It's My Evolution: Vegan Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep

Today I want to share a few tips on how I grocery shop and meal prep as a Vegan. It's a little different (But really not much) than when I ate all those animal products.

How to grocery shop effectively:

Step 1: Make a plan!

I don't plan each specific meal, because I don't seem to stick with what I plan that way, but I do skim through a few recipes I might try and then make sure I get the needed ingredients. If I don't make them, I'm sure to have ingredients on hand to make something yummy.

Step 2: Make a detailed list

Before heading to the store I go through our cabinets and fridge with my list and write down any staples we're out of like bread, oats, almond milk, rice, etc. Once I've got all those on the list, I add any additional items I need for juicing (fruits and veggies) and any food extras I want to try...nutritional yeast and tahini are on my list to try next week....yay! I like to try at least 1 new item each week....especially since I'm new to veganism....there are a ton of vegan friendly foods I've never sampled.

Step 3: Eat before you shop

My hubby and I generally go grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons, but we make sure to eat lunch right after church before heading to the store so we don't overload our carts with processed junk foods we don't really need or that won't fuel our bodies. Fuel up on carbs before shopping and you'll do a better job of sticking to the list.

Step 4: Go to a grocery store you like

Now this step might seem a little silly, but sometimes when I'm in a rush I head to WalMart or Albertsons, because they're closer to our house....but WalMart is waaaay too busy and Albertsons is over priced. I always come out with a better mood and cheaper bill if I go someplace I enjoy like Winco, Aldi or Sprouts. ((Sprouts is my FAV place to snag fruits & veggies!))

Step 5: Get to shopping

I take a list, a pen and my hubby along with me and we go through the store isle by isle....this helps us make sure we don't miss anything and if, by chance, we forgot to add something to the list seeing it generally jogs our memory and we pick it up along the way.

Now let's get on to what happens after all the grocery shopping is done....Meal Prep!!

I mentioned trying one or two new things a week....well, this week I decided to try making tofu scramble and also sweet potato hash browns. I've seen yummy pictures of both on Instagram and wanted to incorporate them into my meals this week.

When I meal prep for the week, I generally cook a big batch of 2 or 3 things and then supplement with fruits and veggies to make full meals and lots of different combos throughout the week.

For example, Monday night I used a little on the sweet potato hash browns inside some yummy veggie spring rolls. Oh and Tuesday I made a veggie stirfry for lunch and topped it with some of the tofu scramble I made. YUM!!

Want to know how to make both of those items? Well, keep on reading...

Tofu Scramble

Ingredients:

-1 package of firm tofu

-1 small tomato

-1/4 of an onion

-A dash of Garlic powder

-A dash of Ground Black Pepper

-A dash of Paprika

-A small spoon of coconut oil

Directions:

-Put a spoon of coconut oil in a pan on the stove.

-Crumble the tofu into the pan.

-Add the veggies in also.

-The add the seasonings and sitr.

-Let it cook until it's all hot.

Then I simply removed it from the heat and put it all in a large Tupperware container. It's handy and easy to grab as an addition to any meal throughout the week.

I recently got this food processor (Thanks mom!) so I was searching simple to try for my first time using one. I think anything that comes with a blade needs to be used with caution on my first go-around...I may be a tad clumsy when it comes to sharp kitchen utensils.