Three Vegan Recipes You Can Make In Less Than 20 Minutes, from Beyoncé's Nutritionist

Julia Guerra
·4 min read
Beyonce and Marco Borges
Beyonce and Marco Borges

Ian West-PA Images/Contributor/Monica Schipper/ tringer/Getty Images

ICYDK, October is Vegetarian Awareness Month and this year the animal rights non-profit organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (otherwise known as PETA), has a few tricks up its sleeve to persuade you to at least try incorporating more plant-based meals into your diet. Obviously, fighting animal cruelty is top of mind for PETA, but if that's not going to turn you into an herbivore, remember that there are actually a ton of health benefits to eating more plants.

Maybe you've been considering going plant-based for a while now, but the idea of Brussels sprouts makes you gag. Maybe you're trying to up your leafy green intake without resorting to a life of only sad desk salads for lunch. To be fair, the idea of a plate of vegetables can sound kind of bland, but it's a common misconception that plant-based diets are flavorless.

To prove it, the PETA teamed up with celebrity trainer and nutritionist Marco Borges to bring you three recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and, of course, 100 percent cruelty-free, (which means that no animals were harmed to make these meals happen).

You might recognize Borges as the creator of 22 Days Nutrition and it's offshoot the 22-day vegan challenge, which has celeb fans such as Beyonce and Jay-Z. Fans who participated in the vegan challenge, submitting photos of there Meatless Monday meals, were even entered to win Beyonce and Jay-Z concert tickets for life!

But keep in mind that the power duo didn't make the transition to a plant-based lifestyle overnight. Rather, Borges told People that he had the couple implement more and more plant-based meals into their diets before they went all in—so in, that they wrote the introduction to Borges' book The Greenprint: Plant-Based Diet, Best Body, Better World.

To inspire you to give the #veglife a little taste, Borges is sharing three easy, vegan recipes from his 22 Days of Nutrition program on PETA's YouTube channel. Bonus: Each can be prepared in less than 20 minutes for less than $20 each. You'll learn how to make overnight oats topped with a chia-flax seed crumble and berries for breakfast, a squash and quinoa bowl with lemon-cashew dressing for lunch, and pasta puttanesca with summer squash and zucchini for dinner.

"[T]he beauty of [these recipes] is that you don't have to sacrifice on flavor when you switch over to a plant-based diet," says Borges in one of the videos. "Did you know that the average person that switches to a plant-based diet saves 200 animals a year? For me, there's no other way to live."

Three Easy Vegan Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Berry Overnight Oat Crumble

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup oats

  • 1 1/2 cups almond milk

  • 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons flax meal

  • 2 teaspoons chia seeds

  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon maple syrup

  • 1 banana

  • 1 cup of berries

Instructions:

  1. Scoop oats into a serving dish and pour almond milk over top. Mix.

  2. Leave oats in fridge overnight.

  3. In the morning, in a separate bowl, combine flax meal, chia, and drizzle in maple syrup. Mix.

  4. Bake flax-chia mixture for eight-10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

  5. Dress overnight oats with banana slices, berries, and flaxseed and chia seed crumble.

Squash & Quinoa Bowl

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup cashews, soaked overnight

  • Salt

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 2 teaspoon nutritional yeast

  • 1/4 cup water

  • 2 cups arugula

  • 1/2 cup quinoa

  • 2 summer squash, cut and roasted

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

  • 1/2 avocado, sliced

  • 1 teaspoon + 1 pinch dried parsley

  • 1 can garbanzo beans

Instructions:

  1. Combine soaked cashews, pinch of salt, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and water in a blender.

  2. Pour dressing into a bowl or container and store in fridge while you prepare salad.

  3. Combine remaining ingredients into salad bowl and gently toss.

  4. Drizzle on dressing and enjoy.

Pasta Puttanesca

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

  • 2 cups zucchini and yellow squash

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • Salt

  • Black pepper

  • 1 cup cooked pasta

  • 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

  • 1 can cannellini beans

  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

  • 1/3 cup + 1 teaspoon chopped olives

  • 2 teaspoon capers

  • 1 teaspoon + 1 pinch chili pepper flakes

Instructions:

  1. Drizzle olive oil into a hot pan.

  2. Saute chopped zucchini and summer squash with garlic, sea salt, and black pepper.

  3. Toss cooked pasta, marinara sauce, cannellini beans, Italian seasoning, and stir.

  4. Serve hot and topped with capers, olives, and chili pepper flakes.