feed a family of 4, almost vegan, on a rather small budget! Old Style!

missymoo81

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Guess you know about using bananas as "icecream"? Can be dressed up with all sorts of other fruit, sweetening, nuts, etc.

Yes thank you!

elsiepac

bossymoo wrote: »

Not all quorn products are vegan, some have egg white in them.

Worth checking on the ingredients lists.

Quorn have, in the last few months, released their first vegan products in the UK. The ONLY Quorn products which are vegan are: Quorn Vegan Fillets, Quorn Vegan Pieces, and Quorn Vegan Hot 'n' Spicy Burgers. Apparently the range will eventually be expanded. http://www.quorn.co.uk/food/vegan/
I haven't yet found the fillets anywhere but the burgers are DELICIOUS although quite spicy! and the pieces are good as long as you use them in something quite saucy, otherwise a little dry.
The Quorn Vegan range is clearly marked with a big green logo saying Vegan on the front of the pack. If it ain't there, it ain't vegan!

Linda McCartney have a good range of vegan products including original sausages, red onion and rosemary sausages, sausage rolls and country pies.

Tesco own veggie range is now MUCH better at marking which ones are vegan, usually on the front but some say veggie on the front and then on the back it says veggie and vegan. So worth checking. I recommend the green thai bake things, they are delicious!

However, all of those things are not very MSE!

I thoroughly recommend using green lentils in a cottage pie instead of mince - just boil them for half an hour whilst you chop and saute your onion, garlic, carrot and celery, then add in with your stock and gravy etc and you're away! Most red and green gravies are vegan, but chicken ones never are that I've seen.
For bolognaise style sauces use red lentils - saute off your initial veg as usual, then add the lentils with water and tinned tommies and herbs etc (stock cube again if you wish) and bingo! Frugal, healthy and vegan!

The key for nutrition is variation of your veg/pulses etc, and dark green leafy veg like spinach, kale, broccoli, chard, rocket, etc are essential as they give so many different types of vitamins and minerals. I know you've got the kids on dairy milk etc still, but for yourself you should probably ensure you're having bought plant milks like almond as they are fortified withfurther vitamins. You don't need any supplements (nope, not even B12!) as long as your diet is healthy and varied (and assuming no underlying medical issues)! There are SO MANY good vegan recipes out there, just remember your plate should be half veg, quarter protein (beans, lentils, tofu etc) and quarter carbs.

If you're on Facebook please do join the group I'm admin of - What FAT (Fantastic Amazing Terrific) Vegans Eat - we have just under 80,000 members from all over the world who post all manner of different food photos so it's great for ideas!

Check out the One Green Planet website for masses of recipes too.

Other sites I use and love are:
Oh She Glows, Cooking on a Bootstrap (Jack Monroe - incidentally since turning vegan she is now a member of our Facebook group too!), The Kind Life (extension of the Kind Diet book, The Minimalist Baker, Thug Kitchen (excuse the swearing because the recipes are FAB, The Post Punk Kitchen, and so on. There are so many out there! Also the BBC Good Food website lets you search on vegan and has some great recipes - look out for "Lentil Ragu" - it's a batch recipe for red lentil bolognese style sauce and it delicious!

As for recipe books there are too many to count, but all of the blogs I've mentioned above have recipe books worth checking out, plus one of my favourite food writers is Robin Robertson - she's written a fewbooks but the one I've had the most use of is the One Pot Vegan and also Vegan on the Cheap.

Hope this helps a little!

Also recommend you grab one of these: http://www.animalaidshop.org.uk/household/vegan-nutrition-wall-chart
I have it on my wall in the kitchen and it's great to glance at now and then and just check you're eating something from each group regularly! Plus only £3.75 at the moment!

Hope this helps and if you want to add me on Facebook I'm Lee-anne V Collins - just mention MSE so I know who you are!

purpleybat

missymoo81 wrote: »

Need to work on my veggie burgers they are horrid, and need to work on a thinner pizza dough, but I'm getting there.

what are you putting in them?
mine are based on spicy beanburgers, I use boiled carrots, fried onions with a bit of garlic, roughly mashed mixed beans (kidney, butter, chickpeas whatever I have to hand), a squirt of tomato puree, chilli powder, cumin, mixed herbs, s&p. I find I don't need egg to bind as beanos and oil from frying is enough to squidge them together. sometimes I egg and breadcrumb them, then shallow fry over a gentle heat.

purpleybat

jackyann wrote: »

I found a book on the Book People site - not cheap - I bought it as a gift (and now I love it so it's a gift to me) called Vegan, Vegetarian, Omnivore which has meal ideas for feeding a gathering of people. I found it especially helpful as some of our family say *oh, I love to come to yours to get a proper roast / meat pie / bbq that I don't get at home* . So I feel that just to put on vege food would not be disappointing
.

book people are doing a week of offers, not sure if you need to be a member, but to be is free

missymoo81

Thanks purpleybat and elsiebac, so helpful!

Will def try the burgers thanks and the wall chart. Well so far no phone call, but that doesn't mean this lifestyle won't happen, a major pay cut wil happen so all will change anyway.
Chick pea tuna and pasta for dinner, going to try a 'fish pie' tomorrow, made with mushrooms, peas, broccoli, sweetcorn andbbutter beans for the white sauce, kelp powder for the fishyness and mash for the top. Pretty sure OH will Complain but we shall see.!!!

missusP

I've read all the way through the thread and its full of great ideas. Missymoo, I'm in a similar situation but no kiddies and a willing veggie hubby but a very tight budget.


My own additional recommendations, try Jack Monroe's carrot and kidney bean burger recipe. Its very nice and cheap. Sometimes I buy some budget stuffing mix, about 15p a pack. Mix with some onion and tom puree and make burgers.


I didn't see any pasta type meals, you can make a simple veg sauce and mix in with pasta and half a carton of passata.


A meal that is comforting and cheap is mushroom and lentil pie. Canned lentils work best, thickly chopped mushrooms in short crust pastry.


A nice alternative to jacket potatoes is potato wedges. Chop into wedges, dry on a tea towel, chuck in a bowl with just a tablespoon of oil and mix around. Place wedges on a tray and cook in hot oven for 30 minutes. Goes well with chilli.


I add a quarter of a teaspoon to my lentil bolognaise and sometimes a little red wine. Makes it more enjoyable for hubby.


Also to liven up hubbies meals I sometimes add a couple of sliced up quorn slices, the sort for sandwiches. (especially the ham). There are 8 slices in a pack so I can stretch this to quite a few meals. Examples are in stir-fry, bubble and squeak or carbonara. Its easy to add at the end so you can serve your own meal up and stir it in to the rest of the families.


If you can pick any apples at this time of year, apple pie is a nice treat. I've also used a cheap can of mandarins/peaches and a budget custard powder to make a cheap dessert.


I have made vegan pasta but the ingredients for a good pasta are more expensive that 29p a bag. You need soya flour which I only used to be able to get in Holland and Barrett. I have the quantities in US cups but I'll share it now as its easy to look up to convert. 1 and 2/3 cup plain flour, 1/2 cup soya flour, 2/3 cup water,little salt, one tablespoon of olive oil (or whatever you have on hand). Mix, knead, wrap in film for ten minutes before rolling on floured surface.


I second linda mccartney sausages in a casserole. You only need 1 per person.

jackyann

This is my vegan / omnivore dish of the week, based on cassoulet.

Soak haricot beans (50-60g per person) overnight
Put into saucepan with about 160ml. of half strength veggie stock (full strength is too salty for this), add a head of garlic, separated into cloves, a bundle of fresh herbs, and if available, a few *pot veges* - I had an outer celery stalk and a sad carrot.
Boil for 5 mins then lower to a bare simmer and leave for an hour.

roasting tins: one of veges, which happened to be courgettes (of course), leeks and some tomatoes, with herbs

one with sausages (plain for kids, garlic for adults) and a couple of slices of belly pork

When all cooked, I assembled the *cassoulets*: one with a bit of diced pork and plain sausages for the kids, one wih pork & garlic sausage for the omnivores. I put a good helping of roast veges in one, and distributed a few veges in the rest. Added the beans and finished off for 15-20 mins in the oven to blend together.
Eat with bread and a bit of salad.

Very little more trouble than a conventional cassoulet

phizzimum

missymoo81 wrote: »

Making the small ones porridge pots for breakfast, with blackberries from the garden.
50g of porridge in a wide mouth jar
Cover with hot water, add syrup, stir
Put the lid on and watch it puff up, takes about 10 minutes
Take off the lid, add some soya milk to desired consistency
Decorate with blackberries
Serve.

My children love this, think it's the eating out of a jar?!

.

What a great idea! Love porridge but I'm often too lazy to make it

missymoo81

phizzimum wrote: »

What a great idea! Love porridge but I'm often too lazy to make it

Aw thanks!

Lovely recipe jackyann!

Thanks missusP great ideas.

missymoo81

Morning,

Well I couldn't sleep last night so, peeled around 80 bananas and put them in the freezer ready for smoothies, also looked in the deliciously ella book for inspiration. Found a stew, carbonara snd paella recipe, although just put it to OH and he doesn't look keen. 'Sigh'
Have just halved and de stoned a load of plums ready to make jam, for cakes etc. Also have apples which I need to core and stew for crumbles! Going to try and spend some time in the sun today to top on my vitamin D. Sorry still haven't posted my new shopping list or updated meal plan but I will I promise.