vegan/vegetarian meal ideas?

radiatingkayla
radiatingkayla Posts: 37 Member
in Food and Nutrition
hey! I'm a college student who is a vegetarian and I'm looking for some (easy and cheap) meal ideas!
right now I'm doing a lot of
bagels with cream cheese
oatmeal
cereal with almond milk
eggs with veggies
toast
waffles with yogurt and fruit
cottage cheese, crackers, and carrots
peanut butter and banana sandwiches
veggie burgers

It just stinks because so many recipes/ideas make a bunch of servings or require a lot of ingredients :( I'm thinking I'll start making veggie hummus wraps but gah!!!! I feel so uncreative lol (side note - I do not like beans)

Replies

  • darkhorse43
    darkhorse43 Posts: 70 Member
    First of all. Work on learning to like beans. They are great and provide a lot of protein to a vegan diet. Sometimes you just have to make yourself try things over and over until you like them. It's important not to eliminate even more things from your diet when you're vegan unless you have to.

    Thinking back here to what I ate in college...

    My first suggestion was going to be quick rice with canned vegetarian chili (beans).
    Also bean burritos. A can of vegetarian refried beans, salsa, tortilla

    Other less beany things.
    Quick rice, frozen veggies, and a sauce that you like (sriracha, peanut sauce, ketchup and spices, whatever)
    Tofu "egg salad" sandwiches http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/eggless-salad/
    spaghetti with sauce. You can bulk this up by throwing thinly sliced zucchini in with the pasta for the last 3-4 minutes.
  • SergeantNarwhal
    SergeantNarwhal Posts: 116 Member
    Seriously. Beans. Your new best friend. Tofu is good but make sure it's as lightly processed as possible. Organic, sprouted tofu is good. Make big stir fries with brown rice, veggies (chinese broccoli, carrot, onions) through some tofu or an egg in there. Make lots and eat on it during the week. I try to keep one whole grain pre-made staple in the fridge each week. E.G making a big pot of quinoa I can nom on during the week when I'm busy or brown rice or lentils.

    Similarly making big batches of nut mixes with seeds, dried fruit etc. Or oat bars with nuts (like homemade granola bars).

    Focus on proteins first and make sure not to get too carried with away convenience calories via simple carbs.
  • numinousnymph
    numinousnymph Posts: 249 Member
    i love sauteeing a bunch of veggies together, usually with just a tiny bit of oil and mostly water to cook them more with steam. it's a standard dinner for me at least several times a week. i'll throw all kinds in there -- broccoli, kale, spinach, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, mushrooms, green beans... and tofu if i need more protein and i have the calorie allowance for it. i'll mix it with some curry paste sometimes (just the paste and some water, so very little cals in that), or pour a bit of soy sauce, or just season it with salt, rosemary, and red or cayenne pepper. very very filling, beautiful colors, tastes good and good for ya' ;)
  • kittycatty22
    kittycatty22 Posts: 8
    Hi. I am a vegetarian grad student.

    Dinner/ lunch ideas:

    - Pumpkin soup is easy, healthy and yum. I sauté an onion and chuck in 1/2 a pumpkin chopped up and then cover with veggie stock and let it cook for a hour or so. I blend it and it ends up being really creamy. It can be frozen easily or you could just make enough for a couple serves. If I make soup my flatmates always end up eating it, so i never have leftovers.

    - Tofu cooked fried in 1-2 teaspoons of coconut oil and with soy sauce can be great to have with stir fried vegetables.

    - You don't like beans? How about lentils? Dahl is so cheap and easy to make and tastes amazing. You can have it with brown rice, but I often just eat it on its own.
    http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/14107/lentil+dhal

    Breakfast ideas:

    - I have vanilla pea protein smoothies in the morning with 1/2 cup blueberries and a couple tablespoons of cocoa. They are really filling and only 160 calories (and taste like a chocolate/blueberry milkshake).


    The Guardian (UK) has the most amazing vegetarian recipes. Some of them can require a few too many ingredients and can be a little time consuming but they are great for ideas or special occasions. The use of butter can be a little liberal, so be wary.

    http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/thenewvegetarian

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