Happy Monday, everyone–I hope you had a great weekend!
I was able to relax most of the weekend, which was great, but I also had some extra meal prep time on Sunday, so I decided to go all out and make some vegan recipes I’d been eyeing.
One strategy I’ve been using in order to stay within my weekly grocery budget is to only buy food that’s on sale (except for produce and essentials, of course). This week, my favorite grocery store had coupons for tofu, mushrooms, and pasta, so I decided to make some mushroom stroganoff courtesy of From My Bowl, slow cooker tofu tikka masala courtesy of Yup…it’s Vegan!, and since I had about a cup of red lentils left and had a craving for tacos, some lentil taco meat from Delish Knowledge.
The mushroom stroganoff was SUPER easy, and my taste test confirmed it is delicious. 
Instead of cashew butter, I added Daiya cream cheese as that’s what I had. I think one of the best things about this recipe is how cheap it is, and it’s one of those things most people will enjoy despite its simplicity. I absolutely love comfort food, so I am excited to have this to eat all week.
I absolutely love cooking and eating Indian food, so I was excited to find the tofu tikka masala recipe. It is super delicious, but it requires a bit more prep work. 
I don’t mind that at all as I love cooking, but it might be difficult to make if you are in a pinch for time. This also requires a few more ingredients, so it might not be the best recipe if you are trying to keep things simple and cheap. I had a lot of the ingredients on hand already, so this was easy and cheap for me. I also love using my slow cooker when I can since it’s become 2nd to my Instant Pot.
The lentil taco meat was also a hit, although I will probably add less cumin next time. I love cumin, but I find I need to err on the side of less is more when using it. I used it to whip up some amazing tacos tonight. 
I didn’t have hard taco shells on hand, and that’s what I was really craving, so I made my own using some corn tortillas. They came out looking kind of funny, but they were delicious. I topped them with some Daiya mozzarella shreds, guac, vegan sour cream, lettuce, tomato, and lime. I forgot we were out of salsa, so that was a bummer, but they were still amazing and just what I wanted!
I am really glad I took the time to meal prep this week. Although I’ve been vegan almost a month, I think it really helps to be organized and prepared. It’s also good to find vegan versions of the meals I’m craving so I don’t go astray. I am also finding it really easy to go vegan throughout the day if I pack enough vegan snacks and don’t feel tempted to grab something that isn’t vegan. I think now I have vegan basics down, I can focus more on being creative with my recipes. 
365 Vegan 