The KInd Life Community Forum

Use this space to share stories, exchange ideas, ask questions, and contribute to our growing community!

Forum
Cooking Help!
Avoiding Meat

Avoiding Meat

Started by Kathy Merchant on April 12, 2012

4 Comments

Kathy Merchant said #1 Apr 12, 2012 at 6:19pm

We love eating vegan and vegetarian foods in my house. Alot of my meals are prepped without meat or with meat substitutes. My kids and I love trying new dishes, but we are also traditional and can enjoy the meat and potatoe meals. However, as much as I'd love to get even more meat removed from my diet, it gets a little difficult sometimes. When my chronic fatigue is acting up or it's been a long week, I will turn to meat because it's simple. It's a meat, steam up veggies, cook up some brown rice and it's done. I'm not a big fan of the fake grilled chicken out there and it can be really expensive on a budget.

Does anyone have any easy go to meals that are vegetarian? Meaning, it doesn't take alot of brain cells to create it? I love cooking and I love prepping and everythign associated with putting a meal together. I just don't always have the motivation in me to do it.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Val Fowler said #2 Apr 12, 2012 at 10:54pm

Hi Kathy

How great that you're thinking about giving up eating meat? That's brilliant. :-)

I really enjoy cooking too but am also very busy and sometimes get home from work late and just can't be bothered with cooking. I'm going to try cooking extra of the 'one pot' dishes, you know the kind of thing., a big veggie chilli with kidney beans or my chickpea stroganoff, and then freeze them for times when I'm really tired. That way, I just need to defrost the meal and put on some rice.

Lots of other people I know use slow cookers and I'm thinking of getting one of those too. You just put all your ingredients in in the morning and when you get home it's done.

I haven't tried vegan pizza yet, but once I've found a wholewheat base I'm hoping that would be a quick meal. Just put the toppings on and stick it in the oven.

Hope that's been of some help and best of luck.

:-)

Val

Kim T. said #3 Apr 13, 2012 at 8:43am

This is the best soup recipe. But it is very thick, so you could serve it over rice like a stew for a heartier meal if you wish. We eat it with some crusty bread for dipping, and some fresh raw veggies. I wish I could credit the site I found it on, but I forgot to make note of it. Sorry to the original blogger/chef. This takes literally 2 min prep.....

Spicy Lentil Soup.

1 cup split red lentils (must be red)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp seasalt

1/4 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp (or less) cayenne

1/4 tsp cinnamin

black pepper

4 cups water.

Put everything in a pot. Bring to boil, then simmer covered for about 30-40 min or until you get a pea-soup consistency. Before serving, sautee a medium sized onion and stir in. You can garnish with fresh cilantro if you wish.

My husband and daughter (who are not vegetarian) love this one. Hope you do too.

Jenn said #4 May 13, 2012 at 3:33pm

A few kitchen gadgets can be handy for the busy cook. I really LOVE the slow cooker because it doesn't generally take long to prep ingredients in the morning, then when you get home, the house smells like you've slaved all day cooking and all you really have to do at that point, is sit down and eat.

As has been suggested, making meals to freeze ahead of time for those nights that cooking takes more oomph than you have is an excellent idea and has helped me to eat nutritious meals many times.

A rice cooker is also really nice. Sure, it doesn't take much to make it on the stove, but a rice cooker doesn't need to be watched or timed. It's just one less thing to worry about when you're getting the meal together. I use mine for rice as well as all sorts of other grains. Plus, if it's done and you aren't, it keeps it warm until you're ready for it.

A pressure cooker is also awesome. I've never made meals in it, but many people do and it's super fast. You can get a good non electric one for around $40 I use mine for beans at this time. My 6-quart pressure cooker will do a pound of beans in less time than it takes to go t the store and buy them. It's really awesome. Then I just freeze the leftovers in pint canning jars and voila. It's ready for future recipes and significantly cheaper than buying canned. There is at least one good vegan pressure cooker book out there if that idea interests you.

Also, there are cookbooks that have super fast, cheap and easy recipes that are totally delicious. My personal favs in this category are the Happy Herbivore books. Sometimes I'm a little skeptical when I dump all the ingredients in and make the recipe but they always come out tasting amazing and I didn't have to invest much time making them.

Best Wishes to you on your journey!

Join the Discussion!

Login or create an account on The Kind Life today and you'll be able to leave comments, share photos and videos with friends, and participate in community events!