lazytiger
Jan 26th, 2008, 08:42 AM
Hello everybody,
I am new to this forum. I am an Indian, currently pursuing higher studies in the United States. I was raised as a vegetarian, which is not uncommon in India. But Indian vegetarians use a lot of dairy products. After coming to the United States, I decided to become a vegan. First, I wanted to cut down the dairy products, because this is the real litmus test for a typical Indian vegetarian. I was able to give up milk, curd (yogurt) and butter milk with surprising ease because Soy milk is readily available in the US. (I am not sure if soy milk is so readily available in India, which makes me wonder what I will do if I go back to India). I completely avoided dairy products for 6 months in 2006. But I succumbed to temptations after that.
The culprit was not milk or curd - things which I used to have a lot in India. It was pizza. (Ironically, I hardly ate pizza when I was in India). Temptation for pizza is one thing. But I have another major problem. Because of my work load (and laziness) I usually buy frozen stuff which can be easily cooked in a few minutes in a microwave or a regular oven. So I end up buying pizzas and cooking them in the oven. I also buy vegetables, but the problem is that vegetables don't have much calories by themselves. And they are expensive. As a student I have to keep my expenditure in check. For example, I bought some nice frozen vegetables. They were tasty, but for a price of around $ 2, I got only 150 calories.
I am looking for an alternative to pizza, that can give me a good number of calories and can be cooked easily in an oven or microwave. I am thin. I don't think I need more than 1400-1700 calories per day. The cost of the alternative should be around the same as pizza. By the way, I am not talking about papa johns or pizza hut when I mention pizza. I am talking about frozen pizza in the supermarkets. And there are always deals on frozen pizzas. I usually spend around 2 $ for 1000 calories.
If there is any American (or non-American) vegan here who can help me find an alternative vegan food choice (given the constraints that I am facing), I would be very grateful to him/her. Any vegan food which can give me 1000 calories for a price of 2$ is excellent. I am willing to make it 2.5 $. After all, I pay more for soy milk. The food must be easily available in a typical American supermarket, and cooking should be as easy as cooking a frozen pizza. (I apologize for my laziness). Please help me if you can. Thanks in advance.
PS: In one of my future posts, I will discuss my problems with honey and other snacks. That is another long story. :)
I am new to this forum. I am an Indian, currently pursuing higher studies in the United States. I was raised as a vegetarian, which is not uncommon in India. But Indian vegetarians use a lot of dairy products. After coming to the United States, I decided to become a vegan. First, I wanted to cut down the dairy products, because this is the real litmus test for a typical Indian vegetarian. I was able to give up milk, curd (yogurt) and butter milk with surprising ease because Soy milk is readily available in the US. (I am not sure if soy milk is so readily available in India, which makes me wonder what I will do if I go back to India). I completely avoided dairy products for 6 months in 2006. But I succumbed to temptations after that.
The culprit was not milk or curd - things which I used to have a lot in India. It was pizza. (Ironically, I hardly ate pizza when I was in India). Temptation for pizza is one thing. But I have another major problem. Because of my work load (and laziness) I usually buy frozen stuff which can be easily cooked in a few minutes in a microwave or a regular oven. So I end up buying pizzas and cooking them in the oven. I also buy vegetables, but the problem is that vegetables don't have much calories by themselves. And they are expensive. As a student I have to keep my expenditure in check. For example, I bought some nice frozen vegetables. They were tasty, but for a price of around $ 2, I got only 150 calories.
I am looking for an alternative to pizza, that can give me a good number of calories and can be cooked easily in an oven or microwave. I am thin. I don't think I need more than 1400-1700 calories per day. The cost of the alternative should be around the same as pizza. By the way, I am not talking about papa johns or pizza hut when I mention pizza. I am talking about frozen pizza in the supermarkets. And there are always deals on frozen pizzas. I usually spend around 2 $ for 1000 calories.
If there is any American (or non-American) vegan here who can help me find an alternative vegan food choice (given the constraints that I am facing), I would be very grateful to him/her. Any vegan food which can give me 1000 calories for a price of 2$ is excellent. I am willing to make it 2.5 $. After all, I pay more for soy milk. The food must be easily available in a typical American supermarket, and cooking should be as easy as cooking a frozen pizza. (I apologize for my laziness). Please help me if you can. Thanks in advance.
PS: In one of my future posts, I will discuss my problems with honey and other snacks. That is another long story. :)