Veggie Chili Sin Carne
Great for meal prep and to get some more veggies on your familys plates, this vegan chili is one of our favorite protein-packed vegan dinners! Using a variety of pantry staples and spices, you can finely chop whatever veggies you want to include and serve the chili on its own, with rice, tortilla chips, cornbread or baked potatoes!
Smoky Vegan Mac And Cheese
Homemade mac and cheese made with a creamy cashew cheese sauce and spices! A delicious way to enjoy a “cheesy” dish, but without the dairy. It’s the perfect kid-friendly dish that even adults will get behind!
Smoky, creamy, and rich youre gonna want to load up your plates with this smoky vegan mac and cheese.
The trick to this cream, plant-based recipe? Cashews. In fact, Cashews make for the perfect vegan cheese base with its smokiness, nuttiness, and rich flavors.
With a good solid cashew foundation, you can whip up just about any kind of cheese-based dish with a little bit of this-and-that in just minutes. For this recipe, I utilized what was in my pantry.
If yore looking for a cream-free pasta recipe, checkout our springtime spaghetti.
Jump Ahead To
Are Whole Food Plant Based Diet Recipes Worth The Hype
While Ive called myself a vegetarian for years, my diet consisted of bean burritos from Taco Bell, and Lucky Charms. Sure, I wasnt eating meat, but I was fueling my body with junk. And boy did I feel it! I slept a lot. I was always hungry. I craved candy. Processed foods contain ingredients mostly found in industrial food manufacturing . This includes hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, food dyes, flavoring, and emulsifiers.
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What Can You Feed A Vegan Child
Everything . Jay eats what we eat. Sure, I will make his favorite foods when he requests them, so long as they are healthy, like Aloo Paratha or Idli or a PBJ Pudding. And at other times he will eat dal and rice or pasta or anything else that I’ve made that day. I am not above taking help on occasion. He likes vegan sausage, so when I make him a plate of wholegrain pasta with marinara sauce, I’ll add some vegan sausage or vegan meatballs into it, and it will almost certainly go down much faster and he will even ask for seconds. And I will occasionally take the help of a kid-friendly product like tater tots or french fries.
When I posted my Vegan Tater Tot Casserole recipe the other day, I got an angry email from a reader who said she couldn’t believe that I was cooking with “commercial” product like tater tots. I am not ashamed about using tater tots or vegan meats or puff pastry because they make up just a small fraction of what I cook and what I share with you. I live in the real world where I feed a real kid who thinks tater tots are delicious, and if he has five or six of those in his plate sitting on top of an otherwise healthy casserole of veggies, I am not going to worry about it. Plus, most food that we eat is “commercialized” . Being a parent is stressful enough, so let’s get off the guilt trip and lighten up a bit.
Bonus: Dont Have Time To Cook
Let MamaSezz make dinner! Our Family Bundle is filled with ready-made meals for your plant-based family. Filled with kid-friendly dishes like gluten-free Mac Attack and Millies Chili – and delivered to your door ready to heat-and-eat. Round out the meals with your favorite salad and voila — youve got dinner in minutes.
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How To Introduce Plant
If you’ve decided that you want to eat more vegan meals, it might come as a bit of a shock to your family, but that doesn’t mean you should give up or cook two meals every night.
Have a discussion with the people you cook for and explain–in age-appropriate terms–why you want to change your diet. The biggest thing that kids want is often the thing parents are most hesitant to give–control over their lives! So look at these recipes together and let your kids help plan out the weekly menu. They’ll be much more willing to try something new if they chose it!
Whenever I introduce a new dish, I try to make sure there is something familiar on the table as well. A side dish, for instance, that everyone likes. Another important piece of advice for anyone trying a new way of eating: be sure to have some backup food on hand in case the meal is a massive fail . Hangry kids are no joke. When in doubt feed them something, even if it’s not the incredible meal you had envisioned! Then try again tomorrow.
Easy Homemade Pita Bread
While away an afternoon with these easy pita breads. Who can resist the smell and taste of fresh bread! Small children will love to work the dough and create their own magical shapes, while older children will enjoy the satisfaction that comes from making their own bread. Serving ideas: Creamy Corn Butter, jam, hummus, falafels, and salad. Also see our Navy Bean Hummus and Mixed Vegetable Pita Pockets and Buffalo Cauliflower Pita Pockets.
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Baked Sweet Potatoes With Spiced Lentil Salad & Lemon Tahini Dressing
Followers of a plant-based lifestyle keep sweet potatoes near and dearand this sweet potato recipe keeps them exciting. A warm green lentil salad, spiced with harissa and rounded out with tomatoes, gets heaped on some halved roasted sweets and is doused with an incredibly rich and creamy tahinilemon dressing. This one keeps me full for most of the day.
Independent Thinkers And Eaters
One of the hardest parts of this whole process has been dealing with peoples reactions when we tell them our family has gone completely WFPB. We always get questions like, How do the kids get their protein? or Dont they need to drink their milk? and What do you eat? The majority of people think were nuts.
Luckily, we raised our children to be independent thinkers and to always do whats right. Our hope is that others will open up their minds to this lifestyle. If we could do it, anyone could.
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A Diet Of Predominately Processed Food Can Lead To:
- Heart disease: leading cause of death worldwide. A result of continual eating of processed food according to a recent study by the British Medical Journal.
- Unhealthy weight gain: The National Institute of Health conducted a study showing a correlation between a processed food diet and weight gain.
- Increased risk of cancer: the correlation between cancer patients and increasingly processed food diets goes up 12% for every 10% of the diet that contains processed food.
- Malnutrition: processing actually strips food of its nutritional value! This creates empty calorie consumption and minimal nutritional value, even if one feels full.
- Addictive eating habits: processed foods can actually make people addicted to food.
Vegan Lunch/dinner For Kids:
Pita Packets with Broccoli and Tofu
This was one of the first recipes I tried out on Jay that had in it both tofu and broccoli. I felt rather sneaky but guess what? He loved it! It is still one of the recipes he most often requests.
High Protein Filo Lasagna
It has all the goodness of lasagna, only it’s flakier and crispier because it’s encased in filo pastry. It’s also packed with healthy veggies and vegan protein, so you can rest assured you’re feeding them food that is good for them, and you.
Chickpea Mushroom Turnovers
This is one of the ways I got Jay’s tastebuds to start accepting mushrooms. He never even knew they were in there, because he was busy thinking he had hit the lunchbox jackpot with the golden pastry crust and crunchy chickpeas.
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Why Youll Love This
- This tofu makhani recipe is 100% plant-based, dairy-free, and made with easy-to-find ingredients.
- Frozen tofu is the real winner here! Freezing then thawing tofu creates a chewy, meaty texture similar to chicken. Additionally, freezing tofu helps expand its pores, which makes it easier for the gravy to penetrate. This means BIG FLAVOR throughout the tofu and the dish.
- Its the perfect comfort food for any time of the year. I love serving vegan butter chicken during the warmer months alongside warm naan or rice.
- Makes for an impressive date night meal! Switch things up and have dinner at home with this creamy, flavorful dish. Itll impress the veg person in your life!
If you love Indian food, youve probably heard about butter chicken or murgh makhani.
Butter chicken is a chicken curry made with different spices, butter, tomatoes, and a cream sauce.
Its similar to chicken tikka masala, the difference being that tikka masala is less creamy and has more tomato essence. Both are incredibly delicious!
For this recipe, were veganizing butter chicken by switching out the chicken for tofu, the butter for vegan butter, and the milk/cream for coconut milk.
Simple Red Lentil Soup
If theres one plant based recipe that always satisfies, its a great lentil soup. Lentils are one of natures wonders: theyre full of protein, shelf stable for years, inexpensive, and make for some of the most satisfying filling meals. Try this simple Red Lentil Soup! Its deliciously hearty, featuring aromatic vegetables, lemon and a hint of smoked paprika.
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What’s Special About Veganenvy Recipes
VeganEnvy recipes are easy, low-fat, whole-foods, plant-based and nutrition rich. Real food my family eats, and techniques we use to cook.
- less than 25% calories from fat, and no added oils
- no animal products, dairy-free
- no tricks .
I choose ingredients that are proven to prevent and reverse disease, based on scientific studies, such as those reviewed on nutritionfacts.org and findings published by whole-foods plant-based experts featured in the Forks Over Knives and What the Health documentaries FOK trailer.
Eating VeganEnvy recipes will make you lose weight, look better, feel better and live longer. PLUS spend your money to cruelty free food systems, cut your environmental impact, and likely increase your compassion for, and awareness of, lives other than your own.
Onion and garlic free, comforting and nutritious vegan lentil soup recipe.Most kids seem to enjoy it, and leftovers taste even better.A chunky vegan leek chowder, with added lentils and squash of your choice.Seasoned with bay leaves, thyme, poultry seasoning, or ground savoury.
Whole Food Plant Based Recipes For Beginners
By Jen Hansard | Published on 5.7.2020
Good whole food plant based recipes for beginners can be hard to find, and often difficult to make! Id like to take the guesswork out of meal planning + prepping by sharing my familys fav plant based dinner recipes. These are easy, simple recipes loaded with flavor and health benefits.
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Loaded Vegan Potato Nachos
Ready to enjoy in 35 minutes total, these loaded vegan potato nachos are bursting with Mexican flavor! Super kid-friendly and customizable, they feature healthy ingredients such as black beans, cashews, tomato and lots of spices.
Hearty, colorful and portable these vegan bean burritos are our go-to lunch! Easily customizable, flavorful and really healthy, they are a great vegan meal idea for kids and adults alike.
A Diet Consisting Of Minimally Processed Whole Foods Can Lead To:
- Healthy weight loss + gut health: a whole food plant based diet is high in fiber, which helps the body with excess weight, and better digestion.
- Lower risk of Type II Diabetes: vegetarians are at an almost 50% decreased risk of diabetes over those on a non-vegetarian diet.
- A Lower risk for heart disease: a balanced whole food plant based diet significantly lowers the risk for heart disease.
- Lower risk for cancer: a study by the US National Library of Medicine showed a 43% reduced risk of cancer in those sticking to a vegetarian diet.
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Vegan Granola With Cherry And Almonds By Vegan Huggs
You’ll never buy store-bought again after you try this homemade Vegan Granola Recipe. It’s lightly sweetened and the crunchy clusters are loaded with oats, nuts, dried fruit, and warm cinnamon. Plus, it’s so easy to make — just combine the 8 ingredients together and bake into golden perfection!
This easy breakfast bars recipe is made in one bowl in 30 minutes, and is loaded with fiber, protein & omega-3s to keep your kids full all morning long!Make ahead for grab-and-go breakfasts all week long.
Will My Vegan Child Be Healthy
You do need to talk with your pediatrician about your choices, but I know of many parents who raise their kids vegan or vegetarian and they grow just as fast as omnivore kids, without the side effect of obesity that meat-eating kids tend to suffer from in our times. I can certainly vouch that Jay is healthy. Children with his background are usually malnourished, and it is true that Jay was small for his age when he came to us. But over the years he has been catching up and now proudly tells me that he is no longer the shortest kid in his class. And although he might never become the tallest, he is fit and strong and that’s enough.
Finally, here are the vegan recipes for kids. I’ve sorted them out by breakfast, lunch/dinner, snacks, lunchbox-friendly foods, and desserts, and I’ve labeled them when they’re nut-free or soy-free or gluten-free. All of these recipes are adult-friendly too so you can feed the whole family — I know you cannot cook separate meals for the kids and the adults. You will find many more vegan recipes for picky eaters on this blog, but the ones I picked out here are pretty much foolproof and most include fruits or veggies. I hope you’ll find them useful. You can also check out my 25 Vegan School Lunches Your Kid Will Love for more healthy and tasty meals for children.
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Kitchen Tools I Use And Love
There are a few kitchen tools I use on a very regular basis. One of my favorite kitchen tools is the Oster Blender.
It has several setting including pulsing and blending. I use it often for smoothies, sofrito, and oat flour. Ive had mine for a couple of years and its still kickin.
Cool, ready to be a kid again with your kid? Grab those forks! Were diving right in.
How To Build The Best Vegan Sandwich
The best sandwiches are crafted with multiple flavors and textures. Follow these steps to upgrade your sandwich game!
- Layer Accordingly: The best vegan sandwich is layered properly! The heavier items go on the bottom layer of the sandwich, with the more delicate items such as lettuce, tomatoes, etc. at the very top.
- Include Textures: Include a variety of textures from crisp cucumbers, tomato slices, alfalfa sprouts, portobello mushrooms, crunchy bell peppers, pickles, red onions, vegan cheese, and more! Sundried tomatoes add a sweet and chewy texture!
- Spread with Sauce: The best things in life are covered in sauce! Make creamy homemade hummus to spread on the bread slices or use vegan mayo or pesto. Creamy sauces are the best things for sandwiches! Dijon mustard, vegan cream cheese, or your favorite BBQ sauce are also great options.
- Toast the Bread: If you want some extra crispiness and texture, then be sure to toast the bread, especially if you are using vegan cheese!
- Quality Bread and Fresh Ingredients: A good sandwich always starts with quality ingredients. I like to use Daves Killer Multigrain Bread or fresh sourdough, ciabatta, whole wheat, baguettes, or even gluten-free breads. Feel free to use your favorite bread, just be sure its vegan!
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Spiced Peanut Sweet Potato Salad
Recipe writer and cookbook author Ella Mills writes that this is her favorite recipe in her recently released cookbook: “I’m completely addicted to it. The sweet potatoes are roasted with ginger, cinnamon, and cumin until they’re perfectly tender, then they’re tossed with sesame seeds, dates, parsley, and a smooth peanut butter dressing while still warm. They’re heaven!” Though they’re billed as a side, these sweet potatoes are hearty and satisfying enough to hold their own, especially with a heap of radicchio or leafy greens.
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Nice Cream
Can you still have dessert when you follow a whole food plant-based lifestyle? Definitely! MamaSezz Chef Caroline recommends you get familiar with nice cream, AKA homemade plant-based ice cream. This is especially true if you want to get your kids on board with plant-based living! This creamy delicious vegan dessert is made with fruit, instead of dairy.
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Stuffed Almond Milk Crpes
This delicate, velvety kid-friendly breakfast option or dessert is like a super thin version of pancakes and similar to sweet wraps, just waiting to be filled with all the delicious vegan treats you can think of from nut butter to fruit, coconut whip or date caramel sauce. The batter is egg-free and quickly made in a blender and the crêpes can be served as a sweet or savory meal!
Mac & Cheese Key Ingredients
All of the ingredients listed in the recipe all work together to bring a creamy, umami, flavor-packed mac and cheese. Even though this mac and cheese recipe is made without milk, butter, or cheese its still creamy and incredibly delicious.
Nutritional Yeast helps bring forth an umami punch to the macaroni and cheese. It also brings on a cheesy or nutty flavor to the dish. Its flavor is intense, so no need to add more than whats listed.
Raw cashews are boiled for about 10 minutes and then blended into a cashew cream sauce. On its own, its quite bland with smoky notes, but the added ingredients add color and flavor.
Tomato paste will add both color and depth to the mac and cheese recipe. When we think of traditional mac and cheese, we think of savory, a dash of tang, and sharpness tomato paste will help bring that forward.
Smoked paprika will support the smoky bite from the raw cashews. If youre into smoked flavors, this will be a must-have ingredient.
More Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipes:
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