I'm considering going vegetarian. I could use more veggies in my diet and I think there could be some cost savings if I eliminate or reduce my meat consumption.
I know there are plenty of recipes online and there are tons of cookbooks out there but I'd like to hear what you have to suggest.
I've been a vegetarian for sixteen years now (or something like that), and there's a lot of good recipes. It's healthy for you: any kind of decent vegetarian diet will tend to have a great variety of nutrients but be much less calorie-dense. (Unless you're a junk food vegetarian, of course, or decide to just eat a pound of buttered pasta every day.)
Quick questions first: What kind of cuisine do you like to eat? Are you going to be a lacto-ovo vegetarian, a pescatarian, or what? Some styles of cookery are very easy to adapt to a vegetarian diet, such as Indian (which defaults to veggie anyway), while others work better if you're comfortable eating small amounts of fish (Korean or Japanese).
Quote from: Audrada Roibeardet on January 08, 2025, 04:56:35 PMI'm considering going vegetarian. I could use more veggies in my diet and I think there could be some cost savings if I eliminate or reduce my meat consumption.
I know there are plenty of recipes online and there are tons of cookbooks out there but I'd like to hear what you have to suggest.
I was vegan for several years for D:na Autofil's sake and am still vegetarian, so I have a few recipes I could likely send.
I'm planning on going with a ovo-lacto diet. I like eggs and dairy, specifically cheese.
I tried a vegan diet a few years ago. I'm convinced that I was malnutrition during that time. It wasn't the diet, it was me. I know I wasn't getting enough calories and I was cycling a lot. I think an ovo-lacto diet will provide more calories and nutrients than a vegan diet will.
I know that I will need a good amount of carbohydrates in my diet. As the weather gets warmer, my rides get longer. I need the carbs to stay fueled and avoid the dreaded "bonk".
I hope that helps. Feel free to send me recipes.
Easy Korean rice-bowl recipes:
Gyeran bap (I make this at least once a week): https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022530-gyeran-bap-egg-rice
Bibimbap (great for any extra veggies you might have around the house): https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024852-bibimbap
Italian:
Ratatouille pasta: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025450-one-pot-ratatouille-pasta
Zucchini to put on pasta: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023367-zucchini-scampi
Indian:
Butter paneer (don't buy paneer, it's super-easy to make a giant big batch to use for the next month... recipe here for that: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/24/magazine/paneer-fresh-cheese-recipe.html): https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025797-butter-paneer
Palak paneer: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025390-palak-paneer
Mushroom burger: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025333-mushroom-smash-burgers
Except for the mushroom burger, these recipes all look good!
Yeah, not a big fan of mushrooms but I'll try the other recipes.
Any recommendations for a bean burger? I keep seeing black beans in the recipes and I don't like black beans. I'll eat them if I have to but I'd prefer not to.
As a non vegetarian, yet of a family where vegetarianism was practiced and passed down 4 generations, from the days of "The Cranks",
We still make tomato bake, a very simple recipe, consisting of 2 tins of chopped tomato, 1 poured first into a baking dish, a layer of oats to cover, marjoram dashed across,a layer of cheese, followed by the second tin with yet another 2 layer of oats then cheese (kinda like a super basic lasagne).
Basic yes but delish 😋
That tomato bake sounds cheap and cheerful. I'll give it a go.
I just tried some "plant based" sausages and they were... alright. I just pan fried them with some garlic oil and I wasn't impressed. They might be better as an ingredient in a bigger recipe. I guess I'll find out because I still have two sausages left.
I did find a pretty nice "chorizo" soy crumble. I cooked that according to package instructions and added a can of Rotel to the pan. (Rotel is basically tinned diced tomatoes and chilies.)
Once that was heated through, I added some pasta. That actually turned out pretty well. In hindsight, I would have spiced it up a little more.
The adventure continues!
I don't care for most fake meat things. A lot of them are expensive, bad for you, and still just mostly remind you of meat. Exceptions: SmartDog tofu dogs (my kids prefer them to real hot dogs), Morningstar chik'n nuggets (which just taste like the good breading), and Impossible burgers (which taste so much like real burgers when cooked properly that I have to be careful I'm getting the right thing).
It can be hard becoming vegetarian if you don't come from a compatible food culture, if you're doing it alone, or if you're a good meat-based cook. I basically had to learn how to cook all over again.
If you're eating fish, invest in some King Oscar sardines (https://www.kingoscar.com/products/brisling-sardines/). They make amazing quick-and-easy sauces. The Spanish-style, tomato sauce, or Mediterranean-style all can basically just go onto a bowl of pasta for a filling and delicious meal. Great for a lazy night. Or throw the jalapeno ones into a bowl of ramen to invigorate it.
Other recipes:
Parched corn soup (https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jan/08/book-club-the-sentence/ - use Better Than Bullion stock cubes and add a small bag of wild rice (real wild rice if you can))
Pozole (https://www.mexicanplease.com/vegetarian-red-pozole/)
Squash soup (https://beyondmeresustenance.com/vegan-mexican-winter-squash-soup/ - throw in some beans and corn to get all of the Three Sisters in here)
I really like the Morningstar Buffalo nuggets. I started eating those during my initial "vegan phase".
I'm from the Midwest. I grew up on meat and potatoes. When I was very young it was venison and potatoes. I didn't eat a lot of vegetables growing up so it's been interesting trying new things. Never realized I like broccoli until recently.
I am gravitating towards Indian cuisine. It's flavorful without trying to make vegetables taste/look like meat. I've also found that there are quite a few Italian dishes that are vegetarian. Plus, the Italian dishes are carb heavy which is a plus for me.
Have you tried making your own seitan yet? I've found that occupies a nice space where it's not to the "fake meat replacements" but still can be done in quite a few ways that "scratch the itch", so to speak.
Indian food is good, there's quite a bit of Lebanese food that I used to eat in my vegan days as well. And Italian, well...can't go wrong with that.
I haven't tried seitan yet. It looks like it's easy to make. I'll have to track down some wheat gluten.