Quick vegan meals for 1
Posted by ginabloom on Jan 07, 2011 · Member since Feb 2007 · 1 posts
I am looking for quick vegan meal ideas that do not include tofu, tempeh, etc. I work full time, go to schoool full time and homeschool 2 14 year old girls. I am the only vegan in my house. I am at a loss for ideas. Any great recipes to share?
So, you want most of your protein to come from beans and legumes? Did you search the recipes on here? They all have reviews, and you'd prob. have t cut down amounts, or make some to freeze. It sounds like crock pot recipes would be good for you. Beans and rice, tacos, there are seriously a ton of great recipes on here. Maybe give us more to go on?
Mexican dishes are your friend... Burritos, Enchiladas, Tostadas, Veggie Fajitas, Nachos... all easy peasy all you need is refreid or canned beans, possibly mexican rice, veggies, guac or avocado, tortillas/tortilla chips/ tostada shells, etc
Pasta with good marinara sauce... i like ragu brand
chickpea salad sandwiches
veggie burgers
pizza sans cheese
canned or homemade veggie soup
i make salad in big batches for an easy lunch throughout the week
I agree with nmpixie that freezing some meals in individual portions is a great idea. My spouse and I normally eat dinner together, but I bring lunch to work every day and I've found having a stock of individual containers in the freezer is so helpful! If you have a little freezer space, a few ideas:
Soups - lentil soup is great
Chili
Various stews from the slow cooker - I love the cookbook Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker - lots of great bean and veggie recipes
Sloppy lentils from the above cookbook (or another recipe) - freeze individual portions and all you need is hamburger buns or some other bread and a side dish (baked potato, potato chips, salad, steamed veggies, microwaved frozen veggies, whatever you like)
Tabouli salad base - Cooked bulgur wheat mixed with garbanzo beans (canned or cooked from dry) garbanzo beans with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper - just defrost in the fridge overnight and add some garlic or whatever veggies you have on hand, plus some fresh or dried herbs if you like.
Breakfast for dinner - scrambled tofu freezes great!
What kind of kitchen equipment do you have - for example, a rice cooker, slow cooker, or pressure cooker? Also, what kind of foods do you like? Do you cook for others at home? Would it be helpful to for us to suggest meals where meat could be cooked separately and added at the end?
I usually just make a pot of beans (in the crock pot) on the weekends and use them for meals through out the week. My meals are just thrown together with what I have on hand. Usually a grain/potato, beans, and veggies. I will either make a nutritional yeast sauce or use different spices to give them the flavor I want. Mexican dishes like tacos and fajitas are easy and fast. Crock pot cooking is also easy to do since it cooks while you are away. Just throw some veggies and beans with seasonings and set on low in the morning and dinner is waiting for you. Plus you will have leftovers for lunch and dinner a couple more days.
Hummus and other sandwich spreads are great to have on hand. I like to mix hummus into pasta with some veggies for a hearty meal that only takes the time to boil the noodles and cook the veggies.
agreed about the beans... i make a big batch of homemade refried beans every week... here is how i do it: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=35254.0
Lately I have been leaving out the liquid smoke and adding pickled jalapenos instead, perfect every time :)
Stirfry, stirfry, stirfry. I keep a variety of frozen veggies, or fresh chopped, on hand which I throw in my non-stick wok a swipe of oil. I add braggs and whatever seasoning blend strikes my fancy, sometimes tofu or cashews. I sprinkle sesame seeds over it when I dish it out. Sometimes I'll make a big batch of brown rice and freeze it in small portions, then throw it in with the stirfry 'til it's heated. 10 minutes from start to finish.
I am the same way -- mostly vegan, living alone and wanting to bring an easy meal to lunch.
Tupperware is my friend! I have different sizes so I can bring items and throw them together.
-- Falafel (on pita, with hummus, lettuce, tomato, pickle and hot sauce)
-- Fantastic World Foods brand mixes feel like great homemade cooking, but are super easy and quick (the sloppy joe and taco mixes are great!)
I also recently found this pasta and vegetable salad and loved it! I added more veggies (zucchini and peas were great) and made more sauce than it called for. Awesome warmed up:
http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/penne-and-vegetable-salad
Microwave brownies
rice.. rice.. and more rice... grab a few veggies and tidbits and you have a meal. I like curried lentils or pickled beets or greens with a bowl of rice. Rice is easy to make a big batch then I freeze in little containers for the week. Its so easy and delicious.