My Gourmet Vegan Cooking With Pics! :-)

Hello, Everyone! Last year I started A THREAD asking for raw vegan recipes. I tinkered with veganism and vegetarianism until making the conversion to full veganism. I didn't know what I was doing at first and had to rely on quite a bit of salads, fruit cups, and smoothies! LOL! But little by little, I've come a long way and wanted to share some of my cooking with you!

Sorry if the quality isn't great. These are mostly taken as text messaging photos. To let my husband know dinner is ready, I text him with every night with a photo to entice him to come home.

Here is a sampling of some of my favorites.

Italian Stuffed Peppers. Instead of ground beef, I use beans, rice and sometimes corn kernels as filling (but I personally do not care for the texture of corn). The 'cheese' is pepper jack cheese made from rice cheese I purchased from Whole Foods.



Cheese Enchiladas. Again, the 'cheese' is rice cheese- all of my cheeses are. I couldn't live in a world without cheese enchiladas so I had to find a vegan alternative right quick! Ingredients are the same as regular enchiladas- just make sure the sauce is vegan and doesn't contain meat sauce or products.



Meatloaf! Replace the ground beef with lentils. All other ingredients are the same and I just keep the egg out of it completely. Mashed potatoes are made with almond milk and Earth Balance vegetable spread from Whole Foods.



Hawaiian Luau 'Pork' Chops. Baked tofu fillets topped with seasoning and sliced pineapple. I'm not a major tofu fan and try to avoid it most of the time. But it is helpful as an entree with the right seasoning. You can grill them or bake them. I suggest wrapping them in foil and baking them like I did here. Tofu loses moisture quickly so grilling them can dry them out.



Raviolis. Make sure your ravioli dough is made without eggs. Whole wheat is best. Then stuff with vegan ricotta cheese. Top with meatless spaghetti sauce and bake in the oven. I probably won't make these again, TBH. They were too much work but I wanted to post this to show it can be done!



Bean stew topped with rice cheese and Pico De Gallo. Served with corn bread (bake with egg substitute and almond milk. Top with Earth Balance vegan 'butter' and serve with sliced fruit.



Macaroni & Cheese Casserole. Sorry the photo looks so unappetizing but it is DELICIOUS! I goofed and added the topped cheese too late so it didn't melt all the way. But the mixed in cheese did. Too add extra nutrients, I added mixed veggies. Of course, use vegan cheese alternatives and vegan milk (almond, rice, soy, etc.). Also, I use nutritional yeast for a natural cheesy flavor for the sauce. Again, the pic came out really bad but it tastes better than it looks. LOL!



Southwestern Beans & Rice. This is SO SIMPLE and SO EASY but one of my favorites. Just top brown rice with your choice of beans (black and kidney beans are the best IMO). Then top with guacamole. I like to serve it with a simple salad and fruit salad.



You can make a million different salads. It's easy to get creative with greens, nuts, fruits, etc. So I'll just post one instead of all the salads I make. Here is one with just about all the fixings possible! I made it with broccoli, spinach, avocado, almonds, cranberries, vegan cheeses, cherry tomatoes, cubed apple, etc. It's very filling.



Potato Soup. This photo has poor zoomed in quality but it is really good and easy. Make a potato soup with nutritional yeast for a cheesy texture, almond milk, and peeled soaked almonds. Top with roasted potatos and vegetables as a garnish. Here it is as part of a different and larger meal with my beloved grandparents over for lunch.





You'll notice a little bowl of something by the salad above. They are cinnamon and sugar baked pecans. So easy and so good! I just toss together a mix of sugar and cinnamon in a large ziploc back. Then a mixture of almond milk and vegan butter in another. Coat pecans in the liquid mixture then the dry mixture. Bake for 20 minutes and you have a good dessert!



Chocolate Mousse cupcake. I did not make this one but ordered it at a vegan restaurant in San Antonio on Mother's Day. Sorry it is half eaten. I ate halfway through it then wanted to take a photo so I could replicate the recipe later. I'm just including it to show you can have dessert, too, if you want something more intricate than pecans.





I have a few more photos like fajitas (tofu) and nachos and stuff but you get the idea. I've also made vegan veggie cheeseburgers, vegan pizza, vegan gingersnap cookies, etc. You can also find vegan alternatives like hot dogs, sandwich meat, etc. I prefer homemade, though, and just indulge in that kind of stuff when I have a bad craving.

Really, there is nothing you crave that cannot be replicated as a vegan. Maybe a steak or ribs, I guess. lol

Throughout the day I pretty much feast of fruit and green smoothies and raw veggies/fruits. But at dinner, I like to do creative meals for the family. We eat raw every other night then on the alternative nights, I will go all out and cook the 'gourmet' vegan meals like you see above.

It's a ton of fun!

I'll be happy to post my full recipes if someone needs them. Many I got online, some I tinkered with, and some are in my head so just ask if anyone needs them.

You shouldn't be cooking Vegans, that is inhumane.

Damn....That stuff sure looks good.

reply to post by AshleyD


Awesome pics! I am a meatloaf junky and that pic just makes my mouth water!!!

Hats off to you for what appears to be an awesome skill in vegan cooking!

Question though........

I live in an area where it is very difficult to come by quality organic vegan ingredients and after saying that I find it VERY difficult to find ANY vegan recipe that I can actually find the ingredients necessary to make the dish......

Sooooooo, did you learn this on your own? Go to classes to learn how? AND do you know of substitutions (a website) that could guide a noob like me on vegan cooking?

Sorry to be so inquisitive, but I am genuinely interested in cutting my meat consumption in half.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I guess my biggest fear of a lot of vegan dishes is the use of soy beans and due to over 90% of soy products being made from GMO soy, that is my biggest brick wall to overcome.....

reply to post by seeker1963


Thanks so much. Two years ago I could barely boil water. lol I started out just trying to cook healthy after my husband's heart attack a couple years ago. Then tinkered with vegetarianism. Then after learning so much after going back to school about the harmful effects of animal products on the human body, I shifted over to vegansim.

And, yeah- totally agree. I avoid soy as much as possible. Whole Foods does sell non-GMO organic soy products so when I just have to have them, I get my tofu from there like for the Hawaiian 'pork' chops. But even then soy can possibly cause problems with the thyroid, hormone levels, tumor proliferation, etc. so it's good to be cautious. I go for nut milks like almond instead of soy milk and I get rice or nut cheeses instead of soy cheese.

There should be alternatives for you. I live in a small town in south Texas in cattle ranch territory. Talk about not being a good area to be vegan! So I take my weekly trip up to the city to Whole Foods for things that are not available here. Totally understand.

My suggestion is to just experiment. For instance, you can still make the potato soup with ingredients at your local store. Just leave out the nutritional yeast. But you should still be able to get vegan milk, almonds, and potatoes at your local store. Or to make the meatloaf, it's lentils (which will be with on the aisle with the beans), rice, vegan milk, tomato sauce, bell peppers, onions, etc.

For the stuffed peppers you can get the bell peppers, beans, rice, corn, sauce, tomatoes, etc., at your grocer. If they do not have vegan cheese- you can just skip it. I guess it's not vital. Just adds some extra pizzazz. The only vegan cheese we have here is GMO soy so I don't buy it and wait until my trip to the city.

Etc., etc.

When I first started, I would just leave out a rare ingredient that was not available down here. You can also look online for recipes that do not require anything funky or exotic.

One of the first vegan meals I made was an eggplant casserole that I found online. Or think about your favorite meals then look up ways to make them vegan- like substituting beans for meat. With the meatloaf for instance, I really missed it and looked up a vegan alternative. The recipes I found sounded pretty gross so I just grabbed my old meatloaf recipe and quickly changed out the meat for lentils.

And if anything HAD to have a hard-to-get ingredient and wouldn't taste right without it, I'd try to find an alternate recipe that didn't require it. For instance, I really wanted to make some vegan cookies with my son but the first few recipes kept requiring egg substitutes (which I didn't have at the time and could not find down here). But I kept looking and eventually found one that didn't require them.

And don't be discouraged if you make some flops. My biggest tragedy was trying to make vegan chili. I worked on it all day and it was AWFUL. Obviously concocted by a non-southerner. My first attempt at pizza was also terrible with crust as thick as a dictionary. lol

reply to post by AshleyD


Awesome! I really appreciate your effort in answering my questions! You at least explained it to me in a manner that I can understand.

I don't have an issue with buying nutritional yeast, anything that is non perishable that I can get from Amazon or another website.

I appreciate your well written response and you at least gave me some hope that I can accomplish this!!!

These look great! What's the recipe for your bean stew?

reply to post by seeker1963


Good! I don't have that down here and have to get it up in the city. My local store is actually pretty good and has some vegan stuff and lots of organic products. But there are still specialty items that I can only get in the city. I buy lots of it and freeze it. lol

Glad you like it. I'm not trying to convert anyone or anything. lol I even leave my husband and son alone until dinner time. But it's nice to show people some alternatives!

reply to post by kaylaluv


I make it kind of a 'mini chili' but will show both basic and spiced up.

1). 1 Bag of assorted beans. Usually your store will have it but if not, I just mix and match bean types. Aim for about 1 to 1 1/2 pounds. You can even get bean soup kits that come with an assortment of 12+ bean types. I just suggest throwing out the seasoning packet and using only the beans. The packet is awful and is loaded with sodium, chemicals, and possibly animal products listed as 'natural flavors.'

2). I used one can of Rotel diced tomatoes and chilies to give it an extra kick but for tamer tummies, one can of diced tomatoes works just fine.

3). Optional: Peel and dice 1 medium potato and about 3 carrots.

4). One lime (just the juice).

5). One small chopped onion.

6). Chili powder, garlic powder, pinto bean seasoning (optional and make sure it's vegan) for flavor.

7). Vegetable broth.

That is all for the actual stew. You can presoak the beans overnight in the veggie broth OR just use one part broth and 3 parts water for quick cook. I usually cook the beans if soaked for about two hours or if not soaked, about three hours. Add in all the seasonings with the beans so they will be soaking them up.

For the last hour, add in all of your vegetables and squeeze the lime juice. If it looks like it is drying out, add some more water. You want it to be pretty hearty and not soupy/liquidy though so don't add too much.

That is it for the actual stew recipe.

Then if you want to garnish it like I did, I added on some vegan cheese and Pico De Gallo.

So it's a lot of cooking time but not a killer on prep time. It's a nice dish to toss together and let cook while you are around the house doing other stuff.

I might try it one day with canned beans as well. I'm trying to look into quicker cook methods especially for stuff like beans and brown rice that take a while. Low sodium organic canned beans are supposedly really good for you (as long as they are natural and unseasoned- nothing like ranch style or Bush beans).

reply to post by AshleyD


I text him with every night with a photo to entice him to come home.


Super Mod...Super Wife.





They all look delicious...some make me think you'd need an immodium afterwards - and we all know that is the highest validation for tasty grub.

reply to post by facelift

They all look delicious...some make me think you'd need an immodium afterwards - and we all know that is the highest validation for tasty grub.

Save that for when starting the green smoothies. You'll need it!

Seriously, though, during the adjustment phase, bloating and gas is very common while the human body adjusts its microflora to the new diet and gets used to the increase in fiber.

Any vegan who tells you they didn't get issues at first is either...

A). Forgetful of the adjustment period if it was a long time ago for them.
B). Shy about bodily functions and too shy to talk about it.
C). A low down dirty liar.



If anyone needs something less spicy I'll try to help. With my titanium Texan digestive tract, I sometimes forget not everyone wants everything doused in jalepenos and peppers.

Have you ever made your own seitan? It has a few steps, but is very worth it because it can be flavored in the process. I've used nutritional yeast, green sage, rosemary, lemon thyme, and miso at times.

Miso seitan with mushroom gravy is our favorite autumn dinner around here.

reply to post by AshleyD

Looks wonderful! Every time we cook has become an adventure! I especially love making soups of all kinds. I can use up anything from the garden that needs to be used before we lose it.

Mexican foods are great Vegan/Vegetarian foods, we make all kinds of great stuff!

Originally posted by AshleyD
reply to post by facelift

 

They all look delicious...some make me think you'd need an immodium afterwards - and we all know that is the highest validation for tasty grub.

Save that for when starting the green smoothies. You'll need it!

Seriously, though, during the adjustment phase, bloating and gas is very common while the human body adjusts its microflora to the new diet and gets used to the increase in fiber.

Any vegan who tells you they didn't get issues at first is either...

A). Forgetful of the adjustment period if it was a long time ago for them.
B). Shy about bodily functions and too shy to talk about it.
C). A low down dirty liar.

If anyone needs something less spicy I'll try to help. With my titanium Texan digestive tract, I sometimes forget not everyone wants everything doused in jalepenos and peppers.

My husband and I did not experience this. It could be because our diet was already a lot the same before we stopped eating flesh.

reply to post by seeker1963


Veganism is really a learn-as-you-go kind of process. It really gets you in the habit of reading the labels on your food and eliminating anything with meat products in it.

Awesome!!
Delish such a nice dish~
Thanks for sharing and caring and preparing
A healthy cheese alternative (not as substantial - though more nutritious) to the alternative of cheese alternatives is nutritional yeast...it has very high b12 profile along with other goodies.
One of my fav's is tempeh ruben: sautee tempeh and shrooms in sesame oil, toast rye, add ketchup to veganaise for 1000 isle, toss in sauerkraut and its on baby!! Oh and grab a dish of coconut icecream - actually a nutritious alternative to icecream...and creamy.
Peace
Always like to hear from the tribe
LOVE

reply to post by AshleyD


Although I am not a vegan (yet) more and more I am thinking about becoming one. Those recipes I know are delicious! Half of the time I eat vegan dishes and I really enjoy them. Right now I still eat some fish and poultry though.

The meals you described (and pictures shown of them) have inspired me to be more creative; and try some more vegan main dishes.

If you could find the time; I would like some of your recipes.

I've always found it strange how vegans and vegetarians often try to emulate foods that they can't eat, like meat and cheese. Looks nice though.

I just had to come here didn't I.

There just had to be epic pictures.

Great now I'm ravenously hungry, looking at all this delicious healthy food....

it's approaching 11:30..... Do I whataburger? Some how it's not going to taste that great tonight.


Star and Flag!

I'd totally go vegan if someone was making awesome stuff like that! Only thing I'd pass on is tofu fillets :p Alex Jones says tofu will make men grow boobs :p

The only problem with being a vegan is how do you produce all those fancy ingredients on your own? I take it you know how to make your own tofu? I'd love a recipe if so.

Originally posted by SpearMint
I've always found it strange how vegans and vegetarians often try to emulate foods that they can't eat, like meat and cheese. Looks nice though.

edit on 1-6-2013 by SpearMint because: (no reason given)

Me too.

Originally posted by Halekoch
Have you ever made your own seitan? It has a few steps, but is very worth it because it can be flavored in the process. I've used nutritional yeast, green sage, rosemary, lemon thyme, and miso at times.

Miso seitan with mushroom gravy is our favorite autumn dinner around here.

I second this. I make seitan on a very regular basis, even different types of lunch "meats". It's so very versatile.

oddpenguin