No Meat? Well What DO You Eat???

Whenever I tell someone I’m a vegan vegetarian they respond with, “OK, but you eat chicken, right?” No, I reply.  I don’t eat animal products.  I’m a vegetarian.  They say “Oh, but you eat fish at least, right?” NO!  I’m a vegetarian.  I eat VEGE-tation.  Defeated they then ask,“Umph, then what DO you eat?” So here are examples of what I may eat in a day:

BREAKFAST – an organic fruit & juice smoothie (no ice cream, yogurt, or chemical powders added. I use bananas to make it creamy & sweeter) – or a bowl of naturally sweetened cereal w/ vanilla almond milk – or tofu scramble w/ veggie bacon & naturally sweetened waffles w/ REAL maple syrup (not maple flavored corn syrup)

LUNCH – an avocado sandwich on gluten-free bread w/ plenty of organic lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pickles, & sprouts w/ a bag of kettle chips – or a large fresh salad of lots of chopped organic produce w/ homemade vinaigrette dressing or non-dairy Goddess dressing – or a Portobello mushroom burger... 

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...w/ a side salad – or veggie chili soy cheese over sweet potato french fries

SNACKS – unsalted almonds, unsalted raw cashews, organic unsulfered raisins, any unsulfered dried fruit w/ no sugar added – fresh organic fruit, jarred fruit in fruit juice (not canned fruit cocktail soaking in corn syrup) – lightly salted kettle chips – popcorn seasoned w/ sea salt – naturally sweetened granola bars w/ non dairy chocolate chips

DINNER – stir fried organic vegetables w/ homemade teriyaki sauce over brown jasmine rice – or same veggies & rice w/ curry sauce – or soy meat tacos w/ a side of Spanish rice, & vegetarian refried beans (no lard) –  or whole grain or brown rice penne pasta under roasted veggies in marinara sauce w/ soy italian sausage – 
or my favorite meal: vegan BBQ ribs, maple candied yams, vegan mac & cheese, curry black-eyed peas, stir fried collard greens w/ bits of seiten “meat” & vegan blueberry corn bread

DESSERT – soy cookies n cream ice cream – or vegan chocolate chip cookies – or vegan oatmeal raisin cookies – or vegan carrot cake – or a gluten-free red velvet cupcake - or vegan lemon cake – or fruit sorbet – or a chocolate almond-milk shake – or vegan brownies w/ chocolate chips

*NOTE:  Fake meats, like soy burgers & veggie bacon, are processed food.  I call them “transition foods” because it makes the shift from a carnivorous diet to a vegan one easier.  But keep in mind, its healthier to eat organic produce, legumes, & grains in their most natural unprocessed state.

**TJ’s VEGAN TIP: You can use avocado in place of cow cheese on salads, sandwiches, & burgers.

Hope this helps,
Herban Vixen Tanjareen
“Too Vain To Gain”