US Any good, prepared vegan meals available?

ChrisCollias

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Are there any nutritionally complete, tasty, complete vegan meals on the market? I'm looking for something that I can keep in the fridge or freezer for the nights when I work late or don't have time to prepare for the next days work lunch.


What attributes would you like to see if there was a product line like this, available in local supermarkets?


Thanks!
 
Um. Deja Vu.

Not necessarily complete but there are some products that are pretty good.

Trader Joe's has a bunch of pretty good products. Personally, I don't like spicy meals so about the only one I like is the Vegetable Basil pesto fusilli. I can't remember if they have a vegan burrito, but they have vegan egg rolls and vegan pad thai. They used to have a cheese-free pizza which was my main go-to meal.

The mainstream companies that you should look for is Annies and Paula Mccartney. Not all of those are vegan but some are. there are also some good canned options. You can always buy a can of black beans and add it to rice. And there are some good soups and chilis that are vegan.

There are a lot of good ideas for making big pots of stuff and freezing them, then just make your own "frozen dinners". My new favorite is a big pot of Cuban black beans, in one cup Tupperware kept in the freezer. I make a big batch of rice in the rice cooker and then when I need a quick meal - black beans and rice.

I also used to mass produce my own burritos. Freeze them and take them with me to work to nuke. also good for eating in the car for breakfast. or as an emergency dinner.

Big pots of pasta sauce can also be made and frozen. then all you need to do is boil the pasta.

And homemade Ramen is super easy. The noodles are dry and can be stored for a long time. Just add whatever fresh or frozen veggies you have around the house. Or even a can of peas. Probably takes about the same time as nuking a frozen dinner.
 
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Engine 2 makes a good line of vegan and also very low in salt, oil and sugar (this is very important to me). Engine 2 is from Rip Esselstyn who is/was a firefighter and the son of Dr Caldwell Esselstyn.
https://engine2diet.com/food-line/

My trouble with it is that they only sell through Whole Foods and they don't stock many of the better things in Canada so I only have virtual experience of them from watching YouTubers.

Dr McDougall also has a line of foods that are also low in sodium and sugar and are made without added oils.
https://www.rightfoods.com/
Again, USA based so very hard to get in Canada, wish we could.

I guess the upside of not having easy access to these foods is that I am less lazy and do cook a fair amount. If I was a busy mom/dad or working outside the home full time I am sure I would be grateful.

Emma JC
 
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Gardein just put out skillet meals that are in the freezer section. I haven't tried them since they are expensive but they look good.
 
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I like Sweet Earth's Big Sur Breakfast burrito. I eat it any time of the day or night. Just defrost in the microwave for about one minute, then pan fry in your favorite oil until browned on both sides, and enjoy with Sriracha (my personal preference) or salsa or just on its own.

I know you don't mean things like Boca burgers that require meal planning or toppings, so I'll suggest Daiya vegan pizzas or Amy's frozen dinners. Daiya pizzas take less than 20 minutes to cook directly on your oven rack and are 100 percent vegan, they are kind of expensive, but if cost isn't your concern, they're quite tasty on occasion. They actually make vegan pepperoni (vegan pepperoni!) ...Amy's meals you're going to have to sort through, some are vegetarian and some are vegan. They're known for their dairy ingredients, but never add eggs or meat or gelatin. So anything they make non-dairy is vegan. They have a variety of frozen meals from Indian-inspired to pasta bowls.

Annie Chun makes shelf-stable Asian-inspired dishes like Kung Pao noodles and Pad Thai which are vegan. I used to eat them a lot when I lived in L.A. but I feel kind of guilty about the packaging they use. They taste really good though.
 
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So much has changed since this thread fell asleep.

I'm waking it up.

BTW, back before I retired I usually kept a few frozen dinners in the freezer for days I was too tired or too rushed too cook.

So the EatThis people put out a new article and I wasn't even going to click on it because I didn't expect Any vegan choices. Surprise! 6 out of 10 are vegan.


To summarize the following appearing to be vegan.

Tattooed Chef Buddha Bowl

Amy's Kitchen Bowls, Brown Rice with Black Beans and Veggies

Kashi Plant Based Sweet Potato and Quinoa Bowl

Mosaic Peanut Tofu Bowl

Sweet Earth Cauliflower Mac

Sweet Earth Curry Tiger

 
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So much has changed since this thread fell asleep.

I'm waking it up.

BTW, back before I retired I usually kept a few frozen dinners in the freezer for days I was too tired or too rushed too cook.

So the EatThis people put out a new article and I wasn't even going to click on it because I didn't expect Any vegan choices. Surprise! 6 out of 10 are vegan.


To summarize the following appearing to be vegan.

Tattooed Chef Buddha Bowl

Amy's Kitchen Bowls, Brown Rice with Black Beans and Veggies

Kashi Plant Based Sweet Potato and Quinoa Bowl

Mosaic Peanut Tofu Bowl

Sweet Earth Cauliflower Mac

Sweet Earth Curry Tiger

None of those appeal to me--I tried two Sweet Earth entrees and they were both awful! I think I trashed both of them,which is very rare for me. Don't remember which ones, just that the taste couldn't be corrected

Trader Joes has a riced cauliflower bowl I like (easy to copy) TJ's also has chickpea pocket things too

I got what looks to be vegan big egg roll from Dollar Tree (and want more!)
Best bet is Indian Grocers. The shelf stable bags of ready to eat meals, and frozen entrees of tofu palak, kidney bean curries, chickpea pockets (forget what they're called) Samosas. ...

Years ago Healthy Choice has these butternut squash raviolis that happened to be vegan, and really good (I hate butternut squash!) but I don't think they do anymore
 
The challenge for me with those prepared ones, even if they taste good, is that the portions are so small compared to the amount of calories/fat/salt in them, I would have to eat two to feel satisfied.

Agree with @silva that the pre-packaged Indian food is the best... for ease, calories etc and serving them on rice means you can feel fuller faster, add veggies if you like. Tasty Bites is my current go to and I have used other options over the years. Do check salt/fat levels in whichever you use. Tasty Bites calories are around 200-300 per package so we usually split 2 or 3 packages plus the rice. I watch for them on sale and that would be 3/$7 so dinner costs for two people are around $7-8.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com
 
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The problem with the prepared meals, for me, is how they are seasoned. There is almost some kind of spice used that I don't like that is overpowering. I'd rather open a can of lentils and have it over rice with marinara sauce. I always have cooked rice in the fridge. Or you can buy the precooked rice to keep on hand. And if I don't have marinara sauce made there's always jarred sauce in a pinch.
 
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None of those appeal to me--I tried two Sweet Earth entrees and they were both awful! I think I trashed both of them,which is very rare for me. Don't remember which ones, just that the taste couldn't be corrected

Trader Joes has a riced cauliflower bowl I like (easy to copy) TJ's also has chickpea pocket things too

I got what looks to be vegan big egg roll from Dollar Tree (and want more!)
Best bet is Indian Grocers. The shelf stable bags of ready to eat meals, and frozen entrees of tofu palak, kidney bean curries, chickpea pockets (forget what they're called) Samosas. ...

Years ago Healthy Choice has these butternut squash raviolis that happened to be vegan, and really good (I hate butternut squash!) but I don't think they do anymore
Agree on the Dollar Tree big egg roll! I cook it in the air fryer and it comes out great. Dollar Tree also has some veggie spring rolls by Jennifer's Garden, and I believe they are vegan as well. They are pretty good, too, and cook up well in the air fryer. They come out nice and crispy.
 
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