Help me change up my vegetarian go to meal ideas?

RitchieEats

Hello everyone,

I'm looking to get ideas and input on how to vary my diet and meal prep ideas. I'm currently maintaining my weight and have no weight loss or grain goals. I eat primarily a vegetarian diet and in the ball park of 2500 kcal each day.

I love reading food journals and have mine open to friends. Would appreciate some comments and suggestions on how to get more variety into my diet besides my standard go to items which are:

Breakfast: oatmeal, toast, fresh fruit, peanut butter, flax/chai seeds, soy milk, cereals

Lunch: veggie & fruit platters, nuts, cheese, crackers

Dinner: tofu, pasta, salad, rice bowls, vegetable sandwich/fajita/wrap/taco

Snacks: berries, dark chocolate, occasional junky snack

Nichole_AZ

check out the blog vegiesdontbite.com it's a vegan site but lots of great food!

biejen

Most of the time I make veggie stirfry for dinners!

Usually: sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach, ginger... Sometimes also: beets, snap peas, eggplant, or broccoli

Then in a separate pan I prepare garlic and onions, then add tempeh and spicy chili sauce, crank up the heat and flavor with soy sauce (should start to evaporate on contact with pan)

The oil keeps me full so I never feel inclined to add rice or noodles. Your can make a lot at a time and save it for future lunches.

—a salad-hating vegetarian

willfalconxp

Hey @RitchieEats

I'm not a veterinarian but I like to eat a lot of vegetarian dishes for both moral and health reasons. With no idea what your caloric intake needs to be I won't bombard you with a specific meal plan.

But some vegi ideas are chickpea curry (Jamie Oliver has a really good recipe on his website, which I've got cooking/reducing on the stove atm). Minestrone soup is another go to for me - I don't know of any easy to find recipe's that I can recommend - but my go to minestrone recipe is from the Australian Institute of Sport recipe book, but I think it's on their website as well if you want to google it. As you've noted yourself stir fry's are a pretty good and safe staple for the budding veterinarian, and if you don't mind microwaving things the instant rice's make life a lot easier. The only other suggestion I can make is vegi bbq's... A couple of options there bbq tofu (again Jamie Oliver has a good looking recipe, but I haven't tried it yet) and bbq vegi burgers (there's some good recipes on both Taste.com and Jamie Oliver's Website, or you should be able to find some in your local supermarket).

Lastly most of the recipes on Taste.com and Jamie Oliver's website have the macros provided, so you won't need to add them up yourself. Plus I'm pretty sure this site/app has a function where you can punch in the URL of any online recipe and it'll do the rest so whatever your caloric intake is I'd suggest using this site/app when finding new recipes.

Cheers and happy eating,
Will

willfalconxp

Oh I almost forgot... If you don't mind the odd cheat meal I have a B!*@#ing eggplant and basil pizza recipe (my own invention, but both family and house mates love it) that I'd be willing(ish) to share. No idea what the macros of it would be, but shouldn't be to bad for a cheat meal.

Cheers,
Will

czmiles926

I don't eat meat (but I do eat fish occasionally) so most of my meals are vegetarian. I'm a student as well so I can't splash out on anything too fancy: nearly all my food comes from Aldi and most of my vegetables are from frozen. I'm not trying to gain or lose weight; I mostly use mfp to make sure I get enough protein.
For breakfast I tend to have high protein yogurt (if you're in the UK, Aldi do a really good 0% fat Greek yogurt which is basically a knock off of the fagé total yogurt but only £1.29 for 500g) and some cereal or a crumpet.
For lunches I tend to have a whole meal wrap or pitta bread with salad and houmous or cottage cheese or cheddar or cannaleni beans (or tuna) followed by some fruit.
For dinner I sometimes have quorn fillet curry with rice (I use a jar of curry sauce and add some veggies as well). I've also made a roast vegetable and spinach and ricotta lasagna before which was quite tasty. I really enjoy quorn mince chilli on top of tortilla chips with a bit of sour cream or guacamole. I make egg fried rice with any leftover rice and add peas and onion and pepper. Butter bean, potato and vegetable stew is easy to make in a slowpot. I know stir fries have been mentioned before and sometimes I make a veggie and chew nut stir fry. Spaghetti and pesto with some vegetables on the side is a go to of mine as well.
I usually have some almonds or some oat cakes before I go to bed.
I've started having a homemade banana and peanut butter milkshake as a mid afternoon snack.
Hopefully this gave you a bit of inspiration!

RaeBeeBaby

Consider adding a few more legumes for protein and fiber. Lots of ways to add beans and lentils - chili, soups, rice/bean/veggie bowls. You can even make very tasty brownies with black beans (since you're not trying to lose weight). I also love roasted sweet potato and black bean burritos!

nowine4me

Here's what's on the menu for tomorrow. I will sub chicken for tofu in mine. Spouse eats meat. With a blueberry chia pudding for dessert.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/kung-pao-chicken-zoodles-for-two/

willfalconxp

Hey @RitchieEats as mentioned here's the pizza recipe. You didn't reply saying you wanted, or didn't want the recipe so I thought I'd shoot it to you and you can do as you like with it.

Also anyone on the forum is welcome to use it to (obviously) that's why I posted it here on the thread. But I'll be a bit peeved if I see it somewhere else on the forum and someone else is taking the credit for it.

So... It's super simple, but that doesn't mean boring!!
If you're just cooking for yourself the second pizza will last in the fridge for up-to but no more than three days. Or you can scale it down, or up, depending on who your catering for.

Ingredients for two people:
- Small pizza bases x2 (I buy mine from a supermarket because there pretty low cal for a commercial base and quite tasty, but there would be plenty of healthy pizza base recipes on Taste.com if you wanted to make sure it was low cal)
- 140g tub of no salt tomato paste (this will be to much paste for two pizza's so to avoid waste, use a smaller jar/tub if you can)
- Cheddar cheese (use as little or as much as you see fit)
- Parmesan cheese (use as much or as little as you want)
- Medium to large eggplant x1
- Fresh tomato x3 (big ones, or the equivalent of cherry tomatoes)
- Bunch of basil (all of it)
- Avocado x1
- Chilli flakes, optional (some people hate it on this recipe, but some love it)

Method:
1) Cut the eggplant in-to fairly thin slices (no thicker than a centre meter, not sure what the US conversion is) and lightly salt them.
2) Place the salted eggplant slices in a siv/strainer/colander and cover with baking paper. Place something heavy, like a bowl on-top of the eggplant to help get the excess moister out. Leave the eggplant in the colander for around a half hour.
3) Wash the excess salt of and pat dry.
4) Line the pizza base/s with tomato paste (I prefer to have the paste quite thin, but thick or thin is fine for the recipe)
5) Grate a tiny bit of both cheeses onto the bases (this is just to act as a 'glue' so all that awesome topping doesn't fall off)
6) Next add the eggplant, fresh tomato and basil. Be extremely liberal with the basil it's a key ingredient of this recipe.
7) Top the pizza with as much, or as little, of both cheeses as desired.
8) Cook the pizza bases accordingly to the instructions of the packet or recipe. I like to swap the pizza's over (so bottom pizza on top and visa versa) at the halfway mark to ensure an even cook.
9) This next part is the pièce de résistance of the dish. Just before the pizza is ready, cut the avocado in-to rough chunks and then put on-top of the pizza's as you serve.

The avo may seem strange to some people but because it doesn't have a strong flavor at all, and it goes really well with the other ingredients. Plus the cold (compared to the pizza) and soft texture of the avo acts as a really nice contrast pizza.

That it. Simples. Enjoy.

Cheers,
Will

P.S You don't have to hang around in the kitchen while the eggplant is doing its thing. I tend to do a quick workout or run (I have a home gym) while it's in the colander.

erica_today

I made vegetarian Philly cheese steaks last night. They were pretty damn good. And I love my vegetarian chicken fried rice.

Soyrizo is amazing

MelanieCN77

I'm not veggie but veer that way for convenience sometimes, as I don't care for frozen meat in general (I know most of it's probably been frozen on its way to me at some point hasn't it?) but the meat substitutes I can deal with fine. This is the least inspired suggestion but check out the Morningstar fake chicken nuggets, in particular the buffalo ones, very good. The veggie ones are quite tasteless but you can dress them up.

thewindandthework

I reeeally want to try the jackfruit pulled 'pork' everyone's been going on about for the last year or two. It looks phenomenal.

rph2t

I like to use tofu as a protein source for dinners at least a few times a week, and my favorite way to do it is to cook it in something saucy so it soaks up the flavors and takes on a creamy texture. Two recipes that use this:

Tofu spaghetti:
I use whatever veg I have to start, usually onion, mushroom, eggplant, or zucchini, and saute them up in a large skillet until they start to soften. Then I stir in the cubed tofu, canned tomatoes, and sometimes a jarred spaghetti sauce with no added sugar. Add your favorite spaghetti seasonings (use use plenty of salt and pepper, as well as an Italian seasoning blend). Simmer for 15 minutes or so. Put on your favorite carefully measured and hopefully whole grain pasta. Add nutritional yeast or parmesan, depending on how much cheese you've had that day.

Tofu baked beans:
Dump baked beans and cubed tofu in pan or casserole dish. Bake or heat on medium on the oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve with some cornbread if you have a beans-and-cornbread addiction like I do. Boosts the protein WAY up when compared to just baked beans or navy beans or anything similar, and the tofu gets silky and absorbs the smoky, sweet, salty taste of the beans. LOVE it. Probably my favorite, easiest vegetarian recipe I've made up.

Also, I do shake-n-bake on tofu in the oven, and it turns into beautiful, crispy little tofu nuggets you can dip in your favorite sauce (I love barbeque or honey mustard, and I've also done a "tofu parmesan" using the tofu nuggets under spaghetti sauce and a generous helping of mozzarella and parmesan. Here's an easy recipe for the shake-n-bake so you don't have to buy it at the store every time:

http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-shake-and-bake-39930

Obviously, for the first two recipes you can substitute your favorite meat substitute. I just like tofu because it's cheaper and more versatile. I have made lovely chili and spaghetti with the meatless "ground beef" crumbles, though.

Thanks for posting this, by the way. I'm omni, but I eat mostly vegetarian when I cook for myself at home, and it's so hard to find good, simple recipes. I'm gonna have to try some of these listed.

RitchieEats

Wow! Thanks for such great suggestions. Can't wait to get into the kitchen.

hist_doc

I suggest preparing and then freezing meals. Not sure what your household situation is like, but I am the only vegetarian in my home so it's convenient for me to have freezer-ready meals on hand for when company comes, etc. Since I'm the sole cook in the house, I'm slowly trying to bring my husband and son over to the dark side as they call it.
I made several recipes recently from this website:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/deenashanker/vegetarian-freezer-meals?utm_term=.whly4ZGr1#.usrREXL63

The vegan chili and coconut curry chickpea dish were excellent and froze/reheated well.

Here are a couple of my current favorites for summer:
https://minimalistbaker.com/mexican-quinoa-salad-with-orange-lime-dressing/
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2016/03/11/goat-cheese-spinach-sun-dried-tomato-quiche/

nyponbell

I live alone and don't want to cook dinner every night - I also don't mind eating the same thing over and over again (especially if it is delicious!). I make a bean stew/soup regularly, with tomato as a base (and I add water as well, which why it can be either a stew or a soup). Then I just add in whichever beans I want, lentils and some veggies (currently I am obsessed with zuccini, but have also done with other veggies). I haven't felt the need to add any fake meat or tofu, and the best part of this meal (aside from it being delicious) is that aside from the fresh veggies (though you could have frozen ones too, like broccoli) I can keep everything else in the cupboard and whip up a new batch without problem whenever I need it! Just don't forget to add spices to it!