The Gay Vegans

Easy home cooking vegan style

The idea of cooking meals at home rather than going out to eat could be met with a simple “of course” from some while being completely foreign to others. And to clarify, cooking in this post means actually cooking, not putting something frozen into a microwave.

I have a long history with fast food and processed food. When I started dating Mike my typical meal consisted of frozen Amy’s burritos or veggie burgers with tater tots. Whenever we do a meal similar to that these days we call it a “Dan’s meal”. For us, some days it’s perfect for us to just cook up some veggie burgers and add a salad with dark greens to it. Or even tater tots! But there are also several quick meals that we can prepare.

One I talk about all of the time is super simple, super affordable and super good for you. Note: I am not a dietician or nutritionist. There are three components: beans, rice, dark leafy greens. In a skillet I start with garlic and onions in olive oil, then add a can of beans. For me it’s usually black beans but pick a bean. I add cooked rice to this, again your choice. You can also add quinoa. Then it gets even more fun! Your choice of greens! My go-to greens are spinach, Swiss chard or kale. Once the greens are added you can go for it and personalize it even more with more veggies and spices. I add a little cayenne pepper and if I have peppers or broccoli that needs to be used I toss those in.

The diversity of this dish means you can switch around all of the time. Once the rice is cooked it takes about five minutes in a skillet. Cost wise, it’s tough to beat. I get three bunches of greens for $5.00 at our market and am always looking for beans on sale. You can also buy whole beans in bulk and soak them.

Try this and let me know what you think! Remember, you can take this idea and make it your own with your own favorite beans and veggies.

I also use a variety of cookbooks (see below for ones we currently are using a lot) where I have found quick, inexpensive recipes.

Thank you for reading!


About Dan Hanley

Gay and vegan in the burbs (of Los Angeles). I blog about veganism, equality, compassion, activism, politics, spirituality, and our awesome life experiences. The "s" includes my husband, Mike! I want this blog to be a tool to build bridges among communities and to inspire people to get involved and vote.

Leave a Reply