My husband has recently suffered through a bout with kidney stones. Not much fun. His doctor ordered a metabolic workup to figure out the cause of the stones and discovered that his are the uric acid variety. Now, Kevin is a mega-carnivore – he eats around 3 - 4 servings of animal protein a day. The doctor has recommended that we cut this way back – specifically that he do two “meat-free” days a week. For lunches at work this won’t be too difficult – he can just have a salad two days a week. My problem is going to be the no-meat dinners. I know we have lots of vegetarians on the board – who can help me out with some tasty, hearty vegetarian meals that will appeal to a non-vegetarian?
Some of my favorites:
Eggplant Parmigiana: Roast the eggplant in the oven first and it won’t be as slimy. Covered in cheese and italian red sauce, it resembles lasagna. Very hearty. Speaking of which:
Spinach and ricotta lasagna is great too. Pasta in general makes great vegetarian meals. Just add your choice of veggies and sauces.
Polenta: If you buy the packages from the big grocery store, it’s lots easier than making your own. I like to fry mine up a little (or bake if I’m feeling healthy) maybe melt some cheese and put some salsa or hot sauce on top. Deeeee-licious.
Pizza: Vegetarian Pizza. Top with whatever your heart desires.
Grilled Portabello mushrooms: marinate these puppies and grill them, eat them just like burgers. Or you can cook it, stuff it with mashed potatoes (just turn it upside down and pile it on. then top with onion gravy or parmesan.
Potato pancakes: Grate a few potatoes and an onion together, drain off the excess liquid, mix in an egg and cook in light oil. These are soooo good.
Dang, I’m getting hungry…
Having just made a pig of myself by eating two, let me recommend Gardenburgers, especially the variety with portobellos, spinach and feta. They’re very harty, very filling and they tate terrific. They don’t make you think that you’re eating meat but they do make it perfectly acceptable to you that you’re not.
Simple pasta with pesto sauce does well, as does pasta with anchovy-free marinara sauce. Any South Indian recipe would work well (South Indian is one of my favorite cuisines).
Rice noodle/tofu salad: Chop extra-firm tofu into small cubes. Set aside. Mix together good peanut butter (i.e., stuff that has only ground peanuts or ground peanuts and salt as ingredients), soy sauce (any kind will do, but I have this good Vietnamese fermented stuff I’ve come to love), lime juice, hot sauce, garlic, ginger, and coriander. You can also add a bunch of shredded cabbage, carrot, cucumber, celery, or radish. Mix well. Cook up East Asian rice noodles (it only takes a minute or two once the water boils) Drain well. Toss all ingredients together and chill.
Baba ganouj: broil an eggplant until the outside looks like a crumbling heap of carbon. Then scrape out the insides. Add olive oil, tehina–i.e., sesame paste–garlic, salt, and cumin. Chill it if you want–I’ve eaten it hot and still loved it. Serve with pita and fresh veggies.
Hummous: Take a can of chick peas (actually, soaking and boiling dried chick peas is better, but I’m assuming you’re not used to having to start soaking beans several hours to a day before you start cooking) and crush them with a drinking glass. Mix with tehina, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin, and some salt. Add water or yogurt if you’d like to thin the consistency a little. You can also add hot sauce (I like adding hot sauce or ground chili pepper, but not everyone does. I also like to chop up a bunch of parsley and stir it in.) Top with yet more olive oil. Eat with pita and fresh veggies.
Black bean dip: Crush canned black beans. Add olive oil, coriander, fresh cilantro if you’ve got it, oregano (fresh or dried), lime or lemon juice, and yogurt. Oh, and a pinch of sugar. Serve with fresh veggies and pita or hearty whole-wheat bread.
Falafel and tabouli would work well, too. So would Cuban black bean soup. The Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen, might be a good place to start in learning to cook filling and yummy non-animal-protein dishes.
Whoops, I forgot–black bean dip also has garlic, salt, and maybe some cumin.
I second the recommendation of Indian food. I’ve found that vegetarian Indian cuisine is something that veggies and carnivores alike can agree on. Also, the book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is a wonderful resource.
Also look into how your usual cooking can be adopted into lower meat or meatless cooking. It might seem challenging at first, but it gets easier with time (assuming that you don’t just cook big hunks of meat by themselves for every meal). I’m at the point where I can recognize an Indian recipie that’s been adapted for meat eaters and adapt it back. 
I’ve got two that are favorites of my decidedly carnivorous Mr. Armadillo:
Spanakopeta:
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds spinach, rinsed and chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
8 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
2 Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3 In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in
spinach mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.
4 Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.
I usually bake that in a pie crust, and cover with a pie crust since I have a tendancy to absolutely destroy phyllo dough.
Here’s the other:
Vegetarian moussaka:
Ingredients
1 eggplant, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large zucchini, thinly sliced
2 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
1/2 (14.5 ounce) can lentils, drained, juice reserved
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk
black pepper to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
1 Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 30 minutes.
Rinse and pat dry.
2 Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3 Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown
eggplant and zucchini slices on both sides; drain. Adding more oil if necessary, brown potato slices; drain.
4 Saute onion and garlic until lightly browned. Pour in vinegar and reduce. Stir in tomatoes, lentils, 1/2 the juice from lentils, oregano and parsley. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.
5 In a 9x13 inch casserole dish layer eggplant, zucchini, potatoes,
onions and feta. Pour tomato mixture over vegetables; repeat
layering, finishing with a layer of eggplant and zucchini.
6 Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
7 Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine butter, flour and milk.
Bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly until thick and smooth.
Season with pepper and add nutmeg. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes, and stir in beaten egg.
8 Pour sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for another 25 to 30 minutes.
I usually double the sauce recipe at the end, otherwise it’s a bit thin on top. Also, sometimes I use lentil soup if I can’t find canned lentils.
Mr. Armadillo would eat hamburger at every single meal, and actually came pretty close to that when he was a student, so he’s most definitely not a vegetarian. However, he loves both of these meals and asks for them on a regular basis.
Mexican food is your friend.
Baked potatoes (or steak fries, for a treat) topped with vegetarian chili. Health Valley has a good canned vegetarian chili. Top with cheddar or monterrey jack cheese, if that’s allowed.
Black beans and rice is another good one.
Are eggs allowed? That would open up omelets as an option. Also fried rice with an egg stirred in. And on the days meat is allowed, it doesn’t take much to add some flavor to fried rice.
Ratatouille is good, but probably better in summer when you can use really fresh vegetables.
May I recommend a hearty lentil soup or split pea? You can throw in potatoes, carrots, celery, beet chunks, whatever you like, to make it more of a hungry man’s vegetable soup. You can even throw in some tofu hot dogs if you’re into that. With a hunk of black bread and butter, it’s great.
I find that chili always works:
Red Bean Sweet Potato Chili
2 cloves of garlic
1 small white or yellow onion, diced
canola oil
1 can of kidney beans
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tube Smart Ground soy ground meat replacer (optional)
1/8 tsp. red chili powder and/or cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
salt to taste
Coat the bottom of a large pot with oil. Crush the garlic into the pot and saute over medium heat with the onion and spices until translucent (be careful not to overcook the garlic). Add the tomatoes and the fake ground beef, which is optional but really tasty, and cook for about 5 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes. Cook until the potato is tender, about 20 minutes (check by piercing with a fork). If the tomato gets too thick, add some water, and stir so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Lastly, add the kidney beans until they are heated through.
Serve over brown rice.
Black Bean and Corn Chili
2 cloves garlic
1 small yellow or white onion, cubed (optional)
canola or olive oil or whatever oil you like
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen or canned corn
1 can diced tomatoes OR 1 jar of your favorite salsa
chopped mushrooms (optional)
1/8 tsp. red chili powder and/or cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
salt to taste
In a saucepan or large frying pan, saute garlic and onions with spices over medium heat until translucent. If using mushrooms, add them and saute until just tender. Add beans, salsa and corn. Heat through.
Eat over rice. This chili is also great in a soft tortilla shell or in taco
shells with shredded cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.
Forgot to mention that I use canned beans and always rinse them before I throw them in because they are swimming in that gooey water, which just messes up the consistency of your chili. Sorry if the above is common sense and didn’t need to be stated.