Quick & easy vegan food

[JaredM]

I am in desperate need for some easy vegan lunch meals that do not require any cooking and dont take much time to prepare.

[PinkFluffyCloud]

Toasted Pitta with homous and cucumber.
Cold Tofu sausges.
Fruit.
Sandwich - with herb pate or homous and yeast extract.
Pasties - made the day before with ready to roll pastry.

[Mystic]

Where are you, coz depending on where you are you can get good healthy vegan convenience foods - I am in Australia and there is this really great company called vegetable creations - they make all sorts of organic, vegan, low fat wholemeal pies using fresh vegetables. They also make things like samosas, rice balls and potato balls and various condiments. Those things are easy for lunch coz you just pop them in the microwave and they are very delicous. If this sort of a thing is not available to you then I suggest sandwiches with simple but healthy ingredients, like:
- peanut butter or other nut butter (and banana, jam/jelly etc...)
- hummus/avocado with salad
- vegan pate (like olive or mushroom) and marinated veggies

You could also take leftover dinner - pasta is great, as is rice.

Tastybite is a company that make pre-packaged vegetarian (and some vegan) curries and ready meals. They are quite delicious for pre-packaged meals.

Maybe some vegan canned or pre-packaged soup with a bread roll?

That is all I can think of for now

[JaredM]

Thanks for the ideas. So far i have been having peanut butter & Jelly (with or without bannana) leftofer rice. Veggie wrapups with or without hummus.

[phillip888]

Fruit is food. Preperation time is zero for many fruits, and many more only require peeling or splitting.

[ConsciousCuisine]

Yes, fruit, nuts, seeds, salads, smoothies, sprouted bread with pate' or nut/seed butters, dried olives and dried fruits and so on all make lovely meals...

[ducky]

Hi,
I've been lacto-ovo for a long time, and this year my new years resolution was to move towards a vegan diet. I'm not vegan yet-- I'm eating vegan during the week and vegetarian on weekends. I know this is a cop-out but I think my chances of success are higher if I give myself some time to adjust.
Anyway, for the most part it hasn't been nearly as hard as I thought it would be, and most of the meals I've made have been pretty satisfying. I haven't missed cheese nearly as much as I thought I would, which makes be think I could go 'all the way' soon.
Normally I love to cook, which I think makes things easier for me. But the hardest part so far has been days when I'm tired and busy and just not in the mood to cook. So, all you experienced vegans out there... what is your favorite quick, satisfying recipe? Or where is the best place to find some? I'm thinking on the table in 20-30 minutes.

[feline01]

One word: lentils. Soups, stews, burgers etc. Very versatile and very cheap. I always keep organic onions and carrots on hand so ingredients are on hand.

Stir-fries take not time, just the prep of chopping the veggies.

[Mystic]

I agree with feline - LENTILS. I make dhal all the time and have it with rice, but if you cannot be bothered cooking brown rice, white basmati rice cooks very quick, or you could just have it with pita bread - no cooking at all. Best of all it freezes well and lasts a few days, so you can just re-heat it. Maybe you could cook stuff on the weekend and pop them in the freezer.

Another of my favourite CBF meals (can't be f***ed) is:
- baked beans on toast
- spaghetti with sauce from the jar
- plain sandwiches (hummus etc...)

[feline01]

A big salad with nuts and roasted tofu (marinate tofu in soy sauce then bake at high temp until crisp)
Big bowl of fruit salad

And like Banana said, make a huge tray of lasagna or the like on Sunday and just reheat.

Banana, is that Odi's eye?

[Mystic]

LOL - that is my eye :)

[feline01]

LOL - that is my eye :)

Well, it's a nice eye anyway ;) . I guess Odi has brown eyes. How did you take that photo without getting red eye? All me and the babies photos come out with red eye b/c of the blue/green color.

[Mystic]

Hmmm, I don't know - it just didn't go red in that picture. But you can fix red-eye on image mixer.

[PinkFluffyCloud]

For a CBF meal (like it, Banana!), I have Jacket Potatoes with salad, or veg, or baked beans, or homous.

Or I just roast lots if Veg and Potatoes together with a bit of stock.

Or I have a Banana! :eek: (or two!)

[Mystic]

Before I was vegan, I didn't like Pink Fluffy Clouds (marshmallows) so that wouldn't have been an option.

For another CBF bite, I make wedges (look in the recipes section). Then I drown it in tomato ketchup.
Also:
- veggie burgers
- breakfast cereal
- mashed potatoes
- peanut butter roll
- steamed veg with soy sauce
- refried beans on a tortilla

[Mystic]

Oh and vegan pizza:

Just get pita bread, smear on tomato paste, throw on any veggie you like and stick it in the oven! If you can be bothered, you can make Artichoke's melty pizza cheese!

[PinkFluffyCloud]

Oh, I hadn't thought of me being a Marshmallow before! :D
I chose my name after The Orb's song, 'Little Fluffy Clouds'. :p

[Mystic]

Hi,
I've been lacto-ovo for a long time, and this year my new years resolution was to move towards a vegan diet. I'm not vegan yet-- I'm eating vegan during the week and vegetarian on weekends. I know this is a cop-out but I think my chances of success are higher if I give myself some time to adjust.


Slow and steady wins the race - most people need time to adjust or they feel deprived. I think you are being smart. It is a whole lifestyle change so well done Ducky!

[gertvegan]

Normally I love to cook, which I think makes things easier for me. But the hardest part so far has been days when I'm tired and busy and just not in the mood to cook.
Cook enough one night for the next night to, or enough for several meals and freeze em. ;)

[Kiva Dancer]

My favourite CBF recipe (look what you started, banana! :D ):

1 can of diced tomatoes in their own juice
cans of whatever beans you want (as many or as few as you'd like, it doesn't matter)
Goodly handful of corn kernals
Goodly handful of chopped onion
1 or 2 cleaned and chopped jalapenos (optional)
Chili spices like cumin, garlic, ceyanne pepper, powdered chilis... whatever you put into chili.

In the bottom of a large saucepan, sautee the jalapenos for a bit, then sautee the onions until they go clear. If you use fresh garlic, add that just as the onions go clear and stir round until it smells a bit (don't let the garlic go deep brown on you :eek: ). Add the spices. Add the tomatoes, beans and corn then turn the heat down to simmer and let it go until everything's warmed through. Taste and reseason if needed. Serve over brown rice.

That's the basic recipe, but it's also adaptable so you can put mushrooms in it, broccoli, carrots... anything. I haven't met a veggie yet that didn't go well in chili. :)

[Mystic]

That is a great idea Kriz. I seem to complicate everything!

[Kim[ba]]

I've found that rice, a couple tablespoons of hummus for consistency, and some curry sauce (if you like it spicey) is a great base that's quick and easy. On top of that if you are feeling more ambitious you can add lemon/lime, tofu, noodles, seitan, fresh (or canned) veggies, chopped herbs, etc.

Pasta salad is really easy too! Just boil some water, throw in some multi-colored pasta, wait until it's soft, add a vinagrette, and/or hemp seed or flax oil (hemp seed has a more nutty and "cannabis" taste :D)

Sandwhiches: Peanut butter and jelly, Peanut butter and oatmeal, Banana, Pita bread w/hummus

[feline01]

I was in the mood over the weekend for some and created this recipe:

One can of beans (I used pinto)
Bag of organic frozen veggies (I used a combo of green beans, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots)
2 tbsp Vegan worcestershire sauce or to taste
3 tbsp Nutritional yeast
1 tbsp Onion powder
Mashed potatoes (you could use instant :eek: but I made mine using organic russet potatoes steamed then mashed with warm unsweetened soy milk, earth balance (vegan margarine) and salt/pepper

Make the mashed potatoes or use leftover mashed. Steam or quickly blanch the veggies. Make sure they are chopped into little pieces. Toss the veggies into a pie pan, baking dish, whatever. Add the worcestershire, onion powder & nutritional yeast. Stir it together. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake in preheated 350F oven until the mashed is brown and crisp.

[foxytina_69]

mmm this sounds delish. i might make this tonight, but arent you supposed to use a sort of gravy base in the veggies before topping it with potatoes?

[feline01]

I found that the nutritional yeast thickened it up nicely. Didn't need any gravy. And it added the nice, slightly-cheesy flavor. Forget to add, I lightly mashed the beans with a fork.