- Hi, my name's Kaylee.
I'm going to be showing you what I eat in a day
as a vegan high school student.
- Hey, everyone.
My name is Keala, and I'm really excited to show you
what I eat in a day as a vegan college student.
- Hey, everyone, my name's AJ,
and I'm gonna be sharing what I eat in a day
as a vegan medical student.
- [Kaylee] For breakfast, I made a tofu and hummus toast.
I cut my tofu into fours,
put it in some paper towels to press while I'm at school,
and then I mash it up with some nutritional yeast and salt.
Spread some hummus onto my toast,
and then put on some spinach
or really any green that I just have in my house.
Put my tofu back on there,
and then some tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.
This breakfast keeps me full all morning long,
has lots of protein in the tofu and the hummus,
and I get to use that tofu later for dinner.
- [Keala] For breakfast, I made a Mexican tofu scramble
with beans, salsa verde, and cashew crema.
After you sort and rinse your beans,
you wanna soak them ideally overnight.
This helps aid digestion and shortens cooking time.
While they're soaking,
I soak my cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes.
To make the cashew crema, add the cashews,
nutritional yeast, a large garlic clove, water,
lime juice, and salt to taste.
Blend that up and make sure to scrape the sides
and add water as needed.
For the salsa verde, add cooked tomatillos and zucchini.
Then add charred onion, jalapeno, serrano,
garlic, and green onion, and blend.
I add some cilantro with the leaves and stems,
salt to taste, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Blend that again until creamy and smooth
and you're ready to go.
To the soaked beans, I add fresh water,
big pieces of onion, whole garlic cloves.
And to season, I add smoked paprika, cayenne, and cumin.
These spices are optional but add a level of smokiness
you would get from meat, such as ham hock, which is popular
in the Brazilian-style beans I grew up eating.
It can take anywhere from one to three hours on medium heat.
Make sure you add hot water throughout the process
to prevent them from burning, and salt at the end.
Now, on to the tofu scramble.
First, you add some olive oil to a pan
and sweat your onions.
Once they become fragrant,
you can go ahead and add the garlic in
and saute for about 30 seconds or so.
Once the garlic is fragrant,
you can go ahead and add your diced potatoes
and toss them in the oil to coat.
After a few seconds,
you can also add in a little bit of paprika for color.
Make sure that you add a little bit of water
throughout the process to help the potatoes cook internally.
Once they're browned, you can add in the crumpled-up tofu.
Give it a good toss.
And now, we're gonna season with turmeric, paprika,
and salt and pepper to taste.
Then go ahead and give it a good toss
and let it cook for a few minutes.
Then I'm gonna add in bell pepper or a veggie of choice.
Give it a good stir.
And right at the end, go ahead and add your vegan chorizo.
If you meal prep the salsa, cashew crema,
and beans ahead of time, you can bring this meal together
in just 10 minutes or so.
I went vegan five years ago in support of climate
and environmental justice,
and this meal has been classic for me since the beginning.
It's so delicious and protein-rich.
I hope you give it a try.
- [AJ] When I have time in the morning,
I like to make a delicious chocolate chip protein pancake.
First I add salt, sugar, vanilla extract, and baking powder
with a splash of soy milk and mix it up.
If you have an egg replacer,
this would be the perfect time to use it,
but it's not the end of the world if you don't.
Next, I add equal parts organic flour
and plant-based protein to the mixture.
After that, I add my soy milk into the batter
until it gets to the texture that I like,
which is just a little bit runny,
but I make sure not to overbeat it.
Finally, I add the semisweet chocolate chips and cinnamon,
and the batter is done.
Before I add the batter to my pan,
I make sure to grease it with oil or plant-based butter.
Then I add four spoonfuls of the batter into the heated pan
and wait until the little bubbles
start forming on the edges.
As you can see, I am not the best at flipping pancakes.
However, they still taste amazing.
The second round goes a lot better,
probably because I spread the oil around more.
To top the pancakes off, I add banana slices
because that's what I had on hand,
but strawberries and blueberries are also great toppings.
Then I put some more chocolate chips,
sunflower butter, and maple syrup.
Me and my girlfriend look forward
to this breakfast every weekend
and it's definitely worth the wait.
- [Kaylee] For lunch, I made a pesto pasta.
I put some garlic and spinach into the blender
and then added a little bit of water
just to make it blend smoother.
I added some olive oil to a pan,
cooked my onions until they were translucent.
Added in a little more olive oil and some flour.
Mixed that all in together.
And some almond milk, nutritional yeast,
and basil, and oregano,
and then a little more almond milk,
and some salt.
And then I added the spinach and garlic from the blender.
And then my pasta.
And then just a little bit of pasta water
just to make it blend all together.
Some Daiya mozzarella vegan cheese,
and then some lemon zest
and tomatoes.
I packed this up for lunch.
Pasta holds really well for me in school.
You can eat it cold. You can eat it hot.
It's easy to make the night before
since my school doesn't have a lot of vegan options.
This pesto pasta lets me get all my greens in
that I would get in a salad, but I still stay full all day.
- [Keala] For lunch, I made a winter citrus arugula salad
with vegan feta.
We start with tossing our couscous in olive oil.
I love adding a grain like couscous to my salads
because it makes them filling and nutritious.
You wanna add boiled salted water
and let that cook the couscous with no heat required.
When it's finished absorbing the water,
you wanna give it a good fluff.
To assemble the salad, add arugula,
couscous, either warmed or cooled,
apples, vegan feta, pomegranate,
the white and green parts of a green onion,
pepitas, a little bit of almond,
chopped parsley or an herb of choice,
a full avocado for healthy fat,
a squeeze of orange juice, olive oil,
agave nectar or sweetener of choice,
and salt and pepper to taste.
Give it a toss and it's ready.
Remember to use ingredients that are accessible to you
and that suit your taste preferences and nutritional needs.
A lot of people think salads are one-dimensional,
but if you have the essential components
of fat, acid, sweetness, and saltiness,
you can make an incredibly delicious salad.
- [AJ] For lunch, I'm usually at the hospital or clinic.
And if I don't bring lunch from home,
I always go to this African jerk
and barbecue food cart outside the hospital.
I wish I could get food from the hospital cafeteria,
but the only vegan option they have is a salad bar,
which does not have enough protein for me.
Today, since I didn't have any more patients
to see after lunch, I grabbed the food
and headed back to my apartment.
When I tell you this is the best barbecue
I've had in my life,
it is the best barbecue I've ever had in my entire life.
- [Kaylee] For dinner, I made a tofu and quinoa bowl.
I breaded my tofu in some almond milk and flour.
I fried that up until they were brown.
While those were frying, I got started on my spinach.
Put some olive oil in a pan.
Saute that spinach and added some garlic.
I added some teriyaki.
Just let that cook off for a little bit.
Then I assembled my bowl.
I put my quinoa on the bottom, and then put back in my tofu
and some red cabbage for crunch.
I've been vegan for about five years,
and tofu's always been a really solid option for me.
- [Keala] For dinner, I made a comforting Thai red curry
with peanut sauce.
For the peanut sauce, start by sweating some shallots
in some neutral oil.
Once fragrant, add in ginger.
Add in equal parts of red curry paste
and massaman curry paste.
Let that fry up for a second
and then add in your coconut milk.
I'm adding peanut butter to make this simple version,
but if you wanted to make something more authentic
to Thai or Malaysian-style peanut sauce,
you could process the peanuts yourself.
Now I'm gonna go ahead and thin out
with a little bit of water and then add in some sugar.
Palm sugar would be ideal here.
Make sure to add more water as needed,
and then it's ready.
For the Thai red curry, reduce some coconut milk
before adding in your red curry paste.
If you're going to use store-bought curry paste like me,
I really encourage you to show some love
to your local Asian grocer and Thai brands.
Add the rest of your coconut milk
once you see the coconut oil separating from the mixture.
Let that reduce some more,
and then add in some torn kaffir lime leaves
and smashed lemongrass stalks,
which will add to the aromatics
and vibrancy of the curry paste.
For veggies, use what is accessible to you.
Today, I'm using green beans, canned baby corn,
canned bamboo shoots that I have rinsed well, bell peppers,
and finally, a red pepper to amplify the spice.
At the end, I add my tofu.
And now, I'm going to season with soy sauce instead
of fish sauce and add in some sugar.
I finish off with some Thai basil
and serve with lime wedges.
Western veganism has co-opted many indigenous ingredients
and recipes, but in reality, so many cultures
from the global south have eaten plant-forward
for centuries.
Sending love to all my fellow Black
and Brown vegans out there who are enjoying
and sharing their cultural foods.
- [AJ] A dinner staple in our home is pasta
with cashew cream sauce and seitan.
First, I add my homemade seitan to an oiled pan.
After the seitan is cooked, I add garlic and onions.
And once those start to crisp up a little bit,
I like to add some tomato paste
and a small squeeze of lemon.
I mix everything together,
making sure to incorporate the tomato paste,
and wait a little while for it to cook down.
Then I add the crushed tomatoes and top it with basil.
Now for the cashew cream,
I boil about 1/4 cup of cashews for five minutes.
I put that in a blender and cover it up
with plant-based milk, some salt, garlic, and onion powder,
and nutritional yeast, and blend it until smooth.
And then you have this creamy, cheesy sauce you can add
to the pasta to make this beautiful orange color.
Since the sauce cooked down while the pasta was cooking,
I added a small amount of pasta water to the sauce
to get this creamy consistency that I liked.
And finally, add the pasta of your choosing to the sauce,
mix it up, and serve.
We really cannot get enough of this dish at home.
We have to make the deliberate choice not
to eat this several times a week.
It is so savory.
And to get this amount of flavor
in under 30 minutes of cooking is so important
when I have to spend so much of my time studying.
(upbeat music)