It has taken about 6 months to be able to get into a comfortable groove of buying and feeding my family plant based meals. Our journey was slow going. I didn’t put tons of pressure on myself to undergo a zero to 100% transformation overnight. I knew that was not going to be possible.
Especially since I had a family full of meat lovers. My husband grew up on steak and bake potatoes – it took years for him to try things like fish and sushi and here I was, asking him to cut out meat altogether. My kids are also huge fans of bacon. How do you give up bacon? Yikes. This was not going to be easy.
The first thing I did when I made up my mind to go plant based was to share and watch the documentaries (they blew me away) together with my whole family. WE HAD NO IDEA the impact that animal consumption has on our society. It is the main cause for major health issues in the US and our biggest environmental threat by far. I never knew how much better athletes perform with a plant based diet (this one got my husband). I never thought much about what the animals and workers in these industries go through either. It was not something I could unlearn once I did my research.
I highly recommend you check out What The Heath, Seaspiracy and Game Changers if you have ever wondered why in the heck people make this change. It seems radical at first, but I promise its not as hard as it looks. The choices available for delicious and wide ranging palettes are never ending and getting better by the day.
Hence this introduction to plant based eating for those curious people who are wondering how to start.
Even though the plant based options are multiplying like crazy we haven’t completely conformed to a vegan diet. We definitely make compromises and exceptions. For now our family follows the 80/20 rule. The kids still eat chicken sometimes when they don’t have other options. We all eat eggs. Seafood and some cheeses are going to need much better plant based replacements before I’m willing to cut those out.
But, it’s not about perfection. It’s about progress.
I have not felt better in, well I think ever as an adult, honestly. I was going to say something like years, but I just don’t remember feeling this fresh and energetic. My stamina is out of the park. I can workout everyday if I am mentally in a good space. I am able to push myself for harder, longer workouts and runs with easy bounce back. I feel good when I go to bed and great when I wake up. I attribute a lot of this to living that sober life and gut health supplements I have been taking for the last few years as well, but our diet change has bumped up our quality of life to a standard I didn’t know about before.
So to start you off, I wanted to share 3 recipes that could be a fun and easy replacement for your family.
One is an easy summer side dish you can enjoy at home or something to bring for to a potluck for sharing (there is plenty for leftovers!) One is a veggie filled twist on timeless comfort food – my boys love eating two or more portions after football practice! And lastly, a dessert or breakfast muffin that is completely vegan (and easier than so many other recipes!)
Enjoy!
Greek Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 16 oz Rotini, Penne or Bow Ties
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 pint Grape Tomatoes
- 1 Bell Pepper any kind
- 1/2 cup Kalamata Olives
- 2/3 cup Feta Cheese
- 2/3 cup Red Onion
Dressing
- 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Oregano
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together dressing ingredients. Chill.
- Cook pasta al dente according to package. Run under cold water.
- Combine all ingredients into large bowl. Toss with dressing.
- Refrigerate and let sit for two hours or more.
Superfood Plant Spaghetti and “Meat”Balls
Ingredients
Italian Slow Cooked Tomato Sauce
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil
- pinch Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1/2 Sweet Onion – chopped
- 1 Carrot – grated
- 1 Celery Stalk – chopped
- 1/4 Head Steamed Broccoli
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 Bunch Fresh Basil – chopped
- 1 tsp Mint – chopped
- 1 Small Handful Sugar 🙂
- Sea Salt & Ground Black Pepper to taste – I am generous
- 1.5 28 oz can Whole Tomatoes or 1.5 quarts Fresh Canned Half – roast whole tomatoes broil 5 min and blend – don't lose juices
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1/3 cup Tomato Sauce – generic
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 package Plant Based Meatballs I use Pure Farmland – 12 count
- 1 lb Spaghetti Pasta
Instructions
Tomato Sauce
- Take half of whole tomatoes, place on aluminum foil and broil for 5 min. Do not lose juice. Blend one time just to mix. Pour remaining whole tomatoes into large bowl and crush with hand or cut a bit with a knife. Combine tomatoes.
- In a large pot add olive oil and heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic – simmer until translucent. Add tomato paste and whisk around to capture all flavors. Add butter and 1/3 tomatoes and simmer for 5 min, stirring regularly.
- Blend steamed Broccoli until minced.
- Add remaining tomatoes, broccoli, oregano, mint, basil, and tomato sauce. Stir well. Turn up heat until bubbling.
- Add salt & pepper to taste. Add small handful or less of sugar – secret ingredient! – to taste. Turn low and simmer for up to 6 hours.
"Meat"Balls
- Cook plant based "meatballs" – I use Pure Farmland Plant-Based Meatballs – 12 count. You can bake for 15 min @ 375 degrees F and add to sauce or turn over and cook for additional 8 minutes. I just add to my sauce after sautéing in pan for 10-15 min!
Combine
- Cook pasta al dente. Top with Spaghetti and Meatball Sauce. Enjoy!
Vegan Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups Flour White, Wheat or Mix
- 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Mineral Salt
- 3/4 cup Pure Cane Sugar
- Extra Cane Sugar or Brown Sugar For top of muffins while baking or to make extra sweet
- 1 cup Almond Milk
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil Can use citrus infused oil if have it
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1-2 cup Blueberries Fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix Wet Ingredients
- In a 2 cup measuring cup, add the milk, sugar, oil and vanilla, stir to combine a few times to help soften the large grains of sugar.
Mix Dry Ingredients
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Combine Wet & Dry
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until just combined. Don’t overmix – overmixing the batter tends to make the muffins less tender.
Add Blueberries
- Toss in the fresh or frozen blueberries and gently fold them into the batter.
Scoop
- Fill each muffin lined tin with batter. For uniformity, fill muffin tin using a ¼ measuring cup or large ice cream scooper to scoop up the batter and pour into the muffin holes.
Topping
- Optionally, add a few strategic blueberries on top and sprinkle the top with a little pure cane sugar or brown sugar. The sugar will add a nice crunch to the tops!
Bake
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool a few minutes and enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Be Honest: Go ahead and try these right away! See what your family thinks. And after that keep researching and trying new things.
Be Kind: I’ll be here sharing my favorite plant based recipes along with the go to substitutes my family has incorporated seamlessly during our transition.
