Grocery Haul & What's Always On My Grocery List (VIDEO)

It's time for another grocery haul! This time I went to the store with my camera and Brandon.

I forgot to hit record (more than once), so I missed a lot of great footage of Bran loading up the cart with produce. Major FAIL.

I did remember to take pictures of what we picked up and put together a short vlog with the footage I did get.

We spent $113.43 on this grocery trip.

I plan to make bean enchiladas, vegetable stir-fry, kale chips, green juice, chickpea salad sandwiches, vegetable quesadillas & lentils and rice. The boys will snack on pineapple, strawberries, carrots & hummus and blueberry & banana smoothies.

Items that are always on my grocery list:

Check out the vlog video below

What are the top 5 items that always make your grocery list? 

3 Simple & Affordable Vegan Dinners

I mentioned before that I'm working on showing more vegan meals with accessible ingredients.  I recorded a video featuring 3 vegan dinners using simple & affordable ingredients that can be found in any grocery store.

Here's the YouTube video :-) 

Dinner #1

*****Be sure to check the ingredient list on the bread to ensure it doesn't contain dairy and/or eggs.*****

Full recipe from Chloe Coscarelli (the ingredients and method are listed in the description box of Chloe's video) 

*Click here for the recipe video*

Dinner #2

Vegan Red Beans & Rice

by Brown Vegan

Prep Time: 8 hours

Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 lb dried red beans, soaked overnight
• 8 cups vegetable broth or water
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (typically found in the same aisle as the BBQ sauce)
• 1 bay leaf
• To garnish: green onion, chopped
• 4 cups of cooked rice

Instructions

In a large stockpot, sauté onion, garlic and celery for 5 minutes on medium-high heat with oil. Add in cayenne pepper, all-purpose seasoning and salt.

Add in beans, vegetable broth (or water), liquid smoke and bay leaf

Reduce heat to med-lo, cover and simmer for 1 ½ hours, or until the liquid is thick or beans split open. If the water absorbs too quickly, add more ½ cup more at a time.

Remove bay leaf.

Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Serve with rice.

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Dinner #3

Vegan Stuffed Shells

by Brown Vegan

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 8 oz jumbo shells
• 3 garlic cloves
• 8 basil leaves
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 14 oz firm tofu, drained
• Jar of spaghetti sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven at 400º

Boil jumbo shells in water until al dente.

In a food processor, blend together garlic, basil, onion, salt, pepper and oregano. Scrap down the sides of the food processor with a fork.

Crumble tofu with your hands and blend until smooth in the food processor.

Fill each shell with the tofu filling.

Line the bottom of a casserole dish with ½ cup of spaghetti sauce.

Cover with the shells and spoon on additional spaghetti sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.

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Come Grocery Shopping with Me! #1 (Video)

Hey! I hope you're having a great weekend. :-)

When I went grocery shopping the other day, I decided to take the camera along to talk about organic food, my love of Wegmans (and grits lol) , the numerous emails I get telling me to stop eating tofu, and also do a mini-haul of some of the items I picked up.

Check out the video below and be sure to subscribe to my channel for more vlogs and recipe videos.  Thanks for reading & watching!

Grocery Shopping with Kids & Small Grocery Haul (VIDEO)

Since my husband isn't with us during the week (he's away for work), I take the boys grocery shopping a lot more than I used to.  We head to the store (usually during off-peak hours) with a list and a prayer that I don't have to hear complaints, arguments, or no one asks for anything.

When I took them to the store yesterday, we left with 3 bags filled with produce and minimum sugary snacks. 

What was so different this time?

*Say no to the inner aisles-I typically use the inner aisles for oatmeal, pasta and a 4 pack of Izze drinks. Since I didn't need any of those items, we avoided the temptation of cookies, chips, and candy that the inner aisles offer.

*Distraction-I sent them to retrieve items off my list, so there was no time to ask for anything.

*I kept the list shorter than usual-getting the boys in and out saved time, energy, and money

*Candy-free checkout line-Our grocery store has a few registers where books are sold instead of candy, so we utilized one of those check-out lines. *In my Soup Nazi voice* No candy for you! lol

Success! I went home and recorded a little vlog about it....

Notes from the vlog:

I spent $118 today-Monthly budget is typically $600 

Ice Cream recipe

using young Thai coconut

The Sweetest Vegan's pesto recipe

Tempeh, Kale, Sweet Potato Skillet from

Veg Kitchen

I've been thinking about getting a vegetable spiralizer to make zucchini pasta but the julienne peeler is about $30 cheaper.  I got the idea from a

post on OhSheGlows

How do you stay within budget and maintain a healthy grocery cart while shopping with your kids?

Checking Ingredients

When I first eliminated dairy from my diet, checking labels for everything became overwhelming.  Unlike many people who check labels for vitamins and calories, I was looking for milk and other animal byproducts. I never realized items as simple as bread and spaghetti sauce contained so much dairy and eggs.

Recent grocery store finds

Here's a few tips to make your next grocery trip a little smoother: 

There's no need for label reading when you do the majority of your shopping in the produce section-Find meals centered-around produce, grains, and legumes to not only save money, but ensure that you're getting a well rounded plant-based diet.  Also, it's easier to stay on a food budget when you hang out in the produce or near the bulk bins. Now that the weather is getting colder (at least it is here) you can focus on making veggie soups and stews from items found in these sections. 

USDA labels makes it easier-Since so many people have food allergies, companies are now required to list ingredients such as milk, soy, and eggs in bold print on their labels.  This works out very well for me in the store because I can quickly get an idea of the major ingredients to avoid.

Find a brand you like and stick with it- Once you find a vegan-friendly brand you enjoy, stick with it to save time while grocery shopping.

Don't be hard on yourself- Changing the way you eat is a journey, not a race. Making simple changes like using nut-based milks opposed to dairy milk, buying more produce, and going meatless on Mondays, are all steps in the right direction.

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