Ingredients

• 1 cup of dried lentils
• 2 cups of tomato sauce (see recipe here, but exclude the Yves veggie ground)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 dab of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 pinch of rosemary
• 1 pinch of chili flakes
• 1 pinch of salt

Directions

1. Boil the lentils for 20 minutes to give them a head start.
2. Once you hit that 20-minute mark, heat olive oil, garlic, onions, rosemary and chili flakes in a large pan (you can opt for a pot if you wish).
3. After the onions start sizzling, add the tomato sauce to the pan. A minute later, add the lentils (no need to drain them but it’s up to you).
4. Simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils taste about right. Add salt for flavour.
5. Buon appetito!

Serves 4-5 large servings

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 tortillas
• 1 can of refried beans or 1/2 cup homecooked navy beans, mashed
• 1 small tomato or 5 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 of a large onion, chopped (regular or red)
• several leaves of cilantro, chopped
• dash of oregano
• 1 lemon for squeezing juice
• 1 small block of cheddar cheese
• taco sauce

Directions

1. Mix chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro in a bowl. Add a dash of oregano and squeeze a lemon over top.
2. Add refried beans to mixture and mix together. Add a light spritz of taco sauce.
3. Spoon desired amount of now-flavoured refried beans down the centre of a tortilla.
4. Fold the tortilla and drizzle a little more taco sauce over top. Grate cheddar cheese over top as a garnish.
5. Repeat for select number of tortillas.
6. Heat in toaster oven at 275 convection until cheese is lightly melted. Serve with sour cream/Greek yogurt or guacamole.

Makes 4 enchiladas

You may also like:

• Bean and cheese quesadilla recipe
• Black bean burrito recipe
• Tacos recipe

In this recipe, I advise creating the bruschetta toppings and leaving them in a bowl. Serve the bread separately and allow your guests to spoon the concoction over top the bread.

Vegetarian options 9/10

My meal: I ordered my usual favourites. The avocado rolls tasted particularly good. They’re not difficult to make—I have a recipe for avocado rolls here—but they tasted even better than ever at KK Sushi. The avocado salad tasted too strongly of onions but the vegetarian sushi pizza was heavenly. The peppery sauce is strong but with just the right kick and the vegetables are finely chopped into a tasteful, nutritious dish. Vegetarians will not find themselves without choice! (Even spring rolls are on the menu—yay!)

The Food

The avocado salad: Your typical dose of avocado, lettuce and onions with house dressing but a little strong on the onions.

Avocado rolls: More heavenly than ever!

Vegetarian sushi pizza: A strong, peppery sauce with freshly chopped vegetables that will leave you satisfied yet wanting more! Delicious.

Spring rolls: Simple; a little more fried dough than actual vegetable stuffing, but tasty.

Miso soup: A nice beginning.

Edamame: Good, as always.

Prices 8.5/10

Bonus: You can order all-you-can-eat or a la carte style. All you can eat costs $21 most days and $23 on weekends. The a la carte options are decently priced too—perfect when you’re looking to satisfy that craving!

It’s too bad vegetarians can’t eat a la carte while their partners order from the buffet menu (I doubt most vegetarian meals amount to more than the $28 you’ll pay for an all-you-can-eat option, with tax and tip).

Service 8.8/10

The servers were attentive to us and never left us waiting for more food or our bill. They checked on us to make sure we were doing well and were kind enough to let us know when something we had ordered was or was not included with the buffet menu (i.e., they let us know there would be an extra charge instead of surprising us later with the bad news). In fact, when we ordered jasmine tea, they offered us green tea (which was free).

Atmosphere 8.8/10

A delightful surprise! There are pictures on the website but the place looks even lovelier in person. I was struck by the polished white walls, nicely accentuated tables and chairs, and—most of all—the wall of mirrors, accentuated by overhanging leafy green plants. A Japanese bar, all decorated, lines the opposite wall. I went for a Saturday night dinner and the place was barely half full. The music is finely tuned to match a dinner atmosphere too (some Bryan Adams, that sort of thing).

Tip

Don’t order more than you can eat! One order of spring rolls is enough for two people. I recommend ordering a la carte if you’re not going to eat $22′s worth (do the math; the item-by-item prices are on the menu).

Would I go again?

Yes, this is a lovely place to bring your date, your friends or your family. I’m still thinking about those avocado rolls days later!

Vegetarian options 9/10

My meal: I usually order the garden salad with ginger dressing, avocado rolls, cucumber rolls and the sushi pizza. I may also order some edamame.

Grain: 1
Fruits&veg: 3
Protein alt: 1 (if you order edamame)
Dairy: 0

This is the kind of buffet where you’re met with a list of menu items. You check off the food you would like to order (+ quantity) and the food is brought to you one course at a time. Make sure your eyes aren’t bigger than your stomach! You’re responsible for eating a certain percentage of everything you eat; otherwise you pay the price (literally…).

You can order rolls, sushi, nori, soup, etc., and ice-cream. With so many delicious options, it’s tough to limit yourself but you can always come back again! There is so much to try.

The Food

The ginger salad: I love this salad! I search for it on any Japanese menu I find. The dressing is super delicious. This small sample will get your appetite moving.

Avocado/cucumber rolls: They taste the same as anywhere—a familiar dose of creamy avocado and salty soy sauce. Be careful if you order the rolls with rice; you’ll get full sooner.

Vegetarian sushi pizza: I prefer the sushi pizza down the street but this is indeed tasty. My favourite Japanese treat!

Prices 8.7/10

What can I say, buffets usually charge the same: around $20 for an evening or weekend meal and a more reasonable $15ish for lunch. But it’s all you can eat!

Service 8.7/10

I’ve never had a problem with the service here and they time the arrival of your food quite nicely.

Atmosphere 8.8/10

Quite lovely! The décor is sophisticated and modern and there’s enough space to experience a different ambiance depending on where you sit. I’ve sat upstairs—which is comfortable and private—downstairs in a booth (comfy!) and at the corner table, which is a perfect spot for couples who wish to sit somewhat side-by-side.

Tip

Don’t order more than you can eat! After all, you can always order more later if you’re really that hungry.

Would I go again?

Yes! I’ve been at least four times and it’s the best Japanese buffet I know. Unfortunately, the downtown locations have strange hours so you may have to head to Woodbridge. But it’s worth it!

Variation: For Mexican Rice Lasagna, repeat this recipe so that there is a layer of cheese in the middle, like a lasagna. Yum!

This must-have dish is so easy to make!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white rice (or whole grain, if we’re going to be good!)
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 cube (2 tbsp) of cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 stalk of green onion, sliced

Directions

1. Put rice in pot, add enough water to cover the rice and set to boil. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until rice is soft (not crunchy!).
2. Let the rice cool, then “pour” the rice into a casserole dish and mix in the salsa.
3. Smooth out the top surface of the rice casserole and sprinkle on the cheddar cheese. Sprinkle the green onions on top as a garnish. You may choose to mix the green onions in with the rice and salsa, if your guests do not object.)
4. Set the toaster oven to broil and cook the rice dish until the cheese has melted. Serve hot!

Serves 5 with some leftovers

You may also like:

• Guacamole recipe
• Pico-de-gallo recipe

So simple, so savoury! (Photo courtesy of iStock)

Ingredients

• 1 cup chick peas, dry (or canned, but dried is healthier and better for the environment)
• 1/2 stalk of celery
• 100 g whole wheat pasta of your choice (fusilli, penne, go wild!)
• 3 strips of green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil Tuscan Italian dressing (Kraft)
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Rinse one cup of dry chick peas and place in a pot, then fill with water. The water should be about an inch higher than the chick peas. Cover and let soak overnight.
2. Dump the water and rinse the chick peas. Add half a stalk of celery and fill the pot with water again.
3. Boil the chick peas for 1 to 1.5 hours, until tender. Add salt to taste. When the chick peas are done cooking, they will have grown to double their original size (so now we have two cups!).
4. Remove the celery and let the chick peas cool. Then add 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and refrigerate the chick peas. They make a great addition to any salad!
5. Boil water. At boiling point, add whole grain pasta and cook following the directions on the pasta package.
6. Let pasta cool. Chop green peppers.
7. Then mix peppers, pasta, 1/2 cup chickpeas and 1/2 tablespoon of salad dressing. Delish!

You may also like:

• Couscous/quinoa salad recipe
• Tomato-cucumber salad recipe

A satisfying, complete protein that's bound to fill you up

Ingredients

• 1 can Romano beans (540 mL) or 3/4 cup dried beans
• 1 medium onion
• 1/2 carrot, peeled
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of cavatelli pasta or a small whole grain pasta
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
• chili flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Before you do anything, note that if you are cooking with dried beans (the healthy choice!), they need to be soaked overnight and then cooked for 1 hour before you proceed with this recipe.
2. Heat up pot with 1 teaspoon of olive oil (for one minute or so).
3. Cut the onion in two. Chop one half into tiny pieces. Add onion and carrot to olive oil and cook for a few minutes.
4. Meanwhile, pass tomatoes through a vegetable mill and set aside.
5. When the onions seem to have started cooking,  add the tomato sauce to the pot and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Rinse the beans with water (the dried beans are already rinsed) and add beans to tomato sauce. Fill can with water and add water to pot.
7. Cook beans for 1 to 1.5 hours, checking often.
8. 45 minutes into the beans cooking, add salt and black pepper for taste.
9. Once the beans are ready (taste test!), boil water and cook pasta.
10. Serve beans and pasta in a bowl and add grated Parmesan cheese and chili flakes for flavour. Prepare to be satisfied!

Note: You may wish to double the recipe so you have leftovers for the next day. Yum! If you’re the only one consuming the above recipe, there is already enough for leftovers.

Serves 2

You may also like:

• Lentils with tomato sauce recipe (coming soon)
• Meatless tomato sauce with Yves veggie ground recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rice, cooked (healthier to use brown rice)
• 3 tbsp niblets (or corn kernels)
• 2 stalks green onions, chopped
• 2 small slices jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1 sprig cilantro
• 1 tsp taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup refried beans
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Place rice in pot and fill with water. Boil until rice is cooked. Mix with niblets and heat for 5 minutes. Mix in taco seasoning.
2. Place rice and niblets in bowl and add green onions, jalapeno pepper and cilantro. Mix.
3. Place refried beans into a pan and heat with a touch of water.
4. Serve refried beans, salsa and Greek yogurt alongside Mexican rice salad. Each spoonful bursts with a different taste!

A different angle of deliciousness.

Nutrition information:

Calories: 341
Fat: 1.4 g
Saturated fat: 0.1 g
Trans fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0
Sodium: 945 g (too much, try to find low-sodium beans)
Carbohydrates: 69.7 g
Fibre: 9.3 g (excellent! now imagine it with brown rice)
Sugar: 7.2 g
Protein: 18.2 g (incredible!)
Vitamin A: 14%
Vitamin C: 10%
Calcium: 12%
Iron: 24% (That’s 1/4 of your daily quota)

You may also like:

• Mexican rice dish recipe
• Taco salad recipe

Creamy avocado tacos (photo credit: iStock).

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Yves veggie ground, cooked (recipe here)
• 1/2 avocado
• pico de gallo (follow this easy recipe)
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp salsa
• 2 leaves lettuce, shredded
• 1 large whole wheat tortilla

Directions

1. Cook the Yves veggie ground according to this recipe. (Very simply, you will place Yves and water in a pan and cook for a few minutes, adding taco seasoning if desired.) Then mix with this pick-me-up pico de gallo made of tomatoes and onions.
2. Line the middle of the tortilla with the Greek yogurt. *Note: Greek yogurt is replacing sour cream. One full serving (175 g) of Greek yogurt contains 20 grams of protein, so it’s very healthy!
3. Scoop the Yves veggie ground and pico de gallo mixture onto the Greek yogurt.
4. Peel the avocado, place in a bowl and mash the avocado with a spoon or fork. You may choose to add lemon and garlic as in this guacamole recipe or keep it simple and leave as is.
5. Scoop the avocado onto the Yves veggie ground, then add the salsa and lettuce.
6. Fold the tortilla and eat immediately, or cut in half, store in a container and heat quickly at work. It makes a great packable lunch!

Daily food group servings:
Grain: 1
Fruits&veg: 2
Protein alt: 1
Dairy: 1

You may also like:

• Black bean burrito recipe
• Mexican rice dish (casserole) recipe
• Quesadilla recipe
• Tacos recipe

Read more about the health benfits of avocados.