Looking for good (tasting) lacto-ovo Vegetarian recipes

Cafe Society
1

HELP! I know that I need to eat a healthier diet and try to cut down on meat consumption – my cholesterol is way too high. So I’ve been looking into some of the vegetarian alternatives. I don’t mind the tofu meat substitute so much – I’ve even made fajitas with it, but many of the vegetarian recipes I’m finding on the internet are more geared towards vegan–that is, those who don’t eat eggs or diary.

I know, cheese is bad too, as are eggs, but I don’t think I can stand cutting out meat -and- dairy! Any helpful recipes or veggie websites would be greatly appreciated. :slight_smile:

2

Have you checked out the recipes here:

http://www.vegweb.com/

How about here:

http://www.tofu.com/

Hope this helps!

3

This one happens to be vegan, but you can add parmesean cheese. Its a pasta dish and really easy.

Boil up some rigatoni.

While that is boiling, cube up some tofu (the original recipe calls for chicken, which is yummy) and cover liberally with thyme. Put some olive oil in a pan and fry up the thyme covered tofu. Chop up some asparagus and throw in the microwave with a little water.

Move tofu to a plate. Drain noodles and throw them into the olive oil thyme coated pan. Stir to coat. Add tofu and drained asparagus. Top with paramsean cheese if desired.
This one is cholestrol laden, but really good:

Fry up some mushrooms (portabello plus whatever else you want) and maybe some onions or peppers. Add some cream cheese to the frying pan to “glue” it together. Serve on a really good roll or make a sandwich with really good bread.

4

I would consider the Body for Life “diet” (as described on the Body for Life website). You should be getting plenty of lean protein, and a balance of carbs and veggies… which means you don’t necessarily need to cut out meat, but just be smart about the meat you consume. Fish, grilled chicken (skinless, boneless breasts), lean beef, etc.

Good luck!

5

I do have a wonderful lasagna recipe, but it’s hardly low in fat.

However, I will suggest (in all seriousness) looking at a low carb diet. No, I’m not crazy - it works to lower cholesterol. If you check out www.atkins.com and find the “success stories,” some of them include bloodwork - all of which improved on the Atkins diet. I know it goes against everything we’ve been told about the correlation between fat and cholesterol, but let me root around some at home and find some of that research I looked at this summer …

6

I’d love to share some of my favorite recipes!

RATATOUILLE

1 eggplant
salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow and 1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 can peeled tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
pepper

Cut unpeeled eggplant into long strips, then cut strips down to about finger-length size. Put in colander, sprinkle with salt, and let drain for half an hour.

Heat olive oil. Saute onion in it for 5 minutes, then add peppers, garlic, and tomatoes and stir well. Mix in thyme and oregano.

Rinse eggplant and dry it. Add to pan. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring now and then, til soft–about 20-30 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice. Can be served hot or at room temperature.

7

Here’s a good one if you’re making the transition from meat:

Soy Sloppy Joes

1 c TVP (textured vegetable protein) often found in bulk at health food stores (you want the granules, not the chunks). This is a soy product.
7/8 c boiling water
1 Tb. olive oil
1 green pepper, diced
1 c onions, chopped
1 c tomato sauce
1 c chili or bbq sauce
1/2 t chili powder or more to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Add boiling water to TVP, stir and let sit for 5 min. In a large skillet (Use a big pot if you are doubling or tripling), sauté onion and green pepper in oil until soft. Stir in sauces, TVP, and chili powder. Simmer for 5 to 10 min. Serve on buns or bread

Serves 4

TVP is also good in chili and pasta sauce, if you’re not familiar with it.

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Thanks for the recipes and websites, all! I really appreciate it. Ellen Cherry, that ratatouille recipe looks delicious, I’m definitely going to try that one.

What put me off on some of the vegan recipes I looked at was the -liberal- use of brewers yeast. No offense to anyone out there who likes it, but I definitely can’t stomach that stuff. :wink:

Avarie537, I’ll check out the Atkins diet site, and Pillowphat, thanks for the URL to Body For Life, I’m going to check that as well.

Thanks again all :slight_smile:

9

Head for your local produce counter or farmer’s market or wherever and look for vegetables that look interesting, dice 'em up, stir fry them in a wox or frying pan with a little non-stick cooking spray and serve over rice or pasta, maybe with some pasta sauce or the like. Not everything has to be a formal recipe; have fun and experiment. If you have a Whole Foods-type store in town, head there and check out some of the non-meat alternatives like Morningstar Farms and Boca. They make great substitutes for ground beef, chicken, etc.

10

This one is kind of involved. I got the recipe from Vegetarian Times. But it’s really worth the trouble. It’s a delicious fall soup. It’s vegan, but that’s not a drawback.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup
6 servings

1½ to 2 lbs. pumpkin or other winter squash
2 tbs. olive oil
2 medium leeks, (white and pale green parts) halved, well-washed and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
5 to 6 cups vegetable stock or canned broth
15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbs. tamari or soy sauce
1 tbs. grated peeled fresh gingerroot
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Quarter and seed pumpkin. Steam until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, in medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic and cook, stirring often, until leeks are softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Scrape pumpkin from peel. In large pot, combine pumpkin flesh, sweet potato, bell pepper and 5 cups broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potato is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In food processor or blender, puree soup, in batches if necessary. If soup is too thick, add additional broth. Return mixture to pot. Add leek mixture and remaining ingredients. Simmer until heated through. 10 to 15 minutes.

Per 1-1/2 cup serving: 163 ca.; 6G prot.; 4G total fat (1G sat. fat); 29G carb.; 0 chol.; 467 MG sod.; 4G fiber.

Recipe is honorable mention in Vegetarian Times’ soup recipe contest. By Marie Donadio of Seattle, Wash., who says, “When I serve this soup to my husband, I call it “Autumn in Jamaca.” It has a harvest feel with an island spice.”

Ellen’s notes: I recommend chopping the leeks. Just slicing them produces long stringy pieces that are difficult to eat. I did steam the pumpkin, but several people have told me that it’s easier to bake a pumpkin than steam it. I don’t know; I haven’t tried.

11

I tend to find that the best recipes are not in vegetarian-specific books or websites. For some reason, many vegetarian recipe books “dumb down” ethnic cusine and add unncessarily wierd ingredients (vegetarian times is good about not doing this, though) Most of the recipes I use are from regular sources that happen not to contain meat or that I’ve modifyed to replace or not include the meat.

12

Me again.

I’d just like to say that once you get out of the habit of meat, you won’t miss it. I found that I rather automatically invented meatless dishes out of the things I always enjoyed eating anyway. I tend toward simple dishes. Some of my favorite things to eat are hard-boiled eggs, cut up, over rice topped with feta cheese and cayenne pepper … interesting pasta noodles topped with Barilla or Paul Newman pasta sauce. Buy good parmesean cheese and grate it yourself, add a salad and maybe some decent bread, and there’s your meal, nothing missing.

My children and I enjoy bean burritos and it’s a very simple meal too. Heat a can of refried beans. Nuke flour tortillas lightly (or heat hard taco shells). Grate cheese, add some salsa and you’re done. Of course this time of year, you’ve got fresh tomatoes. We almost always throw canned corn on ours, too.

13

Here’s my current favourite, courtesy of the Vancouver Sun. It’s fairly quick to make too.

Rotini with Fresh Tomatoes, Black Beans and Feta

1 pound tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped, drained sun-dried tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
4 cups rotini
1 398 ml can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

In large bowl, combine fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, oil, garlic and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper; set aside.

Cook rotini, drain and return to pot. Add tomato mixture and toss. Add beans, basil and green onions, toss. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle each serving with feta cheese.

I often also add some black olives to the recipe.