Six Easy Meals to Help You Go Meatless

When old man winter finally departs, it's nice to sit down to a meal prepared with fresh fruits and vegetables. In fact, why not celebrate the new season by serving meatless meals that are based on the harvest that spring has to offer? Whether you enjoy asparagus or new potatoes, there are delicious meatless meals that can be served any time of the day. Best of all, you'll never even miss the meat.

Breakfast

Morel Mushroom and New Potato Frittata

For this dish, you will need half a dozen eggs, 1 cup of milk, sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, 1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles, 1 cup of sauteed morel mushrooms and two new potatoes that have been baked and chopped. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and stir in the milk, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a greased glass or ceramic 11 x 7 inch baking dish and then sprinkle with the cheese, mushrooms and new potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until set in the center.

Apricot Smoothie

If you want a truly quick and easy breakfast to take on the go this spring, look no further than apricots. Apricots can be tossed in the blender along with some ice, almond milk and a sliced banana for a smoothie that takes minutes to prepare.

Lunch

Grilled Asparagus and Cream Cheese Sandwich

What could be better than fresh asparagus grilled to perfection? How about pairing that delicious asparagus with onion flavored cream cheese? For this easy lunch, you will need to brush six prepped asparagus spears with olive oil and grill until tender. Allow the spears to cool slightly while toasting two pieces of thick whole grain bread. Spread a thick layer of cream cheese on both pieces of bread and top with the asparagus spears. Serve with baked potato chips and you've got a quick lunch.

Strawberry Citrus Salad

If you want a lunch that can quickly be thrown together, place 2 cups of spring salad mix into a large bowl and top with sections of grapefruit and navel orange along with slices of strawberries. Finish the salad off with a orange or strawberry vinaigrette and you've got a lunch perfect for spring.

Dinner

Sugar Snap Pea and Grape Tomato Pasta

A pasta dish doesn't have to be heavy. For this dish all you have to do is saute two cups sugar snap peas and one cup of grape tomatoes in garlic infused olive oil. Once the peas become tender and the tomatoes begin to split open, toss in 4 cups of bow tie pasta. Transfer the meal to a serving dish and top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic bread and you've got a meal that took minutes to prepare.

Morel Mushroom and Cheese Ravioli Alfredo

Of course, we all know that spring can be finicky. One meatless meal perfect for a cold night is morel mushroom and cheese ravioli Alfredo. For this dish, you will need to saute 8 ounces of morel mushrooms in olive oil, while boiling eight ounces of cheese ravioli. Once the two are cooked, drain the extra olive oil from the mushrooms and stir in the ravioli along with a jar of Alfredo sauce. Serve with a side salad and garlic bread for a Monday night meal that is fancy enough for the weekend.