Vegetarian!

salyerssommer

Hello! I am venturing into the vegetarian world and will be trying it for one month! I am the main cook and the household with a toddler and another person who won't go vegetarian. Any advice?! What to do vs. what not to do? Any good vegetarian recipes for one and some great snack ideas?
Prefer recipes that can be made in bulk and saved and/or those that require little work!

Thanks babes!

madperson42

Really great bulk meal is lentil and spinach stew/soup, you can find it on bbc good food website. Very hearty but low calorie and makes loads. Another easy bulk meal is bean chilli, again you can make a big batch and eat it throughout the week. Also chickpea (garbanzo bean) curry with some form of vegetable.
Just aim to have some form of protein in whatever it is you eat, be it lentils (very cheap), beans etc also experiment! There are so many things we dont try because we are so used to eating meat.

If you are sharing with a meat eater, try mushrooms, they can be quite 'fleshy' in texture. Also lots of the fake meats are very convincing, but check lables as they can be quite calorific.

A good snack is rice cakes with low fat cottage cheese. Also chopped veggies with a bit if low fat humous, or apple with nutbutter.

Good luck with going vegetarian!

AliceDark

I'm vegetarian but my BF isn't. We make a lot of meals where the base is the same (like pasta with marinara or rice with veggies), but cook and add the proteins separately. Breakfast foods are typically good as well, because he can just add extra sausage/bacon/whatever on the side. Tacos and burritos are great because you can just make yours with extra beans, or even tofu if you want.

cwolfman13

I'd recommend a Pinterest account and search for vegetarian main courses as that was the most difficult for me...note that I'm not 100% vegetarian but I eat vegetarian about 3-4 times per week. Most of my main courses involve things like beans, lentils, potato varieties, pasta, gnocchi, etc...mushrooms have become a staple as well for that meaty/fleshy texture.

I'd have to say though that I put more effort into my vegetarian meals than I do for most of my meat meals...in my experience, planning is more necessary and many meals just require more preparation than throwing a piece of meat on the grill and serving it up with some kind of grain/starch and some veg...so I don't know that you'll get away with much in regards to "little work"...though a lot of things can also be done in crock pots.

Curious as to why you're going vegetarian. Just as a forewarning, most of my vegetarian meals are actually more calorie dense than my meat meals...many vegetarian staple foods like lentils and beans and whatnot are pretty calorie dense...but they're also very filling, so more difficult to overeat.

pinkblonde1

You can message me anytime I've been a vegetarian for over two years now! Best decision I've ever made! And my husband and 2 step kids eat meat and I do still cool for them as well. It's a lot easier then you think. And the benefits are great!

VeganRaptor

Hi, I'm vegan and love it! Feel free to ask if you need any advice
I suggest trying all the different types of protein you can eat instead of meat. Beans, legumes, nut butters (my favourite), tofu, tempeh (my other favourite), seitan (be aware it contains gluten) and so on! Pre-made faux meats are a good option if you're short on time, but it's usually healthier and more economical to go for the less processed protein sources like beans and nuts.

Some easy meals to look into are pasta dishes with a tomato lentil sauce, home made pizza, chunky soups with beans or tofu etc. If you're short on time, a peanut butter and jam sandwich on rye bread is my go to, but you could always go for the faux meat/tofu steak in a sandwich/with a grain and some veggies option! Canned beans are also great in a rush- baked beans on toast are one of my favourites, and if you can find flavoured canned beans (for example Indian style lentils is one I can find where I live), they go great with rice. You can even use microwave rice for a VERY quick meal- just add veggies to top it all off If the other person in your household won't want to even try going vegetarian for some meals, you might like to make a vegetarian base meal (eg pasta) and add meat for the other person after serving (like shredded chicken)- although I'm sure if you are eating delicious vegetarian meals no one will miss the meat

Smoothies are a great option too! Just add some nuts, seeds, or seed/nut butter for protein and fat content.
Grab some tinned chickpeas, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, and some tahini and make your own hummus. You can customise it however you want and it's a really versatile vegetarian protein source. Chuck it in a sandwich with veggies, have it as a snack with crackers or chips or veggie sticks as a snack (could be an exciting snack for the toddler too). The possibilities are endless, really

Good luck, and I hope your vegetarian experiment goes well! I haven't regretted even a second since going vegan, I feel so much healthier and so much happier with myself because I know I'm doing my best for the environment and our animal friends!

withoutasaddle

My advice (10+ years veg) is to not over complicate it. Don't go out loading up on tofu and lentils (because eww

salyerssommer

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I'd recommend a Pinterest account and search for vegetarian main courses as that was the most difficult for me...note that I'm not 100% vegetarian but I eat vegetarian about 3-4 times per week. Most of my main courses involve things like beans, lentils, potato varieties, pasta, gnocchi, etc...mushrooms have become a staple as well for that meaty/fleshy texture.

I'd have to say though that I put more effort into my vegetarian meals than I do for most of my meat meals...in my experience, planning is more necessary and many meals just require more preparation than throwing a piece of meat on the grill and serving it up with some kind of grain/starch and some veg...so I don't know that you'll get away with much in regards to "little work"...though a lot of things can also be done in crock pots.

Curious as to why you're going vegetarian. Just as a forewarning, most of my vegetarian meals are actually more calorie dense than my meat meals...many vegetarian staple foods like lentils and beans and whatnot are pretty calorie dense...but they're also very filling, so more difficult to overeat.

Awesome advice! I'm not really trying to do "little work" just don't wanna spend 3 hours cooking two-three different meals every night!
I am going vegetarian for many different reasons. The main reason being that i was a vegetarian for a few years when I was in high school - I missed it! I'm also doing this for my health. And then sure for all the animals and environment too.

salyerssommer

Thanks guys! You all have wonderful answers and I definitely appreciate them all. Seems like beans and lentils are the most popular amongst us!
Again, thanks!

littlechiaseed

Why trying it for a month?

jassy140

Love lentils. So filling too

fishshark

i was a vegetarian as a kid for a while (i loved animals so much.. still do). I actually havent ate meat in three weeks. i didnt plan on it it just sort of happend. Agreed with pinterest! Also vegetarian is so easy because u just remove whatever protien. My husband is not vegetarian and im not labeling myself as one yet but every meal i made he either ate (he loves veggies grains beans ect) or i just grilled him up stuff on the side.

xbabexfettx

I am two weeks into my vegetarian diet, my roommate has actually found that she enjoys the recipes I make.

Last night I made chile rellano casserole with smashed avocados and lime juice.
I like to make a pot of beans because that'll last me a LONG time.
Potato soup and sauteed veggies.

Alot of people think a vegetarian diet is boring and consists of eating salads all the time, it's not. I am able to eat really anything I wanted just without meat. My fav is french toast..I love french toast and can eat it all I want, as well as getting some protein from the eggs.

It can take some planning but the more you shop for it, the more of a habit it becomes.

I google recipes, follow pages on Facebook with the videos, make it FUN!!!

EttaMaeMartin

i love being a vegan.....love all the fresh veggies and fruit. i so some protein shakes, greek yogurt and beans as some of my protein sources. nut butter is a good one as well as eggs! best of luck!

EttaMaeMartin

littlechiaseed wrote: »

Why trying it for a month?

what does it matter?

janejellyroll

EttaMaeMartin wrote: »

i love being a vegan.....love all the fresh veggies and fruit. i so some protein shakes, greek yogurt and beans as some of my protein sources. nut butter is a good one as well as eggs! best of luck!

What Greek yogurt do you use for protein? I've never seen a non-dairy one that has a good amount of protein.

LushFix

My boyfriend and I have also decided to try out vegetarianism for the month of November as well!

Feel free to add me! Would be interesting to see how it goes for both of us!

salyerssommer

LushFix wrote: »

My boyfriend and I have also decided to try out vegetarianism for the month of November as well!

Feel free to add me! Would be interesting to see how it goes for both of us!

Awesome! I added you! Good luck this month!

salyerssommer

littlechiaseed wrote: »

Why trying it for a month?

Seemed a realistic enough amount of time to begin the lifestyle. I feel like if I say I do it for one month - and I'm successful, then I can live onto three months, six months, a year, five years, you get the idea.
Anything less than a month (like one week/two weeks) just feels like an insufficient amount of time.
It's like the baby steps method I suppose. I feel this way I'm not setting myself up for failure by saying I'll never eat meat again and I'm not putting a lot of pressure on myself.

salyerssommer

xbabexfettx wrote: »

I am two weeks into my vegetarian diet, my roommate has actually found that she enjoys the recipes I make.

Last night I made chile rellano casserole with smashed avocados and lime juice.
I like to make a pot of beans because that'll last me a LONG time.
Potato soup and sauteed veggies.

Alot of people think a vegetarian diet is boring and consists of eating salads all the time, it's not. I am able to eat really anything I wanted just without meat. My fav is french toast..I love french toast and can eat it all I want, as well as getting some protein from the eggs.

It can take some planning but the more you shop for it, the more of a habit it becomes.

I google recipes, follow pages on Facebook with the videos, make it FUN!!!

Oh no! Definitely not boring at all! I just don't wanna buy a bunch of ingredients for one meal that takes two hours to make if you know what I mean and most of the recipes I've found online have been that way. lol. But, after creating a few "sample" menus I did realize that most of the ingredients (rice, beans, and vegetables) are all transferable. So I can make vegetarian chili topped with avocado one day and then use the chili as taco filling the next day and then use the rest of the avocado in another recipe the day after that and so on and so forth.
It definitely has been a lot more planning, but I'm not even a full week in yet, so I have faith!

fishshark

i think setting small goals like a month and then so fourth is very proactive. Saying you are starting something for life is daunting. You may not like it and thats exactly what trying something is for. good luck!