Bulk meals for winter

Are you lazy or bad at cooking? Do you lack the time to cook but still need to eat food every day? Me too. I invite you to join me as I brainstorm what-on-Earth I am going to eat this winter. 

I like to cook meals in bulk so that I only have to cook once or twice a week. I also try to avoid animal products as much as possible so most of my meals are plant-based! 

Here are some of the vegetables that are in season this time of year: beetroot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, okra, eggplant, kale, peas, potato, pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato and zucchini. So there's a lot to work with! 

Here are my ideas!

• Spaghetti with a homemade sauce. The sauce will involve lots of garlic, onion, tomatoes cooked for ages, olive oil, some fried eggplant if possible, maybe some chopped carrot, olives, basil and some chilli. To make it meatier, I might add red wine, lentils and beef or chicken stock. 
• The classic pumpkin soup. Maybe to make it especially tasty, I will roast the vegetables before blending them into a soup. I might also make some croutons to make the soup a little more interesting. 
• Roast vegetables. Some of my favourite vegetables to roast include broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots and beetroot, and I always add garlic for flavour. I might eat the veggies heated up with gravy, or in a salad with balsamic vinegar, on toast or mixed in with pasta! 
• Gumbo. I recently tried making this dish from Louisiana and it was so hearty and delicious that I'm really keen to make it again. The main vegetables needed (for a plant-based version) are celery, capsicum, onion and okra, which you should definitely try if you haven't yet! 
• An Indian-style curry. I'm really excited to make some curries with eggplant, pumpkin and spinach, as well as this chickpea curry which is so easy and delicious. 
• Laksa. I have always loved laksa because it makes you feel so warm on cold days. I've recently discovered that it's not too hard to make so I will definitely be doing that this winter. 
• And finally, 'Pulled veg'. This is a simple recipe which imitates pulled pork is one I have wanted to try for a while, and this year I am determined to make it! 

Happy eating!