College-friendly Vegan Dinner

Veganism is a growing lifestyle because of its various health and environmental benefits. Unfortunately for many vegans in college, it's hard to find vegan-friendly options in dining halls and even harder to cook your own meals in cramped dorm rooms. This Instructable will teach college vegans living in residence halls how to make a tasty three-course meal featuring lettuce cups, spaghetti squash, and banana ice cream. The best part is that all of this food can be made within the comforts of your own dorm on a college student's budget!

The first thing that you need to do is gather all your ingredients and cooking materials. All the ingredients can be bought for under $25 at any grocery store, and all cooking materials can easily be stored in a college dorm.

Ingredients:

• One head of lettuce (iceberg lettuce is recommended)
• One tomato
• One bell pepper
• One can of corn
• One spaghetti squash
• Pasta sauce
• Two bananas
• Any additional ice cream toppings if desired

Cooking materials:

• Microwave
• Blender
• Cutting board
• Oven mitts
• Can opener
• Mixing bowl
• Medium-sized, microwave-safe container
• Knife for cutting vegetables
• Mixing spoon
• Fork
• Plate

When cooking, please keep basic safety in mind. Be careful when using the knife, and be sure that your blender has a cover. Also, remember that dishes may be hot when coming out of the microwave, so watch your hands!

Ingredients needed for this step:

• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Bell pepper
• Canned corn

Cooking materials needed for this step:

• Cutting board
• Knife
• Can opener
• Plate

Instructions:

1. Wash all vegetables
2. Open can of corn
3. Dice tomatoes and peppers carefully with a vegetable knife
4. Gently remove outer lettuce layers until you reach the stiff lettuce core
5. Layer core lettuce leaves on top of one another to form a cup shape
6. Place peppers and tomatoes into lettuce leaf cup
7. Drizzle corn on top
8. Enjoy!

Ingredients needed for this step:

• Spaghetti squash
• Pasta sauce

Cooking materials needed for this step:

• Microwave
• Cutting board
• Oven mitts
• Knife
• Microwave-safe container
• Spoon
• Fork

If you would like extra instruction on how to cut the spaghetti squash, click here.

Instructions:

1. Carefully cut off ends of the squash with vegetable knife (approx. 1/2 inch on either side)
2. Slice squash in half vertically
3. Scoop out squash guts into trash with a spoon
4. Place squash into the microwave-safe container with the open side down
5. Fill container with water to just below or a squash level
6. Microwave for six minutes (be careful- the water will be hot!)
7. Using oven mitts, carefully remove dish from microwave and let cool
8. Remove squash from bowl once cool
9. Use a fork to scrape the squash into spaghetti noodles (this may take a minute or two)
10. Drizzle desired amount of sauce into squash and use squash as a bowl
11. Enjoy!

Ingredients needed for this step:

• Bananas
• Water
• Any toppings you want

Cooking materials needed for this step:

• Blender
• Bowl

Instructions:

1. Freeze peeled bananas at least two hours prior to cooking time
2. Put bananas in blender
3. Add a splash of water to the blender
4. Blend bananas until desired consistency
5. Add toppings if desired
6. Pour into bowl
7. Enjoy!