vegan meal plan

One-Pot Cheesy Pasta & Sausage Recipe (VIDEO)

You already know I had to come back with another one-pot family-friendly recipe. Check out the previous one here 

This meal is simple, delicious, filling and takes about 30 minutes to put together.

It features pasta, vegan sausage, and cheese.

Never tried vegan sausage or cheese?

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Get the full recipe and watch the video below...

One-Pot Cheesy Pasta & Sausage Recipe (VIDEO)

by Brown Vegan

Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 1 teaspoon oil or vegetable broth
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • (1) 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 lb linguine pasta, uncooked
  • 1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese (Field Roast, Daiya and Follow Your Heart are options)
  • 4 links of vegan sausage, chopped (Field Roast & Tofurky are options)
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil (to garnish)

Instructions

In a deep skillet (use the deepest you have since everything will go into it), sauté onion and garlic for 5-6 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Stir in oregano, basil, black pepper, and salt.

Mix in tomatoes and vegetable broth and bring it to a boil.

Add in linguine and cook based on the instructions on your box, mixing with tongs every 2-3 minutes.

Once the pasta is done, mix in vegan cheese and sausage.

Season with salt & black pepper (if necessary).

Garnish with fresh basil and additional vegan cheese.

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Small Grocery Haul & Recipes (VIDEO)

I hope you're having a great week!

We moved last month and it opened my world up to a lot more natural grocery stores (expect more reviews on vegan products on Instagram). 

I been playing around in Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and a local store called Mom's Organic Market

Click the picture to watch the grocery haul video 

Click the picture to watch the grocery haul video 

Mom's Organic Market is where my latest haul is from.

I do like this store a lot and plan to shop there more because they carry a lot of local produce (which is more important than organic to me).

Watch the full grocery haul video here 

Quick info about the haul:

  • I spent $130 on this grocery trip
  • I can usually get a lot more food for that price at Wegmans (my usual store). Mom's is all organic, so I didn't have a choice if I only wanted certain items to be organic.
  • Also, buying a lot of meat alternatives drove up the price too (I don't usually get so many on the same grocery trip).
  • This food lasted about a week because I already had many ingredients at home.
  • We spend about $650-$700 a month on groceries for a family of 5 
  • We ate more meals than I listed below...these are the ones that I remembered to write down and take pics of 

What I cooked with the ingredients:

meatloaf.png

*** Field Roast meatloaf (very good!), mashed potatoes (I didn't measure but I used almond milk, Earth Balance vegan margarine, salt, black pepper & oregano to make these) & steamed broccoli

*** Stew from The Divine Hostess So simple, filling & delicious! 

***  Roasted potatoes recipe

*** We had smoothies (I skipped the peaches), pears, hummus, carrots & celery for snacks

*** Broccoli & vegan sausage recipe

*** Simple salad with carrots, onion & tomato

*** Spaghetti with Beyond Meat crumbles

*** Butternut squash-barlett pear soup from Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchen-Delicious!

*** Chickpea salad recipe

Brands mentioned in this video:

Beyond Meat crumbles

Field Roast hotdogs, meatloaf & sausage

Veganaise

Check out previous grocery hauls here.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more vids!

Watch the grocery haul video here...

Alfredo Zoodles Recipe

My kids have this love/hate thing going on with zoodles. Sometimes my oldest 2 boys love them and other times they look at me sideways when I serve it.

Zoodles are just zucchini used as noodles in a recipe. It's perfect for people who are interested in eating more gluten-free meals and for those (like me) who want to make a quick lunch.

I really like this spiraler from Amazon

I really like this spiraler from Amazon

This recipe is definitely one that doesn't require that you turn on the stove. All you need is a spiraler (or vegetable peeler like I used in the other recipe), your blender and other ingredients for the sauce.

Our experience with zoodles:

*I've tried making the zoodles by steaming and sauteing them a few times before and they come too watery. We prefer them uncooked/raw.

*My kids seem to like zoodles with marinara sauce more than with alfredo and avocado sauce (I made a vegan version using avocado from FitMenCook).

*We usually eat our zoodles without the skin, so I don't know whether or not there's a difference in flavor/texture with the skin on.

Eric and I love the flavor of this recipe and it didn't take much time at all for me to get this on the table for lunch.

Here it is! Try it and let me know whether or not your family likes it. :-)

Alfredo Zoodles

by Brown Vegan

Keywords: raw entree vegan vegetarian

Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 5 large zucchini
  • 1 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
  • 1/2 cup water (add more water if the sauce is too thick)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 1 cup spring mix lettuce

Instructions

Using a spiraler, vegetable peeler or knife and cut the zucchini into strips.

To make the sauce: In a blender add in all the remaining ingredients (except the spring mix) and process until smooth.

In a large bowl, cover the zucchini with the alfredo sauce and use tongs to combine the sauce and zucchini evenly.

Mix in spring mix and enjoy!

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Roasted Mushroom Ragu with Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

I love a nice comfort meal...especially since the snow is back. Sigh

ragu.jpg

This roasted mushroom ragu recipe hit the spot and I wish I tripled (instead of doubled) this recipe.  It features accessible and inexpensive ingredients and the family really enjoyed this dish. It took me over an hour to put it together. Not to complain though because it was well worth the wait. Save this dish for the weekend and let me know if your fam loves it as much as mine.

Be sure to double (or triple) this recipe for your family, since the original recipe serves only 2 people.

Get the full recipe from Leafy Greens & Me

Currently Reading: The Four Agreements & The Creative Habit

Family Meal Planning Tips

5 tips I use to make meal planning easier:

1) To save money and time, keep breakfast as simple as possible. Mornings are already crazy enough, so use this time to make delicious and healthy meals that take less than 10 minutes. You can serve oatmeal, grits, tempeh bacon with fresh fruit, smoothies, and much more.

2) Take a main food and plan a few meals around that ingredient- Google the ingredient with the tag “vegan recipes” and many options will be available to plan your meal around that item. Black beans are a great example of a main food to plan meals around.  One night you can make black bean burritos, and the next spicy black beans and rice. Save money by picking up dried beans opposed to the canned option. You can make your beans on the weekends and serve later in the week.

3) Put a spin on favorites and make enough for leftovers-Spaghetti is one of those meals that is very easy to change up.  You can literally serve spaghetti every week with a new spin.  One week try adding in sautéed mushrooms and the next lentil balls.