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

We were out for dinner tonight. Had an amazing meal!

That looks amazing max !
Kiki me and DS had the left overs tonight, the recipe said to leave it in the fridge overnight and fair enough it was nicer, DS loved it!

Off to Google meringue with aquafaba

One of my favourite comfort meals is koshari which is vegan . Pasta rice chickpeas lentils tomatosand fried onions
So good.

Picking up lots of ideas, thank you everyone! Tonight we had spaghetti with homemade pesto (fresh basil, pine nuts, lemon, nutritional yeast and garlic powder, seasoning) and a huge homemade salad. Quick and easy 😋

Some nice recipes here!

That pasta pesto sounds lovely @bluefeathers - putting that on my list

Can I ask those of you who have gone vegan from full omnivores whether your food bills have gone down/up/about the same?

And what food you found the hardest to give up? I've often toyed with the idea but would really struggle with no dairy. Gave it up for a couple of months last year when I thought it was causing ds to have reflux via my breast milk and I so missed a proper cup of tea with milk and really good cheese.

Have already found and followed Bosh on fb though and think those tofu balls sound amazing. Just did a big shop tonight and got some tofu to chargrill alongside a stir fry but might try the balls.

Well I've been vegetarian since being a small child but I was really worried about dairy - never been a big egg eater anyway. For me the highlight of every meal was the cheese grated on the pasta, the mozzarella in the salad, the sour cream in the burrito (and the cheese!).

However tastes do change! Now if I have, fir example pasta, the sauce becomes the tastiest bit. In a salad the avocado, or mango could be the best part.

I do miss stuff like Camembert etc and I dislike all vegan cheeses I have come across (not keen on most fake meat either). I think you have to train yourself to view it differently. I forced myself to watch a lot of eye opening documentaries about dairy and they have stuck with me. It's easier with meat - to me it looks like flesh and body parts and always has done. I honestly find the meat aisle in a supermarket really sinister and creepy. Cheese doesn't give me the same feeling to look at. But I am getting to a point where dairy (especially plain milk) just strikes me as an unnatural thing to eat as a human. That helps the cravings.

Milk in tea is hard - I have soya milk sometimes and it's ok but it definitely tastes different. You have to play around and try all the different options til you get one you like. But I also drink a lot of herbal teas too which dont require milk - although chai tea with coconut milk is lovely.

I'll stop rambling now but I hope that helps a bit!

Can anyone link me to Bosh? I can't find it

There are some lovely Turkish vegan recipes like soslu patlican (aubergine and tomato) and taboulah. Sumac can give salads a real zing
Disclaimer - omnivore here but like to cook veg and vegan food as often as possible

@coffeeandoranges I've found it expensive to start with but I expect it to be cheaper in the long run. I have needed to stock my larder with various sauces/nuts/tins etc to make it easier to cook vegan and bulk buying or condiments/herbs that will last a long time mean I've spent more this last fortnight. Unless you buy really rubbish quality meat though you're bound to save money surely - the most ££ things on my shopping list were always meat fish or cheese...

Morning everyone. :)

Last night we hit the 'fuckit' button at home and had takeaway- veg pizza for DH and DS (with cheese) and stir fried chinese veg with cashews for me. So today we need to eat abit lighter as we are all feeling bloated!

I have made upa curried green lentil soup using the leftver lentils from the salad the other day and tonight we are having vermicelli noodles in broth with broccoli and tofu.

Can I ask the longer term vegans- did you lose any weight? I am quite puffy and bloated anyway so am trying to overhaul my health generally. I am drinking loads of water, etc.

Fauxfox, you can even do it just with basil, pine nuts and a little water, play around with the other ingredients;

Alice and others - going vegan won't necessarily be healthier or help you lose weight if you still eat processed foods... I know plenty of junk food vegans who are not slim or necessarily healthy.

I started from a health perspective towards a Plant-Based, Whole Foods diet (which is also by nature Vegan), so lots of fresh fruit, berries (high in antioxidants) and veg, especially cruciferous veg and greens) and pulses (which are incredibly good for you - protein, fibre, phosphate, calcium and iron and B vitamins). I prefer to get my healthy fats from nuts and seeds rather than oil, so my pesto would be loosened up with a little water (and the blended pine nuts) without adding olive oil. I always have a handful of nuts for a mid afternoon snack and they're incredibly satiating. There are studies showing eating nuts doesn't cause you to put on weight as you might expect and actually lowers bad cholesterol.

We're not religious about it so if we're eating out or just need a quick meal we will grab something, we're just doing what we can and learning as we go.

I found this fab app called the Daily Dozen that guides you on what foods to try to eat and it's quite fun ticking off your foods and trying to get a full score... not that I've ever managed it but hey we are getting better!

Thanks blue. :)

I had the Jamie Oliver Superrfoods book vegetarian burgers. Delicious! They contain egg, but you could substitute chia seeds to bind them together.

I'm making fake pulled pork sandwiches for tea! Had to go to three Asian supermarkets to get the Jackfruit because they had sold out which is a hopeful sign! I got in brine but in water is apparently better...will report back on how it turns out assuming it's edible I will serve it with peanut slaw from the Thug Kitchen cook book which looks yummy.

DH made cashew cream cheese for lunch which tastes like Parmesan. Not sure I love it but it's ok as a dip with carrots and DH likes it so that's good

I have been vegan a year and I am the same weight as I was when I wasn't vegan but I am definitely less bloated and more toned iyswim. My food bills are also cheaper now I'm in thenswibg of it but it was more expensive to begin with when I was relying more on fake meat/cheese etc.

We went out for Sunday dinner today to our local all vegan pub, I had lentil pie and mash with roasties and garlic veg with gravy. DH had fishless chips which was battered tofu and seaweed, it was so good! Then we shared a sticky toffee pudding.
We went with 7 omnis and they all said they want to make it a regular thing because the food was so good.

I've lost about 20 pounds from vegetarian to vegan over around 6 months. My BMI is around 22 I think I tend to eat whole foods only but I have loads of oil, I could be thinner with a few tweaks I think.

BBQ Jackfruit was quite nice - very credible substitute for pulled pork.

I also made a pear loaf subbing 'egg replacer powder' for eggs and coconut oil for butter. Delicious 😋

Belated thanks faux been busy all day. We have quite a wide range of stuff in our cupboards as I already buy stuff like nutritional yeast, large bags of nuts, tofu, spirulina, chia etc but also meat, cheese and occasional 'dirty' stuff like Super Noodles and Heinz soup! Got a 16 mo who loves avocado and beige carbs , a DH who was brought up by a veggie but also loves steak and ale pie and me who has dallied with the whole fitness/smoothie/chia lifestyle. So yeah a total collection of omnivores. Would love to have more animal free days though, will definitely make more of an effort.

We had jacket potatoes and roast veg tonight with salad. Simple, very tasty and filling. I've put some leftover veg in a pot for tomorrow's lunch - I really struggled last week finding anything suitable so need to make more effort to take in packed lunch.

Our shop came to about the same £ as usual.

CBA monday so dinner is:

Quorn nuggets/ffingers, sweet pot chips and peas for the kids.
Jusroll puff tart with tomato and basil and the cashew cheese stuff DH made yesterday and salad for DH and I.

Tonight is veggie burgers salad and ciabatta for us :)

Could I ask some advice please?

My lovely BIL has just turned from vegetarian to vegan. He is coming over for dinner on Easter Sunday and I want to make him something really nice in place of the leg of lamb the meat eaters are having.
Is there anything really good I could make/buy that he could eat along side the usual Sunday lunch roast potatoes and veg?
I've found a brownie recipe and a dairy free waitrose ice cream to go with it but I've gone blank when it comes to a main.

TIA

Jus roll pastry is vegan- you could do a lovely mushroom/ onions/ walnut wellington?