April is here! March flew by, and with it, our family’s meat-LESS experimentation. During March we focused on eating plant-based meals. I tried multiple new cookbooks (borrowed from the library) and felt I learned a lot about vegetarian cooking. Several things surprised me throughout the month:
ONE: We don’t really miss red meat or chicken. This blew my mind but neither David nor I really missed it at all. Hailey mentioned bacon once or twice so I snagged her a piece at a brunch we went to on Saturday.
TWO: We missed fish so we decided to bring fish back a couple times a month. We had salmon once and shrimp once. I see fish tacos in our near future too.
THREE: I use meat alternatives sparingly. I’ve taken to tofu and really liked seitan as taco meat on nachos, but those (and occasional tempeh- I don’t like it much except when it’s made into bacon) are the only meat alternatives I’ve really gotten into so far. I like to stick to whole foods as much as possible.
FOUR: Most yogurt and cheese alternatives taste terrible. At least to us. We love So Delicious Coconut Yogurt (probably because it’s high in sugar) and Kite Hill chive cream cheese-like spread, but other cheese alternatives, butter alternatives, and dairy-free yogurts we tried got tossed in the trash. So we plan to stick to Kerrygold butter, Siggi’s yogurt, and real mozzarella (for homemade pizzas).
FIVE: I think we’ll continue to eat this way for the foreseeable future. If I crave a steak come grilling season, I’ll grab a good one, but at the moment, we’re all feeling pretty good eating this way.
So what have we been eating?
Peas and Thank You Sloppy Jospehines
Veggie-Packed Crockpot Black Bean Soup
Loaded Burritos with Tofu Chorizo
Spaghetti with Simple Vegan Meatballs
Marinated and Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Roasted Vegetables from the Oh She Glows Everyday Cookbook
Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Lentils
Lemon Caper Cauliflower Steaks with Parsnip Mash
Vegan Koftas (made on the stove) and Lemon Tahini Sauce
Vegan Loaded Nachos from the Chloe Flavor Cookbook
Homemade Veggie Pizza
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burgers with Avocado Caesar Kale Salad
Greek Wraps: Tortilla, Hummus, Feta, Purple Cabbage, Pepperoncinis, Kalamata Olives, Tomato, Broccoli Sprouts, Baby Greens, Oregano, and a Squeeze of Lemon
Sweet Corn and Potato Chowder from the Chloe Flavor Cookbook
Marinated Portobello Mushroom Fajitas Over Spanish Rice with Guac
Chopped Greek Salad with Hummus and Broccoli Sprouts (using my salad chopper bowl)
Teriyaki Salmon over Brown Rice and Quinoa with Roasted Broccoli, Avocado, and Hemp Seeds
BLT Sandwiches with Tempeh Bacon and Avocado from the Chloe Flavor Cookbook
Obviously we’ve been eating well. The flavors in vegetarian cooking really excited me and I’m looking forward to adding more new flavors in as spring and summer produce start appearing in the farmers market. I also want to keep experimenting with new cookbooks, but also keeping some simple meals in each week’s line up so I don’t burn out in the kitchen. The marinated veggie fajitas are one of my favorite, easy go-to meals and I hope to make a double batch of bean burgers to keep in the freezer. Maybe even one big day of freezer prep so I can make chickpeas curry, burgers, breakfast burritos and more to stock the freezer? Maybe I’ll tackle that on one of this spring break days we have this week!
I’ve enjoyed sharing this eating journey with you and I have been so appreciative of the tips and recipe suggestions you have sent my way. Thank you!
If you have any more tips or products with trying, I’m all ears π
Karen says
These meals look wonderful.
Can I just mention, my doctor told me years ago to avoid tofu since I have PCOS. I believe you mentioned suffering from this also in the past, so be careful you aren’t making other issues worse by eating other sources of protein. If I am wrong about your PCOS….I apologize, it must be someone else I am recalling it from then.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh that’s interesting! I have an odd history with PCOS because I had one doctor tell me I had it, another say I didn’t, and yet another say I was “borderline.” So I have no clue- haha! I will look into the connection between the two though. Thanks!
Jennifer says
Thanks for sharing these meals! By nature, I am not a huge fan of animal proteins, but I do love me some bacon and sausage! I would love to start incorporating more plant based meals.
I love your Greek Salad with hummus idea. I am always so focused on the fact that I must have protein in salads, but I never thought of hummus.
What brand is your favorite?
Brittany Dixon says
I really love Roots hummus- it’s made in Asheville and is so good! I also like the Lantana’s yellow lentil hummus- spicy and delicious!
Kimberly says
Have you tried the unsweetened vanilla flavor of the So Delicious yogurt? It is SO good, without any added sugar, but the vanilla makes it seem a little sweet.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I haven’t but I will look for it now- thank you!
Shannon says
We love the unsweetened vanilla yogurt as well! We buy the large containers at Whole Foods and top it with granola, fruit, chia and hemp seeds. My four year old requests it most mornings for breakfast!
Brittany Dixon says
Ok, I’ll be trying this one now- thank you both!
Emily says
What all is in your chopped Greek salad? It looks delicious!
And I’ve said this before, but please keep sharing all of your plant-based meals and snacks — as a vegetarian (and someone who is always trying to eat more veggies) it’s really inspiring and great for ideas.
Also I guess I’m assuming all of the recipes/photos you posted are ones you liked and would try again? If not, would you mind (in the future) even writing a line or two of review about the recipe: if you would make it again, what you liked/didn’t like?
Thanks again!
Brittany Dixon says
I started to write about each dish but thought it might be too much- next time I will though!
Yes, these are all meals we enjoyed and would make again. There have only been a small handful of ones on the “won’t repeat” list, but that’s probably because I’m using well-known and loved recipes from some of the most popular vegan resources π
The Greek salad- hmm I don’t remember exactly, but I think it was spinach, cucumber, kalamata olives, parsley, feta, purple cabbage, pepperoncinis, with a squeeze of lemon- and then topped with hummus and broccoli sprouts!
Cathy says
Iβve been a vegetarian (really flexitarian) since high school. I love plant based meals but do enjoy fish, real cheese, and Greek yogurt. Have you ever used the Love and Lemons cookbook? (She also has a blog with recipes) Her cookbook is beautiful and the recipes are simple and most are delicious (sometimes we tweet) them; itβs arranged by vegetable or fruit so I especially like it when i find have one or two vegetables leftover and Iβm not sure how to use them. My favorites are all her sauces.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I haven’t checked out Love and Lemons, but I will now! Thank you π
Allison says
Is there a certain brand of seitan you would recommend? We went vegan in January and while we prefer to eat a whole food menu, having something like that for things like nachos as you said, would be nice to have!
Brittany Dixon says
I grabbed whatever they had at Whole Foods and I honestly don’t remember the brand, I’m sorry! I’ll look next time!
Sara says
This sweet potato taco recipe from Smitten Kitchen is a winner. I made them last night & my husband was also a fan. Super easy, quick, & customizable!
https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/03/sweet-potato-tacos/
Brittany Dixon says
Oh thank you! That sounds delicious!
Laura says
I’m loving your plant based posts!! Do you think up could do another post about how the minimalism/reduction of your things has been going? Specifically your wardrobe? I feel like it’s hard with workout stuff, regular attire, date night/church attire to really get rid of a lot.
Brittany Dixon says
With my closet I went super minimal (as I shared on the post!), then I’ve slowlyyyy (like only 2-3 new items) been filling in the gaps. I’m using the same rules I used for the clean out (I must love it and it must be my favorite) to keep an item. My original clean out was so drastic because I had so many items I didn’t wear because I didn’t like how they looked on me so keeping them in the closet was just kidding myself.
As for the other spaces- I’m so happy that they’ve stayed cleaned out and organized! Getting rid of the stuff instead of just rearranging it made such a difference!
Alison says
I’ve been enjoying your vegetarian meal ideas. I also love the idea of checking cookbooks out from the library – seems so obvious now but I have never thought of doing that. Thanks for sharing these.
Tracy says
I agree with the dairy-free products. Most are just horrible. I have warmed up to Daiya but my husband says it is because I have no other choices (lactose intolerant). Ha!
I can, however, tolerate butter so I too use Kerrygold Thank God!
As a side note to the plant-based diet, no one ever said you should eat fewer veggies…Ever. So hooray for you for amping up an already stellar diet!! Just as a side note, I did go vegan for over a year. I felt great for a while but I slowly developed some pretty significant deficiencies. Eventually, I had to add in some animal protein (I was deficient in Vita A, D, Iron, Selenium, Chromium, B12, and B6) It was pretty bad. All this despite eating whole foods (no processed vegan products )and soaking and sprouting all my grains and beans. I truly believe everyone is different and some people do great and I am sure you’ve heard tons of warnings but I thought I would share a little of my story anyway. I absolutely love vegan foods! I still eat highly plant-based but I just have to add meat, poultry, and fish. Gotta listen to my body…OH! Check out, Brendan Brazier. He has some great vegan cookbooks and does a fantastic job keeping healthy eating pant based as a competitive athlete. Loving seeing these new recipes! So glad this is working for you and your family!!
Brittany Dixon says
I agree with you 100% that healthy is different for everyone and I do appreciate the reminder to keep an eye out for deficiencies. We take vitamin D and B-vitamins, but if we start seeing gaps, we are not opposed to adding in animal protein. I have really loved the plant-based focus but I have to remind myself sometimes that I didn’t even have a goal to go vegan so I don’t need to put any pressure on myself to do so. I’ll just take it a week at a time π
I’ll check out out Brendan- thank you!
Tracy says
Yes, I love that you wrote when you want a steak you will have one! I am like you and when I feel restricted I don’t do well (I think you posted that at some point….I follow a few bloggers so sorry if that’s not you.) I love your approach! Thanks for sharing
Rebecca says
Thanks for all the meal ideas. Do you have a Vegan/Plant based cookbook (or two) that you would highly recommend?
Brittany Dixon says
I think my favorite is still Oh She Glows Everyday because of it’s focus on real foods and good flavor. I wish it had a few more hearty meals that would fill the family, but overall they are very dependable recipes.
Chloe Flavor was a lot of fun because it had hearty and flavor-packed meals, but it does rely a bit more on seitan, tempeh, tofu, etc and a few of the recipes had added sugar. Some tasty recipes but probably worth checking out of the library first to see if the meals fit your style.
Shannon GW says
Hi, Brittany! Thanks for sharing your veggie-full journey. π Would you mind sharing your recipe for the mushroom fajitas over Spanish rice? Those look so yummy and easy! Thanks!!
Brittany Dixon says
I wish I could remember what I put in it exactly, but I know it had olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Next time I will try to write it down as I throw it in! π
sherry says
So happy you posted all of these recipes. They all look delicious and I look forward to trying them. Actually, I would like to have them delivered to our home π
Annie says
I really want to try some of these! Thanks for sharing! Random question – do you still use the Vital Proteins collagen peptides? Your hair and skin look great and I remember you mentioning them in the past.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh thank you so much! I actually stopped taking them several months ago when I started the more plant-based journey. I credit my skin to my product line up because when I ran out of the products for about three weeks it got dry and dull (it’s amazing to me that I didn’t notice they were working that well until I stopped using them).
Jennifer Berkey says
We shared this spaghetti with vegan balls this week. Everyone in the family loves it! Every bite burst with happiness, itβs like the heaven opened its gates. This is so good, so thumbs up!
Lei says
I have to say these recipes look incredible. I’ve been plant-based for awhile now and have to say i don’t miss meat at all. It’s actually funny how fast your tastebuds change and how meat and dairy tastes after you’ve had a break from it. I’m going to go and try the black bean and sweet potato burgers now!