Summer Vegetable Flatbread

Summer Vegetable Flatbread

In prior posts, we have mainly talked about how delicious meatless meals can be.  So fantastic in fact, that many carnivores end up loving the food they just ate and don’t even miss the meat.

But the other thing that I didn’t expect was the added benefit of having extra money in my pocket!  When I first moved to the city, I was broke. Period.  I could barely afford rent let alone extravagant food. I vividly recall my parents coming to visit and while I was gone for the day at school teaching, they walked to a nearby Costco and literally stocked my fridge to the brim.  It had never been so full! I was so ecstatic and felt so blessed.

 

Fast forward a few years… Luckily Steve and I are able to buy adequate groceries.  However, we wanted to be debt free.  Therefore, we began having monthly budget meetings and stopped eating out as frequently.  The first month or two of budgeting we had no idea how much we needed for food.  So, I based our grocery allotment on what I read online from other’s recommendations.  By the end of the month, our grocery envelope still had lots of money!  So, we decreased the amount and found the same thing the following month!  After more experimentation, we finally found the amount that was appropriate and accurate for us.  Initially I thought the other examples were just inflated slightly.  But after talking to my friend, I realized the real culprit: MEAT.  She literally laughed out loud when I told her what our monthly food budget was.  She was shocked.  It had honestly been a long enough period of time, that I had forgotten how expensive meat is.

 

Here is my advice (if you want it): If you are having trouble making ends meet and want to have extra wiggle room in your monthly budget, try eliminating meat for even just 2 or 3 meals a week.  Or even just 1 day!  You will be shocked on the amount you can save.  I promise.  We spend around $37.50 for groceries per week.  Granted that is only for 2 people but we do live in an expensive city.  Now I know it might not be for everyone, but by removing meat from your diet even minimally you are not only eating healthy and delicious food, but you can also have extra change in your pocket.

 

In future posts, we will also be discussing additional tricks that we use to save on our groceries.  I am also so happy to report that we have been completely debt free (including school loans!) for just over a year now.  We give credit to our monthly budget meetings and our meatless home cooked diet.  So, without further delay, here is another meatless meal that is also budget friendly!  Please comment below if you have any other tricks for staying within your monthly means.  We would love to hear from you and thanks for visiting!

Summer Vegetable Flatbread
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • Swiss Chard and Flax Crust
  • 1⅓ cup flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp. (Egg replacer- 9 Tbsp. Water)
  • ⅓ cup flaxseeds
  • ⅓ cup chia seeds
  • 2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • 2½ cups packed Swiss chard (puréed)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp. Cayenne pepper
  • Salt and pepper
  • Summer Vegetable Flatbread
  • 3 Ears of Corn, husk removed
  • 8 Mini Bell Peppers, deseeded and sliced into thin rings
  • 1 Jalapeno, deseeded and sliced into thin rings
  • 3 Large Shallots, peeled and sliced thin
  • 1 Avocado peeled and sliced thin
  • 1 Bunch Arugula
  • 1 Bunch Fresh Basil
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. Make the flatbread crust. In a food processor, combine all the ingredients for the crust and blend until well incorporated. Spread dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, making a circular shape. Dough should be about ¼ inch thick. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until slightly brown and crisp.
  3. While the crust bakes, begin to prepare ingredients for the flatbread.
  4. Start the grill and allow it to burn off any starting fluid you may have used.
  5. Wash all fresh produce and prepare as per the directions above.
  6. Grill the corn until some kernels have grill marks on them. Take off grill and remove the kernels from the cob using a knife.
  7. Caramelize the shallots. In a frying pan with a thin layer of olive oil place the sliced shallots over medium heat. Stirring frequently cook until well done. Making sure they are evenly brown throughout. Remove from heat.
  8. Assemble the flatbread. Layer the caramelized shallots in a thin layer on top of the crust. Next sprinkle the corn and peppers. Place back into the oven for 10-15 minutes to cook peppers.
  9. When finished cooking add the arugula and avocado to the top of the cooked flatbread.
  10. Serve immediately

 

 

     

 


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