New vegan need advice and ideas!!

vegan4lyfe2012 wrote: »

Here are some of my favorite recipes:

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 and lettuce.



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 CHICK SPREAD

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.

bshrom11 wrote: »

I was vegan for a little over a year and lost 40 pounds. The main thing is you need to be preparing your own homemade foods not buying processed packaged vegan foods. You can gain weight on this lifestyle eating to much "vegan junk food". I would suggest a rice cooker and pressure cooker for beans, rice, soups, stews. Also do your research as it is very easy to become deficient in certain vitamins, minerals, nutrients if you are not preparing nutritionaly balanced meals on this lifestyle. Also a big mistake a lot of new vegans make is watching vegan youtube channels and trying to eat the way they eat. Just because someone else is eating a pound of pasta or a whole loaf of bread or 50 banana's a day doesn't mean that's good for someone else. Best of luck to you!

estherdragonbat wrote: »

Sadly, french fries, baked goods, potato chips, dark chocolate, nuts, sunflower seeds, vegan cheeses... all high-calorie. All vegan (or have vegan versions, in the case of baked goods). I'm vegetarian, not vegan, but I put on all this weight by not regulating my portion sizes, by mindless snacking, by emotional eating, and by feeling guilty after the fact and using more food to numb the guilt. Or kidding myself that because I'd just taken a two-hour walk, I was 'entitled' to a potato knish or package of salted roasted cashews.

You lose weight by being in a calorie deficit, which you can totally do on a vegan diet. But going vegan doesn't magically make the pounds drop off. Keeping your calories in below your calories out does that.

janejellyroll wrote: »

To lose weight as a vegan, you'll still need a calorie deficit. If going vegan results in you somehow eating fewer calories, you'll lose weight. But many people maintain their weight and some even gain -- it's all about the calories. The weight I lost counting calories -- I gained that as a vegan (not due to becoming vegan, just through eating too much and not being very active).

I have found Pinterest to be a great source for vegan recipes. Just type whatever you like to eat and then add the word "vegan" and you'll usually find recipes. As far as them being filling, what did you find filling as a non-vegan? For some people the trick is getting enough protein. For others, it's fiber. For me, it's usually fat. As long as you know what type of things keep you full, you can plan your meals around meeting those needs.

I get the majority of my food at a regular grocery store. Beans, vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts, pasta -- most of these things are inherently vegan (you'll just want to check for added ingredients on some things). And in my grocery store, I can get plant milk, some faux meats, even ice cream and mayo. For anything that I can't find at my local grocery store, I usually go to Whole Foods.