Quick, or make ahead, vegetarian, low carb options? Does this exist?

[Sisyphus]

I'm banging my head here. My oldest and I are vegetarian. My dh is not, but he will eat what I fix and since he has high cholesterol and other health issues, it's best for him. My youngest does a great deal of physical activity. My oldest does zero and tends to chubby like his dad (though at 15 now he is slimming down without doing anything, so the chub may have been puberty related). For dh and my oldest, lower carb is best. We are insanely busy in the evenings and while I have tried to cook a good meal for lunch, have leftovers for dh, prepare something healthy-ish for oldest while we are gone at night...it's not really happening. It's just darn hard to take an hour or more of our school day to cook!

 

I am looking with longing at the freezer/crockpot type meals I used years ago wile working part time and home schooling. The running around is as much as a part time job, but none of those options are vegetarian or if they are, are carb heavy.

 

This is the most food knowledgeable board I know, so I thought I'd pick your brains. Help!!!

[Um_2_4]

I thought I could help till you said vegetarian... I am in the midst of planning HFLC meals right now as DH and myself need to do this and DS10 would benefit from fewer carbs (his diet his too rice/corn heavy, he is already gluten free due to allergies). But the science behind low carbing is to really replace those carbs with fats and some proteins and I am not sure HOW you would do that on 100% vegetarian diet? I think you would have to go heavy on the cheese/cream/avocado/olive oil ?

 

There are tons of things you could make fresh, but not sure how they would freeze? Spaghetti squash or zucchinni for "noodles" with vege sauce and cheese topping? I am tempted to try making some "noodles" and freezing them to see if they last, but think it might go mushy...

 

I heard oppsie rolls freeze well, haven't tried it yet, but then you could serve grilled portabello mushrooms on top as a mushroom burger

 

Some ideas I have so far:

baked egg casserole with onion, sausage and peppers can be made ahead and frozen in portions (maybe you could use a vege sausage? never checked the carb counts on those). Do fritattas freeze well? Never tried...

 

some side dishes could be made ahead in portion size and frozen: cauliflower/cheese casserole, eggplant/zucchini parmesan (use Parmesan cheese for breading and top with no sugar sauce/cheese),

 

maybe a vege lasagna but subsitute eggplant/zucchini for the noodles, some vege stir frys if you could chop and have it all ready ahead in a bag, so just stir fry and add sauce (google for low carb asian sauces, I even pre mix the sauce and freeze it in baggies). Then meat could be added on the side for those who eat it.

 

I am still trying to get a list together..

 

ohh.... you could also do the make ahead salad idea in the mason jars... you could try making them on sunday for the week...add nuts for protein/fat, some cream dressings (Google low carb dressings), nice cheeses

[Kerileanne99]

I can give it a try:)

We are vegetarian, and often need to prepare foods to freeze ahead of time. We do eat a fair amount of pasta, but I will try some of our go-to's that do not include those!

First off, have you tried some of the protein substitutes like Morningstar or Quorn? I have been veggie for over 25 years...and can honestly attest to the fact that meat substitute products are about 1 million times improved! At least some of them😋

I make pasta sauce with Morningstar crumbles, mushrooms, and lots of veggies. We eat it/freeze it over both pasta AND spaghetti squash.

One favorite dish to freeze: roast butternut squash in the oven. Cook Morningstar mince with garlic, onions, chopped veggies and minced mushrooms. Layer in a baking tray. We top with a bit of vegan Feta and pine nuts, roast again. This is actually better dozen and warmed!

The Quorn (British) products are not soy, buy are micoprotein, from mushrooms. They are ready to cook and allow us to freeze lots of sides, then add the protein.

My dad had a serious cholesterol issue, but is an avid meat lover. Eating low carb AND veggie even 3-4 days/week allowed him to actually lose weight, lower cholesterol, AND not require his meds anymore.

We do tend to eat a LOT of Indian foods as they lend themselves very easily to being vegetarian and low-carb if you keep an eye out...not to mention all of the other health benefits! Whilst many recipes are usually served over rice, it is not necessary! For extra protein we still use meat substitutes in many recipes.

[mamaraby]

Well, I don't know that it will necessarily help in your case, but Robin Robertson's slow cooker cookbooks might help. Isa from PPK has a new cookbook called "Isa Does It" that has fairly quick and easy recipes, but she's more McDougall/Esselstyn friendly than low carb.

 

Most of my quick and easy dinners probably won't help either as we're more McDougall/Esselstyn/Campbell here. If I want something quick we start with a starch (potatoes, brown rice, quinoa, millet, oatmeal, etc) that I either have cooked ahead or have set to cook on it's own like the delay start on my rice cooker. Then we pile on the greens (Cynthia Lair's Quick Boil Greens are something you can make ahead, stick in the fridge and then reheat later) and a bunch of other veggies with maybe some beans, tofu, tempeh, or seitan to round it out. For flavor we might add something like salsa or reduced sodium tamari, but lately it's been some salt free seasonings from Frontier Co-op. Maybe you could start with greens and build up from there?

 

Otherwise, what about making a big bowl of salad and sticking it in the fridge? Keep some other toppings on hand and then folks can help themselves in a hurry. Make quick boiled collard greens and then use the leaves to make wraps with hummus and veggies. Use lettuce leaves to wrap around chickpea spread (some ume plum vinegar plus celery seed for a briney chickpea of the sea).

 

Breakfast for dinner? We'd have pancakes or waffles, but what about scrambled tofu in a low carb wrap for a breakfast burrito? We usually use oil free tortillas and the fill them with scrambled tofu, spinach, salsa, and occassionally the tiniest bit of Daiya pepper jack. I make big trays of these and then freeze them before placing them in a big zip top bag. Wrap one in paper towel and then 1 1/2 min time deforst, 1 1/2-2 min on high (or whatever is your microwave default) and it's done. You could easily add some peppers and onions in here for something akin to fajitas.

 

Speaking of fajitas - what about the Upton seitan strips with peppers and onions and pinto beans? Add in a massaged kale salad to green it up.

[Desert Strawberry]

Can you vegetarianize some of your favorites? Replace meats with mushrooms, or other veggies. Add lots of sweet potatoes, squash, lentils, greens, cabbage. There are lots of vegetarian crock pot cookbooks for Kindle. Keep an eye out and you can get them for free.