Help a Carnivore Please
Posted by vegbacnluva on Nov 07, 2006 · Member since Mar 2005 · 20 posts
I was a vegetarian for 3 years and was very near to vegan, but I decided to quit one day and I still regret that choice. I did that 5 years ago- I want to go back to that place- I felt better and I have a strong preference to vegetarian meals anyway. I have a meat eating husband who is open to trying vegetarianism- but he says veganism is just too much for him.
I need some REALLY easy ideas for shopping and week night dinners. We both work and we just recently started going back into eating healthy. I think, with time, I can eat least get my husband to eat vegetarian- and I can go back to near vegan- hopefully fully vegan soon.
Help me out in any way you can, thanks.
If you have a crock pot you can always put on beans in the morning and they will be ready when you get home.
Morning Star Farms and Boca have many Vegan and Vegetarian options some quick suggestions:
Sloppy Joes made with ground crumbles add a packet of onion soup mix (read the label some onion soup mixes have chicken "stuff" in them.
Tacos also using ground crumbles. Fajitas using the steak or chicken strips.
Veggie chili I use the Five Alarm Chili Pack veggie crumbles and a can of Pinto Beans I add extra cayenne pepper
Veggie wraps use your imagination. Can of beans(red, pinto, black), veggie cheese, corn, seasoning.
Veggie stir fry.
Dixie Diner (veganessentials.com)has many great quick meal packages I alwys add more seasoning to them beause there are a little bland. Check out the recipes on this site many are quick and simple for people who work.
Couscous is also really quick I cook it in vegetarian vegetable broth
I hope these suggestions help. Good Luck on becoming vegetarian again. :)
couscous is very fat and delicious, especially when cooked with vegetable broth.
Pick up La Dolce Vegan. The meals are great for vegans and omni's. Most of the recipes you can make in 30 minutes or less, and there is a huge assortment of recipes in terms of types of foods. It has everything from salad dressings, soups, pasta, indian, asian, pot pies etc. You will get tons of ideas. My husband is an omni and loves everything I make from here.
Find you a copy of Nava Atlas' 30 minute vegetarian meals. She relies on canned beans and quick cooking grains, but if you are in a hurry, this works. Some of them can be made ahead.
You can also consider looking up once a month cooking vegetarian style. I have a CDROM with recipes for doing this. You'd have to google OMAC vegetarian, but you'll find stuff. You can also adapt omni recipes to be vegetarian and/or vegan.
You'll need to remember that freezing tofu changes the texture and releases a lot of water. In light of this, consider using Dixie Diner (available online) soy concentrates and/or healthy-eating.com soy concentrates in things you freeze. I have frozen them rehydrated in dishes and then reheated with excellent results.
For quick healthy breakfasts, consider spending a Saturday morning baking up a variety of muffins. If you use paper liners you can bake till you drop and not wash the pans in between. These can be put in gallon ziplock freezer bags and used as needed. THere are plenty of really good muffin recipes on this site to get you started.
I can second the book recommendations. Yummy, quick, easy stuff.
I like the idea of OAMC vegetarian style. When I'm hassled for time, I'm better off if I go slower prep once a week rather than trying to speed through quick recipes daily (because I have to assemble ingredients and set aside psychic space for cooking time each time I eat, with the latter). I keep big airtight plastic containers on hand, and break out the crockpot for stews, beans (you can even do veggie Boston baked beans in a crock pot!), and that's where I poach my seitan, too. If you get a couple delicious "moist" dishes, a veggie lasagne, and a batch of muffins done on a lazy Sunday, and precut salad ingredients that can stand to be refrigerated when cut without losing quality, you have 3-5 days' lunches and dinners all ready. (Just know which things keep best, and save them for last!) Cut a deal with someone to handle dishes when you do something more time consuming, so that you're not stuck in the kitchen twice as long.
Another alternative is to flip through student vegetarian cookbooks and see if there's anything to inspire you there. They're geared to be quick and foolproof.