BEGINNERS GUIDE: 22 SIMPLE FOODS AND RECIPES FOR VEGANS

Since going vegan, we get asked these two questions almost weekly:

1. Where do you get your protein?
2. If you don’t eat meat and dairy, what do you eat?

To which we reply:

1. Plants!
2. Everything else!

Sounds so simple right?  But, if you’ve always eaten meat and dairy, cutting them out can seem confusing and overwhelming.  I get that!  Over the years, I have gone through seasons where I felt stuck in a rut with food.  That’s why I think it’s important to have some tried and true favorites that are easy to whip up and enjoy.

Here are some of our favorite go-to’s…

Breakfast:

Homemade Granola - I make this about every two weeks and Nick eats it with (rice, coconut, cashew or almond) milk.

Pancakes - Nick loves when I add chocolate chips to his, but bananas and blueberries are good too.  Top with maple syrup or peanut butter or both!

Cinnamon Rolls - The best Saturday morning treat!

Juice - For those mornings when we want something light or need to detox a bit from a heavy dinner.

Lunch:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich - Nick’s fav (with toasted bread)

Salad - Start with greens and add in your favorite fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and berries.  Skip the dressing, make your own or just add olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Guac/Salsa and Chips - This is our latest obsession.  2 avocados, a handful of cherry tomatoes, 1/4 a red onion, salt, pepper and Young Living Lime Vitality oil…your welcome 

Smoothie - Start with a milk (like almond milk), add in fruits, leafy greens, chia seeds and a plant based protein powder if you want (I love Young Living’s Slique…it helped me drop some stubborn weight last year).

Dinner:

Loaded Baked Potatoes - Start with baked potatoes, including sweet potatoes.  Top them with sautéed veggies (like garlic, onion and mushroom), throw on some leafy greens and add some black beans if you want more protein.

Vegetable Soup - Put together whatever veggies you're craving...my recent obsession is onions, butternut squash or sweet potatoes, broccoli, milk (coconut, rice, cashew or almond) and then salt, pepper and spices!

Rice/Quinoa Bowl - Basically start with rice or quinoa and then top it with whatever you want!

Tacos - We LOVEEEEEEE these!  Just leave out the store bought taco seasoning and make your own!

Snack:

Nuts

Seeds

Fruit

Veggies

Dessert:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Nice Cream

Dark Chocolate Bar

Drink:

Wine
Kombucha
Herbal Tea

There are so many options and we eat so well.  If you're trying to go vegan, don't dwell on what you can't have, but focus on all that you can!  Anytime I need inspiration, I just go to Pinterest and type in "vegan recipes" in the search bar.  Do it and see what you can find...I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.  What's your favorite vegan recipe you've tried so far?  Please share in the comments below.  I'm always looking to try new flavors!