I am taking the weekly eco-challenge at the Reduce Footprints blog to eat vegan for an entire day! Eating vegan means you cannot consume foods that are derived from animals. In addition to eating meatless meals, this means we can’t eat any of our usual cow dairy products and eggs.
It would not be so hard if it was just MYSELF that I was feeding, but I’m planning to take my whole family along for this one…and I don’t want them to know. (They are picky eaters and if they suspect I’m somehow tricking them into different foods – they are less willing to try something new.)
My plan is to use Vegan recipes that are fairly similar to the foods we normally eat. I have actually found it a bit challenging to do this, but here is what I have come up with. My full day Vegan Menu plan. Want to join me in the challenge? Click on the photos to see the recipe.
Moby’s Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
Vegetarian (and Vegan) Lunch: Chickpea of the Sea
Vegan Lasagne
(There’s no picture for the lasagne, but I got it from the site that this cookbook is featured on)
Wish us luck! I’ll let you know how it goes and if anyone notices anything “different.”
Do you eat a vegan diet? If you have any advice or recipes for me, please share it in the comments.
Small Footprints says
Hi again! Have you tried using other beans for the sandwich mix? Chick peas do tend to be dry … when I make my “save a chicken” salad mix, I use a lot of mustard and pickle juice to moisten it. But I’ve found that other beans work well and are more moist. I’ve had great success with pinto beans and white beans. And if you like a “tex-mex” flavor, you can use black beans and season the spread with taco spices … serve it in a wrap instead of bread for a really nice lunch!
Nicole says
Hi! Nice to hear from you again. Happy almost CTWW! I haven’t tried making the sandwich salad again yet, but I do think that white beans would be a good choice for a not-so-dry taste. Ever since your challenge, I have really started noticing it isn’t so hard to eat vegan meals without even changing much (if anything at all!). It’s funny, we just tried soymilk for the first time this week and we really like it. Maybe the vegan diet wouldn’t be too hard for us after all! 🙂
Small Footprints says
I LOVE soymilk … have you tried the chocolate yet? OMGoodness … it’s so good! 🙂 And right now there are holiday versions out … “nog” and pumpkin spice … I’m totally addicted to them. I’m so glad that you’re able to incorporate some veg meals. Even one vegan/vegetarian meal a week saves so many natural resources … and it’s healthy! Have a great Thanksgiving!!
Nicole says
Oh yes, we love the chocolate (I am a chocolate milk addict). I have already bought more of the Silk. The Very Vanilla is a new hit around here.
Mrs Green @ littlegreenblog.com says
Ah yes, one meal a day I could definitely handle; I think that would work well for me. I have mashed chick peas with a bit of greek yogurt before now and really liked it; but yes, they needed a lot of yogurt so as not to be too dry! I like tofu too but rarely eat it. I was given a pack today in the shop as it was a couple of days past it’s best before date, so I was very pleased 🙂 Thanks for sharing your advice and recipe 🙂
Mrs Green @ littlegreenblog.com says
thanks for sharing your ideas – I could do with inspiration! I took the challenge but had a pretty miserable day – I felt hungry and had stomach and liver pains; go figure! It seems I didn’t plan well enough – I’d love to hear more about the sandwich; what’s inside it?
Nicole says
Sorry to hear you had a miserable day with this challenge. I hope you are feeling better now.
I ended up spreading our “day” out over several days. So for one day, we did the breakfast. The another the lunch and another the dinner. I actually just did the sandwich yesterday. I like garbanzo beans, but they are always a bit dry – even with the mayo in this salad mix. I would eat it again (it also has celery, green onions in it) – but my kids were not fans. I also liked it better without the bread – the beans and the bread combined were just too dry for me. If you click on the sandwich picture, it will take you to the recipe source.
It was not as easy as it seemed when I was trying to find substitutions for meat and dairy. When I took the advice of Small Footprints (above) and looked for our “normal” foods that are vegan, like fruits/veggies, etc. – there are many out there. This challenged worked better for my family as a whole when I didn’t have to try to substitute our foods with stuff that we don’t usually eat. Although I do like tofu and I would not miss meat if I never ate it again (I have never liked meat much) – my family doesn’t like tofu and they do like their meat. Next time I’ll take this challenge alone. haha!
Small Footprints says
I think you’ve chosen a great menu as an introduction to veganism. And really, what I saw through your post, is that there are many foods that can be vegan without anyone thinking much about it. Often, we get caught up with words … and “vegan” has a stigma to it. In reality … doesn’t matter what we call it, delicious and healthy food is great! Can’t wait to hear how your experiment goes.
As for tips … my best tip when eating meatless meals is NOT to try to recreate meat dishes. I tried that in the beginning … I used some of the commercial meat substitutes to recreate dishes, like stuffed cabbage, spaghetti & meatballs, etc. It was terrible! We have an idea of what a dish should taste, and feel, like … so switching it up with meat substitutes is really disappointing. My other tip is that many of the traditional meat dishes can be made by simply removing the meat. For example, veggie tacos & burritos are great … and spaghetti is wonderful without the meatballs.
I really admire you … it’s tough enough to go vegan when folks are ready and willing … it’s really tough when you have picky eaters. You are my hero! 🙂