Plant-Based Meal Planning & Eating

This plant-based eating journey has been curiously satisfying. We are about four months into it and I can honestly say I do not miss meat or dairy — at all. Yes, it takes work. One day a week at least it takes some intention, time and focus on creating meals for the week. This is the only way it realistically works without spending lots of money and eating junk food vegan more times than not. Usually I look forward to my meal prep Sunday, but if the weekend has gotten too hectic with life- it starts to feel like a little too much — as all things do. I luckily have always liked to cook, but now it is a necessity — and just like when I was a teenager, when something HAS to be done — I start feeling a little rebellious. So, as I set out to prep meals yesterday — Monday after work, I felt a little resentful. Why? I sat with this feeling. I am doing this for myself and family, this is something I am better at than my husband (just one of the things, haha), I feel amazing when it is done, and the week just flows better. What I concluded after sitting in my poutiness a bit was that it is really the same feeling you get when you are cleaning your house and its a beautiful day outside or you go to exercise rather than lying around and watching tv. I sometimes need a little nudge towards what I know ultimately is going to make me feel my best and what is right for us.

So, after about three or four hours of meal prep, I had a full fridge of delicious plant-based meals and non-plant-based meals for my family….it did feel great. My week is easier, I save money and I eat intentionally. Not all things come easy. I have started rituals as I cook and meal prep — I watch old tv shows that I once loved, and don't really have to pay attention to and drink delicious hot tea. This makes it a bit more relaxing when I am feeling rebellious towards committing the time. It is easier to ease into it.

Here is a peek at my meals this week that cover lunch and dinner:

1. Chickpea Salad for sandwiches: chickpea salad on chia & rye bread with lettuce or spinach.(mimics tuna or chicken salad)
2. Spicy creamy fusilli pasta — to go with dinners, as dinner or for lunch. The “creamy” comes from lite coconut milk mixed with onions, chili garlic sauce and tomato paste. We also use chickpea pasta to add more protein. (adding mushrooms to this would be great too)
3. Black bean chili — this can be used in so many dishes or is delicious on its own. It isn’t really soupy so use just like black beans, but it has added spice with jalapenos and extra veggies!
4. Loaded sweet potatoes: We make sweet potatoes in the air fryer and load them up with the spicy black beans, plant-based butter and/or sour cream and steamed broccoli or spinach.
5. Udon noodles with peanut sauce, tofu and broccoli. We made this delicious peanut sauce right in the empty peanut butter jar using the scraping from the side. Crispy tofu and the steamed broccoli made from the day before.
6. Salads — lettuce, spinach any leftover veggies from the week, carrots, cucumbers, chickpeas, cashews, avocado, and non-dairy ranch
7. Black bean and veggie quesadillas or nachos— plant-based cheese, tortillas, spicy black beans and any roasted veggies leftover (tomato, avocado, mushroom, broccoli)
8. Fridays are for our awesome veggie pizzas. We usually cook them on whatever is on sale at Sprouts, but my favorite base is focaccia bread.

Pesto-based Pizza with caramelized onions, mushrooms, spinach and homemade and sometimes broccoli or corn.

Tomato-based pizza: Miyoko's Mozzarella, pizza sauce, fresh tomatoes, tofu pepperoni, spinach and/or basil and sometimes mushrooms.

photo by @heyjessethompson

Snacks & breakfast for the week:
roasted & lightly salted cashews, oat milk chocolate chips and banana chips

protein shake: pea protein, PB fit, banana, spinach, blueberries, oat milk, water, chia seeds, flax meal, and hemp.

Health Warrior grains and seeds oatmeal

almond butter or peanut butter — just a spoonful or with celery or carrots

Breakfast sandwiches (weekends) — vegan sausage (LightLife), a fruit jam, Just Egg, and sourdough or multigrain bread — sometimes with a tomato or avocado.

*As a rule, when meal planning, I try to limit meals with plant based “meat” to 2 times a week and plant-based cheese or dairy to 1–2 times a week. Better to stick with tofu and bean proteins and other things to create cheesy creaminess like tahini, avocado and coconut milk.

Treats:
Popcorn with coconut oil (we love popcorn!)
Jojo’s peanut butter and dark chocolate bars
Non-dairy ice cream

What’s New to our Simple Lifestyle?

We both drink “livelong” tea the first thing every morning before eating or drinking anything else.
“Live Long” Tea: warm/hot water, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/4 tsp cayenne, turmeric, sliced ginger and a couple squirts of fresh lemon

We added “livelong” tea to our lifestyle this week and it has been a great addition. It is basically Apple Cider Detox Tea, but we like to call it Live Long tea because of all its amazing benefits. We will be writing a whole blog about that so stay tuned….

In conclusion, the food we are eating is delicious, nutritious and makes us feel great. I never feel starving or that I am eating lettuce all day. Maybe I should eat more lettuce, but I’m not ready to tackle that yet! And yes, it takes work, it takes intention and focus but the payoff is worth it in so many ways. Each week is different and I’ll share periodically our food prep. If anyone would like any of these recipes, I am happy to share them, just say so in the comments! They are usually recipes I have found and adjusted for our liking.