ISO: Veggie meal ideas

[becky]

<!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message -->I need to find some yummy veggie meal ideas for my DH. He can't eat anything that is high in purines which means just about everything but veggies are out. I'm a carnivore myself so I don't know what to make. My DH is also on a low/no carb diet so that means pasta and breads are out.

I used to know how to make a veggie soup but i lost the recipe and with this heat i'm not sure if its the best thing to make. I know i can look online for recipes but i would rather try something that someone else i know likes.

[jellybeanmichelle]

Not sure if this would help you:
http://www.sonomacountymom.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1353

[Luckylove]

Looks like some veggies have it too:

A moderate amount of purine is also contained in beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, green peas, lentils, dried peas, beans, oatmeal, wheat bran and wheat germ.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purine

[becky]

Not sure if this would help you:
http://www.sonomacountymom.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1353
thanks michelle, i'll have to try that. i'm not a zuccini fan myself but mt DH likes it so that is good.
Looks like some veggies have it too:

A moderate amount of purine is also contained in beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, green peas, lentils, dried peas, beans, oatmeal, wheat bran and wheat germ.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purine
ya i know. i hate this diet my DH is on cuz it leaves me with so few options. thanks for the link. i'm going to print that out for him.

[Lynette]

Is this a weight loss diet or for health issues?

Since Salina is a vegetarian, sometimes I used to make a normal dinner and she would just pile up on the side dishes and leave out the meat. Can/will he eat fish?

[becky]

it is both really. The no carb is more for the diet since he wants to loose weight but the low purine is for heath. He has had gout for about a month now and can't seem to get rid of it. I have run out of ideas of what to make him since i'm not much of a veggie eater myself. He can't eat fish either...its totally off his list.

[LessasLashes]

make sure he's drinking plenty of water to flush out the excess uric acid. Did you make the stirfry I recommended?

[becky]

i ended up not making anything tonight but plan on making something tomorrow. Thanks for the recommendation. I will definitely try that this week.

I also told him he needs to drink more water so he got a big bottle today. I swear with this heat its not helping either. I think he should be drinking about a gallon of water a day.

[Lindsay]

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/

http://www.vegweb.com/

thousands of recipes

also might want to try http://www.cookinglight.com/

[becky]

do you have a favorite lindsay?

[khanson]

Becky - I was on low carb a long time ago and there are some really great recipes! You can go to www.foodnetwork.com and search veggies (or whatever) and it brings up tons of recipes. You can also go to www.weightwatchers.com and for $15 you can sign up for just one month and you have access to ALL their recipes. Lots of them are loaded with veggies since they are also low cal. I did that a few years ago and made myself a cookbook by printing out all the recipes that looked good to me!

[becky]

cool i will check it out. thanks a bunch.

[Lindsay]

My favorite personally is fatfreevegan.com. That will be best if you are dealing with gout issues, I think.

Here are some of my favorite veg recipes:

Baked Spinach-Pasta Casserole

Recipe by: Vegan Handbook
Servings: 8

* 1lb pasta shells
* 1 lb spinach, chopped and steamed until tender
* 2 1/2 C low sodium tomato sauce
* 1/2 C soy milk
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 T fresh chopped basil (or 1 tsp dried)
* 1/4 C bread crumbs
* salt & pepper to taste

- Cook pasta in boiling water according to directions. Drain.

- In a large casserole dish, toss hot pasta with spinach, tomato sauce, soy milk, garlic, and basil. Season to taste. Top with bread crumbs.

- Bake @ 350 degrees, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve hot.

*I reccomend adding a 24 ounce can of chopped tomatoes. I did, and I am pretty sure my pasta bake would have been really dry if I hadn't. Also this cooked in 23 minutes in my oven, not 30.

Spicy Grapefruit Coleslaw from http://www.fatfreevegan.com/

I note that the grapefruit is optional because my husband prefers his without it (he's not a grapefruit fan). You could also substitute orange or tangerine sections for grapefruit--or use any other fruit that sounds appetizing (I was very close to adding raspberries!) Omit the wasabi if you don't like the hint of spiciness it gives or just use a little less (or more for you hot-lovers).

4 cups bagged, pre-cut coleslaw or a combination of shredded cabbage and carrots
1 red grapefruit, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (optional)
2 tablespoons walnuts, optional
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ume plum vinegar (or try seasoned rice vinegar and salt to taste)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
1/2 teaspoon prepared wasabi paste (or to taste)

Put the coleslaw and grapefruit into a mixing bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients in a cup and pour over the coleslaw. Mix well. For best taste, allow to marinate for 15 minutes before serving.

Rice and Beans in Coconut Milk
I edited this recipe from one that I found on vegweb.com. This has been edited to reflect ACTUAL cooking times and to use a type of rice that is easily found.

1 medium onion diced
2 cups of brown rice, long grain (I like basmati, personally)
1 can of red kidney beans or beans of your choice (if you use previously dried kidney beans, be sure not to overcook and rinse them well, otherwise your whole meal will have mushy beans and be off-colored).
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon or to taste of crushe'd garlic (optional)
1 small bunch of thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 8oz can of coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups of water

Directions:

In a large pot, sautee onion until almost transluscent. Add rice, beans, seasonings and coconut milk. Cook at mediam heat till boiling, then lower heat to low and keep the cover on, stirring occasionly until rice is fluffy and soft. If at any point you start running out of liquids before the rice is done, make sure your heat is low enough and add some more water, 1/4 cup at a time, until rice is covered. Cook on low heat for about 20-35 minutes.

Mushroom Broccoli Delite (this is my own recipe!)

1/8 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced into half rings
1-2 cups broccoli
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms (portabella would work too)
1 t Tarragon
1 T fresh dill (or 1 t dried)
1/2 cup vegetable broth

Heat the oil over medium to medium high heat (careful not to burn as olive oil has a lowish burning point). Add the onions and garlic, stir for a minute or two. Add the broccoli, mushrooms, and seasonings. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth. Cover and reduce heat to low, cook 5-7 minutes until broccoli is tender. You may need to add more vegetable broth, so check it fairly frequently.

Tabouli Salad

1 cup bulghur wheat, uncooked (makes about 6 cups cooked).
1 large bunch parsley, finely chopped (about 3-4 cups)
2-3 T mint, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, sliced into small pieces
1 cucumber, sliced into small pieces
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
2 t allspice
salt to taste

Boil some water, add the bulgar wheat. Let soak about 15-20 minutes, drain excess water. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Let it sit for at least 3 hours in the fridge, overnight is better. The longer you let it sit the softer the parsley will be and the more the flavors will mix. It's edible right away, but not as good. I didn't have any mint when I made it, and used cilantro instead, which was delicious. You can adjust the proportions of this if you prefer more of one ingredient and less of another. It's really pretty adaptable. Add avocados or whatever else strikes your fancy. It is excellent plain or with pita bread and hummus.

Spicy Vegan Galore Soup (also my recipe)

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
5 carrots, diced into small pieces
4 T olive oil
1 small head (or 1/2 large head) cabbage, chopped into small pieces
4 cups vegetable broth
4 cups water
2 cups red lentils
1 T curry
1 t berbere spice mix
1 t salt (I like to use Celtic Sea Salt).

Sautee the onion, garlic, and carrots until onion is clear and soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering 2-3 hours until lentils are dissolved.

Notes: Feel free to season to taste. Here (http://monsooncoast.com/monsoon.html) is a link to a good Berbere spice, though I made my own, using this recipe (http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/11/ethiopian-inspired-red-lentil-soup.html). I don't like to flavor my soups with only this spice though, it's a little too spicy for my taste and I like the sweetness of the curry. Bonus: fenugreek is a galactogue!

Mexican Lasagna (or Enchilada Casserole)


1/2 large green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
corn tortillas--at least 12
3 cups (28 ounces) fatfree refried beans
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. chili powder, divided
1/2 tsp. cumin, divided
3 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup salsa
1 can enchilada sauce (or 1 1/2 cups homemade)
sliced black olives

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a non-stick pan with a little water (1 tbsp.), sauté the peppers, garlic, and onion for about 3 minutes, or until softened. Set aside.

Spray a 9 X 13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the bottom with a layer of tortillas (you may cut some of them to fit). Make sure you cover the entire bottom of the pan.

Stir the refried beans and spread half of them evenly over the tortillas. Cover the refried beans with half of the pepper-onion mixture and half of the tomatoes; sprinkle with half of the seasonings and half of the black beans.

Add another layer of tortillas and repeat the layers of the other ingredients. Spread the cup of salsa over the final layer of black beans. Cover with a final layer of tortillas, pour the enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with black olives. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes or until hot throughout. It will be easier to cut if you allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Fresh corn is a great addition to this. I use about 2 cups of uncooked (or frozen) corn and add it as one more layer. You may need a deeper pan, though.

Lindsay's Awesome Split Pea Soup

Yes, this one was devloped by yours truly. Though it's a pretty common recipe that I'm sure others have thought of too. And it's vegan!

1 large onion (I like to use organic yellow onions)
1 cup chopped carrots (about 3-4 large or 5-6 small -I use one bunch of the small organic carrots)
1 cup celery (about 5 stalks)
1-2 T margarine or canola oil (just enough to keep your onions from sticking to the pan)
2 cups dried split peas
2 cups vegetable broth
2-6 cups water (depending on how thick you want it)
2 t salt (I usually just use two big pinches of sea salt)
1 T curry (optional)

Sautee your onions on medium heat along with the carrots and celery in a large soup pot. When onions are translucent, add the split peas, broth, water, salt, and curry. Turn up heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover, simmer 2-3 hours until peas are dissolved and soup has reached desired thickness. It helps to stir very occasionally so the peas don't adhere to the bottom, but it won't be ruined if you forget.

I love this recpie because it's pretty much impossible to ruin (just don't do it in the crock pot) and totally easy.

Coconut Basmati Rice

Servings: 4

2 cups water
1 cup brown basmati rice
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1 piece cinnamon stick
1/4 cup currants or raisins
1 dried chile (optional)

In a heavy saucepan with a tightly fitting lid, bring the water to a boil. While the water heats, rinse the rice well.

When the water boils, stir in the rice and all of the remaining ingredients.

Return to a boil. Stir, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until all water is absorbed, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cinnamon stick and the optional chile, stir to fluff the rice and serve.

Notes: I doubled this recipe to make extra rice, and it came out great. I used the traditional stovetop meathod but it can also be done in a rice cooker. I made it this evening and it was DELICIOUS.

Vegan Zucchini Bread

2 cups grated zucchini (about 7 small zucchinis)
4 1/2 teaspoons ener-g egg replacer
6 tablespoons water
1 cup applesauce
2 cups vegan sugar (I used Demerara)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the wet ingredients (zucchini, egg replacer, applesauce, sugar, vanilla) together in a large bowl. In a medium size bowl mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, spices, raisins) together. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Pour into 2 loaf pans and bake for 40-60 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Notes: You can use oil instead of applesauce if you must. You also can use regular flour instead of a cup of the whole wheat flour. If you want to use eggs instead of the egg replacer, omit the water. You do not have to use Demerara sugar, you can use Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw is a brand of Turbinado sugar and it's reasonably easy to find) or really, whatever sugar strikes your fancy. It will all turn out fine just keep in mind that a more refined sugar will change the taste slightly. I did not use raisins becuase I am wierd and only like raisins in certain foods.

This recipie is delicious! I just made it and it was a screaming sucess.

[becky]

omg that is awesome. i'm goin gto try everyone that he can actually eat and save the other for when his is better. thanks a bunch