Make cooking easier by picking a repeat dish. Mark and I love chalupa night so we have chalupas once a week as a go-to meal.

We can tweak the recipe but we know it’s going to involve a toastada, refried beans, nutritional yeast, fresh toppings (cilantro, onions, fresh tomatoes, avocados…and such), salsa/valentina, and perhaps something else–tonight I sautéed mushrooms and zucchini as a side.

The trick to any fantastic meal is flavor, crunch, zing and zang. This meal has it all and it’s silly easy. For example:

Flavor–smokey beans, cheesy goodness (nutritional yeast), and creamy avocado

Crunch–fresh onions, cilantro, and tomatoes

Zing–splash of lime juice

Zang–salsa with a kick

When you have a go-to easy meal that satisfies you…make it a weekly staple.

Of course it’s best to have your pantry and refrigerator stocked so you can have a grocery list that is reliable and consistent. Here is a great example of my weekly list…it changes slightly but for the most part looks a lot like this and runs me at about $65-95 (depending on what needs to be replenished.)

Here is the step-by-step chalupa meal if you want to mimic it!

1)Smear beans on toastada and add nutritional yeast. Bake for 6-8 minuets on 350

2) Chop up fresh crunchy veggies!

3)Add greens and avocado!

4) Add a side if you wish. Tonight we had zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. In a sauce pan I put it all in a pan at once, added a few drops of amino liquid, some shakes of mexican oregano, and a splash of veggie broth. Let simmer with lid for 5 mins, stir, and repeat for 4 more minuets. Done. Remove.

5) Set it all on the table, put a spoon in the salsa, and enjoy until you can’t eat any more!!

6) Don’t forget to reuse the leftovers for tomorrows lunch. In a Tupperware container place mixed greens, add leftover beans in one corner with nutritional yeast dusted on top, place leftover sautéed veggies across greens, add crunchy fresh veggies, any other leftovers (in this case potatoes) and top with some salsa. Serve with a side tortilla. Yum!