How to Eat Vegan At Chipotle | Vegan While Out

Being a vegan will definitely sharpen your culinary chops, but if you're like me, eating out is just as fun.

It's nice when my food options aren't limited to just french fries and salad (sometimes this happens lol), so I appreciate when companies make an effort to put vegan friendly options on the menu.

I came across this chart on Facebook that does a quick breakdown on how to eat vegan at Chipotle.

I usually order rice, black beans, fajita vegetables, guacamole and lettuce in my bowl or burrito.

Have you tried the sofritas yet? I wrote about my experience with it here.

I also put together a video with 7 tips on how to enjoy eating out as a vegan....

Happy dining out!

Taco Salad Recipe | Oooh, Baby I Like it Raw # 3

I've always been a fan of raw vegan desserts but lately raw vegan entrees are becoming more appealing.

We get to keep all of the nutrients and there's no cooking required? Hell yes!

For lunch the other day we had a delicious taco salad using recipes from Chemese's Instagram. 

I love Beyond Meat & beans as a replacement for taco meat, but this walnut and sun-dried tomatoes is delicious & genius!

Of course, when I put the plates in front in my kids, they looked at me like this....

.....but immediately perked up when I pulled out a bag of tortilla chips. Kids will eat anything on a chip. lol

This is a nice change from our usual taco salad, so I will definitely make it again.

Vegan Taco Meat Recipe

by Brown Vegan

Cook Time: 0

Keywords: raw vegan gluten-free soy-free

Ingredients (Serves 5)

• 2 cups raw walnuts
• 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

In a food processor, add in the walnuts & sun-dried tomatoes as the blade is moving. Scrape down the sides and add in the remaining ingredients, being sure to leave the walnuts chunky.

Serve with lettuce, guacamole, vegan sour cream and/or pico de gallo.

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How to assemble the taco salad:

1. We used romaine lettuce on the bottom
2. Walnut & sun-dried tomatoes taco meat
3. Pico de gallo recipe
4. Guacamole recipe
5. Vegan sour cream recipe
6. Garnish with fresh cilantro
7. Serve alone on with tortilla chips :-)

Let me know what you think once you try the taco meat recipe. 

5 Small Changes to Start A Vegan Journey with a Fam

I know how overwhelming and scary a lifestyle change to be...especially cutting meat, dairy and eggs from your diet.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing to get started on a vegan journey. Every single change will bring you closer to reaching your vegan goals. I promise! 

Here are a some tips to get you started....

 

It's like butta, baby

Brands like Earth Balance make it super easy for you to switch out your butter now. Vegan margarine is made of oil, water & salt. Use it on toast and with baking and I highly doubt your family will notice the difference.  Locate Earth Balance near you using the zip code locator at the bottom of this page.

 

Add an extra vegetable to your dinner plate

I loved vegetables growing up but some kids don't even want them on their plate. My middle son, Elijah used to be like this. I quickly realized the more exposure he had to vegetables the more he ate them. I love how that happens

If regular chicken, rice and corn are what's for dinner, add a side of steamed broccoli or sautéed kale, too. You don't even have to say anything...just serve it up. :-)

 

Veganize simple dishes 

Beyond Meat vegan crumbles rock and are an easy replacement for ground beef/turkey.  You can find this brand at Whole Foods, Target and most health food stores.

Just add the crumbles to your favorite spaghetti sauce and/or taco shells.

Your family won't notice the difference and this is such an easy way to gradually get the family onboard. 

 

Swap out the the milk

Dairy is the devil! lt will make you fat and jack up your skin (I know about that adult acne life). Not everyone is ready to leave cheese alone, but milk in your cereal and coffee are simple changes. Start experimenting with soy, almond, coconut and other nut-based milk to find the right fit for your fam. 

 

Reduce your kids' commercial/TV time

It can be pretty difficult to get your kids to embrace vegan eating when TV commercials are working overtime to contradict everything you say.

Use Netflix (no commercials) and/or record their shows to fast forward the commercials. 

Don't ever discount the small daily changes that you're making to improve your health and the health of your family.

Be gentle with yourself!  You got this!

Carrot, Apple & Ginger Juice | Ooh, Baby I Like It Raw #2

The best way to get kids to make healthier choices is by getting them in the kitchen to help. 

Bran is a juicing beast and helped me put together this sweet and delicious fresh juice.

I love to keep my juice and smoothies simple with just a few ingredients. This one only has 3 ingredients and of course I had to serve it on the rocks. Cold juice, baby!

Fresh Carrot, Apple & Ginger Juice

by Brown Vegan

Keywords: raw beverage vegan

Ingredients

• About 10 carrots
• Small knob of ginger root, peeled
• 4 apples

Instructions

Run the carrots through a juicer

Next add in the ginger

Finally run the apples through the juicer

Enjoy!

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What's your favorite juice combination? Leave me a comment :-)

Where's Your Vegan Community?

Let's face it - this vegan life can get pretty lonely.

Your mama is worried that you're not eating enough and your best friend acts like you have 8 heads when you suggest a vegan restaurant.

It can be overwhelming at first - I've been there.

One of the most important things you can do is find a community to spend time with.

Interaction with like-minded people will: 

• keep you accountable
• show that you're not alone
• give you peeps to bounce ideas off of and vent to

How to find your vegan community:

• See what's going on in your local area using meetup.com - search for vegan/vegetarian groups that connect at restaurants and do other activities together. 
• Follow folks you resonate with on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (all of my real like vegan friends came from these sites). Be sure to connect with these folks, too! Be active :-)
• Join a few Facebook groups-Facebook groups are very different from regular pages....they feel more intimate and are a great way to ask questions and share experiences. 
• See if your county (or a neighboring one) offers vegan/vegetarian festivals - There are so many vegan festivals that happen during the summer/early fall that offer music, food, speakers and of course sooo many like-minded folks. Vegan.com has a list of festivals. Also, Google the nearest major city to you and "vegetarian festivals" and see what you get
• If all else fails, start your own community. :-) Start a Facebook group and/or blog and go from there. Like-minded folks will find and want to connect with you! Here's more info on how to start your own group.

In this video, I chatted with my friend Lisa (who isn't a vegan) about some of my vegan doubts and how I was able to feel better once I connected with some vegan friends the following week.

Enjoy the journey but don't do it alone! Find that community and order the whole menu like I do with Michelle. lol

Leave me a comment below when you find your vegan community. :-)