Recipe for: A Quick Vegan Bite

This quick vegan meal took about ten minutes to whip up and was a perfect fill-me-up before a trip to the movies with my mom (don't worry, we left room for popcorn).

You'll need:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (and a little extra to drizzle on top if desired)

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 can red kidney beans

juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup fresh chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon of chili powder

sprinkle of garlic power or dried garlic bits

3/4 cup instant brown rice

salt & pepper to taste

fresh cilantro to sprinkle

Yield: two servings

In a small pot heat olive oil on medium and add onion. After about a minute, lower heat and add mushrooms. Saute until they begin to soften (about two minutes while stirring occasionally). Add the kidney beans and lemon juice, and stir well (you might want to add a little water, only a tablespoon less). After a minute start the instant rice in a separate pot (cooks in 5 minutes). As the rice cooks, add tomatoes, garlic and chili powder. Mix well and let cook until the tomatoes create an almost chili/gumbo like consistency and the rice is done (5 minutes). Add rice to mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Cut some cilantro from herb garden to sprinkle on top, drizzle extra desired olive oil and/or lemon juice on top. Serve. Enjoy!

Note: To add extra protein cook a half cup of soft tofu finely chopped (or shredded) with the onions.