Easy Plant Based Meals

Pretty_Little_Nobody
Pretty_Little_Nobody Posts: 626 Member
edited December 20 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

I really really need help. I'm battling binge eating disorder and I really need some ideas/recipes for the easiest, quickest and nutritious plant based meals you can think of!

Ideally these would be high in protein as I would like to build more muscle but cut some fat at the same time.

Just to note, I am not a good cook! Also, I feel like i barely have a moment to sit down, let alone spend a long time cooking/planning meals - I do shift work, which usually means I don't get in until late. I think this does not help with my disorder, as I reach for convenience foods, which don't fill me up/satisfy me, and then I binge.

Desperate to change. This has gone on long enough and I'm saying no to this bloody voice in my head once and for all! I know all the triggers/know what I need to do but actually doing it is another minefield in itself. I just know I can't continue for the good of my mental and physical health!

Replies

  • Soof65
    Soof65 Posts: 8 Member
    Hi, try a book called Bosh! (I bought it from Amazon). it's full of plant based/vegan type things, lots of the recipes can be batch cooked and frozen. Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients, the major of the recipes are pretty easy to cook even if you are not the most confident of cooks.
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,256 Member
    Do you have ANY time in which to batch-cook? I quite often spend my Sunday afternoons cooking up a big pot of chilli or rice-and-peas or vegetable curry, which I then freeze in individual portions so that I just have to stick it in the microwave for dinner during the week.

    Failing that, if you eat eggs an omelette is fast and high protein, especially if you have it with a little cheese. Bulk out with veg.
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    I eat a plant focused diet and I keep thing simple-whole grains toast in the morning, large salads with lots of different veggies/add-ins for lunch (I usually add a serving of beans to these, I just buy canned and throw them in-no need to heat up!), afternoon green smoothie or yogurt bowl with add-ins and then supper is veggies, a grain and then a protein (fish, more beans etc).

    Rice and beans are great bases for all sorts of meals-simple stirfryes, rice bowls etc.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    edited March 2019
    Rice and beans is my go to plant meal and I sometimes do beans with quinoa for extra protein. I cook the beans in a slow cooker with onion, pepper, and Sazon goya. You could also do a sweet potato chili.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Here are some of my meals that are good for batch cooking/meal prep:

    Pinto or black beans for the week so I can have them over sweet potato or quinoa
    Spaghetti squash with marinara and Gardein beef less crumbles or seitan.
    Lentil taco "meat" for tacos/nachos/salad
    Overnight oats with chia, flax and hemp seeds
    Chickpea "chicken-less" salad

    As far as cutting fat and building muscle this is called recomp and can take a while. Make sure you are using a progressive lifting routine as well.

    Best of luck!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited March 2019
    Anything based around beans/soybeans and vegetables. Lentil stew with veg, pasta with white beans and a sauce made with veg. Rice with stirfried veg and tofu. Vegetarian chili. Black/red beans and rice with veg.

    I'd experiment with other grains too. And remember canned beans are totally fine and dried lentils cook fast.

    If you want super easy no thought cooking, you can buy packages of seasoned beans and rice or beans and other grains that cook in a pot in about 30 min or less and sautee some veg to add to them or eat with them, or just make a fast salad with a good selection of veg. Have a piece of fruit with it or as dessert. I used to do the packaged beans and rice with added veg all the time in my 20s before I really learned to be comfortable winging it in a kitchen.

    Big entree salad with some chickpeas and almonds is good too.
  • anthocyanina
    anthocyanina Posts: 86 Member
    I like to cook up a huge mix of veggies. One pan (love my huge cast iron pan) starting with the longest cooking, potatoes, and adding more in order of longest to shortest cooking time: cauliflower, carrots, onion, eggplant, zucchini, tomato, etc. and end with canned beans. It can be seasoned in many different ways. I use it in various ways throughout the week: over rice, as a base for taco, burrito, or omelette filling, a nutritious addition to pasta and marinara sauce, and my personal fave: use it cold as a topping for kale salad (or other leafy green that's sturdy enough to handle heavier toppings). It can also be made into soup or stew with not too much effort.
  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
    there are tons of frozen veggies now which would be good- check sodium if you need too. Check Pintrest for recipes
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,622 Member
    I try to keep things simple. I'm ovo-lacto veg, but I'll try to just suggest all plant-sourced easy stuff. Some recent choices have been:

    * Black bean and sweet potato soft tacos in Ezekiel tortilla (microwaved or frozen sweet potato works, plus canned beans)
    * Ezekiel tortilla or pita with smoked tofu (packaged), thin-sliced sweet onion, mustard, and sauerkraut. (I add reduced-fat string cheese, but that's optional)
    * Edamame/mung fettucine (Explore Asian brand) with cooked frozen green peas, minced raw onions, and a sauce made from PB2 peanut butter powder mixed either soy sauce or chili sauce/sriracha (use a brand without fish - sauce if you're strictly plant-based) - may need to thin with water or a light-flavored vinegar to get mixable consistency.
    * Chickpea pasta (I like Banza brand) with plenty of sauteed mushrooms (can use frozen Asian mushrooms) or nutritional yeast + peas
  • DanOutdoors
    DanOutdoors Posts: 17 Member
    I do a nice healthy Mac and cheese, the sauce is pureed butternut squash with mustard and a little bit of cheese
  • georgieamber2
    georgieamber2 Posts: 229 Member
    edited March 2019
    Hey girl!! Whole block of tofu blended with some red or green pesto (maybe half a jar) with enough plant milk / soy cream or water to make it blend. Heat the sauce in a pan with peas, Quorn vegan pieces, salt pepper and nutrition yeast. Serve with wholewheat or normal pasta and broccoli♥️ (whole block of tofu makes 4 portions of sauce)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Pretty_Little_Nobody wrote: »
    Hi all,

    I really really need help. I'm battling binge eating disorder and I really need some ideas/recipes for the easiest, quickest and nutritious plant based meals you can think of!

    Ideally these would be high in protein as I would like to build more muscle but cut some fat at the same time.

    Just to note, I am not a good cook! Also, I feel like i barely have a moment to sit down, let alone spend a long time cooking/planning meals - I do shift work, which usually means I don't get in until late. I think this does not help with my disorder, as I reach for convenience foods, which don't fill me up/satisfy me, and then I binge.

    Desperate to change. This has gone on long enough and I'm saying no to this bloody voice in my head once and for all! I know all the triggers/know what I need to do but actually doing it is another minefield in itself. I just know I can't continue for the good of my mental and physical health!

    How much do you weigh and how many grams of protein are you currently getting per day? I get bingey when I don't have enough protein. My signals get crossed and I think I want high fat and carb foods, but what I really want is protein.

    Are you currently focusing on high plant-based protein foods like legumes, tempeh, seiten, tofu, etc?

    While these do come in convenience formats, it will be much cheaper to learn to cook from scratch. I cook dried black beans overnight in my crockpot - no pre-soaking required.

    Here's a vegan Cuban rice & beans recipe that uses canned beans that seems good and simple: https://www.contentednesscooking.com/cuban-rice-and-beans/

    Here's one that uses dried beans: https://www.cilantroandcitronella.com/cuban-black-beans-and-rice/
  • LushFix
    LushFix Posts: 303 Member
    https://www.eatyourselfskinny.com/sweet-potato-black-bean-quinoa-bake/

    This is super simple, you can add or change out ingredients as you like.

    It freezes well.

    I usually have it as taco/burrito, eat with a side of greens witj avocado or turn into a burrito bowl.
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
    DanOutdoors wrote: »
    I do a nice healthy Mac and cheese, the sauce is pureed butternut squash with mustard and a little bit of cheese

    Sounds very good.

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