24 Hours Of Healthy Vegan Meals (High-Protein & Easy)

Today I'm going to walk you through a full day of healthy, easy, and delicious vegan meals. This is the perfect one-day plan if you're looking for high-protein meals that come together in less than 30 minutes, which is exactly what I need right now. And the reason I need it is because we just got back from visiting Max's family in Australia. The food is seriously good there and I definitely indulged quite a lot. So it was nice to get back into my regular morning routine. A leisurely walk to get some morning sunlight, a cup of my Indian spiced tea, which helps with digestion and keeps my tummy happy, and then a home workout from one of my favorite YouTube channels. Today's workout, I must say, was particularly challenging. So I'm making my tofu scramble recipe and serving it on avocado toast, which has all of the protein and healthy fats I need to recover and to stay full until lunchtime. For the spices that go in the tofu scramble, I'm adding garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, paprika, some Aleppo pepper. You can use any chili flakes you like. A few twists of some freshly cracked black pepper. And finally, kala namak, which is also known as Indian black salt. This stuff gives the scramble a shockingly eggy flavor. Also two tablespoons of nutritional yeast for that savory, slightly cheesy flavor. And my secret weapons, a generous tablespoon of tahini. Don't worry, you won't be able to taste it. And a half cup of creamy plant-based milk, like oat milk, which I don't actually have on hand right now, but soy milk is also fine. These two bring the level of richness that you would typically find in regular scrambled eggs. Woo! That is funky! Do not inhale the black salt. It smells not the greatest, but I promise it's going to taste super delicious. Eat it. Don't sniff it. That's not a thing that normal people say, but you know what I mean. The tofu still needs a couple minutes to finish pressing, so I'm going to use this time to make a very simple avocado mash. You need avocado, salt of course, and lemon. I like to use both the zest and the juice for a little extra pep in my step, and just mash it up with a fork. And my sneaky healthy hack is to add a couple tablespoons of hemp seeds for more protein and healthy fats. They basically melt into the avocado so you won't even notice them. For the tofu, I prefer to crumble it by hand rather than slicing it. It creates this craggy surface area that makes it the perfect vessel to grab onto the eggy sauce. Your tofu chunks shouldn't be too big or too small. Basically, you're looking for Goldilocks tofu. Heat up a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat with some oil. Once that's hot, add in your tofu and pan fry until golden brown. About five to seven minutes, and you don't need to stir very often. Now fold in the eggy sauce, and you just want to cook it until it reaches your preferred consistency. That's really all there is to it. If you are into maximizing your protein count, you could serve it with a bread like this, which has six grams of protein per slice. But we have a local bakery that sells whole wheat seeded sourdough made from a 100 plus year old sourdough starter. So yeah, I went with that instead. Spread on the avocado mash, add your tofu scramble, and for a simple nutrition boost, I'm adding some red cabbage sauerkraut and broccoli sprouts. Also, these make everything look so much prettier, and pretty food is just easier to eat. I am starving from that workout, and this is so perfect. It is hearty, and it's creamy, and it's delicious, and it's beautiful. It's really all the best things, and I'm very excited to eat it. After breakfast, I spent a little time developing recipes for spring and summer, and to help me power through this work sesh, I made a cup of green tea. Okay, I made two cups. Fine, three cups. I made three cups. The jet lag is not playing around. And while I loved the food in Australia, seriously, it is so good, after 10 days of eating out at restaurants for lunch and dinner, I am ready for some nourishing home-cooked meals. So I am making a giant salad for lunch. And a great salad always starts with a great salad dressing, so I'm whipping up a batch of my go-to red wine vinaigrette. This stuff will last for almost two weeks, and having a delicious dressing sitting right there in the fridge makes it so much more likely they'll actually eat the mountain of salad greens I ambitiously buy every single week. I can drink this with a straw. It is delicious. And if you're not putting fresh garlic in your vinaigrette, please start doing it. It is so good. For the main protein source, I've got some pre-cooked lentils. I will admit that these would not be my first choice. I almost always cook lentils from scratch because it is very simple to do and they taste better. But in a pinch, or when you have just returned from vacation and have 37 loads of laundry to do, these are fine. To zhuzh them up a bit though, I am gonna marinate them in a little bit of the vinaigrette. While these flavors get to know each other, I'm gonna prep my veggies. First, some red cabbage for a bit of crunch and a pop of color. And of course, antioxidants. And then possibly my favorite vegetable, fennel. I cannot recommend this handheld mandolin enough. As you can see, it very quickly turns these fibrous vegetables into paper-thin shreds, which makes them so much easier to chew in a salad. And it's faster than slicing by hand. A yellow bell pepper for more color and nutrients. And for the actual salad greens, I'm gonna finely chop those too. It takes an extra minute, sure. But I promise you, it makes it 10 times more enjoyable to eat a salad when everything is finely chopped or very thinly sliced. If you think you're not a salad person, please try this technique and check back in with me in the comments. And now for some fresh herbs, which are one of the easiest ways to improve a salad. The only one I have at home right now is dill, but mint, basil, or flat-leaf parsley would also be great. There is something missing from this salad though. A crunchy element. And we could use a little more protein, so I'm gonna make a special crunchy topping for my salad, which you can use in almost any salad. Heat up a frying pan with a bit of olive oil, and then toss in a half cup of pepitas and three tablespoons of hemp seeds, both of which are rich in protein and healthy fats. Once you start to see some of the seeds turn golden, add a couple pinches each of salt, black pepper, turmeric, and cayenne pepper, and then a tablespoon of maple syrup. This is more than I need in today's salad, but this crunchy topper will stay good in my pantry for a couple weeks. So, like the vinaigrette, I'm taking an extra few minutes today so that I can have even quicker meals later in the week. We'll see. I'm not sure how long this stuff will last. A little sweet, a little salty, a little spicy, just like me. All the veggies and herbs go into one big bowl, along with the marinated lentils, some more red wine vinaigrette to dress the vegetables, and finally that crunchy seed topping. Needs one more addition. This stuff is liquid gold, and it's gonna really elevate the salad and bring that creamy finish I'm looking for. I don't think I ate this many raw vegetables in my nearly two-week trip. My body is going to appreciate this. I'm gonna go outside to enjoy it, and I'll see you later. After lunch, I went for a short walk to enjoy the sunshine, and when I got back, a package was waiting for me. It's here! My cookbook! It's finally here! This is my first time seeing the cover. Big vegan flavor. That's what this cookbook is all about. 150 recipes that are full of amazing flavor, but it's not just a cookbook. This is a thick girl. She has 600 pages of mastering vegan cooking, so tons of tips and tricks for learning how to build flavor, learning how to create interesting textures without a recipe, so it is also a comprehensive guide to help you become your best home cook self. I'm so excited! There's me on the back. I don't think I've ever worked so hard on a single thing in my life. It took over three years and over 2,000 recipe tests, and I have to say thank you to you, to you watching, to all of you in the Rainbow Plant Life community, because no publisher would let me write a 600-page love letter to vegan cooking if it weren't for your support. The fact that- Oh, did not expect that. A little emotional. The fact that you watch my videos, make my recipes, and leave reviews and leave comments, that's what makes something like this happen, so thank you. I cannot wait for this book to be in your hands and for it to change the way you cook. You can start pre-ordering today. I would be so honored if you did. I'll leave a link in the description box below, and thank you again. I'm so excited, and now I'll get back to the rest of the video. I spent the next few minutes bawling my eyes out. Happy tears, of course. Max tried to film me, but I slapped the camera away, so here's a peacock mama with her pea chick for your viewing pleasure instead. I was feeling a bit peckish in the afternoon, so I made a snack plate. I grabbed some of this vegan Greek yogurt, which has great texture, but if I'm being honest, I don't really like the taste. But it has a lot of protein, which is why I bought it, and I think I can make it taste a lot better with salt and lemon juice. Mix that together. And with two of my favorite seasonings, Aleppo pepper and za'atar. And I topped this savory yogurt sauce with some crunchy roasted chickpeas, which are probably my number one store-bought snack. And I grabbed some fluffy Hobbit pita to scoop it all up. The yogurt sauce did need some fresh garlic and olive oil, but adding this garlic-infused olive oil from Brightland was quicker, and it is so freaking delicious. Max joined me outside for a snack, where he tried, unsuccessfully, to explain the plot of the movie Dune, so that I'd be prepared to watch Dune 2 on our next date night. By the time dinner rolled around, the jet lag was very real, so I kept things simple with these lazy peanut noodles. While I waited for a pot of water to boil, I made a very quick peanut sauce. It's just a quarter cup of creamy peanut butter, a bit of coconut sugar, a tablespoon or so of soy sauce, a couple teaspoons of Chinese black vinegar, you guys know how much I love this stuff, please do not sleep on it, it is amazing, and sambal oelek for the spicy factor. And just a little water to thin it out. Very delicious, and you get some protein thanks to the peanut butter. Season your water very generously with salt. Very generously, I'm serious. Nobody wants bland, unseasoned noodles. While that heats up, I'm gonna cut two small heads of broccoli into florets. I've also made this recipe with snap peas and green beans, so you could use either of those instead if you prefer. Alright, noodle time. I have some Thai wheat noodles from Trader Joe's. I don't actually know if they make wheat noodles in Thailand. If you are Thai, let me know. But these are tasty, I've had them before, and they're pretty high in protein, so that's what we're eating today. When I don't have noodles like this, I like to use whole wheat linguine for some extra protein and fiber. Once your water is boiling, plop in your noodles or pasta, and before you drain it, be sure to scoop out just a bit of the starchy water. Rinse the noodles to cool them down, and toss with a tiny drizzle of toasted sesame oil for flavor and for clumping prevention. The reason I didn't just drain the entire pot of pasta is because I'm gonna use this same pot of water to blanch our broccoli and frozen shelled edamame. Both of these need about two and a half minutes. You want the broccoli to still be crisp, tender, and bright green, so don't overcook. Drain those, and make sure to shake the colander really well so they're not too watery. For the best results, I would recommend drying them off with a towel. Mix the noodles and peanut sauce together, and you'll notice I added some of the pasta water here. But if I'm being honest, I think I added too much. Because once you add in the broccoli and edamame, you're adding additional moisture content. So I recommend adding the pasta water only if necessary to coat the noodles, and not just throwing it in there from the start like I did. You're more likely to need the pasta water if you're using pasta rather than fresh noodles. Get some sesame seeds in there for a lovely crunch. If you have some scallions in your fridge, slice one or two of those, add that in. And please do not skip the Chinese chili crisp or chili oil. It adds heat, crunch, umami, so many good things in one little condiment. This literally took 10 minutes to make, so I'm gonna give it an A+. Because it's tasty, it's nutritious, and anything with chili crisp is a win in my book. Cheers! Oh, I'm joking on chili crisp. After dinner, I like to make a cup of herbal tea and sit on the couch with a fiction book. But tonight, I'm just admiring this beautiful baby. You can find a link to pre-order my cookbook in the description box below, as well as a link to all of today's recipes. Thank you so much, and I'll see you in the next video. Bye!