What Our Vegan Family of 5 Eats in a Day

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Wait, your whole family eats vegan? 

Yup. 

Not just you?

Correct.

But what do vegans eat anyway? And what the heck do you feed the kids?

I get asked this question. All. The. Time. 

I can’t be mad about it. Because a little over a year ago, I typed the same question into my search engine. And emailed our doctor to verify what I found.

So, let’s clear that up first. 👇

What Do Vegans Eat Anyways?

Simply put, vegans eat foods that come from plants, not animals.

Some examples include:

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Legumes
• Dairy alternatives like soy, oat or almond milks
• Nuts and seeds
• Rice, pasta, breads

A vegan’s plate is free from animal products, cruelty, exploitation and testing.

What exactly does that mean? When we went plant-based I thought it only meant no meat, fish, eggs, dairy, or gelatin.

But we soon learned it’s more than that. Vegans avoid honey and insect byproducts like those used in most sprinkles and some candies.

As a mother of three young ones, I try to stay mindful of what I can realistically accomplish. While I plan our meals, I look for simple and approachable choices for our family.

That’s why this is what you can expect to find in this post:

• Practical vegan family meals and snacks
• Examples that illustrate what a vegan eats in a day
• A glimpse into what a family who recently became plant-based really eats

Alright guys, let’s get started. 💪

Here’s what our vegan family of 5 eats in a day!

Breakfast—How My Plant-Based Family Starts the Day

Breakfast is my favorite meal. So I never, ever skip it. Sometimes, I even eat it for dinner! 

We are incredibly consistent with our breakfast. 

It keeps things simple on busy mornings.

Here’s what our vegan family eats for breakfast:

Oatmeal. I know this is a popular choice for vegans. And that’s for good reason! It’s yummy and so customizable. I like mine warm. My hubby and kids eat the oats right out of the jar with a ton of toppings. We top ours with any of the following: blueberries (frozen or fresh), raspberries, strawberries, bananas, apples, walnuts, pecans, flaxseed, almond milk, cinnamon, and maple syrup. I usually add 5-7 toppings to my oatmeal every morning.

What Do Vegans Eat for Breakfast—Besides Oatmeal?

OK, I know oatmeal can be a bit obvious. So here are some other vegan breakfasts we enjoy!

• Toast. When we are in a hurry, we’ll take this in the car with us. We use a whole grain and seed toast and top it with peanut butter or Earth Balance butter and strawberry jam. We’ll eat it with a bowl of berries too.
• Cereal. My oldest loves Trader Joe’s Organic Coconut Almond Chia Cereal. And when that’s not available, we have a couple of others with a good amount of protein and fiber (that don’t include honey or other animal ingredients). We add blueberries and almond milk to our cereal as well.
• Big Breakfasts… Like Brunch. What do vegans eat for brunch though?? The options are surprisingly endless! We miss eggs from time to time, so we make a tofu scramble or quiche, a scramble or even omelets with JUST Egg. I like to add vegan sausages, veggies and O’Brien potatoes and fruit. Sometimes we throw it all together in a breakfast burrito! Pancakes, waffles and crepes are totally doable still!
• Matcha or Coffee! Some mornings I trade coffee for matcha. We add agave or maple syrup to the matcha. And I add Oatly oat milk to both matcha and coffee.

Many of our traditions include brunch and big breakfasts. And I wanted us to have something fun to eat at morning gatherings. Going vegan shouldn’t change that.

From vegan bacon and cheese to savory quiche and sweet pancakes, we enjoy breakfast just as much as we used to!

Morning Snack—Our Go-Tos When We’re on the Go

If you asked my kids their favorite meal of the day, it would probably be snack time. Since two of them are in school, and my youngest is usually in tow with me on errands around this time, I get snacks that they can eat on the go.

Here’s what we ate for snack this morning:

• Fruit and nut bars
• Apple slices

What Other Plant-Based Snacks Do We Eat in the Morning?

We’ve found loads of yummy vegan snacks for kids since going plant-based. But our morning snack isn’t big because the kids eat quickly before heading out to recess. If we don’t eat fruit and nut bars, I’ll grab these other snacks in the morning:

• Granola bars
• Fig bars
• Fresh fruit (we usually have pears, bananas or mandarin oranges in the morning)

While our goal is to eat a whole-food, plant-based diet as much as possible, ready-made snacks are convenient for our busy lifestyle.

Lunch—Our Vegan Family’s Midday Meal

Adapting our kids’ lunches took some minor tweaks. They used to buy school lunches one day a week. After we talked with them about switching to a plant-based diet, they were on board, but hesitant. 

To help them with the adjustment, we found fun things to serve so they could look forward to those rather than dwelling too much on what they weren’t getting in the school lunches.

We came up with several quick and tasty vegan lunches or kids that are easy for me to make!

As for me, I eat leftovers. Lots of leftovers.

Here’s what we ate for lunch today:

• PB&Js on thin rice cakes (but some days we use rolled up tortillas or whole grain seed bread)
• Yogurt parfaits made with vegan vanilla yogurt, cut up strawberries and a pumpkin seed and flax granola
• Leftovers! Today I threw together leftover brown rice, leftover black beans, and leftover veggies.

What Other Lunches Do We Enjoy?

• Avocado toast on whole grain seed bread. I toast the bread, split open an avocado and mash it on a cutting board with a sprinkle of salt and a squirt of lime if I have it. If not, I just smear the avocado on the toast after it pops out of the toaster. I top it with a shake or two of red pepper flakes.
• Falafel. I make tzatziki and drizzle it over the falafel on a warm pita.
• Veggie Sandwich. I layer spinach, cucumber, tomato and avocado on a high protein bread (and am planning to try out some new brands of vegan bacon on this.
• More leftovers! If you’re wondering what a vegan eats in a day in this house, it’s leftovers! If I have an entire meal leftover from the night before, I reheat it. Like pasta and vegetables, a plant-based burger and zucchini, a baked potato, or, my favorite, rice and beans! If I have leftover rice and/or vegetables, it’s super easy to create something fabulous for lunch. I’ll heat up a can of beans and add avocado, spinach and salsa and have a taco bowl or burrito. Or we’ll mix the rice with some leftover veggies and make a stir-fry or teriyaki bowl.
• Chocolate Almond Milk. Ok, this isn’t a meal. But, this is a real treat. The one thing the kids miss most about the school’s lunches is the chocolate milk. But since I’ve put the chocolate almond milk in their lunch boxes once a week, I haven’t heard much about the school lunches. *wink*

Afternoon Snack—Our Vegan Family’s Post-Siesta Treat

One of our family’s favorite vegan snacks for kids, and honestly all of us, is smoothies!

Here’s what we ate for snack today:

• Smoothies with bananas, spinach, frozen blueberries and water
• Celery and hummus

Smoothies put all of us in good moods, especially on hot afternoons. So once my youngest wakes up from his nap, I’ll run the blender and mix together some greens, frozen fruit, and vegan yogurt.

What Are Some Other Vegan Snacks or Kids (and Adults)?

When we aren’t having smoothies and celery and hummus, we’re usually eating some of these:

• Mandarin oranges
• Bananas
• Pears
• Cashews
• Apples and peanut butter
• Hummus and veggies, whole grain crackers, or pita bread
• Edamame
• Steamed artichoke
• Veggie straws
• Popcorn

We can find a lot of pre-made vegan snacks for kids (and us) at the store, too. From specialty crackers and chips, to dried fruit.

Dinner—What We Circle Around at the End of the Day

It’s Friday, so I’m in a celebratory mood tonight… And feel like fries. 😋

Here’s what our vegan family ate for dinner:

• Chickenless sandwich
• Sweet potato fries
• Brussel sprouts

I baked these chickenless patties I found at Costco, sweet potato fries and Brussel sprouts together in the oven.

Is it the most healthy option? No. But it’s Friday night and we feel like celebrating the end of the week and baking a bag of sweet potato frozen fries stops us from going out to a restaurant to grab dinner.

We topped the chickenless patties with spinach, tomatoes, ketchup and vegan mayo.

The whole family loved it. 

What Other Vegan Family Meals Do We Eat for Dinner?

Soon after becoming plant-based, we realized that making new recipes each week was overwhelming for me. Adjusting to this new diet was hard enough. Adjusting to a whole lineup of new dishes made me question how long we could continue. So we came up with seven days (a week’s worth) of go-to vegan family dinners that we could fall back on. And for a few months we rotated between those seven meals to help us with the adjustment period.

Here’s a list of those meals:

• Pasta, sauce and frozen veggies
• Tacos
• Loaded Baked Potatoes
• Teriyaki bowls
• Chik’n Nuggets, Baked Beans and Brussels Sprouts
• Beyond Burger with toppings, fries and zucchini spears
• Vegan Chili

You can read more about these meals and find the recipes in my 7 Easy Vegan Family Dinners Made with 10 Ingredients or Less post.

Dessert—The Possibilities for Delicious Vegan Decadence Are Endless

The kids and I have a mean sweet tooth. So when we first went plant-based, our reaction to missing out on all the easy-to-come-by desserts in grocery stores, school parties, and family get-togethers was a little over the top. To say the least.

We (needlessly) asked ourselves what do vegans eat for dessert!?

But we supported the kids (and each other) through the transition and in the process of doing so, found some pretty tasty desserts. 

Here are our favorite desserts:

• Oreos, other vegan cookies, and vegan chocolate chip cookies (made with a flax egg)
• Vegan candies
• Vegan ice cream
• Vegan cake, cupcakes and cheesecake
• Vegan s’mores

Whether your family recently switched to a plant-based diet, you’re considering making the move, or you just want more meal ideas, I hope seeing what a vegan eats in a day helps!

Did we eat the most nutritious meals today? No. But that’s alright.

There will always be healthier options. Our goal is to get closer to eating whole-food plant-based meals and snacks. And we’ve made huge strides in the past year towards that goal.

What’s been the most surprising for me is learning that it isn’t as challenging as I once thought it would be to feed my family a vegan diet. 

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You’ve Heard from Me, Now I’d Like to Hear from You!

What comes to mind when you think about what a vegan eats in a day? Do you have any plant-based meals that you love? If so, I’d love to hear them!

Leave me a comment below and let me know your favorite vegan meal!

Thanks or reading. As always, stay mindful, even when your mind’s full,
~Chelsea

Oh, and don’t forget to pin this post or later! 👇📌😘