Heat and Eat Vegan Holiday Treats
By: Melissa A. Matthews
Tags: Food, Vegan, Plant Based, Holidays, Cooking

Heat and Eat Vegan Holiday Treats

Everything doesn’t have to be scratch-made for you to eat well this holiday season.

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

It seems like this last half of 2020 is zooming by at record speed, but not without more lessons. I don’t know about you but I’ve learned an awful lot about myself in the last nine months. Mostly, I’ve learned that I can persevere under almost any circumstance.

However, I’ve also come face to face with the fact that I tie my worth to work. I feel better and more grounded when I’m being “productive.” Even my love language — how I express love — is tied to doing. I cook everyday because without that physical manifestation of my love, I’m not sure what value I bring to my family. What I am learning — through 2020 — is that self-worth and love don’t have to be tied to anything — least of all productivity and work. In making this admission, I hope that if you are like me, you feel seen.

Thus, in this issue, we’re going to focus on fabulously healthy plant-based heat and eat options that will help you save time this holiday season. Everything doesn’t have to be scratch-made to be delicious. Furthermore, you don’t have to spend hours stressing or slaving over a hot stove to prove that you can. You can relax a little and enjoy these lovely products and make as little or as much of your meal as you can reasonably do without feeling compelled to burn yourself out.

For this list, I’ve decided to focus on Black-and-Brown-owned plant-based businesses. 2020 has also reinforced for me, the need to align everything I do with my core values. Supporting Black-and-Brown-owned businesses globally is high on my list.

And don’t worry, if you’re absolutely committed to making scratch-made food to feel good, I’ll be linking to my quick and dirty recipes for some of these dishes as well. With Christmas on the horizon, this list is meant to lighten your load as you figure out what your socially distanced holiday will look like.

That said, let’s get to heating and eating…

Holiday Staples

These are both ingredients and dishes that will make any vegan feast pop. The wonderful thing about the holidays is that you get a melange of flavors on one plate. In that vein, please note this entire list is likely going to read like a pan-African holiday feast. As an Afro-Caribbean person, I’m sharing products that closely relate to flavors and dishes that conjure memories of home. I hope some or all of them align with your needs/wants.

Macaroni and ‘Cheese’:

Photo credit: macandyease.com

1. For a complete heat and eat dish, check out Mac & Yease. It comes in two flavors; original and Jalapeno Cheddar. They also offer a BKLYN Bolognese. As a Brooklyn Girl, I’m so tempted to order that the next time I go to the states All products retail for about $24 USD. They might be sold out on their website, but according to my research, you can find it at Wholefoods. Check the freezer section. Another tip is if you find it and want more of a Caribbean Macaroni pie vibe, add a flax or chia egg to get a firmer pie.

2. If making vegan cheese sauce gives you anxiety, you can also just buy a sauce, boil your noodles and season to your taste. There are a couple of highly rated Black-owned companies offering prepackaged sauces:

Mylkdog’s Notcho Cheese gets a ringing endorsement from PETA. It comes in Original and Spicy and is priced at about $15 USD/jar.

Fineapple Vegan’s Liquid Gold has been burning up my Instagram feed with positive reviews from a host of vegan bloggers. Retails for $12.99 USD/jar. Watch her make her mac and cheese recipe using the sauce here.

3. If you are hellbent on making your own scratch made vegan mac and cheese, checkout my homemade Holy Mac & Cheese recipe.

Meat Substitutes

Photo credit: @mothercluckerr on Instagram

1. If fried chicken, ribs, and/or fried turkey is high on your list, the streets are talking and Atlas Monroe is all the rage. Their chick’n and ribs options range from $13-$23 USD. You can get a whole deep-fried vegan turkey for $95 USD. I am DYING to try their chick’n. Apparently you just heat and eat it according to instructions. Every single vegan blogger — Black, Brown, White and Blue — that I follow has sworn that this stuff is amazing. I want to live vicariously through you, if you try it, drop me a note. They even have vegan bacon.

2. My partner and I started a tradition of making holiday lasagna a couple of years into our relationship. This year, I’ll be veganizing that recipe likely using walnut or pecan meat. If you have recipes that require mince/ ground beef, consider trying Hella Nuts’ prepackaged Walnut Meat.

3. Simple homemade solutions: check out my walnut meat recipe. For other meaty options, you can opt for a beef-less bolognese or meaty bean-loaf. For a tasty fried chick’n substitute, you can try my baked cauliflower bites.