peachkitten

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  1. Vegan newbie
Heya, I'm Miles and I am going vegan for moral and health reasons. I'm serious about this but I have a couple of bumps in the road. The issue is that due to my OCD/Autism there is a lot of food I have tried to on numerous occasions stomach, but I just can't. I grew up with a vegan mom so I've tried these foods plenty of times but can't get used to them. I'd really appreciate if you could take a bit of time and share recipes or give me links to cookbooks that would be good for picky vegan eaters. Advice for new vegans or resources would be nice too. This is turning out to be much harder than I thought because most recipes I find include foods I simply can't eat. Thank you :) Okie Dokie...here is my ridiculous list: lentils, edamame, faux meat, faux dairy including cheese and sauces, faux mayo, tempeh, seitan, nut milks and sauces, wheat/whole grain bread, brussel sprouts, cooked leafy greens, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, anything pickled, vinegar, baked potatoes and home fries (not a hard no but hard to stomach), any rice that isn't white, sweet potato and yam (unless it's curried), squash, eggplant
Due to my fairly extreme restrictions, I am also looking for advice on raw veganism.
 
here is my ridiculous list: lentils, edamame, faux meat, faux dairy including cheese and sauces, faux mayo, tempeh, seitan, nut milks and sauces, wheat/whole grain bread, brussel sprouts, cooked leafy greens, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, anything pickled, vinegar, baked potatoes and home fries (not a hard no but hard to stomach), any rice that isn't white, sweet potato and yam (unless it's curried), squash, eggplant

sheesh! that IS a LONG list.
Ok. first lets see if we can make a list of things you can eat. Let us know if any of these things are also no-gos.


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Yeah, I'm about as picky as one can get lol. Thank you for the response :) I can't stomach grain meat and brown rice. Most plant milks are a no-go but coconut milk and rice milk I can palate. I suppose cashew milk in recipes would be ok but it's the flavor that's the issue for me, so that would have to be covered up.
 
I don't notice nut butters, pasta, beans, tomatoes, most veggies--cooked or raw?, things like crackers, oats, whole cooked grains,
Can you eat soups and salads?
I always expect to see a trend of textures but I don't from your list
Can you eat the same things every day? If you have enough variety of foods it wouldn't be so bad to eat the same meals, if you plan them well
Oh- fruit? Smoothies?
That list doesn't seem unreasonable to me at all. I'd say there are about that many foods I don't eat, I just don't think about it!
 
I don't notice nut butters, pasta, beans, tomatoes, most veggies--cooked or raw?, things like crackers, oats, whole cooked grains,
Can you eat soups and salads?
I always expect to see a trend of textures but I don't from your list
Can you eat the same things every day? If you have enough variety of foods it wouldn't be so bad to eat the same meals, if you plan them well
Oh- fruit? Smoothies?
That list doesn't seem unreasonable to me at all. I'd say there are about that many foods I don't eat, I just don't think about it!
That's a relief to hear I might not be toooo picky, so thank you. I suppose I can eat most vegan food. My issue seems to be mostly things that are akin to meat or dairy but not quite like it (?). Like, that uncanny valley territory really sets me off lol. A lot of the vegan recipes I found when I went through my mom's cookbooks were imitations of non-vegan food, so I guess I thought it was hopeless for me. HMMmmm, foods I like...mostly salads, smoothie bowls, and asian dishes. Especially curry or dumplings. I actually just found a vegan blog that posts a lot of variations on traditional Asian dishes and to my surprise, I can eat most of it! Things are looking less dire.
 
Ok, here is the update list but let me know which of Silva's suggestions I can add.

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Just off the top of my head, here are some meals that should be ok

Cuban Black Beans over Rice
split pea soup
Vegan burritos
Oatmeal with raisins
Cashew milk, banana and peanut butter smoothie
Tofu vegetable stir fry.

Once a week I make a big bowl of salad - like 4 servings - all at once. which i split up and eat for lunch. You can do the same and use any or all of the following ingredients.
leafy greens, avocados, black beans, broccoli, carrots, celery, corn, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, green peppers, olives, onions, peas, spinach.

Silva and I both use Copy Me That for recipes. You can check out some of our recipes and see if they might work. You can find me - my user name is Lou2005, and Silva is Silva.
 
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Just off the top of my head, here are some meals that should be ok

Cuban Black Beans over Rice
split pea soup
Vegan burritos
Oatmeal with raisins
Cashew milk, banana and peanut butter smoothie
Tofu vegetable stir fry.

Once a week I make a big bowl of salad - like 4 servings - all at once. which i split up and eat for lunch. You can do the same and use any or all of the following ingredients.
leafy greens, avocados, black beans, broccoli, carrots, celery, corn, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, green peppers, olives, onions, peas, spinach.

Silva and I both use Copy Me That for recipes. You can check out some of our recipes and see if they might work. You can find me - my user name is Lou2005, and Silva is Silva.
Thanks :) any of what Silva mentioned minus the cooked grains works well for me. Those ideas are all great! in particular, split pea soup would be good because I could mix in a lot of my no-go's to try and get used to them. The salad suggestion is nice because it's so easy and probably one of the easier ways for me to consistently have vegan food on hand without going crazy trying to learn a million new recipes. I'll check out Copy Me That and give your guys' pages a look!
 
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At first, I thought this was an impossible task. It's nice to have some quick and early successes.

I've added some of Silva's suggestions. I think other VF members might stop by and look at this list and come up with some good ideas right off the top of their heads too.

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I eat a lot of stir fry's - cubes of a veggie protein source such as tofu or tempeh (alternates: seitan, diced veggie hot dogs, etc) sautéed in a skillet with olive oil and whatever veggies and/or fruits and/or nuts I want to add, plus sauces and seasonings (I usually use tamari). I highly recommend trying different combinations. It's basically just a cooked salad. Adding a little fruit juice as a seasoning works well. And it's a good use for over-ripe fruits - use them to flavor stir fry's.

I see that tempeh, seitan, and faux meats are no's, but tofu is a yes. And I assume that by home fries, you mean home fried potatoes? So maybe this could work. Just throwing it out there as an option to consider.
 
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Here's a couple of recipes I've been working on...should be ok with your list (just skip the bread or use a kind you like):

Maccú (Fava Bean Soup)
Pronounced mah-coo, this Sicilian soup packs a protein punch like no other in this book. Leftover maccú will firm up as it cools in the refrigerator and can be spread on top of toasty bread the next day (when you can call it fava puree and add red onion on top). If you can find canned fava beans, great, you will need about 6 cups of cooked beans (four 15-oz. cans), but I usually cannot. Therefore, for this recipe you will likely need to buy dry fava beans and prepare them prior to making the soup. Removing the skins from the fava beans after soaking overnight is fun—you grab the bean in the thumb and forefinger of both hands and roll the bean out of its skin, like unwrapping a hundred little Christmas presents.



Ingredients (6 large servings plus a bit for the next day)

3 tablespoons olive oil + 1 for drizzling

2 fennel bulbs, cleaned and diced (save some fronds for garnish)

1 carrot, peeled and diced small

1 tablespoon fennel seeds (crushed in a mortar and pestle if you like)

½ teaspoon crushed red peppers

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups vegetable stock

3 cups (1 pound) of dried fava beans, soaked overnight at room temperature or for 2 days in the refrigerator, skins removed after soaking

Salt and pepper to taste

6 (or more) slices of rustic bread, grilled or toasted



Procedures

1.
Make a golden soffritto by frying the fennel, carrot, fennel seeds, crushed red peppers, and a pinch of salt in the olive oil in a soup pot on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, adding the garlic in the last minute.

2. Add the vegetable stock and peeled fava beans and simmer, covered, for 1½ hours.

3. When a few test beans are soft, whisk the soup vigorously for at least a minute to break up the cooked beans so that the liquid thickens.

4. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

5. Place soup in bowls, drizzle a bit of extra-virgin olive oil in each bowl, garnish with chopped fennel fronds (no stems), and serve with a piece of bread. Or two. Three also works.


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Crema di Fave e Asparagi (Cream of Fava and Asparagus)

Wild asparagus (asparagi selvaticci) is found in every state of the U.S., every province of Canada, Mexico, and throughout Europe. In reality, wild asparagus is no different from cultivated asparagus except that in the wild it has not been selected for beneficial genetic traits (often favoring size and shelf stability over flavor), meaning that wild asparagus often has a stronger flavor, so if you can find it (late April and early May in most areas), use it. Because canned fava beans are difficult to find, this recipe calls for dried fava beans, soaked for 24 hours before starting the soup and then peeled.



Ingredients (6 large servings)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, peeled and diced small

2 carrots, peeled and diced small

1 celery stalk, diced small

Leaves from one sprig of rosemary, roughly chopped

3 cups dried fava beans, soaked for 24 hours at room temperature or for 2 days in the refrigerator, skins removed after soaking

6 cups vegetable stock

40 asparagus spears, top half only, washed and cut into ½ inch pieces

Salt and pepper to taste



Procedures

1.
Make a golden soffritto by frying the onion, carrot, celery, rosemary, and a pinch of salt in the olive oil in a soup pot on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

2. Add the soaked and peeled fava beans and vegetable stock and simmer, covered, for about 1½ hours.

3. Add a teaspoon of salt to a pot of boiling water and add the asparagus pieces (not the tips) for 2 minutes.

4. Blend the soup with an immersion blender for 30 seconds (or process in a food processor), and then stir in the asparagus pieces.

5. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

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That is a tough list though, best of luck to you. I'd have a hard time without lentils!
 
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Vegan Food Blog with Healthy and Tasty Vegan Recipes - Holy Cow! Vegan

The first thing you must learn is ...it is not easy..you hve to make your food. 2nd thing is it takes time for your palate to adjust and number 3...if it is packaged / processed... don't eat it
The link above is fantastic and have not had anything from that site that is not good...
 
I was putting away groceries and thought of this thread, wishing my palate was more limited! I have different types of flours, what seems like hundreds of spices, nuts, seeds, so many condiments my fridge looks full even without proper "food", canned things

If i could just stick with a few kinds of beans, nuts and seeds, and produce!

this was my lunch every day last week and I didn't mind a bit--

White beans cooked with rosemary, sage,& thyme, with minimal cooking broth
I add about 3/4 cup with broth, a Tblsp lemon juice, garlic powder, a teasp or so of vegan mayo and lots of nutritional yeast
Top with frozen chopped spinach or broccoli

I love to add lemon, nooch, herbs and vegan mayo to cooking liquids. Gives such a creamy 'chowder' kind of base. Or without the broth, as a sandwich spread
Of course in corn and potato chowder!
 
Heya, I'm Miles and I am going vegan for moral and health reasons. I'm serious about this but I have a couple of bumps in the road. The issue is that due to my OCD/Autism there is a lot of food I have tried to on numerous occasions stomach, but I just can't. I grew up with a vegan mom so I've tried these foods plenty of times but can't get used to them. I'd really appreciate if you could take a bit of time and share recipes or give me links to cookbooks that would be good for picky vegan eaters. Advice for new vegans or resources would be nice too. This is turning out to be much harder than I thought because most recipes I find include foods I simply can't eat. Thank you :) Okie Dokie...here is my ridiculous list: lentils, edamame, faux meat, faux dairy including cheese and sauces, faux mayo, tempeh, seitan, nut milks and sauces, wheat/whole grain bread, brussel sprouts, cooked leafy greens, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, anything pickled, vinegar, baked potatoes and home fries (not a hard no but hard to stomach), any rice that isn't white, sweet potato and yam (unless it's curried), squash, eggplant
Due to my fairly extreme restrictions, I am also looking for advice on raw veganism.
My mother and brother are both vegan, and we have a weekly routine of meals. Monday we have a mixture of potato, beans and various vegetables. Tuesday we have a vegan curry with sweet potatoes, rice and lentils, Wednesday a vegan chilli with beans, lentils and rice. The most impressive in my opinion is the vegan shepherds pie. We use a mixture of ground walnuts, grated mushrooms and cauliflower rice to make a "mince"-like consistency. Then we just add lentils and mashed potato and vegan cheese, it tastes great and just like how i used to have it. Hopefully these meals ideas help. Cheese is optional and lentils can be replaced with beans and legumes.
 
Hi @peachkitten,

I've posted a vegan and gluten free crumble on my vlog which I think sounds like it should be suitable for you. There will be more recipes to follow and I try to advise on substitutes where possible.

Hope you like it :)

Nat x