Hi World! New Vegan, Here!

[ConvenientVegan]

ConvenientVegan, here! I'm new to this lifestyle, live alone, and don't like to cook. Finding ways to make my own vegan dishes REALLy easily! I use my Cuisinart a LOT, and freeze stuff all the time. Like to find canned, frozen, and packaged stuff (READ INGREDIENTS!!) to fit my new chosen eating style, and passing on suggestions, especially to other newbies, of how to transition, withut driving yourself crazy, or into debt! Food is expensive!

So, glad to be here. And will check out new posts every day. Let's hear from YOU! Don't be shy!

: )

 

[Emma JC]

again, welcome to the forum and we look forward to your contributions

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[ConvenientVegan]

again, welcome to the forum and we look forward to your contributions

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

Thanks, Emma! Nice to hear that someone else likes convenient vegan eating. Whole foods are great, but, most need cooked and fussed with. And they don't last in the fridge! So, cans, frozen, boxes, bags, of GOOD stuff, are all great! : )

 

[PTree15]

Welcome to the forum! I actually do like to cook, but I also like convenience. I do lots of meal prepping, and that really helps on the days I don't feel like/don't have time for cooking. It takes a couple of hours each week, but it's worth it. I find I eat better when I meal prep as well. Not so much junk, lol.

For example, this week, I made a mung bean egg mixture for breakfasts that takes only minutes to cook, so I have had omelets, scrambled "eggs" and a breakfast burrito so far. I get five or six servings out of it if I portion it out properly. I also made burrito bowls with tofu and canned veggies that I had on hand along with rice. They have been delicious, and I get four meals out of them. Some nights I have tortilla chips with it and other nights I put in some greens. Kale is my green for this week. I live alone, so I try to buy just one bag of greens per week so that they don't go bad.

 

[ConvenientVegan]

Welcome to the forum! I actually do like to cook, but I also like convenience. I do lots of meal prepping, and that really helps on the days I don't feel like/don't have time for cooking. It takes a couple of hours each week, but it's worth it. I find I eat better when I meal prep as well. Not so much junk, lol.

For example, this week, I made a mung bean egg mixture for breakfasts that takes only minutes to cook, so I have had omelets, scrambled "eggs" and a breakfast burrito so far. I get five or six servings out of it if I portion it out properly. I also made burrito bowls with tofu and canned veggies that I had on hand along with rice. They have been delicious, and I get four meals out of them. Some nights I have tortilla chips with it and other nights I put in some greens. Kale is my green for this week. I live alone, so I try to buy just one bag of greens per week so that they don't go bad.

Thanks, PTree15! You have a lot more cooking chops than I. I'm lazy, and like to prep, chop, maybe open some cans. Cooking was a job for 12 years (I'm retired now), so, I don't think of it as fun. And there's so much good stuff out there in cans and frozen, now. For me, it's easy. Convenient is good. But I do treat myself to a giant fresh salad once a week--grape tomatoes, blueberries, avocado, mushrooms, carrots, radishes. Kale is good for a salsa base, made in the Cuisinart--another fave. Eat well and thrive! : )

 

[Lou]

I don't like to cook either. My solution to eat well and cheaply has been what I call bulk prep.
Even simple things like pasta and sauce or PB&J sandwiches I make a bunch of it at once. Not only do I find it a time saver but if I'm on my home it makes me resistant to take out cause I already have food ready to go at home - and if I don't eat it it will go bad.

Salads were the last thing I learned to bulk prep. It saves so much time. I think it was Dr. Fuhrman who got me into the idea of making really big salads and now I make a few meals at a time.

The other thing is I got an InstantPot and I make big pots of stew and soup. Just pour everything in and push a few buttons. then put meal size portions in Tupperware or freezer bags and freeze.

 

[silva]

I also love to cook, but I think you'll find whole plant foods really are quite convenient and cheaper.

What stores are by you? Don't suppose you belong to Costco?

What kind of Cuisinart?

I use my Instant Pot pretty much every day. Love soups and everything salads

 

[ConvenientVegan]

Whole plant foods are generally more expensive--fresh produce is pricey, then needs cooked, adding the cost of gas, electricity, and water to the food. Canned vegs are CHEAP, and ready to eat! Also, canned and frozen produce is washed already, and has less pesticides. Bonus! : )

And I just have your basic food processor--just use the main blade, and make salsa, nut butter, hummus, and avocado dip for myself. Yum!!

 

[Bananomad]

Agreed with many posts on here. When I first switched to plant-based, I was super eager to eat fresh all of the time but have learned that it comes at significant time cost to process all of the fruits and vegetables. Canned is the way to go for many vegetables, although I still do fresh for all of my fruits for the fiber and no added sugar.

 

[No Longer Active]

Hi @ConvenientVegan Welcome to the forum. There are some veggies that I insist on eating fresh but I use a lot of frozen and canned veggies too. I love cooking but I only have a three day weekend from my job and I don't want to spend all of it in the kitchen.

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum @Bananomad

We buy mostly frozen vegetables and fruit and canned beans - still buys lots of fresh like onions (10 lbs at a time), garlic, kale, spinach, carrots, parsnips etc.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com