Vegan WFPB favorite recipes and foods

Homemade hummus-using love and lemons recipe, roasted chickpeas to snack on are a big go to at the moment.
I also love roasted cauliflower. Did it in bowls last night. Roasted it with taco seasoning served over rice mixed with black beans. Salsa on top.
Been baking or airfrying tofu after marinating it in recipes from Thug Kitchen cookbook.

@VegjoyP, your food photos upthread a bit look lovely and yummy! Would you be able to name or describe the dishes, so we could maybe riff on those ideas ourselves?

I don't tend to repeat the same meals routinely, or use recipes (I "just cook" 🤣). But there are a couple of patterns I do use quite often. (You - VegjoyP - may've seen me mention them elsewhere, since we've both been on MFP for a while.) I don't know whether they fit others' definition of "whole foods", but I think certainly count as at least close, especially if protein powder counts as WFPB.

One is a fold-over sandwich on a taco-size Ezekiel tortilla. It has mustard (dill mustard is my favorite), smoked tofu (sliced), thin-sliced onions, suitable cheese (I'm vegetarian, use dairy cheese, but vegan cheese would also be good for true PB eaters). I heat this in the microwave (just 30 seconds works for me), then add raw sauerkraut.

Another is black bean or soy/edamame spaghetti or fettuccine (I prefer the thin types) with a peanut-chile sauce, plus steamed or stir-fried veggies of choice. The sauce is peanut flour or peanut butter powder (or almond), rice vinegar, chile paste (be sure to get one without fish sauce). If you don't like heat, it can be made with soy sauce/tamari instead of chile paste. To that, I might add some toasted sesame oil (if I have extra calories), or any one or more of chopped scallions, minced raw garlic, grated fresh ginger**, Szechuan pepper (if you like extra heat), etc. I use one serving of peanut butter powder per person, chile paste and/or sesame oil to taste, then add enough vinegar and/or soy sauce to make a thin-ish paste that will mix into the pasta/veggies and stick. Precision isn't essential.

** I like to keep peeled fresh ginger root in a jar in my fridge submerged in sherry wine. It keeps for a long time that way. For those who avoid alcohol, the amount actually in the ginger is not going to be notably more than in something like vanilla extract, and it will cook off if heated.

A third is - in Winter, mostly - a Winter squash or pumpkin soup with sage, into which I puree some caramelized onions, soft tofu, white beans, and salt and garlic to taste. It's also good substituting smoked paprika or a suitable amount of chili powder or cayenne, maybe adding some toasted pepitas or shelled sunflower seeds on top.

Note that by "caramelized onions", I just mean onions that are slow-cooked on the stovetop (cast iron pan is good) until they're dark brown (not burned) and rich-tasting. There is no added sugar, just onions and enough oil so they don't stick. They're a good way to increase the umami flavor in plant-based dishes, IMO.

I roast and smash a bunch of Winter squash in the Fall, put it in my freezer in 2-cup glass bowls with snap on lids to use over the Winter. (I like a Winter squash variety that isn't a great long-keeper, that I can only get in Fall.) That's what I use in the soups.

Winter squash is also good in pasta dishes with red lentil or similar higher-protein plant-based pasta, if that's WF enough for this thread. In lasagna, it can be a layer between the lasagna noodles, with seasonings of choice, and maybe some soft tofu (and/or white beans) pureed in to add protein; or it can be put in stuffed shells. I'd use the usual caramelized onions, garlic, sage or whatever to season.

Some things I am loving:

• Stonefire Ancient Grain Mini Naan (all the Stonefire products are delish)
• Trader Joe's Guacamole (Avocado's Number)
• Dr. Praeger's Broccoli Cakes (with hummus, harissa, greek yogurt, or guacamole on the side)
• Roasted red pepper hummus
• Stir fry of baby bok choy, zucchini, fresh garlic, and red (bell) pepper. I use a little olive oil, crushed red pepper, soy sauce or teriyaki sauce, and sometimes a little sesame oil for flavoring. I like it with udon noodles or rice.
• A simple salad of avocado, tomatoes, and sometimes artichoke hearts or hearts of palm. Olive oil, lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, salt, coarse black pepper.

Sorry, I'm not much of a cook. I like things I can just throw together. I eat a lot of avocado toast, preferably on multigrain bread with good tomatoes and everything but the bagel seasoning.

VegjoyP wrote: »

Omgosh yes! I'm the same, no real " recipes' but thrown g ingredients together. I'm totally loving the hearts of Palm idea. I get the Dr
Pragers supergreens hunger, looove! Naan is so good. I just started eating bread again. Only stone ground wholemeal, sprouted or sourdough. Rye and pumpernickel are next

I will have to check out the Dr. Praeger's supergreens. When I first tried the broccoli cakes in May 2022, I thought they were just "meh." For the last couple of months, I've been addicted to them though. Are there any other Dr. Praeger's products that you like?

The hearts of palm is delicious. You can eat so much of it for a very small amount of calories too.

I try to eat WFPB as much as possible. I buy whatever is in season and local when possible. My dishes vary daily.

Today I made tacos with housemade corn tortillas, a lentil/walnut meat sauteed with seasonings, onions and peppers, topped with a quick guacamole, sour cream made with yogurt, lime and cilantro and I added tomatoes and fresh corn on top. I also made some plantains - yummy.

The other day I made a white bean stew with fresh tomatoes, carrots, yellow squash, bok choy, sweet potatoes, spinach, probably some other veggies that I forgot about. I used a chik'n broth as well. It was really good.

I don't plan most of my meals ahead of time. I just buy a lot of produce and put something together. I like to be creative in the kitchen and make meals based on whatever looks good or whatever I'm craving that day.

tcline27 wrote: »

Hi! I was a vegetarian for years. It was the best j ever felt in my life. I got away from it a couple years ago. I want to go completely vegan, I just don’t know how to start. I can keep my meals relatively the same and snacks too. I’m not sure how to post a thread here, I could only see how to comment. Does any have any advice on getting started?

The whole Vegan Health site (staffed by multi-degreed expert registered dietitians) is a great resource, IMO, on the nutrition front:

https://veganhealth.org

It has a specific "Tips for New Vegans" page that may be a help:

https://veganhealth.org/tips-for-new-vegans/

Since you have history as a vegetarian, you probably already know some of that nutritional stuff, but the sight helped me, as a long-term vegetarian, on some specific issues.

Minimalist Baker has tons of vegan recipes!!! https://minimalistbaker.com/cheesy-roasted-broccoli-chickpea-kale-salad/ This is one of my favorites! So easy and delicious!!

SafariGalNYC wrote: »

Hey @VegjoyP !

A frequent fav of mine - I switch the recipe around here and there:

Cacao chia mousse (I use coconut milk and top with raw cacao nibs)

This sounds delicious! I too love chia 'puddings/jam, etc.,

I have a bit of a dried cauliflower snack habit lately. Going to have to enter a 12 step program soon.

It started with the store bought ones…

And descended into the abyss of dried Cauli recipes…

Which I have yet to perfect..

I have this book, it’s old but fairly simple whole food, and most recipes have nutrition information.

mtaratoot wrote: »

@SafariGalNYC

Please share your "recipe" or process. I think I'd love this. I like to roast the stuff, and I can imagine taking it as a snack to go. I can totally imagine filling six trays of a dehydrator. Maybe with slightly different flavors on each couple trays.

@mtaratoot so sorry I missed this! Always love seeing your posts!!

This is a recipe that I keep trying to perfect. During winter on days home I used the oven method.. house was toasty. Dehydrator for summer!

Here is both-

Fiesty cauliflower bites or herbed - sea salt bites.

• 1 head cauliflower
• 3 tbsp oil of choice
• paprika
• Cayenne
• cumin

💫 Or my fav -- a spritz of oil, herbs de Provençe and sea salt!
💫 Chili - lime is also nice!
💫 Cheesy with nutritional yeast comes out well.


👉Oven method

-oven to 170f or lowest setting.

-chop the florets into bite sized Pieces.

-Toss them in a large bowl with all seasonings and oil.

-Place the cauliflower in a baking pan (i line with parchment paper) uncovered, at 170°F for 9 hrs (start checking it at 6 hrs)

👉Dehydrator - 135 degrees for 12 hrs.. (times can vary..) I start checking the crunchiness factor at 9 hours. I use the bare minimum of oil when I use the dehydrator.

I bet if anyone can perfect it - you can! 👩🏼‍🍳