Plant-based: A Few Questions Answered

Hey y’all! So I got a lot of questions on my last Instagram post about going plant-based. I tried to do a video to post to my stories and answer all the questions, but between my phone dying, getting interrupted by kids, and Instagram telling me one million times than an error occurred while recording my video, IT CANNOT FREAKING BE DONE. So. Here’s a blog post just for you.

1. How did you get started?

We started by cutting out meat and dairy at the beginning of the year. The kids were never good meat-eaters anyway, so that part was easy. Cutting the dairy was a little more difficult, but we found that just making the switch to almond milk rather than trying to gradually coax them over worked much better. They didn’t like it in the beginning, but they warmed up to it. Now, they drink it like they drank cow’s milk before.

Over the last month, we’ve cut sugar (for the most part) for me and Chad, and have cut back on desserts by a lot for the kids.

2. What do you actually eat? What are some of your go-to recipes?

First of all, we’re not very fussy as far as food is concerned, so this list might be disappointing to some. Spinach with orange chunks? Oatmeal with dates? Boooriiiing. Except not!

Some of our favorite dinners are:

• - Chickpea eggplant peanut curry with brown rice. I like to cut up the eggplant so it cooks down into the sauce; I find it’s tastier and creamier that way. Chickpeas have also been great for meat cravings. They're hearty, have a wonderful texture, and taste a little like chicken. 
• - Whole grain pasta with tomato “alfredo” sauce (from the Forks Over Knives cookbook)
• - Chickpea salad sandwiches with vegan mayo. Just careful with the Craisins. So much sugar!
• - Slow simmered black-eyed peas
• - Lentil tacos (with a seasoning mix from Budget Bytes) on corn tortillas
• - Veggies stir-fried in a little water and served over brown rice. (I just buy the frozen stir fry mix from Costco.) If you want to cut out oil, stir fry your veggies in 1-2 tablespoons of water, added whenever your veggies start to stick to the pan.
• - Baked potatoes with a quick vegan chili

And this is where I’m going to shamelessly promote (unpaid!) the Forks Over Knives cookbook. It has been a LIFESAVER and we’ve loved just about everything we’ve tried. The recipes are not difficult and there’s a very helpful opening section about how to make the switch (new pantry staples, etc.).

Lunch

• - Leftovers
• - Simple salads. To cut down on dressing, I like to add fruit to my salads to cut the bitterness. Orange and spinach salad is my favorite.
• - Toast with avocado and tomato sprinkled with whatever seasoning I’m feeling.
• - Quinoa mixed with tomato, avocado, etc.
• - Veggie burgers. Just check the ingredients before you buy; lots of veggie burgers still have eggs and milk in them. 
• - If I’m rushed and/or lazy, a peanut butter sandwich is still fair game :)

Breakfasts

• - Smoothies
• - Toast with peanut butter and banana slices
• - Plain old fruit!
• - Oatmeal made with unsweetened almond milk and sweetened with medjool dates

Desserts

This is my weakest category. I haven’t really tried to find plant-based dessert recipes, but I’ll share as I find good ones. The Forks Over Knives cookbook has a whole dessert section, but a lot of it still has added sugar, which they mention at the get go. I tried to give myself two nights a month that I could have dessert, but I found that I started cheating a lot on that plan! So my new goal is to have desserts on special occasions, like Emmett’s upcoming birthday, or when the last Avengers movie comes out and we can fiiiinally see it. 

Sweet tooth go-to’s

• - I like to have medjool dates on hand to sweeten smoothies, oatmeal, and just snack on when I’m craving something sweet. They’re rather pricey, but we've found Costco has the best price by far.
• - My favorite go-to is the chunky monkey breakfast smoothie from the Forks Over Knives cookbook. It’s just unsweetened almond milk, frozen bananas, peanut butter, and cocoa powder. Medjool dates can also be chopped and added in (hence the ‘chunky’ part), but I find it plenty sweet enough without the dates. 
• - If you're not worried about sugar, there are lots of dairy-free ice cream options out there. I like the ones made with cashew milk. Super creamy! 
• - Also, popcorn! You can make your own or buy vegan versions (like this one from Orville Redenbacher).

3. Do my kids eat what I cook?

Short answer: NOPE. But they’ll usually eat simpler, deconstructed versions of what we’ve cooked. So if we’re doing curry, for example, my kids will eat the rice, a couple thank-you bites of the sauce, and we’ll throw a handful of spinach/carrots/whatever veggie and fresh fruit on their plates for good measure. Chad (aka The Smoothie King), likes to add spinach and berry smoothies to dinner a few times a week, which also helps to round out their intake.  

4. Worries about the kids getting enough protein/iron/nutrients?

They get their protein in the grains, seeds, nuts, nut butters, and nut milk that we eat/drink. If your kids are allergic to nuts, just google ‘plant-based protein.’ There are lots of resources out there for you.

Iron hasn’t ever been a problem for my non-meat-eaters. Blood tests have always come back fine from the doctor. Again, if you’re worried, google it! There’s a long list of iron-rich plant foods waiting for you. 

Aaaaand that's about it! If I've forgotten anything, message me! I'm NOT an expert at this, and we're far from perfect, but we're learning and feeling incredible as we go. 

One last pitch: watch the documentary. It's a few dollars to rent on Amazon, and it's on Netflix. It's so good. You'll be inspired!