Plant based diet

[Pagger]

I'm really keen to start having more of a plant based diet.. really don't want to become fully vegan or anything but I just think it will help me to become a bit more healthy.

For those who have a plant based diet, what do you eat? I always struggle for lunches as I am busy with 2 kids and also don't get massively hungry at that time either. But I just think I would end up having such a repetitive diet if I went plant based.

I say all this as I'm sat eating a mcchicken sandwich meal

 

[rebremm99]

Good for you even just making a few swaps to plant based options and having more meat free days a week is a great thing!
You can eat pretty much everything you eat now just substituting meat for a fake meat etc, and there’s good vegan versions of mayonnaise, Nandos perinaise, hummus etc. The only thing I would not recommend is vegan cheese it’s not in any way comparable to dairy cheese.
In a curry just use chickpeas and coconut milk instead of meat or cream, veggie mince or lentils in spag bol, falafel and hummus wrap instead of meat and so on. M&S Plant kitchen range is full of amazing products like chick*n Kiev’s, no beef salt bun, coleslaw, nuggets etc. Check out the Plant Based/Vegan recommendation thread on here it’s full of great ideas and swaps .
Btw the spicy veggie wrap from McD is lovely!

 

[Jc456]

Lunches I have wraps with hummus, salad and falafel or veggie fingers, salad, vegan mayo and chilli sauce (like fake mcds ), roasted veg and hummus wrap, pasta, jacket and beans. Kids like the quorn slices in sandwiches/bagel/wrap.
Dinners we have spag bol (soy mince) with garlic bread (cheap is usually dairy free), tomato based pasta, chilli, pizza, sausage (richmond meat free) mash and beans, vivera kebabs, currys, chicken style nuggets, roast dinner using nut cutlets.
We use flora light and alpro or sainsburys own oat milk

 

[Tabby23]

I second all of the recommendations already given! Falafels are a great substitute and you can add in carrot, sweet corn, spring onion etc to bulk them out and add a bit more veg. You can have them with salad, wraps, flatbreads, etc...
We do use fake meats sometimes, Oomph is quite good, as is the This isn’t chicken range. The Tesco own ‘chicken’ pieces are really nice too. However it’s also just as nice to make a chilli with butter beans or kidney beans and lentils, or a curry with butternut squash or chickpeas. Pasta bakes are quick and easy, you can chop/blend veggies into a tomato sauce and bake in the oven.
Soup is also such an easy way to get veggies in, I sometimes batch cook on a Sunday then freeze portions for the week.
We drink alpro sugar free oat milk which is fine for tea and coffee, doesn’t separate like some dairy free milks do. Oatly is nice too but alpro is cheaper!

 

[Jellybeansoup]

I don’t condone deliciously Ella as a person but her cookbooks are pretty banging for a newbie - lots of stews with beans and other hearty easy cook freezeable recipes

 

[Jc456]

I second all of the recommendations already given! Falafels are a great substitute and you can add in carrot, sweet corn, spring onion etc to bulk them out and add a bit more veg. You can have them with salad, wraps, flatbreads, etc...
We do use fake meats sometimes, Oomph is quite good, as is the This isn’t chicken range. The Tesco own ‘chicken’ pieces are really nice too. However it’s also just as nice to make a chilli with butter beans or kidney beans and lentils, or a curry with butternut squash or chickpeas. Pasta bakes are quick and easy, you can chop/blend veggies into a tomato sauce and bake in the oven.
Soup is also such an easy way to get veggies in, I sometimes batch cook on a Sunday then freeze portions for the week.
We drink alpro sugar free oat milk which is fine for tea and coffee, doesn’t separate like some dairy free milks do. Oatly is nice too but alpro is cheaper!

We make the BBC good food vegan chilli with sweet potato, kidney beans and black beans, my kids love it and have 2 or 3 portions had carrot and coriander soup for lunch today

 

[wakametango]

I was vegan/veggie for two years and my partner now is fussy with meat so we’re starting to eat basically veg meals.

I do
Lentil Shepard’s pie (canned lentils and a Coleman’s cottage pie mix, so easy!)
Mushroom stroganoff
Tomato bulgar wheat stuffed baked peppers with roast potatoes, sumac salad and yoghurt
I cover the peppers in tomato paste and hot water and pinch of salt for some sauce
Stews (beef stew without beef!)
Veggie pie - peas, carrots, sweet corn in a cheesy roux with veggy stock (in not a chef ) with a pastry lid on top!
Salad bowl with Tesco veggie burgers thrown on top (I love the potato and veg kind)
Mexican stuffed peppers with soy mince
Feta (or dairy free alternative) penne pasta with spinach roasted tomatoes and lime
Caribbean cock soup stew ... whatever veg you like with all purpose seasoning and cock soup sachet

Hope that helps!?

 

[They See Me Trolling...]

I don’t have any specific recommendations but I would suggest you could always do it gradually as every little helps. Do one day a week then two then three, or even just changing the main dinner to plant based and gradually changing other bits x

 

[ComeForTheX StayForTheY]

Hey some lunch ideas which work if you aren't massively hungry -
Veggie soups
Salad e.g grated carrot, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, optional warmed falafel
Bagel with avocado/ salad / vegan mayo
Roasted peppers / carrots with hummus
Sweet potato/ baked potato with fridge leftovers

 

[1001 others]

I do three days plant-based, and four days normal (my normal, which is gluten- and lactose-free).

On my plant-based days, I have:
* Soy coffees
* Herbal tea
* Cold green salads with tofu
* Hot salads with pasta
* Vegan cheese (goodness knows what it's made of but it's dairy-free and tastes like the real thing)
* Vegan wraps
* Vegetable soups (pumpkin; tomato; potato and leek; carrot and orange; kumara)
* Vegan diet shakes

I actually feel more alert and lighter (energy-wise) on my plant-based days than I do when I eat normally.

In the three months I've been following this regime, I've lost just over 1kg (without even trying).

 

[Gym&Tonic]

I prefer Oat milk over Soya milk. I also really like

Hummus
Falafel
Guacamole
Three Bean Chilli

Lots of things are accidentally vegan. Just off the top of my head most bread, crumpets, peanut butter, marmite, rice noodles, Heinz baked beans, ketchup, rice, pasta. Then for the less healthy stuff Oreos, biscoff, party rings, digestive biscuit’s most flavours of walkers crisps and Pringles, most pot noodles. Its so much easier than you think.

 

[ispywithmylittleeye59]

I am similar to you - not veggie or vegan but like to eat veggie a lot of the time!

The Food Medic has lots of yummy veggie and vegan recipes on her Instagram and website they are all easy to make with not too many special ingredients!

For lunches - I add feta/mozzarella/hummus/guac to most of these:
Soup and a nice roll
Falafel in a salad/pitta/wrap
Cous cous / quinoa with sweet potato, chickpeas, veggies etc
Frittata with various veggies
Pasta salad with veggies, feta/mozzarella
Spicey rice salad with sweetcorn and avocado
Beans on toast

For tea:
Pasta in pesto/sauce and veggies
Pasta in tomato sauce with fake meatballs or fake sausages
Veggie stir fry with some toasted cashews on top
Egg fried rice with oowds
Fajita veggies and chickpeas with rice
Bean chilli
Veggie curry
Veggie/bean stew on baked potato
Veggie / fake meat wraps

I also prefer oat to almond milk. And Alpro chocolate milk is sooo good! Alpro also do good yoghurts and pudding pots.

Ben and Jerry’s vegan ice cream is

You will be surprised at how many of your usual snacks are “accidentally vegan”. Oreos are vegan and most crisps are!

If you’re out and about, most supermarkets and coffee shops etc have veggie/vegan lunches and cakes. Most restaurants have good veggie/vegan offerings too

You can get loads of good meat substitutes tbh, it’s just trial and error to find your faves I think. The Linda McCartney sausages and burgers are really good and I always have a pack in the freezer!

If you are a wine drinker watch out because not all wine is vegan!

That’s all I can think of for now but I’ll come back if I can think of more lol.

Not sure if it’s been mentioned but it’s a good idea to take iron and b12 supplements if you’re cutting down meat and dairy.

 

[Merpedy]

Weirdly prefer coconut milk over soya/almond (though roasted almond isn't too bad) but I don't think it's that good for the planet?

Burgers with meat-substitutes are very nice and easy imo, plus I find that vegan cheese isn't too bad if you melt it. I have also heard that you can substitute the patty for mushrooms so that may be fun

Noodles or pasta dishes with tofu mixed in are also very nice. Though it may take a while to get the tofu cooked to your liking and I find that a good amount of oil is important. I know Asda sells marinated and drained tofu if you don't want to go through the hassle of that, I imagine the likes of Tesco also do?

Kale chips are really nice for snacking, especially if you have an air fryer you can use to make them fairly quickly