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

Yum worm pinching that recipe

Uncertain tonight as to jacket sweet potato and lentil bolognese or lentil burgers with sweet potato wedges

That sounds like a good idea to me re:thread Faux!

Tonight Matthew we are having a plum and turnip tagine from the Veggiestan cookbook; not vegan but veganisible!

That does look lovely worm. I love Briam, so will have to give that a go.

m.tesco.com/mt/legacy.realfood.tesco.com/recipes/thai-chickpea-and-aubergine-curry.html

This^^ Thai curry for us tonight.

Random side note; I've decided as well that I'm going to cut dairy and meat out full time. I was doing weekdays vegan and weekends veggie, (with the odd bit of meat or fish if I wanted, though only very rarely). ATM I feel like I don't want dairy at all. Occasionally I crave chicken. I hope that will subside soon. Did anyone else have this? Eggs and honey I will work on if I can make this stick. After that I'll start thinking properly about cosmetics, cleaning products etc.

I am looking forward to the vegan board, so I can stop bothering people on here ! It isn't up yet is it? Just in case I'm missing it.

So happy to find this thread!
I am a vegan cook book addict so have hundreds of recipes and love working through them.
Tonight it's vegan paella.
Last night we had smoky seitan paninis with fried onions, sweet potato fries and avocado salad - it was delicious!
Have bought some interesting foods from home and bargain to try also. Love that the supermarkets are making labelling easier and more vegan alternatives.

I made the middle for Jamie Oliver vegan shepherds pie and then we accidentally had dinner at Zizzis which was vegan and delicious so pie is now for tomorrow! Can confirm that vegan teabread cake is also yum

Also I bought quinoa - hit me with your best recipes because last time I tried cooking it it was grim

After a very mixed weekend I realised I need to count my victories not my failures, so victories -

• avocado on (new, vegan) oatcakes for breakfast yesterday
• dhal and rice and broccoli for Sunday lunch (I'm a bit dubious as it said vegan but tasted pretty creamy to me)
• Tofu and veggie stir fry with brown rice for Sat dinner
• Avocado and pumpkin seed baguette for lunch Saturday
• The soy latte habit is sticking, so that's quite a win for me.

Faux

I also have a new found love for Zizzi! I would never have bothered going there ignoring they didn't have such a good vegan menu. Now you can't keep me out of the place .

*If they didn't

I am in no way vegan (though was veggie for about 8 years), but want to cut down on meat and this thread is an inspirational resource! Thank you all!

Quinoa -Husband and 3 of the kids hate it - think it tastes like grit.

I have had success using it in salads with a strong dressing. My eldest DD likes this one for packed lunch at work:
purbodynutrition.com/tangled-asian-quinoa-salad/

She also likes Jamie Oliver's San Fran quinoa salad from the 15 min book. We just leave out the chicken and fry some very dry tofu in the spices instead - it is also good without the tofu and it works without the mango as well
www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/blackened-chicken/

This is easy for a dinner - mexican night
damndelicious.net/2014/04/09/one-pan-mexican-quinoa/
Go in heavy with lime juice at the end and avocado - though typically my lot prefer this sort of thing with rice rather then the quinoa

Any tips on easy vegan meals for kids? My 6 year old is game for most things, but the 4 year old is a whole other ball game. I don't want to give her just processed foods and i know that she will, hopefully, grow out of it, but at the moment meal planning is a bloody nightmare. I'm torn between just making what i want, regardless, and wanting her to actually eat anything.

She eats: bread, houmous (shop bought only), potato (jacket or potato wedges only) cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, sweetcorn, peas, pasta (occasionally), fish fingers, sausages (meat and vegan, kids are Omni)...And she won't just pick them out of a meal if there are bits she doesn't like, it all has to be uncontaminated.

I have loads of cookbooks, but even the recipes for fussy eaters are laughable!

She is a determined little soul. This will come into its own when she's older, but meal times are a nightmare. I don't show my frustration and remain calm.

Sorry, didn't mean to derail thread. Any inspiration on kiddy meals welcome!

economy, sorry I am not going to be much help really, (I'm not actually vegan yet and am fairly new to vegan cookery). However, I sometimes give DD vegan meals. They aren't terribly adventurous / imaginative. Things like pasta and pesto, pasta and tomato sauce, lentil bolognese, lentil soup and bread, hummus, crudités and crackers, (mild) curries / daal, briam - someone just posted a recipe for it recently; it's a yummy, Greek, (I think) roast veg dish, peanut butter sandwiches, potato waffles and baked beans.

Tonight we're having something easy, as we've had a really busy day. Maybe peanut butter sandwiches, hummus or a vegan fry-up-type-thing, (tomatoes, mushrooms, beans and sautéed potatoes).

Actually, I've changed my mind and am going to make lentil soup. Got a second wind all of a sudden !

economy if you DC eat baked beans you could make a bean burger with them?mash with breadcrumbs and grated cheese
Fine chop mushrooms a mince,then shepherds pie,bolognese etc

We eat a lot vegan pesto with pasta androasted veggies and chickpeas tbh (not totally vegan tho.youngest can't have dairy so vegan is easy if we all go eat it together)
Risotto with nut butter stirred thru another family favourite

Thanks both. My son would eat most of those but my daughter just won't. But those are definitely good ideas for the bigger child!

I've decided we're having some sort of pasty tonught. Just wondering what to put in that won't get automatically refused!

She did eat peanut butter for a bit. No good for lunchboxes but a life saver at home. Of course now that is now being rejected.

Definitely going to try some of the ideas on the more adventurous though!

Would she eat Mexican wraps - she/other DC could make their own mix of fillings up - you could put some black beans out too to see if pulses would tempt her ?

If she eats spaghetti would she eat noodles and stir fry veg (bit of miso or tamari for seasoning)?

Pasta is such a lifesaver for DC who are fussy I find - although when he was younger my son was really fussy about the shape - spaghetti ok - linguine bleurgh. Fussili ok - penne- no! Chickpea pasta is available in a lot of supermarkets now and looks and tastes like the normal stuff. I used to mix the white and wholemeal together and build it up slowly. My DC are in their teens and 20's now but I must have cooked corn, peas, carrots and broccoli many, many thousands of times - all served seperately!

One of mine liked tofu with panko breadcrumbs when she went veggie as an alternative to fish fingers.

On the hummus - do you think your DD likes the shop bought stuff as it comes out a bit sloppier than home made? Is it about texture? - blitzed cannelinni beans make a good alternative hummus with crudites etc.

worm she wouldn't eat any of that! Pasta is very hit and miss. Very occasionally she'll eat a tomato sauce with all the veg i can reasonably hide in!

Sorry, these are all great ideas and definitely food for thought for my older child. I think I'm fighting a losing battle with my 4 year old. She'll eat pizza made with hidden veg sauce. Or flatbreads with houmous etc. But even something like grated carrot included means the whole lot gets rejected. I know people say that exposure helps kids try new foods, but it just doesn't with this one.

Interesting re houmous. I think it might be the garlic. Going to try making some with no garlic and see if she'll eat that. I know shop bought isn't the end of the world, but as it's so easy and cheap to make, it seems stupid to buy it.

Anyway. I think I'm asking the impossible for meals she'd eat. Even with meat and dairy etc she's a fussy madam, so the issue isn't just with vegan food.

I get to start weaning the baby soon. No idea how she'll turn out!

Thanks everyone. I've been following the thread and got lots of inspiration for me!

economy if its any consolation two of mine eat hummus,one hates any brand that you can taste the lemon.I might as well be offering poison if it's the lemon and coriander variety!!
Will she eat other flavoured hummus(like red pepper?)
It sounds like overall she eats mix of things so whilst fruatrating,she at least has range nutrients
Dd2 best friend was similar up til age of 8 then suddenly start try new things.she's still funny about things touching/mixed in but adores fruit,veg and salad now.and eats a range family meals,so there's hope!!

Tonight is roasted vegetable pasta at mine.

I've started a thread over on relationships about problems I'm having with ED at the moment. It's possible veganism might have triggered the return. I am committed to a plant based lifestyle, but may be a bit less active on this thread as this sort of thing is a bit triggering for me.

This was Saturday night's dinner at the inlaws but I had the leftovers last night. Peppers stuffed with herbed rice and spinach, new potatoes, houmous and garlic dough balls. I added sheese jalapeño cheddar to the leftover stuffed peppers. Had Swedish glacé with strawberry and mango for desert.

Oh twenty. I'm so sorry to hear that. for you and best wishes.

Sorry to hear that twenty. Good that you can recognise your triggers though so I hope you can get through this. All the best to you.

Re. kids meals, my 4 year old also has strong likes and dislikes at the moment. I think it is part of expressing themselves and exploring how they are different from others. Also enjoying the reassurance of the safe options. Your Dd seems to like a variety of things from different food groups even if the range is limited so I'd not stress about it too much. I talk to DS about having a mix of food groups and trying new things, but never at a meal time, only in general conversation as it seems to sow the seeds without putting pressure on eating.

When he is with his childminder he seems to eat whatever she puts in front of him and will then usually eat that at home (broccoli and kale new surprise hits) so that's my only other tip - get someone else to feed her!

This is a fab thread ! Just marking my place.