Grub

Common Lunch

I have posted before about our vegan lifestyle around here and how it all came about. This post is a little update on the grub that fills our tummies. Starting out on this vegan journey is hard, no doubt about it. Like most things I guess, we were idealistic about what it would all look like and how great we would feel. But then after the first two weeks of meal plans were eaten up we started thinking... 'what now? How do we cook tofu 10 different ways? Do we really even like tofu? Remember cheese?'

The big thing for us in the beginning was the recipe learning curve... we had to avoid some common staples and learn some new tricks in the kitchen. Also, an unexpected issue (for Josh especially) was trying to feel "really full" after meals. I guess that whole post-eating stupor had become the norm around here after a good steak. When you aren't eating meat, it takes a greater volume of food to fill you up. We also discovered that variety was key to being happy eaters. PB &J is vegan, but you obviously can't survive on the stuff, or at least we can't.

So here is where we are now: we are not 100% vegan. We now fit into the vegetarian category, but we play around with a lot of vegan dishes and I honestly do prefer serving them. So although we want to stay away from dairy, its still incorporated into my cooking. However we don't drink milk, it just makes the kids tummies feel icky.. which is what got us thinking vegan in the first place. We really enjoy rice or almond milk,and Josh and I use soy for our lattes... rice just doesn't do it for us in the foam department.

We use vegan butter, tofu, etc and grub on heaps of fruit and veggies. Our food is yummy and simple. We don't eat any eggs,and we still don't eat any meat, at least at home, but if its being served through the loving hospitality of a friend or family member we are all over it.

To fill up my hardworking hubby I research lots of filling recipes and that's where the following comes in... this is our new fav, totally yummy, totally vegan: THAI PIZZA Thanks to Renae for this recipe. My buddy Allison thinks it would be good with chicken on top too. For more ideas on healthy eating and a killer spinach lasagna recipe, check out Mandy's blog!


Thai Pizza

Thai Pizza

Ingredients
pizza dough
carrots
green onions
cilantro
bean sprouts

Peanut Sauce
(Your favorite peanut sauce can be substituted here, but we follow a basic satay recipe)
2 T. vegetable oil
1-2 c. peanut butter
2-3 T. soy sauce
1-2 cloves minced garlic
2-3 T. honey

Heat the oil in a small pot and add in the minced garlic until fragrant. Whisk in the peanut butter, soy sauce and honey until combined and a creamy texture. Our measurements are leave room for your creativity because we just add the ammount that looks right!

-Bake your favorite pizza dough recipe (we use a breadmaker for our dough, but have heard that Trader Joe's is great too)
-After it is cooked to a golden hue, layer it with peanut sauce and top with the sliced veggies. Drizzle any remaining peanut sauce over the top and serve.
This is highly addictive, crunchy and filling!