Veganuary 2021 // Meal Ideas

It’s a New Year! If your resolution is to try veganism, then continue reading. Here are some easy recipes to make if you are using this new year to jumpstart your vegan journey:

Tofu Scramble Burritos

I could eat tofu scramble every single day for every meal.

For those that have not had tofu scramble before, you can scramble tofu to replace scrambled eggs. I have made many posts regarding tofu scramble since it’s become such a staple in my diet. Here are a few:

I used So Delicious’ cheddar shreds to make cheesy burritos. I also topped them with the best hot sauce for breakfast burritos, Texas Pete.

This is easily one of my favorite things to make for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Green Smoothie

I had more fruits and veggies in this drink than the last few weeks combined..

This is what I used:

  • 1 cup plant-based milk (lately we’ve been buying Ripple Unsweetened Vanilla milk)
  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup frozen spinach
  • 3/4 cup frozen strawberries
  • cinnamon

First, blend together the spinach and milk so that the spinach blends thoroughly. Once that is blended add in all the other ingredients, blend again, and that’s it!

Black Bean Burger

I have made a lot of these over the past few days. This is super easy to make but is so delicious. You only need 3 ingredients.

  • 1/2 cup black beans
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp salsa (we had Pace salsa in the house)

First, I drained and mashed the black beans. Don’t mash it until it’s a paste, but leave it a little bit chunky. Then I added the other ingredients and mixed until it was all combined. Next, I sprayed a pan with coconut oil and grilled each side over medium high heat.

Top it with your favorite burger toppings! I used pickles, ketchup, and mustard. Vegenaise (or any other vegan mayo) and grilled onions would also be delicious.

Pizza Muffins

For dinner I made one of my favorite meals, pizza muffins. Dave’s Killer Bread makes vegan English muffins, so we used those and So Delicious’ mozzarella shreds.

First, I mixed the cheese with dried basil, oregano, and garlic powder. Next, I cut an english muffin in half and added marinara sauce and the cheese to eah half. I baked it in the oven at 350° for about 10 minutes, just enough to toast the english muffin and melt the cheese. Once it was out of the oven I topped it with crushed red pepper.

This is what a day of easy vegan meals looks like. Are you participating in veganuary? Let me know if you try out any of these recipes in the comments! I hope everyone has a wonderful year. 2020 set the bar pretty low, but here’s to 2021!

What I Eat on a Sick Day

It’s that time of year again! Time for oversized sweaters, pumpkin spiced everything, and getting sick.

Here’s what I ate today while I was stuck at home in bed.

breakfast: tofu scramble loaded with vegetables and a piece of sourdough toast

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I scrambled some tofu and mixed in broccoli, red peppers, green peppers, and onions. I served it with a dollop of hummus and a toasted piece of sourdough bread.

For spices for the tofu I used turmeric, black pepper, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.

The little dollop of hummus makes the tofu scramble “cheesy” and creamy.

snack: mango nice cream

I tried to get in as much fruit and veg as possible today, so I made a bowl of nice cream. I used 1 cup of Silk’s vanilla soy milk, 1 cup of frozen mango, and 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries. Not only did it turn a pretty pink color, but it was sweet and delicious.

lunch: leftover rice noodles with hummus and spinach

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We picked up sushi the night before (I had my usual avocado rolls), and I picked up a side of rice noodles to have for leftovers. I spiced up the plain noodles by adding spinach and making a sauce out of pine nut hummus. I also added some red chili flakes on top. It wasn’t the prettiest meal, but it was really good.

dinner: butternut squash soup with tofu and spinach

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For dinner I really wanted soup, so I made a really quick and easy one. For this I used:

  • 32 oz. butternut squash soup (the brand we used was Pacific Foods)
  • 2-3 cups water
  • 1/2 yellow onion
  • chopped frozen spinach
  • 1 block or firm or extra firm tofu
  • For the tofu: garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cumin, and paprika

I completely forgot to add garlic cloves / garlic powder. It turned out good without, but it would probably be better with 1 or 2 cloves or at least some garlic powder.

First, I sautéed the diced onion with a little water at first, but then I started to brown them with a splash of the butternut squash soup. Once they were softened I added the broth, water, and spinach. I heated it up over medium high heat, and while that was cooking I air fried the tofu.

I coated the tofu with the spices above, then air fried it for about 15 minutes at 400°.

Then I just combined everything and voila! A pretty healthy and hearty soup.

It sucks getting sick, but I try to make the most of it by using the extra time I have to load up on fruits and veggies.

What I ate today // easy vegan meals

Here’s what I ate today for some easy vegan meal ideas.

breakfast:

For breakfast we made tofu scramble breakfast burritos, my usual go-to for breakfast when I’m home. We air fried some frozen hashbrowns in our air fryer and scrambled a block of tofu over medium high heat. For spices for the tofu we used black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, and turmeric.

Our favorite hot sauce to use for breakfast burritos is Texas Pete’s hot sauce and we put it on almost everything.

lunch:

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DJ made yellow curry for dinner a few nights ago, so for lunch I had some of the leftovers with fettuccine noodles. For a big pot that lasted us the week he used:

  • 2 boxes (32 fluid oz. each) of Sam’s Choice Vegan Protein Broth we found at Walmart
  • 1 yellow onion
  • curry powder, cumin, salt, and a little splash of maple syrup, all to taste
  • 3 russet potatoes
  • 2 blocks of tofu
    • spices to coat the tofu with: black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper

First, he sautéed the onions in a little bit of oil until they were clear and chopped the potatoes into large cubes. Once they were cooked he added everything (besides the tofu) into a pot and let it cook for twenty minutes over medium heat. While it was cooking he cubed the tofu, coated it with the spices, then air fried it for 20 minutes at 375º.  Lastly, he added the air fried tofu to the soup and served it with white rice.

It’s such an easy, cheap, and delicious meal that makes for great lunches throughout the week.

dinner:

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For dinner I made a simple bowl of white rice and vegetables, with a little more of the leftover curry broth for flavor. For veggies I microwaved a stir fry mix with broccoli, snap peas, onions, red pepper, and carrots and topped it with crushed red pepper.

Where I’ve Been // what I ate today + a cheap pad thai inspired recipe and pumpkin spice cookies

I’ve been away for the past month, and a lot has changed. I needed a little break while adjusting to new things. I now have a new job where I can sit most of the day and have a regular sleep schedule and I’ve been feeling so much better mentally and physically.

I’m going to be posting regularly again, and to start it off here’s what I ate today.

Brunch:

We started out Labor Day with some vegan breakfast burritos and donut holes from one of our favorite breakfast places, OMG Donuts. Their burritos are really cheap, but they are so tasty and nice to pickup for a quick breakfast. We took these to the mall to eat (because it was way too hot to eat outside which was our original plan) and walked around the mall for a bit.

Dinner:

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I wanted pad thai for dinner, but I wanted something quick and easy to make and kinda healthy so this is what I came up with.

You will need:

  • noodles (rice noodles would probably be best, but we just used fettuccine noodles)
    • we made about half of the box
  • a block of extra firm tofu
  • spices for the tofu:
    • black pepper
    • paprika
    • onion powder
    • garlic powder
    • cumin
  • for the sauce:
    • 2 tbsp sesame oil
    • 1-2 tbsp soy sauce (we used low sodium soy sauce and added about 1 1/2 tbsp, but add more if you’d like it saltier)
    • 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
    • a splash of lime juice
    • 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • lots of veggies
    • we combined an asian stir fry and sugar snap pea stir fry mix from Winco. We used half a bag of each for this meal. These included: broccoli, carrots, onions, celery, red peppers, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and sugar snap peas.

First, I cubed the block of tofu and coated it with the spices. I put it in the air fryer and cooked it for about 20 minutes at 400ºF.

While the tofu cooked I boiled the pasta and defrosted the veggies in a pan. Then, I mixed together the sauce.

I moved the veggies to a separate bowl to add the sauce to the empty pan. Let the sauce heat up for a minute, then mix everything together (the sauce, veggies, noodles, and tofu) and let it fry in the pan for a minute or two, stirring it occasionally to make sure it doesn’t burn.

This turned out so good. I’d also recommend adding peanuts on top if you have them to make this a little more like pad thai. Pad thai is one of my favorite comfort foods (honestly, anything with noodles is), and this was a cheap and easy way to satisfy the craving. Nothing beats actual pad thai, but this was really tasty.

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Dessert:

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Winco had some pumpkin spice cookie mix for pretty cheap, so we picked some up (even though it’s super hot out but it’s pretty much fall already, right? The Halloween Oreos are already out).

We used half of the cookie mix and mixed that with 1/2 of a flax egg, half of a stick of Earth Balance vegan butter, and 1/8 cup water (we just veganized the instructions on the back of the package). We also added dairy free dark chocolate chips and sprinkled the cookies with cinnamon, all spice, and brown sugar before we put them in the oven.

I really recommend picking this up and making these if you see it in store, they turned out SO moist and pumpkin-y.

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That’s what I ate today on this last day of a very lazy Labor Day weekend. We had a relaxing weekend filled with lots of yummy vegan food, video games, and movies. Hope everyone had a great weekend. ♡

what I ate and did today // some easy vegan meals

Here is a look at what I realistically eat in a day as a vegan, plus what I enjoyed doing today. Nothing too fancy, just a few simple meals.


tea I’ve been drinking today:

Nutty Almond Cream Apple Cinnamon Herbal Tea from Tiesta Tea.

We bought a bunch of bulk tea the last time we shopped at Winco, and this one has been one of my favorites. It tastes really creamy and rich, and has a nice apple cinnamon flavor. If you want to try it out you can buy it online here: Nutty Almond Tea.


breakfast:

I ate breakfast a lot later than usual, so I had some leftover avocado sushi and rice noodles with sriracha sauce. Avocado rolls are my go-to sushi roll to order when we go out to eat. Honestly, I would eat this everyday if I could.


lunch:

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For lunch I had white rice, baked beans (the same ones from my last post), and spinach mixed with some salsa.


dinner:

I got lazy when it was time to eat dinner and made some nachos. I used Follow Your Heart’s vegan American cheese with Julio’s home style mild salsa and tortilla chips. Like I said in the beginning of this post, nothing too fancy.


snack:

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Some vegan m&m’s we found at Natural Grocers. These were so good and so nostalgic for me, since I haven’t had m&m’s in years.


what I played today:

World of Final Fantasy MAXIMA on Nintendo Switch. I’ve only had it for a few days but I’m hooked. It’s like Final Fantasy meets Pokémon and it’s just a ton of fun. 


what I listened to today:

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Thom Yorke // ANIMA

This is the third time I’ve listened to ANIMA since it released, and it just gets better every time.

This is Thom Yorke’s third solo album, and may slowly be becoming one of my favorites (nothing will beat The Eraser for me, though).


That’s everything I ate today. Nothing too extravagant or healthy, but a sustainable vegan diet.

what a vegan eats on their birthday

I took this past weekend to spend time with friends and family and enjoy lots of tasty vegan food. Here’s some of what we ate:

Friday 

We started the day off with vegan donuts from OMG Donuts in Denton, TX. I got the coffee/espresso flavored one and it tasted so delicious! They also have tofu scramble burritos and coffee, so we stop by here for breakfast often.

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For dinner we met up with some friends at BrainDead Brewing in Dallas. We ordered the vegan queso (which I forgot to take a picture of, we were so hungry!) and DJ and I split the Mac and Trees and the Hail Seitan BBQ sandwich (the best BBQ sandwich I’ve ever had).

Saturday 

We went to Seven Mile Cafe in Highland Village, TX for breakfast. They have a lot more vegan items on the menu since the last time we were there! I ordered the Congress Street Benny which was avocado, grilled tomatoes, and seasoned grilled tofu over sourdough toast with chipotle sauce, and it was so delicious and flavorful. I make grilled tofu sandwiches like this for myself at home sometimes, but it was nice to have it at a restaurant! The hashbrowns are to die for too.

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Sunday 

I made tofu scramble burritos for breakfast. Tofu scramble is something I always make on special occasions as a treat because it is so easy to make but so delicious. This time I seasoned it with turmeric, cumin, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and topped it with Daiya mozzarella cheese.

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For dinner my mom treated us to a vegan feast on my birthday. She made Hot For Food’s cauliflower buffalo wings for an appetizer. We had them with carrots, celery, and Daiya’s ranch dressing.

She also made us a homemade pizza with sundried tomatoes, spinach, and Daiya’s vegan mozzarella cheese.

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And a homemade vegan birthday cake for dessert! There are tons of recipes for vegan cakes and frosting to choose from, especially on Pinterest. This vegan cake she makes for our birthdays and special occasions is always so moist and soft.

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I like to post these what I eat in a weekend posts to show how easy it is to be vegan and veganize your favorite meals! We enjoyed lots of food with our friends and family and didn’t have to eat any animal products to do it.

Check out last year’s birthday meals here: what I ate on my birthday // vegan.

a junk food vegan day of eating

I just did not want to cook today. Here’s what I ate throughout the day:

breakfast? (honestly it was like 2:30pm)

I was craving fish sticks, so I cooked three of Gardein’s fishless filets and made a dipping sauce with 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard and 1 tbsp maple syrup. I microwaved them for 1 minute, then air fried them for 4 minutes, flipped them, then air fried them for another 3 so they’d be crispy.

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a very late lunch

For lunch I made a quick wrap out of Lightlife While Bean & Kale Deli Slices, Daiya American cheese, and spinach. I used the rest of the dipping sauce from earlier in the wrap too.

dinner

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Mac and cheese with spinach and buffalo cauliflower. It didn’t turn out pretty, but it was so good.

For the sauce I used:

  • 3/4 cup soy milk
  • 2 slices of Daiya American cheese
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • paprika
  • a few drops of lemon juice
  • 2 tsp of tapioca flour

Also:

  • 1 cup elbow macaroni
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 cup frozen cauliflower

For the buffalo cauliflower I took 1 cup of frozen cauliflower and air fried it for about 10-15 minutes on 400º. Once it was a little crispy I tossed it in buffalo wing sauce and air fried it at 320º for about another 10 minutes.

I made the sauce by heating up the soy milk on medium and melted the Daiya cheese in it. I added the spices then let that simmer for a few minutes. I added 2 tsp of tapioca starch and 3 tsp of water to a cup to thin it out, then added it to the sauce to let it thicken.This will be enough for about 2 servings of pasta.

and then oreos (mega stuf)

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That’s what I ate today! It was a very lazy day of eating.

Favorite Oatmeal Recipe & Vegan Soup // a full day of eating

Another what I eat in a day post with easy vegan recipes.

Breakfast: the tastiest oatmeal

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My favorite combo for oatmeal is peanut butter and blueberries, if you’ve never had it before you must try it. I made 1/2 cup of oatmeal with cinnamon, blueberries, and peanut butter. It was my day off, so I threw in a tablespoon of dark chocolate chips too. The brand I use is Enjoy Life, they make a bunch of variants of dairy free chocolate chips. For an exact recipe, you will need:

  • 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
  • 1 tbsp Jif natural creamy peanut butter
  • cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels

First, I added the dry oats to a bowl and added enough water to cover the oats. I microwaved it for 1 1/2 minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure the oatmeal didn’t overflow while it was cooking. Then I mixed it, added a little bit of cinnamon, then microwaved it for another minute. Once that was done I added in the frozen blueberries and mixed it together to defrost them, then I added the peanut butter and chocolate chips. I microwaved it for a few more seconds, just enough for the peanut butter and chocolate chips to melt.


Lunch: Split Pea Soup with white rice

 

We found a bunch of Amy’s vegan soups when we were at Kroger, and we picked some up for lazy meals. I had half of a can of the split pea soup with some white rice. It was light in sodium, and it was so delicious! If you pick up any of the soups, just be careful because not all of them are vegan.


Dinner: potatoes and spinach

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I just really wanted some potatoes and hummus. I made a cheesy sauce with 2 tbsp of Sabra’s classic hummus, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, a little water to thin it out, and a few drops of Frank’s Hot Sauce. I made 1 cup of spinach to go with it, but I made it the lazy way by microwaving it with nutritional yeast and garlic powder.


Dessert: cookies

 

This is seriously the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe: Liv B’s Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe. You have to make these, this is going to be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on. I really wanted some homemade chocolate chip cookies and found her video on YouTube, and had to make them. They turned out delicious and chewy and I recommend trying out her recipe asap.

That’s everything I ate this day! Just trying to keep it simple and tasty, and showing that being vegan is easy. ♡

What I Ate Today // vegan staple meals

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Today was stormy and a super chill day at home. Perfect for being creative, playing video games, and cooking lots of tasty vegan food. These are the meals that have become staples in my diet since they’re so cheap and easy to make:

Breakfast: tofu scramble burrito

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I scrambled tofu and added lots of spinach for a quick breakfast burrito. For spices I used paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and garlic powder. I don’t do much to the tofu, I just take a block of extra firm tofu and “scramble” it in a pan over medium high heat. Once it’s mostly cooked and most of the water has evaporated I lower it to medium and add in the frozen spinach. The hot sauce I used was Taco Bell’s Diablo Sauce. Also, I added in some hummus (I use Sabra’s classic hummus) to make it “cheesy” and wrapped it up in a flour tortilla.


Lunch: rice noodles with veggies

  • One serving of brown rice noodles
  • 1 cup sautéed cauliflower
  • 1 cup of a frozen vegetable stir fry mix (broccoli, carrots, peppers, onions, and mushrooms)
  • 1/2 cup vegan protein broth
  • black pepper
  • paprika
  • garlic powder
  • and a few drops of low sodium soy sauce

This is a pretty simple recipe: steam then sautée the cauliflower in a pan, and when it’s mostly cooked add in the frozen vegetable stir fry. Boil the pasta, and once it’s drained and the vegetables are soft combine everything in the pot.

Here’s the protein broth and noodles I used:

I have been making some variant of this for the past week to bring to work for lunch. It’s a super quick meal, really hearty, and so tasty.


Today was cosy and rainy so we stayed home, worked on some projects, and played lots of video games. I’ve been playing Pokémon SoulSilver a lot lately, so I wanted to share my Pokémon team:

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Cyndaquil was my starter, and I traded for the Onix in-game. I love how the Pokémon follow you while you’re walking around the map! It’s also my favorite Pokémon game storywise and overall a good time.


Dinner: burrito bowl

I had a burrito bowl for dinner (and DJ made tacos, they looked really good so I wanted to share those too!). This was white rice, black refried beans, a Boca chik’n patty, and spinach with a homemade cashew cheese sauce. We made the cheese sauce by combining a bunch of random ingredients, including cashews, almond milk, yellow mustard, lime juice, salsa, red onion, nutritional yeast, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, garlic powder, and hot sauce. It doesn’t sound like it, but it made a really delicious and creamy cheese sauce.

That’s everything I ate this day! I’ve been trying to incorporate more whole foods into my diet and trying to eat healthier in general. Let me know what your staple meals are in the comments or on instagram: @healthy_ghost. ♡

What I Eat in a Day // easy vegan meals

Getting back on track and trying to be healthy.

Breakfast

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I started the day with two mini bagels with Go Veggie vegan cream cheese and nutritional yeast. Then I airfried a small slab of tofu that I coated with nutritional yeast, turmeric, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. I airfried it at 400º for 20 minutes, flipping it after 10 minutes.

 

 Lunch

A sweet potato with peanut butter and a side of spinach that I defrosted in the microwave with nutritional yeast and garlic powder. Peanut butter and sweet potato is one of the best flavor combinations in my opinion.

Snack

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A Clif bar and sparkling water that exploded.

Dinner

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After I got home from work I made white rice, air fried then steamed some dumplings (instead of frying them in oil), and made another cup of spinach (that I also mixed with nutritional yeast and garlic powder). For the sauce I used 2tbsp of classic hummus, sriracha, and a splash of water to thin it out.

And that’s everything I ate today! Simple and easy vegan meals during a busy day. ♡