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By Root 947 0

served with 1 to 2 cups steamed broccoli drizzled with olive or flaxseed oil and sprinkled with slivered almonds or sesame seeds

Very vegan dinner 2: A bed of lettuce covered with 1 to 2 cups brown rice, 1 to 2 cups cooked pinto beans, a scoop of salsa, tofu sour cream and sliced avocado

Very vegan dinner 3: Veggie burger on whole-grain bread served with a pickle, baked sweet potato fries, and quick sautéed bok choy

Very vegan dinner 4: Hummus, baba ghanouj, rye crackers, kalamata olives, avocado slices, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, and 1 to 2 cups bulgur wheat tabbouleh

Very vegan dinner 5: Hot vegetarian baked beans on top of steamed broccoli and baked Yukon Gold potatoes

Very vegan dinner 6: Bean soup with steamed corn served alongside a green salad with olive oil and lemon juice

Very vegan dinner 7: Roasted root vegetables (cubed beets, sweet potatoes, onions, and carrots) with curried red lentils simmered in coconut milk served over jasmine rice

Cook a double portion of any of these menu items at dinner and have leftovers for an easy, cheap lunch the next day.

Using menu charts

Planning a week of menus can really take the guesswork and stress out of shopping trips. If you already know what you’re having for dinner on Thursday, you don’t need to worry about running by the crowded grocery store on the way home from work. And you won’t be tempted to order takeout or veggie pizza again either. Use the menu chart in Figure 9-1 to help guide your shopping trips.

Figure 9-1: Sample menu chart.

Making Sure You Have Healthy Snacks On Hand

Between tweeting your every move and posting your new vegan recipe demonstrations on YouTube, a busy vegan doesn’t always have time for a sit-down meal. Don’t worry new vegans — healthy snacking isn’t difficult and options abound! You probably won’t find many vending machines with healthy vegan choices, but you can find vegan snacks in almost every grocery store, deli, or convenience store.

Plan for your day by thinking ahead — will you be near a health food store in between meals? Do you have access to a refrigerator at school or work where you can store perishable snacks? Many nonperishable snacks are easy to just slip into your purse, backpack, messenger bag, or briefcase.

Staving off hunger with a well-timed nibble can prevent overeating at mealtimes. In fact, some people do better with several small meals a day rather than three squares. Any of the healthy snacks listed in the following sections can be expanded to create a substantial picnic plate of variety.

If you need to eat your snack on the run or won’t have access to water for washing up, choose simple, cleaner foods. Bananas, mixed nuts, or an individual box of soymilk are easy to consume quickly without fuss or muss. On the other hand, if you can sit down on a “coffee break” in your staff room, you may be able to snack on something slightly more elegant like a soy yogurt with berries, or some carrot sticks with a small container of hummus.

Use the lists in the following sections to choose a variety of healthy snacks that will satisfy any kind of food craving you may have.

Sweet treats

To satisfy your sweet tooth, try the following:

Carrot sticks

Coconut date rolls

Dried fruit like banana chips, mango slices, or apple slices

Edy’s Fruit Bars or Edy’s No-Sugar Bars

Frozen grapes

Fruit salad

Homemade apple juice popsicles

Homemade oatmeal cookies with a glass of hemp, soy, or rice milk

Lärabars

Leftover cornbread muffin spread with apple butter

Mixed melon cubes

Raisins and sliced almonds

Soy yogurt mixed with 100 percent fruit jam or jelly

Soy yogurt with blueberries and crushed pineapple

Stretch Island Fruit Company Original Fruit Leather

Trail mix made of vegan chocolate chips, raisins, and raw almonds

Whole-grain bagel spread with almond butter and jelly

Whole-grain tortillas spread with vegan margarine and sprinkled with cinnamon and agave or brown rice syrup

Heretofore nonvegan treats