New Vegetarian/Vegan-ish Need Quick Food Ideas

GalgoMomAnita

Hi Everyone! I've recently rejoined MFP and am down 5.2lbs in 6 days - YAY! This is my first time seriously trying to lose weight now that I'm not eating meat. I have to clarify that I have some frozen prepared meals with meat in the freezer I'm clearing out (don't want to waste) so if you see my diary there will be meat entries temporarily.

I need help with quick meals and I'm trying to shift to vegan. I work 12-15 hrs a day at times and longer prep times/cooking isn't always possible. Some things I've done: Sweet potatoes, humus with carrots/celery, 21 day vegan protein drink, protein veggies like broccoli/peas, occasional natural peanut butter (too much fat for frequent eating), tofu stir fried in pam with frozen veggies.

I would greatly appreciate any help as it's challenging to move away from animal products AND eat healthy when I've not down both before.

Thanks so very much in advance, and please friend me if you have room on your list - Anita

FYI I may not be able to be online for the next day or so, but will be reading responses ASAP~

Kalikel

Morning Star veggie burgers are MUCH better than Boca, IMO. I tried the Boca ones twice, spit out the bite each time and then threw the box away. Someone must like them if they stay in business, but I've yet to meet anyone who ate them and recommends them.

I'm not a huge fan of the Quorn chicken patties, but they're edible. Kind of peppery seasoning and bland "meat." I think the fact that I know I'm eating a fungus may be getting in the way of really enjoying them.

That's the extent of my tasting on microwaveable veggie "meats."

Laurend224

In a pinch I have mixed fat free canned refried beans with a can of Rotel tomatoes and slapped it on a flour tortilla with lettuce, tomatoes, olives, etc. I also make ahead black bean burgers and stick them in the freezer. Quinoa is quick to make, just add canned beans and some veggies. I'm a huge fan of one pot meals that include a grain, a green, and a bean. No Meat Athlete has some good ones. Good luck, and go veg!

PeachyCarol

I'm veggie, but I can't do soy except for edamame. The processed stuff usually has gluten (I have celiac) and even if it doesn't, it doesn't agree with me.

I'm a huge fan of simple roasted veggies/beans with seasonings. Look around for Explore Asian pastas, the mung bean fettucine is my favorite. It's loaded with protein and fiber.

If you have time to cook ahead and portion things out, there are lots of things you can do with lentils like faux chili meat (great on tortillas or lettuce wraps or in a taco salad), lentil shepherd's pie with sweet potato topping, lentil sloppy joe filling, lentil soup. All of those are quite easy to make vegan.

GalgoMomAnita

Thanks for your help - I laughed at "eating fungus" - just imagine what's in the food we eat that's likely much worse than fungus. Best not to think about such things! I hadn't thought about doing sloppy joe's in a vegan way. I love those! Now I'm getting hungry.....

jmunn1129

Oh! Do I have some suggestions for you! I'm a full time worker and college student, so quick is my middle name. Some great options, green smoothies, bean burritos, salads, tomato and avocado sandwiches (Just trust me on that one, it's fantastic), pasta, chia seed pudding, soups made in a slow cooker, baked potatoes, and finally, my personal favorite, green juices. They are quick, keep me full, and are super healthy! Some great resources since you are starting out would be

kriscarr.com
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/

Also, if you need more help/advice, I am a whole food vegan with an open diary, so please, feel free to add me if you'd like.
Best of luck and trust me, it gets easier once you figure out what you like.

ameliadlt

Mamapeach-Beyond Meat is a great gluten free soy brand.

Galgomom-Welcome to the Veg side. Vegetarian times magazine. Great recipes, super cheap to order for th year. allrecipes.com has a great vegetarian and vegan filter on thier search.

I repeat a lot of meals and eat a ton of vegetables because I love them. Quicky meals: Stir fry, roasted root veggies, spaghetti (make my own sauce to reduce salt and sugar, bean and kale ragu (this is on allrecipes.com), quionia salad (quionia, cucumbers, tomato, basil, lemon juice, onions, and beans or tofu).

Be careful with the processed products. Morning star is not vegan! They use eggs in thier products. And Quorn and other seitan products are pure wheat gluten. Seitan really messes with my stomach and I don't have gluten issues.

PeachyCarol

Thanks amelia, but processed soy just does me in. So does having an overabundance of grain. I try to stick to whole foods as much as possible. I'm veggie because digesting meat just wasn't happening for me, and I feel much better for it.

Anyway, Galgomom one quick tip if you're pressed for time is to not forget how great crock pots are. You can make pasta sauces, veggie soups, and veggie stews in them. They're also great for cooking beans.

kendalslimmer

Soups are always straight forwards. For afters, I have a weakness for stewed fruit with a sprinkling of brown sugar in the winter. I like to do 'meat' recipes with Quorn too, it just makes life easier e.g Bolognese. I know there are some wonderful recipes for low calorie pasta using courgette or squash - alternatively you could buy shirataki noodles. Also pearl barley and mushroom stew makes a wonderful meal. Good luck honey, sorry I'm not more help - I'm just not that great in the kitchen! If I was you I would find a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi's 'Plenty'. Some of his recipes feature animal products (usually cheese) but you can find vegan substitutes for such ingredients I'm sure.

Jacqadactle

Take a methyl-B12 supplement, very important for vegetarians/vegans!

MakePeasNotWar

Can of baked beans (no lard or bacon)
Bag of frozen mixed vegetables
2tbsp madras cooking paste
Tomato paste or V8 if you want a tomato based sauce.

Heat it up in a pot with enough water to cover and you have curry for 4, Faster than KD and nearly as easy.

buggzero

I am not vegetarian, but my son who's 8 has never liked meat. So I had to learn a couple good quick recipes so that he still gets a wide variety of food exposure, and keeps healthy. Seems to be doing fine for our sole vegetarian in the family.

Here a a few quick picks for on the go eating:

Breakfast

• Parfaits
• Peanut Butter & bananna toast (or sandwiches)
• Steel Cut Oats (Overnight prep method)

Lunch & Dinner

• Grains & steam veggies w/ soy sauce (Rice or Quinoa)
• Sauted veggie wrap, toss a handful of lettuce with a salad dressing first to make it less dry
• Baked potato with fixings

For more elaborate stuff, it really helps to prepare stuff on the same day you buy groceries. That day is Sunday for my house. That's the only day I have time to make my son's favorite every couple months, Vegan Sliders (http://damndelicious.net/2012/11/19/southwest-quinoa-sliders-with-avocado-cream-sauce/) Also, I like deconstructing recipes, and using the components in other meals, like in this example, the sauce or the patties, and having a bunch of sliced tomatoes off hand always goes well in a sandwich.

Good luck!

GalgoMomAnita

Wow, lots of great ideas here! I am eating a veggie crockpot stew I thru together myself and froze. Most people say "ick" to one or more of the ingredients, but I like most veggies. I'll put the recipe at the end if anyone is interested. I do get Veg Times magazine and so much of it looks awesome. I didn't realize the Morningstar stuck egg in there products. I tried a new veggie 'burger' today (Dr. Prader's Kale Veggie Burger). The flavor was great, but it does not stick together at all when nuked. Maybe it's better if done in a pan, but it was so tasty I'll get that again. JMunn1129 thanks for the diary offer. The bean burritos sound good, too. I think the quinoa salad idea should be good - reminds me of Tabouleh which I love. Barley mushroom soup speaks to my taste buds for sure! I will definitely try making the curry recipe above as I like curry a lot. Thanks for the links above, too - very helpful. Have a good evening!

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GalgoMomAnita

@vinegar...I haven't had their burgers yet, but I haven't seen them in the store around here. I did buy the 'chicken' that wasn't breaded and I loved it. I signed up for a vegan coach and was linked up with a woman in Colorado - she told me about Gardien and I'm so glad she did. She feels the 'fish' is amazing, but I haven't been able to find that one yet. I may do an online order and stock the freezer since it's cold enough everything should stay fine shipping for sure. I've not heard of qrunch, but I'll watch for that too

libbydoodle11

http://www.theppk.com/2013/07/chickpea-salad-sammiches/

strivingfor130

You can sub brown lentils for things that need ground meat like tacos. Make up a pot of them, and then you can freeze the rest for when you need them.

merfhur

Tofu scramble is a really quick meal to make.
Just fry some veg and tofu up with a tiny bit of oil, it goes great with a slice of toast or I usually cook some lentils to throw in as well so it's really high protein and filling! Only takes about half an hour if you're making lentils or even less if you have toast or microwave rice bags