Staple foods for vegans

[Edsheeranalbumparty]

For several reasons I have decided to try and cut down on meat in my diet, and at the same time it just so happens i have been cutting down on animal products generally. I don't think i will ever be able to go fully.vegan, but it's doesn't actually seem that tricky to do it a lot of the time.

I was just wondering what staple foods vegans always go for? Up for trying different milks (apart from coconut definitely don't like that) and have already been eating more different types of beans and pulses, and more nuts. Not that keen on tofu or any sort of 'meat substitute', althought I could give tofu a go. Just don't want to eat so much avocado and hummus that I fall out of love with them!

Any other tips or advice also appreciated

Try some vegan chesse .plenty of choice in Tesco..it's all yummy..tofu,is my fave cubed and roasted..I'm pretty unadventurous,so will be keeping an eye on this thread for ideas myself

I always keep cans of chickpeas around as well as lentils and mung beans. I live in Canada & our selection of fake meats is pretty good - I didn't fancy the quorn ones when I was in the UK but I know that different brands have different levels of success. Fake mince is useful in veggie shepherd's pie and in tacos and burritos (& a Chinese dish I make w ginger and rice spice powder). If you can find fake meatballs w a nice consistency they are very good in curries and Swedish "meatballs".

Tofu soaks up flavour and we love it in stir-fries. Is that how you're eating it? Or baked in strips and served with rice, raw veg and spicy peanut sauce.

How do you make yr spicy peanut sauce,izzy?

I'm pescetarian but eat mostly a plant-based diet.

Almond milk is my favourite, and it has the added bonus of being great for your skin.

It's a good idea to go for whole meal rice/bread etc because it's more nutrient-rich. Good organic brown rice is a good source of protein and iron.
Tahini is a good source of calcium; it's in humous of course, but you can use it like peanut butter on toast, or add to dressings.
Grains are all a good source of protein, quinoa is especially good for vegans due it's lysine content; this makes it a complete protein.

The Happy Pear have some good vegan recipes thehappypear.ie/recipe/ ..their cookbooks are lovely too, and they also have a YouTube channel full of quick easy demos and a Facebook page.

I might try a few things with tofu. I just have had memories from my veggie friend at uni makes an absolute balls up of tofu and it being really disgusting!

What is vegan cheese made of?

Quorn isnt vegan is it, has it got egg in it? I made some quorn bolognaise the other day and although my meat loving husband thought it was really nice, I didn't! Am going to stick with lentils etc to make bolognaise from now on I think.

Thanks for the suggestions so far by the way!

I love tahini, and eat mostly wholemeal bread anyway. I find brown rice gives me absolutely terrible wind and bloating though so I tend to steer clear of that now. Love quinoa and cous cous.

Our staples would be curries, hummus, salads, soups, date balls.

I eat a lot of lentils, red lentils are nice in soup or for thickening stews, and also good for making dahl. Puy or green lentils are great in place of mince in cottage pie, chilli or bolognese and are also nice in salads.

Stir fry is definitely ours! Rice with anything that is available plus a dollop of soy sauce and Chinese spice - and always spinach!

Oh and lasagne with red lentils!

Hummus
Passata
Chickpeas - use juice or 'aquafaba' too.
Red lentils for adding bulk
Stir fry packs
Rice noodles
Oat milk (plain and chocolate)
Muesli suitable for vegans
Vegan sausages and meatballs
Pitta and flatbreads
Falafels
Nuts and dried fruit
Ready made sauces - Sainsbury's Lemon, Sweet and Sour, Chilli and Chip Shop Curry ones are fab - with veg and/or meat substitutes.
Chocolate and jelly sweets
Wish I could find a cheese I like.

Vegansnake, I started a long time ago with a recipe from Moosewood & now do it a bit different every time.

Basically I fry a bit of ginger & green onion, add sugar or honey, peanut butter, soya, then water to dilute.

If you're vegetarian rather than vegan, a hard-boiled egg adds even more protein!

Has anyone mentioned nutritional yeast yet? Useful for giving a nice 'cheesy' flavour to sauces or I like it sprinkled on risotto and pasta dishes. My non vegan husband describes it as 'fish food' though and I can see why, but I love the stuff! Full of vitamin B12 too.

Oh god I put nutritional yeast all over my whole life. That shit rules.

On that note, blitz up some cashews, nutritional yeast, tiny bit of mustard, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper and water and put that straight on some pasta. Yummmmm

With steamed broccoli of course.

OP if you cut some firm tofu into cubes, roll it in cornflour and salt and pepper and olive oil, then bake it for about 25 minutes or so at 190ish, it goes all crispy and delicious. You can then eat it in a wrap with avocado and stuff, or in a stirfry (lovely recipe by a pp up there)

There are some lovely vegan cheeses made of coconut oil that are not disgusting. Violife is a vegan fave, and Sainsbo's do a lovely caramelised onion cheddar style one. You can make a nice soft cheese type thing with soaked cashews, lime juice, yeast in a food processor.
The frozen section in supermarkets now has an amazing variety of delicious mock meats, but it's better to use lentils and beans and tofu and tempeh as your main proteins. There are so many vegan recipe blogs and books that show you how to make a million easy things! It's really a lovely and satisfying way to eat, and easier than its ever been!

New vegan here (2weeks) Where's the best place to get nutritional yeast ? Keep seeing it in recipe posts

Holland and Barrett's has nutritional yeast.

Some quorn is now vegan. www.quorn.co.uk/products/vegan I'm not a lover though lol

I'm lurking on these threads with interest, I'm not vegan but I do have another quick and easy spicy peanut sauce to suggest. Serves 4.

6tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2tbsp dark soy sauce
4tbsp boiling water

Mix together in a bowl adjusting any ingredient for taste.

Thank you !

My most used items are:

chickpeas
lentils
oatly barista
veg
fruit
Linda McCartney sausages