Vegan/dairy free meal ideas please :)

Hey! I'm not vegan myself however my partner is and can't cook to save her life so I have become quite the vegan chef. Here are some of our favourite recipes!

https://www.delishknowledge.com/easy-vegan-cauliflower-fried-rice/

We just tried this and it's amazing. We tend to make it with a massive side of roasted veggies.

http://minimalistbaker.com/30-minute-coconut-curry/

For this recipe we don't use quinoa cooked in coconut milk because that's really fatty but the great thing about this recipe is its very wet so it's amazing over rice to soak it up. You can throw basically any vegetable in, we like adding brussel sprouts or random potatos etc!

http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/photo-gallery/18981205/image/37594369/Maple-Cumin-Tofu-Farro

This is on my to try list so I'm not sure if it's good but we also wanted to give farro a try.

Some other things we make are cabbage steaks with roasted veggies and a baked potato.

Burritos with veggie ground rounds cooking in 1/2 pkg of taco seasoning and a mix of bell peppers, onion, corn and tomato cooked in the other half. On a wrap with hummus, salsa, refried beans, olives, lettuce.

We make homemade pizza on pita breads (my partner excludes cheese or there are vegan cheese options)

Zuchinni noodles with pasta sauce (recipe below, if you use it definitely add sugar like the reviews say) and garlic bread with vegan margarine.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/22713/homemade-tomato-sauce-ii/

If you're looking for a good replacer for dairy we both prefer Becel vegan margarine to real butter.

I think I got a bit carried away! I hope these help, feel free to shoot me a message anytime if you want to discuss vegan-friendly recipes!

Here are my faves! I hope going dairy free helps!

COWBOY CAVIAR

Vinaigrette:

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Whisk vinaigrette together and pour over the following ingredients and stir to combine:

1 can black beans, drained
1 can white sweet corn, drained
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
1 bunch green onions, tops only, chopped


VEGETARIAN CHILI

1 ½ cups cooked kidney beans
1 ½ cups cooked pinto beans
1 can Dakota Pride Mild Chili Beans (my secret weapon-only thing I buy at Aldi’s)
1 onion, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
2 ½ cups water
1 tblsp chix bullion powder (vegan)
1 tblsp chili powder
1 tblsp garlic salt
1 tblsp cumin

Bring everything to a boil and cook until onions and peppers are soft – about 15 minutes.


RATATOUILLE HOAGIE

Dice & saute up in a little olive oil:

1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 green pepper
1 onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Once everything is getting fairly cooked, add in a can of diced tomatoes with juice and a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. Season with salt & pepper, basil and parsley. I like to toast hoagie buns, load them with this, add (vegan) mozzarella and put under the broiler for just a minute - until the cheese is melted.



AVOCADO TOFU SANDWICH

Baked Tofu: Press & drain 1 block firm tofu. Cut into 4 "patties". Brush on mixture of soy sauce and liquid smoke, then sprinkle on garlic powder, salt & pepper. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Flip and bake additional 15 minutes.

Avocado "mayo": Mash 1 avocado and combine with 1 T red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and parsley. Use this in place of mayo.

Serve in a pita with a slice of tomato.



VERY VEGGIE “SPAGHETTI”

2 Tbsp Tuscan Herb Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or regular EVOO)
1 Onion, diced
10 oz jar sliced Mushrooms
2 large Zucchini, shredded in food processor
2 large Carrots, shredded in food processor
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) Tomato Sauce, no salt added
1 can (15 oz) Diced Tomatoes, no salt added - DO NOT DRAIN
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1 Tbsp dried Basil
1 Tbsp dried Parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Using a julienne peeler, make a huge mound of raw carrot or zucchini "pasta"...then top it with very veggie sauce.


DEVILISH CHICKPEA SALAD

3 cups chickpeas, cooked
1 cup vegan mayonnaise
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder
Season Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

Combine everything except chives in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse on and off until the mixture is nicely melded, but don’t puree—leave a little texture. Add the chives through the feed tube and pulse on and off a few times to whirl in


THREE BEAN SALAD

1.5 cups cooked kidney beans
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cups cooked green beans
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced

Dressing:

2 T olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar
parsley, salt & pepper to taste

Mix dressing, stir in beans, onion and bell pepper and let marinate for at least 2 hours.


QUINOA VEGGIE PLATE

Ingredients
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
1 tsp vegan chix bouillion (optional)
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup frozen cut carrots
1 cup frozen peppers and onions

*Sauce:
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1/3 cup diced tomato with juice
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp dried minced onion
Dash of garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
Sprinkling of Adobo Seasoning

Directions
Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add vegan chix flavored bullion, if desired. After boiling, stir in rinsed quinoa, lower heat to medium low, cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes, until quinoa is semi-translucent.

While quinoa is cooking, steam green beans, carrots, peppers and onions for 8 minutes.

For sauce, combine tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, dried minced onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper and heat on stove for 5 to 10 minutes.*

To plate, divide quinoa onto two plates, top each with half of the veggies and sprinkle on Adobo seasoning. Divide the tomato sauce and pour over each plate and top each one with 1/2 tsp of nutritional yeast.

*To speed this up, you can substitute your favorite pasta sauce for the sauce recipe.



LOADED BAKED SWEET POTATO

(ingredients listed tops 2 sweet potatoes):

Combine 1/4 cup beans (red, black, white, pinto...your choice), 1 diced tomato, 1/2 diced onion, 1 tablespoon ground flax, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix it all up and top the sweet potatoes.

I usually just stab the potatoes with a fork several times and microwave them for 10 minutes and they turn out perfect!


STIR-FRY SAUCE

I heat up a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies, 1 can of chinese veggies (drained), 1 can of water chestnuts (drained), then pour the following sauce. I know stir-fry is supposed to be quick-cooking, but after I pour my sauce on, I like to keep it on the heat for about 5 minutes, stirring the sauce around and letting it soak in to the veggies.

Whisk together:

1 tsp ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp light agave
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp ponzu sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp corn starch



TOFUNA

Baked Tofu
Press a block of Lite Firm Tofu to remove as much water as possible. Cut into 4 "patties". Spray a baking sheet with EVOO. Mix together 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce and 1/2 tsp liquid smoke. Brush onto both sides of the patties, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Flip over and bake additional 15 minutes. When they are cooled, I roughly break them up and pulse them in my food processor. Put into a mixing bowl and add:

1 celery stalk, finely diced
1/2 cup vegan mayo
3 tablespoons dill pickle relish
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt & pepper to taste

Mix thoroughly and thoroughly enjoy!


My favorite “comfort food” recipe…I love to add LOTS of pepper flakes on mine!

PEANUT NOODLES

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup all natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Red pepper flakes (optional)

In a saucepan, heat water, soy sauce, ginger and vinegar on medium-low heat. When warm, add peanut butter. Allow it to melt a couple minutes, then use a whisk to smooth it out. Just before pouring over cooked pasta, turn off heat and whisk in the sesame oil. Pour over 16 oz cooked whole wheat pasta. Sprinkle on red pepper flakes.

budgetbytes.com has some great vegan and vegetarian meals. my favorite is a sweet potato taco meal... it has a lime crema made from sour cream that you can easily substitute something like crème fraiche or greek yogurt for.

I have been dairy free for about a year due to some health issues as well.
Some of the easiest tricks are to swap out some of your ingredients.

For recipes that call for milk. I just sub almond, coconut, or cashew milk instead (soy or rice milk are also options)

I use Earth Balance Vegan Spread as a replacement for butter.

Both Silk & So Delicious brands make great non-dairy yogurt options.

Cheese has been the hardest for me as I just don't like any of the vegan cheese products, but they do exist, so you might want to try a few to see if you find one you like. I have just adapted by avoid cheesy recipes. I have also found that quite a few recipes are still delish without cheese. Omitting it seems to be a workable option in most cases. This vegan parmesan substitute has been a staple in our household: http://www.simple-veganista.com/2013/01/a-sprinkling-we-go-almond-parmesan.html

I also use a non-dairy plant based protein powder: Vega Sport. The vanilla performance protein is our family favorite.

If it's helpful I have a dairy-free pinterest board where I keep track of recipes. https://www.pinterest.com/kar7n/dairy-free/

If you decide to go totally vegan, I also have a pinterest board for that: https://www.pinterest.com/kar7n/vegan-recipes/

Good luck! I hope dietary changes help you attain the health changes you want.

My favorite (especially for quick and easy) is this one: Vegan Spring Soba Noodle Bowl

These chickpea veggie burgers are awesome and great for leftovers the next day or two: http://runningonrealfood.com/chickpea-veggie-burgers/

I link to more dinners on my blog where I list all of my vegan dinners for the week, with calorie information and shopping lists - my latest: http://meatlessgains.com/2017/01/26/six-more-vegan-dinners/ The focus is on dinners that will allow me to reach my protein goals for the day while staying within my calorie goal.

I think someone already mentioned minimalistbaker.com. I also like loveandlemons.com. No Meat Athlete has a lot of great meal ideas and excellent tips in general about transitioning to a vegan diet.

Good luck!