At Home Chef: Vegan Taco Recipe

Homemade Vegan Tacos

Ingredients:

Romaine Lettuce or red cabbage or dino kale
1/2 Red Pepper
1 Tomato
1/2 Onion
Guacamole
Corn tortillas
Daiya Mozzarella Cheese
Seasonings to taste (Chilli powder, Himalayan salt, black pepper)
Your favorite brand of fuax meat

Prep:
Chopp all vegetables: tomato, onion, red pepper, lettuce.

Cook:
In a pan pour in 1/2 of chopped yellow onion with 1/4c. water. This will create its own oil which will rule out having to use any oils that could become carcinogenic if used at high temperatures. Next pour in your faux meat, stir as you season it. Cook for 4-6 minutes.

In a skillet with water and onion or oil lightly fry the tortilla to your liking. Let sit on a paper towel to catch excess oil.

Presentation:
On a plate, in this order add tortilla face up, meat, cheese, lettuce, veggies, guacamole and salsa if you like. Wah La!!!! Vegan Tacos. Enjoy!!!

Flacos Vegan Tacos

Flacos Vegan Taco and Tequito 

I am not a fan of faux meat or soy products however, I made an exception for Flacos Vegan Restaurant in Berkeley, CA. My goal is try every vegan eatery in my surrounding area, this goal led me to Flacos where the service was warm, prices good, and the food very tasty. I also, had a vegan horchata made from rice milk it was delicious. (Sorry, no picture for it.) Check them out if you're ever in town.

My Vegan Meal Plan

Vegan Food Pyramid

I’d like to think I’m a fairly organized person- I organize my days, my to-do list, sometimes my house- but always my meals. Meal planning keeps my lifestyle stress free as I balance work, exercise, and a social life. When I plan my meals out I am rarely hungry, meals are simple and easier to prepare, and it leaves less room to eat foods I do not consider desirable. 

There are a few steps I follow to keep meal planning and preparing simple. First, I create a weekly meal plan every Sunday next, I create a grocery list, then I purchase my groceries, and finally I prepare and store my meals for the week.

I do not shop without my list and I try not to deviate from it. I do allow myself one extra thing not on the list for fun this structure supports my finances and my diet. I strive to purchase only whole foods, unproccessed, unpackaged, and  uncanned. Although, sometimes I do buy frozen berries for smoothies. When I create my meal plans I always  take into account my activity level. I run between 25-35 miles a week in addition to 3-4 weight training sessions a week. With that in mind I need enough oxygen giving foods from green leafy vegetables, protein from nuts, seeds, beans, and quinoa, healthy fats from avocado and coconut oil and lots of water from fruits, veggies, and by the glass of course.

In a nutshell:

1. Create a meal plan on Sunday
2. Make grocery list
3. Purchase groceries
4. Prepare meals for the week
5. Store them in glass containers or plastic bags in fridge

My Sweet tooth is slowly fading away!

A sample meal plan for me looks like this:
Days 1,3,5 (Very active days)
Monday, Wednesday, Friday total: 1,823 Calories

	Meal 1	Meal 2	Meal 3	Meal 4	Meal 5	Meal 6
Hot water w/ lemon + Glutamine, Probitotic	Green Smoothie: Spinach, strawberries, blueberries, banana, coconut water, aloe vera juice, maca powder, chia seeds + Multivitamin 300 calories	4 Collards Wraps w/ hummus, sprouts, celery, cucumber, tomato, red pepper + Digestive Enzyme 275 calories	Big Fat Salad: Kale, spinach, tomato, sprouts, cucumber, avocado, red pepper, seeds, tahini dressing 260 calories	Peanut Butter and Banana 305 calories	Kale, quinoa, black beans, sweet potato + all supplements 470 calories	Banana, almond milk Vega Protein powder smoothie 213 calories

You notice there aren’t any sweets on this meal plan aside from fruit. My sweet tooth is slowly fading away. I used to crave cookies, pies, and ice cream. Now, I reach for a banana, a handful of grapes, or a few dates. AND when these aren’t enough (which sometimes they’re not during certain times of the month) I reach for 80% dark chocolate or raw coconut ice cream.

Green Juice gets Swag