What’s not to love about Trader Joe’s? Right? I mean they have tons of organic products, pretty affordable prices, amazing customer service and the cutest selection of flowers! It’s a win-win for me and one of the many reasons I do like 85% of my grocery shopping there. I thought I would share a little Trader Joe’s haul for all you fellow TJ lovers out there! Hope you enjoy!

Since we’ve been vegan for over 10 years now, this is our typical vegan Trader Joe’s trip for my family of four. I try and get the majority of my grocery shopping done at Trader Joe’s, and then finish by getting a few things at Costco or Sprouts. And since I don’t want to take my girls grocery shopping every week, I try and get enough for two weeks of meals! So here is a little breakdown of my cart!

The Essentials: Fruits and Veggies

This varies every trip depending on what they currently have in stock that is organic, but the bulk of what I buy is from this section. We really try to eat whole foods, and stay away from processed foods because they aren’t the best for you! I have a pretty sensitive stomach so any additives will typically irritate it!

Those are pretty much the essentials that we always stock up on! But I thought I would share a few of my favorite finds that you have to try! Some are snacks and more processed, but everything in moderation for us! And some are frozen because it’s great to have something you can make quickly on a weekday when you are short on time! So here are some of my favorite Trader Joe items you need to try!!

1. Trader Joe’s Vegan Ranch Crunch Salad Kit

Okay! This has been a fan favorite for the last month I’m the Moya household! We are obsessed! The salad kit includes green cabbage and romaine lettuce, fried onions, roasted sunflower kernels, kale, red cabbage, carrots, green onions, and a vegan ranch dressing. You just put the dressing over, add the sunflower kernels and you are good to go! The flavor is amazing!

We actually love to make this salad and put it into corn tortillas! We then add vegan fish fillets and some yummy salsa and you have a delicious vegan fish taco that took less than 10 minutes to make!

The only downside with this kit is that it’s not organic! Other than that it’s pretty amazing!!!

2. Trader Joe’s Japanese Style Fried Rice

I buy like four of these at a time! My daughters are obsessed! The flavor is super good and it’s so easy to cook on a busy weeknight! And it’s only $2.99, so it’s definitely an affordable vegan meal/side dish!

The dish includes a rice base with a small amount of edamame, carrot and tofu with a savory sauce. The shredded tofu is supposed to be like a fried egg, but there’s not that much if it so we add some tofu to make it more protein filled!

We love cooking our tofu in the air fryer! Highly recommend this one, but I’ve seen amazing reviews on this one from Amazon too. In an earlier blog post (here!), I shared my favorite way to make tofu! The key to getting crispy tofu is a tofu press! Pressing tofu is THE key step when cooking tofu. When it’s pressed it absorbs marinades and crisps up more easily! This one is super affordable and works great, but I love the aesthetic appearance of this one too!

I also love to add avocado and nutritional yeast to the fried rice and tofu to give it more flavor and more nutrition! It’s so delicious! You have to try if you haven’t already!

3. Almond Butter Pretzels

Okay…I was a fan of the regular peanut butter filled pretzels, but these are just amazing! I mean who doesn’t love something a little sweet and salty. These are seriously the best though and my go to snack whenever I am craving something sweet! I really love how creamy they are inside and they are great snacks for anyone whose child has a peanut allergy!

I would just make sure you don’t eat the whole bag in one serving! It’s definitely easy to, so be mindful of that! The serving size is 8 nuggets, which contain 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 240 milligrams of salt, 19 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of sugar. But it’s definitely a delicious treat!

4. Coconut Chocolate Date Bars

These delicious bars are amazing! I’m a super big fan of the fact that it only has a few ingredients and they are all real ingredients, no hard to pronounce names over here! It’s just dates, almond butter, coconut flakes, unsweetened chocolate chunks and cocoa powder! That’s it!

Each bar has 170 calories and it comes in a five-pack for $3.49, so it’s a good deal! They taste like a brownie to me and are very creamy and slightly chewy! My daughters really love these as a special treat and I can feel satisfied knowing they aren’t getting all of the additives! They are a great alternative to a brownie or dessert, or even just a little treat to put in your child’s lunchbox! These bars actually remind me of a Larabar, which Trader Joes used to carry!

Eco-Friendly Shopping Items

One bad thing about Trader Joes is that a lot of the products are wrapped in plastic! You can’t really bring your reusable produce bags and put the produce straight into them since they are already packaged. I do wish that was an option, but unfortunately, it isn’t right now! In order to combat that, I always bring my reusable bags to bag my groceries at home! It’s the little things that count!

Here’s a few of my favorite bags!

I hope this post didn’t make you too hungry and that you have a Trader Joes nearby so you can try these delicious items! Thank you for following along and we hope you have a great weekend!!

xoxoxo,

Kari

p.s. if you do click on the links and purchase an item, we make a small commission! we appreciate your support <3

The post What’s in My Cart: Trader Joe’s Haul appeared first on sunkissed & grateful.

Swap Reese’s Eggs for Unreal Dark Chocolate PB Cups

If you haven’t tried the Unreal Dark Chocolate PB Cups they are amazing!! These go so quickly in our home that I sometimes I have to hide a couple for myself

Swap Peeps for Smash Mallow

So I’ve never actually tried a peep heheh but from my understanding it’s a marshmallow treat. A healthier Easter candy alternative for peeps would be the Smash Mallow Egg Hunt Pack. We’ve used vegan marshmallows for years and love them. We’ve used these to make rice crispy treats, s’mores and in hot chocolate and they taste better than marshmallows to me!

Swap Sour Patch Jelly Beans for Yum Earth Giggles

I love sour candy so it was very important for me to find one without dye and corn syrup. I found the Yum Earth Giggles and they are actually sour and delicious, such a win for me!!

Swap Cadbury Mini Eggs for Hu Gems

If you can overlook the fact that the Hu Gems aren’t shaped like mini eggs and try them, I’m sure you won’t regret it Hu chocolates are some of my favorites and their clean ingredient list only makes them better!!

Swap Haribo Easter Gummy Bears for Black Forest Gummy Bears

This is probably one of the easiest swaps! The Black Forest Gummy Bears Easter Edition are so yummy you wouldn’t think they were a healthier option!

Happy Easter!

If you’re looking for ways to celebrate Easter with healthier Easter candy alternatives I hope you enjoyed the post! If you’re still doing super last minute Easter shopping check our our guide here! Happy Easter, friends!

The post Healthier Easter Candy Alternatives! Swap this for that—Easter Candy Edition appeared first on sunkissed & grateful.

As a busy mom of two, I am all about quick and easy recipes that I can whip up in 30 minutes or less, while still providing key nutrients that will help keep my family healthy and thriving. This vegan stir-fry is one of my go to recipes because it is 1) quick and easy, 2) doesn’t require a lot of meal prep, and 3) tastes soooo delicious!!

I really try hard to make sure all the produce that we buy each week gets eaten. One of my favorite ways to use up all my produce is to make a vegetable stir fry. You can use whatever veggies you have in your refrigerator, and can make this meal meatless or with meat if you aren’t vegan.

All you need are a few key ingredients and whatever vegetables you have on hand!

I recommend preparing the tofu and rice first as they take about 15 minutes to prep and cook, but you can do this simultaneously with the stir-fry! That will help keep everything cooking smoothly and quickly!

Ingredients

• Basmati Rice (I like Lundberg Organic California White Basmati Rice or Lotus Foods Organic White Basmati Rice)
• Any Vegetables you like!
  • I typically use spinach, bell pepper (red and green), mushrooms, zucchini and broccoli. I also added some green onion after as a garnish!
• Tofu or if non-vegan (whatever protein you like)
• Tofu Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Coconut Aminos
  • 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• Spicy Peanut Sauce (currently obsessed with Spicy Peanut Sauce from the brand San-J)
• Optional Seasoning Choices: Low sodium Dulse Flakes, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, or Red Chili Pepper Flakes

How to Make Quick and Easy Vegan Stir-fry

1. Pour oil of choice in saute pan. I use avocado oil and my favorite non-toxic pan, the Always Pan. You can click here for a code for $20 off!
2. Start by sauteing your crunchier vegetables since they will typically take longer to cook. I start off with my broccoli and bell pepper and usually let them saute for about 5-7 minutes. I also add my seasonings now, a little salt, a little pepper and some red chili pepper flakes are my current faves! So yummy! Now is a great time to start cooking your basmati rice too!
3. Next stir in the softer vegetables, like zucchini and mushrooms. Cook the vegetables for another 4-6 minutes. I prefer to keep some crunch in my vegetables, but want them to be soft enough and cooked through for my daughter’s to eat.
4. I then add a little bit of the peanut sauce to the cooked veggies, stir and let sit for another 1-2 minutes.

How to Cook Tofu//

We recently got a Ninja Airfryer and it is a GAME CHANGER!! I cook tofu a few times a week and this has literally cut the time in half!

1. First things first! You need to press the tofu to get all the liquid out! This is a must-have or else your tofu will be soggy! You can use a tofu press or you can remove the tofu from the water pack, cut it into cubes, and place it onto a flat surface. I use a cutting board, place a few paper towels on top, and then put a heavy object (like a cast iron skillet) on it! You will only need to press for about 10-15 minutes and then it is ready to go!
2. Mix together the Coconut Aminos, Rice Vinegar, and Sesame Oil and pour over tofu. Let it marinade for about 5-7 minutes to soak in the flavor.
3. Once time is done, add it to airfryer and cook it at 400 F for about 10-15 minutes. Halfway through give it a shake! After 10-15 minutes, you should have perfectly crispy and delicious tofu to add to your stir-fry!

Now for the grand finale, pour veggie stir fry over your basmati rice, add tofu and garnish with toppings of your choice. We like sesame seeds, green onion, and dulse flakes! You can even add some almonds or cashews for some additional protein! It’s as simple as that!

Stir-fry veggies are super duper healthy and a great way to get in your nutrients for the day! It’s also low calorie and high in Vitamin C, folic acid, beta-carotene, potassium, protein and more!

Let me know if you try it and if you have any great quick and easy vegan stir-fry recipes you love!!

Thanks for reading! We are forever grateful for you!

xoxox,

Kari

And be sure to check out Melissa’s last post on wearing what feels good for you! It was an amazing one! You can click HERE to view it!

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