One Week of Vegan Meals

I’ve always known that I could live without meat and eat a plant-based diet if I set my mind to it. I wanted to learn more about the nutritional benefits of veganism before I started changing my diet. I watched several documentaries and read some informative articles but I want to emphasize that I didn’t consult a doctor or nutritionist before I decided to test-drive going vegan, because I knew it was a short-term challenge. Also, I only lasted about two days of being truly vegan and then I switched to being vegetarian because it was too hard for me to avoid certain foods like eggs. However, most of these meals are 100% vegan, except for one of them where I misread the label.

I have a large amount of respect for people who are able to eat an entirely plant-based diet, and do it in a healthy way. It can be challenging to ensure that you’re getting all of your nutrients and vitamins, which is why I would recommend talking to a doctor or nutritionist before you decide to completely change your lifestyle. After this one week experiment, I’ve learnt that I can go without meat, but I haven’t decided how to cut it out of my diet completely yet. I don’t think that I’ll be able to switch to a vegan diet, but I’m proud of myself for giving it a shot.

Meal #1 – Vegan sheet pan Shawarma

This was one of my favourite meals that I made. I loved the variety of textures and flavours that were in this bowl. If you decide to make any of these recipes, I would highly recommend this one. It was very easy to make as well, which is always a bonus for weeknight meals. Plus it has tahini sauce, which is my favourite thing in the entire world. I have seriously considered looking into getting a fountain of tahini at my wedding. You can find the recipe here.

Meal #2 – Zesty Lentil bean and Rice Plate

I had never cooked with lentils before in my life, so making this recipe was fun! It turned out delicious and I really enjoyed the beans and enchilada sauce, it gave it a nice Mexican flare. I served it over rice and added some hot sauce to give it extra flavour. I highly recommend adding hot sauce if you make this recipe, it really transforms the dish. The recipe can be found here.

Meal #3 – Chickpea stuffed zucchini boats

This was my least favourite recipe, although I usually love zucchini boats and anything with zucchini in it. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of pasta sauce, but I wish I had added more because it was really dry. I think this recipe would be a lot better if I added more sauce or some other liquid to it.

Meal #4 – Taco Pasta

This was another one of my favourite meals. We’ve actually made it twice now! If you like corn, beans, and salsa, you can’t go wrong with this recipe. It’s so easy to make and has a lot of flavour as well. We made enough for dinner and lunch the next day, which was great! You can also add cheese to this recipe and it would be extra delicious.

Meal #5 – Veggie burgers

When I bought these burgers, I had no idea that they had cheese inside of them, so I thought they were vegan, but they aren’t. I debated including this meal because it was the worst one in my opinion, and my boyfriend agreed. Maybe this will be useful for vegetarians if you’re looking for a new veggie burger to try, avoid this one!! The texture and the taste were not good. 0/10.

Meal #6 – Broccoli Cashew Stir-fry

This recipe is great for both vegans and non-vegans, because it could be easily transformed into a meat dish if you added some chicken. I loved this recipe and would definitely make it again. Cashews are expensive, so we bought them in bulk and only bought the amount that we needed for the recipe. This was a really healthy meal as well and I felt good about eating it. I also added in some extra vegetables that we had in the fridge which I would recommend doing!

Meal #7 – Chickpea Stew

This recipe was tasty, but I wish I had made rice to go with it. I don’t like soup or stew because usually the texture is too soft, so I think that if I added rice it would have added another texture and made it more enjoyable. All of the flavours were really good and I would recommend making this one as well.

Overall, I enjoyed 5 out of 7 vegan recipes that we made. I would love to try some more recipes, so if you have any suggestions, comment them please! I hope these recipes gave you some inspiration and that you try at least one of them!