5 Meal Planning Tips for NEW Vegan Families (VIDEO)

Adjusting to a vegan lifestyle can be overwhelming enough, but adding a family to the mix can sometimes make you want to pull your hair out. I remember those days!

Hell, sometimes I still have those days with the fam. The struggle is real!

I remember when meal planning was difficult because I couldn't figure out how to put meals together. It was hard not seeing meat as the center of a meal!

To complicate things more, I thought vegans only ate salads and smoothies. Quiet as it's kept, I wouldn't have lasted this long if we were limited to just salads and smoothies. We love variety!

I put together a vlog with 5 tips on saving a little time (and money) with meal planning for a family.

Check out the tips:

Put breakfast & snacks on autopilot-The less thinking you have to do the better! We usually have oatmeal or grits for breakfast and fruit for snacks, but there are limitless options out there for quick, cheap vegan meals and snacks. Other breakfast suggestions: pancakes, smoothies (using plant-based milk like almond or soy instead of dairy), roasted potatoes with a side of fruit, soy or coconut yogurt with fruit and waffles, & bacon and sausage alternatives. For snacks: crackers, trail mix, smoothies, pre-packaged vegan junk food (Oreos are vegan-just saying) & fresh fruit

Keep a food journal-This is a great way to keep track of the meals your family enjoys. You can refer back to the journal when you need quick meals ideas.

Take one main ingredient and make several meals out of it-As a kid, I hated leftovers, so this is a great way to jazz up meals for your family. For example, make a pot of lentils and make 3 meals out of it. On day one you can make lentils and rice, the next day make lentil soup and the third day make tacos or burritos. Of course you can also make a big batch of one of those recipes to eat over a few days.

Get your family's input-In my experience, my family became more open to this lifestyle change when I asked for their input. Find out some of their favorite recipes that you can veganize (make a vegan version of) them. People are more likely to eat what they recommend.

Be open with experimenting with new recipes-use vegan cookbooks and blogs to veganize some of your favorite recipes and to find new ones to experiment with. I tried about 4 vegan macaroni and cheese recipes before I found our favorite one. Be open to experimenting with several recipes until to find one that the majority of your family loves.

Be gentle with yourself and your family in this journey and I promise that meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking will get easier.

Here's the video....

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While you’re here, check out this other blog post with tips on how to go vegan with a family.

I STILL Have Issues With Food

Even after nearly 4 years, I still have cravings for certain non-vegan foods and sometimes question whether or not I want to be a vegan. I find myself resenting the “vegan” label and beat myself up when I don’t live up to what I “think” a vegan is.

After talking (and eating) with a couple of my vegan friends a couple of weeks ago, I realize that I’m not alone with some of my food issues. Spending quality time with my vegan friends really helped me gain new perspective. I can’t stress enough the importance of making your own small vegan community of friends to vent and spend time with.

One of my goals this year, is to be more open about who I am and what I feel. It’s uncomfortable and sometimes I think about backlash from the vegan police, but I’m going to push forward anyway.

The only way I can grow, help people, and move forward in this lifestyle is by being okay with my decisions and by willing to do whatever I can to improve.

Check out the video and be sure to leave me a comment about your own experiences below.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Does Buying Whole Foods Save Money?

I think so.

Nope, I'm not talking about Whole Foods Market AKA Whole Check, but whole ingredients -  fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts & seeds.

Vegan meal planning can be expensive (it used to be very expensive for us) but focusing on whole ingredients, planning your meals and having a well-stocked pantry will save you tons of money long-term.

We spend between $600-$650 a month on groceries for our family of 5.  I shop once a week and usually work off a grocery list using recipes from cookbooks and blogs.

Some weeks I spend less than $100 on food for the whole week. No lie. I find that I spend less when I have a well-stocked pantry of beans, legumes, rice, quinoa, flour, spices, canned tomatoes, oil, flax seed, canned coconut milk and nutritional yeast.

This didn't happen overnight for me, though. It took me a while to get the hang of meal planning because it was hard not seeing meat as the center of a meal. The good news is, I was willing to experiment and made the decision early on that I wanted this lifestyle to work long-term for our family.

I wrote a post a while ago talking about a few of my go-to meals that not only save time but also tons of money. Check it out here.

 

What about your grocery bill? Do you save money by sticking to a lot of whole foods? 

FINALLY! Daiya Has Cheese Slices

I'm probably late to the game but I'm sooo glad Daiya finally has cheese slices. 

In the beginning, I wasn't a fan of vegan cheese. In fact, it took about 2 years to acquire a taste for it.  It doesn't taste anything like conventional cheese (everybody would already be eating it, right? lol) but it's a decent alternative.

These days, I use it to make grilled cheese sandwiches and lasagna.  

I've purchased 2 packs of the provolone cheese so far. No issues with the first pack but the cheese in the second pack seemed dry and crumbled a lot.

Overall, I'm super happy that I don't have to deal with their block cheese anymore.

What's your favorite brand of vegan cheese?

Plan Your Dinners in 30 Minutes of Less

Ready, Set, Go Vegan is a starter guide to help you and your family go vegan together. Ain't nobody got time to make multiple meals, so I cover meal planning a lot in the guide. Here's a little strategy I use when I wait until the last minute to plan dinners for the week.

My go-to meals are spaghetti, tacos and stir-fry. I love using these simple dishes because the options are endless.  

3 possible combinations for each meal:

Spaghetti

*Spaghetti noodles + mushrooms + red onion + spaghetti sauce

*Spaghetti noodles + vegan crumbles + spaghetti sauce

*Spaghetti-Nos with Lentil balls  

Tacos

*Roasted chickpeas (seasoned with cumin & chili powder) + lettuce + salsa + taco shells

*Seitan + cilantro + vegan sour cream + taco shells

*Black Beans + mushrooms + arugula lettuce + vegan cheese + taco shells

Stir-fry

Vegan sausage + broccoli bell peppers + red onion + rice

Tempeh + red bell pepper + onion + rice (full recipe here)

Tofu + canned tomatoes + onion + basil + rice (full recipe here)

There's so many possibilities with all these meals! Carrots, kale, spinach, kidney beans, sweet potatoes, are just a few more ingredients you can play around with.

 

What are some of your go-to meals?