Burritos, tacos, and other stuff of that sort are your best friend. Super cheap, near damn effortless to prepare, highly customizable, and easy to make vegan. Use beans (refried, black, and/or pinto) in place of any meat to make it vegan. Put the beans, choice of veggies (lettuce, pico, jalapeños, and even mushrooms are great choices), and a sauce (or a few sauces) on a tortilla of your choice. The beans make it nice and filling, as it gives it quite a bit of protein.

I also recently found this tasty trick with portobello mushrooms. I’ll paste it from another comment:

Recently, I managed to make some strikingly good gluten-free vegan deli slices using portabella mushrooms.

I don’t have any issues with consuming gluten, but I can’t use gluten to make vegan deli slices because VWG/seitan is not readily available where I am, and pre-packaged deli slices like Tofurky are expensive, so I started to seek different solutions.

Tofu is alright, especially since it’s quite rich in protein, but I still feel like the texture doesn’t come close enough.

Once I sliced some portabella mushrooms really damn thin and seasoned them just right, I realized that the texture outcome is perfect. It goes so good on a sandwich, but ya gotta cut it real thin.

Typically, the seasoning I use is:

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp EVOO
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1.5 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 tbsp agave
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• a pinch of cinnamon

Coat the thin slices in this marinade in a container.

I use the microwave, and I microwave it for a fairly lengthy amount of time (5 minutes) to release the moisture and give it that perfect texture. I put a lid on the container and just crack it slightly.

Would highly recommend! I put nutritional yeast and sriracha on it as a sandwich, and I eat it with BBQ beans and non-mayo coleslaw on the side.

Random bullshit I found in my fridge fried rice. Random bullshit I found in my fridge noodles are great too.

I have some vegan recipes here (you have to dice the veggies in most of them but you can also use a blender to make it easier):

https://www.mjandhungryman.com/vegetarian-mexican-lentils/

https://minimalistbaker.com/easy-chana-masala/

https://rainbowplantlife.com/10-ingredient-vegan-red-lentil-bolognese/

Just follow the instructions and it will be fine, you just put the ingredients into a pot and cook them

dont be scared about the idea of “Making dishes” the best cuisine came from putting together what you have on hand, and some preparation ahead of time.

• buy onions, learn how to chop them up, put them in a heated pan with some oil, let them get glassy and fragrant. The will add flavor to meals and have good nutrients in them.
• buy some dried beans, learn to soak them 8-24 hrs before you use them, in a pot, you already have onions chopped and pan frying, you put your soaked beans in (discard the soaking water, always use fresh water). If you’re asking “What kind of beans?” start with black beans.
• Learn about spices: trust your nose, put more than you think in, you need to taste what you’re putting in and a new cook tends to underseason. Grab Cumin, grab paprika, grab turmeric, when you add them to your food, some will work better when you add them in the beginning, some later. I dump these into the pot with the onions at the start.
• dont be scared of salt. with beans, you’ll need to wait until the cooking is done.
• for extra flavor, use a vegetable stock. eventually you will think to make your own. they add an extra punch of flavors.

To make beans, I’ll give you a fast and loose recipe, you will not be following a recipe every time you make this, that’s fine, that’s cooking.

• start with 1 cup of your beans. You will find a bowl or pot to soak them in with headroom to let the beans DOUBLE in size over the course of the soaking process. you will do this the night before, or the morning you want to make them.
• when your ready, drain the soaking water, put the beans aside, and chop an onion to what ever size you’re capable of making. knife skills will be important, take the time to learn as you continue this process, dont worry about failures, they still make good food
• follow the description of cooking the onions. If you cook over open flame, go a medium high heat. not that big a flame. If it’s not, go like 70%-80% of your max range. You dont need to crank the heat, you’ll burn the food. Instead, take the time to let the pan get hot, put your oil down, and look at how it goes. Most cooking oil act the same, the oil will easily roll around the pot or pan you’re cooking in, and look a little more glossy. If you put the onions in now you’ll hear that nice sizzle from them. Stir them around, but not too much, you’re agitating them to keep them from cooking them on one side too much, keeping them even. let them look glassy and transparent. Add the spices, mix them in, wait until you smell it coming off the pot.
• at this point you put your soaked beans in, then follow them with water or stock and you fill up past the beans. We’re working with like a soup pot here. Turn up the heat a little bit and watch the water start to boil.
• when they start to boil, turn the heat down to maintain the current temperature, and cover. Beans take like an hour to cook. Leave them alone, but do check in to make sure there’s still enough water in there. Top up if you gotta.
• After an hour, check the beans by scooping up a spoonful and blowing on them. If they’re ready the skin will peel itself off when you blow on it. Go ahead and try them, season as you wish, and to make sure that the beans are nice and soft.
• if it’s to your liking you can serve.

but not if you’re wanting to elevate them!

• the magic (in my opinion) comes now, after cooking, you want to simmer the pot some more UNCOVERED, and let the bean soup concentrate.
• you can do this while making rice on the side.
• Rice is easy
  • Wash the rice until the water is clear using tap water
  • use a separate pot with some oil and half an onion, fry the onion a little, then put the rice in
  • add water past the rice, people swear up to the second knuckle of your finger, maybe you need 1-2 inches, 5-7cm, whatever.
  • boil rice but watch it.
  • the water will boil under the level of the rice, pay attention
  • you will cover the rice while there’s water now under the level of the rice and you will reduce the heat.
  • you are now steaming the rice, you want to have it do this for like 10 mins, trust your gut, you cant uncover it until it’s over.
  • 10-12 mins, check the rice, use a spoon and fluff it a little and the oil we put earlier will likely have fried the bottom layer this helps you gauge if you used enough heat at the simmer.
  • this is delicious by the way
  • serve

that’s an easy dinner right there. Typically i want one more thing to really complete it. I think about the palate when making these things, we know Sweet, we know savory, we know fats (dont underestimate fats), we also need acid. We need some sourness, from fermented things, pickles, or limes and vinegar. Hot sauces. I was vegan for a while and making sure to hit on all these was important to completing a meal. With this black beans and rice, i would have a side of diced tomatoes and onions with cilantro, olive oil, salt and pepper, and cut avocados.

I know it’s a lot but it’s not actually that intimidating.

What do you already like eating? What do you have for kitchen stuff? Do you have a kitchen where you live? If I’ve got a baseline its easier than just making up some recipes I think are easy. I can also give advice on how to make more complex dishes quickly and with less effort. My first one is just burritos, get canned black beans, some refried beans, some onions and peppers, give the black beans a fry on a bit hotter than medium, dont drain all the bean juice, leave a bit so it mixes with the pan oil and reduces to a thicc good while youre frying your black beans, i spice it wirh cumin, chilli powder, dark paprika and cayenne, if you only get one spiceout of these, make it cumin, cumin is magix. Add onions and peps about half way through this process. Then add the refried beans, lower or turn off the heat depending on your pan and stir it around until you have a good paste going on. Put that paste on a tortilla and add salsa or whatever, if you have another pan id recommend giving the wrapped burrito a quick fry as well to seal it and make it a lil crispy, you can also bake it at 350 for around 3-5 min. Should also leave you a solid amount of beany goodness to keep in the fridge after and then you can heat it.and eat it on demand, it makes a solid base for a chip dip too

https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chana-masala/#wprm-recipe-container-37228

https://houseofyumm.com/mexican-picadillo/

https://www.loveandlemons.com/minestrone-soup/

https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/steamed-tofu/ (this is in the heavy rotation)

https://nourishedbynic.com/the-best-tofu-meatballs/ (kind of a long prep time, but pretty easy)

I like making tofu okanomiyaki too.

I’m gonna delete this comment within a few days, so bookmark whatever seems interesting! :)

Shorbat Adas (Lentil Soup) It’s a levantine dish.

Ingredients: Half an onion 1 or two potatoes (can be fine without) 1 carrot 2 cups red lentils (can be less, this amount fed me and my partner for like 4 days lol)

Dice the onion, loosely chop the carrots and potatoes

Fry the onions in olive oil until golden, then add the potatoes and carrots.

Wash your lentils (dont be nasty!) then drop them into the pot. Immediately pour water into the pot until there’s about 2 inches of water above the lentils.

Add curry powder, cumin, all-spice to taste. Sorry I can’t give an exact measurement I just throw stuff in there and add more later if it’s too bland. I go heavy on the cumin since I love that shit.

Salt and pepper to taste (I go a little heavy on the pepper too!)

Wait for the water to boil, then turn the heat down to low and let it simmer until the carrots and potatoes are mushy and the lentils are breaking down. (Takes roughly 30 minutes).

Let it cool down a bit, get an immersion blender, blend it all until it’s smooth and there aren’t any chunks, taste it and add more spices as you see fit, and serve!

This basic formula. basically 5 oz of protein like tuna, tofu, salmon, chicken, 1/2 a cup of frozen beans like edamame, lima beans, mayo/miraclewhip/yogurt/sour cream + spices as you feel, flavored oil as you feel. either fry an egg, or make tea eggs/tamari eggs ahead of time and keep in the fridge.

Sausages and sauerkraut.

Start peeling and boiling some potatoes. This is optional you can also just eat bread for carbs.

For the sauerkraut, optionally fry a small diced onion in oil until soft, chuck in a bay leaf, juniper berry, and sauerkraut. Add some liquid (water/wine/sherry/Shoaxing cooking wine), just enough so it doesn’t go dry and burn the bottom, and simmer on low with the lid on. Canned sauerkraut just needs to be warmed up basically, but you can also simmer it for an hour and it’ll still be fine.

If it’s the kind of sausage that just needs warming up, chuck it in with the sauerkraut. Otherwise fry sausage in separate pan.

Serve with you favourite mustard.

Potatoes are great for airfryers! Just slice em up and toss with seasoning, salt, oil. Lasts for a long time in the fridge and the starches are more nutritious when re-heated.

Frozen veg are good for air fryers, a lot of them come pre-seasoned! I like the brussel sprouts the best.

Eating bread (toasted) and potatoes together is one of my staples! Especially with some sprouts.

Kimchi + soft tofu + ramen (soy sauce flavor) add the kimchi and tofu to the soup and soft noodles.

It’s got meat but a regular of my diet is sausage and peppers. If you really don’t feel like cooking you can just buy the pre cooked sausage or kielbasa, add some oil to a pan, brown the peppers, add seasoning, brown the links, heat to desired, then serve with fresh white rice.

I could make Japanese curry every day honestly. You can get the curry blocks at a lot of grocery stores’ Asian aisles (if you’re in the US) or order on Amazon. They look like this:

The recipe is dead simple. The instructions on the box are 99% of the following, so just use that. Half a box makes about a 2-3 full servings and a full box makes 4-6.

1. Make rice or noodles (I put white rice in a rice cooker). Do the rest while it cooks.
2. Chop about 3-4 potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
3. Add whatever vegetables you want. (My version: Chop onion into 1-inch slices, chop carrots into tiny rounds, and optionally dice a little bit of red apple)
4. If you eat meat: brown meat in pot with a bit of oil (I like pork the best but use anything). Then toss in veg and fruit to cook a minute or two.
5. Toss in your potatoes and cover with water (2.5 cups if half a box and 5 if full box).
6. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Simmer until potatoes are done (10-ish minutes depending on potato size)
7. Toss in curry blocks and stir until all dissolved and thickened. I also throw in a tiny splash of soy sauce here sometimes.
8. Eat with rice or noodles.

You can improvise or change literally everything here if you want, too. I can probably make this in my sleep at this point lol

A quick Google search says that the curry blocks are vegan, so it’s easy to adapt. Found this recipe for it (pretty much the same as mine): https://sarahsvegankitchen.com/recipes/vegan-japanese-curry/

One of my favorite dishes is Palak Chicken ( Spinach Chicken )

https://www.teaforturmeric.com/palak-chicken-saag-chicken/

it’s a chicken curry with a bunch of spinach

You can make it vegetarian with paneer.

It’s not traditional but I think this curry with garbanzo beans would be quite nice ( and vegan )

Random bullshit from the pantry, and then add an unbelievable amount of seasoning. Half of what you make will be kinda trash, but the other half will surprise you. Do it for years, and eventually you might figure out which half is good.

mexican rice and other related stuff with rice is generally easy and relaxing to do, after you don’t fuck up the onions it all cooks by itself. Its like 10 min prep time, and then 20 minute wait time? (and you can add lots of veggies or beans to taste)

glorious mashed potatoes are also fairly quick to do, compared to fussing with baking or frying them. (well boiled potatoes are even faster, but have some margin of error on being undercooked/overcooked) (not so good on the healthiness side though, need a salad or some shit on the side)