Guest post by Linoy, Owner of ThatGal blog.

As a vegan for more than a year, I can certainly say that what vegan’s hear most are irrational comments such as “So, you don’t eat pizza?” or “What do you eat besides lettuce and vegetables?” The answer to that question is: Everything.

If for any reason you’re thinking about becoming vegan, you probably fear the need to give up the foods you are so used to consuming, and you’re right, at first it is really scary. In a split second you’ve given up eggs, cheeses, and meat, and when it happens all at once you suddenly think to yourself: “Wait a minute… what am I supposed to eat now?”

I am here to keep you calm. Like I mentioned at first, vegans eat everything, and the reason why I say so when I’m posed with the question “What do you eat?” is simple – I learned how to use vegan substitutes. By the way, if this is the first time you’re hearing about vegan substitutes, you should know that the road from here to building a healthy and balanced vegan diet is super simple.

The secret is to know how to use the vegan substitutes in a healthy and balanced way that will provide your body with all of the vitamins that you need. To make the best out of the substitutes, I like to add a variety of “superfoods” to my meals according to the food I am preparing.

But hold on, what exactly is a superfood?

Superfoods are foods that have many healing and nourishing capabilities and they provide the body's needs for protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. Superfoods are the most healthy and natural foods a person can consume, and guess what? Some of them are probably already in your kitchen right now!

A few examples for popular superfoods would be coconut oil, garlic, spinach, ginger, goji berry, chia seeds, hemp seeds, wheatgrass, spirulina, maca, matcha, and the list goes on and on….

So if you are a vegan or thinking about going vegan, I have prepared a easy, healthy vegan menu that incorporates vegan substitutes and superfoods too.

Now, we can begin.

Start your day “fresh”.

Before breakfast, it is important to nourish the body with essential minerals that will help you start your day in a most cleansing way.

LEMON WATER  As you know, water with lemon is the best way to cleanse the body from toxins. Lemon has many benefits and helps the body in many ways, so if you are trying to switch to a healthy vegan lifestyle – water with lemon is your answer to your morning drink. {Read more about the power of lemon water here}. Of course the lemon can be replaced with other acidic fruits such as grapefruit.

GREEN TEA  If you’re not the lemon water type, you can always drink a green tea with a little bit of Stevia {natural sweetener}. Recommended brands that sell a variety of flavored green teas are Higher Living and Pukka, and can be purchased at health food stores.

COFFEE  As somebody who needs her daily fix, it was not easy for me to find a substitute for milk that works best, but once I did, I have to say the coffee is a lot tastier. I use Tnuva’s less sweet soy milk. If you enjoy a sweeter coffee, try the vanilla flavored soy milk, and of course Alpro’s soy milk is excellent.

Breakfast

Homemade granola with fruit and soy milk

Ingredients :

2 cups whole oats

1 cup hazelnuts ground in a food processor

1 cup cashews ground in a food processor

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp natural peanut butter/ whole nut butter

2 tbsp agave syrup {or any other natural sweetener}

Dried fruit such as: cranberries, raisins, apricots etc {optional!}

Preparation :

–  Put all dry ingredients, except dried fruit, in a large bowl.

– In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients.

– Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl, and mix well.

– Flatten the mixture on a large baking pan lined with parchment paper and place inside the oven, preheated to 350’ , for 10 minutes.

– It is important to mix the granola as it bakes to make sure it doesn’t burn , and that the mixture will bake evenly.

– Set aside to cool and add the dried fruit. You can also add cocnout chips or grated cark chocolate.

– This granola is the easiest to prepare and most delicious to eat.

I like to eat it just like cereal: I pour a small amount into a small bowl, sprinkle above some fresh fruit {banana, green apple, strawberries, and berries work great}, and above I pour a little bit of unsweetened soy milk. A colorful, filling, tasty breakfast.

Want to add some more nutritional value? You can always sprinkle above a spoonful of chia seeds or goji berries.

Lunch

Homemade Pad-Thai

Ingredients :

1 package of wide rice noodles

1 package of hard tofu

White onion, chopped

Mushrooms, cut into strips

Carrot, cut into strips

Pepper, cut into strips

Sprouts

Scallions

1 garlic clove

⅓ of a cup soy sauce

1 tbsp teriyaki sauce

⅓ of a cup agave syrup

Sesame

Peanuts

Preparation :

– Start with the tofu. Cut the tofu into cubes and heat a tsp of coconut oil in a wide, non-stick pan.

– Fry the tofu for about 2 minutes on each side, and add teriyaki sauce and fry until the tofu soaks up the sauce. Set aside.

– Now to the vegetables! Using the same pan {washed, of course} heat up a tbsp of olive oil. Once it is hot add the onions and fry until golden.

– When the onion gets its color, add garlic, mushrooms, carrots, pepper, and sprouts. You can always play around with the vegetables, adding more or less according to taste.

– While the vegetables rae frying, you can prepare the rice noodles. Fill a small pot with boiling water and cook the noodles for about 3-4 minutes, until they are soft. When ready, remove them from the water into a strainer and rinse in cold water to avoid sticking.

– The vegetables are ready in the pan, the noodles are ready in the strainer, all that is left is to prepare the sauce! In a small saucer, combine the soy sauce, agave syrup {or any other sweetener like natural maple}, and a ⅓ of a cup of water.

– Pour the noodles into the pan with the vegetables, add the tofu form before and pour the sauce over it all. Mix together over a low flame, and then shut the fire and cover the pan for 5 minutes until the noodles soak up the sauce.

Serving time! Serve the Pad-Thai with fresh scallion, sesame, peanuts and a slice of lemon.

This dish takes a little bit of time but is so worth it!

The Pad-Thai comes out just as it would in a restaurant – only way better. Make a double batch to keep for the  rest of the week.

Dinner

Quinoa Salad with Tofu in Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients :

For the Quinoa:

1 cup white quinoa, rinsed and strained

1 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ cups of water

Salt

For the tofu:

1 package of hard tofu

1 tsp coconut oil

1 tbsp teriyaki sauce

For the salad:

3 large lettuce leaves

1 red onion

1 tomato

3-4 cherry tomatoes

1 cucumber or pickle, or both

Scallion

Optional: olives, corn, vegan feta cheese, cooked sweet potato.

Preparation :

Quinoa – In a strainer, rinse the quinoa well. Pour the olive oil into a pot and when it’s hot add the quinoa and fry for 2 minutes. Pour the water (1 ½ cups, or until the water slightly covers the quinoa), add salt, lower the flame, cover the pot with a towel and cook for 20 minutes until the quinoa is ready .

Tofu – Same as in the Pad-Thai recipe!

Cut the tofu into cubes and heat a tsp of coconut oil in a wide, non-stick pan. Fry the tofu for about 2 minutes on each side, and add teriyaki sauce and fry until the tofu soaks up the sauce. Set aside.

To serve :

Place all of the cut up vegetables in a large bowl (and any vegetables of your choice). Add 2-3 tbsp of quinoa (preferably after it has cooled), add the tofu and sprinkle scallion above it all.

This has been my dinner for over a month, it is so good and so filling, that I am sure you too will become addicted to it, just as I did.

These were the recommended vegan recipes for building a vegan menu for beginners. The recipes are tasty, healthy, easy to prepare, and most importantly – moral 🙂

Leave me a comment below about which recipe you can’t wait to try!

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About Linoy / ThatGal

My name is Linoy, I am 23 years old, and I am the girl behind the lifestyle blog “That Gal”.

I have always known I was going to engage in content and writing, and that made me think of starting the blog and creating my own space online where I share with you all of my experience on the subjects I love.

I studied content writing, I am currently studying advertising, marketing and social media management, and I love to talk about body care, healthy lifestyle, makeup, sports and fitness, inspiration and veganism.

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