Vegan Family Grocery Haul | Wegmans

One of the reasons I've been able to stay on this vegan journey for 5 years is by always going to the grocery store with a detailed meal plan.

Tip for you:

Use a spiral notebook and jot down what you're eating for the week and what ingredients you need to pick up.

Not only does this keep your budget in check, but it will also get you in and out of the store in a reasonable time (even on crazy weekends).

I remember those days of being confused about what I should or shouldn't buy and wondering if my family would even embrace this new life with me. 

I will say that once you're consistent, patient with yourself and family (believe me I know the struggle) and open to learning a new way of doing things, you will find that it isn't too difficult to stay on track. 

Wegmans is my fave grocery store ever!

On this recent trip, we spent $151. This is enough groceries for about a week and a half for our family of 5.

Check out the full video here....

Recipes we made:

Green chickpea curry with couscous from Minimalist Baker

Lentil tacos

Coconut lentil soup 

Green chili veggie burgers from Minimalist Baker

BBQ tofu

Broccoli & vegan sausage stir-fry 

Chickpea Mac

Chipotle black bean tortilla soup from Minimalist Baker 

Brands mentioned:

Snapea Crisps - Only the lightly salted and pepper version of this brand are vegan 

GT's Kombucha 

Field Roast hotdogs

Field Roast sausage 

Earth Balance vegan margarine 

 

Where do you grocery shop? Leave a comment below 

Start Your Vegan Journey TODAY | 5 Tips

It has been 3 years since I jumped head first into this vegan lifestyle. I read Sistah Vegan (after Skinny Bitch helped me become a vegetarian for 2 years) and decided to kick dead animals (land and sea) and animal byproducts (eggs, dairy, etc.) to the curb. Even though things haven't always been perfect in this journey (I've slipped, fallen and jumped back on the vegan wagon a few times), I do feel it has been one of the best decisions that I've ever made.

I get questions about getting started all the time, so I've got you covered with 5 great tips!

Plan all meals and snacks-This is HUGE! You have to plan in order to stay on track.  If you're used to eating whatever, this may be difficult in the beginning, but I promise you will get used to it.

Clean out your fridge immediately- Get rid of the dairy, eggs, meat. I became a vegan for ethical reasons, so please give these items to someone else who can use it instead of tossing it in the trash.

Pic Source  

Don't bring non vegan ingredients into your home-Make the decision to not bring any meat, dairy and and eggs into the house and spend time experimenting with vegan ingredients.

Replace Ingredients-Instead of using dairy milk, replace with almond and/or soy milk. You can also replace your breakfast eggs with tofu scramble, your conventional butter with Earth Balance and use flax egg or Ener-G to replace eggs in your baking recipes. Don't feel like you have to stop eating certain things and instead look for a vegan replacement.

Most importantly, make the decision to go vegan. A lot of us talk about what we want but don't make the decision often enough to make the change. Decide to make a change to your lifestyle and get busy!

Are you starting your own journey today (or really soon)? Let me know your concerns or questions below!

Five Baby Steps To A Vegan Lifestyle

It wasn't that long ago that our family dinners consisted of Gordon's fishsticks and boxed macaroni and cheese. We all have to start from somewhere.

When I read Skinny Bitch in 2008, I knew it was time to make some changes for my family's health and to protest the terrible realities of factory farming.

Our journey to vegan eating was very gradual. 

Some people tell me they're interested in eating a few vegan meals a week, but making a complete change isn't something they want to do right now. I can understand that. In fact, even though Skinny Bitch (a vegan book) helped me to become a vegetarian, I didn't become a vegan until 2 years later.

Here are some changes you can make immediately in your journey to vegan eating: 

Switch out your milk and butter-Use Earth Balance vegan margarine opposed to conventional butter in recipes and to butter toast.  The flavor is very similar to conventional butter and there's no cholesterol. Also, instead of cow's milk, consider soy, coconut or almond milk in cooking and eating cereal.

Tempeh stir-fry

Cook one vegan meal a week- It really doesn't have to be all or nothing. Head to the library and check out a few vegan cookbooks for inspiration. Experiment with new ingredients and slowly get used to making vegetables and grains the center of your meal.   Check out my recipe page for some recipes, too.

Read/watch one vegan inspired book or documentary- Books and documentaries are so inspirational and help you to take ACTION. Skinny Bitch, Sistah Vegan, Earthlings (very graphic), Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, Vegucated, and Food Matters are some great books and documentaries to start with.

Drink green smoothies- I think green smoothies are a great simple breakfast and will help you make better food decisions throughout the day. Simple Green Smoothies has a lot of great recipes on their Instagram.

Lastly, Don't beat yourself up- Changing life long habits can be overwhelming. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Learn to celebrate all the small victories and keep pushing forward!

Vegan Brunch & Making Decisions

I'm not a shy person, but I have a hard time putting myself out there to meet new people...especially in a group setting.  My palms get sweaty, my heart starts to pound, and I talk faster than normal (is that even possible? lol).

Anilia, Tambira,  Rosetta, Wilma, Me

A couple of weeks ago, Rosetta invited me to her place for brunch with her and three other ladies. Instead of talking myself out of the invite (like I usually do when invited anywhere) I pushed passed my anxiety and accepted.

We had an amazing time! Lots of food, music, wine, and discussions about business and life. I'm sooo glad I didn't miss out on this opportunity to hang with Rosetta again and meet some other amazing women.

Let's talk about the food! I never expect people to cater to my vegan diet but it warms my heart when they do.

We started off with a cheese platter, but Rosetta made sure to put almonds, grapes and  dates on it for me.  

Then we cooked (mostly Rosetta lol) fried potatoes, greens and grits. Yummers! The other ladies also had salmon and Rosetta added cheese to their grits after serving mine.

We had a vegan apple pie from Whole Foods and So Delicious ice cream for dessert. OMG!

No one thought it was vegan! :-) 

It's funny how making the decision to get uncomfortable is helping me come out of this self-imposed anxiety bubble. I've been saying I want to change for a long time, but making the decision is what led me to actually stepping out there and doing it.

I know we're talking about anxiety in this post, but this same decision principle applies to everything else in life, too. With food, if you really want to be a vegan make the decision.  Then spend some time researching vegansim, cooking and experimenting. :-)

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to subscribe below to get more updates about our family's vegan journey, recipes, videos and tips.