Vegan Meal Plan

Happy New Year, meal planners! I hope your wonderful night topped off a wonderful year, and you're all excited and shiny and clean and new and motivated for the year ahead. I know I am.

Meal plans this week are gon' be a little different. I know it's the time for resolutions that everyone loves to say will be broken by January 5. I'm willing to bet that a lot of those are to "eat healthier", however vague that may sound, so this time I'm passing on to you the PCRM 21-Day Vegan Kickstart meal plan. Two years ago I pledged to go vegan for a week to ring in the new year... and I did and I loved it, and it was fun. But it's also very, very difficult. I know it doesn't have to be, but if you are looking for convenience (as a lot of you are), it is hard. PCRM pushes it a little further with a three-week stint, and I follow their meal plans every year, but not always to the letter.

I'm encouraging you to do the same. Pick what you like from here and perhaps add a little vegan sparkle to your life. It certainly is healthy, and I'm all about little steps - not everyone can go vegan overnight and I'm not suggesting you do... I'm suggesting you make some changes and additions and perhaps substitutions and find some new favourites in your repertoire. And this really is the case when one can say "it can't hurt"! It really can't!

♥ Hoppin' John Salad and Kwick Kale ♥

♥ Southern Beans and Greens with Couscous Confetti Salad ♥

♥ Curried Lentil Soup with leftover Couscous Confetti Salad ♥

♥ Make your own with couscous, lentil and kale ♥

♥ Mexican takeout ♥

  

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♥ vegan pancakes ♥

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♥ blueberries and soy yogurt ♥

♥ baby hommus ♥

Saturday and Sunday's dinners are Easy Stir Fry with Always-Great Brown Rice, and Whole Wheat Pasta with Simple Marinara Sauce.

Breakfasts are: Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal, cereal, banana and berries, Fantastic Fruit Smoothie, Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes and Breakfast Rice Pudding.

Lunches: Couscous Confetti Salad, vegan veggie burger, Carrot and Red Pepper Soup, Hummus and veggie sandwich, vegan cup-a-soup and bread, leftovers, bean dip with tortilla chips and side salad, spinach salad with orange-sesame dressing.

Snacks: toast with apple butter and banana, popcorn, soy yogurt and berries, carrots and apple, edamame, hummus and carrots, and salad.

Dessert (ya-huh!!): Chocolate-Raspberry Mousse.

All recipes can be found here.

You can print out this week's grocery list here.

Vegan basics shopping list here.

Vegan list of convenience foods (we all need them sometimes!) here.

And to register officially for the three-week kickstart and receive emails and tips and recipes, go here.

I hope you find something that you like... I for one am excited about the breakfast rice pudding and couscous salad!

If you do decide to go ahead with the kickstart, let me know how you get on! I've got some tips and tricks to help, and I've trialled a lot of vegan substitutes in Australia, so can point you in the right direction if need be. Happy New Year!