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do you have any vegan shopping list suggestions? vegan lover grocery list 🙂

Our usually weekly grocery list consists of:

Lots of fresh veggies that look good 
Onions (lots of them)
Garlic 
Bananas
Apples
Beans
Non-dairy milk (depends on what is on sale at our co-op)
Cereal
Vegan Red Wine for me
Vegan Porter or Stout for hubz

Other Items we pick up frequently:
Nutritional Yeast- I use this in everything
Balsamic Vinegar
Almond Butter
Rolled Oats
Canned Tomatoes
Whole Wheat Pasta
Whole Grain Rice 
Dark Chocolate
Taco Shells
Bearitos Refried Black Beans
Frozen Veggies (usually spinach, cauliflower, broccoli & brussels sprouts)
tofu
tempeh

We occasionally pick up these:
tofurky
vegenaise
vegan cheese slices
veggie burgers
veggie dogs
soygurt (I love Whole Soy)
Non-Dairy Ice Cream (love Coconut Bliss & Tempt)
Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Agave
Tamari or Shoyu
Pure Maple Syrup
Brown Rice Syrup
Raw nuts & seeds (cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds & pumpkin seeds)
Coconut Oil
Safflower OIl
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

favourite thing to do 🙂 ? by sleepingtodream

COOK! haha I love to cook, travel, and read

What’s the most annoying question you get asked by non-vegans regarding your food choices? And how do you answer it?

I think this is true for most vegans but it’s the “where do you get your protein”- In response to this I say that protein is not one of the major concerns that vegans or non-vegans need to worry about and since i eat tons of beans, tempeh, tofu, almond butter and quinoa I get more than enough protein. 

I also get “Oh you CAN’T eat that [non-vegan item], right?” and I think it’s important for non-vegans to understand that I CAN eat whatever I want, however I choose not to eat animal products and I choose not to for various reasons.

Lindsay, I am trying to be vegan, I have been a vegetarian for years, but I find it hard to think about cooking meals for the family and wonder what do you cook for dinners that are fast and easy for a meat eating family?

Great question! I’m all about fast and easy recipes especially during the week. I try to stick to 30 minutes or less to prepare a recipe. If you are dealing with a meat eating family that are not fans of tempeh, tofu or seitan then I would recommend considering beans or meat analogues for protein. Gardin makes some really great vegan meat analogues that taste really good. 

I also always keep about 10 cans of various beans/legumes such as kidney beans, chickpeas, black beans and canellni beans in the cupboard. These are great to toss with pasta and veggies or to whip up a quick veggie chili. One of my favorite things to make that are fun for everyone are lentil tacos- basically make them just as you would with meat but substitute a can of lentils for the ground meat (or you can use veggie ground round). 

I also recommend planning a menu for the week and finding one day a week that you have time to prep dishes for the week (for me this is usually Sunday). This gives you the ability to make quick, healthy and tasty meals for the family. Prep veggies, marinate tempeh or tofu or even cook up some brown rice and store it in the fridge so you can easily put a meal together. Making fast, easy and healthy vegan/vegetarian meals doesn’t have to take time and if you prep things ahead many meals can be thrown together in 10 to 15 minutes! 

Here are some yummy easy recipes your whole family might like:
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/quinoa-chili/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/baked-pumpkin-mac-and-cheese/
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/pulled-shroom-sandwich/

If you would like to ask me a question (anonymously) you can do so here.