Vegan what's for dinner thread...

[FauxFox]

I'm new at veganing and I'd like ideas and somewhere to record my meals... please let me know what vegan food is on the menu in your house tonight (or eating out too actually) I am really interested 😊

So tonight I am making veggie chilli out of sweet potato/courgette/peppers/carrot/baby corn/kidney beans etc served with guacamole and tortilla chips. I have homemade vegan brownies for dessert.

Don't think I will miss meat/dairy at all

super veggie I make a lasagne that's gf and vegan.finely chop mushrooms replace meat.a leek slice halfway thru to make lasagne sheets(Blanche couple mins and lay on chop board dry a bit)the sauce made almond milk,bay,cornflour and nutmeg.top vegan cheese

Lazy supper at chez zoo.baked sweet potato with hummus and avocado sprinkled toasted seeds and salad

Can I ask a tofu question? The tofu that is yellow on the outside and white on the inside and sort of spongy- can you but it like that and if so, what's it called? If not what do I do to normal tofu to make it go like that? TIA.

Buy, not but.

Woods you need the firm tofu packed in water. Cauldron do one in chiller aisle. Squeeze it like mad to get all the water out then fry it :)

Silken tofu is in cardboard usually in dried foods. This is the kind to scramble.

Also I have already decided What's for dinner tonight www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lentil-sweet-potato-curry%3Famp

Mmmmm!

That looks lovely twenty!

We're having lentil bolognese this evening. I make it in the slow cooker, so will start cooking it now.

I have some courgettes to use up, so I think I'll actually have courgette ribbons instead of pasta. Just realised that would be a way to make it GF for the pp who was asking for GF recipes.

Slow cooker lentil bolognrse sounds good, any chance you could link to the recipe please? My slow cooker is crying out for some useage I always forget about it!

Of course twenty!

It's from a book:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
4 large mushrooms, diced
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crumbled oregano
1 bay leaf
400g tinned tomatoes with juice
50g dried red lentils
225ml water (I do half wine, half water and just add the wine to the pan after cooking veg and cook a bit, so that the alcohol evaporates)

Heat oil in pan. Add onion and garlic and fry till soft. Add carrot, celery and mushrooms and cook for 5 mins. Stir in tomato purée, salt, oregano and bay. Cook for another minute. Transfer to slow cooker. Stir in tomatoes and cook on high for 8 hours.

I also put a little bit of marmite and a teeny bit of sugar in mine. I'm sure that makes it less healthy though!

Oh yes and I also put in fresh basil or pesto, depending on what I have, at the end of cooking.

Thanks rwenty I live in HK so tofu is east to come by but I find the different types confusing. Will give it a whirl. I really like the spongy stuff in curries.

Thanks so much for typing that up! I will report back once I have made it

Wholewheat Penne pasta alla norma (minus the cheese of course) - just an easy dinner tonight

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/sicilian-spaghetti-alla-norma/

Roasted squash and chick pea risotto with a side of roast parsnips and courgettes. Cashew butter thru risotto instead of cheese,hazelnuts and basil added to roast veg at end cooking

I am eating hot dog rolls with hummous, grated carrot, sliced onion, falafel and Peppadew peppers. At work I had a muscle foods meal which was a peanut curry with quinoa. Not that tasty but surprisingly filling for a small portion.

stilllivinginazoo I never thought of cashew butter in risotto, def trying that next time I do it!

I invented a vegan leek and potato pie with filo topping last night - was delicious! Will definitely make it again another day.

Today I am thinking we will have curry - quite tempted to try twenty's recipe link above but I will see what's in the fridge before committing

I had vegan lasagne all planned for tonight but a friend might be coming over who has bad IBS so is following FodMap recommendations - it's quite hard finding food for both of us! But I think I can nail a veggie tagine with quinoa

Love the photo Fevertree - very nice!

Does anyone use nutritional yeast? I keep seeing it in recipes but am on a migraine exclusion diet and I am a bit wary of using it - does it impart a "cheesy" flavour and are recipes still fine without it?

I use nutritional yeast (aka nooch); it is very nice! Strong cheese used to set my migraines off but nooch never has. Recipes are nice without it but not as tasty IMO....

DS2 and I particularly like 'pasta with flakes'; some pasta shapes, light drizzle of olive oil, maybe some soy beans, and then a layer of nooch 'flakes'. Om nom nom.

Thanks LaContessaDiPlump will keep a look out for Nooch

No probs - Holland and Barrett now stock it! I think they got tired of people asking and having to say no

Ugh- fail.

Was going really well- had my first soy latte for breakfast (and it was really nice- faintly nutty taste, but nice). Had rice noodles and tofu and green veg in tom yum soup for lunch, hummus and carrots for snack, and then cracked and had mozzarella with tomatoes and avocado for dinner. Onwards and upwards.......

I love barley so looking forward to trying a barley risotto.

Woods don't beat yourself up.

I was vegetarian for nearly two decades (from being a small child). When I went vegan I did it in stages:

1. No more eggs on their own. I did not cut eggs out when they were an ingredient in ore bought items initially, maybe three months in I removed all traces from my diet.

1. After a few months - maybe six - of no eggs at all I stoped drinking milk (in tea, cereal). After a month or two I cut out all milk as an ingredient too.

1. After a month of no milk at all and no eggs at all I cut down on cheese (biggest thing) and eliminated all other dairy (ice cream, whey powder as an ingredient etc).

1. By this point I was eating cheese a few times a week. Then naturally I stopped wanting it at all and then I took the step to fully plant based.

1. Then I started to look at various traces of animal products that I had not previously been aware of/considered. This mostly included alcohol!

1. I began to cut out products tested on animals and find alternatives (make up and toiletries and cleaning)

That's the stage I am still working on. I've been at stage 6 for around seven months and now rarely get caught out. All in it's taken me well over a year to fully transition from vegetarian to vegan. I can only imagine it would be harder starting as an omnivore!

Some people thrive on the cold turkey approach but I didn't want to risk failing after overwhelming myself too fast. I've also suffered from an eating disorder and needed to be careful.

Hope this is helpful for you (and anyone else!).

Quick tea-mix of broadbeans and peas tossed homemade pesto on bed couscous with sundry tomatoes. Sprinkled toasted seeds