I realized this week that I am starting to get a little bored. I have a great routine going that’s really helpful for my well-being, and also doing the same thing day after day with nothing new has started to take its toll. Anyone else feel the same?
Since I can’t go out to find the fun in the wonderful city I live in (Washington, D.C.), I decided to bring the fun to me mixed with my favorite passions – cooking and baking! Thus, 5 Fun Food Activities for Your Weekend was born.
The activities below range in their level of difficulty and required ingredients or products; however, all of them can be done with kids. And, as always, you can find ways to mix them up based on the ingredients you have at home or if you just want to make the activity your own. Some may require a little bit of prior planning, so keep that in mind. Now, let’s get started!
1. Ultimate Nacho CompetitioN
Vegan junk food is a lot of fun in and of itself, and nachos are no exception. But to take the fun up a notch, organize a nacho making competition! If you’re at home with roommates, family, and/or friends, give everyone a set amount of time to build their nachos using the materials available to them in your kitchen. If the competition includes kids, you might want to set out the usable ingredients beforehand (or not – go wild with it!).
If you’re home alone, organize the competition over video chat with friends and pick a winner based on best presentation or most creative ingredient. Other awards (for both in person and over video chat) could be given for tastiest nachos, most or least ingredients used, or the ultimate nacho champion award. You could even designate a judge!
If you’re looking for some ingredient ideas to get started, check out my Ultimate Vegan Nachos & Homemade Cheese Sauce Recipe.
2. Bake Your Own Challah & Try a New Flavor
Making challah from scratch has always been very therapeutic for me and a great way to get creative and have fun in the kitchen. You can use my basic challah recipe and then use the ingredients you have at home to make fun flavor combinations. You can try sweet or savory (or combine them!). Some of my favorite recommendations:
- Sprinkle
- Pizza
- (Vegan) Beef & Cheese
- Chocolate Chip
- Cookie Butter
- Rosemary Garlic
The best part about challah is that, even if it doesn’t turn out looking like the perfect braid, it will ALWAYS taste delicious. This is a really fun activity to do with kids, especially when it comes to choosing flavors and building the actual challah loaf. If you’re looking for a little more difficult of a challah, try out my coffee challah recipe.
3. Diner Dinner with Vegan Milkshakes YOUR Way
Going out to eat in a restaurant may not be possible right now, but you can bring the diner to you! Set your table and cook a classic diner meal. I recommend a classic cheeseburger and fries. Skipped the burgers and frozen french fries on your last trip to the grocery store? Try making these sweet potato black bean burgers and fries from scratch at home!
Of course, no diner meal is complete with a thick & creamy milkshake. With a little vanilla ice cream and vegan milk, you can toss almost any add-ins into your blender for whatever flavor milkshake you’d like. Get started here with three of my favorite flavors. I also highly recommend drinking these milkshakes out of your fanciest glasses to really be in the diner experience.
4. Breakfast for Dinner
Sometimes turning things upside down can be really fun – and that includes eating breakfast food for dinner! Preparing that big morning brunch meal but for dinner with everyone helping out can be a great way to bond with others (whether that’s in person or over video chat). I highly recommend divvying up tasks so each person (kids included) feel they have a part to play in pulling the meal together.
Whatever your favorite breakfast items are, you can find recipes all over for them. What I always include in my breakfast for dinner is a tofu scramble, vegan bacon or sausage of some kind, and pancakes. You can also add a hash or other breakfast foods.
Lastly, play some music while you cook! I have a “sunday morning breakfast” playlist that I love to listen to while I cook breakfast food. What are some of your favorite songs that make you feel that weekend morning joy? Listen to those to add to the fun.
5. Get Creative with a "Recipe in a Box"
Meal subscriptions are all the rage right now, and there are even weekly meal subscriptions dedicated to vegans. What I’m calling a “Recipe in a Box” is a little different. This is a single recipe that you order that includes most of the ingredients you need to make a specific dish. These dishes are more experiences or activities than making your weekly dinner. They may (or may not) be a bit more elaborate or a recipe you might not normally eat for dinner.
The “Recipe in a Box” that I tried was Japanese Spicy Miso Ramen Kit from Take Out Kit. At the time, I was able to get this kit with vegan substitutions (this may or may not be possible now). However, there are a few vegan Take Out Kits on their site to give a try. What I loved about this kit was that it was a way for my partner and I to have some fun in the kitchen with an easy recipe that we were able to make our own (we added tofu and cabbage).
If Take Out Kits don’t interest you, there are lots of other options out there as well. Two kits I have at home, but haven’t used yet are the Global Grub Mochi Making Kit and the K-Teas Bubble Tea Making Kit. Global Grub also has a vegan tamale kit, sushi kit, and ravioli kit! It looks like K-Teas Bubble Tea Kit is on back order, but another kit that’s completely vegan is Flavor Purveyor’s Bubble Tea Kit. What amazed me most about both bubble tea kits was that even the bubbles are vegan – most bubbles at tea shoppes have honey in them!
Whatever “Recipe in a Box” you decide to try, this is a great way to change up your routine and try a fun new activity.
I hope these food activities can provide some inspiration for a fun weekend for you, your family, and friends. I would love the hear how you’re making your weekends fun. Let me know in the comments or message me at @thejewishvegan on Instagram. And, as always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out.
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