Any plant based convenience foods?

lorib642 wrote: »

Do they make things like hummus and veggies or pita bread, or veggies with dip, snack size? Any convenient meals that look good. Any soups that taste good?

I like Amy's brand soups, especially the split pea and lentil ones. I buy the low sodium versions because the sodium in canned soup is sky high.

My grocery store sells hummus, but I rarely buy it because the calories are so high.

My favorite meal is lentils with stir-fried vegetables or with a salad. One cup (8 oz) has 18 grams of protein, the same as a Greek yogurt or 3 eggs. Pinto beans, black beans, and other beans have similar protein. You can cook beans from scratch or buy canned and rinse off the sodium. Lentils are easy because they don't require presoaking.

I agree with the idea of going out shopping with your partner. I can tell you what we have here, but that will likely be different than what you have access to. That said, there's no reason why you can't make your own hummus and pita and portion them out into "snack sizes". That would be far more economical.

missysippy930 wrote: »

lorib642 wrote: »

Do they make things like hummus and veggies or pita bread, or veggies with dip, snack size?

Yes, they do have snack sizes of these, but it’s more economical to purchase these items in regular sizes and portion them out. Doesn’t really take much effort.

This ^^^^^^

I am going to send you a message because I used to live in your area and I can make specific recommendations

nuzziek wrote: »

I'm a vegan, and I agree with the previous post recommending no-sodium-added canned beans and lentils for easy protein. For snacks, I eat tons of plain veggies and fruits! Nothing easier than grabbing a banana or handful of carrots. If you're trying to eat plant-based, that should include staying away from processed snacks and oils. Try to a stick to a diet mostly of veggies, fruits, beans, legumes, and nuts. I've lost 50 pounds eating this way and feel fantastic. It takes a few weeks for your taste buds to adjust to the lack of processed flavors etc. but after that it gets easy and you'll find you actually crave the plant-based foods. Good luck!

^^ I agree with this -- there's nothing easier than grabbing some veggies or fruit for snacks. One of my favorite snacks is a banana or an apple with almonds (28 almonds have about 170 calories and 6 grams of protein). No prep, no cooking, no washing dishes.

Also, for quick meals, there are several brands of vegetarian/vegan frozen foods that don't have a lot of "extra" ingredients. I'm particularly fond of products from Sweet Earth.

PS: Also a lazy cook - virtually everything I eat is easy/fast. I eat pescatarian, but mostly vegetarian. My diary is open to friends if you are interested.

Hollis100 wrote: »

nuzziek wrote: »

I'm a vegan, and I agree with the previous post recommending no-sodium-added canned beans and lentils for easy protein. For snacks, I eat tons of plain veggies and fruits! Nothing easier than grabbing a banana or handful of carrots. If you're trying to eat plant-based, that should include staying away from processed snacks and oils. Try to a stick to a diet mostly of veggies, fruits, beans, legumes, and nuts. I've lost 50 pounds eating this way and feel fantastic. It takes a few weeks for your taste buds to adjust to the lack of processed flavors etc. but after that it gets easy and you'll find you actually crave the plant-based foods. Good luck!

^^ I agree with this -- there's nothing easier than grabbing some veggies or fruit for snacks. One of my favorite snacks is a banana or an apple with almonds (28 almonds have about 170 calories and 6 grams of protein). No prep, no cooking, no washing dishes.

Yep, I'm a big fan of fruit plus nuts as a snack (and I'm an omnivore.)

I do weigh nuts, as their calories add up fast!

Laziest decent meal - frozen veggie patty on toast or whatever with a bag of freezer veg.

If you have an Aldi they have a ton of little prepacked things in the refrigerated section. Snack sized things of hummus, cheeses, I'm honestly not really sure because I don't buy any of it lol, but I know there's a lot of options. They also have salad kits you could eat and add a protein to if you want. They also have these quinoa power bowl type things in the freezer section.

erjones11 wrote: »

Dried or dehydrated fruit is always a good choice. Keeps a long time so I can keep the bags in my office at work.

I buy it at the local dollar store for a dollar each bag, dah... So much less expensive then anywhere else and I like it all, peaches, apples, strawberries, bananas, blue berries, ect...

Depending on the brand you buy, these often have added sugar. That may not matter to you but if you have a medical condition that requires you to watch your sugar intake, choose the "no sugar added" options.

I like to get Lilly's hummus in small containers (1/4 cup? 2oz by weight) that are shelf stable. That way I don't have to commit to a big container of hummus when I really only want it occasionally. Love the little empty containers for small amounts of things also... I get them from Thrive Market online, but I think Amazon has them also.

If you eat enough hummus to get through a larger package in a week, as others have said - portioning it out yourself is cheaper. I got a bunch of small containers from amazon marketed to baby food do-it-yourselfers and find these really helpful. I have 1oz containers that would be nice for salad dressings or small portions of seeds etc., probably 2oz containers or bigger would be what you would want for hummus.

I have Oxo "baby blocks" 2oz (fluid ounce measure) containers that I use for portioning out nondairy ice cream (8 portions per pint) in the freezer. Perfect amount for me to grab and eat and I can have a variety available at once. 1oz and 2oz containers are good for nuts and seeds also, as well as of course nut/seed/legume butters if you are out of the house.

I also have Rubbermaid 4oz containers that I use for freezing some other foods such as canned fruit (really like pineapple chunks this way, for example). Rubbermaid has some nice tiny containers that I mainly use for supplements, but are probably 1oz containers.

All these Oxo and Rubbermaid containers are very sturdy, don't break when I drop them, and have very tight fitting lids.

There are other brands to look at for small containers also. Check reviews for durability whether you are buying online or in realspace.

You also could check out zip plastic snack and sandwich bags - those might be useful for your purposes. I put items like cookies and popcorn and chips and crackers and junky kid cereal into zip or fold over plastic bags (I knot the latter to seal), already in my usual portions. Keeps them fresh longer and also means I have to think and do some work to get a second cookie... But would be especially handy for someone working outside their home. You could use these for fresh veg as well, although there are plastic containers sold that should make that easy to do. Plastic bags can also be washed, rinsed, and dried for re-use, though.

If you're at home - I freeze portions of fruit and veg so they don't spoil before I get to them and also so I can grab pieces of things like melon and citrus and baked sweet potato etc. Prevents the chopping-up-fused-chunk-of-ice problem I often have otherwise with frozen fruit and veg. If you have other humans eating, you may not have such problems.

Also small 1 cup or 2 cup Pyrex bowls with tight rubber lids work very well for freezing portions of anything suitable. I like the 2 cup ones for half a can of soup, plenty of room to add more veg or whatever when heating it up in the microwave. A friend used to make her own soup in half the usual liquid level, then freeze in individual containers to bring to work. By lunch time they were thawed. She would add hot water and voilà! Hot soup.

I also cut up food bars (scads of vegan ones now, those would all be plant based) and put them in zip bags for easy access. So you don't have to eat the whole thing. I have vegan jerkies also that provide easily transportable protein, based on soy or wheat gluten or mushrooms. I portion them into bags or containers if they come as bits rather than rods or strips.

If you want sealed commercial snack items made out of real food and can't find enough locally, look for mailorder sources. I use Amazon, Vitacost, LuckyVitamin, VeganEssentials, iHerb, Gluten Free Mall, Thrive. A lot of things are provided as single portions today because there is a market for them. I've even bought small bags of high-protein cereals and the like.

I like small nori (seaweed) sheets often sold now in small snack packs. I like them with a bit of nut/seed/legume butter. Easy to use those squeezable pouches to get a little bit on them, and a pouch could be kept in a desk. The right size stiff container would be needed if you only want a few sheets (the ones I have come 10 little sheets to a snack pack) unless you do as I do at home - just put the plastic bin into a plastic bag and seal with a clothes pin. I like the GimMe brand but there are plenty of others to try, including some with a lot of extra seasonings.