sowhatdoyoueat

[sowhatdoyoueat]

Vegan Grocery + Resources

NEW YORK CITY

Orchard Grocer

Amazing little deli and grocery store with all kinds of essentials. A great additional stop to your normal Key Foods, Ideal, etc. regular grocery store or fresh market. Between Orchard and Natural Frontier, and our normal grocery stores we never have to go to Whole Foods anymore. Go there to pick up vegan essentials and pick up lunch while you're there. We always get The Miles and whatever the special is. Plus, there's a great potato salad.

Natural Frontier

Absolutely essential for us! 2 locations in Brooklyn and Queens. Very key produce, and all your essential vegan/vegetarian staples.

Kam Man

Fantastic store, great ramens, dried mushrooms, tofus and sauces. Huge tea section, and an irresistible housewares section– for me at least.

Genkiya Market

Great little Japanese grocery on Spring Street. Lots of things you can't find in other places – specialty produce, great lotus root etc.

PARIS

Mon Épicerie

I don't know what we would do without this store – we'd certainly have a different impression of Paris. Small but full of essentials: vegan meats, and THE best vegan cheeses – many that you can't find in the states. Great spices too. And a small but nice selection of wines!

Aujourd'hui Demain

For the longest time we only had brunch here, and then finally eventually took a look at the store. Lots of great food stuff besides having cool shoes, backpacks, clothes etc. Plus the savory pancakes are top!

Land & Monkeys

Several locations. Amazing sandwiches. We eat there A LOT. Great desserts and bread in general for picking up. Our friends got me a vegan cake for my birthday there last year. SO sweet, in every meaning.

ST. LOUIS

When we lived on Cherokee Street we always said, "you can't have a better grocery situation better than this." On foot, between Schnucks, Latino Americana and Jay International (and the occasional jumping in the car to get essentials from Whole Foods) we had everything we needed to thrive vegan.

OTHER ACCOUNTS + BLOGS

Brand New Vegan This guy makes some great recipes. I haven't used them in awhile but they are a lot of good veganized versions of traditional comfort foods and helped me build a cooking vocabulary for cooking vegan.

The PETA vegan starter kit and "how to go vegan" section was super helpful to us when we made the transition from vegetarian to vegan, and it was a PETA guide that helped me go vegetarian as a teenager way back when. I think a lot of folks think that PETA is just angry protestors throwing red paint on fur coats but they're actually SO MUCH MORE and rather just folks who care about animals and have a lot of helpful information and delicious recipes that we still use. Get your guide here!

Some accounts I like, here's a great place to start:

veganeatsnyc

veganzinga

plantbasednews

thekoreanvegan

association_l214 (French)

Not exactly "vegan" but super relevant:

Vakita (French)

Maybe work your way up to these:

veganstreet

For real, varsity. I love this guy, but there was a time he would have been too much for me. But not anymore!:

earthlinged

But seriously, this one is maybe vegans only. But once you're there, it's so perfect:

Elwoodsorganicdog

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 31

BREAKFAST

Kashi with blackberries, raspberries, and oat milk

LUNCH

Grilled tofu sandwich with paprika, beri-beri, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, I think that was it, cooked in vegan butter – again, we like soy-free Earth Balance, on toast with avocado, sweet mustard, vegan mayo, broccoli sprouts, vegan chive cheese, and argula

DINNER

Went to this place called Bites of X'ian around Herald Square. Shared hot oil hand ripped noodles with bok choy, a garlic cucumber salad (so good! Maybe a little wasabi in there?) and a vinegar potato salad

LATER

Olives, almonds, white bean hummus with pita chips and we both had a glass of some really delicious red wines (the Fess Parker ‘19 and La Bancale ‘Fleuve Rouge’ ‘21) at Vanguard

#veganuary #vegan #vegetarian

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 30

BREAKFAST

Kashi with fruit and oat milk (Dang! We switched to Oatly and it is worth the hype!)

LUNCH

Deluxifed instant ramen with thinly sliced potatoes (thinly sliced is crucial), shiitake, chili crisp bok choy, green onions, cilantro, and purple cabbage

DINNER

Lion's mane tacos with green salsa, Kite Hill cheese, avocado, iceberg lettuce, green onions and a side of vegan refried beans

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 29

BREAKFAST

Kashi with almond milk

LUNCH

Leftover Thai takeout

DINNER

Pasta with a Rao's red sauce with mushrooms, peppers, broccoli added and Kite Hill ricotta*

*the Kite Hill ricotta is one THE most versatile vegan cheeses. I wouldn't really call it "ricotta" although it can certainly be that. It also works well as a soft light Mexican style cheese and it even works well paired with sweet things, like jams. It's really a category of it's own. Highly recommend!

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 28

TRAVEL DAY MX > US

Vegan jerky, some avocado tacos at the airport, pretzels on the plane, Thai takeout when we got home: pineapple curry with tofu and vegetables, fresh spring roll, pad kee mao with vegetables and tofu

[sowhatdoyoueat]

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 24

BREAKFAST

Tofu scramble on toast

LUNCH

Amy's banh mi wrap

DINNER

Oh look, ended up at Lao Ma again for málà dry pot

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 23

BREAKFAST

BLA: Light Life bacon, gem lettuce, avocado, vegan mayo (we like Earthbalance) and mustard, side of shredded Brussels sprouts

LUNCH

Kefta style Impossible meat with hummus, and a side of chana masala, I think a little rice too

DINNER

Some Amy's soup with toast, can't remember what soup.

You can tell it was a little busier today and I didn't take as good of notes!

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 22

BREAKFAST 

Kashi with blackberries and oat milk

LUNCH

Deluxified ramen, added shiitake and shimei mushrooms, tofu, radish, black sesame seeds, sunflower sprouts, cilantro

DINNER

Amy’s vegan GF lasagna and a simple baby gem salad with Kite Hill ricotta

SNACKS

LaCroixs throughout the day. Olives and mixed nuts as usual throughout the day. Glass of red wine that night 

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 21

BREAKFAST

Potatoes with button mushrooms, sweet little peppers, minced onion, light Impossible meat, salt, pepper and a dash of rice vinegar, served with shredded Brussels sprouts

LUNCH

Amy’s Tamale Verde I think it was called. Easy, microwave, busy day food. But how lucky are we to live in a world where not-terrible-vegan-easy-busy-day food exists?! Pythagoras would lose it! 🤯

DINNER 

Jackfruit tacos and rice, details below:

Upton’s Jackfruit tacos with baby gem lettuce, avocado, purple cabbage, cilantro, green onion, jalapeño, steamed corn tortillas, thin slices of radish and some Daiya cheddar block and a little bit of rice seasoned with the orange Goya mystery spice pack (we eat a lot of whole, raw vegetables and this is NOT that…but it can’t be anything worse than anything in a traditional American diet. Sometimes, ya gotta just enjoy the flavor crystals) 

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 20

BRUNCH

Weekend brunch chez nous! Vegan chilaquiles — tortilla chips cooked in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, green salsa, JUST egg, topped with cilantro, green onion, avocado, Daiya cheese and jalapeño 

LUNCH 

Keeping it fast, simple and low cal with Kashi and oat milk

DINNER

Lao Ma Spicy on 8th street. It's the only B I'll go to again and again despite knowing it's a B. . .but all the more reason to only do vegetables amirite?

We shared dry pot with white rice, lotus root, trumpet mushroom, tofu puff, bok choy, bean curd skin. Also shared black fungus salad and cucumber salad. We LOVE málà dry pot.

#vegan #vegetarian #veganuary

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 19

BREAKFAST 

Kashi and oat milk 

LUNCH

Lion's mane mushroom melt sandwich with lion's mane and Evan’s delicious sauce/marinade from the other day, shredded Daiya cheddar block (note other mentions about the block), red cabbage cooked in olive oil and arugula on sesame Italian bread with a pickle on the side

DINNER

Ramen Danbo in the west village (they have a vegan menu!) vegan curry ramen and miso ramen with a shared side soy donburri. Definitely recommend!

#vegan #veganuary #vegetarian

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 18

BREAKFAST 

Kashi with raspberries and oat milk 

LUNCH

A JUST egg scramble with shiitake and shimei mushrooms and a little basil, salt, pepper, avocado on toast

DINNER

Thai Villa in Flatiron district. We shared garlic eggplant with tofu, Thai chili, long hot pepper and basil leaves with jasmine rice and also the cashew nut tofu, with pineapple, jicama, roasted pepper, scallions, chili jam with rice. This place is so good and great ambiance too.

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 17

BREAKFAST 

Kashi with oat milk

LUNCH

Lion's mane mushroom steaks and dang were they good, with chili crisp green beans, white rice and an avocado cucumber salad. Sauce for the lion's mane marinade made of rice vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, chili oil, agave with minced ginger and fresh garlic

DINNER

Jackfruit tacos with avocado, cilantro, jalapeño, green onion, thinly sliced raw red cabbage, and a side of rice with peas with the amazing orange Goya packets and a Cabernet that went surprisingly well with it all 

#vegan #veganuary #lionsmane #mushrooms

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 16

BREAKFAST 

Kashi with raspberries, blackberries and oat milk

LUNCH

Deluxifyed ramen with maitake, tofu, purple cabbage, sunflower sprouts, snap peas, cauliflower, green onion, basil, cucumber, chili crisp, black sunflower seeds

SNACKS

Olives, artichoke hearts 

DINNER

Prepackaged spinach daal with rice and pita, we added tofu

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 15

BREAKFAST

Vegan croissant and black coffee from the new exciting coffee shop in our neighborhood, Bad Therapy

BRUNCH

JUST Egg scramble with herbs, broccoli and potatoes, and avocado

DINNER

Deluxe beans and rice seasoned with those little delicious orange Goya sazon spice packets, with roasted corn, and avocado and finely sliced purple cabbage on top

[sowhatdoyoueat]

January 14*

BREAKFAST 

Potato medallions with onion, sweet pepper, button mushrooms and red cabbage seasoned just with salt and pepper and a splash of vinegar, side of Light Life bacon strips

LUNCH 

Improvised cauliflower, corn, potato soup, with pink beans, lots of black pepper, garlic, leeks, olive oil, green onion, jalapeño, a little bit of Daiya cheddar†, nutritional yeast, a little pink salt…hmm…what else…oh! almond milk…and topped with cilantro and a tortilla on the side

DINNER 

After a super late lunch, snacky vegan charcuterie board for dinner and wine and sparkling water. Various vegan cheeses and meats and hummus and fruits and artichokes etc.

† We highly, highly recommend using Daiya Block and shredding/cutting like you would a dairy cheese. We do NOT condone the shredded bag stuff, not yummy.

*fun fact! Sleepy Kitty's album Projection Room came out 10 years ago today!

#vegan #veganuary