FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

You’ve asked, and I’ve answered!

What are your Kitchen Pantry Staples?
  • GRAINS
    • Quinoa
    • Brown Rice
    • Oats
    • Pasta
  • BEANS+LENTILS
    • We almost always opt for canned beans (see below) simply because it’s easier and more convenient. However, if we are planning on making a special dish and have the time to prep, we will grab dry chickpeas, black beans, and/or some kind of bean trio from the bulk section and prepare them in our instant pot. Buying fresh does make a difference if you happen to have the time to prep!
    • Black lentils for salads/grain bowls and red lentils for soups and stews
  • DIPS+SAUCES+CONDIMENTS 
    • Nutritional yeast: Used to make homemade cheese sauces, to sprinkle on soups/salads, popcorn-think parmesan cheese but naturally free of dairy, eggs, wheat, nuts, and corn **see the note section from The Perfect Trio: Salsa, Guacamole, and Spicy Cashew Queso– more info on where to find this stuff!
    • Condiments: Vegan mayo, plus mustard and ketchup
    • Hummus (hummus breakfast toast, or HLT (hummus lettuce and tomato) sandwich, carrot/apple or cracker+hummus snack, etc. 
    • Hot sauce (my top three: sriracha, chili garlic sauce, or green dragon from Trader Joe’s)
    • Tahini-Combine with a little lemon juice+salt, and drizzle this stuff over your grain bowls! Other ideas: Use in salad dressings for creaminess, as a roasted potato or veggie dip, and even in desserts (when combined with maple and cocoa, it makes for some chocolatey goodness!). 
    • Nut/seed butter (peanut, almond, or sunflower butter) 
    • Plant based yogurt (I typically use Forager) and plant based milk (I use either MALK, Califia, or Oatly)
  • NUTS+SEEDS
    • Any combination of: Cashews, Walnuts, Almonds, Hemp Seeds, Chia/Flax Seeds is great! I have found that buying nuts/seeds tends to be easiest on the wallet at Trader Joe’s
  • DRY HERBS+SPICES
    • Flaky sea salt, kosher salt, and ground black pepper
    • Herbs de Provence and/or Italian blend
    • Garam masala, turmeric, curry powder
    • Garlic and onion Powder
    • Smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, red chili flakes
    • Cinnamon
    • Cacao or cocoa powder
  • CANNED GOODIES
    • Any combination of canned black beans, chickpeas, white/navy/cannellini beans (drain and rinse thoroughly before use).
    • Fire-Roasted (or plain) diced tomatoes
    • Coconut milk
    • Artichoke Hearts in brine (great for salads, pasta dishes, or in sandwiches for more texture and ‘meatiness’)
  • BAKING+SWEET
    • Maple syrup, my go-to sweetener for almost everything
    • Organic coconut sugar for all other sweetener needs 
    • Almond and vanilla extract (both, always!)
    • Baking powder and soda
    • All purpose flour
      • Note: for alternative/gluten free flours, we (mainly) use oat and almond. Since we always have oats and almonds on hand, we will just blitz the equal amount of oats/almonds to the amount of flour needed in the food processor or blender.
What are your Kitchen Gadget Staples?
What Plant-Based Alternatives do you most commonly use? 
  • Forager Project Products: Cashew Milk Yogurt; Sour Cream, Queso Fresco
  • Kite Hill Products: Almond Milk Yogurt (if we want to switch it up from Cashew, or whichever is on sale)
  • Violife Products: All of their products are fantastic, but I most commonly use their feta block cheese
  • Favorite Ice Cream Swaps: Trader Joe’s Cherry Chocolate Chip Non Dairy Frozen Dessert  (DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS ONE PEOPLE!), NadaMoo! (especially cookies and creme), So Delicious Dairy Free Cashew Milk Frozen Desserts (especially salted caramel cluster), Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss, and O’MY Dairy Free Gelato
  • Ground Beef: I try to steer clear from the majority of the plant-based meat alternatives, as they are typically very expensive and contain mega high sodium levels. So I have 2 alternatives for you! 
    • 1. WALNUTS- bare with me. Crumble them up, add them to a hot pan with EVOO, salt, pepper, paprika, and other herbs/spices of your choice, and toast them up until golden and fragrant. Put it in your nachos, tacos, lasagna, etc! You won’t know the difference. You’re welcome!  
    • 2. TOFU- take extra firm, organic tofu (Simple Truth is $1.79 at Kroger), crumble it up, add it to a hot pan with EVOO, salt, pepper, paprika, and other herbs/spices of your choice, and saute until firm and golden.
  • Deli Meat: Again, I try to steer clear from the majority of the plant-based meat alternatives, as there are too many dope whole-foods that will do the trick when compiling a good sandwich. 
    • Eggplant or Zucchini: Slice it thin, drench it in a good marinade, salad dressing, sauce, or EVOO+dry rub combo,  roast at 400 for about 20 minutes. Throw it on your sandwich with tomato, avocado, sprouts, tahini, mustard, salt n pep, and a drizzle of EVOO. Bam! It’s lunch time!  Note: You can make your eggplant/zucchini deli meat ahead of time too, so that during your busy work week, it still remains a grab and go option. 
    • When in a pinch, I will go straight for the BeHive Deli Slices. They are all handcrafted in their local Nashville kitchen, small batch and absolutely delicious. 
What are your Go-To Weeknight Meals?
  • Grain Bowls: These usually have some combination of a grain (rice quinoa, couscous, etc), loads of veggies (roasted squash, potatoes, beets, broccoli/cauliflower, brussels, etc.), avocado, beans/legumes and lentils, a creamy sauce to pour over everything, and garnished with whatever herbs, sprouts, nuts/seeds we have on hand. 
  • Noodle Stir Fry: Rice noodles, lightly sauteed veg (usually bell peps, onions, cabbage, carrots, broccoli), edamame or tofu for protein with a simple homemade peanut or teriyaki style sauce poured on top. Linked here is an awesome inspo recipe!
  • Nacho Ordinary Nacho Platter is forever on repeat.
  • We love a good curry! Linked here are just a few of our favorites. 
  • Throw together salad: Base of equal party dark leafy greens and quinoa plus any combination of veggies we have on hand, topped with a simple oil/vinegar/herb combo, nuts/seeds or avocado and crispy chickpeas (1 can drained, rinsed, seasoned, and baked in the oven for 10-15 mins until crunchy). 
How do you Meal Prep?

Every weekend, Blaise and I sit down for about 10 minutes, and pick 5-6 quick and easy recipes we know and love, or recipes we have been wanting to try. I will write out which meals we plan to have on each day (tentatively, because life happens!), and use the recipe ingredients to compile the bulk of our grocery list. **Tip: We keep a little notebook that is now full of grocery lists + weekly meals stored in our kitchen junk drawer (everyone has one), and refer back to it throughout the week. It’s also a great resource for inspiration from past meals. 

Typically, we try to double at least 2-3 of the recipes we make for dinner, and use the leftovers for quick lunches during the week. After our weekend grocery haul, we will leave out the foods that are can be prepped ahead of time (i.e grains, potatoes, onions, brussel sprouts, squash, etc.) and go ahead and prep those that day. Then we store them in tupperware until it is time to use it for dinner during the week. 

For breakfast and snacks, we always try to keep our pantry and fridge stocked with staples such as nuts/nut butter, oats, bread, avocados, frozen fruit and plant based yogurt, for oatmeal, toast, parfaits, sandwiches, and smoothies. (Check out  my list of pantry staples above!)

Without fail, at the end of each week, we will do a “kitchen sink” soup, salad, pizza, charcuterie board, tacos, etc. to ensure we use all of our leftovers and nothing goes to waste! 

How do you navigate the fast food world while keeping it plant-based?

Honestly, Blaise and I do not eat out much because we genuinely love cooking at home together. HOWEVER, we do enjoy traveling, taking big road trips, and sometimes just get the late night freakin munchies. Realistically, we cannot prepare full blown meals during these times. So, when we do not have access to local restaurants with plant-based options, here are our top fast food joints and orders:

  • Taco Bell: HOT TAKE-most of the ingredients used in Taco Bell food are vegan. So we can order a variety of Taco Bell menu items. When giving  our order, we ask to make it al-fresco, or fresco-style and they’ll leave off the cheese and/or sour cream and replace it with their chunky vegan salsa. For example, my personal favorite is the black bean crunch wrap supreme fresco-style, add crispy potatoes and a side of guacamole. Blaise’s go-tos are black bean chalupa fresco style, or a classic bean burrito fresco style, add crispy potatoes. Those crispy potatoes though.. iykyk. Other basic orders are black or refried bean tacos (fresco style), loaded nacho taco fresco-style+swap the beef with black beans, and don’t forget those cinnamon twists! 
  • Burger King: Impossible Whopper ordered without mayo. Ask them to microwave the burger if you don’t want it cooked on the grill.
  • Del Taco: Beyond Avocado Tacos are the fan favorite 
  • Dunkin’: Beyond Breakfast Sausage on an English muffin, hold the egg and cheese.
  • Panera: ​​Bagels– No animal products used in the Plain, Everything, Blueberry, Cranberry Walnut, Poppyseed, Salt, and Sesame bagels. Lunch/Dinner-Mediterranean Veggie sandwich on country Rustic Bread, hold the cheese and mayo (sometimes I like to add avocado instead), Baja Bowl or Mediterranean Grain Bowl without feta or yogurt, Seasonal Greens Salad with avocado and quinoa, Ten Veggie Soup in a bread bowl. 
  • Chipotle: From burritos and quesadillas, to salads and lifestyle bowls, we order a combination of anything on the chipotle menu except meats, shredded cheese, queso, sour cream, and chipotle-honey vinaigrette. The rest is vegan, so go off! 
  • Starbucks: Chickpea Bites & Avocado Protein Box, Blueberry or Classic Oatmeal (not labelled vegan, but no animal-derived ingredients) I order this with steamed soy, almond or coconut milk or hot water in place of dairy milk! 
  • Subway: Bread-Italian bread is the only vegan bread option across regions. However, the harvest, hearty italian, roasted garlic, ciabatta, sourdough,  tomato-basil, and spinach wraps are also vegan, if available. Condiments– guacamole, all three varieties of mustard (deli brown, yellow, mustard seed spread), oil and vinegar, Subway Herb Garlic Oil, Subway Vinaigrette, and sweet onion sauce. Depending on the region, you also have barbecue sauce, buffalo sauce, creamy italian, fire-roasted tomato sauce, giardiniera, golden italian, hot pepper relish, ketchup, and sweet chili sauce. Soups: Black Bean or Mediterranean Vegetable soup. Order-Veggie Delight in sandwich, wrap, or salad form Load that sucker up! Some Subways across the country also offer vegan meat alternatives or veggie patties (thanks California, you are always way ahead of the rest of the USA). 
Where can I find resources for more information about Plant-Based Living?
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