Lunch in a Box: Cashew and Kale Enchiladas

I took the past few weekends off from cooking. I got a little burned out and needed a break. But yesterday I was back in full swing. A new month means a new chance to "start over" with some better eating habits. There's a good chance I'll be taking a fancy beach vacation in January, so I better get my rear in gear if I'm going to look good for that.

Yesterday I made the following:

*Black bean salad (with corn and red bell peppers)
*Ginger-Miso salad dressing
*Roasted beets (to add to salads)
*Quinoa (to add to salads)
*Vegan oat bran muffins with pumpkin (easy breakfast)
*Cashew Cheese and Kale Enchiladas (dinner and lunch leftovers)

It was exhausting, but also a lot of fun. I did some meal planning Sunday morning, made a quick trip to HEB, and now have enough food to make some delicious, healthy meals for lunch and dinner all of this week. After a glutinous meal on Saturday night, I figured it would be a good idea to make something at least mildly healthy to start the week. I searched the Happy.Healthy.Life. blog (you know, the one I mentioned last week?) for a good dinner idea. I wanted it to at least feel like a "football" meal, but not totally overdo it on calories. It fit the bill to a "T".

The blog post promised that these were even better the 2nd (and 3rd day) if you make enough. I got the cashews soaking early in the day, and by late afternoon, the rest of the meal came together pretty easily. I chose to use chipotle powder in the cashew cheese, and also added a tad bit of nutritional yeast. I also added some cannellini beans to the kale filling, because I did not plan on serving anything else with this for dinner. I felt like it could use a little extra to make a full meal. I rolled up 12 enchiladas, poured a can of red enchilada sauce over the top, and baked for 45 minutes. They were, in a word, DELICIOUS! I mean they were really, really delicious. And of course I made just enough for lunches today.

Enchilada filling.

Leftovers for lunch, served with the black bean salad and fresh berries.

Even if you aren't vegan, but want to try out a "meatless Monday", this is a great place to start. You get all the great flavor of a spicy enchilada with red sauce, but none of the guilt. The cashew cheese provides enough calories and protein, but you get a good healthy punch from the kale and beans. It's a winning meal all the way around.