Vegan Goodness:
Today we ate:
- Breakfast: Cheerios and strawberries for everyone and some toast with almond butter for LP.
- Mom had a soy chai for a mid-morning pick-me-up
- Lunch: Grilled cheese with Daiya – yummy!
- LP and Mom shared an appetizer plate of crackers with tofutti, carrot sticks and hummus.
- Dinner: Mom and LP had roasted potatoes, green beans and pasta with peanut sauce. Dad had a fantastic pasta dinner out with friends!
Money Matters:
Today we spent the following:
- $2.00 for Mom’s soy chai
- $ for Dad’s beer and dinner out with friends
Friday Tips for Living Vegan and Living Cheap – with kids!:
Not sure what to eat? Look to the sides
This week we are staying with family who are most certainly not vegan, but are very kind and accommodating. One of the ways we have all made dinner work for the vegans in the house is to look to the sides! Every night at dinner there is a meat dish, but our hostess (my fantastic mother-in-law!) makes sure that all the side dishes are vegan. Additionally, she made sure to buy whatever we asked for at the store before we arrived and she lets me make a vegan mess in her kitchen whenever necessary. Thanks to her kindness and generosity, we have eaten very well this trip, and much of it is based on some fantastic sides! Here are just a few of the “side” dishes that have become the centerpieces of our vegan dinners:
- Roasted potatoes
- Steamed or boiled green beans
- Zucchini sauteed in olive oil
- Sugar snap peas
- Steamed broccoli
- Orange slices and grapes
- Salads with spinach, baby kale (so yummy!), cabbage, tomatoes, craisens and raspberry vinaigrette
- Sourdough rolls with Earth Balance
- Penne pasta with a bit of Earth Balance
Thanks to my mother-in-law’s thoughtful preparation of these sides I haven’t had to cook anything except to bake some tofu and open a can of chickpeas. So, when you’re wondering what you will eat at an omnivore meal, ask your host/hostess (or even waiter) if you can make sure some of those sides dishes are vegan. Then, stick those yummy “sides” smack in the middle of your plate and enjoy a delightful vegan meal!
