What We Ate Today #8 Vegan Family Meals | Video

 I love showing easy and delicious vegan meals that you can enjoy with the family. 

Check out the latest What We Ate Today vid...

Breakfast: Puffins multigrain cereal (the cereal featured in the video & picture is NOT vegan; here's a list of the vegan-friendly ones from the same company-scroll to the bottom of this page), almond milk & nectarine

It's crazy because when I skimmed the ingredients, I just knew this multigrain one would be vegan over their peanut butter, fruit medley & cocoa crunch (which is all vegan), since it's plain and has less ingredients.

This Puffins multigrain cereal contains vitamin D3 which is derived from an animal source (I believe sheep's wool).

At first I was pissed about featuring a non-vegan product in this video, but decided the lesson was too important to leave out that footage.  Even after 4 years on this journey, I still don't always get it right. 

I do the best I can daily and hope you do the same in your own journey. :-)

Progression over perfection, baby.

Lunch: Thai noodles from Forks Over Knives

My kids have a love/hate thing with sprouts, so I left those off. I doubled this recipe, so there was enough for lunch the next day. Get the full recipe here 

Dinner: Chipotle-white rice, black beans, fajitas, guacamole, mild salsa, lettuce

When buying or eating burritos out, be sure to check to make sure it doesn't contain lard (which is an animal byproduct). As far as I know, the flour tortillas at Chipotle are vegan-friendly. Articles here & here 

Another vegan option at Chipotle is getting the same ingredients in one of their veggie bowls. You can also ask for their vegetarian/vegan pinto beans, brown rice and sofritas. 

Why "Go-To" Vegan Meals Are So Important

Life has been pretty busy for me lately, so I know from experience how important it is to establish “go-to” meals when you start your vegan journey.
 
You need simple & delicious meals that take no more than 30 mins to put together.
 
Last night…a basic spaghetti with fresh basil  (here's the recipe) saved me, when I got caught up with a project and forgot to cook dinner.

Yeah, I forgot to make dinner. Don't judge me. lol 
 
Lentil soup and a quick stir-fry are also my go-to meals.

I know getting started on this journey with a family isn’t always easy.  

One person likes this, one person likes that...or no one likes anything. 

This is why it's so important to experiment with new recipes, let majority rule (one will always not like something lol) and establish go-to meals.

Tips on how to establish your go-to meals:

Take a few minutes and think about what your family is already loving and make those your go-to meals (try to have at least 3). 
Check out the recipe page for inspiration.

 
You got this!

Broccoli & Vegan Sausage Stir-Fry

Stir-fry is one of my "go-to" meals because they're quick, easy and delicious.

The possibilities are endless with the different combinations you can make each week (or night, if your week is super crazy and your family doesn't complain too much lol).

In the recipe below, I show you a fast lunch I put together for us the other day.

I used Field Roast vegan sausage. Even though it comes in a pack of 4 links, I only use 2 and save the others for another meal.

Stretch it out, baby!

                                                                                                                                            Pic credit

Another option for vegan sausage (this one is more accessible) is the Tofurky brand.

Enjoy!

Broccoli & Vegan Sausage Stir-Fry

by Brown Vegan

Prep Time: 7

Cook Time: 12

Keywords: fry entree vegan vegetarian

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 2 fresh broccoli heads (florets only), chopped into bite sized pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 bell peppers (I used a green and red one), chopped
• 2-4 links of vegan sausage (Field Roast & Tofurky are good brands), chopped
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (add more if necessary)

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat the oil on med-hi heat.

Toss in the broccoli and saute for about 4 minutes.

Add in garlic, onion and bell peppers and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the vegan sausage and soy sauce.

Continue to cook for 3 minutes.

Serve with rice, quinoa or solo.

Enjoy!

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Blueberry & Peach Smoothie...Sweets for the Kids

I didn't measure it exactly, but here's an estimate of how much of each ingredient.

Drink up!

Blueberry & Peach Smoothie

by Brown Vegan

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup frozen peaches
• 1 medium ripe banana, peeled
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar (optional)

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend, baby, blend!

Sidenote: If you don't have a high-powered blender, blend each fruit one at a time with the cup of almond milk.

If necessary, add more almond milk to get everything moving.

Enjoy!

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Beyond Meat Grilled Strips | Quick Review

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Beyond Meat is coming to Target.

I picked up a couple of their "ground beef" crumbles (for tacos and spaghetti) & grilled strips yesterday to test out in a salad. 

The strips are just okay to me. I think I expected them to be better.

I hyped them up in my head, since I love their crumbles so much. lol

The texture wasn't as firm as I expected....it was a little too soft and weird for my taste.

Not horrible...just not what I expected.

Eric and Brandon enjoyed the strips in this salad (the other ingredients in the salad are romaine, spinach, tomatoes, avocado, red bell pepper, red onion & tortilla strips).

Elijah & Jason decided to eat leftovers because they didn't want a salad (so I didn't get any feedback from them).

If I buy the chicken strips again, I will chop them up into small pieces (like I do with Gardein products to stretch them out in pasta, soup & tacos) and I'm sure it will taste better.

I love that these strips take less than a minute to cook on the stovetop on high heat with a little oil.

I think this meat alternative is perfect for folks tip-toeing into vegan life with the fam...just don't expect it to taste like traditional chicken. Embrace it like a new experience. :-)

From the Beyond Meat label....

Non-GMO, contains soy, vegan (of course), gluten-free, kosher, contains as much protein as chicken

Top 3 ingredients on the label: water, soy protein isolate & pea protein isolate

Have you tried these chicken strips yet?