Vegan Meals, Advice?

Dolls1313
Dolls1313 Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
I have been vegan for a couple years now and went super heavy on the carbs. I am trying to steer away and expand my meals more as well as reduce the calorie and fat content. so, I am looking for cheap, easy, and edible vegan meals. I have been buying bags of steamed veggies but i need to mix it up - taste and nutrition wise. Any advice or recipes?

Also, feel free to friend me! I want your support as much as I want to be a support for you! :)

Replies

  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
    Lots of amazing vegan recipes on ohsheglows.com. Naughty and nice vegan enchilada casserole is my favourite. There are no calorie counts on the website, but I just enter the ingredients into the MFP recipe builder and let it do the math :-)

    If you want a super quick and easy meal, take any frozen vegetables, canned baked beans, a bit of tomato paste and some curry paste and simmer till its hot, and it will taste like you've been in the kitchen all day:-)
  • SamanthaD1218
    SamanthaD1218 Posts: 303 Member
    I started eating vegan about two months ago (to lower my cholesterol). Here are a few of my favorite meals:


    - Rice with a medley of beans, corn, peas, other chopped veggies (just pick your favorite!)
    - Veggie burgers!! Morning Star are my favorite - spicy black bean and garden veggie are great. Heat up a patty, or even grill it, slap it on a whole wheat bun with mustard or vegan mayo (yes, it does exist), add some tomato and spinach or lettuce and you've got a yummy meal. Have a side of corn or potatoes or fruit.
    - Wild rice and black beans
    - Vegan cheese slices on bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich. And have a side of tomato soup!
    - Whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and veggie meatballs (or you can just crumble veggie burgers in the sauce for a "meat" sauce). Nutritional yeast is great to put on top - tastes just like Parmesan cheese.
    - Most grocery stores now have health food aisles and usually have vegan options. I've found vegan mac n cheese, vegan chick'n cutlets, etc.
    - I love oatmeal for breakfast. Add some flax seeds and PB2 for an extra kick of flavor and nutrients.
    - Almond milk with cereal is also a good breakfast option.
    - Don't forget fruit!!

    (I've found that instead of just cutting out meats and cheeses, using substitutes makes eating healthily much better. There's a vegan substitute for almost anything - you just have to figure out what you like)

    Good luck!
  • Dolls1313
    Dolls1313 Posts: 3
    Thank you! I check out ohsheglows.com and I am so trying the spaghetti squash and black bean guacamole soon, sounds soo good! Great raw recipes too, that is something i am looking into.

    I am trying to stay away form so many carbs but i do love alot of your suggestions Samantha, thank you! My boyfriend and i would eat pasta and veg meatballs almost every night....and then i gained all my weigh! haha I need to learn to only once in a while do my spaghetti meals, not every night!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Thank you! I check out ohsheglows.com and I am so trying the spaghetti squash and black bean guacamole soon, sounds soo good! Great raw recipes too, that is something i am looking into.

    I am trying to stay away form so many carbs but i do love alot of your suggestions Samantha, thank you! My boyfriend and i would eat pasta and veg meatballs almost every night....and then i gained all my weigh! haha I need to learn to only once in a while do my spaghetti meals, not every night!
    Any particular reason you're trying to reduce fat intake? If you don't eat any animal products, and you're trying to cut carbs, reducing fat as well seems like you're making things more difficult on yourself than you need to. You're pretty much left with vegan forms of protein.
  • peabean26
    peabean26 Posts: 78 Member
    One of my favorite vegan meals is to use gardein beef tips to make beef stroganoff. I also use shiritaki noodles instead of regular noodles, tofutti sour cream, and add a ton of mushrooms. It's a very low carb meal, but not particularly low fat (because of the 'sour cream'). I try to skew my vegan meals away from simple starches, such as pasta.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    I do meal replacement shakes to replace meals and that cuts on carbs. I am not vegan, vegetarian, but there are several brands that do make vegan shakes such as shakeology. If you eat meat replacements, you should check out beyond meat, it's low carb, high protein
  • cfredz
    cfredz Posts: 292 Member
    oooo spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and nutritional yeast, so gooooddd and some veggie meatballs
  • wow29
    wow29 Posts: 283 Member
    bump
  • Moira945
    Moira945 Posts: 14 Member
    Consider making nut or cauliflower sauces (tons of recipes on pinterest).

    I've found the creamy nuttiness adds flavor and texture to meals that keeps things interesting.
  • Cre8veLifeR
    Cre8veLifeR Posts: 1,062 Member
    I LOVE Silk soy yogurt mixed with vanilla protein powder over mixed berries with granola. It tastes like cake!

    I also made the cauliflower pizza crust with sauce, arugala, pine nuts, artichokes, eggplant and capers and it was to DIE for.

    I mix my smoothies with almond milk + a banana + anutra grains (best source of omega 3's) + chocolate protein powder + ice. So good.

    I'm not vegan (I eat white meats only) but I am dairy free just because I hate dairy products. :)
  • jld0411
    jld0411 Posts: 29 Member
    I ate vegan for a long time and found myself having the same challenges you're facing. Vegan Coach is a wonderful resource. The writer does provide some recipes, but largely the focus is on teaching you to COOK rather than follow a recipe. I loved it! The website is free, but I purchased one of her e-books called Get Sauced with Sass, and that was an invaluable tool.

    One of my favorite things she suggested was making up a batch of rice and beans for the week and keeping it in the refrigerator. It was so easy just to pull out the tupperware and have it ready to go. I know the rice will be carb-heavy, but it's a nice way to mix up the veggies a bit.

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