The food situation:
My diet looks something like this. I was a vegetarian for nine years since turning 13, then switched to an omnivorous diet, then alternated
between the pescatarian and vegetarian diets for some years, then went vegan 2020 - 2023. I'm now technically omnivorous but animals products
are still difficult for me. In general, I'm a faddy eater and have a difficult relationship with food.
What's new?
I've started shopping for groceries locally again and it makes me enjoy food more. Recently the water company found excessive amounts of lead
in my drinking water (which I'd been drinking for 5.5 years) so I'm looking into water filtration. I've tried sone new fruits in the last month
or so: Asian pear (watery and flavourless), chaunsa mango (sweet and aromatic), custard apple (incredible!), pink dragonfruit (tasteless) and
some kind of yellow passionfruit (good, sweet with no acidity).
I've stopped eating breakfast and fast 8pm - 12pm most days. So far I like and it and I hope to try a longer fast sometime. I'm making more and
smaller meals - a dinner for two people to last two days and a different lunch for two days. I'm enjoying it more than when I was eating the same
thing for 3-4 meals. I only enjoy a few things cooked from frozen, such as dumplings, falafels and beans. Long-life wraps in plastic packaging
smell funny to me so I've been making dough balls for tortilla wraps and freezing them (or using spring greens as wraps).
Some thoughts on vegan cooking: just like you can't simply replace meat in 'meat and two veg' with something else when you go vegetarian,
you can't just adapt vegetarian meals to be vegan. Well, you can but you will always feel like the poor cousin at the dinner table. It all becomes
about substitutes and exclusions. Instead you need a full paradigm shift which takes time. I have a 70s recipe book that suggests making a vegetarian
turkey for Thanksgiving out of tofu and decorating the tail with real turkey feathers(?!). Now veganism is in that early developmental stage with lots
of bad craziness but interesting new ideas are emerging fast which is really cool.
The goal: to collect 60 recipes that actually work and cook them a lot, fine-tuning along the way. Also make a list of vegan processed foods that are actually decent.
This is a total mess atm but I'm working on it. Most of these recipes have been modified to suit my needs but I'll link back to sites that are readable, not over-SEO'ed and don't try to sell stuff. I'm also working on a list of quick lunch ideas.
All recipes should make 4 portions.
This is a summer dish. If making in winter, I wouldn't bother with fresh tomatoes and use tinned instead.
I didn't find a good way to add protein to this without compromising the flavour.
I've tried various sources of smoke (smoked salt, water, paprika) in this and smoked water is what you want. It's hard to find
the right kind that's not full of weird stuff and it's expensive so I don't always use it. When I do, I use Halen Mon. It's got a
dripper but you'll need much more than a few drops to actually taste it.
If you're eating this over a few meals, store sliced chilli, sliced spring onion, coriander and mint in a small jar or food container in the fridge.
Don't chop the herbs until you're ready to eat, store the leaves whole. Likewise, store tempeh/tofu in a food container. Take everything out of the
fridge first thing in the morning so they come to room temperature in time for lunch.
It might be tempting to put in extra beetroot - don't. Potato balances it from becoming too sweet.
If cooking the beetroot is too much faff for you, buy ready cooked (just not the vinegary sort) and skip the first steps.
This reminds me of sorrel soup I used to have as a kid. If you were to actually use sorrel, you wouldn't need the lemon juice.
Healthier option: use brown rice instead of orzo. Or wholewheat orzo.
Gluttonous option: double-up on the carbs by serving with bread.
This was my favourite soup when I was a child. If you're vegan, increase the amount of protein by adding a tin of cannellini beans.
Credit where credit is due: I loosely translated this recipe from this excellent Lithuanian blog. The author uses homemade bone broth but I use vegetable stock.
Note on sour cucumbers: these are not gherkins but cucumbers fermented in brine. They can be found in Eastern European shops and world food aisles in supermarkets.
Criteria: no coconut-oil based vegan 'cheese', no preservatives, colours, flavourings ('natural' or otherwise).
No crazy amounts of saturated fat a la Beyond Meat burgers. Decent taste.
Product | Retailer | Price point | Ingredients | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Patifu | Health food shops but it's cheaper to buy directly from their site with free shipping. | Inexpensive, under £2 | Water, tofu, potatoes, rapeseed oil, yeast, yeast extract, onion, salt, spices, carrageenan, guar gum. | I'm not wild about the thickeners in this but the pate is great and comes in many flavours. Deli is the house favourite, it's smoky and reminds me of hot-smoked salmon mixed with cream cheese. Gourmet has a meatier flavour. Tuscan is tomatoes & herbs, Oyster Mushroom is also very good. I'm not so keen on Orient and Hokkaido. |
M&S Plant Kitchen Spinach Ravioli | M&S | Pricey, £2-5 | Wheatflour, Water, Chickpea Flour, Durum Wheat Semolina, Spinach, Sunflower Oil, Cannellini Beans, Wheatflour, Sprouted Wheatflour, Salt, Water, Garlic, Lemon Juice, Yeast, Ground Nutmeg, Ground Black Pepper | Finally some decent vegan filled pasta! |
Polish Taste Dumplings with Sauerkraut and Mushroom Filling | Lidl | Can't remember but it's Lidl, so not too spendy | Wheat flour, sauerkraut, water, mushrooms (red capped scaber stalk, bay bolete, slippery jack, porcini), rapeseed oil, onion, carrots, salt, sugar, dried mushrooms (same as before), spices. | I haven't tried these yet (still got them in my freezer) but very excited already. Will report after. |
Goodlife Falafel | Asda | Fairly pricey, £2-5 | Chickpea, onion, rapeseet oil, parsley, salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, lemon juice, black pepper, chilli powder. | Haven't tried these yet but they look good. Will report back later. |
Goodlife Spicy Veg Beanburgers | Asda, Waitrose | Fairly pricey, £2-5 (cheaper in Asda) | Red kidney beans, Cannellini Beans, Haricot Beans, Wheat Flour, Onion, Water, Carrot, Tomato Paste, Rapeseed Oil, Sweetcorn, Green Pepper, Dried Potato, Salt, Cumin, Garlic, Yeast, Paprika, Oregano, Chipotle Chilli, Coriander, Parsley, Chilli Powder, Black Pepper, Citric Acid. | Citric acid is not really food, I don't think, but overall these are pretty healthy and they taste good too. |
Crosta & Mollica 2 Frozen Vegana Sourdough Pizzas | Waitrose | Very spendy, over £5 | Wheat Flour, Water, Chickpeas, Sunflower Oil, Water, Salt, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Rosemary, Tropea Red Onion, Grilled Mushroom, Tomato Puree, Broccoli, Sunflower Oil, Grilled Onion, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt, Yeast, Sugar, Parsley, Garlic, Maize Starch, Black Pepper, Oregano, Basil. | Rather small, I can wolf down both of these pizzettas. But good! |
Taifun Tofu Wiener | Waitrose | Very spendy, over £5 | Tofu, Cold-Pressed Sunflower Oil, Soy Sauce (Water, Soybeans, Wheat, Sea Salt), Oatmeal, Sea Salt, Guar Gum, Fenugreek, Coriander, White Pepper, Black Pepper, Sweet Paprika, Hot Paprika, Caraway, Garlic, Beech Wood Smoke. | Not thrilled about the Guar Gum but otherwise sound ingredients. These are smoky sausages that make fantastic hot dogs. |
Marigold Mo-Du Vegan Braised Seitan Slices (at home we call it McFuck) | Asda | Fairly pricey, £2-5 | Fried Gluten (Wheat Flour, Water, Soya Bean Oil), Soya Sauce (Water, Soya Beans, Salt, Wheat), Millet Jelly, Sea Salt | This is basically satan that's been shaped into duck-like pieces and dressed in soya sauce. Really good in various Asian stir-frys. |
GranoVita Mock Duck | Asda | Inexpensive, under £2 | Fried wheat gluten, water, soya bean extract, safflower oil, raw cane sugar, salt. | Bang for the buck! Not only cheaper than Marigold but you also get more. |