So now we are a vegan family whatever that means! I prefer to say that we are a healthy family that chooses not to eat meat!

This has been a journey for all of us and we are only just starting our path towards healthier living. We are all feeling better and have adapted well, not even missing meat and fish.

None of us are allergic to animal products and we aren’t perfect so we do sometimes slip up and have egg noodles instead of rice noodles or have non-vegan parmesan cheese on our pasta. But this only makes us human!

A key challenge has been thinking of meals to have as we usually like to eat together as a family and don’t have time to spend all day cooking and preparing food.

My top tip is just to adapt the meals that you used to enjoy as a family and eat more vegetables, the more the better. Plus you can make some simple changes such as swapping from cow’s milk to cashew or almond milk (family favourites).

I also sent my husband on an excellent vegan cooking course with Food from 4 to seek more expert guidance and inspiration.

We have found that the delivery of a weekly vegetable box has helped us eat seasonal produce and try different vegetables. Try Riverford for deliveries in your area.

I have listed some main meal suggestions below. Some take 5 minutes to prepare and some take longer. They are all made from scratch and taste delicious. These are our family favourites.

You could try and introduce 1 or 2 meat free days per week and see how you get on. It isn’t as hard as you think for all the family to eat healthier food and feel better.

I will add some more recipes to my blog and also make some suggestions for vegan puddings, side dishes and starters. Feel free to adapt any of the recipes and add ingredients that you and your family like. Happy healthy living!

Some meal suggestions

Main meals

Tacos, Fajitas and Quesadillas –

Use Spicy bean, pepper and tomato mix and add cooked rice, guacamole, salad and nachos.

Black bean chilli and rice

Special fried rice – vegetables cooked with soya sauce, sweet chilli sauce, honey and mixed with cooked rice

Falafels with pitta and salad

Stir fried noodles and vegetables

Vegan shepherds pie with lentils

Potato and Leek pie with puff pastry

Sweet potato and chickpea curry

Cauliflower curry

Lentil and tomato dhal

Roasted squash and vegetables

Mushroom and pea risotto

Tomato and pepper spicy coconut paella

Pitta triangles with pomegranate and chick peas

Pesto Pasta

Tomato pasta arabiata

Tofu meatballs

Bean burger, salad and fries

Onion bhaji burger, salad and fries with mango chutney

Veggie roast dinner

Mushroom wellington

Pizza with olives, red onions and peppers