How to Introduce Vegan Meals to Your Family

Every.single.meal. was a debate when we started this vegan journey back in 2010. 

Most of the heat came from Elijah....but Eric, Brandon & Jason didn't hesitate with the side eye action.

I already wasn't the most confident about cooking this new way, so listening to chatter from the peanut gallery made me even more insecure.

I won't lie. There were times when I wanted to just give up.

Here's the best way to introduce new meals...

On nights when there are leftovers to fall back on. 

I know. I know.

The whole point of leftovers is so you don't have to cook anything else. 

I promise this method has worked well for our family though.

When you're ready to introduce a brand new meal or ingredient (like tofu) to your family, make sure you have leftovers in the fridge to fall back on.

Taking this step will reduce the complaints (because you can just serve the leftovers) and it will make you more confident to experiment with new recipes and ingredients.

Case in point....this cauliflower Alfredo dish in the picture below. We love Alfredo sauce made of cashews (like this recipe), so I had some anxiety about making it using cauliflower.

The results of making Alfredo sauce using cauliflower?

My family hated it!

Instead of getting all in my feelings about it, I served them leftover vegan pizza and beans & rice and went about my business.

One last thing.... 

Just because they don't like a meal today, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try it again in a couple of months (I talked about that is in this video).  As your family gets used to eating more vegan meals, their tastebuds will adjust and they will be more open to trying new dishes.

Be gentle. Be patient. Have fun and enjoy the journey!

Replace White Sugar with These 4 Alternatives

 

All sugar isn't created equally...

                                     "Peanut! Fix us a couple glasses of Kool-Aid."                    &…

                                     "Peanut! Fix us a couple glasses of Kool-Aid."
                                               "Grape or red?" 

Did you know that a lot of conventional white sugar isn't even vegan?

Majority of it is refined with bone char (from cattle bones) so it isn't considered vegan. 

Read more about that here 

If you want to avoid white sugar overall in your homemade recipes, check out these four alternatives....

 

Organic Raw Sugar - I use this in baked goods like these cupcakes & pineapple coffee cake  

 

Maple syrup (all natural) I use it in recipes like these easy chocolate pops

 

Dates - Medjool are my fave dates! They're big, super sweet,  juicy and work perfectly in raw vegan desserts (no bake), smoothies and as a great snack with peanut butter.

I also used it in this donut hole recipe

 

Coconut sugar - I haven't used this one yet but I've been thinking about it ever since Crafty Earth Mama mentioned it as a more natural and healthy replacement in our podcast episode.

Read more about alternatives for sugar and see the list of white sugar companies that don't use bone char in their production here.

 

How do you sweeten your desserts?

 

 

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Why Do You Eat Meat & Cheese Substitutes If You're A Vegan? | Q&A

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Question I received on Facebook: "I've just always wondered why eat the meat and cheese substitutes if you're vegan to take those foods out of your diet..."

Answer: I guess it depends on why you decide to go vegan. I became vegan for ethical reasons.

I don't dislike the taste of conventional meat and cheese, but I think the killing of animals for food is terrible and unnecessary (Diet for a New America is a good book to read for more on that).
I honestly don’t think our family would’ve gotten to this point (5 years in) without them.

These meat alternatives saved me during those times when my family refused to eat stir-fry with “just vegetables” and when Elijah (my reformed picky eater lol) wanted regular chicken nuggets with his fries.

Yeah, most mock meat is processed, but hell everything that isn’t from the produce department usually is.

You shouldn’t eat these products every day, but I do think they come in handy
for:

  • food cravings
  • to add variety
  • for simple convenient meals when you get busy (and cooking is the last thing you want to do)

It’s better than hitting a Burger King drive-thru on the way home from work. 
I am picky about my meat and cheese alternatives though...

Off the top of my head, I love:

 
Meat alternatives really can help you start a vegan journey that is simple, delicious and most importantly long-term. 

Do what works best for YOU and don't feel like you have to completely dismiss processed vegan food just because someone said you should. Aim for balance, not perfection!

I just watched an awesome video from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau that captured exactly how I feel about processed foods and vegan alternatives overall.

Check it out here....

 

Mock Meat or nah? Leave me a comment below

Raising Vegan Kids | A Quick Chat with Simple Daily Recipes

I had such an amazing time at Vida Vegan Con! I connected with so many folks in the vegan community and had an amazing opportunity to speak on a parenting panel and give a solo talk about being present and authentic online.

I also had the pleasure of chatting with Jill of Simple Daily Recipes about raising vegan kids.

In the video we share these tips on how to stay on a vegan journey with a family:

  • Make a decision to go vegan and keep moving forward
  • Be okay with being a gradual process- sometimes you're not eating all whole foods. I know about that vegan ice cream and chili Doritos life.
  • Be gentle with yourself and your family
  • Don't be afraid to make just one meal and have those picky eaters catch up on the next meal. I'll write a blog post soon to elaborate on that.

 

Jill is sooo much fun! Subscribe to her channel <--- for vegan recipes, tips and lots of laughs.

 

My 4 Go-To Vegan Meals | Lazy Vegan Style | Q&A

Question: What are some of your grocery staples and go-to meals? I'm going shopping in a few and really need some ideas as to what I should get for my home. I need all really easy ideas because I don't really like cooking. Thanks!

Answer: I consider myself a "lazy" vegan, so a lot of our meals are super simple.

If I didn't have to cook for my family, I would probably eat cereal, veggie wraps & vegan ice cream all day. lol #realtalk
 

My 4 current lazy go-to meals are...


*Tacos with black beans, salsa, lettuce and tomato or tacos with Beyond Meat crumbles

*Fried rice using leftover rice, onion, peas and carrots

Recipe

*Stir-fry with vegan sausage, bell peppers, onion, carrots, seasoning (served with rice)

Recipe

*Spaghetti with marinara sauce and fresh basil 

Recipe

All of these meals take less than 30 minutes!

Some items that are usually on our grocery list: green leafy vegetables (like kale, spinach, romaine lettuce), carrots, bananas, almond milk, potatoes, rice, bell peppers, beans, mushrooms, garlic, onion & avocados.

I did a podcast episode with more details about our grocery list here 

I hope this is helpful!

I'll just post this video....

...since I was listening while writing this post.

Have a fab day!