South African-born Tammy Fry , is based in Australia with her two sons and husband. She’s also vegan — and so is her family. Here, her tips on raising a family on a plant-based diet.

Prep food on Sundays

Most healthy people are no strangers to meal prepping, and Tammy does the same. On a Sunday, she cooks up a big batch of soy mince bolognese, with beans, chickpeas, courgettes, tomato, onion and grated carrots.

She’ll also make a big quinoa salad cooked in vegetable broth, mixed with coconut, coriander and chopped carrots.

Next, Tammy makes small batches of chia pots, with a vanilla pod, rice milk syrup for sweetness, and coconut milk. 

These make up the base of meals for the week. With these, she can create a range of different meals, like salads, or as sides to things like vegan schnitzels, nuggets or sweet potato. “Every meal should have a carb, protein and fat,” says Tammy. “Meat alternatives are a quick way to get proteins into meals.”

Read more: Actually, you’ve been wrong about soy this whole time

Whip up quick meals 

One upside to only eating veggies? They have a way smaller cooking time. Tammy loves mixing up post-school meals for the kids with smoothies and snacks. “Food needs to look nice,” says Tammy.

One pretty meal is the oft-Instagrammed smoothie bowl. Tammy adds dragon fruit, mango and banana to hers. Or, for breakfast, she makes a fibre-rich smoothie with banana, oats, almond milk and flax seeds, sunflower seeds, and almonds.

Read more: 8 foods you thought were ‘clean’ – but actually aren’t

Don’t try too hard 

Tammy doesn’t go through tons of effort. Most meals are whipped up quickly but are still nutritious. “Health needs to be sustainable,” she says.

“When you try too hard, it becomes difficult. You need that flexibility.”

^{Image credit: iStock}

^{This article orginally appeared on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

Michelle October