Veganuary is an annual Global campaign to encourage people to adopt a vegan lifestyle during the month of January. This movement was launched by a non-profit in the UK in 2014 with the goal of raising awareness on the ethical, environmental, and health benefits of a vegan or plant-based diet.
If you’re interested in participating, a quick Google search (or Ecosia, a search engine that plants trees around the world and uses solar panels to power your searches!) will give you endless resources, recipes, tips and tools to try a vegan diet.
Since we have a handful of go-to vegan recipes we wanted to share them with you this month!
Our top 5 can't-get-enough-of recipes:
1. Easy Chickpea Curry
This is always in the rotation, not only is it easy, but delicious, quick, and versatile. Onions and spinach on hand? Peppers and cauliflower? Broccoli and kale? No matter what veggies we have that week they work well. And this cooks in one pot!
It’s delish over white rice, basmati rice, brown rice, potatoes, and even raw spinach.
Tips: Use 2 cans of chickpeas to make it even more filling and last longer (though it will be less “saucy”). If you don’t have agave, we typically use 1-1.5 tsp of sugar and that seems to be plenty. The lime is a must! Frozen ginger cubes makes this even more convenient.
Recipe: Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry (Vegan Huggs)
2. Mac & Cheese
We could eat this every week. EVERY WEEK. The cheese sauce is made from carrots, potatoes, nutritional yeast (which gives it that cheesy flavor), and a few other ingredients. Cook up some pasta and dinner is made.
Tips: We almost always sautee broccoli (or another veggie) to go along with it. We’ve also added sauteed kale, spinach, and zucchini too. Adding a little of the potato & carrot cooking water or pasta water to the blender makes it ever creamier. Looking for a little spice? A drizzle of Buffalo sauce on this is amazing.
Recipe: The Best Vegan Mac & Cheese (Simple Vegan Blog)
3. Lasagna Soup
This easy one pot soup is DELICIOUS. I have nothing else to say, it’s easy and flavorful!
Tips: While the recipe calls for green lentils ,we use red lentils in this dish, we love how soft they get. Cooking the spices with the tomato paste really brings out the flavor so don’t skip that step. Serve with a salad and some hearty Italian bread!
Recipe: Vegan Lasagna Soup (Tasty.co)
4. Our "Bean Skillet"
This is a pantry staple and not a linked recipe we can share, because we made it up. Here goes nothing:
- Drain & rinse 1 can each of: black beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas or cannelini beans. Or use 2-3 types of beans and a can of corn.
- Into a hot skillet throw all of the beans to evaporate the water, once it’s done… drizzle in a little olive oil and eyeball your favorite Chili spices. We use cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and smoked paprika (regular paprika and fresh garlic works great too).
- After the spices get fragrant (a minute or 2) add a can of diced tomatoes or fire roasted potatoes and let it simmer until the tomato cooks down and the juice evaporates, 10 minutes or whatever looks good to you. You do you!
- Salt & pepper to taste. That’s it!
5. Mexican-Style Three Bean Salad
More beans! But this time cold. Great for the summer (or anytime) and perfect for potlucks. It’s VERY easy to make and the dressing is so good.
Tip: Serve with tortilla chips, over salad, or in a wrap. Feel free to try it warm and on a potato! If raw garlic isn’t your jam, we’ve used garlic powder in the dressing and still loved it.
Recipe: Mexican-Style Three Bean Salad (Fork in the Road)
A note about beans:
- Beans are not always a normal part of every persons diet. If your body is not used to them, start small. Incorporate even a quarter of a cup into your meals and gradually increase. Allow your body & gut time to adjust! Before you know it you’ll be eating beans daily and loving it.
For us, being vegan is a lifestyle choice. If you’re not up for the full commitment, eating less meat can still have a great impact on the environment and your health. Try some new recipes and you might find a favorite for life.
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