Help, I need Vegan Ideas

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TrainingWithTonya
TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay, I'm not anywhere near a vegan, but I would be a semi vegetarian if it weren't for my DH who is a total carnivore. I"m good with the mixing of nuts and seeds with legumes or grains in order to get complete proteins. I could totally survive as a lacto-ovo-vegetarian with no problems, but that is because they don't have to limit baked goods like whole wheat bread since dairy and eggs are allowed. But, unfortunately, I've been given an assignment for school to design a diet for a vegan and I'm totally stumped on vegan products for grains other then maybe steel cut oats. So, if there are any vegans on this board who are willing to help me out in furthering my nutritional education, I would greatly appreciate some ideas of what you do for meals to include grains to mix for complete proteins, I'd really appreciate it.

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  • tesshaney
    tesshaney Posts: 110 Member
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    A lot of my friends are vegans and they eat terribly. I would not say any of them eat balanced meals. Most of them eat super processed crap like soy or rice cheese, vegenaise, scambled or fried tofu, fried tempeh, etc...Check out vegweb.com and fatfreevegan.com for meal ideas, though.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
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    look at indian food - much of it is vegan.

    apples replace oil in baking.

    steer away from "products" that replace animal products


    olive oil is vegan, as are many vegetable oils.

    white sugar is not, as it uses an animal product in the processing.

    honey is a good sweetener.

    so first, make a menu that you think would taste good, then we can go through and veganize it.
  • Hotbottom
    Hotbottom Posts: 168 Member
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    Homemade Yummy Vegan yogurt
    Take 1lb of tofu ( make sure it is not the super hard crappy tasting stuff. Look for tofu that is a bit harder than silken and not sour, it should have a bland taste.)
    Put in blended with: 1 tbs coconut butter, splash of vanilla, grate of nutmeg, 2 tbs Mapel syrup.
    Blend it.
    Stick in fridge to set. You will have great tasting Soya yogurt that is 50 cal a tbs.
    Put 2 tbs it over a bowl of chopped fruit, maybe sprinkle some toasted walnuts on top. Chop some dates on top too, if you need more calories.
  • MardellD
    MardellD Posts: 42
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    Hi, I am a vegan (was vegetarian for a long time too) I have to say that I DON'T eat crap or processed foods. I make everything from scratch for every meal. I make nut based "cheese" which no isn't cheese but it works good in place of. I make all my own baked goods and breads aswell and they are in fact all dairy and egg free. There is a wonderful egg replacer on the market that acts as a binding agent but is vegan. (It's actually calle degg replacer and it comes in a yellow box lol, no preservatives and also gluten free). If you have questions please message me and I will offer any advice that I can.
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
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    I made a delicious stew last night with carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onions, garlic and red lentils, along with some curry paste. Didn't take too long to make either (lentils cook in about 20 minutes from hard and dry to completely done).
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
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    I am not a vegan, but I've found some good recipes here (linking to the bread recipes)

    http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2005/12/breakfasts.html

    Also, I have made plenty of homemade bread recipes without eggs or milk (just using yeast/flour/water/salt, maybe some sugar or honey -- not sure if honey is vegan!).
  • kalmf
    kalmf Posts: 351 Member
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    Just a note - honey is considered to be an animal based product by many vegans. Stevia or Agave are vegan sweeteners.
  • Catzwitch
    Catzwitch Posts: 205 Member
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    You might also check out the vegan body building sites (yes, vegans can be bodybuilders) as far as some ideas for recipes.


    e.g. http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=article_soyfree

    BTW - Honey isn't vegan since it comes from bees.
  • DancingYogini
    DancingYogini Posts: 377
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    look at indian food - much of it is vegan.

    apples replace oil in baking.

    steer away from "products" that replace animal products


    olive oil is vegan, as are many vegetable oils.

    white sugar is not, as it uses an animal product in the processing.

    honey is a good sweetener.

    so first, make a menu that you think would taste good, then we can go through and veganize it.
    Actually there are a few white sugar makers out there that don't use bone char (Whole Foods for one)...some Vegans do not use honey since it is an animal product. I am not sure if this has to be a pure vegan meal or not?

    I like Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, Buckwheat Groats and many others. Also you can make your own oat flour, almond flour, chickpea flour, as long as you have a food processor or blender, you can make your own non-wheat flour. I use flax meal or ground up seeds and water as an egg replacer (1 tbs flax to 3 tbs warm water-let sit for 10 minutes). Bananas are good binders, as is the above mentioned applesauce. Ummm....A lot of "ethnic" foods are Vegan (like Indian stated above). I love Asian especially! Message me also if you need any help.

    I eat brown rice in the morning with a little Earth Balance and Agave (Vegan).
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
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    oh, i forgot about the honey.... that's right!

    there are so many good vegan recipes out there. i'm not a vegan. my boyfriend is a vegetarian. most of the meals i make are vegan and they're all pretty good. i just make things i would have made with animal stuff without it.
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Thank you all!!!! I knew this site was great for support and would be a good resource for some experts on vegan since that I am definitely not. I will be checking out the sites you have listed and working on the project over the Thanksgiving holiday. So, I may PM some of you next week. ;-) Once I get it done, I will post it on here in case it will help anyone else.

    For those who are wondering, the project is to design a menu for a 6' tall male, 210 pounds, Pure Vegan, and I have to analyze it using www.mypyramid.gov and meet the requirements on there for calories. I then have to write a paper about how it is a healthy menu and meets his requirements for protein, carbs, and fats and be within the AMDR's for %'s of each.
  • Mrbackslap
    Mrbackslap Posts: 145
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    Not vegan but I read somewhere Spirulina is very high in protein.

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