I’ve been reading about the Veganuary challenge on twitter, and instagram, and after my crappy December, I think this will get me back in line. It’s pretty simple, you pledge to be a vegan for the entire month of January, and that’s that.

Now I’ve tried to go vegan before, and I only made it a week, so I’m seriously hoping that I can make it through the month. I was thinking back on why I wasn’t successful on the first go, and it came down to a few things:

• I was HUNGRY all the flipping time
• I hadn’t meal planned for my meals, and then I lost motivation to cook (um Breakfast)
• I’m lazy, and I have too many dirty dishes in my life
• I hadn’t stockpiled the kitchen at all
• I give into my cravings way too easliy (i.e. all things CHEESE)

So this week, I’m working on all of those problem areas.

Let’s start with menu planning. I plan lunch and dinner for the family monthly. I quickly realized that I didn’t plan for my meals too. I would just use whatever I had on hand, and that becomes a problem. While I was menu planning, I paid careful attention to what sides I could veganize, and carry-over for my meals. I’m going to try and sneak in more fresh foods for myself, and maybe introduce the family to vegan dishes too.

Stocking the house:

First I took stock of everything that I already had in the house that was vegan. I cleared off a shelf in the kitchen, and made it my vegan shelf. I was surprised by what I already had hanging out in the kitchen. I made a list of what I needed for about the first week (or so) and Agnes and I headed out to shop.

We went to three stores, and I looked for vegan items everywhere. I scanned all of the labels, and picked up a bunch of stuff to have on hand.

You’ll notice a lot of snacks… I’m a bad snacker, or more of a grazer. I love snack foods way too much, and I think this is going to be where I struggle the most.

I took it to twitter and instagram.

I tweeted about me wanting to join the Veganuary movement, and bam! Ideas, motivation, and even shopping advice popped up. I post my meals on instagram as often as I can, and then here comes more motivation, and helpful tips, and friendly advice from vegans all across the globe.  It’s cool to have a community to reach out to, and get some very helpful advice. I also love looking at all of the amazing vegan dishes that other happy vegans are enjoying.

I started weaning myself off a few days in advance. Like the 28th to be exact.

One of the mistakes that I made the first time was I was a vegetarian trying to go vegan, and I did it cold-tofurkey. This time I’m starting off a little at a time. I’m still finishing off the amazing dairy-filled yogurt that is in my fridge, but then I’m eating vegan meals for lunch and dinner. This has been much easier, and I haven’t had all of those crazy cravings (so far).

So what am I hoping to get out of this?

To get rid of these…

That’s right. I am horribly allergic to all things that involve DAIRY! I have to take two to four of these beauties every time I eat anything that is dairy, and I know that isn’t good for me. I mean I’m already allergic to it, why should I be eating it?!? I’m also allergic to eggs, cloves, and nutmeg.

Also I’m exhausted all of the time. December it became really bad, maybe it was just stress, but I think all of the awful things that I was eating didn’t help matters at all. I’m hoping that I’ll have a bit more energy, and feel better too.

I’m hoping to learn to eat better, cook new foods, and even get my family to try a few of them. I know that they could benefit from some more fruits and veggies too.

So wish me luck, or if you are feeling full of veggies, jump on in and take the challenge too. Happy Veganuary everyone! Cheers! (with carrots and celery)

In October I tried to use what I had on hand, and use up my veggie stockpile in the pantry for my meals. I loved the challenge, and really enjoyed the meals too.

This post I’ll be sharing which part of the stockpile that the ingredients came from. Some are leftovers from the fridge, reused into a new meal. Most are from just what I had on hand hanging out in the kitchen.

Super Toasty Vegan Nachos

Well the chips got a little too toasty under the broiler, but the nachos were pretty darn good. I used homemade salsa, black olives (fridge), and sushi rice (leftover from handmade sushi) to build the “nachos”. I love meals like this. They are easy, fast, and use what I have.

Vegan Pasta with Lemon and Veggies

I keep a lot of pasta on hand in the pantry. There are always various varieties, and sometimes I’m down to odds and ends. I boiled up a bit of odds and ends, and called it lunch. I added Lemon Juice (fridge),Capers & Marinated Artichoke Hearts (fridge), and Cauliflower (freezer) this dish is a vegan twist on Chicken Picatta.

Agnes’ vegan Sushi

Nothing makes me happier than when Agnes suggests that I make Sushi for us for dinner. She is my only kiddo that will eat it, and it is my favorite too. I keep nori and sushi rice in the pantry, and they both keep well for when the “sushi snack attack” strikes.

Spicy Vegan Sushi with Kimchi

I made her dish, just rice and nori. I like to add Kimchi (fridge) to mine and spice them up a bit. O.k. so if you haven’t tried Kimchi, it is weird and delicious, and keeps forever in the fridge. It is fermented Cabbage, and it is really delicious. I use Kimchi in lots of dishes, and it is a fantastic vegan staple to keep around.

Vegan “crabcakes”

Speaking of Sushi Rice, I used Panko (pantry), Marinated Artichoke Hearts (fridge), and Sushi Rice (leftovers) to make a batch of delicate Vegan not-crab-but-Artichoke cakes. They were so amazingly delicious, but very delicate. This also fit the bill for using only what I had on hand to make another meal for dinner.

Vegan Taco Salad

One more “clean out the fridge” dish. I piled on homemade salsa, corn chips (pantry), shredded lettuce (fridge), corn kernals (freezer), chickpeas (fridge/pantry), and black olives (I keep these in the fridge all of the time). This made for a filling lunch, and helped use up some bits hanging out in the fridge.

Vegetarian Rice & Lentils with Mashed Potatoes

You could easily make this vegan, but I had run out of vegan “butter”, so I used margarine instead. Some nights I made homemade rice-a-roni for the family, and I make a big batch of rice & lentils for me. They keep well in the fridge, and you can use them for so many meals. The Rice, Lentils, and Good ‘Ol Russets are all staples in my pantry.

Vegan Chili

I make this a few times through Autumn and Winter. I pile it into a Crock Pot and let it slow cook all day, then I transfer it into small batches for the freezer, and you have meals ready to go.

I make little changes here and there but the basic recipe usually has: Tomato Sauce (pantry), Petite Diced Tomatoes (pantry), Seasonings (pantry), Onions (pantry), Light Red Kidney Beans (pantry), Black Beans (pantry), Quinoa (pantry), Lentils (pantry), and Corn (freezer).

This is another multi-meal recipe. The chili makes great burritos, tacos, and vegan spaghetti red.

Vegan Pasta Sauce Soup

I bought a new brand of Pasta Sauce, and the kids didn’t like it at all. I didn’t want it to go to waste so I sauteed up some veggies (fridge and pantry) , added in the pasta sauce (fridge) with  some veggie stock (fridge), and then raided pantry for pasta. I let it boil and then simmer. I thought it needed something green so I added in spinach that was hanging out in the freezer.

The soup was delicious, and I made several meals out of it.

Vegan Sick Day

So when the cold/flu/overall nastiness hits I always have Ginger Ale & Saltines on hand.

Vegetarian Chickpea “Chicken Nuggets” with Mashed Potatoes

Here’s a dish that looked good, but wasn’t that good. O.k., I’ll admit it, I miss chicken nuggets, and sometimes you just really want one, but you don’t want to give in, so you try to replicate them with Chickpeas. And to be perfectly honest, they aren’t chicken nuggets.

I used chopped celery (fridge), chopped chickpeas (fridge), panko (pantry), and served them alongside mashed potatoes (pantry). I pan fried them, and they were a little dry, and needed a bit of something more. I might revisit this recipe again, but then again, maybe not.

Vegan Rice Noodle Bowl

This is a fast lunch, and it is delicious too. Whether you call it “pho”, noodle bowl, or soup, it is spicy and perfect for cold days. I keep a few sizes of Thai Rice Noodles in the pantry, they are a fantastic vegan staple. I add vegetable stock (pantry), kimchi (fridge), and cauliflower (freezer) to make this meal filling, and useful.

D.I.Y.Vegetarian Bowl

This dish comes with a story, and I’ll tell you it wasn’t a success. I went to Taco Bell with the kids for dinner, and I wanted to try something new besides my usual bean burritos. I decided to try a “Cantina Power Bowl”, and it wasn’t very good. It wasn’t very filling, and honestly, it cost way too much for what was in it. I decided to make my own at home, and let the kids make theirs too.

Well turns out, my kids really hate burrito bowls, even though they picked out all of the ingredients that went in it. I liked mine though.

I used beans and rice (fridge), monterey jack cheese (fridge), pico de gallo (fridge), and avocados. I think I added some salsa too. I liked mine better than Taco Bell’s.

Vegetarian Boiled Red Potatoes

Again you could make this vegan, but I ran out of vegan “butter”. This dish is easy, filling, and one of my favorite comfort dishes. Just quarter red potatoes (pantry), rough chop an onion (pantry), throw it all in a pot with water and seasonings. Boil the potatoes till tender, and poof awesome dinner!

Vegetarian Red Potato Burrito

And if you have cooked red potatoes and rice hanging out in the fridge, make a burrito out of them. I know it looks strange, but man, it was really good.

Vegan Spaghetti Red

Growing up in Missouri, “Spaghetti Red” is a staple of Missouri cuisine. Every once in a while I have to have it, and thankfully I had vegan Chili in the freezer.

It’s pretty easy you just need cooked spaghetti (pantry) and top it off with vegan chili (freezer). It hits the spot for lunch, and used what I have on hand.

Vegan handmade Sushi

When it was Agnes’ birthday, she asked for homemade Sushi. Of course I had to make it for her. We got out the mats, and supplies from the pantry, and she learned how to put it all together. Vegan Sushi is really, truly, my very favorite meal.

And this how I ended the month, lots of Halloween Candy!

I’ve been trying out some new dishes. I’ll have the full post up next month.