A Chill Vegan Meal Plan to make in August

Salut! Time for a meal plan to beat the heat of the dog days of summer. This month I’m inspired by Wild & The Moon. They are so creative, beautiful, inspiring. Did I mention vegan? And so totally healthy. I highly recommend the cookbook Wild Recipes: Plant-Based, Organic, Gluten-Free, Delicious. I can’t wait to visit them in Paris, at their first location on rue Charlot. Cafe Charlot is another obsession of mine, but that’s a future post. I first fell in love with Wild when I came across a video from Vogue France with Emma Sawko showing us the secret recipe for their Hollyweed drink. The first Wild recipe I made and that I need to revisit soon! I’ve included links to Wild & The Moon recipes in this meal plan along with some other favorites. So please chill out with me and A Chill Vegan Meal Plan to make in August.

A Vegan Meal Plan

Why Vegan? A plant based diet is naturally high in antioxidants, fiber, healthy fats and all the vitamins from all the vegetables. It’s easy to eat seasonally on a vegan diet too, especially in August with all the summer produce. A vegan diet is easy on and good for the digestion, which is perfect for these hot summer days. Wild & The Moon’s menu is centered on “pleasure and respect for the Earth and those who cultivate it”. With this beautiful idea in mind we will focus on organic, seasonal, local produce, and delicious plant based meals. Including my new recipe, Pistachio Pesto Soba!

A Chill Plan

Why Chill? Well it’s August for one… we need to stay cool, eat light meals and drink lots of water. It’s a time to relax and enjoy the last month of summer, to just breathe. Work some yoga, meditation and chill music into your day. Here are some foods included in this meal plan guaranteed to help you chill:

• Green tea – theanine helps you chillax. Drink it throughout your day.
• Avocado – omega 3s improve mood.
• Soy products – contain tryptophan which creates serotonin – the mood booster.
• Chia & Pumpkin Seeds (and other nuts & seeds) – magnesium –> serotonin –> chill
• Tomato – lycopene and beta-carotene protect brain cells & prevent damage.
• Watermelon – magnesium & B6 help you relax, plus it’s the perfect happy chill for summertime.
• Leafy greens – high in tryptophan. Leafy greens are good for everything!
• Chickpeas – choline, magnesium AND B6 -feel the chilllllll.
• Cauliflower – great source of choline, a mood regulator.
• Dark Chocolate – antioxidants that relieve stress.
• fun fact: over 90% of serotonin is produced in the digestive tract 👍 and this meal plan is loaded with happy belly foods

MONDAY

• breakfast: Monkey Milk from Wild – a detoxifying & mood boosting smoothie, perfect for a Monday.
• lunch: Sunny Spinach Quinoa Salad
• dinner: Lazy Monday Cumin Sweet Potato Soup – be sure to read rest of post on why sweet potatoes are a happy food!

TUESDAY

• breakfast: café or matcha
• lunch: Magical Gazpacho – add some seed crackers and leafy greens for a delightfully chill lunch.
• dinner: Chili Sin Carne – my favorite Wild recipe – so good, a happy meal for sure! Use leftovers for Wild Tacos tomorrow. It would be excellent with some vegan cornbread or healthy tortilla chips like these From the Ground Up. Top with avocado to make it chillextra.

WEDNESDAY

• breakfast: Matcha Pudding – a Wild recipe full of antioxidants and omegas.
• lunch: Wild Tacos, from the Wild Recipes cookbook. Warm up small gluten free taco shells, add Chili Sin Carne, salsa, avocado, vegan cheese (or not), onion, cilantro or whatever toppings your heart desires. 🌮💞
• dinner: Roasted Baby Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce – make sure to add the chickpeas for protein.

THURSDAY

• breakfast: café or matcha
• lunch: Hiyayakko aka chilled tofu. The recipe/article from Just One Cookbook (my go to for all things Japanese) is very informative. I like the idea of adding cherry tomatoes, and of course feel free to add hemp seed, and sesame. Make this meal “the jam” with Goop’s Salad with Carrot & Ginger Dressing, truly one of my favorite dressings ever.
• dinner: Curry Tomatoes and Chickpeas With Cucumber Yogurt from NYT Cooking, use plant based yogurt, and feel free to add plant based feta.

FRIDAY

• breakfast: Hollyweed a Wild combination of nut mylk, orange blossom, vanilla, maple and cbd. The perfect chill after your foxy Friday yoga!
• lunch: Rawliflower from Wild – cauliflower, apples, red cabbage, walnuts… feel the healthy!
• dinner: It’s Pizza Friday and Smoked Mozzarella Jalapeno Pizza! Miyoko’s has a vegan mozz ball, as for the smoked mozzarella, try adding smoked paprika to the vegan shreds and maybe a touch of liquid smoke if you have it. A dash of chili powder and garlic powder would also be good. Don’t forget your leafy green salad!

SATURDAY

• breakfast: café au lait or matcha latte, made with a T. of cacao, or better yet Cacao Bliss,, perfect for a chill vegan meal plan!
• lunch: Romaine salad with Goop’s Vegan Caesar Dressing. Add roasted chickpea “croutons” like I did for my Chickpea Green Goddess Salad.
• dinner: Pistachio Pesto Soba, recipe below, and the chillest dessert – Matcha Nice Cream. Here’s a Wild & the Moon recipe, or you could go simpler with a banana based recipe, like this one from Goop.

SUNDAY

• breakfast: Chickpea Flour Banana Pancakes from Goop.
• dinner: Spicy Summertime Ratatouille from French Revolution Food, with a nice baguette and a simple salad.

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Pistachio Pesto Soba

Inspired by my love of buckwheat, Japanese cuisine, and my favorite, magical Pistachio Pesto. A chill pasta dish perfect for the heat of summer. Adapted from Pasta O' Pesto in the Wild Recipes cookbook from Wild & The Moon.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Japanese

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 12 oz dried Soba noodles
• 4 oz Pistachio Pesto *link below or feel free to use your favorite pesto
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 drizzle olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh ginger diced
• 2 green onions chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 2 tbsp pistachios chopped
• fresh basil leaves to garnish
• nutritional yeast to sprinkle,optional
• furitake to sprinkle, optional

Instructions

• Cook soba: Bring large pot of water to boiling, add noodles and stir to prevent them sticking together. Cook 5-6 minutes or according to package directions. Drain in fine mesh colander and run cold water over to cool. Transfer to pasta bowl and toss with sesame oil. Chill in fridge.
• Cook ginger & green onions: Heat skillet on medium heat, add olive oil. Add ginger and scallions, cover skillet and cook 4-5 minutes. Remove lid and stir in soy sauce. Remove from heat.
• Add pesto and ginger onion mixture to chilled soba noodles and toss to combine. Plate in pasta bowls, garnish with pistachio and basil and nutritional yeast and/or furitake if desired.

Notes

Pistachio Pesto recipe.

I hope you enjoy A Chill Vegan Meal plan this August, and soak in every last bit of summer. Stay chill & à bientôt!

“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance, and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun.” – Kent Nerburn