Favourite easy family friendly vegan recipes

I'm newly vegan, about 2 months now, I have a 2.5 year old and hubby who are not vegan, but I try to get them to eat more plant based foods. A quick lunch is an organic whole wheat pita bread, with hummus and fruit. The vitamin c in fruit helps aid in absorption of iron, so I try to pair a fruit with our meals as much as possible. Also, I've found a red lentil and quinoa pasta, from whole foods, that I make with organic marinara sauce, it has lots of protein. Peas are great to have on hand, lots of protein and vitamins too. Also, Amy's Dairy free bean burritos are great in a pinch. I'm not a big cook, so I welcome anyone else's reccomendations too! And yay for less animal products!

Especially with it being winter, stews are your friend. Slow cooker, make ahead, freeze.

Vegetarian Hoppin’ John
Hoppin’ John is often eaten at New Year’s, but it’s a great meal the rest of the year too. This vegetarian version is lighter and still packed with protein. This is a good recipe to make ahead and refrigerate.
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 90 minutes
• Servings: 6
• Equipment: 6-quart or larger pot with lid, knife, cutting board, large spoon to stir
Ingredients:
• 16 oz. dry black eyed peas (rinsed and picked through for stones)
• 1 cup parboiled or converted rice*
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 4 stalks celery
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp paprika (preferably smoked paprika)
• 1 tbsp corn oil or other cooking oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• ¼ cup barbeque sauce
• 6-7 cups water
Directions:
1. Loosely dice onions, celery and peppers. Sauté on medium heat with oil until onions are translucent.
2. Add garlic powder, paprika and thyme. Stir to coat evenly.
3. Add black eyed peas, barbeque sauce and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat, covered, for 90 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
4. Check to make sure peas are tender and that about two cups of cooking liquid remain. Add more if needed, then add salt and hot sauce to taste.
5. Add rice, stir well, and cover for 30 minutes on lowest heat. (Optional: Add a cup of diced ham or sausage)
6. Check to make sure rice is cooked and serve with more hot sauce. (Optional: Garnish with chopped green onions.)
*Parboiled or converted rice is not the same as pre-cooked. It has been specially processed to retain about 80% of the nutrients found in brown rice. It has twice the fiber of white rice (but 50% less than brown rice.) It works well in soup and stew recipes like this because it doesn’t absorb as much water or lose its shape.

Theppk.com has an awesome slow cooker chili. They have lots of other good recipes too. Seitan picatta is a favorite at our house.

For vegan frozen/pre made food, head to trader joes. Their frozen black bean and corn enchiladas, frozen vegetable burritos, and fresh hummus/lentil wraps are great.

Try the Oh She Glows cookbook! My family and I love the cookie dough bites, Tex mex casserole, and tortilla soup. All super simple to make ahead and freeze for later.