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I do not know what i am doing
Started
by Victor Gunter
on September 11, 2010
Victor-
Here are some basics that I would turn to when I first started:
always have in your fridge cooked brown rice and cooked quinoa and add to it steamed veggies or roasted veggies-- buy some tortillas and throw the rice or quinoa, veggies, and whatever else-- some canned beans of any kind, black, pinto, white, etc. with some salsa and smashed up avocado-- its delicious.
i love almond milk instead of soy-- soy milk is processed and i love the flavor also of almond milk-- some heathy granola or other cereal with that is great.
and in a pinch and to save $$, check out some of the frozen trader joe's burritos and also Amy's-- some of theirs are vegan, just check to make sure.
Good luck. This is a great community and you will love it and how you feel.
Hi Victor,
All of the suggestions are great. I would like to add a few ideas of my own such as fresh fruit and greens in a blender w/ a bit of almond milk for a breakfast smoothie. Maybe a peanut butter or almond butter jelly sandwich on whole grain bread for lunch. Snack ideas can be popcorn made fresh on the stove, add a little melted Earth Balance butter before you sprinkle a little sea salt. Or you can make your own trail mix buying weekly size amounts of various nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, unsweetened coconut from the bulk bin section.
For dinner pasta with a marinara sauce. Sweet potatoes with a dab of Earth Balance butter is good too. Sometimes for a quick salad I'll just grate carrots and sprinkle crushed walnuts on top and add a little Italian dressing. I'll buy walnuts in the bulk section and put in a ziploc type bag and crush them with the bottom of a coffee mug which always come out finely crushed just how I like for salads and I didn't use a food processor, so less clean up.
Just know that it doesn't have to be gourmet cooking or anything with many different ingredients. Simple meals are many times the best ones. Like the Quinoa w/ Basil and Pine Nuts ( I use cashews ) page 224 is simple and easy and it's a complete protein and you can pair it with home cooked beans which are less expensive and healthier rather than buying canned.
I love the bulk bins since I can buy as little or as much as I want for a recipe. Take your time there and get familiar with all of the different options. I spent a half hour just taking my time at the bulk bin section and really enjoyed it because I knew I was learning ingredients I didn't pay attention to before TKD book which has expanded my food choices.
Victor, if you are sticking to a vegan diet (not Superhero) you can try cookbooks by John McDougall, MD. He has quite a few out and my husband and I love them! For the two of us we usually make like 3 meals for the week and they last us all week! Sometimes we throw in pasta or something like that. The recipes are all vegetable based, not many meat subs, so they are pretty cheap to prepare. They also make a lot at a time. We make double batches and then freeze them for other weeks down the line. We usually spend less than $100 a week for the two of us. For breakfast we eat 10 grain cereal with cinnamon, ground flax seeds, hemp seeds, and a little agave. We also snack on almonds and veggies with homemade hummus. Brown rice is always prepared and waiting in the fridge too! Good luck and don't lose hope!
Hi Victor,
I feed a family of five for under $100 a week, so you can totally do it! Lately Almond Milk has really been pushing coupons. If you buy Almond Milk at Krogers they will give you a coupon each time, I have about six coupons at the moment. Quinoa is expensive at my store so I only get it occasionally, I make rice my main grain, which is super cheap. Beans are totally cheap, so you can do chili and cornbread one day, burritos, pasta with beans. There are so many different kinds that I never get tired of them. My kids eat alot of peanut butter and jelly for lunch, or cucumber and tomato. I usually eat leftovers from the night before. If you stick with vegetables in season they are usually very cheap, where I live avocados are very expensive so i don't buy those very often. I go with what is local in season, I also have my own garden which helps in the summer. Good Luck and don't get discouraged!!
Well it looks like I found the right place and hit the mother load. I am amazed at the wonderful response of imformation and input from so many knowledgable people . I want to thank each and everyone of you from the bottom of my heart . I am going to implement many of your suggestions as soon as possible . Again I want to thank everyone an God Bless you all.
P.S. I will keep you informed of my progress. Just consider me a seed that you just planted and stand back and watch me flourish. Oh!, DON'T FORGET TO WATER ME.
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