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Easy, healthy, non-weird vegan recipes for chronic fatigue. 👩‍🍳🥕🛌

JimW said:
Would you count savoury porridges as weird? Got a slow cooker with a timer and can set that to do a three bean porridge or millet gruel for breakfast and have that with pickles or fermented tofu for spice. Sets you right up, but maybe acquired taste!
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Savoury porridge is a fine thing indeed. There’s a great bean porridge that comes from the Middle East that I like a lot. But basically once you get the idea that beans make porridge you can make it up as you go along. Just cook them til they’re soft enough to go to mush. Yum.


Amaranth, millet, teff, quinoa also make good porridge while avoiding the grain, which some chronic fatigue people find aggravating (or anyway the gluten for teff and millet). These can have more micronutrients than wheat /oats so added bonus.


I also like these porridges as sweet food too, with coconut milk and coconut oil added, seeds and nuts, vanilla extract, chopped dates and other dried fruit.


It can go stodgy if not eaten right away but just heat it with more fluid of any kind ( juice, water, nut milk) and it’s a whole new meal. Can be less smoooooth but just as tasty and nourishing.


Anyone having trouble eating can benefit from snacks like nuts and seeds, black chocolate, sprouts. If your appetite and energy for eating is low, try to make sure the little you can eat packs a nutritional punch.


ETA
Add a spoon of nut butter or seed butter for added benefits.
 
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In my experience Sri Lankan food is very vegan friendly and easy enough to make as any cream element is invariably coconut milk. Therefore a Google if Sri Lankan plus ingredient of choice usually turns up something decent. I even have a Sri Lankan cashew nut curry recipe I'll pm if its not considered a piss take.

Otherwise I would agree with others that puy and red lentils are the best. I also make a summer veg roast (everything bunged in a tray for half an hour with some oil and any herbs and spices I fancy) served stirred through with giant Couscous which is super easy.
 
If you had a slow cooker, you could make a load at once, might be helpful?

You could do a stew:
Onion, carrot, celery, fry off, add about a bulb of garlic, minced.
Tomatoes and dried beans that youve soaked (I'm growing some big, white ones, which are technically runners, but I bet butterbeans would do), maybe borlotti too
Puy lentils/split peas/pearl barley/regular lentils (mix it up depending on your mood)
Plenty of celery salt, pepper, I would also put oregano or thyme in it (I'd also probably either put so much pepper it was hot in or chilli)
edit: cider vinegar really "lifts" it.
Then, when heating to eat, whack some shredded kale or even better bootstrap kale if you can get it, until its softened.
 
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This is one of my all time favourite recipes . It’s easy to make, keeps well as leftovers, and is unexpectedly tasty, given the simplicity of the ingredients.


MJEDDRAH
“This is a wonderful basic food—one of the most popular dishes in the Middle East. No wonder! According to Biblical scholars, Mjeddrah is the ‘mess of pottage’ for which Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. When you taste its simple, hearty flavor, you’ll see why.”
(3-4 servings)

Bring lentils and water to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet and sauté onions and salt until onions are translucent
Heat the remaining oil in another skillet and sauté rice for 3 minutes
Combine lentils, onions, and rice, cover tightly and simmer until lentils and rice are tender, about 1 hour
Up to 2 cups more water may be needed to cook the rice
Stir occasionally
Add more salt, if necessary.

Mjeddrah is traditionally eaten with a salad and the following dressing on top (like a tostada without the tortilla). Choose from among lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, green onions, cucumber, radishes, bell pepper, and sprouts. For the dressing, combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika, 1⁄4 teaspoon dry mustard, one clove garlic minced, 1⁄4 teaspoon honey, and salt to taste, and toss with salad.


I ignore the salad bit here and go for dead simple.
The salad I make for this is as simple as it gets.

Crisp salad leaves (Kos or little Gem or Chicory, radicchi)
Separate the leaves
Add good olive oil, salt and lemon juice
That’s it.


ETA
Even more easy if using tinned lentils, which I do sometimes.
 
This is very easy especially if you are using frozen/jar/tube garlic and herbs, you could top it with a pack of prepared herby salad like you can get in the supermarket if you didn't have energy to chop stuff (a decent food processor could also be a big help with stuff like veg and salad prep).

Helps if I include the link to the recipe mind you

www.themediterraneandish.com

Ful Mudammas (Egyptian Fava Beans) - The Mediterranean Dish

Ready to make the best foul mudammas? This recipe is it! Creamy fava beans w/ cumin, olive oil, and a zippy lemon garlic sauce with chili peppers. Vegan. GF
www.themediterraneandish.com www.themediterraneandish.com

Some folks cannot eat fava/broad beans but other beans would also work.


Another thought - chickpea tagine type thing - a 1 pot bung everything in and leave it to simmer meal.
 
Epona said:
This is very easy especially if you are using frozen/jar/tube garlic and herbs, you could top it with a pack of prepared herby salad like you can get in the supermarket if you didn't have energy to chop stuff (a decent food processor could also be a big help with stuff like veg and salad prep).

Helps if I include the link to the recipe mind you

www.themediterraneandish.com

Ful Mudammas (Egyptian Fava Beans) - The Mediterranean Dish

Ready to make the best foul mudammas? This recipe is it! Creamy fava beans w/ cumin, olive oil, and a zippy lemon garlic sauce with chili peppers. Vegan. GF
www.themediterraneandish.com www.themediterraneandish.com

Some folks cannot eat fava/broad beans but other beans would also work.


Another thought - chickpea tagine type thing - a 1 pot bung everything in and leave it to simmer meal.
Click to expand...
Weird, I spend most of late April, early May eating those things, but I'd never considered leaving them on to dry
 
danny la rouge said:
I have chronic fatigue and chronic pain. I need to be able to feed myself using recipes that don’t require me to stand over a chopping board or stove for ages.

I require them to be healthy. Not full of over-processed meat or cheese substitutes.

I also don’t want weirdness like soaking cashews and blending them to make cheese replacement sauce. There's nothing wrong with cashews, but just put cashews in the recipe. Don’t make them into cat vomit.

And not full of sugar, and all the other evilness of modern, poisonous industrial “food” production. Just healthy, whole, food.

Are there any books that meet this brief? It can’t be that hard, surely?

(I used to be vegetarian, since 1983, but finally went vegan at the beginning of this year: after a few years or dairy reduction I finally took the plunge).

Oh, and don’t be a dick. I’m not well, and I’m not in the mood.
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There’s a book ‘diet for a small planet’ that’s been on our shelves for years that may have recipes to suit you just now. I’m sorry you’re not feeling well x
 
This is one of my favourite chilli recipes for batch cooking
Butternut & black bean chilli
You can use tinned beans, tinned tomatoes instead of fresh, frozen diced onion/garlic/chilli and fresh or frozen pre-chopped butternut squash and/or whatever other veg you want - sweet potato is good.
Baking the squash first isn't necessary, though it isn't much extra effort if you're using the ready prepared stuff. Just let it cook for longer if you're adding it raw.
I use more spices (both variety and quantity) than the recipe, but you can change that to taste and while they make it look like a complicated recipe with lots of ingredients, it isn't actually much work to add a few spoonfuls of things to a pan.
Supermarket own-brand packs of plain microwave rice (esp. aldi/lidl) are pretty cheap and go well with it.
 
QueenOfGoths said:
These are some I've tried and enjoyed. One does have cashew nuts but not soaked or blended:)

www.bbc.co.uk

Chilli-spiked greens in coconut milk recipe

A creamy vegan traybake of summer vegetables with a spicy and zingy kick, perfect with noodles or rice.
www.bbc.co.uk
Click to expand...
This is similar to one of my favourite recipes, which I was gonna recommend. It does involve some chopping.

Roast lots of veg in the oven (pretty much any roastable veg). About 700-900g

Once roasted, Add 4 tablespoons of curry paste (about half a jar of Pataks) half a tin of coconut milk, and some leafy greens (spinach, chard etc). Heat through for about 10 minutes.

Either serve as is or mix in some cooked rice. Delicious and versatile.

Hope you feel better soon.
 
Pickman's model said:
Contrary to the notion there's nothing wrong with cashews bit that's not quite the case, see eg www.insideover.com/society/the-cashew-nut-cruelty-that-no-one-tells-you-about.html/
Click to expand...

I know.
It’s shit.
Everything is shit.

The granite work surface in your kitchen, the rare elements in your phone, Brazilian coffee, tinned tomatoes, chocolate, it all involves slave labour, forced labour, danger.

Avocados, almonds, agave syrup soy cause environmental vandalism.


I don’t know how to live sustainably any more. I don’t know how to live my own life well without causing harm or damage. Is it even possible?
 
story said:
This is one of my all time favourite recipes . It’s easy to make, keeps well as leftovers, and is unexpectedly tasty, given the simplicity of the ingredients.


MJEDDRAH
“This is a wonderful basic food—one of the most popular dishes in the Middle East. No wonder! According to Biblical scholars, Mjeddrah is the ‘mess of pottage’ for which Esau sold his birthright to Jacob. When you taste its simple, hearty flavor, you’ll see why.”
(3-4 servings)

Bring lentils and water to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet and sauté onions and salt until onions are translucent
Heat the remaining oil in another skillet and sauté rice for 3 minutes
Combine lentils, onions, and rice, cover tightly and simmer until lentils and rice are tender, about 1 hour
Up to 2 cups more water may be needed to cook the rice
Stir occasionally
Add more salt, if necessary.

Mjeddrah is traditionally eaten with a salad and the following dressing on top (like a tostada without the tortilla). Choose from among lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, green onions, cucumber, radishes, bell pepper, and sprouts. For the dressing, combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika, 1⁄4 teaspoon dry mustard, one clove garlic minced, 1⁄4 teaspoon honey, and salt to taste, and toss with salad.


I ignore the salad bit here and go for dead simple.
The salad I make for this is as simple as it gets.

Crisp salad leaves (Kos or little Gem or Chicory, radicchi)
Separate the leaves
Add good olive oil, salt and lemon juice
That’s it.


ETA
Even more easy if using tinned lentils, which I do sometimes.
Click to expand...
Sounds excellent. I'm going to try this!
 
Here is another really simple vegan dish I like for when I’m knackered.

Get a squash or a pumpkin. Big enough for whoever is eating. So sometimes I’ll get a small one, or two small ones, or a larger one. Any kind will do.
Bung it in the oven on a baking tray. No need to prick it. Bake til you can run a knife through it. Cut it in half or quarters and spread apart. Add a couple of handfuls of spinach leaves, oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, anything else you fancy eg soya sauce instead of salt, vegan bacon bits, vegan cheese, left overs whatever. Leave in the oven long enough for the spinach to wilt and everything else to warm up or melt. Serve and eat. You can eat the skin too.

It’s basically a baked potato but with a gourd instead of a potato. So add whatever you might think for a baked potato. Except baked beans might not work. I don’t much like baked beans so I don’t have baked potato and beans, which is why I’ve never been on the cheese & beans / beans & cheese thread.

Sometimes, if it’s taken long enough to cook the gourd, the seeds will be nicely cooked. If not I’ll save them back and toast them. I don’t mind the shells but you may want to shuck them. Butternut squash obvs doesn’t have the seeds.

I‘ll often make more than I need cos I love leftovers. Saves on fuel cost too. And on washing the pots.
 
These Onion bhajis are vegan and easy to make. They’re also baked rather than deep fried so healthier than usual.

Makes 25 small bhajis

Ingredients

4 large onions (chopped)
3 tbsp oil
12 - 16 green chillies (chopped) - or according to taste
Juice of one lemon
4 tbsp gram flour

Pan spices - 1tsp cumin seeds, 2tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp Nigella seeds
Mix spices - finely grind 1tsp cumin seeds with 1tsp sea salt, handful of fresh chopped coriander

Method

1) Cook onions and pan spices with the oil in a wide frying pan until onions are translucent
2) Put into bowl with all other ingredients and mix well - adding a dash of cold water if mixture too thick
3) Line a baking tray with baking parchment and spread a tsp of oil across its surface.
4) Put tsps of the mixture on the parchment
5) Bake for 20-25mins at 200C

Serve with raita
 
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Tofu satay

Cube a block of tofu, drizzle with oil and put in oven for about 20 mins or until slightly crispy

In a big pan, fry up an onion with curry powder and then add some chooped greens, garlic and chili.

Once the veg is cooked add a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter, half a tin of coconut milk, and a tin of kidney beans. Simmer that all for a few minutes, adding salt and curry powder if needed.

Stir in some pre-cooked noodles (straight to wok type) and simmer for a couple more minutes, then stir in your tofu.
 
farmerbarleymow said:
Do you have a pressure cooker too danny la rouge? Some recipes in a book I've got more or less involve minimal faff - sometimes just chucking everything into it in one go, and letting it cook.
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I was going to suggest that, we have one. Great for cooking beans, brown rice, lentils, soups, anything, in a short time. They are also energy efficient. Cooking your own grains at home, in bulk, works out cheaper than buying cans. At least it used to. Given how efficient modern pressure cookers are, I think it'll still work out cheaper.
 
David Clapson said:
Do you have cfs/me? If so, how does it influence your diet?
Click to expand...
Well, as you’ll know, getting a GP to say that is pretty much impossible. Mine has signed me off work with “chronic fatigue”, and has said to me it’s either Long Covid or CFS. But she has been frank enough to say if it’s the former, there’s no one to refer me to, that GPs are the “experts”, but they know next to nothing.

My feeling is that it’s Long Covid. It could be CFS/ME, but functionally there’s not much difference.

How does it affect my diet? Well, I don’t have the energy to cook. I’m good at cooking. I can do all sorts of fairly impressive stuff when in good health. But not now. So I’ve fallen into some bad habits.

What I'm keen to do is eat more healthily and see if it improves my fatigue symptoms.
 
story said:
I know.
It’s shit.
Everything is shit.

The granite work surface in your kitchen, the rare elements in your phone, Brazilian coffee, tinned tomatoes, chocolate, it all involves slave labour, forced labour, danger.

Avocados, almonds, agave syrup soy cause environmental vandalism.


I don’t know how to live sustainably any more. I don’t know how to live my own life well without causing harm or damage. Is it even possible?
Click to expand...
No, it's not. All you can do is minimise the massive harm we all do to the environment and fellow humans.
 
How best to be ethical while living in a capitalist society is a topic worthy of its own thread. One of my problems with the discourse, though, is that, by definition, it frames the problem in a liberal way. That is, the focus moves from the structural to individual morality. This philosophy of individualism, the fracturing of society as a whole into supposedly discrete and sovereign units, is one of the problems of capitalism. That is not to say that individual efforts make no difference, but that their weight on the lever - even combined - will never equal the force that the structures of capital can apply on their side of the seesaw.

Of course we are all connected, eventually, to everything. By continuing to accept the world systems that result in the abuse of cashew shellers we allow their abuse, and the abuse of others, to be perpetuated, even if we don't buy cashews, and in addition, we are buying from United Biscuits who own KP Nuts, or Lidl, who sell cashews, or the pub, who stock Twiglets, or the CD of Blur's greatest hits, from which royalties go to Alex James, whose farm hosted a United Biscuits-sponsored festival. And so on. We are all implicated, to varying degrees, because we are all connected. The notion of absolute individual sovereignty is in error.

However, I'd suggest that some actions have more impact than others, and that we do what we can. We cannot all disappear into the forest to live on roots and berries and lick the lichen off rocks. And what will have most effect is combining with others to affect what change we can.

Quite why this always comes up in vegan recipe threads is another matter. I became vegetarian for my own reasons. I eventually became vegan too for my own, personal reasons. I have never sought to convert anyone to eating the way I want to eat. I have, however, sought to spread anarchist communist ideas. I do think that working class people regaining community confidence and self activity through mutual aid and collective action, and by that process building solidarity and horizontal networks, is the only effective way to eventually change the world.

Anyway, back to recipes without cashew "cheese" please.
 
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