Cheap eats super quick

[Forest Nymph]

I have discovered through my local bulk bins a really cheap way to keep food in the house, that's even cheaper than canned goods.

I bought a small paper bag full of dehydrated split pea soup mix, and just sauteed 1/4 of an onion in oil before adding the water, brought it to a boil and added all the split peas. It actually tasted pretty good, just as good as the canned Anderson's that is accidentally vegan. I didn't have to add any spices, and it was super quick. You could add salt and/or accidentally vegan bacon bits (McCormicks) if you wanted.

I also picked up some TVP and dehydrated black beans. I took a can of Progresso tomato soup (you could just use a little can of tomato paste) and added extra water, and one of those 99 cent packets of chili spices. I brought this to a boil and packed it with the black beans and TVP. I have a super thick vegan chili that's adequately spiced that I could eat over rice, on a tortilla, or alone.

Another awesome thing I found was adding powdered coconut milk and vanilla vegan protein powder on top of granola with dried fruit and nuts and then just pouring hot water over it and stirring.

I got inspired to do all of these things from a recent backpacking trip, but realistically this is a cheap way to eat tasty staples and would be great for students who live in a dorm where they can only boil water or use a microwave, or for someone who doesn't want to cook too much in a kitchen with meat eaters.

 

[Forest Nymph]

Lol why would someone rate this dislike? It's not even a strong opinion or politics.

Anyways...I found that the TVP chili is even better if you add a can of stewed tomatoes, some kidney beans, cooked macaroni and lots of nutritional yeast.

I've been eating various versions of it off and on for a week. I had so much chili I had to freeze the rest, so this is definitely a good cheap staple for broke people haha.

 

[Lou]

Lol why would someone rate this dislike? It's not even a strong opinion or politics.

S(he) might be objecting to the TVP. TVP is a processed food so maybe they don't think you should be recommending it.

TVP and TSP are both pretty new foods and have not been studied. so we don't really know if they are good for us. But we don't really know if they are bad for us either.

The process of making TVP sounds a lot more like a manufacturing process than cooking. And chemicals are involved so it sounds a bit scary and unsafe.

To be on the cautious side of things I try to minimize my consumption of it. Soy concentrates and isolates are in all kinds of foods nowadays so it's hard to eliminate it but you certainly don't have to go adding it to your recipes. Especially since there are real whole food alternatives that are available and cheaper.

For even more protein you can add tofu if you think you need it. Before I got rid of my Giant Crock Pot I made chilli by the gallon, split it up in pint-sized Tupperware and froze them. This is the recipe I used.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/215311/hearty-vegan-slow-cooker-chili/

 

[Forest Nymph]

S(he) might be objecting to the TVP. TVP is a processed food so maybe they don't think you should be recommending it.

TVP and TSP are both pretty new foods and have not been studied. so we don't really know if they are good for us. But we don't really know if they are bad for us either.

The process of making TVP sounds a lot more like a manufacturing process than cooking. And chemicals are involved so it sounds a bit scary and unsafe.

To be on the cautious side of things I try to minimize my consumption of it. Soy concentrates and isolates are in all kinds of foods nowadays so it's hard to eliminate it but you certainly don't have to go adding it to your recipes. Especially since there are real whole food alternatives that are available and cheaper.

For even more protein you can add tofu if you think you need it. Before I got rid of my Giant Crock Pot I made chilli by the gallon, split it up in pint-sized Tupperware and froze them. This is the recipe I used.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/215311/hearty-vegan-slow-cooker-chili/

But TVP is cheap that's the point. It's cheaper than fresh tofu. On a backpacking trip it's pretty essential and yes someone who was really broke could get more meals from it than from a block of tofu.

It's been around since the 60s, and in best case scenario it's just dehydrated soy. I don't know that the Bob's Red Mill brand even contains hexane.

Pressurized cooking and dehydration aren't that big of a deal. The only thing I could see a concern with is a company that uses hexane...even then at 20 ppm it's less toxic than the VOCs emitting from most people's furniture and electronic equipment in their homes.

 

[Lou]

I didn't downvote you! I was just guessing at why someone might. For all, I know they don't like avatars that contain black cats.

I also don't have a big problem with TVPs. but still, I avoid them. Looking at the Wikipedia description of the manufacturing process I see words and phrases like, "defatted thermoplastic proteins", "denatures them into a fibrous, insoluble, porous network", " the pressurized molten protein mixture exits the extruder", and "Many TVP producers use hexane". None of those words and phrases seem to be compatible with the WFPB movement that so many vegans have adopted.

Again they haven't been proven to be bad for you. but then again they haven't been proven to be good for you either.

However, I didn't know it was cheaper than tofu. so consider your point made, your thread defended. I'll even upvote all your posts in this thread.

Hey! I had originally upvoted your first post anyway.

 

[TofuRobot]

My idea of cheap eats super quick is a banana, or a toasted tortilla with refried beans and/or an avocado. Ain't go no time for TVP, lol. I actually had some of it for years before I finally got rid of it. I had no idea what to do with it