My husband eats meat and dairy and for some vegans this could pose a problem. I don't feel that it is fair if I completely eliminate all the foods he loves from his diet. I do try to make most of our meals vegan, but I will still cook him meat, fish, and use cheese on some things. Obviously I do not eat the meat, fish, or cheese. I'll be honest and say it would be totally awesome if he ate vegan too, but I'm not going to force him to do anything he doesn't whole heartedly believe in. If he decides to make the change in the future, that is his choice. I don't want him to change because of me.
Anyways,
I'm here to tell you that it really is not as hard as you think to make meals that everyone will enjoy!
Here are some quick changes you can make to ordinary meals that everyone will love.
I do have to say though, that I do not eat processed fake meats, cheeses, or foods anymore. They are good if you are new to trying vegan foods or on occasion. These are just suggestions, but I am now eating a whole foods, vegan diet. My list below included everything that can be bought that is vegan. Most people are surprised by the all the vegan choices there are. :)
Baking:
milk-If a recipe calls for milk, simply use almond milk or soy milk. Easy right?
Baking and need eggs- Use a banana or egg replacer. You can find Egg Replacer at Publix here in Florida and most health food stores.
chocolate- You can buy vegan chocolate chips from the brand "Enjoy life." You can find these at Publix and most health food stores.
marshmallows- Most health food stores have a vegan version of marshmallows. Non-vegan marshmallows have gelatin in them.
gelatin- You can buy vegan gelatin at most health food stores.
Breakfast:
Eggs- Make the tofu scramble on my blog for yourself. I bet your kids and husband would like it too. Don't tell them its not eggs! I bet they wouldn't even know. LOL. OR if you don't want to do that, you can always make an omelet or scrambled eggs for them as well.
Oatmeal- . This is something that everyone can eat! Add fruit, brown sugar, maple syrup, or cinnamon and apples. Yum.
Cereal- Tons of cereals are vegan. You can get Apple Chex or Cinnamon chex. For the milk try changing to Vanilla Almond milk. When I stopped drinking milk, I had to do the vanilla flavor first, but now I am used to it and can easily drink the unsweetened almond milk. Your kids and/or husband will love the vanilla almond milk in their cereal. You can always try soymilk or coconut milk as well.
Fruit Smoothie- Use soy or coconut milk yogurt in the place of regular yogurt. Add ice and your favorite fruit. OR you could freeze your fruit and add some almond or soy milk. Want some more protein? Add a scoop of your favorite vegan protein shake or peanut butter to your smoothie. I use Vega brand protein shakes. This can be found at Earth Origins in Port Charlotte.
Waffles- Vans has awesome egg free and dairy free waffles. You can get them in the freezer section at Publix or most health food stores. They seriously are amazing.
Toast- Use your favorite vegan bread and add jelly or peanut butter to it. (You can read about breads below. Most breads are actually vegan. :)
Lunch/ Dinner:
Making or ordering pizza- Order or make a veggie pizza and only put cheese on half of it. When I make the pizza at home I usually cut the crust in half before I put the cheese on Jake's half. This way the cheese doesn't ooze its way onto my side. :) IF you can not stand to go without cheese on your pizza you can always use Daiya cheese. It is the best substitute I have found. You can find Daiya cheese at most health food stores and Publix. I try not to eat it because it really has no nutritional value, but it would be okay to have once in a while.
Spaghetti- Make spaghetti like normal (or make my spaghetti squash) and cook the sausage, chicken, meatballs, or whatever other meat in a seperate pan. Add the meat to your family's plates only. You can also add cheese to their plate at this time too. (Most pasta is vegan. Obviously egg noodles are NOT vegan.)
Making Tacos- See my recipe on this blog! I promise that it is amazing. Jake actually likes the taste of the hamburger crumbles.
Hamburger- Make my portobello mushroom burger on my blog in its place. Or you could make a turkey burger/hamburger for your husband/kids and make yourself a veggie burger. Gardein has the most amazing veggie burgers! (You can find these in the freezer section at Publix.)
Kabobs- Make veggie kabobs for yourself and your family. Make meat kabobs seperately for your family. This is actually a better way to cook kabobs. When you mix the meat and veggies the meat tends to cook faster than the vegetables, so you get raw veggies and overcooked meat. You could also marinate tofu and make yourself some grilled tofu. :)
Wraps/subs/sandwiches- Put meat and cheese on the sandwiches for your family along with whatever veggies they want. For yourself, just don't add cheese or meat. You can have a veggie wrap OR add tofurky slices to your sandwich. I've tried several of the tofurky meats and the only one that I did NOT like was the roast "beef" variety. The turkey flavored one was actually pretty good and these vegan "meats" are NON-GMO. :)
Bread- Most breads are vegan. Just read the label. If it has milk, eggs, lactic acid, or honey in it, it is NOT vegan. Arnold wheat bread is vegan. Most white breads are too. A lot of tortilla and corn wraps are vegan too. Again, look at the ingredients. I buy frozen brown rice tortillas (found in the freezer section at Publix) and gluten free potato and zuchinni bread (freezer section at Earth Originis). I am trying to do gluten free, but if you are just starting out, I suggest sticking to breads that everyone is familiar with rather than changing everything at once.
Soups- Make my lentil and quinia veggie soup that is on my blog. Also, Muir Glen makes some amazing vegan soups that the whole family will love. My favorites are the southwest black bean and the lentil soup. You can get these at Publix or most health food stores.
Salads- Make a salad with all the lettuce and veggies you want. Add nuts, edamame, or beans. You can always add meat to your husbands or kids salads. For salad dressings you can buy seperate dressings or buy vegan dressings. Most balsamic and italian dressings are vegan. Just read the labels.
Snacks-
I am trying not to buy snack foods. I am a bad snacker! lol. BUT here are some vegan snacks that everyone will enjoy! With anything you should always look at the ingredients to make sure.
-Oreos
-Chocolate chip Teddy Grahams
-Most pretzels (not honey wheat variety)
-Back to Nature: Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Vanilla Cream, Peanut Butter cream, round crackers, etc..
-Almonds and other nuts
-Pita Chips
-Tortilla Chips
-Most Potato chips (check flavored chips for milk ingredients and honey)
-edamame
-Saltines
-fruit and veggies with peanut butter or almond butter
As I add to my blog I'll make sure to add more ideas to this post. Here are just some ideas to get you started. :) Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I'm here to help!
