need meal planning help-low fat vegan

[hopeforchange]

hey ladies, we eat mostly low fat vegan and i definitely cook that way. i'm always cooking the same recipes though and i need some new ones. the easier the better! i don't really feel like (or have the time, at the moment, lol) to go searching through tons of recipes online, so will you share your favorites with me?

it seems like a lot of recipes i find are very ethnic, which is fine, we love indian/thai/mexican food, but a lot of the indian and thai recipes call for a ton of ingredients that i don't have and then it ends up being really expensive to make after i buy all the spices/oils/vinegars that i don't have.

so any quick, low fat vegan recipes would be great!

thanks!

[Llee]

Do you like mashed potatoes?

Peel potatoes (Yukon Gold are great because they have the yellow to them that looks like butter) and slice into quarters. Cover with water and boil. When potatoes are soft, drain the water off and save the potato water.

Mash up potatoes (we use a hand-held mixer) and add in Tofutti sour cream--we like the Garden Herbs the best--and some potato water. Let it sit for 10 minutes to 'set' and enjoy!

[Can'tTurnLeft]

black bean soup

2 cans blackbeans drained
1 jar salsa.

Heat and blend till smooth

[Cat]

have you ever looked at the fatfreevegan blog? she has some good easy recipes....

[Serafine]

Pinto Beans:
Soak Beans overnight.
Drain/Rinse Beans.
Place beans in crockpot, cover with 1 inch of water.
Add oil (if you want) and salt (~1/2 tsp. per lb. of beans)
Cook on High for 5 hours or low for 10 hours.
Serve with whatever toppings you like (or not...they are wonderful plain).

Black Beans and Rice:
Sautee onion and garlic in pan (or not)
Add 2 cans of black beans (with liquid), 1/2 cu. red wine vinegar (and garlic/onion powder if you didn't saute in step one)
Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes
Stir 3-5 cups. cooked rice in (saffron rice is EXCELLENT or cilantro/lime rice - see below).

Cilantro/lime rice (ala chipotle style):
brown or white basmati rice
lime juice
salt
water
place all in rice cooker (or saute the lime juice/rice for a couple of minutes, and then add salt/water in a pot).
cook until done (or bring to boil on stove, cover, simmer for 25 minutes)
stir in fresh, snipped cilantro

Thai stir fry:
Buy the small jar of Thai Kitchen Red Curry paste (less than 3 dollars, and it lasts 3-4 meals).
Buy Frozen stir fry veggies (beans, peppers, mushrooms, onions, carrots, etc.)
Coconut milk (optional...sometimes we use, sometimes we don;t) in the CAN.

Dry saute (or in a little oil) the curry paste (OR mix into the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes)
Add a couple TBS. tamari (or braggs amino acids), some brown sugar (optional, but essential, IMO), the bags of frozen veggies, and a little water. COok until veggies are crisp tender.
Add in soaked rice noodles or rice if wanted.

Quinoa Salad:
Cooked quinoa
bean (chickpeas, black beans, whatever)
slightly sauteed greens (spinach, kale, whatever)
roasted beets or butternut squash or sweet potato
dried cranberries (optional)
nuts (pecans, cashews, etc.)
avocado (optional).

If you haven't seen it before...glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com is great. She has a LOT of vegan recipes there.

[hopeforchange]

serafine, i've made thai curry for a long time, but slightly different than your recipe. i'll have to try it your way. i also got so used to using fresh veggies in it that i forgot that i could just buy a bag of frozen veggies. chopping a ton of veggies is something that's almost impossible to get accomplished with my boys right now.

i'm curious...have you found that the curry paste has changed over the years? i've been making thai curry with that curry paste for at least 6 years now and they curry paste (both the red and green) used to be HOT; i would always use 1T per 1 can of coconut milk and that would make is pretty spicy. in the last couple of years i've noticed that the paste isn't hot at all anymore and it makes me sad.

oh and how much brown sugar would you say you add per 1 can of coconut oil?

we have pinto beans, but i should make them more often. my MIL makes excellent pintos!

the black beans sound delish! i've heard of saffron rice before, but never made it. is there a special way to make it?

and i'll check out the blog you recommended.

cat, yes i do go to fatfreevegan.com. i do like that site and the blog and have used several of her recipes.

CTL, black bean soup sounds so good and so easy. i'll definitely try that.

thanks for all the recipes ladies! i can't wait to try them!