmesan cheese or veggie hot dogs (Soy Boy are good) in a bun with a little cheese and mustard, vegetarian baked beans and french fries or a BLT with veggie bacon and a slice of cheese, chips and a pickle.

Marie Callender’s plant based chicken and plant based beef pot pies.

Paninis with arugula, onion jam, goat cheese and cheddar.

Gardein meatballs and Tofurky sausage with marinara sauce in the crockpot with spaghetti and garlic bread or a baguette with butter.

Air popped popcorn with nutritional yeast, oil a little salt or parmesan cheese or both. Blue and red Amish popcorn is wonderfully delicious, available on amazon.

A little dessert never hurt a word of silence.

And a little Oregon Chai makes an officer fly.

A mocha makes it better than a snowstorm and a sweater.