Vegan Grocery Haul

I hope you're having a great week!

I just wanted to do a quick post showing what I picked up from the grocery store last Sunday.  I'm still not sure what I will do with that eggplant (maybe this simple recipe), but it was cheap, so I snagged a couple of them.

I'm trying to curve some of these sugar carvings with fresh fruit, so I stocked up on strawberries, blueberries, bananas, young Thai coconut, plums, grapes and oranges. I wanted to fill my cart with chocolate, vegan cakes and chips. The struggle!  It really helps me to stay on track with food when I spend majority of my shopping time in the produce department.

Pretty empty Wegmans on a Sunday? Woohoo!

The store is usually VERY crowded...especially on the weekends.

Tiny Grocery Haul & A Confession

I have a confession to make... 

I'm a bit of a food snob.  I do nearly all my shopping at Wegmans, where I can get fancy vegan meat alternatives, organic store brand food at a fraction of the price & vegan snacks not found in most grocery stores.

I'm really working on eating more whole foods and making a vegan lifestyle more obtainable for other families.  I know a lot of people don't live near Wegmans, Whole Foods & Trader Joe's, so I want to focus more on every day ingredients in future recipes.  I want to show that vegan family meals can be accessible, delicious and affordable.

In the most simplest terms, vegan meals are truly just vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, nuts & seeds.  All of those items can be found in the most basic grocery store.  

I'm having second thoughts about whether or no the Schmidt bread is vegan.  The ingredients looked ok but potato bread typically isn't vegan, so....

I did some light shopping at Food Lion last week to check out their options. I was surprised at how many plant-based items they have outside of the produce department.  I was disappointed they didn't have tempeh or vegetable broth (can you believe no vegetable broth?) but I did see tofu, Tofurky vegan sausage (I don't usually buy this brand), and pre-packaged vegan entrees. I spent $28 on all the items above.

I'm not aiming for perfection but I know eating more whole foods will save us money and encourage more families to experiment with vegan meals.

Come to the Grocery Store With Me #2

A few days ago, I went to grocery store with the KIDS, NO grocery list and a camera. Umm, yeah.  I was about that life!

I just tried to stick to items that we buy often-onions, garlic, beans, fresh fruit, rice, bagels, seasonings, cashews & walnuts (for raw vegan desserts), avocados, green leafy vegetables, tofu, tempeh, and a couple of bags of frozen vegetables.

Even though the kids distracted me a bit and Jason (my oldest) wanted to leave on more than one occasion, it wasn't too bad. I spent $150 on this grocery trip.

Here's the recipe for the homemade ice cream I mention in the video.

Come Grocery Shopping with Me! #1 (Video)

Hey! I hope you're having a great weekend. :-)

When I went grocery shopping the other day, I decided to take the camera along to talk about organic food, my love of Wegmans (and grits lol) , the numerous emails I get telling me to stop eating tofu, and also do a mini-haul of some of the items I picked up.

Check out the video below and be sure to subscribe to my channel for more vlogs and recipe videos.  Thanks for reading & watching!

Grocery Haul

I always get excited when I'm up and at the grocery store before the crowd.

Since we're not completely out of food at home, I was determined to spend no more than $100 on this trip.

What I picked up...

Black rice (1st time trying it), kale, tomatoes, garlic, lemon, onion, peanut butter, bread, rice flour, boxed waffle, slider buns, TVP, Vegenaise, Earth Balance vegan margarine, avocado, soy yogurt, apples, tamari soy sauce, canned kidney, garbanzo & pinto beans & tomatoes, salt, 6 red bell peppers, frozen corn, fresh basil, cilantro & parsley,  bananas, chick'n flavored bouillon cubes, rice flour, grits, sun-dried tomatoes and lettuce.

My total was $106. I'll take it!

I could've easily maintained my $100 goal, if I didn't throw in that last minute bag of fries (#thesekids love them), vegetable broth, peanut butter and Thai Kitchen's instant rice noodle soup.  When I wander away from the grocery list, it never fails that the bills goes higher. Duh! lol

This grocery haul should last us about 5 days.

What's on the menu?

I'm making buffalo chickpea nuggets (will actually make a BBQ version for the kids), veggie burgers, bean chili, falafel sliders, polenta squares, green juice, pancakes and tacos.

What's on your menu?