Hey guys, I've been going strong for a few weeks now, (9lbs down!!!) but I have been having some trouble coming up with filling meals within my caloric limit. I'm sticking to 1200-1500 a day but as a most of the time vegan (with occasional forays into the fish world) I'm used to cooking a lot of foods that rely on carbs like pasta, rice, potatoes etc as a main component and these take up a lot of calories very quickly.
Does anyone have any good recipes that are filling and low cal and that preferably don't use a ton of ingredients or time?
skip the potatoes, pasta, and go easy on the rice. potatoes will fill you now, but leave you hungrier soon. consider spaghetti squash: cut in half, roast while you make sauce and set the table, when it's done, scoop the innards and eat with sauce.
fresh/frozen green beans: a staple from my 1350kcal/day era. very low in calories (20 kcal/cup raw, 40 cooked, if i remember right), and you'll get full before you can down tons of them.
filling: beans. i've been making pintos from dry lately; put on a pot to boil for a couple hours. make lots when you have time and eat them all week in your dishes.
asian cabbage slaw: chop a head of cabbage thinly, mix in rice vinegar, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and a dab of chili oil or sriracha. bonus points for a chopped green onion, grated ginger, minced garlic, or a slivered leek added to the mix.
Lately my alternative to starchy carbs has been cauliflower rice. You just cut off a chunk of however much cauliflower you'd like, pulse it up into 'rice' in the food processor, perhaps with a clove of garlic or whatever else strikes your fancy, then saute in a nonstick pan with a bit of salt & pepper and whatever other seasonings grab you. This works well as a simple side dish (this week I did baked yam rounds and roasted broccolette alongside), or to serve something like a stir fry or curry on top.
The other day I didn't know what to serve with it, but I knew it was going to be my starting point, so I threw it in the pan, then started looking around the kitchen. I came up with a can of pinto beans that I rinsed and threw in, then a can of diced tomatoes, and a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach wilted in at the end. Seasoned with basil, salt & pepper- it was quite good! I had the leftovers at room temperature at work today, and they were actually quite yummy unheated as well.
Oh, but I'm farting like a mofo tonight! So that might happen to you too- be warned
The cauliflower rice does sound good! And I have been using a lot of spaghetti squash. The other night I also made some zucchini noodles by using a vegetable peeler to slice them thin and then cut those strips in half. I cooked a half serving of linguine and then sauteed them together with a little pesto, red peppers, and a few sliced up sun-dried tomatoes and it was really great!
Yes, I need to get on the spaghetti squash train! I keep hearing about it everywhere, and have a few recipes bookmarked to try.
The other thing I've been doing is making miso soup before lunch or dinner. It's so easy! When I come home starving, and want dinner NOW, but it's going to be 30-45 minutes away, and I want something salty and am tempted to start snacking, I make it.
So the way I make it, all you do is throw 2 cups of water in a pot to boil. Once it's boiled, or almost boiled, you take it off the burner and add 2 Tbsp of brown rice (genmai) miso paste (available in a tub in the refrigerator section- keeps forever) whisk it until it dissolves. then you pour that into a bowl and I like to top it with one chopped up green onion, and half a sheet of sushi nori, cut into little strips using kitchen scissors, but some people will throw veggies on top- even avocado. I've never tried it because it is my snack in a rush.
It's really yummy and staves off hunger. Probably helps me to eat less at meals, too.
Bake some tofu with tamari sauce and use it to munch. Spray a baking pan with PAM or other nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350. Pour out some tamari sauce on plate. Slice tofu and dip in tamari sauce. Either bread it with nutritional yeast, or leave plain. I like mine crispy, so I slice it thin. If you are not sure, slice different thicknesses to experiment the first time.
Bake about thirty minutes. Take out of oven, spray the top side of the tofu with more nonstick spray, and flip. Bake some more until it looks good to you. The cooking time will vary,
You can take slices out to munch, or you can cut into cubes and add to stir fry (half cup rice, lots of veggies, and your tofu).
quinoa duo from trader joes is a great buy and fast and easy to make I just pour out my serving in a bowl and add some frozen veggies to it whatever i want and microwave it and just eat it like that it fills me up for hours! So easy http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iqMAOpdOrK...noa_salad4.jpg
I made these "Thrive almond flaxseed burgers" (but make them into balls not burgers) and put them in a salad made with kale, broccoli, and whatever other veggie I feel like. Then I put a dollop of hummus instead of dressing. Munching on the kale takes a long time and the salad fills me up for at last 3 hours. Which to me is fabulous for any vegan/vegetarian meal and what I strive for!
The burgers/balls contain:
1 cup almonds (soaked overnight)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
2 Tbsp balsalmic vinegar
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 cloves garlic
sea salt to taste.
Blend all ingredients and form into balls. You don't have to cook them at all. I don't add that much garlic and I actually halve the entire recipe and it makes about 6 balls. I usually put 1.5 or 2 in my salad.
You can also get vegan protein powder and make a protein pancake in the morning with it. Let me know if you want that recipe too.
Vegan protein powders are made from a mix of things but the better ones are brown rice, pea and hemp (not necessarily all together). I have a meal replacement that is made from an assortment for freeze-dried veggies/plant-based foods. I've also seen quinoa, amaranth and other things as well.
All plant-based foods have some level of protein in them so theoretically you could make protein powder out of almost any fruit, veggie, legume or grain. Fruits would be a little tricker because they are lowest in protein though.
Vegan Weight Loss
