Small Grocery Haul & Recipes (VIDEO)

I hope you're having a great week!

We moved last month and it opened my world up to a lot more natural grocery stores (expect more reviews on vegan products on Instagram). 

I been playing around in Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and a local store called Mom's Organic Market. 

Click the picture to watch the grocery haul video 

Mom's Organic Market is where my latest haul is from.

I do like this store a lot and plan to shop there more because they carry a lot of local produce (which is more important than organic to me).

Watch the full grocery haul video here 

Quick info about the haul:

• I spent $130 on this grocery trip
• I can usually get a lot more food for that price at Wegmans (my usual store). Mom's is all organic, so I didn't have a choice if I only wanted certain items to be organic.
• Also, buying a lot of meat alternatives drove up the price too (I don't usually get so many on the same grocery trip).
• This food lasted about a week because I already had many ingredients at home.
• We spend about $650-$700 a month on groceries for a family of 5 
• We ate more meals than I listed below...these are the ones that I remembered to write down and take pics of 

What I cooked with the ingredients:

*** Field Roast meatloaf (very good!), mashed potatoes (I didn't measure but I used almond milk, Earth Balance vegan margarine, salt, black pepper & oregano to make these) & steamed broccoli

*** Stew from The Divine Hostess So simple, filling & delicious! 

***  Roasted potatoes recipe

*** We had smoothies (I skipped the peaches), pears, hummus, carrots & celery for snacks

*** Broccoli & vegan sausage recipe

*** Simple salad with carrots, onion & tomato

*** Spaghetti with Beyond Meat crumbles

*** Butternut squash-barlett pear soup from Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen-Delicious!

*** Chickpea salad recipe

Brands mentioned in this video:

Beyond Meat crumbles

Field Roast hotdogs, meatloaf & sausage

Veganaise

Check out previous grocery hauls here.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more vids!

Watch the grocery haul video here...

Q&A: Where Can I Buy Vegan Speciality Ingredients?

Q: Hi, just found you today and have enjoyed your site. I just went vegan about 3 months ago, so everything is new and I have lots to learn. I would love to know where you bought your vegan roast from. It looked amazing and delicious. Thank you for your kindness!

A: Welcome to the vegan life! Are you referring to the roast in this blog post?
I got it from Wegmans but you can find it at Whole Foods. The brand is Field Roast and here's their store locator. 

Fortunately, you don't have to live near Whole Foods and other health food stores to get vegan speciality ingredients these days.

With companies like Amazon & Vegan Essentials, you can get everything from vitamins, agave nectar, nutritional yeast and boxed vegan macaroni & cheese shipped to you without the hassle.

I love testing out all the new vegan products, but you can definitely enjoy vegan life without a lot of specialty products.

Try to eat mostly whole ingredients like kale, tomatoes, rice, bananas, beans and seeds and you'll be good to go. 

I hope this helps! 

Vegan Macaroni & Cheese Recipe | Holiday Side Dish

The idea of vegan mac & cheese used to make me very nervous.

Like ice cream, mac & cheese was one of those dishes that had to be very similar for me to continue this lifestyle. 

That's real.

I've tried a lot of vegan mac & cheese recipes and this one is pretty damn good. It's adapted from the Veg News recipe but it requires less ingredients (but doesn't sacrifice taste or texture).

It's creamy (thanks to the cashews & potatoes), delicious and has all accessible ingredients.

My fam always get excited when they know mac & cheese is for dinner. 

Quick tips:

• If you're short on time, parboil your cashews instead of soaking them.
• Don't use russet potatoes in this recipe-it will make the sauce too thick and texture kind of weird
• If your blender doesn't have a vent on top, wait until the potato mixture cools before blending or use a towel on top to avoid splatter from the hot liquid
• If you're looking for vegan cheese...Field Roast, Follow Your Heart & Daiya are a few brands out there. You can truly get away with not using it at all though. :-)

Vegan Macaroni & Cheese

by Brown Vegan

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 2 cups of yellow potatoes, peeled
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup raw cashews (soak for 2 hours in water of parboil them)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup vegan cheese (optional)

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook elbow macaroni according to the directions on the label.

Drain and rinse the macaroni in cold water and place to the side.

In a saucepan, cook potatoes, onion, carrots & vegetable broth on med-hi heat until the potatoes are tender.

Pre-heat oven at 400º

Transfer the potato mixture to a blender and add in cashews, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, salt, pepper & paprika.

Blend until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix together the macaroni, sauce and half of the vegan cheese until evenly coated.

Place the macaroni mixture in a 8x12 casserole dish.

Top with the remaining cheese and bake for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Chickpea dal Recipe | 30-Minute Meal

The older my 3 boys get....the more they eat everything that isn't nailed down.

I knew it was coming but goodness! Our grocery bill is currently about $650 a month (family of 5), but I can feel an increase coming soon.

Hopefully, it won't be too bad. I plan to stick to a lot more whole ingredients. Awesome for our wallets and our bodies...of course. :-)

I find myself doubling (and sometimes tripling) recipes and that was the case for this Indian chickpea dal with coconut broth  I found on Steamy Kitchen. 

This recipe is simple, delicious and contains all accessible ingredients.

The "hardest" part is chopping vegetables and you can reduce that time by using canned instead of fresh tomatoes (I think the flavor is better with canned in this recipe anyway-I used fresh tomatoes in these pics). 

This was my first time using coconut milk as a broth and it was just as delicious as I imagined. Add more salt to taste before serving and enjoy!

You can find garam masala in the "international/ethnic" aisles of most grocery stores. There's actually a brand by McCormick that is available in the regular spice aisle. Make your own if you have these spices on hand.

Chickpea Dal with Coconut Broth

by Brown Vegan

Keywords: saute entree vegan vegetarian chickpeas

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 15 oz canned diced tomatoes or 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• (2)15-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• (2) 13 oz coconut milk, canned
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh cilantro (chopped), to garnish
• 4 cups of cooked rice

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat.

Add in onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mix in garam masala and cumin and continue cooking for one minute.

Stir in tomatoes, chickpeas and coconut milk.

Cover and simmer for 12 minutes or until the sauce thicken a little.

Stir in salt (add more if necessary).

Serve with rice and garnish with a generous amount of cilantro.

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Lentil Soup w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Spinach Recipe | Vegan Soup YouTube Collab

I love a simple weeknight meal and soup usually falls into that category. I don't know about you but we eat soup All. Year. Long.

It's too inexpensive, simple and delicious to only save for the cold months.

Plus, I LOVE that there's usually leftovers for the next day. Winning!

This soup is perfect for a weekend night dinner and all the ingredients are easy to find in any grocery store. Enjoy!

Watch the video below…

Lentil Soup w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Spinach

by Brown Vegan

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 30

Keywords: soup/stew vegan vegetarian

Ingredients (serves 5)

• 1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil, to saute onion & garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dry basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups lentils, rinsed (optional: soak them in water for an hour)
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• About 2 1/2 cups of fresh spinach, rinsed

Instructions

In a large stockpot, saute the onion & garlic for about 6 minutes on medium heat.

Mix in basil, salt & pepper and cook for another minute.

Then add in lentils & vegetable broth.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes (or until the lentils are soft)

During the last 5 minutes of cooking, mix in the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach.

Add more salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

Serve with rice or solo.

Enjoy!

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