Lentils. Lots of curry and soup recipes out there. Or try something like this lentil shepherds pie
this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2025
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I have lentils! They worked for me but are kinda boring as is. That pie looks delicious. I will be trying that out!
Thank you!
I don’t know why, but lentils need carrots as much as anything else needs onions. You should chop up a couple carrots, onion, garlic, and chili if you want and sauté them in the pot until aromatic. Then add the lentils dry and stir them quickly for about thirty seconds, before covering them in vegetable broth and cooking to your desired level of doneness.
Depending on your sweet tooth, adding a small diced beet to the aromatics stage can also be really good. I love beets, but it’s just a hair too sweet for me unless I make them really spicy.
I always love plugging the App Mealime when it comes to any sort of recipe or mealprep. Their vegan recipes are usually pretty tasty (and they look so good!!) Maybe browse around on there for a bit and see if anything catches your eye?
The meals I've got planned for this week are these:
I think my gf would enjoy scrolling trough that app, I'll hand her my phone sometime
seitan is great if you arent gluten intolerant.
mushrooms are probably the meatiest whole food.
Hey, I totally forgot about seitan! My grandma made that once! It does not taste great to me as a main though. But I think it would add in to an existing dish quite well
Is it actually the taste that’s a problem? Because it’s very neutral imo (it literally tastes like flour, but I get that that does have a taste, especially if you aren’t from a bread culture), and you can make it taste wildly different with different seasoning. I’ve even had sweet seitan from a friend who refuses to allow herself a normal dessert. It was alright, but I don’t love that texture for dessert, lol.
The texture can also be changed to a degree by working it more or less, braiding/knotting it, and incorporating fat, but it’s a little difficult when you first start out.
Sometimes it matters where you live. Eating vegan in Portland Oregon is trivial compared to say.... Boise ID. I'm not a great cook, but I've managed to learn the basics of cooking carbs, protein and fats. Once you learn how to make and eat satisfying meals, it gets easier. Also, failing on your diet happens. Sometimes that burrito is rice beans and cow cheese but the alternatives are unacceptable. It happens, especially if you aren't cooking all your meals.
I get your vibe and i would have said the same before visiting large parts of asia. There is lots of shitty tofu around in western supermarkets that taste like sour carton and it is borderline impossible to get it prepared in a way that is enjoyable. Don't give up on tofu yet tho, there are so many different style of tofus, ways to prepare it and brands that saying "i don't like the taste of tofu" now sounds as radical to me like someone saying "i don't like the taste of meat", you might not have found a good tofu, the right tofu for your meal, the right seasoning or it wasn't prepared in a way that you enjoyed.
Hmm, I did not know that. Any recommendations for a particular brand? I'll also swing by a local specialty shop, sometime this month probably
I would look at textures first:
silken tofu has the consistency of flan and can be blended and added as a thickener to sauces or drained and sautéed to resemble scrambled eggs (kala namak or black salt will help with the egg taste)
Soft tofu is good as a base for puddings or for battering and deep frying, but it’s delicate and will spatter if you sauté it. Before frying, you should drain and pat the tofu dry.
All the firmer tofus should be drained and pressed first. I wrap mine in a clean dish towel or two, then put it between two cutting boards and push down gently, then flip it and do it on the other side. You’re supposed to put a weight on it and leave it for 30-180 minutes, but that’s too much planning for me, tbh. Instead, I’ll wrap it up in the towel again after cutting it (spaced out), and just pay all the surfaces dry.
If you have a freezer, letting the unopened block of tofu freeze solid and then thaw makes it much easier to get more water out.
Firm tofu works fried, sautéed, or baked.
Extra firm is good sautéed or baked.
Smoked tofu is the one I eat most often, because it’s even firmer than extra firm. Baking and sautéing are good for it, but I also slice it thin and put it uncooked in sandwiches.
Soy, and fermented soy like Tempeh... But if you dont like tofu it might not work for you even fermented
Spirulina a algae that is usually available as a powder can be added to other foods/smoothies
Nutritional yeast is a classic as well
Pea protein powder seems to be popular with people hitting protein targets.. popular in my gym community
I have not heard of any of those. They'll be on my shopping list soon. Thank you!
I'd suggest you come lurk in !homecooks@vegantheoryclub.org if your instance is federated. It'll give you an idea of the kind of stuff vegans eat. (Please note, it is a strict vegan sub, so please read the sidebar if you intend to do more than just lurk.)
I'll also give you a few of my favourite online recipes/resources:
- https://minimalistbaker.com/mediterranean-baked-sweet-potatoes/ - one of my all time favourite recipes.
- https://www.rabbitandwolves.com/vegan-crispy-black-pepper-cauliflower-steaks/ - excellent holiday meal, and amazing website overall
- https://www.noracooks.com/ - overall pretty good website, have had pretty good luck
Additionally, a lot of Indian food is vegetarian and very easy to adapt to vegan (just substitute the ghee for oil or vegan butter). Aloo gobi, chana/chole masala, tofu makhani, aloo palak are some of my favs.
I personally also eat a lot of tofu, probaby at least a few times a week. Do you not like beans/tofu because of the flavour, or because of digestive issues? If it's the former, tofu can definitely be a bit tricky to prepare well, and I'd be happy to give you a few recipes/pointers.
I shall be lurking... Those dishes actually look really darn good!
Thank you! I'll bookmark those websites. I've got plenty to explore for this week!
hmm did you try to google like "vegan recipes"? Also it might be helpful if you tell a bit more what did you try so far or its only those new meat alternatives? Did you ever tried tofu/soy meat/fuzhu? About new meat things that taste bad, i figured out that if you cook it with tones of spice the taste might improve. Like you can try different ways of cooking it.
tofu and soy aren't for me, but I have never heard of fuzhu before. I'll see if I can find any (and if not, make some).
I've mostly had my mom's cooking when it comes to vegan meals, because my little brother went vegan. She cooked mostly grocery store fake-meat stuff. Back then she cooked a brand called "the vegan butcher". And now I want to move more towards plant based stuff, but I am just terrible at it. (with the exception of pancakes)
Part of this is just going to be practice and some failure, which is fine. I'll get there. I want to get better at cooking anyways.