Healthy Vegans-Help!

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Nellie1drfl
Nellie1drfl Posts: 127 Member
I have been vegan since March, but lately not a very healthy one. Carbs, processed foods, and more carbs for me! I do not have much time for cooking during hockey season -kids keep me busy and out of the kitchen. Please share super fast and easy meals, I'm tired of my go to chips and salsa.

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  • coueswhitetail
    coueswhitetail Posts: 309 Member
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    I am not a vegan, but I think this recipe meets vegan principles and it's fast and easy....

    in a large mixing bowl (one with a lid for later storage is best)
    put the following

    1 bag frozen corn (no need to cook, they will thaw)
    1 bag frozen peas (no need to cook, they will thaw)
    1 chopped up onion
    1 chopped up pepper
    some chopped purple cabbage (optional, but wonderful)
    1 can of drained black beans
    a bunch of chopped cilantro
    a bunch of cumin (never measured it, but I use a lot!)
    juice of a lime (optional, but extra yummy)
    oh, some cherry tomatoes are great too!

    Just stir it all up and put in fridge and it will thaw. Or you can microwave it briefly to thaw if in a rush.

    This is great on tortillas with siracha mayo (or whatever other sauce you like)
    great as a side dish....easy to take in tupperware on the go and eat also.

    You can also substitute any type of veggies you like (broccoli, cauliflower, jicama...I have done it all and love all varieties)
  • Nellie1drfl
    Nellie1drfl Posts: 127 Member
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    That sounds yummy and easy. I will try this for sure! Thank You!
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
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    Add hummus to anything you use salsa on. Healthy vegans need beans in their diets! There are some dried chick pea products that are good for snacks. the Good Bean is one and World Peas makes tasty chick peas too.
  • Nellie1drfl
    Nellie1drfl Posts: 127 Member
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    New products I must try. Thanks. I just looked up some dried chick pea recipes seems pretty simple (minus the pealing part) I could make a bunch and stock up on them. I love Hummus as well.
  • hedgehogia
    hedgehogia Posts: 40 Member
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    I make a couple of green smoothies at a time and have them for breakfast. Amy's soups - i eat that for lunch at work - lentil or vegetarian lentil - and have almonds and an apple for a snack. Salad for dinner with something else- all quick and easy
  • Nellie1drfl
    Nellie1drfl Posts: 127 Member
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    Love it thanks for the great ideas!
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Fruit, beans, rice, lentils, homemade bean burgers all easy and fast. I try and stay away from vegan meat analogs, although I do sometimes use TVP. Or try a mock tuna salad with mashed chickpeas. Yummy. Is your family veg too? Mine is and I cook in big batches when I have time and freeze.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I am a vegetarian, (not vegan) but I find veganhealth.org to be a great source of info. It's run my a registered dietician and 20plus yr vegan.

    I personally try to include a protien source with my 3 main meals, and eat calcium rich foods twice a day. I do use some packaged foods, but I have not noticed any negative effects from this.

    I make a lot of homemade soups this time of year, in my crockpot.

    Basic recipe-( serves 6, 2 cups each, 20g protien,around 250 cals a person)

    1lb dry beans, soaked overnight and rinsed. (We use navy beans most)

    1T vegetable bullion or salty seasoning (like seasoning salt)

    Some non salty seasoning to taste (garlic powder, mrs.dash, cumin...)

    10 oz package of frozen mixed veg ( any kind)

    1 onion

    Add Water to desired thickness.

    Cook on low setting in the crockpot all day.

    I usually serve with baked potatoes,bread,or rice.





  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    I don't track carbs, or limit my intake of them, because I have no reason to do so. I do however make sure I get adequate protien and fiber, and check my report on here every so often to see if I am getting enough iron and calcium.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    I also really like bush's vegetarian baked beans, served with a microwave baked potato (or two) or on toast. Really can't get too much faster than that!
  • flashbacks
    flashbacks Posts: 34 Member
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    I get this tahini phase sometimes where I'll just eat whatever is great with tahini dressing.

    Tahini, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, pepper. Mixed all together.
    It's approximate, it's been a while since I last counted the ingredients I put in there. You might need to adjust if you try. Especially if you don't use nutritional yeast since it makes the dressing thicker.

    1-2 tbsp tahini
    1.5tbsp water
    1.5tbsp lemon juice
    2 tbsp nutritional yeast ( maybe more, I usually just pour it in, cause it's delicious. It's also good without)
    garlic powder/salt/pepper to taste.


    I love it with a kale salad with chickpeas and cucumber.
    It's also good with quinoa/cucumber/chickpeas if you're not into kale.
  • patamaraja
    patamaraja Posts: 2 Member
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    Any website for vegetarians high protein reciped
  • Nellie1drfl
    Nellie1drfl Posts: 127 Member
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    Great stuff! I thanks for all the help. my daughter is vegetarian my husband and son are meat eaters so separate meals makes things more difficult.
  • Zinka61
    Zinka61 Posts: 563 Member
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    We are vegan-leaning vegetarians here. One of the easiest things for me to cook fast is soup. My current "recipe" is dumping a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, a bag of frozen cauliflower, 2 cans of unseasoned tomato puree, and a liter of vegetable broth into a big pot, then add a big, chopped up onion, and some seasonings--My current favorite spices are cumin, oregano and smoked paprika and garlic powder together. I cook it on the stove top for a fairly short time, just til the veggies are tender. That's it.

    Some fast additions: a can of any kind of bean, drained
    a can of vegetarian refried beans, stirred in to thicken the broth
    a handful of grain of some kind
    diced butternut squash

    Lots of other soups are nearly this easy to put together, and they can be made in a crockpot as easily as on the stove top.
  • Zinka61
    Zinka61 Posts: 563 Member
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    I also like piling shredded carrots or bagged coleslaw mix on whole wheat bread spread with a good hummus. It's fast and very filling, a good way to work veggies in quickly, since I cheat and buy the pre-shredded stuff.

    You can saute walnut pieces and frozen peas in a touch of olive oil, stir in cooked pasta shells and a little salt. My kids used to love this when they were little.

    Also: Vegetarian refried beans spread on toast with slices of avocado and/or tomato on top

    Our favorite smoothie is orange juice, banana, kale and frozen blueberry.

    I'll be anxious to see more ideas in this thread, as I've gotten to the point in life where I'm kind of sick of cooking--the quicker the better!
  • eparana1
    eparana1 Posts: 8 Member
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    love the ideas... I do a lot of soups from fatfreevegan.com, she's got a ton of great recipes. Also I have the Happy Herbivore recipes, but I tend to fall off the wagon too fast from those, I like things that make 4 servings and I only need to make a few things a week.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    Great stuff! I thanks for all the help. my daughter is vegetarian my husband and son are meat eaters so separate meals makes things more difficult.

    My son and I are vegetarian, my husband and daughter eat meat occasionally. I cook meat every so often and keep it in the fridge for them to add to their dishes if they want it.

    Ie- Tacos, I eat mine with beans, my son eats his as a quesedilla, my daughter has hers as chips and bean dip, and my husband might have meat in his. Not separate meals, but we all get what we want/need.
  • alfiedn
    alfiedn Posts: 425 Member
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    I'm vegetarian (but technically pescatarian, although my fish eating is rare) and my husband isn't. Although, he definitely leans that way since I won't cook meat. I consider that to be a perk of vegetarianism...no need to handle raw meat.

    We cook in batches over the weekend, which is more manageable for me with my schedule and he's home on the weekends more, so I can usually get him to help a bit.

    Slow cooker chili is great. Add tons of beans. We also love rice and beans. Our favorite is taco rice:
    1-2 tbsp favorite taco seasoning
    1 cup rice
    1 cup frozen corn
    2 cups beans
    1 can of canned diced tomatoes (I use no salt added)

    Throw it all in the rice cooker (or pot or whatever) and let it go. Stir occasionally because the rice settles to the bottom.

    One thing that REALLY helps me is I buy dried beans and cook them right away. I always cook a ton. Then I put them in a gallon bag in the freezer. My beans are cooked and a gallon of beans usually lasts me over a month. I usually keep about 3 kinds in there (white, black, and some sort of red/pinto whatever I find).