Vegetarian Meals Part 2 (Photo Heavy)

pocketmole
pocketmole Posts: 614 Member
So back when I first joined MFP I made a forum post sharing a lot of photos of my vegetarian cooking. You can check it out here if you like: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/722193-vegetarian-meals-lots-of-photos?hl=pocketmole At the time I had lost around 45lbs. I have since lost another 20lbs and figured I would make a second thread showing some of the things I have prepared since then. I know there are quite a few people that may be curious about what a vegetarian diet looks like, and some of the vegetarians may wonder what kind of foods they can eat and still lose weight. (The answer is pretty much whatever you want, in moderation.)

A little bit about me and the guidelines I've set for myself as far as my weight loss in concerned:


• I made it a point to stop basing all of my meals around pasta and rice - which wasn't so straightforward as a vegetarian. I still eat them, but far less than I used to. I opt for whole grains when I can.
• I work out 3-5 days a week. M-W-F I go to boot camp to get my *kitten* kicked. I've since started doing some lifting on at least one of my non boot camp days. I occasionally go running as well. Hoping to finish my first 5k in November.
• I'm not a fan of "skinny" shortcuts with my cooking. I don't do splenda, diet sodas, or fat free cheeses. Popular recipes like the banana "pancake" (you all know the one) don't appeal to me at all. I make my pancakes with flour and sugar, then I top them with butter. And rum infused caramel if I feel like it :)
• When cooking I try to compromise rather than eliminate. If I make muffins I may sub in whole wheat flour for part of the white flour. I may sub out some of the oil for apple sauce. I may cut back on the sugar. If I can reduce the calories of a dish by 20% without sacrificing flavor in any way, that's a success to me. I want my food to taste legit, yo.
• Portion control, which is made possible by logging everything I eat. Occasionally I want something rich so I will balance it out by having less of it and eating a salad or some roasted veggies on the side.
• If I have a day of pure calorie overload I just let it go and eat well the next day. That was a hard habit to break as I used to be one of those people that would say, "Oh I f***ed up. I guess I'll start fresh on Monday." Even though it's only Tuesday.
• I'm pretty lax on the weekends, but not out of control. Usually. :)
• Most days I eat between 1300-1500 calories. On weekends I will sometimes have 1800-1900. I generally eat back about half of my exercise calories but I'm not all scientific about it or anything.

TL;DR: No summary, just pics for you.

jalapeno cheddar polenta with black beans and fresh pico
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truffled mac and cheese with roasted cauliflower
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vegan "beef" stew made with stout
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hummingbread bread with neufchatel glaze and toasted coconut
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savory oatmeal with smoked gouda
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tim tam crumble bars
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green lasanga
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7 layer dip lasanga
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butternut squash and smoked gouda macaroni
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spinach artichoke dip pasta
spinachartichoke1_sm.jpg

white wine roasted shiitakes over whole wheat fettucine
shiitakefettucini1_sm.jpg

egg-free potato and onion frittata
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jalapeno cornbread muffins
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southwestern vegetarian chili
southwesternchili_sm.jpg

pears baked in cream, butter, and rum - topped with crumbled gingersnap cookies
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hard cider banana bread
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individual eggplant parmesans
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baked lentil stew with polenta
lentilpolenta.jpg

seville orange whiskey sour with homemade drunken cherries
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spinach tamales with chili sauce and 3 bean avocado salad
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stone fruit cobbler muffins
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vegetarian meatballs with fettucine and marinara
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enchilada inspired stuffed zucchini boats
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chocolate tofu pudding
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taco salad, minus the usual taco shell bowl
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seared quorn and roasted root veggies with thyme
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drunken mushrooms over parmesan polenta with roasted aparagus
polentamushrooms.jpg

tom kha gai with tofu
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roasted ratatouille with veggie italian sausage
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tofu "egg" salad with avocado
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baked hummus seitan with salad
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quorn roast with cheesy baked spaghetti squash
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chili lime veggie for soft tacos (and roasted corn for my boyfriend)
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chocolate chip with walnut on the right, chocolate chip with toffee and sea salt on the left
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banana rum pancakes
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hummus
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kale avocado salad with chili tofu
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lemon poppyseed zucchini bread
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stuffed baked tomato with farro
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open faced chickpea burger with basil pesto, feta, and olives
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yummy lunchtime sammich with cherries
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chili dog on a pretzel roll
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deconstructed lettuce wrap salad with spicy peanut sauce
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squash blossom quesadillas with refried beans and homemade pico
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cherry tomato soup with cream and pan seared haloumi cubes
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roasted poblano and potato soup
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apple brie crostini with cinnamon honey walnuts
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pizza: fontina, italian sausage, squash, and purple basil
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homemade butter with garlic and herbs
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mixed tomato salad with basil, fresh mozzarella, and homemade garlic croutons
tomatosalad1_sm.jpg
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Replies

  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    omg i love you. these all look so good, especially the baked spaghetti squash. i've done that before with some roasted red pepper sauce ricotta and mozzarella baked with the spaghetti squash so good! do you have a link or blog with recipes? thanks so much these all look great, you're an awesome chef!
  • akasullengal
    akasullengal Posts: 1,499 Member
    As a vegetarian of many many years, I'm always excited to see new foods to try out, especially when one is trying to eat healthy and not overload on pasta. A lot of these meals look fantastic. Can you share recipes? Otherwise, I can only drool and be jealous.
  • pocketmole
    pocketmole Posts: 614 Member
    I don't mind sharing recipes, but to share for all of them is a bit much, haha. Are there any in particular that stand out? :]

    I have all of these things (pretty much all of them) entered into MFP's recipe builder so I can just take a screenshot of the page. Although in many of those circumstances I don't include the salt, pepper, and spices that I used since it doesn't apply much to the calorie count.
  • Jeeto115
    Jeeto115 Posts: 48 Member
    All those look amazing!!!

    I would eat healthy ALL the time if someone cooked me meals like in the pix. Looks delicious!!
  • meepberry
    meepberry Posts: 22 Member
    WOW. These pictures...if I wasn't hungry before I sure am now! Can I get that beef stew recipe? <3 It looks so delicious.


    Edit: She has a food blog! <3 And it is delicious looking and amazing. :) The link is on her profile.
  • Umm can you just like move in with me? I mean seriously, every single thing there looks TO DIE FOR!:love:
  • desertcrafty
    desertcrafty Posts: 50 Member
    Those all look so delicious...Great photography!

    I wouldn't mind knowing how to make the kale avocado salad and chili tofu!
  • PepePants
    PepePants Posts: 47 Member
    Incredible! Some really great food photography, too! I just had one of my faves: roasted root vegetable salad with quinoa and I still found myself salivating at those shots. Very talented.
  • bellesouth18
    bellesouth18 Posts: 1,071 Member
    Those look delicious! I'm not a vegetarian, but I love veggies and would eat these creations in a heartbeat! You're a terrific photographer/food stylist, too.
  • x311Tifa
    x311Tifa Posts: 357 Member
    GREEN LASANGA!!! Omg, I haven't had that in years! I need to make it now!!!
  • OMG...some of the most delicious dishes i have ever seen...inspiring!
  • julesw734
    julesw734 Posts: 100
    These look delicious.. I am sure that I would use several if not all of them... Thank you. :)
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
    waiting for your recipe book to come out... lol I remember all the great recipes you've shared in the past and the photos of your meals on the food porn thread. Bring on the vegetarian meals!

    Your photo skills/camera take some seriously awesome pics:happy:
  • tbresina
    tbresina Posts: 558 Member
    seriously bumped!
  • EHisCDN
    EHisCDN Posts: 480 Member
    I want to eat all of this! I'm always looking to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my repertoire.
  • coco3382458
    coco3382458 Posts: 296 Member
    OMG I feel like I want ALL of these recipes!! Do you have a blog or site or something going on pintrest. Do you think you could post a couple every week? Also what kind of camera do you have? I can not believe how beautiful the photography is. Sending a friend request now :)
  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
    Awesome! I get tired of telling people I get variety in my diet and I get plenty of protein. I also don't do diet food. If it's a gym day, I will indeed treat myself to pancakes.
  • littlebudgie
    littlebudgie Posts: 279 Member
    Oh my goodness, I'm salivating. Could you share the recipe for that savoury oatmeal with gouda?
  • FrankieTrailBlazer
    FrankieTrailBlazer Posts: 124 Member
    Looking great!!
  • Laurenmp16
    Laurenmp16 Posts: 344 Member
    You are very talented! Food sounds AND looks great! Thanks for sharing.
  • glassgallm
    glassgallm Posts: 276 Member
    These all look wonderful! How about starting a blog with your recipes ( and a link here to the blog) :wink:
  • WOW. ~ drooling

    Thanks for sharing all those great ideas and beautiful pics! Have you ever submit to tastespotting or foodgawker? Totally looks like foodporn.
  • jenillawafer
    jenillawafer Posts: 426 Member
    I'm not a vegetarian, but you've got my mouth watering! How 'bout sharing some of these recipes!?
  • LaurN326
    LaurN326 Posts: 99 Member
    This has got me excited to try new foods. As a vegetarian, I get bored with the same food all the time. Thank you for posting this. I'm for sure trying some of these foods! :)
  • JustKimAMW
    JustKimAMW Posts: 12 Member
    You should totally make a blog. These are beautiful pictures and I bet if you made a vegetarian cooking blog and slowly started sharing all these recipes you'd gain quite the following.
  • Haima
    Haima Posts: 93 Member
    Everything looks DELICIOUS!!!
  • Zaniejane
    Zaniejane Posts: 329 Member
    I make a seitan loaf every weekend to last the week. Here is one:

    21703F6C-B7DC-47CD-AE5B-DDFAF239E40B-448-00000054C4A80A9F_zps6988162d.jpg

    Last night we had guests for dinner. The menu was strip sirloin steaks, cheese, Greek yogurt, chives and onion stuffed potatoes, garlic bread, coleslaw with black beans and cilantro and seitan!

    I barbequed big slabs of Seitan ( made with ginger, garlic, thyme, nutritional yeast and sage) beside the steak and it was delicious. Even my steak- eating guests enjoyed it!
  • pocketmole
    pocketmole Posts: 614 Member
    Thanks, everyone!

    A few of these recipes I actually have on my food blog: http://www.goudamonster.com/

    I'm not great about keeping it updated but I'm trying to get better at it. Usually I want to make a recipe a few times before I feature it. Not everything on the blog is low cal or "healthy", but there are some tasty recipes for sure. If you have the patience for it I highly recommend the dulce de leche spice cookies. :]
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    I don't mind sharing recipes, but to share for all of them is a bit much, haha. Are there any in particular that stand out? :]

    I have all of these things (pretty much all of them) entered into MFP's recipe builder so I can just take a screenshot of the page. Although in many of those circumstances I don't include the salt, pepper, and spices that I used since it doesn't apply much to the calorie count.

    dude that would be awesome :]
  • krazyforyou
    krazyforyou Posts: 1,428 Member
    I need recipies please.