World Vegan Day: meal suggestions

Linda Barbaro posted on the face Book page for World vegan day- " OK I can do it for a day. Any help? What can I have. Not what can't I have. :)"

The trouble is on the surface a Vegan diet seems highly restrictive with a long list of foods to avoid, BUT to make a list of foods you can eat would take years and be highly boring to read!
Most supermarkets have a list online of food in their stores that  is suitable for vegan, I have yet to get past the first page of any of them yet *yawn*.

So today I am going to post a few suggestions for meals to make on World Vegan day! Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments section :)

Breakfast:

Yeah yeah yeah we know, its the most important meal of the day! but what do you usually have?

Cereal: Most plain cereal is vegan friendly. watch out for hidden D3 vitamins, go for D2 or none fortified cereals.
Porridge is fantastic as a slow release food.
You can make your own muesli by adding a few oats to your choice of fresh or dried fruit, seeds and nuts. Use none dairy milk and agave syrup rather than honey.

Cooked:  If you like scrambled egg you need to try scrambled tofu! Like this real "manly man!!"

 

A quick search on youtube will yield lots of other methods!

You can serve it on toast or as part of a cooked breakfast.
Vegan sausages, grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, slices of fried smoked tofu.... Mmmm.

Toast: toast toast toast! Quick and easy whats not to love! Marmite on toast (with vegan spread) is a great source of B vitamins. Peanut butter is a great protein boost. I like to add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast flakes to peanut butter to add B vits :)

Light meals

A lot of people come unstuck when faced with lunch. If you have been surviving on cheese sarnies you'll wonder what on earth you can eat!

Some easy sandwich/wrap/roll fillings:
Hummus and salad
Smoked tofu and bean sprouts with vegan mayonnaise.
P,B & J!
Mushroom pate (recipe to follow soon)
Mashed beans in hot sauce.
Fake cheese and pickle.   

The trick is to pack in flavour and texture. A slice of fake cheese between two slices of bread is dull, add pickle, salad, grated carrot, vegan mayo, sliced peppers, onion etc, although maybe not all at the same time!



Don't forget the power of soup as a meal on the go! Make your own for superior flavour and nutritional value or check out canned soups that are suitable for vegans.
When I make soup I always go for a mix of veg and a high protein source like beans and lentils. You can leave it chunky or blend it smooth or have it somewhere in the middle :)

Other foods that travel well for lunch at work/school are:

Couscous or rice, with veggies, raisins and nuts.
Small portions of pasta in tomato based sauces.

Most leftovers from an evening meal can be packed for lunch.

Add fruit juice, water, a piece of fruit and a none dairy yogurt for a power packed lunch.

Main meal. 

Vegan main meals are easy  to make and prepare. Some family style ideas are:

Curry and rice, many Indian curries are meat free and rely heavily on lentils (dahl) or beans and vegetables.
Chili and rice/baked potato. Either make a bean heavy chili or replace the beef mince with TVP pr veggie mince.
Chinese stir fry: sliced veggies, tofu, rice noodles... yum! 



Spaghetti bolognese, use a tomato based sauce and some veggie mince /tvp.
Shepherd-less pie, again you can use TVP instead of mince or you could make it with brown lentils, both versions are good! Make your own gravy or use a vegan store brought one. Either way a good spoonful of marmite makes that "meaty" flavour come out and also add important vitamins.
Veggie loaf "roast" The magical loaf studio is a fantastic online tools that helps you make a veggie loaf recipe out of the ingredients YOU have to hand! Serve with roast potatoes and veggies with gravy! (also slices well cold for sandwiches!!)

Don't forget that many shop brought jars of sauce (pasta/curry/etc) are suitable for vegans, just check the labels! Nothing simpler than chucking a jar of sauce onto some cooked pasta for a quick meal!
There are also a heap of mock meats that  you can use to replace meat in a meal.

What to replace!
 Your own cook books are still very much a help to you!

When a recipe calls for milk use none dairy milk instead.
Any meat can be replaced with either a straight swap for mock meat or by using beans or lentils.
Butter can be substituted with oil or vegan margarine.   
Eggs in baking can be replaced with a sup of soya milk that has been curdled with a spoon of cider vinegar (really!).
Eggs for glazing can be replaced with none dairy milk.

What about snacks?
Ok we all know this is the bit where I should say fruit.... So.... Fruit!

Now thats over we can look at the real snacks *evil chuckle*
Some store brought goods are vegan, ginger biscuits, bourbons and dark chocolate are usually ok, but (again!) check the labels first!
Crisps (chips for you US folks!) are another danger point. Even safe sounding flavours like salt and vinegar can have milk in them in the form of powder. Normally plain crisps are fine but some surprising vegan flavours can be found, beef and onion and BBQ are often vegan friendly!

If you have a sweet tooth it pays to learn how to bake. Vegan cupcakes take over the world takes you on a sweet food porn journey that has vegans and omnivores salivating in delight!

  

So I hope this post helped some of you who where wondering what to eat! Comment if you have any questions or ask on the wall at World Vegan day on Face Book.