Vegan Valentine’s Day Recipes

Nothing says romance like a cruelty-free Valentine’s Day. If vegan Valentine’s Day recipes seem like they’re out of your wheelhouse a little bit, don’t’ worry! We’ve got lots of ideas for you to choose from! There are even some ideas for entire menus, so this list really has way more than 10 recipes.


10+ Vegan Valentine’s Day Recipes

1. Chocolate Truffles – These vegan truffles use homemade cashew cream in place of dairy-based cream in conventional truffle recipes. The results are decadently delicious!

2. Almost Raw Truffles – This is an even simpler Valentine’s Day truffle recipe that requires no stove at all. And they’re free from refined sugar, too!

3. Mango-Banana Smoothie – Start the day off with a healthy breakfast packed with natural aphrodisiacs.

4. A Whole Vegan Menu – If you’re doing Valentine’s Day at home, we’ve got you covered. This menu has everything from a signature cocktail to a romantic vegan main dish and dessert.

5. Raw Chocolate-Peppermint Brownies – This is another super simple vegan dessert. All that you need to make it is a blender.

6. Grapefruit-Cranberry White Wine Spritzer – This is a festive cocktail that’s refreshing, tart, and not overly boozy. Because getting sloppy drunk isn’t super romantic.

7. Another Whole Menu – This menu had me at Tipsy Vodka Cream Sauce. YUM!

8. Romantic Dinner a Deux – Vegetarian Times has a nice selection of recipes complete with nutritional information.

9. Lemon-Ginger Vegetable Pie – This roasted veggie pie has plenty of ginger, a natural aphrodisiac. It’s a perfect Valentine’s Day main dish.

10. Easy Vegan Quiche – You can make this quiche with any veggies that you like. And your date doesn’t have to know how easy it was to make!

[via Eat Drink Better]

Free “Real Food” Meal Plans

The folks over at 100 Days of Real Food have created 5 free “real food” meal plans to help busy families; making things a little easier for those want to cut out processed food.  According to their website, if you follow the instructions below to download the meal plans then this is what you’ll get:

• Five 7-day practical “real food” menu plans designed for busy families
• Complete meals listed each day for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner with leftovers incorporated.
• Food quantities calculated for a family of four.
• Corresponding complete grocery list showing what to buy in order of the store and actual cost for each item (as opposed to the price per serving) with seasonal ingredients highlighted on Meal Plans 3 – 5 so purchases can be made from your local farmers’ market if desired.
• Budget-friendly prices that are close to what a family of four would receive on full food stamp (SNAP) benefits– $167/week – with plenty of additional cost-saving opportunities because:
  • Coupons were not used
  • Sales prices were not used
  • Prices for organic items were used in most cases
  • If you follow this plan you will end up with some leftover food (like granola, eggs, flour, butter, marsala wine, and corn meal) that can be incorporated into recipes the following week
• All underlined recipes are available on 100DaysofRealFood.com – check out the Recipe Index for a full list.
• All recipes are working mom/dad-friendly including tips on what to make in advance over the weekend.
• Almost every item listed follows our strict 10-day pledge rules, with just a few minor exceptions to keep the plan realistic for those busy working parents.

Here’s the scoop on how to download Meal Plans 1 – 4:

1. Go to the “Meal Plans” link on the 100 Days of Real Food Facebook Page (you must be logged in to your Facebook account or create one).
2. Click “like” if you are not already a fan.
3. Click on the image of the meal plan you would like to download.

And this is how to get a hold of Meal Plan 5:

1. Become an email subscriber by entering your email address on their website and following the instructions.
2. You will receive an email that contains both a link to activate your subscription and a link to the 5th meal plan. Be sure to check your spam box if you don’t see it right away.