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Easy tasty vegetarian recipes. . . post em . . .

episodic

episodic

Lifer
I'm trying to become a weekday vegetarian - in other words, I'm trying to avoid meat M-F.

I don't think I can go full time, but I figured this would help my health somewhat.


I've been eating lots of rice stir fries and just seasoned rice out of the rice cooker.

I'm looking for different ways to flavor rice - especially anything 'hot and spicy'.

I'm also looking for good bean recipes. I fixed some black bean burritos the other day that were good.


I need stuff that I can cook in small quantities as I seem to be alone in this endeavor.

Also, do you recommend tofu? Never touched it before. . .

Thanks for some thoughts. . .
 
Tofu is great, but you have to prepare it right. I like smaller pieces as it tends to decrease the proportion of tofu to sauce or whatever it is you're using. My favorite use of tofu is in panang curry, lo mein or Singapore noodles. Panang in particular is absolutely delicious and doesn't suffer at all when made in a vegetarian manner.

The wife and I cook vegetarian dishes a lot. Our favorites:

1) Gnocchi. We do all kinds of gnocchi. Asiago cheese, pumpkin, etc. If you want recipes, let me know.
2) Ravioli. We tend to do a lot with butternut squash, goat cheese, etc. Our favorite is goat cheese and onion.
3) Soups like tomato bisque, french onion, etc.

We do all of our marinaras or cream sauces from scratch. Don't skimp when it comes to the gravy, even for the light ones. Fresh herbs are your savior here as much as fresh parmesan. Do not skimp on the parm.

Something the wife made for me last week was really outstanding. We make a lot of little tapas style dishes like this:

1) Goat cheese medallions. Just cup them up into a medallion shape. Easy enough.
2) Create a light honey glaze. Roll the goat cheese medallions in the honey.
3) Create a coating of sesame seed, pepper and whatever else you want to taste.
4) Create a light mango glaze and use a standard kitchen bottle to lightly cover the medallions.
5) Lightly toast some bread or even crackers and use those for serving the medallions.

It's delicious, I promise you.

Overall, just get a vegetarian book or two. Most of what we cook is Asian (Indian in particular), but pretty soon you won't miss meat at all.
 
I love vegetarian meals. Everything I eat is vegeterian, except the occasional mountain lion steaks.
 
Originally posted by: episodic
I'm trying to become a weekday vegetarian - in other words, I'm trying to avoid meat M-F.

I don't think I can go full time, but I figured this would help my health somewhat.
Click to expand...

If you think that simply going veggie 5 days a week is a building block of good health you need to give this hare-brained scheme a LOT more thought. Eating healthy is about balancing the bodies needs, not painting proteins as evil and avoiding them. The human body is meant to consume meat, that's why we can digest it, why we need the nutrients in it and why we have the teeth to eat it. Your body needs a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, fats and fibers, grains and meats and dairy and produce in the right proportions. A vegetarian diet isn't necessarily any more healthy than an all-meat diet. Neither one is any good for you if you entirely cut out other stuff you need. If you're really going vegetarian you need to construct a menu plan that includes everything you need, otherwise you're just going to kill yourself in a far less tasty way than the all-bacon diet.
 
i cook a lot with tofu! you should check your grocery store to see if they have tempeh. it's a very easy thing to cook with and very good :thumbsup:

also, boca makes decent vegetarian pseudo-chicken/beef patties
 
Look up recipes for Indian dishes featuring paneer (a mild white cheese). Matter (mater?) paneer (peas and cheese in a spicy cream sauce) is fairly simple to make and quite tasty.

Saag paneer (spinach and cheese) takes more work but is also very good.
 
Gaghalfrunt: What difference does it make if I get protein from alternate sources most days? I love nuts, I love beans, I love brown rice. . . you can't tell me I'm going to fall apart from going without meat for 5 days a week. . .


Unfortuantly, ironwing and advancedrobotic I live in the middle of the very rural south - so if it isn't a grocery store 'staple' I probably won't be able to get it. I doubt we have paneer (unfortuantly).

 
Originally posted by: episodic
Gaghalfrunt: What difference does it make if I get protein from alternate sources most days? I love nuts, I love beans, I love brown rice. . . you can't tell me I'm going to fall apart from going without meat for 5 days a week. . .


Unfortuantly, ironwing and advancedrobotic I live in the middle of the very rural south - so if it isn't a grocery store 'staple' I probably won't be able to get it. I doubt we have paneer (unfortuantly).
Click to expand...

Do you have any Mexican grocery stores nearby? Panela and Queso Fresca work well in paneer dishes.

NM, I see you already knew that.
 
Originally posted by: episodic
Gaghalfrunt: What difference does it make if I get protein from alternate sources most days? I love nuts, I love beans, I love brown rice. . . you can't tell me I'm going to fall apart from going without meat for 5 days a week. . .


Unfortuantly, ironwing and advancedrobotic I live in the middle of the very rural south - so if it isn't a grocery store 'staple' I probably won't be able to get it. I doubt we have paneer (unfortuantly).
Click to expand...

The same argument could be made the other way. You can't tell me you're going to fall apart from including meat on those 5 days. Like I said, if you think that meat provides protein and only protein you have not give this nearly enough (or any) thought. Meat is no more unhealthy than non-meat protein substitutes provided it's fairly lean and consumed in the right proportions. You see a whole lot of healthy people in McDonalds and you see a whol lot of sickly people in health food stores. It's all about the right balance, not some deep-end knee jerk diet change. If your diet plan is "give me tasty foods" without even looking at whether those foods provide the right mix of grains, dairy, vitamins and minerals you're doomed to failure.

French fries, fried mozzarella and Red Bull are all meat free. Make them your dietary staples and you're a vegetarian. You're also going to die soon.
 
My reasoning is 2 fold - to reduce cost of food (increasing my rice staple alot) and to eat healthier - I won't start gorging myself on deep fried mozzeralla sticks. Never tasted Red Bull, and I'm not a fry fan.
 
1) cook some bacon
2) use the bacon grease to make an omlette
3) avoid eating the tasty delicious bacon. you must have an iron will to do so, though. it'll build character.
 
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Originally posted by: episodic
I'm trying to become a weekday vegetarian - in other words, I'm trying to avoid meat M-F.

I don't think I can go full time, but I figured this would help my health somewhat.
Click to expand...

If you think that simply going veggie 5 days a week is a building block of good health you need to give this hare-brained scheme a LOT more thought. Eating healthy is about balancing the bodies needs, not painting proteins as evil and avoiding them. The human body is meant to consume meat, that's why we can digest it, why we need the nutrients in it and why we have the teeth to eat it. Your body needs a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, fats and fibers, grains and meats and dairy and produce in the right proportions. A vegetarian diet isn't necessarily any more healthy than an all-meat diet. Neither one is any good for you if you entirely cut out other stuff you need. If you're really going vegetarian you need to construct a menu plan that includes everything you need, otherwise you're just going to kill yourself in a far less tasty way than the all-bacon diet.
Click to expand...

he's going to eat meat on weekends. so that sounds balanced.
 
Originally posted by: ElFenix
1) cook some bacon
2) use the bacon grease to make an omlette
3) avoid eating the tasty delicious bacon. you must have an iron will to do so, though. it'll build character.
Click to expand...

lol, the bad parts of bacon is the fat 🙂
 
Black Bean cakes / burgers. Same basic recipe main difference is bun vs no (Black Beans drained + an egg + green chilis + cumin + cilantro + chili powder + other spices to taste flour to thicken.) You can make a couple (delicious with cheese or with a yogurt sauce,) use the rest of the beans for black beans and rice. (REAL simple, just cook the rice, mix in with the beans, add some salsa, some sour cream.)
 
Originally posted by: sdifox
Originally posted by: ElFenix
1) cook some bacon
2) use the bacon grease to make an omlette
3) avoid eating the tasty delicious bacon. you must have an iron will to do so, though. it'll build character.
Click to expand...

lol, the bad parts of bacon is the fat 🙂
Click to expand...

wat
 
Originally posted by: StevenYoo
Originally posted by: sdifox
Originally posted by: ElFenix
1) cook some bacon
2) use the bacon grease to make an omlette
3) avoid eating the tasty delicious bacon. you must have an iron will to do so, though. it'll build character.
Click to expand...

lol, the bad parts of bacon is the fat 🙂
Click to expand...

wat
Click to expand...

As long as you are eating nitrate free bacon, the only health concern would be the fat. Unless you got a problem with Sodium 🙂
 
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Originally posted by: episodic
I'm trying to become a weekday vegetarian - in other words, I'm trying to avoid meat M-F.

I don't think I can go full time, but I figured this would help my health somewhat.
Click to expand...

If you think that simply going veggie 5 days a week is a building block of good health you need to give this hare-brained scheme a LOT more thought. Eating healthy is about balancing the bodies needs, not painting proteins as evil and avoiding them. The human body is meant to consume meat, that's why we can digest it, why we need the nutrients in it and why we have the teeth to eat it. Your body needs a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, fats and fibers, grains and meats and dairy and produce in the right proportions. A vegetarian diet isn't necessarily any more healthy than an all-meat diet. Neither one is any good for you if you entirely cut out other stuff you need. If you're really going vegetarian you need to construct a menu plan that includes everything you need, otherwise you're just going to kill yourself in a far less tasty way than the all-bacon diet.
Click to expand...

In bold means wrong unless a dog posted.
 
PBJ for lunch, of course. Grilled cheese. Avocado and tomato sandwich. Egg salad, if you're eating eggs. pizza. Fried rice is great, you can throw anything in it you have sitting around.
 
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