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

Florence_J

I have found this thread really useful and good to read, despite not being Vegan (I do eat and like a lot of Vegan food though, and try to go to a lot of Vegan food festivals). I am so happy that OH kept his job, I hope you will still post on here though, as I'm sure I'm not the only one who found this thread useful.

moneyistooshorttomention

Sitting licking my lips at the moment. Latest food experiment being I bought some "Oatly" (from the wholefood shop) to try as a cream substitute. It's vegan and made based on oats.

Well - I wouldn't have known it wasn't single cream actually - unless I had known iyswim.

It is somewhat expensive though (twice the price of non-organic single cream). Main reason for wanting it though being it's so difficult to find many everyday organic food products in supermarkets here.

Has anyone worked out a recipe for making a home-made equivalent to it? I was thinking I might try making my own - if I could figure out how. Not sure if trying to make home-made oat milk and add a bit of oil to it (going by the ingredients on the pack) would be the same somehow - judging by my recent unsuccessful experiment at making my own rice milk (now back to buying the branded stuff from the supermarket).

missymoo81

Aw so glad Florence j

Moneyistooshorttomention I've never made it or tried it! Very interested though, as although Alpro have soya milk, I'm trying my best to not have very much aoya. I've made my own oat milk a couple of times now, but it's not very thick and seperates in tea/coffee which is all I use milk for, which is very disappointing

I have made an amazing soup if I do say so myself, we got some pumpkins and whilst carving them out, I carved out most of the flesh too, well as much as I could, and have made a soup with it, I converted a Covent Garden butternut squash recipe. If you'd like the recipe please shout, it has smoked paprika in it so all smooth and sweet and smokey.
Mmmm mmmm, not sure how many days it will do, I'm thinking for 2 people maybe 4 lunches..... Not 100% sure until
I ladle it out. Waiting for my freezer/microwave tubs to arrive for the purpose.

House is covered in glitter from making 'scary spiders', pumpkin seeds from carving the sodding things, flour from making ghostly biscuits, all in aid of Halloween! Can't Hoover either as WM is on and can't have both on at the same time, as OH's ingenious electronic skills mean that it trips the house if I do, it's the same for the DW too!!! 'Sigh'

Thanks for popping by lovelies

missymoo81

Also thinking of maybe getting a pre$$ure cooker, does anyone hVe one and would you recommend? It's just we have a woodburner thAts always on in the winter and I'm usually pushed for time for meals. I thought I could maybe find one on gumtree or charity shop but to no avail, so will have to purchase new, hence all the questions as to whether it would be worthwhile. Thanks.

Anne_Marie_2

missymoo81 wrote: »

Also thinking of maybe getting a pre$$ure cooker, does anyone hVe one and would you recommend? It's just we have a woodburner thAts always on in the winter and I'm usually pushed for time for meals. I thought I could maybe find one on gumtree or charity shop but to no avail, so will have to purchase new, hence all the questions as to whether it would be worthwhile. Thanks.

I use my pressure cooker at least once a week, have had it forever...it's not long had it's 33rd birthday! Used it more often in days gone by when cooking for the family, but just me now. I use it for soups and veggie/lentil stews mostly now. Every so often I do dried pulses and freeze them in portions, as it works out cheaper than buying tins. (Scroll down for timings on this link for pulses, but gives times for all foods. https://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/cooking_times_pressure_cooker.php )
I used to do things like ham/gammon joints and whole chicken or chicken portions in it, and use the stock for soup and meat dishes for family. Actually still do chicken in it for the dog every couple of months, and freeze in portions.

Suppose it all depends on whether you would make the use of it or not, as with all kitchen things, it's highly personal. I got rid of my very large slow cooker after hubby died, as I never used it for my cooking. (I'm vegetarian, he wasn't.) Many people would be lost without theirs, as is clear by the amount of threads on this forum.

Loving reading this thread by the way. I'm vegetarian, but do eat a lot of vegan meals...not that I particularly think of them as vegan, but reading this thread brought home to me, that most of my meals are. Last nights was spaghetti with spinach and home made pesto made with basil, walnuts and garlic, olive oil...no cheese, some of the pasta water and an extra sprinkling of chopped walnuts on top.
I make different pesto sauces, sometimes adding roasted pepper/tomatoes. All sorts of nuts can be used, I just have a preference for walnuts and always have some in the cupboard. I also use rocket instead of basil, or a mix of both together.

missymoo81

Oooh thanks Anne Marie, food for thought indeed! Will carry on thinking about it.

Didn't even think about pesto. oH thinks he doesn't like it, but I don't think he's had any other one than basil. May try making a pepper/sundried tomato one. Thank you!

moneyistooshorttomention

I've been quite surprised to find just how many variants there are on pesto. Right now - I've got one in my fridge that I made using sorrel (instead of basil) and pumpkin seeds (instead of pine nuts). I didnt replace the parmesan cheese though - as I'm not vegan.

I have seen a recipe for pesto substituting nutritional yeast for Parmesan though - not sure what I'd make of that (as nooch is something I only like in small quantities).

haras_nednats

Most of what I wanted to say has been mentioned already, but I would highlight the recommendation to look at a store's own-brand vegan things. I love some of the T€sco range, such as vegetable grills and spicy Mexican bean burgers. They often have offers on (2 for £2.50) at the moment. Sometimes I go to the store's website and type VEGAN into the search box, just to see what comes up - you might be surprised!

You could also check https://www.mysupermarket.co.uk to compare and see if you can find cheaper options.

As for cheap basics to use in most meals - garden peas are cheap and have plenty of protein (you could make pea falafel with some chickpeas for instance, or a curry, or pate). Sunflower seed risotto is also an amazing meal (https://www.mynewroots.org/site/2015/06/inspirational-sunflower-seed-risotto/) Depending on how much free time you have, you can buy beans, pulses and grains in bulk and cook & store them yourself. I use a slow cooker or pressure cooker - these also save money one energy.

One YouTube channel I like for cheap and easy recipes is Plantbased Judy (https://www.youtube.com/user/plantbasedjudy/videos)

DON'T listen to anything about superfoods! Just make sure what you eat is nutritionally dense and you're all getting enough nutrients, including carbs and protein!

missymoo81

Moneyistooshorttomention - pumpkin seeds, as in the green ones you buy in a packet or the ones straight out of a packet? It's just I have some straight out of a pumpkin but not sure what to do with them?

Thanks haras, I haven't read plantbasedjudy. I like thatveganmom, veganfitnesstv and naturallystephanie for ideas too.

Have nearly used all of my frozen bananas!!!!!! Going to have to scout around Tesco tomorrow and see if I can find some more!!!

moneyistooshorttomention

The green pumpkin seeds straight out of a packet for that pesto.

The recipe gets blitzed - which translates in my house into "Shove in my Vitamix". Though I'm guessing a food processor would do the job.

Re pumpkin seeds out of a pumpkin and I had a couple of goes at just sauteing them and wondered how come so many people advocate doing that. However, I've recently read that one boils them in water first for 10 minutes and then sautes them in oil with flavourings. That might explain what went wrong previously - ie all those different recipe authors forgetting to put in the "boil them in water" stage. So - I shall have another go - putting in that stage and see what happens.