Vegan comfort food

[catdaddy]

My neighbor, who is vegan, is fighting through treatment for throat cancer. Apparently she has retained some appetite. I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a dish or dishes I could prepare for her? Swallowing is difficult but not impossible so small/soft pieces are ideal.

 

So far I've made congee with pureed dried mushroom.

[chromedome]

I'll drop my (vegan) sister a line, and see what she says.

[shain]

That's very thoughtful of you.

I could suggest many good vegan soups and stews - anything from dal, pasta e fagioli, onion soup, Eastern European style bean stew/soup. Also blended soups - lentil soup, pea soup, orange soups (pumpkin / sweet potatoes, etc), mushrooms.

Indian curries can be nice if some level of spice is OK, same for Thai curries.

For me personally, the ideal vegan comfort food is a plate of hummus with fluffy pita, or a plate of couscous with vegetable and chickpea soup.

There is also a plethora of good vegan dessert recpies available online those days.

Edited November 29, 2020 by shain (log)

[Okanagancook]

She is also likely challenged to drink sufficient fluids for overall heath.  So I wouldn’t worry about making the soups too thick.  Easy for her to eat is paramount.  And if she is still getting treatment her tolerance will vary.
 

What ever she drinks should have some nutritional value to help meet her needs.  For example juice instead of water.   I am sure she must have access to  Clinical Dieitian who can help with that concept.

 

I am sure she is grateful for your help.

[heidih]

A super simple, comforting soup is: canned pumpkin, thinned with coconut milk (adds fat & calories), and spicing she may favor, or plain. Salt as needed. You can make it as thin as is comfortable. Easily reheated in microwave. For times she is up for texture - cook thin noodles to slurpable stage. Add as desired when re-heating.  Soup and noodles (stored separately) easily keep in fridge for 5 days. Tofu in small pieces or blended in adds protein. Smooth peanut butter is nice too as a protein boost and different flavor.

Edited November 29, 2020 by heidih (log)

[Katie Meadow]

If I were vegan, here's what I would want as a gift: really good vegetable broth. The store bought ones always seem strange to me, but a really good from-scratch broth can be delicious and useful. Then your friend can easily throw in some soft rice, greens, whatever. Half my husband's relatives are vegetarian and I always struggle to come up with good soups for them. Making my own veg stock has helped. I've noticed that many places that serve vegetarian or vegan soups just add a lot of pepper to get a flavor boost. 

 

Veg soups that really benefit from a good broth are leek and potato, which can be blended as desired,and any variety of tomato-rice soup.

[Darienne]

2 hours ago, heidih said:

A super simple, comforting soup is: canned pumpkin, thinned with coconut milk (adds fat & calories), and spicing she may favor, or plain. Salt as needed. You can make it as thin as is comfortable. Easily reheated in microwave. For times she is up for texture - cook thin noodles to slurpable stage. Add as desired when re-heating.  Soup and noodles (stored separately) easily keep in fridge for 5 days. Tofu in small pieces or blended in adds protein. Smooth peanut butter is nice too as a protein boost and different flavor.

brilliant...going to try that, heidih.

 

and we are neither vegans nor vegetarians...in the words of Mark Bittman, whom i used to follow many years ago...we are 'lessmeatarians'.

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by Darienne (log)

[chromedome]

My sister has also suggested a number of soups, mostly along the lines of those above. She's also suggesting chia puddings, which are (her words) "smooth, slippery and filling if made with boxed coconut milk."

 

She has also asked whether your neighbour has any troubles tolerating hot or cold? If not, and especially if she finds cold soothing, "nice cream" is a good option and can have protein powder added for more nutritional benefit.

 

ETA her followup advice:

 

Quote

The Vegan 8 has the most basic vegan recipes, no crazy ingredients. Not sure how many recipes would work but I'd check them online for ideas. Thinking yam/sweet potato dishes would be easy to swallow, palatable and somewhat nutrient dense. Trayce Mcquirter (Ageless Vegan) and Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows) tend to also have healthy and easy recipes with no "weird" or hard to find ingredients. Some "healthy" puddings and such.

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by chromedome (log)

[teonzo]

Compliments for your good will!

 

I would say the best thing is asking her what she would like to eat. Vegan is just a generic description, every person has likes and dislikes. Try placing yourself in her boots: you are facing such health troubles, a neighbour comes with a food gift, you don't like it. What do you do? Do you say so, or do you say "thanks" and accept it? Almost everyone will say thanks, which is the polite thing to do. And which is what people facing those troubles do, because they have no energies to do otherwise. In those cases people need the most positivity possible. If they receive something they do not like, then it will cause negativity in them, first because that's something they do no like, second because they can't refuse.
This not to say you are doing something wrong trying to give her some food, it's an admirable choice. What I want to point out is that to choose what to prepare it's better to ask her directly, not here. Say something like "I know you are facing a hard time, and I want to be of help during this fight and give you some strength, I would like to prepare some food for you, can you tell me please what you would like to receive?". Then try to accomodate her tastes 100% and try giving her some strength.

 

 

Teo

 

[catdaddy]

Thank you all for your thoughtful words.