TLDR: I am looking for more diverse non-meat options than your average restaurant or supermarket provides. Because they don’t quite work for me as well as I’d like.
I am not a picky eater, I enjoy vegan food and non-vegan food alike. I’ve noticed most “vegan” advertised products are just meat imitations that taste like seasoned cardboard.
Too darn often do I see cooks and stores trying to replace the visuals of meat, rather than finding something that tastes satisfying in it’s own way. I’d be eating more vegan food if the options available had a similar convenience and filled me up properly.
Which may sound stupid, but I’ve tried going vegan and I did not feel great. I guess beans and tofu are not for me. Now I realise I may sound like an uninformed dingus who doesn’t know how to find decent ingredients and recipes… That’s because I am.
But I would really like to find some options that work for me. And I’m fine with trying 20 things over the course of a month and deciding only a few work for me.
Does anyone here have any advice?
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I’ve really been enjoying Derek Sarno on YouTube. Lots of great plant-based recipes. Check him out.
I would like to recommend the recipes by Christina Souteriou. I’ve been following her online for a while and she just published her first book called “Big Veg Energy”. I cooked probably 10-15 of her recipes so far and they were all great. I think it might be exactly what you’re looking for.
I’ll have a look! Thank you!
Learn to love veggies as they are, dont expect to replace meat with something “like meat.”
I love veggies already, and I eat quite a lot of them. But it takes a little more than the average joe’s veggie mix to get all your nutrients. I’ve gotten quite a couple good suggestions here already!
Indian food. I’m not a veg-head, but I’ll inhale any Indian food within seven or more miles
And I do like the taste of it. I have a colleague who’s from there. I think I might ask for more recommendations
I’d suggest you come lurk in [email protected] 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!
Lentils. Lots of curry and soup recipes out there. Or try something like this lentil shepherds pie
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 find carrots plenty sweet! But I’ve not tried using them with lentils before. I happen to have both, and big pot, I’ll give it a shot!
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.
I find flower to be much more bitter, yet somehow better. Tastes are just different I suppose. I think seitan is just not my thing. But I do appreciate the suggestion!
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
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.
Whoa, that actually sounds really interesting. I guess I ended up with soft tofu last time. I now want to try the firm and smoked options.
I’ve got quite a list of options now, but I’ll get to it eventually!
Couldn’t have said it better. To me the game-changer was frying a good firm tofu until crispy, adding minced garlic, ginger and chili, and just before it burns you have to drench some soy-sauce on it. It should almost instantly get absorbed by the tofu together with any excess oil. Your mission is to find a good tofu now, if you can share your location someone might provide you with suggestions.
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!
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.
Looking for a ‘meat’ alternative never works for healthy eating. It’s fine to consume those things from time to time, but it’s not a nutritional choice.
- Learn what real nutrition is. Go to myplate.gov for an overview. Many countries have this, don’t just use the US one.
- ‘Protein’ is not the end all, be all of life. Protein is in all foods except oils. No matter what you eat, it has some protein in it, so don’t obsess about it. Your body needs all the other things as well, like carbs, fruit & veg, salts, sugars & fats. Your body works in tandem to absorb, process & store the nutrients. You need nutrients, just like a car needs gas, oil, etc in order to function.
- Supplements. Avoid them unless a doctor says you are horribly low. B12 is an essential one, take this, but avoid those 2500mg tablets, it’s too much. B vitamins in general are quite important, everything else is pointless. Do chose fortified foods, it really can help when you don’t eat nutritionally all the time. No one is perfect, we are all Human.
- Calories mean nothing unless you are not getting enough. Only count calories if you are lacking. There are vegan bodybuilders who are quite healthy. I personally only pay attention to the sugar & salt content of foods, nothing else. Also, read the labels on foods you purchase and know what those ingredients are.
- When you change the level of nutritional foods that you consume, your taste buds will also change. Processed fatty, sugary, salty foods will not taste as good and you will be shocked how good things taste that you thought were ‘nasty’. I personally love tofu, like addicted to it, prepared many different ways. Also try preparing foods differently, frying, vs steaming vs boiling vs roasting vs grilling, to see what tastes best.
- Variety. You need a wide range of foods to eat. It’s fine if you don’t do that daily. Think of it as a game. “How many different things can I eat this month?” And choose a food based on it’s nutritional content. The less processed it is, the better. I also like to play, “What can I make with this [enter food name here]?” And no, you do not need to eat ‘organic’ everything to be healthy. Buy what you can afford, don’t go bankrupt and starve.
- And lastly. Beans, rice & some spice. The entire planet has survived off this variation for as long as these foods have been around. If you just want to eat something and get nutrition. Make some rice (I cannot live without my rice cooker), open a can of whole beans (black is my jam) and drain them. Heat up the beans, put some rice in a bowl with them, add some spices (buy in the bulk section to get small amounts), and eat. You can add anything you want to that, chopped onion (raw, I like red), a chopped up roma tomato, steamed broccoli, maybe mix some fresh spinach (avoid baby, it wilts too fast). Whatever. But just beans & rice will get you through. . The more you experiment, the easier it gets. Vegan or vegetarian is the best way to be healthy. I choose plant based diets because I actually like to eat that way, I have no other reason to do it, that’s just me. Eat tasty food! Good luck to you.
- Yes, we have one of those here. It doesn’t fit me quite perfectly, I happen to need a bit more protein and veggies than average.
- You’re right that there is more, but it is important to me. And don’t worry, I consume much more veggies than average too.
- Did you know those are unregulated in the usa? I don’t want to depend on them. I just get big bags of pre cut veggies.
- I don’t. If not trough impracticality then trough laziness. I weigh my good instead to keep it consistent.
- and 6. It’s going to take a while to adjust. My body usually isn’t too happy about changes but a more varied diet (less meat dependent) would be worth it. Even if it takes a while.
- BEANS I had a lot of those back when I was not making much money
Calories mean nothing unless you are not getting enough. Only count calories if you are lacking.
??? Are you saying that counting calories is not useful for someone wanting to lose weight?
My post was about nutrition, not weight loss.
Nutrition and weight management go hand in hand. “Calories mean nothing unless you aren’t getting enough” is dangerous misinformation.
We use weighted amounts of source ingredients for my gf’s diet. It’s a lot easier
