Veg*n Student...

So at this moment I'm vegetarian (although all the milk eggs and cheese is grossing me out). I was vegan for 2 1/2 years and I didn't find it difficult at all. Lately however I've gotten sick of the small selection that I feel I've given myself and know that I need to start eating something other than burritos, hummus, and pasta or I'll go crazy!

I'm a very busy student (who really doesn't love to cook) and I don't have the money to go out and buy a million ingredients from a fancy healthfood store to make each meal.

Does anyone have some quick and easy recipes (with ingredients that I can find at the local grocery store)??? Thanks!

Peace and Love, Nataly

A big bag of spinach, a bag of romaine, a can of black beans, carrots, mushrooms, canned beets, maybe even some dried fruit.  If you need it, find some vegetarian dressing, but be sure to read the labels.  I'm in the UK at the moment, so I don't have a good feel for what the US has to offer in this regard but balsamic vinaigrette is generally a good choice.

Make a giant salad (or several smaller salads).  Lots of fresh greens (make sure to wash them off!) top it with all the above and eat it up. 

When I ate eggs I'd have an omelet with spinach and cherry tomatoes. Best student snack ever.

Rice and beans (Uncle Ben's 90 second microwave rice is awesome and pretty cheap) add some black or kidney beans, veg chili, peanut butter and banana sandwiches :), wraps, stir fry, vegan sloppy joes etc...

I was never someone who ate soups often but as I was trying around vegan recipes, there was one for soup that became a favorite of mine and my guy's.

The best part about it is that even though there is cooking involved it sure does not feel like it. All you do is dump stuff into a pot and then let it cook.

So... in a medium pot/saucepan, you add:

1 1/2 cup of tomato juice

1/2 cup uncooked pasta (like shells, or bows, or whatever)

1 cup of canned chopped tomatoes (include the juice)

3/4 cup of canned beans (kidney and pinto work well)

1 tsp of granulated garlic

1 tsp of dried basil

You bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and you let it cook for about 20 minutes, and that's it.

That makes about 3 servings, and it is something that you can just put everything on the pot, start cooking, and go take a shower. By the time you're done, so is the soup. Then you can put it in a canister and take it with you for a quick and hearty lunch.

I usually just end up "dumping" a full can of the tomatoes and a can of beans since it is quicker and I do not need to measure and set aside anything. Hurray for laziness.

Awesome soup though!

Oh... unless of course you don't like the taste of tomato... =P 

 

yea soup is a great one..i am a poor student too n hate cooking but i buy a huge 2k bag of carrots for 99p ! bargan n make a big pot of carrot and coriander soup once a week. i do the same with what ever is going cheap at the market. i keep half out for the week n freeze the rest in servings so altho it mite take bout 20mins to cook, you really dont have to do much after that.

all u do is add a veg stock cube n powdered coriander (always gud to have in) n a bit pepper to taste ....well nice, cheap, healthy and quick!

I really like smart ground...so I buy that and I'll toss in some chili seasonings canned low sodium tomatoes and kidney and chili beans with some chopped up peppers...and I freeze portions of it so I have chili when it's cold:)

I also make homemade sloppy joes too with smart ground. 

what good suggestions!

Wow thanks guys.. those all really helped a lot... Can't wait to try them out! Maybe this will be what it takes to get me rollin and experimenting with some cooking...