Double not-dog dare you to try going animal-free. If you already are, here are lots of yummy recipes.
Have you recently realized that you love adorable baby animals too much to eat them? Are you pretty convinced that livestock farming is destroying the world? Do you just want to have something in common with Alicia Silverstone?
MAYBE YOU SHOULD GO VEGAN.
No, seriously. We challenge you to try sticking to a vegan diet—basically, eating nothing made from/by an animal—for a week, whether it's because you're seriously considering a lifestyle change or because you know you can rise to that kind of challenge.
Here are the rules:
1. NO MEAT
2. NO DAIRY (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc)
3. NO EGGS
Below you'll find a week's worth of really tasty, non-lame recipes to make it easy. The clock starts on a Saturday, so you'll have time to cook, shop, and get adjusted. You can feel free to come up with your own ideas, too; there's a very handy list of tips and ingredient swaps over at Vegan Action's website.
The Shopping List
For decorative purposes only, please do not actually put milk and eggs and butter on your shopping list.
A few things used in some of these recipes that you might not have:
non-dairy milk: Soy, almond, and coconut milk are all easy to find.
cashew nuts: Ground up, they give sauces and spreads a nice creamy texture.
tofu: Extra firm is the most sturdy and useful type for stir-frying, etc.
panko breadcrumbs: Use them as breading to make food delicious and crispy.
miso: Technically fermented soybean paste but also a magic condiment that makes everything amazing. White miso is the most versatile.
nutritional yeast: It tastes so much like cheese it's crazy.
Bragg's Liquid Aminos: Some soy sauces are processed with animal products; a lot of vegan recipes use this instead.
OK, ready?
Saturday Breakfast: Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa
Cook a big pot of your favorite grain (quinoa is yummy and has a lot of protein) and keep it in the fridge. You can rewarm for an easy breakfast through the week, and add whatever fruit or nuts you want. Swap in non-dairy milk for regular; maple syrup on top is nice. Recipe at 101 Cookbooks.
Saturday Lunch or Dinner: Sweet Potato Burgers
Roast a few extra sweet potatoes to have on hand for snacking. Recipe from Love & Lemons.
Sunday Breakfast: Easy Weekend Pancakes + Fruit
Recipe from veganyumyum.
Sunday Lunch
Just because you're vegan now doesn't mean you can't make a mean SANDWICH. If you're not afraid of a little whisking, you can even DIY some creamy vegan mayo with dijon, lemon, garlic, and olive oil.
Check out this list of 50 ideas, or mix-and-match with some of these fixin' options:
hummus
avocado
tomato
fried or scrambled tofu
roasted vegetables (red peppers, eggplant, etc)
pickles
olives
nut butter (Bored of peanut? Try almond.)
jam
bananas
Sunday Dinner: Eggplant Lemongrass Curry
Swap in extra ginger + grated lemon or lime zest if you don't want to wrastle with lemongrass. Serve with some steamed rice. Recipe at Green Kitchen Stories.
Sunday Dessert: Chocolate Mousse
Chocolate + Water = MAGIC MOUSSE (for real). Recipe at Food52.
Monday Breakfast
Cereal is still totally fair game. Dip into your quinoa stash from Saturday or just eat your Cheerios with non-dairy milk.
Monday Lunch
Bring leftover eggplant curry from Sunday plus a roasted sweet potato from Saturday.
Monday Dinner: Penne with Veggies & Pine Nuts
You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand for this. Recipe at Food52.
Tuesday Breakfast
Keep working on that quinoa! Toss in a chopped apple and some brown sugar when you heat it up.
Tuesday Lunch: Avocado & Chickpea Sandwich
Recipe at Love & Lemons.
Tuesday Dinner: Miso Vegetables and Tofu
The miso makes this great, so don't leave it out. Recipe at 101 Cookbooks.
Wednesday Breakfast: PB&B Toast
Peanut butter and banana slices on nice grainy bread.
Wednesday Lunch
Get some soup! Most places should have a few decent vegan options, like lentil soup or vegetarian chili.
Wednesday Dinner: Warm Butternut & Chickpea Salad
The tahini dressing on this is nice with lots of stuff; add some sauteed greens and pita bread to make a meal. Recipe at Smitten Kitchen.
Thursday Breakfast: Smoothie
Just pop some berries or any fruit you've got in the freezer into a blender and add almond or soy milk and a little agave or maple syrup. Bananas are good for a creamier texture. This Green Apple Smoothie from Girl Makes Food looks nice.
Thursday Lunch: Beet & Chickpea Salad
Use soy yogurt or hummus instead of regular yogurt for the sauce. Recipe at Love & Lemons.
Thursday Dinner: Jerk Sloppy Joes
Friday Breakfast: Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars
Tons of different nuts and seeds in here; you can pretty much throw in whatever you've got/whatever you like. Recipe at 86 Lemons.
Friday Lunch: Flatbreads with Scallion & Red Pepper Spread
You can buy flatbreads instead of baking them, unless you're feeling ambitious. The spread is made with cashews and tofu and would be good on lots of stuff. Recipe at Post Punk Kitchen.
Friday Dinner: Pappardelle With Kale Pesto
WOW
You made it through a whole week! And it wasn't bad, right? In case you're interested in extending the experiment, here are a few more recipes to try.
BREAKFAST IDEAS...
Blueberry Oatmeal Waffles
Recipe at Post Punk Kitchen.
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Recipe at veganyumyum.
Blueberry Smoothie
LUNCH IDEAS...
Wild Rice & Tofu Salad with Miso Dressing
This calls for coconut oil to cook the tofu but you can use any kind. Brown or white rice would be good too, although not as pretty. Recipe at Sprouted Kitchen.
BLT Salad
It may be fake bacon, but it still has the word "bacon" in the name. Recipe at veganyumyum.
Spicy Potato & Black Bean Burritos
Recipe at Oh She Glows.
SNACK IDEAS:
A lot of the snacks you eat normally are still fine on a vegan diet. But if you've been deeply dependent on beef jerky or just looking for something healthy to munch on during the day, try these:
roasted almonds
pistachios
dried apricots
granola (bars)
peanut butter on toast or celery
popcorn with olive oil instead of butter
kale chips
fresh fruit
carrots + hummus
edamame
DINNER IDEAS...
Vegan "Beef" Stew
This calls for Trader Joe's Beef-Less Strips, but you could use tofu or seitan instead, or just skip them. Recipe at Gouda Monster.
Quinoa Chili
Recipe at Two Peas & Their Pod.
DESSERT IDEAS...
Chai Spice Snickerdoodles
One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream
Chocolate Avocado Cake
Avocado is a great sub for butter, and doesn't make this taste weird or like anything except awesome chocolate cake. Recipe at Joy the Baker.
