Need help from Vegans

SavedByAmazingGrace

I am currently a veterinarian but I plan on going Vegan. I made a shopping list that I would like you a look at (criticism is welcomed). Just to let you guys know I am a college student so money is low.

Instant Oatmeal, Raisins, Dates & Walnuts
Apricots, Unsweetened Dried
Dole Dates, Pitted
Amy's Asian Noodle, Stir Fry
Amy's Bowls Teriyaki
Frozen Roasted Butternut Squash & Spinach
Frozen Veggies & Sauce, Far East Blend, with Asian Sauce
Frozen Chicken Style Nuggets, Meatless Breaded
Frozen Steamables, Brown Rice Pilaf
Frozen Asia Shanghai Stir-Fry, with Brown Rice
Garbanzo Beans
Mandarin
Apple Sauce, Peach Mango
Apple Sauce, Mixed Berry
Splenda Sweetener, No Calorie, Packets
Brown Mustard, Spicy,
GeniSoy Soy Nuts, Zesty Barbeque
Salada Tea, Original Black
Luna Nutrition Bar, Lemon Zest
Yogi Tea Black Tea, Refreshing Mint, Vital Energy
Yogi Tea Herbal Tea, Green, Super Antioxidant
Nasoya Nayonaise, Original
Whole Wheat bread
Tri-Color Chick Pea Salad
Tuscany Bean Salad
Banana

Dementedllama

Instead of the whole wheat bread, see if you can find a sprouted grain bread. Much healthier. I like Ezekiel. It's found in the freezer section.

I also suggest vega one protein powder for added protein. French vanilla is my favorite. Vanilla chai I have heard is also good.

Also instead of splenda, I suggest stevia. It's more natural.

Those are my suggestions, hope they help.

SavedByAmazingGrace

Oh yeah I forgot to add the soy protein powder

ashleyapplewhite

I am currently a veterinarian but I plan on going Vegan. I made a shopping list that I would like you a look at (criticism is welcomed). Just to let you guys know I am a college student so money is low.

Instant Oatmeal, Raisins, Dates & Walnuts
Apricots, Unsweetened Dried
Dole Dates, Pitted
Amy's Asian Noodle, Stir Fry
Amy's Bowls Teriyaki
Frozen Roasted Butternut Squash & Spinach
Frozen Veggies & Sauce, Far East Blend, with Asian Sauce
Frozen Chicken Style Nuggets, Meatless Breaded
Frozen Steamables, Brown Rice Pilaf
Frozen Asia Shanghai Stir-Fry, with Brown Rice
Garbanzo Beans
Mandarin
Apple Sauce, Peach Mango
Apple Sauce, Mixed Berry
Splenda Sweetener, No Calorie, Packets
Brown Mustard, Spicy,
GeniSoy Soy Nuts, Zesty Barbeque
Salada Tea, Original Black
Luna Nutrition Bar, Lemon Zest
Yogi Tea Black Tea, Refreshing Mint, Vital Energy
Yogi Tea Herbal Tea, Green, Super Antioxidant
Nasoya Nayonaise, Original
Whole Wheat bread
Tri-Color Chick Pea Salad
Tuscany Bean Salad
Banana

If I were you I'd cut out most of the processed stuff. If you're going vegan for weight loss purposes then adding in fake chicken nuggets, etc won't do you much good. Sodium, etc. I'd check out www.ohsheglows.com

I'd add nuts, lentils, split peas, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, and avocados. I'd also add in natural peanut butter with no added salt. I'd be sure and read all ingredient labels to watch for added soybean oil (which is in everything). I'd add soybe delicious coffee creamer and almond milk as well, and chia and flax seeds. You should also get some nutritional yest for added B12, or a multivitamin.

If you aren't going vegan for health purposes and/or to lose weight, then I guess the fake stuff is fine.....just depends on the person.

SavedByAmazingGrace

I plan on having a protein shake or oatmeal for breakfast every morning. For lunch I plan on having a Vegan tuna sandwich ( made with Garbanzo beans) and all the frozen foods are what I plan on having for dinner. My snacks are like apples sauces, soy beans and luna bars. I guess I could use help with dinner ideas


So my staple foods are:

The soy protein powder

Garbanzo beans

Vegan cheese

Vegan Mayo

Wheat bread or pocket bread

Tofurky deli slices

ddslowly

a lot of the fake chicken products aren't actually vegan so be sure to double check.
you should definitely add in more types of beans/legumes.
i prefer veganaise (more like mayo) to nayonaise (more like miracle whip) but that's just my two cents.
i usually keep nutritional yeast on hand for when i want something vaguely cheesy.

eta - most vegan cheese is gross. the texture is way off and none of it melts right. if you must have it, choose carefully. and, if you need recipe ideas, fat free vegan kitchen is a pretty good place to start. i think the lady who writes that blog has mentioned putting some of her recipes up here already but i might be making that up.

veganbettie

Daiya is the best vegan cheese. just an FYI.

holothuroidea

You should really have more legumes, nuts and seeds.

Also fresh fruits and veggies.

shezzzzz

My daughter used to be vegan, and I found lots of good recipes on www.hellyeahitsvegan.com

I still use some of their recipes, especially for the zucchini bread with chocolate chips!!! (So Moist!!)

chrisloveslife

bump

letspartybigfoot

One of my favorite vegan snacks is mashed up avocado on wheat toast (the nuttiest bread I can find) sprinkled with a tiny bit of garlic salt, and sriracha.

You can make a lot of low-cal yet rich salad dressings with almond milk & light veganaise. Also QUINOA. and mexican/bean& rice bowls. and burritos. Cook up anything with hasbrowns or chopped peeled potatoes in the morning. Brussel sprouts with potatoes onions, black beans and salsa. One EASY but savory lunch I like to make is I take a medium or small tortilla (doesnt really matter corn or flour) and spread it with tomato sauce (easy squeeze pizza sauce works and is fairly cheap) or hummus, and veggies (any kind really) and bake it at 375 for like 15 minutes (I'm at a higher altitude so it might not take that long for you). Voila! Super easy personal-size pizza.

Daiya vegan cheeze is the best but it's expensive and it's kind of an aquired taste, and you are supposed to use the whole bag within 7 days of opening it or it can get moldy so I only use it if I"m making something like veggie lasagna or something really special.

Oh I recommend www.****yeahvegantacos.tumblr.com for many endless vegan taco ideas. try not to overdo the soy. It increases estrogen and overloading soy can also be uncomfortable on your digestive system. Fake meats are awesome when you're in a hurry or you just want to eat some vegan "junk-food", so I don't think there is anything wrong with eating it once in awhile, but it's typically expensive.

SavedByAmazingGrace

Here's my new list
Pita Pockets, Whole Wheat, Fat Free
Flatbread Wraps, Garden Spinach
Blueberries
Extra Large Mangos
Tomatoes On-The-Vine
Strawberries
50/50 Blend Baby Spring Mix & Baby Spinach
Baby-Cut Carrots
Cleaned & Cut Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms
Mixed Peppers, Club Pack
Organic Banana
Small Celery
Organic Quinoa, Whole Grain
Chia Seed
Vegenaise Dressing & Sandwich Spread, Original
Soy Nuts, Zesty Barbeque
Silk Soymilk, Original
Organic Tofu, Extra-Firm
Simply Organic Cayenne
Hummus, Roasted Red Pepper
Soy Sauce, Reduced Sodium
Pasta Sauce, Tomato Basil
Honey, Clover
Old Fashioned
Raisins, Seedless
Minute Brown Rice, Instant, Whole Grain
Red Quinoa
Seasoning, Original All-Purpose, Salt Free
Vanilla Extract, Imitation, Premium
Sun-Dry Sun-Dried Julienne Cut Tomatoes, with Herbs
Garbanzo Beans
Boca Meatless Burgers, Original Vegan
Burrito, Organic, Soy Chorizo & Potato

ashleyapplewhite

Here's my new list
Pita Pockets, Whole Wheat, Fat Free
Flatbread Wraps, Garden Spinach
Blueberries
Extra Large Mangos
Tomatoes On-The-Vine
Strawberries
50/50 Blend Baby Spring Mix & Baby Spinach
Baby-Cut Carrots
Cleaned & Cut Sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms
Mixed Peppers, Club Pack
Organic Banana
Small Celery
Organic Quinoa, Whole Grain
Chia Seed
Vegenaise Dressing & Sandwich Spread, Original
Soy Nuts, Zesty Barbeque
Silk Soymilk, Original
Organic Tofu, Extra-Firm
Simply Organic Cayenne
Hummus, Roasted Red Pepper
Soy Sauce, Reduced Sodium
Pasta Sauce, Tomato Basil
Honey, Clover
Old Fashioned
Raisins, Seedless
Minute Brown Rice, Instant, Whole Grain
Red Quinoa
Seasoning, Original All-Purpose, Salt Free
Vanilla Extract, Imitation, Premium
Sun-Dry Sun-Dried Julienne Cut Tomatoes, with Herbs
Garbanzo Beans
Boca Meatless Burgers, Original Vegan
Burrito, Organic, Soy Chorizo & Potato

That looks better, but like I said above, you really should try lentils. I had never tried them before, but they are a great source of protein. I eat a plant-based vegan diet with very limited processed foods, and am able to get all the protein I need from what I eat. I'd be wary about what's in the bread products- ie, soybean oil, or some time of dairy or animal derivative. Also, try to make your own hummus sometime- MUCH cheaper than store-bought, and tasty! Otherwise, your list looks great. You should consider taking a vegan multi-vitamin or eating nutritional yeast for B12 though.

Veggiebeat

Yay for going vegan! Your list looks good! I, like other posters have mentioned, eat a ton of legumes: all kinds of beans, lentils and soy. I basically eat them at every meal, even breakfast, to fill me up. (Sometimes I'll eat nuts or seitan, but in any case, I need the protein to make me feel full.) I find that buying dried beans and cooking them is cheapest. I'll make a pound every few days and find different recipes that use them. For example, I just used great northern beans to make a dip, put them over pasta, and even snuck them into a dessert! Though if you don't want to bther with preparing beans, canned are reasonably priced.

I also love nutritional yeast! I don't buy many prepackaged vegan cheeses as I've found I can satisfy my cravings with nooch.

SophieB99

Daiya is the best vegan cheese. just an FYI.

+1 for Daiya cheese! Love that stuff! I think the mozzarella is my favorite.

holothuroidea

Honey isn't vegan. http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm

Your new list is great! I'd just add some nuts and seeds.

ccgisme

Honey isn't vegan. http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm

Your new list is great! I'd just add some nuts and seeds.

Honey isn't vegan - so if you are doing this for cruelty-free purposes, look for agave as an alternate sweetener. Also, if you choose to include sugar in your diet and cruelty-free is an issue, look for vegan sugar. Most commercial sugar is processed through bone char to get the white color. Vegan sugar eliminates that step.

Also look for The Vegan Zombie and EcoVegan Gal on Youtube. Some good stuff there.

Welcome to the club!

openintro

Check out the Candle Cafe frozen meals. The Mac and Cheese is amazing. Also, Celebration Roast is great on sandwiches or just as a sliced snack. You can find both of these at Whole Foods.

phyllisgehrke

I am a vegetarian.
Your food choices look good to me.

I get the Morning Star Farms Soy Chicken, not sure where all of these comments are coming from.
I also eat my Soy Bacon from Morning Star Farms.

Being a vegetarian, I have lost 11 pounds in 30 days.
It works even with the Soy Chicken and Bacon.

I usually every morning have Oatmeal and Natural Peanut butter.

Cornblossom

Bump.

letspartybigfoot

If you get on the Whole Foods website they have recipes for a bunch of vegan stuff that they sell in their deli. It's way cheaper to make their stuff than buy it at 7.99/lb. Some great ones are the California Quinoa Salad, mushroom-barley soup, corn-arugula salad. I struggle with enjoying salads except veggie taco salad - I eat that alot. I just use salsa as dressing and beans instead of meat.
I agree on the lentils - I personally only make soup with them but I'd like to experiment more with lentils. I recommend a crock pot. You can make a lot and freeze stuff so when you are short on time or stressed out you have a backup plan of something to eat so you don't get stuck eating carrot sticks with hummus for the millionth time.

Veggie taco casserole is fun. You can just layer sliced zuchinni instead of pasta to lower the carbs (or layer lowcarb torllas, and use beans and canned tomatoes, cilantro, green chiles and green enchilada sauce.

Oh yes get your self some nutritional yeast, gurl!

fitwithcurves

You should try soba noodles - you can get them at Whole Foods! Also try Amy's burritos (their one of the healthier pre-made foods).

Rhonda21km

Try to eventually start to use less of the processed "Amy" meals and make your own.
You will save money, have less sodium and better nutrients from fresher foods.

Check out some of the vegan recipes online and create a list for shopping based on real foods you
want to have that week. Then, pick a day, and make several meals at once keeping them in the fridge,
or freezer in the appropriate portions until you need them.

I know taking the time to cook is not always convenient when you are a student, but it does help!

Good luck to you

PS Daiya cheese is amazing !!! (Avoid the rest of the vegan cheese - it's horrible!)