Hi everyone,

I've been coming to a dead end with what to have for supper over the
last little while and, unfortunately, I'm a lazy Vegan/Vegetarian who
just doesn't want to deal with 100's of ingredients or steps just to
make food.

SO because of that, I've been relying on simple 2 - 3 step meals for
myself and 2 other adults (wife and cousin) - I need to find something
that's easy, and tasty enough to please a meat eater (cousin) as I
just won't touch the stuff, and he's lucky to eat 1 meal a week if we
don't make something FOR him!

One of the biggest problems I have is a sensitivity to "additives".
Unfortunately this seems to hang heavily on the rest of the household
as they are nowhere near as picky. Me, on ther other hand, I can't
eat anything with garlic or with onions and probably a good 100 other
"flavour-adding" additives without feeling sick as a dog after (Yves
"Veggie Meat" is a prime example).

So in all honesty, if I took myself outta the picture, we'd be FINE...
but, well, I don't think that would prove to be acceptable to the rest
of the family, the wife at least!

Right now, the following "main courses" are as follows:

- Pasta
- Pasta
- Quesadillas con queso (yes, I'm horrible - I can't give up my
cheese!)
- Veggie "Taco Salad"
- Pizza (last resort! )
- Order-in

Obviously, the last option (order-in) is not fiscally viable,
especially as our family grows - as we're now 3 1/8th, and growing
We need to find some sort of diet that will grow with us, and for the
new addition to the family when that happens. We always are sure we
get good food in us, but it's just getting far too repetitive and is
beginning to put stress on our options!

Also, we're in Canada and our selections for holisitic food sources is
seriously lacking - but ethnic alternatives are more available, as
being on the west coast, we have the pleasure of experiencing Indian
and Asian cuisines (the former being more "healthy", obviously, than
the latter for the most part of what I've seen).

I digress - any help in the matter would be greatly, greatly
appreciated. I really hope there are some good and, preferably, free
options available - personal experiences would be great!

Thanks in advance all, look forward to hearing some replies!

Nick

Here are a few things you might want to add to your dinner list:

Potato Pancakes with applesauce

Small shell pasta added to a pan where you've pressed about 3 cloves garlic
into a layer of olive oil. Add pine nuts and steamed broccoli tops, some hot
pepper flakes to taste. toss it all and sprinkle with some soy Parmesan, and
chopped Italian parsley which has more flavor than the curly parsley.

In a rush, frozen Pierogis are great alone or served with some veggies. It only
takes 6 minutes to boil them and another few minutes to sautee them till golden
brown. I also add some chopped onion when they're half browned.

In summer I do a cold pasta sauce served over hot pasta with raw shredded
zucchini.
Just put some fresh tomatoes in a blender with lots of garlic, basil, parsley,
salt and black pepper and some dried red pepper flakes and blend into a
sauce.Put the shredded zucchini over the hot pasta, pour sauce over, toss, and
sprinkle with soy parmesan.

Another dish I like is Yaki Soba noodles. I used to buy a package of noodles
with the flavoring packet. You soak the noodles in hot water for five minutes
and then add them to sauteed veggies.
I would sautee sliced onion, garlic, mushroom for a few minutes till mushrooms
were almost tender, then add some diced serrano or jalapeno peppers to taste,
some sliced zucchini, or broccoli or both, bean sprouts, sliced water
chestnuts, and some snow pea pods. Sprinkle with Tamari to taste, and some
Mirin (it's a sweet Japanese wine). This really is a fast and very tasty dish.
You can make it with only some of the suggested veggies and it's just as good.

Do a fast Portabello mushroom burger with soy mozzarello, sliced tomato, onion,
lettuce, ketchup and serve with oven baked french fries.

Another burger you can do is an eggplant burger. You slice eggplant really thin
and fry it fast in a hot pan with oil. Put it on a burger bun with sauteed
mushrooms and onion. Can also serve with potato salad, or oven roasted
potatoes.

Another fast pasta is pesto sauce on any pasta along with a salad.

I also use deep fried tofu pieces instead of meat in a lot of Chinese and
Indian dishes.

Another simple meal is just brown rice topped with chopped tomato, chopped
onion, a little curry powder to taste, or cumin and basil or your favorite herb
combination. I serve a big salad with this with a oil, lemon, garlic dressing
and I put a little of the dressing over the rice veggie combo and mix it all
up. If you are a bread eater, you can serve it with some chapati or bread or
roll of your choice. You can also add a little cooked corn kernels to the rice.

Rice and beans with cornbread is another simple meal.

Regards,
June

"Nick P" > wrote in message
m...
> Hi everyone,
>
> I've been coming to a dead end with what to have for supper over the
> last little while and, unfortunately, I'm a lazy Vegan/Vegetarian who
> just doesn't want to deal with 100's of ingredients or steps just to
> make food.

You're already making things hard for yourself by exaggerating. Cooking
doesn't have to be difficult or time consumming with a little meal planning.
Plan things so you cook only a couple of times a week and make enough for
leftovers. And look for cookbooks with simplicity themes. Nava Atlas wrote
"Vegetarian Express: Easy, Tasty, And Healthy Menus in 28 Minutes or Less!"
and "Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet". Joanne Stepaniak's books usually
contain very simple and very good recipes.

> SO because of that, I've been relying on simple 2 - 3 step meals for
> myself and 2 other adults (wife and cousin) - I need to find something
> that's easy, and tasty enough to please a meat eater (cousin) as I
> just won't touch the stuff, and he's lucky to eat 1 meal a week if we
> don't make something FOR him!

Then let him fend for himself.

> One of the biggest problems I have is a sensitivity to "additives".
> Unfortunately this seems to hang heavily on the rest of the household
> as they are nowhere near as picky. Me, on ther other hand, I can't
> eat anything with garlic or with onions and probably a good 100 other
> "flavour-adding" additives without feeling sick as a dog after (Yves
> "Veggie Meat" is a prime example).

Your loss. Maybe you should fend for yourself and let the other two adults
enjoy flavorful food.

> So in all honesty, if I took myself outta the picture, we'd be FINE...
> but, well, I don't think that would prove to be acceptable to the rest
> of the family, the wife at least!
>
> Right now, the following "main courses" are as follows:
>
> - Pasta
> - Pasta
> - Quesadillas con queso (yes, I'm horrible - I can't give up my
> cheese!)
> - Veggie "Taco Salad"
> - Pizza (last resort! )
> - Order-in

Boring! And there's very little nutritional balance in this diet. How about
some vegetables and some grains? What about fruits and nuts? These things
should make up the vast majority of your diet.

> Obviously, the last option (order-in) is not fiscally viable,
> especially as our family grows - as we're now 3 1/8th, and growing
> We need to find some sort of diet that will grow with us, and for the
> new addition to the family when that happens. We always are sure we
> get good food in us, but it's just getting far too repetitive and is
> beginning to put stress on our options!

Then expand your options!! Stop trying to please everyone all the time. You
can't do it and have any kind of variety in your diet.

> Also, we're in Canada and our selections for holisitic food sources is
> seriously lacking - but ethnic alternatives are more available, as
> being on the west coast, we have the pleasure of experiencing Indian
> and Asian cuisines (the former being more "healthy", obviously, than
> the latter for the most part of what I've seen).

You make Canada sound like a 3rd world country -- it's not. Maybe you live
in a rural area, I don't know. You might have to travel to a more
metropolitan area to shop for food, at least once in awhile on a regular
basis.

> I digress - any help in the matter would be greatly, greatly
> appreciated. I really hope there are some good and, preferably, free
> options available - personal experiences would be great!

Try growing your own vegetables and preserve them. That's pretty
inexpensive.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, and provide some interesting
points...

"C. James Strutz" > wrote in message >...
> "Nick P" > wrote in message
> m...
> > Hi everyone,
> >
> > I've been coming to a dead end with what to have for supper over the
> > last little while and, unfortunately, I'm a lazy Vegan/Vegetarian who
> > just doesn't want to deal with 100's of ingredients or steps just to
> > make food.
>
> You're already making things hard for yourself by exaggerating. Cooking
> doesn't have to be difficult or time consumming with a little meal planning.
> Plan things so you cook only a couple of times a week and make enough for
> leftovers. And look for cookbooks with simplicity themes. Nava Atlas wrote
> "Vegetarian Express: Easy, Tasty, And Healthy Menus in 28 Minutes or Less!"
> and "Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet". Joanne Stepaniak's books usually
> contain very simple and very good recipes.

This is a good point, and I will most certainly take it into
consideration. I know I am good at cooking, but always end up seeing
it as more a chore than anything with a "positive" outcome. I will
check those out.

>
> > SO because of that, I've been relying on simple 2 - 3 step meals for
> > myself and 2 other adults (wife and cousin) - I need to find something
> > that's easy, and tasty enough to please a meat eater (cousin) as I
> > just won't touch the stuff, and he's lucky to eat 1 meal a week if we
> > don't make something FOR him!
>
> Then let him fend for himself.

As I've mentioned, if we let that happen then he will end up not
eating properly and we do care greatly about his well being.

>
> > One of the biggest problems I have is a sensitivity to "additives".
> > Unfortunately this seems to hang heavily on the rest of the household
> > as they are nowhere near as picky. Me, on ther other hand, I can't
> > eat anything with garlic or with onions and probably a good 100 other
> > "flavour-adding" additives without feeling sick as a dog after (Yves
> > "Veggie Meat" is a prime example).
>
> Your loss. Maybe you should fend for yourself and let the other two adults
> enjoy flavorful food.

I've thought about that - but the problem is that the other two adults
would end up eating simple meals that have very little preparation,
basically the list that you see below. I would then need to cook not
only for myself, but also for the rest of the family - As I'd
mentioned, I have to ensure, at the very least I need to ensure that
my wife is eating properly, as she is not just eating for herself.

> > So in all honesty, if I took myself outta the picture, we'd be FINE...
> > but, well, I don't think that would prove to be acceptable to the rest
> > of the family, the wife at least!
> >
> > Right now, the following "main courses" are as follows:
> >
> > - Pasta
> > - Pasta
> > - Quesadillas con queso (yes, I'm horrible - I can't give up my
> > cheese!)
> > - Veggie "Taco Salad"
> > - Pizza (last resort! )
> > - Order-in
>
> Boring! And there's very little nutritional balance in this diet. How about
> some vegetables and some grains? What about fruits and nuts? These things
> should make up the vast majority of your diet.

There are always vegetables within our diet, usually as a side dish.
It often consists of greens such as salad and broccoli, peas, carrots
- the "garden variety" vegetables.

As far as grains, fruts and nuts go - What would you recommend to do
here? I can't see of any way to include these in a menu, other than
making, say, a salad with oranges... etc. I know I'm in need of help,
and if the books you'd mentioned above will prove helpful, I will
research them a bit more.

>
> > Obviously, the last option (order-in) is not fiscally viable,
> > especially as our family grows - as we're now 3 1/8th, and growing
> > We need to find some sort of diet that will grow with us, and for the
> > new addition to the family when that happens. We always are sure we
> > get good food in us, but it's just getting far too repetitive and is
> > beginning to put stress on our options!
>
> Then expand your options!! Stop trying to please everyone all the time. You
> can't do it and have any kind of variety in your diet.

That's what we're trying to do, and is why I'm posting here.

>
> > Also, we're in Canada and our selections for holisitic food sources is
> > seriously lacking - but ethnic alternatives are more available, as
> > being on the west coast, we have the pleasure of experiencing Indian
> > and Asian cuisines (the former being more "healthy", obviously, than
> > the latter for the most part of what I've seen).
>
> You make Canada sound like a 3rd world country -- it's not. Maybe you live
> in a rural area, I don't know. You might have to travel to a more
> metropolitan area to shop for food, at least once in awhile on a regular
> basis.

For fruits and vegetables, we have no problem obtaining those - there
are many small "markets" near by, however there are, at most, 3
"holistic" stores within our province, all of them which are
horrendously expensive for even the most simple ingredients.

No, we're not a 3rd world country, but the focus here, currently, does
not focus on eating healthy food low in preservatives - It may not be
Africa, but it certainly isn't downtown California... The prices are
outrageous and the selection is miniscule IMO, but who knows - maybe
after doing a bit more research, I'll find some solutions...
>
> > I digress - any help in the matter would be greatly, greatly
> > appreciated. I really hope there are some good and, preferably, free
> > options available - personal experiences would be great!
>
> Try growing your own vegetables and preserve them. That's pretty
> inexpensive.


This is a possibility - luckily we no longer live in a condo, but we
at least have a bit more space to grow vegetables for our own personal
consumption - I may have to do a bit of research into space and
preventative measures to keep cats and other "creatures" out, as there
are many around where we live...

Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

Nick

"Nick P" > wrote in message
om...
> Thanks for taking the time to respond, and provide some interesting
> points...
>
> "C. James Strutz" > wrote in message
>...
> > "Nick P" > wrote in message
> > m...
> > > Hi everyone,
> > >
> > > I've been coming to a dead end with what to have for supper over the
> > > last little while and, unfortunately, I'm a lazy Vegan/Vegetarian who
> > > just doesn't want to deal with 100's of ingredients or steps just to
> > > make food.
> >
> > You're already making things hard for yourself by exaggerating. Cooking
> > doesn't have to be difficult or time consumming with a little meal
planning.
> > Plan things so you cook only a couple of times a week and make enough
for
> > leftovers. And look for cookbooks with simplicity themes. Nava Atlas
wrote
> > "Vegetarian Express: Easy, Tasty, And Healthy Menus in 28 Minutes or
Less!"
> > and "Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet". Joanne Stepaniak's books usually
> > contain very simple and very good recipes.
>
> This is a good point, and I will most certainly take it into
> consideration. I know I am good at cooking, but always end up seeing
> it as more a chore than anything with a "positive" outcome. I will
> check those out.

I love to cook. It's a means of creative expression for me. Certainly it's
never a chore.

> > > SO because of that, I've been relying on simple 2 - 3 step meals for
> > > myself and 2 other adults (wife and cousin) - I need to find something
> > > that's easy, and tasty enough to please a meat eater (cousin) as I
> > > just won't touch the stuff, and he's lucky to eat 1 meal a week if we
> > > don't make something FOR him!
> >
> > Then let him fend for himself.
>
> As I've mentioned, if we let that happen then he will end up not
> eating properly and we do care greatly about his well being.

I can understand this is he is disabled or dependent on you somehow.
Otherwise he is an adult and perfectly capable of feeding himself. If he
chooses to eat badly then it's his problem.

> > Boring! And there's very little nutritional balance in this diet. How
about
> > some vegetables and some grains? What about fruits and nuts? These
things
> > should make up the vast majority of your diet.
>
> There are always vegetables within our diet, usually as a side dish.
> It often consists of greens such as salad and broccoli, peas, carrots
> - the "garden variety" vegetables.

Try incorporating vegetables as ingredients of your main course and see what
happens. I made stirfry last night with steamed broccoli, mushrooms, and a
bunch of "additives" you probably wouldn't like. That with brown rice.

> As far as grains, fruts and nuts go - What would you recommend to do
> here? I can't see of any way to include these in a menu, other than
> making, say, a salad with oranges... etc. I know I'm in need of help,
> and if the books you'd mentioned above will prove helpful, I will
> research them a bit more.

Grains: Rice and bean combinations are one of my staples. I have granola
with flax seeds and soy milk most mornings. Try substituting quinoa, kamut,
or millet for rice sometimes. Look for multi-grain bread.

Fruit: I have fruit juice every day (look for 100% fruit juice, without high
fructose corn syrup). I often snack on fruit. Dried fruit is great,
especially when travelling or camping. Fruit in salad as you mentioned.
Fruit smoothies. Another way to get servings of fruit is to bake pie, crisp,
etc (go easy on the sugar).

Nuts: I always have them around for snacks. I keep soy nuts, tamari almonds,
and wasabi peas in my office desk. Sometimes I use walnuts in salads.
Sometimes I toast almonds with rice in the pan before steaming. Look in some
of the Stepaniak books and discover ways to use nuts as ingredients for
"cheeze" - you won't believe how good they are. Use finely chopped nuts for
crusting - tofu, for example.

Legumes: Beans are one of my staples, as I mentioned. Black beans with rice,
red beans and rice, pinto beans and corn in chili (I posted a recipe for
this recently), bean filling for tortillas, bean soup, lentils and quinoa,
edamame with pasta, etc. The possibilities are endless.

The point is to make these things the foundation of your diet. Find creative
ways to get them into your meals or snacks.

> > You make Canada sound like a 3rd world country -- it's not. Maybe you
live
> > in a rural area, I don't know. You might have to travel to a more
> > metropolitan area to shop for food, at least once in awhile on a regular
> > basis.
>
> For fruits and vegetables, we have no problem obtaining those - there
> are many small "markets" near by, however there are, at most, 3
> "holistic" stores within our province, all of them which are
> horrendously expensive for even the most simple ingredients.

You don't have to buy a lot of expensive foods, although organic foods when
possible. You should be able to get most of the basics (grains, legumes,
nuts, fruits, vegetables, soy, etc.) at your local markets. This shouldn't
be difficult.

> > Try growing your own vegetables and preserve them. That's pretty
> > inexpensive.
>
> This is a possibility - luckily we no longer live in a condo, but we
> at least have a bit more space to grow vegetables for our own personal
> consumption - I may have to do a bit of research into space and
> preventative measures to keep cats and other "creatures" out, as there
> are many around where we live...

Not only is vegetable gardening inexpensive, it's fun and rewarding.

C. James Strutz wrote:
> I love to cook. It's a means of creative expression for me. Certainly it's
> never a chore.

Relying on cookbooks isn't exactly an act of creative expression. That's
like running copies of the Mona Lisa and calling them art.

> I can understand this is he is disabled or dependent on you somehow.
> Otherwise he is an adult and perfectly capable of feeding himself. If he
> chooses to eat badly then it's his problem.

Life is filled with complex issues. Let Nick carry his own cross.

>>There are always vegetables within our diet, usually as a side dish.
>>It often consists of greens such as salad and broccoli, peas, carrots
>>- the "garden variety" vegetables.
>
> Try incorporating vegetables as ingredients of your main course and see what
> happens. I made stirfry last night with steamed broccoli, mushrooms, and a
> bunch of "additives" you probably wouldn't like. That with brown rice.

What kind of additives?

<snip>
> You don't have to buy a lot of expensive foods, although organic foods when
> possible. You should be able to get most of the basics (grains, legumes,
> nuts, fruits, vegetables, soy, etc.) at your local markets. This shouldn't
> be difficult.
>
>>>Try growing your own vegetables and preserve them. That's pretty
>>>inexpensive.
>>
>>This is a possibility - luckily we no longer live in a condo, but we
>>at least have a bit more space to grow vegetables for our own personal
>>consumption - I may have to do a bit of research into space and
>>preventative measures to keep cats and other "creatures" out, as there
>>are many around where we live...
>
> Not only is vegetable gardening inexpensive, it's fun and rewarding.

Canadians do another kind of "gardening," which is financially rewarding
(until they get caught):
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-break...4050-7135r.htm

"usual suspect" > wrote in message
...
> C. James Strutz wrote:
> > I love to cook. It's a means of creative expression for me. Certainly
it's
> > never a chore.
>
> Relying on cookbooks isn't exactly an act of creative expression. That's
> like running copies of the Mona Lisa and calling them art.

I previously said that I use cookbooks as sources of ideas. Somehow you
morphed that into "relying".

> > I can understand this is he is disabled or dependent on you somehow.
> > Otherwise he is an adult and perfectly capable of feeding himself. If he
> > chooses to eat badly then it's his problem.
>
> Life is filled with complex issues. Let Nick carry his own cross.

Yes, you are right.

> >>There are always vegetables within our diet, usually as a side dish.
> >>It often consists of greens such as salad and broccoli, peas, carrots
> >>- the "garden variety" vegetables.
> >
> > Try incorporating vegetables as ingredients of your main course and see
what
> > happens. I made stirfry last night with steamed broccoli, mushrooms, and
a
> > bunch of "additives" you probably wouldn't like. That with brown rice.
>
> What kind of additives?

Garlic, ginger, chile pepper paste, soy sauce, vegetable stock, corn starch,
and a little sesame oil. Nick doesn't like those sorts of things. You would
have known that if you had read his OP.

> <snip>
> > You don't have to buy a lot of expensive foods, although organic foods
when
> > possible. You should be able to get most of the basics (grains, legumes,
> > nuts, fruits, vegetables, soy, etc.) at your local markets. This
shouldn't
> > be difficult.
> >
> >>>Try growing your own vegetables and preserve them. That's pretty
> >>>inexpensive.
> >>
> >>This is a possibility - luckily we no longer live in a condo, but we
> >>at least have a bit more space to grow vegetables for our own personal
> >>consumption - I may have to do a bit of research into space and
> >>preventative measures to keep cats and other "creatures" out, as there
> >>are many around where we live...
> >
> > Not only is vegetable gardening inexpensive, it's fun and rewarding.
>
> Canadians do another kind of "gardening," which is financially rewarding
> (until they get caught):
> http://washingtontimes.com/upi-break...4050-7135r.htm

Wow, that's quite a haul!

C. James Strutz wrote:
>>Relying on cookbooks isn't exactly an act of creative expression. That's
>>like running copies of the Mona Lisa and calling them art.
>
> I previously said that I use cookbooks as sources of ideas. Somehow you
> morphed that into "relying".

Sorry, I stand corrected.

<snip>
>>What kind of additives?
>
> Garlic, ginger, chile pepper paste, soy sauce, vegetable stock, corn starch,
> and a little sesame oil. Nick doesn't like those sorts of things. You would
> have known that if you had read his OP.

Sounds pretty good. I had over 1100 messages to pour through, so forgive
me for not reading each and every one as diligently as I could have.

>>>Not only is vegetable gardening inexpensive, it's fun and rewarding.
>>
>>Canadians do another kind of "gardening," which is financially rewarding
>>(until they get caught):
>>http://washingtontimes.com/upi-break...4050-7135r.htm
>
> Wow, that's quite a haul!

Another story estimates those guys were raking in over $100 million a
year. Pot is big business in Canada, even bigger than smuggling cigarettes.

"usual suspect" > wrote in message
...
> C. James Strutz wrote:
> >>Relying on cookbooks isn't exactly an act of creative expression. That's
> >>like running copies of the Mona Lisa and calling them art.
> >
> > I previously said that I use cookbooks as sources of ideas. Somehow you
> > morphed that into "relying".
>
> Sorry, I stand corrected.

No problem...

> <snip>
> >>What kind of additives?
> >
> > Garlic, ginger, chile pepper paste, soy sauce, vegetable stock, corn
starch,
> > and a little sesame oil. Nick doesn't like those sorts of things. You
would
> > have known that if you had read his OP.
>
> Sounds pretty good. I had over 1100 messages to pour through, so forgive
> me for not reading each and every one as diligently as I could have.

No problem...

> >>>Not only is vegetable gardening inexpensive, it's fun and rewarding.
> >>
> >>Canadians do another kind of "gardening," which is financially rewarding
> >>(until they get caught):
> >>http://washingtontimes.com/upi-break...4050-7135r.htm
> >
> > Wow, that's quite a haul!
>
> Another story estimates those guys were raking in over $100 million a
> year. Pot is big business in Canada, even bigger than smuggling
cigarettes.

Must be tough to have that kind of money and unable to spend it from jail.
Oh well.