Anyone who wants to say that vegetarianism is dumb, wrong or not natural can just go ahead and push off now, before opening your mouth…
… o.k, I think they’re gone…
I have been toying with the idea of being vegan, or at least vegetarian, for quite a long time now. I decided a month ago to have one meat dish a week, (so I wouldn’t crave it) while I tried out this new diet. I have a problem, however. So I thought I’d throw it to the vegie Dopers.
I have no idea what to cook ! I have bought three vegie recipe books, and all are the sort of thing which looks great in pictures, or when entertaining, but have nothing in the category of ordinary, everyday vegie meals. I’m not after fabulous prize winning cuisine, which is all my books seem to offer, just everyday vegie meals. All recipe websites I have visited haven’t been much help, either.
I would really appreciate it if some of the vegies here could take a moment to give me any good recipes, refer me to any sites you have found good, or throw a few hints my way. FTR I can’t use soy products, which doesn’t help me, and I don’t really like beans (except the green ones, that peas come out of!)
If nothing else, at least I’d be eating less meat, which is a good thing ! Thanks
I am a vegetarian also. In fact, I have been ever since I was pretty young (I just plain didn’t like the taste of meat, and later didn’t like the thought of animals being ground up into food). I’m not a Vegan tho (I love my dairy products too dearly) .
I also highly recommend the book “The Vegetarian Primer” by Burwash, which explains the historical, ethical, environmental and culinary aspects of vegetarianism, as well as a personal recounting of how he became a vegetarian.
But if that doesn’t give you enough inspiration, watch the episode of the Simpsons in which Lisa becomes a vegetarian.
A lot of things I eat are foods that aren’t kept under a special “vegetarian” label, but just everyday stuff that doesn’t have meat in it.
For God’s sake don’t stick to surviving on salad. Salad twice a day, unless you’re filling it with five kinds of vegetables and bean sprouts and things, is a pretty fast way to end up with a defiency of something. And you know about iceberg lettuce, right?
Today I ate a bagel with cream cheese, a bowl of tomato soup, some cookies, fries, an apple, a banana, a cup of coffee, and now I’m eating popcorn.
Potatoes are your friends. They can be used in just about anything, there’s thousands of different kinds of them, they’re nearly impossible to screw up, and they’re pretty tasty. Potatoes 'n broccoli is one of my favorite meals.
If you’re worried about protein, buy a bag of pistachio nuts or peanuts or some such and snack on them. Just a few examples. I’m sure the others can fill you in on more stuff.
Grilled, marinated portobello mushroom. You can even buy some that are about the size of hamburger patties and put them on buns with some ketchup. They’re far, far better tasting than those (imho, disgusting and very, very dry) soy burgers.
It’s not exactly something you whip up in the microwave and eat in front of the TV, but they’re great for barbecues and backyard parties.
I’d also look into picking up one of the Moosewood cookbooks–they’re good, practical vegetarian cookbooks. Also, check out Indian food. There’s plenty of vegetarian dishes that exist in Indian cuisine, that are delicious.
Seriously, do be careful when you go into a vegetarian diet, because if you do not vary your diet, you will run into possible deficiencies. Don’t just limit your diet to just a handful of vegetables and fruits, as you will not only limit your intake of important vitamins and minerals, but you will get bored. Make sure to try plenty of exotic fruits, veggies, and grains.
One thing to give a try is quinoa. It’s a “supergrain”. By what I mean by that is it’s one of the few vegetable sources of complete protein, meaning it contains all the amino acids you need (and you don’t need to combine it with a legume/vegetable to get a complete protein, i.e. like rice & beans, a famous vegetarian combo). You should be able to find it at your local health food store.
I was a vegetarian for three years, then I introduced seafood because I a)live on the coast, b)love most seafood, and c)don’t object to the harvesting of most seafood as compared to the living conditions of cattle, pigs, and fowl raised solely for slaughter. Anyways, I introduced chicken and turkey after a few more years, and lo and behold I’m eating beef again, though no more than once or twice a week.
To the point: beans and soy products were my best friends during my pure vegetarian days, and I can’t imagine being a vege without them. You will be fighting an uphill battle trying to get your protein taken care of with nuts and seeds. And dairy is not the best option; from what I’ve read and from my own phlegmy reactions, I agree with the statement that dairy was only meant for the first two years of life. (Though I eat it still. :rolleyes: )
Try: waffles with peanut butter on them, hummus salad sandwiches, (man, this is really tough w/o tofu or beans), mozzerella-basil-tomato-french bread sandwiches, veggie pizza is easy to come by, gardenburgers (though you’ll burn out on them), pasta with pesto sauce…
Just try to keep it healthy. There are a lot of vegetarians out there who simply stop eating meat, but don’t follow it up with any other protein, so they end up malnurished.
Thanks for the link, JellyDonut and I will check those sites, but I was more into what people are actually eating… thanks heaps, though
Daowajan, thanks for the info, especially what food you ate today. Lots of good info and ideas, but I have to ask two things…
Potatoes 'n broccoli is your fave meal ??? are you just talking about steamed or boiled potatoes sitting next to steamed or boiled broccoli ? Or is there some exotic process involved ? -just curious
What exactly am I supposed to know about iceberg lettuce ? speak to me as if I’m a nutrition virgin… I am !
Hi Opal ! (sorry)
JavaMaven1, thanks, I’ll make sure I’m not bored, and will also start looking for quinoa… health food shop ?
Tarmac thanks, I’ve never thought about peanut butter waffles ! I promise to try some bean recipes and see if I just might like them again. Soy products (TMI alert) make me do the loudest, smelliest, most numerous and wetest farts on this planet , so I don’t think it’s fair to my SO to indulge! However, I will take your point about the beans, and give them another chance. If you don’t mind me asking, why are you back to eating beef again ? Is it the taste, the convenience, etc… just interested, not trying to hassle you!
Bring on the vegie advice… there must be more vegie Dopers out there ! Thanks so far, guys
I’m not a strict vegetarian; I do eat poultry and seafood semi-regularly (a couple of times a week) and very, very, very occasionally a bit of beef or pork. The first months of adaptation were difficult, mostly because I’d been raised on a heavy meat and potatoes regimen which was severely limited in terms of variation. I’d never sampled the bulk of the fruit/veggie/bean/nut world and had no idea where to start.
Some tips that might help:
[li]Indian food, yes! Cheap, yummy, and plenty of vegetarian options on the menu.[/li]
[li]Thai food. Another cuisine that’s heavy on the meatless entrees, and does a body good.[/li]
[li]Veggie burgers. If you can’t eat soy products, you might not be able to make use of these. They’re a staple for many vegetarians.[/li]
[li]Morning Star Farms products. I’ve only ever sampled their breakfast fare, but their imitation meat is unbelievably convincing. Sausage patties that would fool anyone.[/li]
[li]Fantastic Foods products. They make meatless taco filling, chili, sloppy joe mix, ground beef substitute and tons of other choices. Most of their products require very little preparation, a.k.a. the just-add-water variety. They’re carried in every grocery store, at least here in the Pacific NW.[/li]
[li]Pasta meals with veggies added; pizza (most pizza places offer a variety of non-meat choices, even artichoke hearts and cashews) or buy ready-made crusts and build your own; sandwiches on bread, bagels or croissants (hummus or cheese adds protein); stir frys with rice (try brown, jasmine or basmati rice to liven things up a bit), or just rice alone with salsa or teriyaki sauce; ramen, egg, or udon noodles with veggies thrown in, etc.[/li]
Some favorite items:
[li]almonds and almond butter[/li][li]avocados, try them with lime squeezed on top[/li][li]spinach, romaine or green/red lettuce instead of iceberg lettuce (spinach has an unfair reputation ;))[/li][li]steamed green beans or broccoli[/li][li]hummus on pretty much anything[/li][li]scrambled eggs or omelets[/li]Hopefully some of these ideas will appeal to you. I’ve never been good when it comes to whipping up complicated and time consuming meals, so all of these suggestions involve little preparation.
To avoid it under pain of death. Filthy polyester of the lettuce world.
Regarding your gaseous distress, have you tried Beano? It’s supposed to break down the gas-causing bits, or something.
10-year vegetarian here. I do eat a lot of soy products with no particular gastic issues. If the Beano works, you can get various soy products that you can use in place of meat in regular non-vegetarian recipes. I’ve been eating a lot of fresh fruit and melba toast recently, myself. Vegetable stir-fry over rice or pasta is always good, with various sauces (either bottled or home-made).
I have several vegetarian cookbooks, which include recipes running the gamut of quick and easy to elaborate. Titles include: While the Pasta Cooks; The Occasional Vegetarian; Side Dishes, Creative and Simple; Recipes for a Small Planet; From an Italian Garden; The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook; On Rice; The 15-Minute Gourmet Vegetarian; Claire’s Classic American Vegetarian Cooking; and a classic, The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook. I’ve made recipes from most of these books and they’re all good. Vegetarian Times magazine runs lots of recipes every month as well and subscriptions ar pretty cheap. If there’s an organic or natural foods store in your area it will doubtless have issues for sale and probably some cookbooks. If it’s a crunchy granola place they may have newsletters or cooking classes.
I also suggest taking a multi-vitamin every day. Green Source vegetarian formula is what I take, from Puritan’s Pride. The vitamins are derived from food rather than synthesized, and they include all the trace minerals you need. The label says take three a day but I just take one figuring that I’ll get whatever else I need from my regular food.
Good luck and welcome to the club. I think you’ll find that you stop craving meat in short order, except perhaps on very rare occasions.
I’ll try those suggestions. Unfortunately I live in Australia, a good hour or so from any decent shopping, so finding some of these alternatives/brand names may be difficult, however, I’ll give it a go ! Thanks again
IANAVegetarian (but relax, I’m not here to argue against it).
I’m not sure how I’d cope as a vegan, but if I was a vegetarian, some things that would probably help me not to miss meat so much would be:
[li]Mushrooms, particularly wild mushrooms[/li][li]Courgettes (zucchini), onions and peppers stir fried in garlic and lemon juice*[/li][li]Chillies[/li][li]Bread! yum! - have a go at baking your own - it’s very easy.[/li][li]Noodles[/li][li]Cheese, of course[/li][li]Hoummous (with more bread)[/li][li]Curries; in many ways, it’s a waste of money putting meat in a curry anyway, since you don’t taste it much.[/li][li]Olives[/li]
IMHO, the trick is to make the food interesting in it’s own right, rather than trying to cook conventional recipes with something else in place of the meat - construct the recipe from the ‘bottom up’ rather than ‘top down’, bearing in mind that in any recipe, you need texture, substance, flavour and nutrition, it’s like painting a picture using the available palette.
Lack of protein can sometimes be a problem with vegetarian diets, but as long as you eat a fair amount of grains (particularly wheat, oats and barley) and pulses (in whatever form), you should be OK. you say you don’t like beans, but since they are such a valuable source of protein; if you do start baking your own bread, you can do things like adding mashed chickpeas to the dough (tastes a whole lot nicer than it sounds).
*(Cut the courgettes lengthways, remove the pithy seeds/core and cut into pencil-thickness pieces about two inches long; cut peppers and onions to about the same size; stir fry (medium heat) in olive oil with sliced or curshed garlic for no more than ten minutes, then turn the heat right up and add some lemon juice; sizzle it off for a minute or so and add a little salt(optional) - serve with noodles or pasta (penne is good because it’s about the same size as the vegetables))
is a great site, not just for vegetarians but has a lot of good vegetarian recipes as well. It’s one of my favourite internet sites. For each recipe, you can see the time needed to prepare and cook, the nutritional information, user ratings and reviews. You can create a personal recipe box to store all your favourite recipes.
I hate soy. Most vegetarian cookbooks make ample use of it. This has already been suggested, but try Indian cookbooks instead. Many Indians are vegetarian, so there are loads of vegetarian Indian cookbooks. I’m biased, being from the region, but I think the food is delicious. And it doesn’t use soy!!
Italian food is also often vegetarian. You can make vegetarian lasagne or any other vegetarian pasta dish.
Aside from that, eggs and cheese are good vegetarian staples too.
To answer your question as to why I started eating beef again:
I was at a barbeque with mostly coworkers and my friend Keoni, who was born and raised on the island of Molokai (one of the Hawaiian islands), had spent part of the day preparing his special marinade for the filet mignon he planned to grill. I’ve never been much good as a teetotaler and so I agreed to have a few bites. I didn’t hate the meat as much as I thought I would, and so I decided I wouldn’t be so staunch in my avoidance of the stuff.
Now, I don’t seek out beef when I go out to eat, and I sure as hell don’t buy bloody packages of it for home use. Basically, I did it for convenience’s sake: when I’m with relatives or friends who want a meat-laden meal, sometimes it’s just easier to go with the flow.
And looking at what others have said before me, I can’t believe I forgot about Indian food–almost the entire menu is composed of vegetarian dishes, and they literally don’t put beef on the menu. As far as all the faux-meat products, I believe they’re made of textured vegetable protein (i.e. soy) and that’s why I had such a hard time coming up with any ideas for you. But like Lark said, Morningstar Farms breakfast patties are really good, better than the real thing in my opinion.
And as far as those nasty farty-farts, I’ve noticed that soy products affect you less and less as you consume them on a daily basis. I say let 'er rip.
Frozen veggie burger crumbles are quite versatile. (My favorite brand is Morningstar Farms, not sure if that’s available in Australia, but there should be some brand.) They keep for a very, very long time in the freezer, and you can substitute them for ground beef in any recipe. I have fixed chili and veggie stroganoff for meat eaters who couldn’t tell the difference. They’re made with a mixture of soy protein and wheat gluten, so maybe you’d be able to eat them without getting the vegan farts Veggie burgers and veggie crumbles are drier than meat because of the lower fat content. I’ve found the trick is to cook them in a little margarine (for the veggie burgers) or vegetable oil (for the crumbles). When cooking the crumbles, make sure they get well-coated with oil.
Mushrooms are a huge asset to a vegetarian diet, just not the little button ones. As Daowajan mentioned, Portabellos have a very “meaty” flavor. Criminis, which are Portabellos picked before they’ve gotten large, are great in stir-fries or over pasta. Very tender and flavorful.
In a pinch, you can’t go wrong with a jar of spaghetti sauce (lots of flavors have no meat or meat flavoring whatsoever) and a package of noodles. Quick, easy, and yummy. The secret to vegetarian cooking is to stop looking at vegetables and grains as side dishes… get enough “side dishes” together, and you’ve got a meal
Are you in Sydney or any reasonably big city? Syndey has a big veg population, or at least I knew quite a few there. I can’t remember the names, but some big market areas in Sydney had all sorts of stuff. The Wilderness Society could probably give you some pointers. (My veg aussie buddies all were involved with the wilderness society).
Pasta, Indian (there’s at least a couple hundred million Indian vegetarians), Asian (Chinese, Thai, Malay veggie dishes), middle eastern (falafel, hummus) all have a veg component. I like Mexican, but if you don’t like beans, that’s a problem. There are plenty of veggie burger/banger mixes out there that are not soy based, which make good sandwiches.
Mangetrout said it correctly. It probably won’t work long term to try make substitute meat. You’ve got to find a new universe of dishes you like, easy to prepare, enough variety, and then you’ll be fine.
Being a vegan (forgetting the psychological part) can be pretty tough. I did it for a while, and personally it didn’t work for me. I am now back to being a carnivore. Let’s just say if you’re serious about being a veggie, you shouldn’t marry a non-veg.
Here’s a second vote for allrecipes.com – I love the feature where you can plug in ingredients you want to use (and ones you don’t – say you hate onions) and you get a list of recipes that use those items.
As for everyday, no-thought veggie cooking, a wok is great. I use mine all the time. Chop up some raw veggies, stir-fry them using your favorite oil and seasonings, and serve over basmati rice or pasta. I usually go either Asian (soy and/or oyster sauce, sesame seeds/oil, crunchy noodles, and rice) or Italian (olive oil and Parmesan with black olives over pasta). Yum!
I also suggest trying different types of beans – you might find some you like that aren’t havoc on your system.
Veggie burgers and veggie crumbles are drier than meat because of the lower fat content. I’ve found the trick is to cook them in a little margarine (for the veggie burgers) or vegetable oil (for the crumbles). When cooking the crumbles, make sure they get well-coated with oil.