[lettingslenderin]

I found one free online vegan menu planner (http://www.nutritionmd.com) that has recipes, grocery lists, and so forth. It looks delicious to me. But it's not geared towards weight loss.

I'm seriously considering veganism as my maintenance and transition plan (it's edging out Jenny Craig, in fact, so I must be getting serious in my research). The thing is, it looks like a LOT of cooking for someone homeschooling two young children. Plus, I cannot imagine my kids eating most of it, so I would be cooking a separate meal for them. My vegetarian dh will eat food I prepare, but it has to be bland.

Maybe our food issues are so odd that this is all I am going to be able to find. But maybe some of you vegetarian chicks will have some additional resources for me?

[Suzanne 3FC]

Have you considered eDiets Vegetarian Plan? It's not free, but they include a lot of menu ideas and recipes, and you could cancel later without a long term commitment.

[SoulBliss]

Ooh! Cooking as a family is a great homeschooling activity! Cooking involves all the important components:

Social-emotional (cooperation, taking turns, following directions, feeling frustrated/proud of one's efforts etc.)

Math, logic and science (measuring, counting, following a sequence, the chemistry of change: ie: liquid to solid, liquid to gas, yeast action etc.)

Language development (acquiring use of new words, word application, reading etc.)

I could go on, but you get the idea.

There are many quick, easy to make yummy vegan foods. Just ask if you want a recipe veganized!

[nelie]

I don't have any and I don't have kids but...

I keep my meals pretty simple.

I make salads for multiple days (chopped up lettuce, veggies) and use it for lunches and dinners. While I'm making the salads, I'll also fill small tupperwares with chopped up veggies for snacks.

I make beans for multiple days. There are bean casseroles which can be pretty easily prepared, popped in the oven and cooked. My staple though is a couple different can beans, can diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, some spices simmered on the stove.

I'll occasionally buy fresh veggies but frozen veggies are quick. You can roast them or simple steam them in the microwave.

I have a rice cooker which makes rice at the touch of a button.

On the weekends, I may take more time and make a dish but I always make a large batch so that I have multiple days worth of food.

I basically cook/prep food a couple times per week, usually less than an hour each time. It is pretty simple

[lettingslenderin]

Suzanne, is it a food delivery service? What do you think about plain old veganism with a scale for maintenance? In other words, eat vegan, and if, by some fluke, I gain weight, diet for a few days to bring it back down?

I agree that cooking is a great homeschool activity, but some times, I just want to cook a quick meal and get the food on the table. Without help.

[Suzanne 3FC]

It's not food delivery, it's a menu planner type of service. They have tons of diet plans to choose from, and you can change plans at any time. You'll get a menu based on your diet choice, including a vegetarian plan. If you don't like any of the menu choices, you can click to choose a different meal to replace it. Each meal includes a recipe, and I think most serve 1 but can be easily increased. It's great for anyone that needs more specific guidelines to follow. But not everyone needs it, so then choosing your own meals works really well too, lol.