There’s a few vegan staples that we use on the regular and they’re really handy to have on hand. The plus about vegan meal planning is also hard to get used to. It’s not meat and a side, most of it is in a bowl and mixed together. I usually meal plan and grocery shop the weekend before so I know what we’re having each night of the following week because I don’t have the energy to think about it after a day of teaching 21 eight year olds.

During a normal week I usually make enough for us to have dinner leftovers for lunches during the week. For breakfast I usually have a Lara bar, Simply Nutty bar (Trader Joe’s) or the occasional bagel in my car on the way to work,  then a piece of fruit of dried seaweed for a morning snack. On the weekends I have whole wheat toast with almond butter and honey/jelly, cereal with almond milk, or oatmeal. After school I have rice crackers or carrots and hummus, chips and salsa, fruit, or nuts. For dinner I usually try out a new recipe, and we like to go out once a week for date night and then order in one night, thank you UberEats. We can still go out and have dinner with friends and family without it being a huge ordeal. If we’re craving a sweet treat, and let’s face it, we usually are, we have a piece of dark chocolate or So Delicious ice cream. I love getting most of my groceries from Trader Joe’s because they have amazing vegan products and it’s so much cheaper than the traditional grocery store.

Here’s what I usually have on my grocery lists-

Produce– apples, bananas, grapes, raspberries, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, asparagus, eggplant, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, spinach, sweet potatoes, potatoes, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, pickles, garlic, cucumber, and loads of mushrooms

Protein– organic non GMO extra firm tofu, Organic 3 Grain Tempeh (Trader Joe’s), chickpeas, beans, lentils, edamame, peas, pea protein powder, nuts, almond or peanut butter, Lara bars, Nutty trail mix bars

Grains– whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat tortillas, cereal, oatmeal, tamari rice crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, popcorn

Dips and snacks– hummus, salsa, cowboy caviar, dried mango, dried edamame

Condiments and spices– vegan spread, mustard, ketchup, soy sauce, Soyaki, BBQ sauce, marinara sauce, Earth Balance vegan butter, Sriracha, red curry paste, coconut milk

-chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, italian seasoning, dried basil, red pepper flakes, nutritional yeast, and indian spices

Sweets– Dark chocolate, So Delicious ice cream, fruit popsicles, Dark Chocolate covered Acai berries (Brookside)

I found sample grocery lists really helpful because I didn’t have to think about what we were allowed to buy at the store. I just wrote down what I liked from their lists and then had mine ready to go. Hopefully my grocery favorites help you too!