Vegeterian Meal Ideas

I eat vegeterian three days a week (vegeterian- no meat, fish, egg) and am interested in some healthy vegeterian ideas which are yummy. Please offer ideas other then 'salad'.

Not a huge fan of mushrooms but will eat pretty much any other kind of vegetable.

Im also trying to avoid pasta.

Thanks

[ducky406]

Breakfast ideas- smoothies, or something with yogurt. Remember on a meatless day you need to keep in balance your protein intake and fat intake. Look into a breakfast smoothy with yogurt, berries, and milk. Adding a little bit of coconut, almonds or other nuts would go over well too I think. This might also be a good snack or dessert.

If you trust yourself not to go overboard on toppings- I find that my No Egg replacer (for people with egg allergies) works well with pancake recipes. They're not quite as fluffy but my pancakes are still pretty awesome: 1C self rising flour, 1C milk, 1 egg replacer, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 C berries.

For lunches and dinners:
Pizza- homemade dough and lots of veggies, very easy to make vegetarian.

Do you eat tofu? If you haven't tried it -remember the key is in pressing. If you take a block of tofu straight from the container to the pan it's a disaster area. Trust me, I've done it. I typically wrap it in a thin cloth and push it in between two heavy plates for about 20 minutes. If you are also just stating out with tofu maybe look into the premixed marinated cubes and such. Just keep in mind a little goes a loooong way so if those cubes are 1", you might want to cut it into fourths.  

Stir fry is a must- I usually make this in huge batches. 1/2 tbsp of oil to 4 serves of meat/tofu. Then add garlic, onion, bell peppers, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy/cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, and peas. (Usually I get about 5 of those in there). Just keep in mind that a lot of marinades are horrible in sodium and sugar so be careful if you pick them out.

If you into curries. I make sometimes start out with a stir fry then add a bit of coconut milk (or sometimes regular milk with a tbsp of coconut flakes) and chili flakes.

I also really like sushi, so if you're feeling adventurous look into making it. It really isn't very hard, just time consuming. I usually add avocado, carrots, and cucumber to these. But the great thing about sushi is you can really do just about anything. This is my favorite recipe, although I halved the original sugar amounts and then also halved the recipe because it makes a lot!
http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/food/freshtv/781767/sushi-rice

How do you feel about soups?
A pumpkin minestrone soup makes a wonderful change from the traditional minestrone soup. Usually just add a can or about 1 1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin (per 6 Cups of soup) into your favorite soup recipe. Just be sure to taste it as you go, because I like to add a lot of pumpkin.

Also look into other soups like chili or a lentil soup. These can be made easily without meat and still taste amazing.  I also make a miso soup using 1/2 tbsp miso paste in 2 cups of low sodium broth- then add onions, seaweed, tofu and sometimes noodles.

I also like pot pies. I make mine in ramekins cups and only add a pastry to the top. These can be easily made vegetarian. Use a low fat cream of (mushroom/celery/chicken/etc.) soup and add desired veggies, spices, and cheese. Put it in the oven on 400F/200C for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is done. If you like the veggies soft- cook before hand, otherwise they're a little more chew but not exactly hard. Personally I go for a can of condensed low sodium tomato soup and add heaps of fresh basil and garlic. So really this will work with most soups.

Another idea is to go for a black bean enchilada. Many Mexican recipes can be made without meats. However do look into a low fat tortilla the tortillas in a package are horrifying when it comes to how much fat and calories they can pack. Personally I make my own. Here's the recipe I use, again I cut it in half because otherwise it's just too many. You can also add about 1/4C (per 1C flour) tomato paste and 1 tbsp of basil; about 250g (8oz) (Per 1 C flour) of thawed, shredded and drained spinach with really good results. (Although the spinach tortilla is harder to roll flat.)
http://www.cooking-mexican-recipes.com/flour_tortilla_recipe.html

I'm also quite big on egg rolls.... baked in the oven. I take cabbage, carrots, peas, celery, onions, garlic, and sometimes sprouts and cook them until they're soft. Add a bit of oyster sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce (to taste, I go for a 2:1:1 ratio) and sprinkle with ground ginger. Then I wrap them in spring roll wrappers and bake them at 400F/200C for about 15-20 minutes until they're crunchy and hot in the middle.  

Do you like Zucchini or eggplant? There is a gluten free recipe that uses eggplant in place of lasagna noodles. I go nondairy so I use 250g of crumbled tofu seasoned with salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp lemon juice in place of ricotta cheese. It gets pretty good reviews but I hate eggplant with a passion so I'm thinking about trying it with zucchini.

Now I know you said no to salad.. but 1:2 ratio of wild rice to brown rice, with added almonds and cranberries makes an awesome rice salad. All I do is cook the rice and mix it together.

My grandma also makes an awesome cabbage salad with nuts, cranberries and strangely dried ramen noodles (without the seasoning). Don't know why it works, but it does. I'm sure you could get a similar texture and flavor if you used something like dried chow mien noodles.

Another favorites of mine- although these take egg whites are quiche in mini muffin tins and zucchini patties. They would be worth looking at though on a day you add egg.

I think that's all I can think of. Hopefully that gave you good ideas.

[CuteNsweeT]

Wow, you always give such great detailed answers! I can't think of anything you haven't listed there, you're such a help :)

[ducky406]

I spent the past 2 years learning how to cook normally on a special diet so I feel a lot of sympathy for anyone who needs to do the same. I also have an extensive cookbook of my own adapted recipes from family/websites/cookbooks. :D

[Nikodicreta]

Hey Everyone,
I'm brand new here!
I have  tons of experience in healthy cooking, nutrition,
biochemistry, holistic health and lots more, through my
education,  professional practice and my restaurant backround.
One word of caution though. I'm  critical and fast to pick up on
wrong or controversial advice or comments,
and I do point it out for everyone's benefit.
I hold nothing personal and I ask the same from you.
Example: Tofu in healthy vegetarian cooking is a no no! Not a wise choice.
However, organic and fermented or sprouted organic tofu is an excellent
and healthy choice. You can research it or ask me what's the difference.
As a matter of fact I just cooked tonight a sprouted organic tofu spicy vegetable curry served over jasmine rice. All my recipes are my very own
and everything is cooked from scratch, using the safest and freshest ingredients available to me. And I have hundreds of vegetarian recipes
-all original-and memorized.
Ducky406 nice variety of vegetarian ideas!
I use a herbal type of carry powder (I make my own) to coat my semi-dried tofu cubes after having sprinkled some organic Braggs soy sauce on.
I let it marinate for a while and then I saute this in a CERAMIC non-stick pan using extra virgin coconut oil. It never gets stuck.
I dry roast my spices- black mustard seeds, crushed fennel seeds/cumin
seeds/fneugreek/powered dry curry leaves/dry mango/whole cloves/ crushed dry chili peppers/cardamon- and then add some coconut oil- EVCO only- and saute using low-med heat some minced ginger and garlic.
I add more EVCO, sliced onions, multi colored peppers , broccoli and mushrooms,lemon or lyme juice and unrefined grey sea salt - not added all together but according to the time required for them to be cooked but crisp.
Add the cooked tofu and let the flavors marry for 10-15'.
I serve this usually over steamed jasmine rice.
Cheers!
Niko

[ducky406]

Yes I do have to admit a lot of tofu is heavily processed and it is controversial as far as nutrition goes. I use everything in moderation, so rarely eat any tofu but feel that's rare occurrence is ok. Definitely use your own judgement as far as what you're feeding yourself with. It's very important to know where your food is coming from and feel safe with that knowledge.

[margypops]

Great post of recipes Ducky ..I would like to get back to more vegetarian meals , I find the dishes with spices in you put here especially curry powder,I cannot eat Tofu it upsets my stomach I have tried a few times .,but I havent tried the organic you advise here ..

[Nikodicreta]

Hi! I have a friend who ,like you, cannot tolerate Tofu and spicy dishes .
However, she's done a lot better with organic Tofu- spiced with my Herbal curry mix, which is very light- and no problems at all with the Sprouted
  Organic Soy Bean Tofu. I cannot get the fermented organic Tofu anywhere.
I suspect that it would be O.K. too.
Cheers!
Niko

[specialmom]

Oh, I think the egg rolls sound delicious ducky and am going to try those.  

Now, I did not know tofu was controversial and was going to ask for a way to 'ease' into it because the texture has always made me nervous.  But maybe best to skip it?  

I'm also going to try ducky's tortilla recipe.  We eat lots of bean burritos around here.  We work desperately to get protein into my son's diet.  

[ducky406]

Honestly I eat tofu once every few months-mostly with miso soup. However, I'm extremely paranoid about getting goiter. I have Hashi's and soy, broccoli, and tofu are some of the big ones that can cause goiter for some people with thyroid issues. Not everyone gets it, so I may be over cautious. But no point in tempting fate right? And then I've really done my best to avoid all processed, canned or packaged foods. Although that may be because I cannot have eggs, dairy, red meats, and my husband is gluten free.

Tofu is a good source of protein, so if you're still having problems getting your son to eat meat it could be an option for now. But I really would hesitate to suggest making it the primary source of protein for anyone.

I can't eat spicy-hot foods without getting horrible heart burn or a gallbladder attack. I give a little bit of warmth by adding ground cumin, coriander, or ginger. This is enough to make it almost taste like a curry/mex mix- without causing horrible heart burn.

[margypops]

Thank you so much I think I have seen them in my deli  so maybe go for the deli  fermented  organic tofu .spicy I love so much I put up with an odd 'upset stomach'..