• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Vegan Recipes Needed

Boom762

Boom762

I AM the one who Booms!
Supporting Member
Oct 19, 2013
915
498
40
Alpine, TX
#1
About 2 weeks ago I decided to go Paleo and Vegan at the same time. I've done both diets before separately. Paleo made me lose weight quickly but I didn't feel any different. Vegan made me feel like Superman, think more clearly, and sleep better but I didn't lose any weight on it due to the processed foods. It's wonderful so far. I've gone from 320lbs to 296 this morning with no exercise.

I'm trying to get ideas for rich tasting foods that would fall into this category. I LOVE hummus but it's super high in calories. In a little bit I'm going to try and make my first Vegan cheese from Cauliflower and Nutritional Yeast (along with some other seasonings, turmeric, etc). So far I just dip veggies in hummus, eat lots of seasoned roasted spaghetti squash, and fruit.

I think the main dishes I need to learn are sauces and add-ons. Stuff I can throw over raw vegetables. I try to eat raw as much as possible as well and I think a couple of killer sauces will change the monotony.
 
#3
I have been curious about not really going full vegan but at least cut down on meat. That's really impressive you dropped that much weight with diet alone. Interesting though paleo helps with weight and vegan increases clarity, honestly I thought it would be the other way around goes to show all the empty calorie filler in processed foods. Hopfully this thread gets some posts I'm interested.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Boom762
#5
Seriously though, I've been making hummus for many years now. The main thing that gives it so many calories is the tahini and olive oil- you actually don't need to use a lot of either, and the health benefits of olive oil outweigh the extra calories. You can make a tomato basil hummus sauce by reducing the amount of tahini and using less of the hotter spices and instead adding a small can of tomato sauce and basil to taste- it makes a smoother, more spreadable paste that goes great on wraps or rice meals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Boom762
#6
ImNotJoel said:
I have been curious about not really going full vegan but at least cut down on meat. That's really impressive you dropped that much weight with diet alone. Interesting though paleo helps with weight and vegan increases clarity, honestly I thought it would be the other way around goes to show all the empty calorie filler in processed foods. Hopefully this thread gets some posts I'm interested.
Click to expand...

I'm willing to cheat occasionally with the Paleo side. The vegan I feel more of a need to stay strict with. I'd like to bring my cholesterol intake to 0. I've never had problems with blood pressure or cholesterol. In fact my lab work has always been superb even though I've been obese nearly my entire life and treated my body like a waste site. I fear they may be arterial blocking and would like to see what this body is capable of doing towards fixing that. There's a vegan friendly restaurant here that serves vegan, but not paleo. When I just can't take preparing another meal, I'll go there and grab a tofu lettuce wrap.

I just finished making my Vegan Cheese. It doesn't taste like cheese at all, but it is good and will be a good topping for other dishes.

Here's a super easy recipe I've been making myself.

Pizza/Spaghetti

1 whole spaghetti squash
Bragg's natural Olive Oil
Italian Seasoning
Louisanna Hot Sauce

I cut the squash in half, scoop out all the seeds, and sprinkle all the ingrediants over the bowls of squash. Throw it in the oven at 350' for 105 minutes (hour and 45 minutes). When it's done, the top will be slightly charred and the meat of the squash will pull away from the rind without effort.

I swear this tastes really really close to pizza/spaghetti. Because of the texture of the squash, I'd say it's a really good spaghetti alternative. It takes only 5 minutes to prep which is good for a full time student. I tried putting some of my new vegan cheese, Sabra garden herb hummus, and some nutritional yeast into the bowl and it simulates a very saucy, cheesy spaghetti. Eventually I might try to make a tomato sauce for it, make it in bulk, and mix it all together.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ImNotJoel
#7
Bryan R. Tyler said:
Seriously though, I've been making hummus for many years now. The main thing that gives it so many calories is the tahini and olive oil- you actually don't need to use a lot of either, and the health benefits of olive oil outweigh the extra calories. You can make a tomato basil hummus sauce by reducing the amount of tahini and using less of the hotter spices and instead adding a small can of tomato sauce and basil to taste- it makes a smoother, more spreadable paste that goes great on wraps or rice meals.
Click to expand...

I've yet to make my own hummus. I probably should try to make some myself soon. I've been using different brands of "Natural" hummus from the stores. I end up going with Sabra because outside of the Guar Gum, it seems to have the least amount of additives.
 
#8
I believe Sabra just had a recall, so look out for that. The only hummus I buy pre-made is the Tribe of Two Sheiks baba ghanouj, as I found roasting the eggplant is not worth the extra effort for me, plus theirs just plain tastes better. Hummus is really easy to make if you have a food processor or a really good blender, and very cheap. Making different varieties of hummus and hummus spreads are what made eating "healthy" meals much more tolerable for me, as I could shove it on vegetables that I wasn't a fan of and make them good as I love hummus.
 
#9
Bryan R. Tyler said:
I believe Sabra just had a recall, so look out for that. The only hummus I buy pre-made is the Tribe of Two Sheiks baba ghanouj, as I found roasting the eggplant is not worth the extra effort for me, plus theirs just plain tastes better. Hummus is really easy to make if you have a food processor or a really good blender, and very cheap. Making different varieties of hummus and hummus spreads are what made eating "healthy" meals much more tolerable for me, as I could shove it on vegetables that I wasn't a fan of and make them good as I love hummus.
Click to expand...

My favorite quick meal/snack with hummus is whole raw mushrooms. I can go through an entire pound of mushrooms that way if I'm not paying attention.

Good looking out on the recall. I just checked it out and they recalled their original flavor. Im safe as I always get the pine nut, roasted garlic, or olive flavors. :) That Tribe hummus looks great. Lower calories and better ingredients than Sabra. I'll have to ask Market Street to order some for me.
 
#10
I'm vegetarian, but allergic to sesame, so I make a chick pea dip which is like hummus but without the tahini. Trader Joe's makes one too. Peanut sauce is also easy to make, but higher in calories of course. Basil pesto and spicy cilantro pesto are good and can incorporate nuts (walnuts, almonds, pine nuts). Olive spreads are pretty easy, as are sundried tomato spreads. I also make a lot of carrot or cauliflower based soups, that could work as sauces with more acid or spice added. I make salad dressings for my wife a lot so I'm always thinking about what works with raw veggies. I'm busy at the moment, but if any of these thoughts sound good to you I can go into more detail.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit
#12
Oh wow those look good. They remind me of potato pancakes. I'm saving that dish in the ole bookmarks.

I ended up making some toast in the oven with Udi's Florence Street Bakery Country Seeded Bread, Earth Balance Soy free butter, and the "cheese" spread I made earlier.

I was craving something sweet HARD earlier tonight. A lot of the vegan ice creams and brownies and such all have 1 or 2 ingredients I don't have and wouldn't likely use in everyday cooking. I ended off with 2 grapefruits. For some reason, the grapefruit we've been getting her in Lubbock have been super sweet and not bitter at all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MJ5150
#14
Boom762 said:
For some reason, the grapefruit we've been getting her in Lubbock have been super sweet and not bitter at all.
Click to expand...

Nice! I haven't had much success with grapefruit around these parts lately. The wife and I are big fans of a grapefruit/mint/honey salad (a recipe we picked up from Bobby Flay), but the quality has been bad enough lately that we've been skipping it.

-Mike
 
#17
Make homemade salsa for salad dressing.
Use a program like mynetdiary to keep track of what you eat. There are versions for iOS and online. Probably for Android too, but don't know for sure.

Make homemade tomato sauce. It's easy, tastes good, and you know exactly what's in it.
My basic recipe is red pepper, onion, garlic, tomato (in summer you can use fresh tomatoes, but in winter it's better to use No Salt canned as the ones in stores are usually pretty poor), fresh basil, ground fennel, any other fresh or dried herbs you like, a little crushed red pepper, red wine.
Sauté peppers, onion, garlic. Add app 1/3 to 1/2 of one of those little $1 bottles of red wine. Let the alcohol cook out. Add tomatoes, 2 or 3 bay leaves, ground fennel, crushed red peppers. Simmer for at least an hour, but longer is better. Stir occasionally. Taste every half hour or so and add salt and or pepper if needed. About half hour before you think it'll be done tear the basil and add, also any other herbs.
When you have the flavor where you like it use an immersion blender to purée it. Remove The Bay Leaves Before Blending. Divide into containers, I use those green Ziploc ones. Divide evenly between them. Put in fridge uncovered until cooled then cover. Will last a couple weeks covered and refrigerated.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit and Boom762
#19
If you haven't tried Invalid Link Removed, you need to.

Seems all the recipes are pretty much the same. I however am going to change a bit. I want them to be crispy like a potato chip. Instead of 10 minutes on each side for 400', I'm going to do 15 on each side for 350. Still taste rockin' though.

I was going to try and make an Invalid Link Removed tonight after church but I'm realizing I made a harsh mistake this weekend. In an attempt to give myself a break from cooking and gear a meal or two towards comfort food, I bought some vegan hotdogs. That processed stuff really through a wrench in my weight loss. I'm only down to 292 today and can't help but think the couple of meals with processed gunk in them stunted the progress. If I make it, Ill have to find a way to make a creamy sauce without using tofu or processed vegan cheese. Maybe almonds?

Whenever I try to give myself a little cheat, I try to only cheat one diet or the other. I have been staunch about not having animal products so I've been lenient on the processed stuff. Mistake :) Next time I feel the urge to have a cheat meal, I think Ill do some fish or something and keep the paleo side going. Talking to some family about it and I think my first goal is to break 270. That's the lowest number I've been since probably 5th grade. I'f I can just break that limit, I'll feel more encouraged to go to 250 next.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blindrabbit

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back