Vegan Meal Planning

[lizxvx]

Any vegans on here that also meal plan? We're horrible with meal planning and have been wasting more food than I'm comfortable with. So, please help me with some of your favorite recipes, tips, and tricks! Preferably recipes consisting of whole foods and not processed fake meats/cheeses. TIA!

[aiyana4969]

I often take regular recipe and make it Vegan (usually to trick my anti-Vegan family)

This is one of my favorites, leave out the chicken and it's completely vegan, I also add pineapple chunks, bamboo shoots and sweet potato to mine. Oh and it sounds like it has a lot of salt and sugar but it's really nessessary (I use raw palm sugar in mine).
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/currie...en/Detail.aspx

I also take this chimmichanga recipe and use super firm tofu in place of the chicken, you can use Diya cheese or just leave it cheeseless. (oh and I cheat I used prepared salsa and add chipolte tobasco, which I'm not sure is Vegan, to it to make the 'chipolte salsa' )

Other favorites are Tostadas, 'cheesy' bean and rice burritos (I make the faux cheese sauce to a mac and cheese, add it to the rice with fresh cillantro and salsa fresha to the refried beans, tastes quite a bit like the ones from Taco bell only vegan).

I can post a few more later, but I highly reccommend the happy herbavore for low fat, healthy recipes (there are some on her blog and she has 2 cookbooks out now, I LOVE her muffin recipes! Oh and the blackbean brownie, I know it sounds gross but it's actually very good, healthy, filling and perfect when you need chocolate but don't want to trash your diet, think I may need to make some ) The Veganomicon has just about every recipe immaginable but I find they take forever and I hate cooking so just don't have the time.

[aiyana4969]

ooops :blush; didn't see where you said no fake cheese/meats, sorry

I'll again reitterate the happy herbavore, she tries as much as possible to use whole foods.

[krispy79]

I think with any meal plan the tricks going to be to make a list of all the foods you eat, make, and like then start planning from there. I bet if you think about it you can come up with 20 meals in 5 minutes that you already eat. Next start scattering them on a calendar and then add in new or other recipes.
If you are looking for new recipes we fell in love with this http://www.glutenfreeda.com/recipe-p...cat=15&rid=450 we also add 1 daikon, the ginger sauce is what really makes it fantastic.

[lizxvx]

I love Happy Herbivore! I'm actually thinking about just purchasing a few of her meal plans because I'm thinking I might be too lazy to do it on my own. Has one bought them? Worth the money?

The reason it's so tricky is that my husband is not vegan and will rarely try/enjoy vegan meals, so each night we end up making 2 separate meals or we just go out to eat. It's starting to really kill our budget. We don't even have a weeks worth of meals that we both enjoy.

I might just have to him go through my cookbooks and mark what he's willing to try. I'll look into the recipes posted. Thanks!

[jbug_4]

We just came off of 10 days eating almost raw and dh has agreed to keep 4 nights a week veggie or vegan. I am on the look out for meal ideas too. Here are a few we like

http://vegweb.com/recipes/tuna-mushroom-casserole I use olive oil in place of the butter and bread crumbs/planko in place of the fried onions and chips.

meatless fajitas - this will only work if your dh is willing. use avocado, peppers, onions, pico, corn salsa

Dh does not like zuc so I make the zuc for me and use the same recipe with portabella mushrooms for him
Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes and Herbs
5 sm Zucchini or 4 large portabella mushroom caps
4 Scallions (sliced, white and green parts separated)
1 sm Onion (chopped)
2 Plum Tomatoes (coarsely chopped)
2 tbsp Celery Leaves (from inner stalks, chopped)
4 tbsp chopped Basil Leaves
¼ cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice the zucchini in half crosswise.
Cut each half again lengthwise, and slice each of the halves into 4
equal, ½” pieces. (They should look like sticks.)
In a bowl, mix together the zucchini sticks with the white parts of
the scallions, onion, tomatoes, celery leaves and basil. Mix in the
olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Pour into a 3 qt baking dish and bake for 20 min. Garnish with
the sliced green tops of the scallions and the extra chopped basil.
serves with Sweet Potato and Carrot “Fries”

Sweet Potato and Carrot “Fries”
2 med Sweet Potatoes
2 lg Carrots
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp ground Cumin
¼ tsp Pepper
½ tsp Sea Salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and
carrots. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and slice each half
into 4 equal wedges. For the carrots, cut in half crosswise into
two chunks. Slice each chunk lengthwise into 2 pieces, and cut
each piece into 2 or 3 wedges, making them roughly the same
size as the potatoes.
Put the potato and carrot wedges into a bowl and toss with the
oil, cumin, pepper and salt. Arrange on baking sheet lined with
parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes or until the flesh is tender
and the outside is lightly browned and the edges slightly crisp

http://www.jointhereboot.com/sweet-p...bok-choy-soup/

http://www.jointhereboot.com/seasona...t-squash-soup/ with salad

http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011...pizza-440.html

bean enchiladas- just put cheese on his if he wants it.

Some where I have a really good marinade for port mushrooms- actually its the same one we use on dh's steak to grill during the summer. he likes it on the mushrooms too. Here is is http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grilled...llo-mushrooms/

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recip...do-enchiladas/ Skip the cheese. you can use canned enchilada sauce too.

I agree the trick to meal planning is making a list of meals you like and then just picking some. I write recipes down on notebook paper and then once it has been made and approved by dh it goes on a index card into the recipe box. The ones above have been whole heartedly approved by my steak loving husband.

Ours for the week- not all vegan
1. Spaghetti w/mushroom bolognese vegan
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/sp...bolognese.html - I actually normally don't put meat in spaghetti, but I wanted to try this.

2. Chuck roast, roasted potatoes and veggies

3. Baked mushroom/zuc recipe above

4. shepherds pie (using left over roast) could easily just leave the meat out and make a vegan shepherds pie or using the "meat" recipe below. I think that might be how we try the meat recipe for the first time

5. bean stew w/corn bread vegan

6. big salad vegan

7. veggie "chicken" and dumplings. So basically chicken and dumplings without the chicken. I use a soup veggies plus onion, carrots, celery. I do the same for pot pie- its just the pot pie without the meat and dd has dairy issue so i don't use cream soups for anything. I do use chicken broth but you could use veggie broth.

I plan on trying this http://wholelivingwholehealth.blogsp...ubstitute.html this week to possibly use to make meatloaf and meatballs.

[lizxvx]

Thank you for all those links!

[aiyana4969]

We're not Vegan, we went Vegan for a while (hubs threw a fit but it was the only way I could detox him from being a carnivore, his cholesterol was stubbornly sitting at 360 even tho he was on high amounts of statins, went to 150 in 3 months of being Vegan, with the meds, but still, he got to cut them in half).

Now we eat Vegan several meals a week, and Vegeterian mostly besides. Dh and the kids will eat chicken or fish maybe a night a week, and I'll eat if if I'm craving it (I'm for listening to my body, if I'm craving something other than sugar, I'm sure there's a reason for it).

On nights we don't eat Vegan I just make a Vegan/Vegitarian dish with the meat cooked up seperatly (I like to use the Quinoa and mango/blackbean recipe from the Vaganomicon. I use wild rice in place of Quinoa and add a little lime juice as well) and make a caribbean chicken on the side. The 'Mango bean rice' as we call it, is enough to fill me easily (and I'm addicted to it, I could eat my wieght in it and I don't know why!).

Or if the family demands 'chicken' chimmichangas, I make a small pot of the mix with tofu.

One thing I've found is that if we mind a Vegan substitue that DH likes it becomes a staple around the house. He prefers Boca burgers to hamburger (he puts cheese on his ) he also made Seitan balls for 'meat' ball sandwiches and he greatly prefers those over actual beef (they're not greasy or squishy and he like to brown them up a bit to get a carmelized crunch to the outside that he loves).

Today I made Working Barn Stew from his colorado cookbook and just omited the chicken, all the other ingredients are Vegan. If it's his night for meat and i 'accidentally' leave it out I play innocent and he rolls his eyes.

Oh and Vegan pot pies are the bomb! Dh makes them for me, and does a GREAT job. I'll have to rummage thru all his recipe papers. He cooks Vegan 'just for me', though, I honestly think he just likes the food and uses me as an excuse. He says that as long as he gets meat now and then especially when he's craving it, he's cool with it. (Trust me, it was NOT easy getting to this point. DH is a very stubborn, skeptical man. It took making him watch Forks over knives, and Fat sick and nearly dead plus a TON of nagging from me for him to relent, and even then on HIS terms.)

ODD wants to be Vegetarian and hubs supports her 100% after going Vegan for a few months and then 50% vegan 49.9% Vegitarian there after. I'm so proud of him, *tear*

[aiyana4969]

Originally Posted by jbug_4 We just came off of 10 days eating almost raw and dh has agreed to keep 4 nights a week veggie or vegan. I am on the look out for meal ideas too. Here are a few we like http://vegweb.com/recipes/tuna-mushroom-casserole I use olive oil in place of the butter and bread crumbs/planko in place of the fried onions and chips. meatless fajitas - this will only work if your dh is willing. use avocado, peppers, onions, pico, corn salsa Dh does not like zuc so I make the zuc for me and use the same recipe with portabella mushrooms for him Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes and Herbs 5 sm Zucchini or 4 large portabella mushroom caps 4 Scallions (sliced, white and green parts separated) 1 sm Onion (chopped) 2 Plum Tomatoes (coarsely chopped) 2 tbsp Celery Leaves (from inner stalks, chopped) 4 tbsp chopped Basil Leaves ¼ cup Olive Oil 1 tsp Sea Salt 1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice the zucchini in half crosswise. Cut each half again lengthwise, and slice each of the halves into 4 equal, ½” pieces. (They should look like sticks.) In a bowl, mix together the zucchini sticks with the white parts of the scallions, onion, tomatoes, celery leaves and basil. Mix in the olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Pour into a 3 qt baking dish and bake for 20 min. Garnish with the sliced green tops of the scallions and the extra chopped basil. serves with Sweet Potato and Carrot “Fries” Sweet Potato and Carrot “Fries” 2 med Sweet Potatoes 2 lg Carrots 2 tbsp Olive Oil 1 tsp ground Cumin ¼ tsp Pepper ½ tsp Sea Salt Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and slice each half into 4 equal wedges. For the carrots, cut in half crosswise into two chunks. Slice each chunk lengthwise into 2 pieces, and cut each piece into 2 or 3 wedges, making them roughly the same size as the potatoes. Put the potato and carrot wedges into a bowl and toss with the oil, cumin, pepper and salt. Arrange on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes or until the flesh is tender and the outside is lightly browned and the edges slightly crisp http://www.jointhereboot.com/sweet-p...bok-choy-soup/ http://www.jointhereboot.com/seasona...t-squash-soup/ with salad http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011...pizza-440.html bean enchiladas- just put cheese on his if he wants it. Some where I have a really good marinade for port mushrooms- actually its the same one we use on dh's steak to grill during the summer. he likes it on the mushrooms too. Here is is http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grilled...llo-mushrooms/ http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recip...do-enchiladas/ Skip the cheese. you can use canned enchilada sauce too. I agree the trick to meal planning is making a list of meals you like and then just picking some. I write recipes down on notebook paper and then once it has been made and approved by dh it goes on a index card into the recipe box. The ones above have been whole heartedly approved by my steak loving husband. Ours for the week- not all vegan 1. Spaghetti w/mushroom bolognese vegan http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/sp...bolognese.html - I actually normally don't put meat in spaghetti, but I wanted to try this. 2. Chuck roast, roasted potatoes and veggies 3. Baked mushroom/zuc recipe above 4. shepherds pie (using left over roast) could easily just leave the meat out and make a vegan shepherds pie or using the "meat" recipe below. I think that might be how we try the meat recipe for the first time 5. bean stew w/corn bread vegan 6. big salad vegan 7. veggie "chicken" and dumplings. So basically chicken and dumplings without the chicken. I use a soup veggies plus onion, carrots, celery. I do the same for pot pie- its just the pot pie without the meat and dd has dairy issue so i don't use cream soups for anything. I do use chicken broth but you could use veggie broth. I plan on trying this http://wholelivingwholehealth.blogsp...ubstitute.html this week to possibly use to make meatloaf and meatballs.

I could have used your Zuchini recipe this fall when I had a butt ton of it form my garden! Will hold onto this for next year!

[aiyana4969]

another DH approved meal is like PP said, meatless fajitas. We use portabella mushrooms in place of the meat. I don't care for mushrooms so I choke it down but DH fawns over it everytime.