Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm going through a patch of feeling sick of bread, rice, noodles, cereal, corn chips or anything with a grain component.

For dinner tonight I ate a giant plate of potatoes, pan fried in a tiny bit of oil, with loads ketchup. I ended up making this because I couldn't face the thought of any more grains but still wanted something that filled me up.

So far my only idea that doesn't involve grains but still feels like a meal is a chickpea and potato curry of some sort.

I'm not into fake meat, Seitan or tempeh.

I love tofu. I normally also love beans and lentils but I'm even feeling a little sick of those too.

Help! Thanks :)

When I'm sick of grains I usually go for something like these:

Mashed or roasted potatoes with steamed vegetables and gravy.
Curried chickpeas, cauliflower bhaji and masala potatoes.
Homemade oven chips/fries and sausages with baked beans.
A huge bowl of soup - minestrone, corn chowder, borscht or carrot bisque.

Switch up your spices and meal ideas?

Are you always making the same things? Check out the PPK blog recipes for some ideas.

How about an African peanut stew?

Farinata - chickpea flour flatbread:
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-d ... ipe=766845

I could never get tired of potatoes. I could eat them every day for every meal. <3

something new i've been eating a lot lately:

roast sweet potatoes in the oven. peel them when they're cool and chop them into bite sized chunks. if you have garlic greens, use them. if not, fry a good amount of chopped garlic in a frying pan. maybe some scallions too. throw in the potatoes and about 1T of soy sauce (and hot sauce, if you like). Check salt, as the soy is mostly just for deglazing.

also, broccoli from heaven- i could eat buckets of this stuff.
http://www.holycowvegan.net/2008/03/kic ... ruppu.html
(i cheat and use chickpea flour instead of soaking/grinding the dal. so shoot me. i think i use about 5T of the flour instead of the dals.)

Sick of grains? Does not compute. I think I could eat pasta/noodles every night for the rest of my life.

But it is always nice to switch it up. I like potatoes but I could imagine that would get old pretty quickly too. I find that roasted/mashed root veggies also make a nice alternative.

I made the moussaka from the ppk blog this weekend - super hearty, filling and delicious. No grains, no beans, no fake meat. Highly recommend.

chili, soup, curry, stir-fry, big salads, some kind of protein with vegetable side dishes

Cocktails.

Or soup. Soup is my ultimate lazy food (so I eat it every day). Get some good mushroom stock and let it rule your life.

Many of the things that are traditionally eaten over rice also work very well over a smashed baked potato. One of my favorite meals of all time is Chana Masala over a baked spud with a dollop of Better Than Sour Cream for the decadence ;) Curries, Chilis, etc are also great.

Salad, smoothies, and soups are all pretty easy to keep grain free. Stir-Fry. Basically anything starting with S.

Quinoa (not a grain). That said, if you're fed up of bread, you are not eating the right bread. I rarely cook the same thing twice and usually go months between "repeats", so I suspect part of the problem is that you're eating your grains in the same context over and over. Check out some books from the library and look at blogs and the foodporn section here.

I don't like pasta and don't care much for potatoes.

I do like baked sweet potatoes though, I'll roast them in the oven, sometimes with some chili powder on top, salt and olive oil.

I use greens a lot to be a bottom for curries and saucy dishes but I also eat rice once in a while.

Rutabagas are good, or get some other roots that you don't normally eat and roast them for a filling new thing to eat that is not grains.

Baked fries... I prefer sweet potatoes over white, but I'll eat whichever's around.

Pureed/mashed sunchokes, pureed/mashed celery root... anything rooty fills that carb niche for me.

Squash, either cut into baked fries, roasted, or even just boiled.

Tofu scramble for dinner! Smothered baked potatoes. You can put chili over them with some veg sour cream, salsa, cilantro and daiya. Or stuffed peppers in the crockpot. Stuff them with black beans, spanish rice, salsa, chopped onion, daiya, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, and salt. Cook on low for 6-8 hours and then top with sour cream and guacamole. And try Isa's breaded tofu that she posted last week. It's freaking awesome!

Oooooh and pizza fries. Bake up some french fries and then top with marinara and daiya. Broil for a few minutes until melty and ooey gooey!

Ok, this? This just made me go "holy crepe, how have I lived this long without ever having tried this?" I know what I want for dinner tonight!

I never used to like pizza fries from the local pizzerias before I was vegan. But my husband loved them! And it's one of the things he really misses. So figured it couldn't be that hard to veganize. Now I freaking love pizza fries!

Filling and nutritious!

Anyway; sick of grains? How? There are a million ways to eat them:
Bread: (whole grain, white flour, made from different grains) toast, corn bread, rye bread, sour dough, focaccia, sandwich, pitta, pizza, bagel, pretzel, injera...
Other baked goods: muffins, scones, cakes, cookies, pies and tarts (sweet and savory), crackers
Rice: (white, brown, wild, basmati, jasmine, sweet/sticky,) sushi, fried rice, under a stir fry or curry, mochi, congee, Gallo Pinto, Arroz con Gondules, risotto, pilaf
Oats: with endless variations for breakfast, added to breads and other baked goods, and some people blend them into smoothies
Corn: on the cob, tortillas, polenta, grits, tamales, hominy, arepas, pupusas
Bean and grain salads
Cold and hot breakfast cereals
Beer! (and vodka)
In soup
Pasta and noodles!!!!! There are so many different shapes and sizes made from wheat, rice, corn, quinoa, and even beans and potatoes! Italian baked pasta dishes like lasagna, stuffed shells, manicotti, etc. Asian fried noodles, noodle salads and soups with noodles. American pasta salads.

I think what you really need are some good international cookbooks.

I'm sure I missed tons of stuff that others will add. Do you use quinoa, barley, amaranth, millet, and spelt to mix things up?
But if you really still need a break from grains, I guess potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantains, winter squash, turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, taro, and tapioca might fit the bill. I'm too tired to address your boredom and disinterest with the wonderful worlds of beens, seitan, and tempeh tonight, but I'll try for that tomorrow.

Well, there are lots of grainless meals, or you could just try doing something really new and different with your grains.

We just made this grain salad last week and it was really good, and different from the usual.

http://www.thefigtreeblog.com/2012/08/s ... salad.html

But, a big bowl of chili or hearty stew--there are some good ones in Viva Vegan--would be good. Or sometimes I make something that's traditionally served over rice, and just don't have the rice, like a stir-fry or dahl. There's no rule that you have to eat a grain. If you eat some other salad, fruit or vegetable I am sure you will get enough carbs.

Thanks. GraciaKai, 8ball, and Parkerk - I loved your suggestions especially much.

If you're looking for a carb alternative to go with a sauce/chili/stew, what about chargrilled polenta fingers or semolina gnocchi? White bean mash or homemade spätzle?