EASY Vegan Recipes?

Hey, we are not vegan, just trying to eat healthier and have come up with a few good things. One, you can get a lot done with a 1-cup food processor for $6.97 at WalMart or Home Depot. Two, use some of the boxed seasoned rice dishes. You will have to take time to look at ingredients first, but one we like is whole-grain Spanish rice mix. Add a can of black beans and a can of corn. We serve with grilled fish, but rolled up in a tortilla or with chips is great too.
You can add a can of seasoned diced tomatoes, a sprinkle of garlic and onion, a can of black-eye peas to one cup brown rice for a quick meal also. I like to serve some just with sliced raw veggies and dip.
Add yellow squash and zucchini to a cheap can of spaghetti sauce (Hunts has a no-sugar added) and some Italian seasoning to taste. Serve over pasta.
Refrigerated cheese tortellini (or is vegan no cheese? sorry!:)) Saute onion and garlic in 1tbsp. olive oil til soft. add tomato sauce and tomato paste - 1tbsp. or so, salt to taste. Cook tortelli 3-5 min. Stir together. it's great!.
Hope this helps!

I have a whole rack of Vegan/Vegetarian cookbooks too, I never look at them, heh.
Learning to freeze items will be the best thing you can do for time, etc. Im a single mom and make mostly vegetarian/vegan items for me and my 14 month old and the ability to double or triple things and freeze them is the biggest time saver!
When you make rice, make a huge amount. I use sushi rice bought in bulk from my local natural foods store, (Im pretty sure there is a Whole Foods also in Tulsa) or buy a bag of calrose rice at Wal-mart (my pediatrician said my daughter is on fiber overload from the vege diet, so no brown rice). Split it up into a however many servings you typically need per meal and stick them in the freezer in freezer bags. When you need rice, just nuke it for a minute or two.
You can use the rice in typical rice fashion or you can take some fresh rice in your hand, place some filling in the middle (olive tapenade, marinated tofu, shredded veges, tempeh, fruit) and place some more rice on top and roll it into a ball. Its easy with slightly wet hands. Eat right away or throw your balls into the freezer as well and nuke for a minute before serving. This is great finger food for my daughter.
If you make pasta, double it and toss the leftover with some olive oil and throw in the fridge in a baggie. A couple of days later when your short on time toss it with some sesame/soysauce/tamari type salad dressing, toss in some cubed tofu, sugar snap peas and corn, or whatever veges you like, and you have a mighty fine, filling, pasta salad.
Im not a big fan of "fake meat" but I imagine you can find a easy meatball recipe (fake meat, spinich, onions, breadcrumbs, roll up and bake in oven on a layer of pasta sauce?) and adapt that with a meat substitute, make some meatballs in bulk and freeze in portion sizes.
Buy a few packages of firm tofu, bring them home and press them out, cut them into bite sized bits, stick them in some marinade and freeze them.
I bought some smoked tofu this week that is precooked and tasty, just slice off and eat.
Edemmame comes frozen now, yay! Just nuke and eat.
Shelf staples for me are couscous (this cooks in no time at all), bulk hummus, lentils, crackers of various sorts, olives, pasta, tomato sauces, kidney beans, white beans... and a large assortment of sauces, salad dressings and marinades.
Keep good quality frozen veges in your freezer. If you have these on hand you can throw together anything in a flash.
As far as recipes, unfortunately Im a bit on the throw things together side because I dont have alot of time for cooking. So I follow the Japanese bento box style of 2 parts carbs (rice, couscous, pasta, toast slices, crackers) 2 parts veges, 1 part protien (tofu, tempeh, beans, hummus, soy cheese). Since its all finger food anyway for my daughter I don't dress it up too much except to add some yummy sauces and seasonings. Any more "recipes" I have (like vege croquettes, casseroles, etc.) all use a egg binder, so sorry I can't be more help. I keep it all pretty simple. Slice, dress up, and eat! If you buy vegetable in season, try getting your family used to eating them fresh without much fuss and appreciate how good they are. You can also always just cut veges up and roast them in the oven with some olive oil and spices, yum. Oh, and this is embarassing to admit, but I am NOT above using instant mashed potatoes! hehe. This website is a constant inspiration to me, its not vegan, but since is it bento-style, there are alot of useful vegetable tips. http://lunchinabox.net/ Good Luck!

recipezaar.com has some really great recipes. There is one for Olive Garden Minestrone Soup. I have made it many time. Any soups that call for chicken broth, you can substitute vegetable broth. The key for busy Moms is to take some time on the weekend and plan ahead for the week. You could do the stuffed pasta shells with spinach and a vegan cheese and spaghetti sauce. You could make several and freeze some. I will often double a recipe and freeze half. Makes it easier during the week. Vegetable lasagna is great. Use zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onion, garlic,and sauce. Spaghetti Squash is great. Bake it for 1 hr. and take a fork to scrape it out. Use it like pasta. Stuffed zucchini or mushrooms would be good. Just google some of those recipes. I am not a vegan, but like a variety of foods and those are some recipes that could be adapted. Roasted vegetables are great. I take a cookie sheet, line it with foil and lay a variety of veges out, cut small and drizzle with virgin olive oil and sea salt and garlic powder and pepper. Roast in preheated oven at 425º for 12-14 minutes. You could toss this with pasta. You could also do a vege pizza on sourdough french bread with these veges. Yum! Hope some of those ideas help.

my sister in law is a vegan chef her email is ____@____.com she said she wouldnt mind you contacting her. she loves her vegan food.

Casbah makes a lentil pilaf that we add zuccini and bell peppers too (and feta sometimes, sorry-- maybe soy cheese?) that my two and four year old and i LOVE. you can buy the mix at akins, and sometimes at Homeland.

Hi,
I am sure I could look you up some good recipes (trying to get ready for work at 5:30 a.m.) but I know that there is a Wild Oates in Tulsa (I lived there for a few months), which is a very good natural foods type grocery store. They may have great ideas. Otherwise try websites like cooking light and foodnetwork. You could just google vegan recipes. Pasta, pizza, and quesadillas could easily be made in vegan esp if you like vegan cheese. Also there are really good Middle Eastern foods like hummus which can be used as a spread on breads and also avocado.
thanks

no, but my daughter is seriously allergic to milk so I am hoping to see alot of responses to your request...

Are you familiar with the website vegweb.com? It has a section where you can search by easy recipes or different international foods or beans, etc... I am not vegan but do enjoy an occasional vegan, vegetarian meal. Some recipes are not vegan but they have message boards and the veganese will post and give other alternatives.

Hope this helps.

http://vegweb.com/
Casseroles are generally friendly because it's a matter throwing ingredients together and letting the oven do the work for you. http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=143.0
Same for slow cooker recipes: http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=577.0

Making complicated recipes can be tough. What I find to be the most helpful, is to do the evening cooking throughout the week and day. Basically doing all preparations during the day and having it ready to just cook in the evening. If I want to make a stirfry, I cut the vegetables earlier in the week or that day, and make the rice ahead of time. Rice is always a good thing to make, because it doesn't take a whole lot of attention. Then it's just a matter of throwing together and cooking for 15 minutes or less in the evening.

http://www.ivu.org/recipes/northam/ is a good site for Vegan recipes.

I'm an old pro at cooking and the proper use of knives. With the right Kitchen Knives, you can julienne, mince, dice, etc the old fashioned way and don't need all those gadgets that we've become so attached to.

J.

Look at frozen fruits and veggie and quick cooking whole grains for quick and easy meal ideas, it cuts down on time without cuttign down on nutrients. Plus whole grains are great: Bulgar "cooks" in about 15 mintues. Quinoa and barley cook in about 20. Just pair a whole grain with some cooked veggies (steamed, roasted, grilled, braised, glazed, etc) and you have a pretty good meal. You can make really fast "burgers" with any cooked beans, some silken tofu, breadcrubs, adn some spices.

Look for the cookbook called "how to cook everything vegetarian" it's great. Every recipe has a vegan alternative adn everyoen I know I know want the cookbook (even my meat-eater friends, ha!) Ask me if you want any meal/ recipe ideas.... I'll be happy to give you some easy ones!

Get a copy of the Horn of the Moon cookbook. Every reciep in there is easy. I think it's been out of print for a while, you can still get it on Ebay or through Branes and Knoble on line in the used books section. I raised my oldest four on it and they rarely complained about a single meal. The one my kids loved was to sautee mushrooms, onions, and green peppers and serve with cheese as an open faced sandwhich. They really got a kick out of the stuffed baked potatos too. The other best friend for any mother is her crockpot. Assemble the meals the night before and set in the fridge. Pop into the base and set the temp as you run for the door in the morning. Nothing is better than the smell supper already waiting on you when you walk through the door.

HI S., since my cancer dx, 3yrs ago, I started cooking more healthy for my family and myself. My girls are also getting to the age where they're doing more things, so time for cooking is running short. I started cooking stirfrys and everybody loves them. Fresh veggies are quick to chop up, and you can get some help or ideas from the "A Taste of Thai" or "Thai Kitchen" box kits at your local market (I know our Walmart sells em). The veggies I typically use are carrots, brocolli, green beans, sliced brussels sprouts, etc. You can start with the basics and add the more exotic stuff as you go along. (I'm terribly allergic to onions, garlic and peppers, so I have to be pretty creative when it comes to flavor). You can throw in an egg or seafood (if you lean in that direction) for added protein, or even the legume of your choice. I get my noodles, rice and sauces at our local Asian market - they're super cheap. I hope this helps :}

Good for you! It's such a healthy lifestyle.

My husband came up with this super easy one:

Couple of tomatoes, diced
avocado or two
can of black beans, drained, rinsed and drained again
sweet onion, chopped
frozen corn, preferably sweet. It'll thaw quickly enough, or leave it out for half an hour beforehand.

Throw 'em all in together with:

two teaspoons olive oil
couple shakes of garlic powder or garlic salt
onion powder, optional but good
rosemary powder, optional but good
cayenne or chili powder
dash of brown sugar
some red pepper, cayenne or chili powder

Scoop up with some corn chips, or stuff some pita bread pockets with it to call it lunch or dinner. It's amazingly good.

Just some hummus sandwiches is quick.

You can get some extra-firm tofu, cut it into slabs, marinate in some teriyaki sauce for at least half an hour - just do it when you get a chance earlier in the day (Soy Vey is a good brand) and bake it at about 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Another good tofu recipe is firm or extra firm (depending on your preference) cubed and fried in a little olive oil with some nutritional yeast, salt and cayenne pepper. Or really any combination of seasonings that you like. Bragg's Amino Acids is another good one for this, and a nutritional yeast-teriyaki-liquid smoke combination. These recipes take only 5-10 minutes to make.

By the way, a blender is an awesome tool, esp. for a vegan. They're really pretty cheap at WalMart or wherever, but you can probably get a free one through freecycle. I'm sure there's a freecycle in Tulsa.

PLEASE feel free to email me for more recipes and trade notes! I love to cook.

L.

Buy a food processor!! You will really need it when you start making baby food. My favorite place to get easy recipes is www.cooks.com I'm sure you can pick the ones that fit you vegan lifestyle. Also whenever I'm at the farmer's market or health food store I'll ask people what their favorite recipes are.

One way to make things easier to prepare is to wash and chop all your veggies as soon as you get home from shopping. That way they are ready to go when you need them. Planning ahead is my #1 time saver. GL!