Guest guest Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 Hello everyone. I've been lurking for quite a while, as I've been thinking about going vegan for a year or so. Well two weeks ago I took the plunge after reading " Eat to Live " by Dr. Fhurman. I've been trying to stick to the suggestions he mentions in the book, but I'm getting tired of those real fast. My problem is that I don't especally love veggies and after only two weeks I'm completely tired of salads. I also DO NOT like to cook and am finding the prep time is a lot of work and energy. Going completely natural, staying away from all unprocessed food, vegan or not, is a big change for us and fresh produce is so darned expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions for QUICK & EASY vegan meals (with ingredients that isn't too hard to find) and any other ideas besides salads and steamed veggies????? I am committed to being a vegan and eating like this for the rest of my life, so if I'm not going to be miserable I need some helpful suggestions... ) Would any like to share the name of their favorite vegan cook books? Thanks in advance! Fellow Vegan, Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Hi Melissa, I've been a vegan for 7+ years now and I've never been a big fan of salads either. My favorite cookbook is called " The Horizon's Cookbook " by Rich Landau & Kate Jacoby. Horizons is an amazing vegan restaurant here in Philly. Unfortunately the cookbook is only a small sample of the delicious food they serve, but most of the recipes in it are fairly simple to make. (I think I posted a couple on the list awhile back). There's also some nice, *very* simple recipes in " Vegan Microwave Cookbook " by Nancy Berkoff. Avoiding " processed " food entirely may be an insurmountable challenge for most people. The best advice I can give is to try to think of " normal " foods that are already vegan; i.e., peanut butter / jelly, spaghetti w/ marinara, etc. There's probably a lot of great, simple meals you enjoyed long before becoming vegetarian that are relatively easy to veganize (i.e., chili, soup, burritos, etc). Also, if you can find nutritional yeast at a local healthfood store, a lot of vegans find it is a nice way to add a semi-cheesey flavor to your dishes. I do love my soy / gluten based meat substitutes and eat them often simply because I don't always feel like spending an hour or more in the kitchen preparing something. I'd contend that some of those foods are pretty healthy as long as you supplement them with some veggies, etc. For instance, Amy's Organics, Sunshine Burgers, and Dr. Praeger makes some awesome vegan burgers that are arguably a lot tastier and more interesting than the plain old Boca / Gardenburger products. I hope that helps some. I think I have a few more recipes I'll be posting soon. Dave Earn Money Online doing product trials and surveys. Visit http://nodavesclub.blogspot.com rmbeckwith87 <rmbeckwith87 wrote: Hello everyone. I've been lurking for quite a while, as I've been thinking about going vegan for a year or so. Well two weeks ago I took the plunge after reading " Eat to Live " by Dr. Fhurman. I've been trying to stick to the suggestions he mentions in the book, but I'm getting tired of those real fast. My problem is that I don't especally love veggies and after only two weeks I'm completely tired of salads. I also DO NOT like to cook and am finding the prep time is a lot of work and energy. Going completely natural, staying away from all unprocessed food, vegan or not, is a big change for us and fresh produce is so darned expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions for QUICK & EASY vegan meals (with ingredients that isn't too hard to find) and any other ideas besides salads and steamed veggies????? I am committed to being a vegan and eating like this for the rest of my life, so if I'm not going to be miserable I need some helpful suggestions... ) Would any like to share the name of their favorite vegan cook books? Thanks in advance! Fellow Vegan, Melissa Never miss a thing. Make your homepage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 20, 2008 Report Share Posted March 20, 2008 Good for you Melissa for going vegan! I'm not sure what to suggest since I love to cook and do spent a lot of time preparing and cooking things. You can try adding lentils and other grains and nuts to your diet. Lentils are high in protien and often called the poor man's meat. They are great in soups such as a spicy East Indian or Italian style flavored with basil and tomato. They're easy and come in many varieties, just make sure you go thru them and check for rocks, etc. and rinse them well before cooking. I love dandlions and make a great pesto with them using olive oil, sun dried tomatoes and walnuts processed thru the food processor served over pasta. If I have fresh basil in the garden, I'll make it half basil and half dandlion greens. Try coming up with your own version of thing you like, you'd be surprised! I try to do a lot of my prep work in advance. When I buy my veggies, I clean and bag them. Any left over veggies from the previous week or anything that looks like it's going to go fast, I put in the food processor, chop up and dump in a soup pot, add water and boil briefly. Strain it, reserving the liquid which I put up for a soup stock for later. I also do this with beet greens since I don't care for the greens but do juice the beets. It stretches my food dollars. I'm not big on steamed veggies and salads. You might check with the library for cookbooks, PETA should have some recipes on their website as well as other groups. I did take a low cost class from the Seven day Adventists church and learned some very creative and tasty ways to use veggies. Their diet is vegan with the exception of using honey. You might contact them (and no before you ask, I'm not a Seven day Adventist). Try your local Farmer's Market, you will find produce which is fresher and try some of the different varieties you'll find there. Talk with the vendors, many of them can tell you ways to fix produce you never thought of before. Just experiment and you might find yourself creating some great recipes that fit your family. Good luck! RaChell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 22, 2008 Report Share Posted March 22, 2008 Ohhh thanks for all the great ideas! I think that after time I'll get used to the prep and cooking times. I'm going on my third week now and I do feel it's getting easier. I did look up some recipes on line and ordered a couple of Vegan cookbooks. It seems there's a lot more recipes for vegetarians..but, like I said, I'm committed to this so I will just have to adjust. ) Thanks again for your encouragement. ~Melissa~rachell7 <rachell7 Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2008 8:14:37 PM Re: New Vegan-Questions Good for you Melissa for going vegan! I'm not sure what to suggest since I love to cook and do spent a lot of time preparing and cooking things. You can try adding lentils and other grains and nuts to your diet. Lentils are high in protien and often called the poor man's meat. They are great in soups such as a spicy East Indian or Italian style flavored with basil and tomato. They're easy and come in many varieties, just make sure you go thru them and check for rocks, etc. and rinse them well before cooking. I love dandlions and make a great pesto with them using olive oil, sun dried tomatoes and walnuts processed thru the food processor served over pasta. If I have fresh basil in the garden, I'll make it half basil and half dandlion greens. Try coming up with your own version of thing you like, you'd be surprised! I try to do a lot of my prep work in advance. When I buy my veggies, I clean and bag them. Any left over veggies from the previous week or anything that looks like it's going to go fast, I put in the food processor, chop up and dump in a soup pot, add water and boil briefly. Strain it, reserving the liquid which I put up for a soup stock for later. I also do this with beet greens since I don't care for the greens but do juice the beets. It stretches my food dollars. I'm not big on steamed veggies and salads. You might check with the library for cookbooks, PETA should have some recipes on their website as well as other groups. I did take a low cost class from the Seven day Adventists church and learned some very creative and tasty ways to use veggies. Their diet is vegan with the exception of using honey. You might contact them (and no before you ask, I'm not a Seven day Adventist). Try your local Farmer's Market, you will find produce which is fresher and try some of the different varieties you'll find there. Talk with the vendors, many of them can tell you ways to fix produce you never thought of before. Just experiment and you might find yourself creating some great recipes that fit your family. Good luck! RaChell Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 It will get easier and you may find you like cooking. If you're in Calif, you might look for restruants that serve vegan food. I live in So. Calif and there are several around in valley and LA area. Try some of the East Indian places, while many of the dishes have cheese and dairy, you can find several tasty vegan dishes. My husband likes one that's bell peppers cooked with garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Taste better then it sounds and I've been able to re-create it at home. Once you find something you like, try to figure out the ingredients and see if you can duplicate it. There's whole world of food out there and once you experiment, you'll be amazed! It's nice to find that there are things besides corn, potatoes and steak to eat. If you live near a Whole Foods or a Lassens, stop by and see what they offer. Trader Joe's carries some meat free items in their frozen section at a more reasonable price. Don't know if you have a Trader Joe's near you. Once again, try some of the local Farmer's Markets. Best of luck and healthy eating! RaChell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Hi! Thanks for your reply. Yes, I'm hoping that I will, indeed, learn to like cooking....We don't go out to eat much, but being in So Calif I'm pretty sure there's some vegan type restaurants down in Temecula...near where we live. That bell peppers, tomatoes and ginger sounds pretty good. Is it just cooked in olive oil or something like that? ~Melissa~rachell7 <rachell7 Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 6:22:42 PM Re: New Vegan-Questions It will get easier and you may find you like cooking. If you're in Calif, you might look for restruants that serve vegan food. I live in So. Calif and there are several around in valley and LA area. Try some of the East Indian places, while many of the dishes have cheese and dairy, you can find several tasty vegan dishes. My husband likes one that's bell peppers cooked with garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Taste better then it sounds and I've been able to re-create it at home. Once you find something you like, try to figure out the ingredients and see if you can duplicate it. There's whole world of food out there and once you experiment, you'll be amazed! It's nice to find that there are things besides corn, potatoes and steak to eat. If you live near a Whole Foods or a Lassens, stop by and see what they offer. Trader Joe's carries some meat free items in their frozen section at a more reasonable price. Don't know if you have a Trader Joe's near you. Once again, try some of the local Farmer's Markets. Best of luck and healthy eating! RaChell Never miss a thing. Make your homepage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 The bell pepper dish is easy to cook. Just saute the peppers and garlic in oil, until tender then add grated or chopped fresh ginger and the tomatoes. I like to use fresh tomatoes but canned does just as well or if I'm out of the canned tomatoes I use some tomato paste. You can vary how much ginger you want but I do use fresh ginger. Some times I put the ginger in with the garlic and peppers. I serve it with rice. Check around and see what you find, I'm sure there must be some places in your area. We don't eat out that much either. RaChell , Calif_Princess <rmbeckwith87 wrote: > > Hi! Thanks for your reply. Yes, I'm hoping that I will, indeed, learn to like cooking....We don't go out to eat much, but being in So Calif I'm pretty sure there's some vegan type restaurants down in Temecula...near where we live. That bell peppers, tomatoes and ginger sounds pretty good. Is it just cooked in olive oil or something like that? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 you might wanna try looking for asian supermarkets they have really cheap stuff, like tofu and such Peanut butter and banana sandwiches are also really easy to make and fun. Smoothies, w/ soy milk or yogurt. type " vegan food " into google and I'm sure you'll get plenty of responses , " rmbeckwith87 " <rmbeckwith87 wrote: > > Hello everyone. > I've been lurking for quite a while, as I've been thinking about going > vegan for a year or so. Well two weeks ago I took the plunge after > reading " Eat to Live " by Dr. Fhurman. I've been trying to stick to > the suggestions he mentions in the book, but I'm getting tired of > those real fast. > > My problem is that I don't especally love veggies and after only two > weeks I'm completely tired of salads. I also DO NOT like to cook and > am finding the prep time is a lot of work and energy. Going > completely natural, staying away from all unprocessed food, vegan or > not, is a big change for us and fresh produce is so darned expensive. > > Does anyone have any suggestions for QUICK & EASY vegan meals (with > ingredients that isn't too hard to find) and any other ideas besides > salads and steamed veggies????? I am committed to being a vegan and > eating like this for the rest of my life, so if I'm not going to be > miserable I need some helpful suggestions... ) Would any like to > share the name of their favorite vegan cook books? > > Thanks in advance! > Fellow Vegan, > Melissa > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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