Veg pasta.

Boil some pasta. Add some finely sliced green cabbage when there’s five minutes left (and/or other veg that cooks quickly—you could add beans or peas for protein). Little shells are good for this one. When it’s cooked, drain and save the water! Turn the heat down and fry off some onions. Season with salt and pepper. When the onions are soft, add in some garlic puree or finely chopped garlic. You can use some oil. Add oregano and parsley or other favoured herbs. Pour some of the pasta water back in. Don’t pour too much in, just yet. The starch helps it thicken slightly into a source. Add the pasta and cabbage/veg back in. If you like it with more sauce, add some more of the pasta water in, a little at a time. Keep stirring and turn up the heat to get everything hot. Don’t let it dry out. Serve. You could finish with some vegan cheese.

Purple rice.

Cook some rice. I like a mixture of wholegrain rice and white basmati. You can start off with the wholegrain rice for time minus ~11 minutes for the white basmati. So if the wholegrain takes 30 mins, cook the wholegrain for ~19 (bring water to a boil, them let it simmer) before adding the white grains (bring water to a boil again, then stir gently and simmer for the rest of the time). When cooked, immediately cool under cold water. Drain and store in the fridge. This will last for a few days, so cook enough to eat over several days with different dishes. When hungry, mix with a squeeze of lemon juice, vegan yoghurt, and mint sauce. Dice some beetroot and mix this in. Top with mixed nuts, crushed or whole.