Help me stop eating processed stuff please!

[lemontree]

I have been vegetarian since I was 13 (22 years!!) and in that time flow in and out of veganism. Right now I am trying to stay away from cow dairy - not only for the ethics but because my almost 5 mth old son is very gassy and fussy and I am not positive it's not worse when I have dairy so I stay away.

Anyway, I used to go through these huge cooking phases. Esp when vegan. I would cook elaborate meals for my husband and myself, including dessert- sometimes taking hours. Anything from Veganomican etc.

Then I got pregnant and it was a very long hot summer. I stopped cooking. We don't have AC. We spent $ we don't have eating prepared foods from Whole Foods and local vegan cafes.

Then our son was born. He is what some call "high needs" - I've never had a baby before so I don't know. All I know is I couldn't put him down for months. I lost my baby weight and then some because I just couldn't figure out how to eat. I would freak out about not giving him the best, healthiest breastmilk but I just couldnt handle it. Right after he was born, my DH got swamped at work and he isn't a cook AT ALL so we fell into packaged microwave stuff. Lots of Quorn, Gardien, Trader Joes Indian stuff etc.

Anyway, slowly but surely I am seeing windows where I could be cooking. Thing is, my vegan cooking has always been elaborate. I mean, sometimes I can throw together a curry or something...but I have no quick healthy go to stuff in my repetoire. I have several vegan cookbooks, but all the recipies seem like they will take a while to prepare....please- do you have quick delicious tried and true dinners that take less than a half hour?

Thanks in advance.

[HeliMom]

although not a vegan cookbook it's certaintly vegan friendly with tasty meal ideas. Also involves ideas for making baby meals as you cook. Feeding the Whole Family by cynthia Lair

[Magelet]

Are you still ok eating eggs?

I love migas. You chop up some corn or whole wheat tortillas (ideally one without any preservatives, or minimal preservatives, we have some like that here, but only a few brands) into strips, saute them in a little coconut or olive oil until golden, add a can of tomatos (really any kind, diced, whole, pureed), and some salt and pepper. Let it cook a few minutes, break in an egg or per person, and serve with some preservative free green salsa. It's quick, it's easy, and it's yummy. maybe heat up a can of beans if you are really hungry and want to stretch it. It takes about.... 10-15 minutes including chopping the tortillas.

I like to saute some veggies (usually onions til they're soft and some greens, because it's fast easy and nutritious) then add some eggs and make scrambled eggs with stuff in it and toast. also very fast.

I like hummus. blend some chickpeas, water, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to taste, and serve with pita bread. I love to add zaatar, which is a spice mix. you can buy it, but it also takes about 45 seconds to mix up if you can get ground sumac. I add equal parts dried thyme, dried oregano, and sumac, half a part sesame seeds, and salt to taste. this then can either have olive oil added and be a paste for dipping the pita as well, or be sprinkled on the hummus or each bite of hummus and pita dry. it's really yummy. we'll have hummus and pita for dinner often (though we do sometimes add feta and salted yogurt). a bit of feta adds more protein, if you are eating sheep milk. if not, see if you can get whole wheat pitas.

From my non vegan point of view, it seems to me that relying heavily on eggs might be helpful, since they are quite fast to cook, and it seems to me that a lot of vegan foods are quite complicated and difficult, but I haven't really tried to make too many of them.

rice and bean burritos/tacos are great. cook some brown rice, add beans, add preservative free salsa, an avocado mashed with some lime juice and salt, and maybe some other veggies, on tortillas. (I know brown rice takes more than 30 minutes to cook, but maybe you can cook a bunch of it once a week, and it doesn't need you hovering, if it's possible to put it on and take it off with your DS with you.)

Also, if you aren't eating dairy, make sure that you eat enough coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, eggs if you are eating them, and other fats, for you and for your DS.

Let's see, other dinners... in the summer, we love lentil salad. you do have to make the french green lentils from scratch, but you can pop them in to soak before you go to bed, then a few hours before dinner, turn them to simmer. when they're cooked, pop them in an ice bath, and then add summer veggies (or winter veggies, but I only really like it with summer veggies), like cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and more, and dress with very vinegary very salty salad dressing (the lentils absorb the salt and vinegar, and need lots to taste good). I like an ACV/olive oil/molasses/mustard dressing. half ACV half oil. this dish too we like with feta if you are eating it. It might be more than you can do now, but might be fine by the time summer rolls around. (feel free to expiriment with other veggies too, that's just my preference of veggies).

HTH

[catnip]

Some of our quick go-to favorites around here-

Apple pancakes - just enough vegan whole grain pancake batter to hold together 2-3 grated apples, chopped nuts and hempseeds.

Whole wheat pasta with veggies (chop broccoli or asparagus while the water comes to a boil and just throw it into the pot for the last 3-5 minutes of the pasta cooking time) tossed with a cashew based blender alfredo

ANYTHING made with red lentils - I use them as a base for curries, taco fillings (red lentil/nut taco "meat" with shredded cabbage, avocado, lime juice and corn tortillas is AWESOME).

[loveandgarbage]

i know how this is. my cooking can also get elaborate and take up time that i do not have. some random ideas:
-after you do your veggie shopping for the week, cut the vegetables up into usable pieces/chunks/etc. this will take maybe 45 mins and will save you time during the week
-when you cook grains, cook a whole bunch! i try to keep tupperware (or pyrex glass bowls) of rice/quinoa/noodles in the fridge at all times. you can throw some in a pan with a little oil, and in pre-chopped veggies, a can of beans, etc, and you have a meal
-buy a crockpot. dump stuff in it in the morning. have a delicious dinner by evening
-keep a marinade with chunks of tofu in the fridge, and then oven roast them for 10 mins. delicious!

[lemontree]

Great ideas ladies, thanks.
I am not an organized person and this new chapter in my life is forcing me to really make changes.
Keep em coming!

[mum21andtwins]

a slowcooker was my lifesaver!
my current fave is lentil carrot potato thing I make
fry an oinion for a couple of minutes in an ovenproof dish with lid ad 3-4 handfulls of lentils verde and mix this well with the onions. add stock/bouillon (we love marigold here) to cover and a bit extra. cook that for 10 mins. in the mean time peel * chop carrots layer thse on top of lentils and peel & slice potatoes put those on the carrots if you want top with cheeze/"butter" in the oven on 240 for 45mins- hour.