Shopping List?

[Guest guest]

So, I'm not very good at planning meals by very much. I can plan a

couple at a time without forgetting what I got the ingredients for. I

was wondering what are the basic staples of a new vegetarian in the

process of change? I never really liked beans that weren't refried and

drowned in cheese and put into a burrito, but with the right flavors

and spices I am willing to try them differently. Other than that, I

have a fairly open pallet... I think.

 

Oh yeah. I am broke right now so I had no choice but the scrounge in

my freezer for food. I found chicken nuggets. Ate them cause I had

nothing else. I feel gross. My tummy is yelling at me and my whole

body is going " bleh " . And then I realized, I had pasta in the back of

the cabinet. Nice. And what is it with vegetable soups being made with

beef or chicken broth? Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Dx Angry face

of anger and frustration!

 

Rachelle

Vegetarian in Training

[Guest guest]

On 1/19/08, Rachelle <saiyukifg wrote:

>

> So, I'm not very good at planning meals by very much. I can plan a

> couple at a time without forgetting what I got the ingredients for.

 

Have you seen www.vegancoach.com yet? It's a really good site that

works to help teach you how to put vegan food together with the

ultimate goal of being able to just see what's in the kitchen and put

it together into something tasty without a recipe. vegancoach also has

some recipes as well, to get you started.

 

> I was wondering what are the basic staples of a new vegetarian in the

> process of change?

 

Here is a very good thread about the staples different real people

have in their kitchen

http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-19273.html

Here's another list:

http://www.veganfamilyliving.com/necessary-kitchen-staples-for-vegans

 

As for me, personally, these are the things I try to always keep

around (bearing in mind that other people will have a different list,

of course):

 

* beans (pinto, black, garbanzo, navy, black-eyed peas, lentils, soy)

* grains (brown rice, millet, quinoa, cous cous)

* cornmeal, flour, baking supplies (baking powder, bread yeast, etc.)

* breakfast cereals (stone ground oats, multi-grain hot cereal)

* spices (as many different types as possible, but the basics include

chili powder, cayenne, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, garlic, black

pepper, cinnamon, cloves, oregano, basil)

* some canned goods for cooking and for quick meals: tomato sauce,

diced tomatoes, mexican spice tomatoes, corn, " emergency beans " (for

when I realize I'm starving and can't wait to cook beans)

* some frozen vegetables - both good because they're cheap and good

when you forgot to buy fresh. Much better for you than canned veg.

* some instant mixes for quick dinners - falafel mix, hummus mix (can

also be made without adding oil for a low-fat hummus), tabouleh mix,

nature's burger mix

* fresh fruits and vegetables - I try to buy in season for best

quality and price

* frozen fruits - great for making smoothies

 

You might also want to keep around:

* pastas and orzo

* soy or rice milk

* tofu (if you don't use the whole block, store the rest in fresh

water in the fridge)

* tempeh

* crackers and/or bread and or tortillas

 

> I never really liked beans that weren't refried and

> drowned in cheese and put into a burrito, but with the right flavors

> and spices I am willing to try them differently. Other than that, I

> have a fairly open pallet... I think.

 

There are other things besides beans as well. Have you tried tofu and

tempeh yet? And there are " meat analogues " like TVP (texturized

vegetable protein), and commercial products like Boca Burgers and

Morningstar Farms.

 

Sparrow

[Guest guest]

I've tried tofu. I fried it with olive oil and some spices. I wasn't

too crazy about the texture. I should try some different recipes.

But once again, thanks for the links and info! I'll check them out.

Rachelle

, " Sparrow R Jones "

<sparrowrose wrote:

>

> On 1/19/08, Rachelle <saiyukifg wrote:

> >

> > So, I'm not very good at planning meals by very much. I can plan a

> > couple at a time without forgetting what I got the ingredients for.

>

> Have you seen www.vegancoach.com yet? It's a really good site that

> works to help teach you how to put vegan food together with the

> ultimate goal of being able to just see what's in the kitchen and put

> it together into something tasty without a recipe. vegancoach also has

> some recipes as well, to get you started.

>

> > I was wondering what are the basic staples of a new vegetarian in the

> > process of change?

>

> Here is a very good thread about the staples different real people

> have in their kitchen

> http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-19273.html

> Here's another list:

> http://www.veganfamilyliving.com/necessary-kitchen-staples-for-vegans

>

> As for me, personally, these are the things I try to always keep

> around (bearing in mind that other people will have a different list,

> of course):

>

> * beans (pinto, black, garbanzo, navy, black-eyed peas, lentils, soy)

> * grains (brown rice, millet, quinoa, cous cous)

> * cornmeal, flour, baking supplies (baking powder, bread yeast, etc.)

> * breakfast cereals (stone ground oats, multi-grain hot cereal)

> * spices (as many different types as possible, but the basics include

> chili powder, cayenne, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, garlic, black

> pepper, cinnamon, cloves, oregano, basil)

> * some canned goods for cooking and for quick meals: tomato sauce,

> diced tomatoes, mexican spice tomatoes, corn, " emergency beans " (for

> when I realize I'm starving and can't wait to cook beans)

> * some frozen vegetables - both good because they're cheap and good

> when you forgot to buy fresh. Much better for you than canned veg.

> * some instant mixes for quick dinners - falafel mix, hummus mix (can

> also be made without adding oil for a low-fat hummus), tabouleh mix,

> nature's burger mix

> * fresh fruits and vegetables - I try to buy in season for best

> quality and price

> * frozen fruits - great for making smoothies

>

> You might also want to keep around:

> * pastas and orzo

> * soy or rice milk

> * tofu (if you don't use the whole block, store the rest in fresh

> water in the fridge)

> * tempeh

> * crackers and/or bread and or tortillas

>

> > I never really liked beans that weren't refried and

> > drowned in cheese and put into a burrito, but with the right flavors

> > and spices I am willing to try them differently. Other than that, I

> > have a fairly open pallet... I think.

>

> There are other things besides beans as well. Have you tried tofu and

> tempeh yet? And there are " meat analogues " like TVP (texturized

> vegetable protein), and commercial products like Boca Burgers and

> Morningstar Farms.

>

> Sparrow

>

[Guest guest]

On 1/20/08, Rachelle <saiyukifg wrote:

>

> I've tried tofu. I fried it with olive oil and some spices. I wasn't

> too crazy about the texture. I should try some different recipes.

 

Before you give up on tofu entirely, try making a smoothie using

silken tofu (it will blend into the drink, giving it a sort of

yogurt-y texture.) If you don't like that, either, then maybe tofu

just isn't for you. Which isn't a disaster! The idea is to try

different things to see what you like but there's definitely no law

that say you have to like tofu to be a vegetarian.

 

> But once again, thanks for the links and info! I'll check them out.

 

Great! I hope they're helpful to you.

 

And remember that vegetarian meals don't have to be exotic or alien,

especially in the beginning when you're just beginning to transition.

 

Spaghetti is vegetarian if you leave out the meat and meatballs in the

sauce. You can try replacing the meat with other things such as cooked

lentils mixed into the sauce (if you cook them long enough and then

cook them some more in the sauce, they fall apart and you can't really

tell that they're there) or vegetarian meat balls from a company like

Morningstar Farms . . . or just have plain old-fashioned spaghetti

with marinara.

 

If you have a favorite chili recipe, try making it without meat. If

you can't think what to put in to replace the meat, just increase the

beans a bit. Or leave it as it is, but without the meat, and call it

" chili soup " since it will be a little thinner (but should still be

very tasty.) Also, if you're used to the taste of meat-fats in your

food, be patient with yourself. Your tastes *will* shift if you stick

with eating low-fat. Just give it time.

 

You said you like refried beans - there are some brands of canned

refried beans that are vegetarian and low-fat. Or experiment with

making refried beans from scratch if you're adventurous. If you're

going vegetarian but not vegan, you can still have the cheese (but for

health's sake, try to go easy on it.) If you're trying to get away

from dairy, see if you can trick yourself into going without cheese by

loading the burrito up with tomatoes and lettuce and such.

 

I know nearly all the canned vegetable soups have meat broth in them,

but you can develop favorite quick recipes of your own. For example,

try getting a can of tomato juice or " V-8 " type drink and use that as

a vegetable soup base. Get a bag of frozen mixed vegetables of the

type you like in soup and you've got an almost instant soup at that

point: just put the tomato juice in a pan, add any spices you might

want in it (I usually just put a little garlic and oregano. If you

want to get fancy, saute some garlic and onion in a little bit of

tomato juice (instead of oil) and then add the rest of the juice and

some oregano to taste.

 

Add the frozen vegetables and cook until the vegetables are thawed and

heated through. Voila! Soup! For a variation, you can throw in some

macaroni noodles when you put the vegetables in and heat until the

pasta is done. Or if you have some leftover cooked rice in the

refrigerator, you can throw that in the soup. You can go pretty much

anywhere with a soup like this and starting with a canned tomato juice

makes it super quick.

 

Be patient with yourself - over time you will hit on things that you

enjoy making and eating and gradually collect up a set of ideas of

what to eat. Don't expect everything to change 100% overnight because

you are learning new skills and exploring new ideas and that always

takes time!

 

Just work at it from where you are and be gentle with yourself when

you have frustrations or setbacks. It will come; I promise!

 

Sparrow