When I was sick and had to eat relatively fat-free earlier this year, I used recipes from these vegan blogs. Hope they help!

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/

http://yeahthatveganshit.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_yeahthatveganshit_archive.html

http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/

http://www.bunnyfoot.blogspot.com/

ok-a made up by me one-
olive oil
bay leaf
can of white beans drained
oregano
basil
garlic
two cans of diced tomatoes
bow tie pasta
parm on the side for those who eat cheese.
No magic to the amounts
ALL teens like this one

Vegans don't eat chocolate. Have fresh fruit for her.

Why don't vegans eat chocolate? milk chocolate I understand, but does regular chocolate have milk in it? Certainly cocoa powder doesn't.
Linda c

"Vegans don't eat chocolate."

They don't???? Just make sure the chocolate you serve is not milk chocolate and doesn't have animal products in it, and there's plenty of good chocolates out there that fit that description, and I can't see any reason a vegan wouldn't enjoy chowing down on chocolate.

If she likes steamed broccoli, carrots and asparagus, you could make a nice antipasto type platter for her with those veggies, and serve a good vinegariette with them. Have a bean dish sans meat, or a pasta dish like noodlesportland's, and she should be fixed up.

Oh, I just remembered this recipe by Giada Delaurentis I've made before, and it's been well received by both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and it's suitable for vegans. It is a salad, but not a lettuce salad, so maybe she'd go for it. The recipe calls for chicken stock, but I substitute vegetable broth instead. Swanson's makes a good organic vegetable stock that's sold in quart boxes. There are other brands out there too, or you can easily make veggie stock yourself, if you prefer.

Mediterranean Salad
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (1-pound) box Israeli couscous (or any small pasta)
3 cups chicken stock (substitute vegetable broth)
2 lemons, juiced
1 lemon, zested
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

In a medium saucepan, warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the couscous and cook until toasted and lightly browned, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Carefully add the stock, and the juice of 1 lemon, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the couscous is tender, but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the couscous.
In a large bowl, toss the cooked couscous with the remaining olive oil, remaining lemon juice, zest, salt, and pepper and let cool.
Once the couscous is room temperature, add the fresh herbs, dried cranberries, and almonds. Toss to combine and serve.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Episode#: EI0819
Copyright 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Sally

Well, I know only two vegans, my cousin and my next-door neighbor. They substitute carob, which I find distasteful.

Neither will go near chocolate because very few chocolate items are dairy-free; often they contain products such as dried milk powder or dried eggs, or are prepared in places that also prepare products that contain dairy. I guess I should have done a little research before I posted.

Here are a few dishes that even your non-vegan guests would like.

Lime-Flavored Rice Noodles with Cashews

1 Lb. pre-cooked rice noodles (Appx. 4 ounces dried noodles make 1 lb. Cooked)
2 T vegetable oil
1 t black, brown or yellow mustard seed
¼ t asafetida
¼ C dried yellow split peas
¼ C raw whole cashews
Juice of 2 medium limes (1/4 C)
1 t salt
¼ t ground tumeric
8-10 fresh karhi leaves or 2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 or 3 fresh Thai, serrano or cayenne chilies, cut lengthwise in half.

Heat oil and mustard seed in wok or skillet over medium high heat. Once seed begins to pop, cover pan and wait until popping stops.

Add asafetida, yellow split peas, cashews and chilies; stir-fry until peas and cashews are golden brown. Add remaining ingredients and cooked rice noodles; toss to heat noodles through and serve.

I generally use more peas and cashews than the recipe calls for, more like 1/3 cup of each. The peas are very crunchy when the dish is made fresh, so if I am making this dish for people who are unaccustomed to them, I generally make it up several hours ahead of time so that the moisture in the dish can soften the peas a bit. I love the peas cruchy, but wouldnt want to be responsible for someones chipped tooth!

Asafetida has a truly vile odor, but like garlic, it changes in a dish and really does add to it.

Karhi leaves are very hard to find in this area. I get them in the Bay Area and freeze them, but they are an acquired taste, the cilantro being much more familiar.

I have made this dish with lemon juice (add about ½ t sugar unless youre using Meyers Lemons) successfully, and once with orange juice. The orange juice not being as sharp, a small amount of zest added to the peas, cashews and chilies just before tossing the noodles in is called for.

Grilled prawns, chicken, tofu or fish turn this dish into a satisfying dinner. Leftovers of this dish tend to lose flavor for some reason and need refreshing with a squeeze of citrus juice

Mixed grain salad with roasted butternut squash

A mixture of grainstry to use at least 3 kinds, of different colors. I use varying combinations of basmati rice, long grain brown rice*, barley, bulgar (tabuleh), quinoa, wild rice, millet, and sometimes, to lighten the texture, I add couscous.

Onions, celery, carrots-chopped

Green peas (frozen are fineif you have fresh, blanch them first)

Roasted butternut squash cubes**

Cranberry vinaigrette***

Chopped parsley & green onions

Chopped, toasted nuts (I like pecans or hazelnuts)

Cook grain selections separately, according to directions, but remember that they will absorb dressing and soften, so a bit al dente is better than over cooked.

Saute onions, celery, carrots until tender, but not too soft. Toss with grains, parsley, green onions and vinaigrette. Gently fold butternut squash cubes in.

*Short grain rices are too sticky for this dish, in my opinion.

**Roasted butternut squash. Peel squash. Cut into ½ inch cubes. toss in olive oil and roast in the oven, checking frequently until just cooked, but not mushy. If it doesnt brown at all, pass under a broiler after cooking just to brown the edges a bit.

***Cranberry vinaigrette. Make a basic vinaigrette with olive oil, red wine or champagne vinegar, garlic & onion powders, salt & pepper. Put the vinaigrette in a blender with about 3/4 Tablespoon dried cranberries per cup vinaigrette, and puree until smooth. Then, add about a quarter cup of dried cranberries for every cup vinaigrette, and pulse blender until cranberries are chopped, but not pureed. Let vinaigrette sit over night.

Before tossing the grain salad in the dressing, taste the vinaigrette for sweetness and add a bit of sugar if need be. It shouldnt be too tart or too sweet.

Sprinkle the toasted chopped nuts on top and garnish with sprigs of parsley, green onion tassels or carrot curls and a few whole dried cranberries.

Eggplant-Bonzo bean dip

1 can garbanzo beans (15.5 oz)
1 T zaatar (optional)
4-6 cloves
1 T olive oil
½ t red pepper flakes
1 pound Japanese or Chinese eggplant
3 T tahini
½ t salt
1 T black sesame seeds, toasted & lightly bruised in a suribachi*
1 T white sesame seeds, toasted & ground to a paste in a suribachi.

Drain & rinse the garbanzo beans. Slice the garlic and saute lightly in the olive oilyou just want to take a bit of the raw flavor away, not brown it. Roast the eggplant over an open flame or in a broiler until the skin chars, then let it sit in its own heat until cool enough to handle comfortably. When you poke them at this point they should be quite soft. Peel them without worrying if some blackened flakes remain on the meatin fact, if they peel too well I often keep a bit of the blackened skin on purpose as it adds a nice smoky flavor.

Put all the ingredients except the sesame seeds into a food processor and puree until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds, taste and correct for seasonings.

*A suribachi is a Japanese style, pottery mortar and pestle that has ridges inside the bowl of the mortar that makes grinding things like sesame and spices easier. Its a real pain to grind the sesame seeds in a normal mortar, so if you havent a suribachi, youre better off grinding them in a mini processor or spice mill. You have to be careful with the black sesame, as it needs to be only a bit bruisedground enough to release the aroma but not turned into a paste. If you cant find black sesame, white can be used interchangeably, as it wont affect the flavorthe black is just pretty

Serve the dip with roasted Pappadoms, tortilla chips (make sure they don't contain lard), grilled Pita wedges or vegetable crudite.

I examined the wrapper on my bar of Belgian dark chocolate from Trader Joe. No dairy. There was a disclaimer that it was processed in a plant that also processed foods containing dairy, wheat, nuts, etc.

There are companies that make vegan chocolate. I'm sure it's available at a health food store.

Life without chocolate, how sad. Carob is NOT a substitute. It is something else entirely...

Thanks everyone for the recipes, links, thoughts and advice. I agree carob is nothing like chocolate! I will have to check my cocoa tin and see what the ingredients are.

Whiteorchid thanks for the links, I am going to check them all out.

Noodlesportland, your recipe looks really good! I am stil waiting to hear back on if she likes beans or not.

Sally, the meditterranean salad looks like something I would love.

Rachellen, you have posted some wonderful recipes, thankyou!

Again, thanks! I appreciate the help.

Shelley

The old-fashioned crazy cake can be a vegan dessert and sprinkled with powdered sugar is generally well-received. It's not "gourmet" but it does fulfill chocolate cravings. There are many versions; this is just an example:

Crazy Cake.

The Foodday section of the Oregonian just included a feature on a personal chef who provides weekly vegan potlucks for a neighborhood group. There are several appealing recipes, including a coconut whipped cream that might be used to top a cake.

Carol

My first thought was a chocolate mousse. This lady I met who's a raw food vegan told me about.
I did a google search.
She said the one she used was with tofu..but you can also use avocados..
I have organic fair trade cocoa. I think I got it Trader Joes..but I might have got it at the HealthFood Store/co-op.

The Crazy Cake is great. I make it often in a bundt with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Adjust baking time accordingly. This is a recipe from my childhood except that it was made in a single layer 8x8 pan at home.

You'll never miss eggs or milk in this cake.

Life with Carob is sad but so is life without nachos. (or t-bones :)

Readinglady, thanks for the cake recipe. Exactly what I was looking for! Also thanks for the link.

Terri, the mousse recipe looks great also, but she told me she doesn't eat actual chocolate, so I am actually saving that one to try on my family. Where does one get silken tofu? Great sounding dessert. I am going to make it but not tell my family it contains tofu and see what they think. Thanks!

Barnmom thanks! The link readinglady supplied and a great rating for the cake, and with your reccommendation I am defiantely going to make it. I'll serve it with some whipped cream/mascarpone and berries for the non vegans.

Great relief having the dessert covered! I could have done without it personally, but lots of people look forward to dessert and there are a few kids who always look forward to dessert.

Bumblebeez how true!!lol

Thanks guys!!!

Shelley

Please let us know how the meal turns out, Shelley. Some great recipes have been posted here, ones which we "occasional vegans" can enjoy too.

Carol

So that's why so many labels have that disclaimer about being prepared where they also process dairy, nuts, etc.. I thought it was due to possible allergens. Well, it probably is for that reason.

This thread is just another reminder of why I'm just a vegetarian, NOT a vegan. I'm way too much of a chocoholic to have to worry about whether the plant processed dairy or not. Sheesh.

Shelley, I hope your party goes well!

Sally

Carol I will let you all know how everything goes.

Sally I often wondered about the lables too. I figured they were allergies, but now realize, how important they are to vegans as well. Its amazing just how many things and ingredients we take for granted fall under the vegan category. Even vitamins, honey etc. My son was wondering if vegans don't eat meat/dairy etc because they come from living animals, how come vegans eat veggies and fruit which come from living things as well?

Thanks again,

Shelley

Just wanted to thank everyone again for their help. Dinner was great. I had put out some different salsas and pita bread, taco chips and rice crackers, along with some hummus, and stuffed grape leaves. I made a pasta salad, a quinoa salad (vegan)with a curried dressing, spanish rice and beans (vegan) pork tenderloin with a maple orange rum sauce, spicy prawns baked in the oven, and tons of raw veggies of every kind. Dessert was a blueberry custard tart on a shortbread crust, and the crazy cake that Carol posted.

Carol my son absolutely loved that cake, so thankyou!

I think dinner went over well. There was enough differant things for everyone's likes and dislikes. I am not sure if the vegan liked what she had or not, and considering she is such a small eater it was hard to tell. She doesn't like salads and doesn't really eat grains, (although she did try the quinoa salad, although I don't know if she like it or not). I made the rice and beans with brown rice, and they went over really well, (although again not sure if she liked them or not). At least there were enough things for her to pick from, so I don't think she starved,lol. Everyone else liked the meal and everyone had a good time, which is what is most important.

Shelley

A vegan who doesn't like salads and doesn't eat grains? Small eater? There may be more going on there than veganism, but not your problem. You went out of your way to accomodate her, really totally impressive! I would have been in 7th heavan!!

Just wanted to add that silken tofu makes a GREAT no cholesterol sub for some dairy products. Not necessarily low fat or low sugar, but can be part of that kind of scenario too, if you use low fat tofu. (Soybeans do have fat, it's just unsaturated.) I use lowfat silken tofu and a lemon pudding mix made my Mori Nu, to make lowfat jam tarts. I also use the phyllo cups for the tarts. Dab of lemon pudding, dab of jam--easy as pie, lol! I make chocolate cream pie using tofu and my veggie wary friends never know the difference, (although they do have their suspicions, lol!). Which goes to show you that put enough chocolate in something and everybody happy! (well, not people who are allergic to it, which one of my friends actually is. I'm lucky that I can find organic chocolate and silken tofu in my local Webman's grocery store.) I've seen the tofu in most larger groceries, even in non-urban areas. It's usually near or in the produce aisle. It comes in aseptic containers so can also be found out on the shelves in whatever "health" food section there may be. A lot of folks on low fat diets or lactose intolerant diets use tofu, so it is not totally "out there" anymore. On the other hand, there are some people who are allergic to soy products!! As Rosana Rosanadanna said, "It's always something!"

Thanks Lpinkmountain. I was going to make something with tofu, but she said she doesn't eat all tofus or soy products as some contain cassein? and or whey, in which case she won't eat them. I did buy her some vegan cheese as she said most of the ones she looked at contained the above ingredients and she wouldn't eat them, and this one did not, but it didn't go over flavour wise. Really hard cooking for someone with such dietary restrictions, and couldn't imagine doing it on a daily basis. Glad it was only once,lol.

Shelley

I was thinking the same thing as Lpink! Well really I was thinking what a fussy little PITA but I'm feeling ornery today. Cassein and whey are hard to avoid. I had to worry about this when my kids were small and hard lots of trouble with dairy. Vegan cheese shouldn't contain the above which are dairy ingredients! I know vegetarians who eat cheese are careful to avoid cheese with rennet and gelatin.

Yep, that old chestnut of a chocolate cake is great especially if you use good cocoa. Your whole meal sounds delicious.