read the damn title. i'm trying to wean myself off of meat because i know a big change is gonna be hard to stick with so i'd like some stuff i can ideally just throw together with very little preparation
edit: thank you everyone who replied. i will work my way through these recipes and see what works for me
Stir fry with tofu, random vegetables and whatever kind of stir fry sauce
good call
i also add in hokkien noodles from a packet that you can just shove straight in the wok near the end without pre-cooking
This is the recipe I use, it's good. You can use pinto or black beans. Don't buy Goya, though, they're shitheads.
https://www.goya.com/en/recipes/puerto-rican-rice-and-beans
Certified not vegan take: but it's very easy to buy a giant bag of shredded 'Mexican blend' cheese to add to this meal as well. Then just throw in veggies, whatever kind you like, and you have a very cheap and easy meal. Canned tomatoes and green chiles are classic, fresh are better, but don't be afraid to get weird with it. You can also buy a series of good sautéing vegetables and just toss them with taco seasoning.
All together it's a very filling meal that covers nearly every nutrient you could possibly need and it tastes pretty good too.
It’s a great time to look at Good and Cheap, the cookbook developed for the food stamp budget.
It’s free as a pdf on the authors website (https://cookbooks.leannebrown.com/good-and-cheap.pdf) and if you break down and buy a copy I think they still donate one to someone on food stamps.
The book has lots of focus on recipes that don’t take a ton of time, are easy to make with minimal equipment and use lots of vegetables. It even has a growing season chart in the front to help you buy stuff in season when its cheap and best.
It’s not exclusively vegetarian or vegan, but there’s plenty in there and most can be adapted to be vegetarian or vegan.
E: I just looked and the entire first half of the book is vegetarian, most of the last half is too and it lists substitutions for a bunch of recipes.
heres some of my favourite staples
theres a little bit of chopping prep but theyre pretty much all just shove a bunch of stuff in a big pot and leave it for like half an hour (and maybe cook some rice on the side) and they all make about 4 meals worth in one go (and you can easily double the quantities too with very little extra effort)
also most of the bulk is rice/lentils/beans/chickpeas/canned tomatoes/onions/tofu etc so theyre all pretty damn cheap. the potato and lentil soup one is particularly cheap/easy and has the advantage that everything in it can be kept in the cupboard for ages so you dont need to plan ahead or anything
thank you for this, i'll check them out and try to make them next week!
Mushrooms are a great source of umami flavor.
How about: saute a chopped onion in olive oil, add fresh sliced mushrooms and a sprinkle of salt (helps them release water) add garlic and saute until just fragrant, add a half cup of rice , saute as long as you like more for nuttier flavor, add a cup of water or better a good broth like vegetable or add something with the water like pumpkin puree (just made that up, dunno). Simmer for like 20 minutes and eat.
I just made this up but I know it would be good 👨🍳
Also my favorite salad: saute a crushed packet of ramen until golden (careful, they can burn) in some oil with some sesame seeds if you have them. Julienne a quarter head of cabbage. Make a vinegrette of soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil (if you got it) and some sugar. combine and enjoy...I can eat a half head of cabbage at one sitting with this recipe.
Update: I made the first part tonight and it was delicious!
1 medium onion (diced)
5 fresh mushrooms (sliced)
~2 cloves garlic (I use a spoonful of homemade garlic & olive oil puree I keep in the fridge)
3/4 cup white rice ( I had Vermicelli so I used 1/4 cup vermicelli and 1/2 cup rice)
1 1/2 cup water or broth (highly recommend broth for more flavor)
oil for sauteing
Saute the diced onion in a skillet (need a lidded one for later) until starting to get brown
Add sliced mushrooms and a 3 finger pinch of salt. Saute until they stop releasing steam when you stir.
Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
Bunch all that to the side of the pan and add the rice (I had to add another splash of oil at this point for the rice and vermicelli...man, vermicelli browns FAST, be careful) saute until opaque or until golden as you like it
Add liquid and bring to boil
Turn heat down to low and let simmer (took 30 minutes for me YMMV)
I topped it with some limp green onions that were dying in the fridge but were still good enough
My SO and I were still hungry after splitting this between us, but it should be enough for one :D
Combine lentils, rice, and chopped cabbage in a rice cooker. Add other ingredients as you see fit. Spice heavily.
I've never tried using cabbage in lentils & rice. I usually just have onions, and sometimes carrots. I guess I'll give cabbage a try next time.
If you've got access to an Indian grocery store for spices, you can make chana masala (chickpea curry) with just stuff from cans (well you have to fry onions, too, I guess).
yeah and i cant stress enough just how much cheaper spices are if you buy them in the big bag from the indian grocery store (or the indian section of your supermarket if youre lucky) rather than the little white people bottles. at my supermarket a little 30g bottle is like $4 (in austr*lian dollarydoos), but a giant 250g bag is $2.50
i live in the southern US so everything good is around 40 minutes away :(
i will keep an eye out though
Check if any of the grocery stores near you have bulk sections to buy spices from. You'll get similar prices that way
Where I am in the US there are no Indian grocery stores. The Mexican section at the supermarket is goya beans and tostitos salsa ):
self-promote away! i'm here to learn and i couldn't find anything easily enough for my smooth brain. i have tiny mason jars so i'll probably do a test run before i start making big jars full of it
That's a really good idea. Garlic work for this as well?
Garlic, chillis, lots of spices.
Anything aromatic probably has a oil component to it and can be made into an aromatic and flavorful oil extraction.
yule
christmas creep strikes again
but to answer the question, I've been really enjoying walnut chorizo lately. Great place to start for recipes.
beans/lentils and rice are fantastic bases to build from. you can buy a shit ton for not much money, they don't take very much active cooking time, and they're super filling.
damn is this shit in the beginning what real living anarchists actually believe?
"if you use violence for anything ever, or in fact even do things at all, you're wrong, just keep getting tread upon"
Its not a very good long-term strategy but whatever you are already making, just don't put the meat in it. Vegans can't usually do this but fine for vegetarians. This may seem obvious but a lot of people decieve themselves that it won't be a 'full' meal, but really, meat is often an inessential passenger. Idk maybe not how you eat but it worked for me de-meating my primarily noodle / rice type home cooking
Yeah same, turns out adding meat was a decision I was making all along, and it actually doesn't take much to just... Not make that decision any more, lol
Edit: actually, taking animal products out of the equation simplifies any questions about food safety, contamination, etc. It makes cooking easier and provides an opportunity to cook more traditionally.
