Vegetarian dinners - help!!

laurenbutler38

Hello!

I've recently just restarted my weightloss journey after a break (I got complacent). I'm just wondering if anyone has any low calorie vegetarian meals that are super tasty that I can give a try. Starting to get a bit bored of the meals I'm making. Though, I am a student so nothing too expensive, please!

Thank you for your help!!

cathipa

Lentil taco "meat" for tacos/nachos/salad
Pinto or black beans over sweet potato or quinoa

Check out Brand New Vegan & Minimalist Baker. I've tried many of their recipes and they are great and most without crazy ingredients.

RenaTX

Most of my vegetarian meals are kind of high in calories I think. LOL

I'm not vegetarian but try to get about 2 or so days in that don't have meat just because I think it's healthier for me and my husband. My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and even though he's more open minded about food ( two different ethnic backgrounds here ) than a lot of guys I know he's still really picky about vegetables so I try and work around that .

I made up a black bean and plantain taco which has about 128 calories per serving when you don't include the tortilla .

I just copied it from MFP recipe entry for you.

0.50 tbsp, Spices, garlic powder
1.50 tbsp, Oil, avocado
1 tsp(s), Spices, onion powder
0.25 tsp, Spices, paprika
0.16 tsp(s), Salt
382.00 g, Plantains, cooked <-- You want leopard yellow and brown here. Not green.
0.25 cup, Lime juice - Raw
0.25 tsp(s), Spices, chili powder
8.82 ounce, Black Beans Canned <-- drained and rinsed
2 tsp(s), Cumin Powder

Makes 7 servings basically.

Basically I cook the plantains in the avocado oil . Once cooked then smash them up with the black beans . Add the seasons while I smash it up.
Plop it on tortilla and you can garnish how you like. I usually like a little sour cream and cilantro.

Audj246

Lasagna stuffed portobellos from Skinnytaste.com

Sub lentils for ground beef to make spaghetti sauce.

Dreamwa1ker

Kung pao chickpeas! https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/kung-pao-chickpeas

33gail33

Depends what you mean by low calorie. I made a spinach, mushroom and ricotta lasagne and was kind of shocked when I built the recipe and it was only 415 per serving - which easily fits into my dinner allotment.

Panini911

lots of chilies and curries can be made low calorie just up the veggies (that are lower in cal). serve over cauliflower rice or veggy noodles or stuff like nupasta.

i eat vegetables (home made broccoli slaw, cauliflower rice with cow cheese, other veggies with eggs or a veggy pattie (i buy at store, some are lower cal)

lauradavies2018

Thai soups are great, I have a few recipes, they’re very adaptable and low in calories. I’m pescatarian so tend to have them with prawns but otherwise mushrooms, peppers, onion, pak choi, cherry tomatoes and mini corns are great additions. They’re a little pricey to start because they call for fish sauce/soy sauce/stock cubes/ginger/garlic but once you’ve got those things making them is cheap. Happy to share recipe if you’d like.

acpgee

Mejadra is always good. But to keep down work and calories don't bother to deep fry the onions. Just pan fry half the onions that get stirred into the rice and lentils. For the onion topping used for garnish, just buy the ready made deep fried onions that most people use in Thanksgiving bean casseroles.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/09/mejadra-recipe-yotam-ottolenghi

mdreddie

What kind of vegetarian are you? I like eggs and dairy, so I would prescribe 1.5 cup of dry Quaker Quick One Minute oats with water, black pepper, ground cinnamon and a tablespoon of sunflower oil microwaved for 6 minutes. And for your protein, I would suggest on the side to have the whole 35.3 oz container of Fage yogurt 5% full fat. This gives you a total of ~100 grams of protein, 50 grams of very satisfying fats, and 12 grams of filling fiber for a mere 1300 calories.

lemurcat2

Recipe I am currently into:

seitan or tempeh or even tofu

pan fry in a little olive oil with the following:
some kind of chili spice blend
onion
sweet potato (chopped pretty small)
other veg if you want, cauliflower or zucchini work well

then add:
tomatillos
poblano
ancho chile

Cook for a bit and then add some water and simmer until the sweet potato is done.

At the end add some cilantro, a little coconut milk, and pumpkin seeds (consider roasting them first).

mariluny

I made this potato and lentil salad so many times, I love it!
https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/01/warm-lentil-and-potato-salad/

If you eat dairy, my favorite soup, for about 300-400 calories is tortellini soup: sauté carrot, celery, onion or whatever veggie you fancy. Add broth (2 cups per serving) and simmer for a few minutes. Once veggies are tender, add a cup of cheese tortellini per serving and some spinach or kale. It’s really good! It doesn’t make good leftover, the pasta gets really soggy.

julesdechaine

Butternut squash chili (under 300 calories per heaping bowl)

Place one large chopped yellow, one orange, one red bell pepper under broil until skin is scorched. Place in ziplock bag for about 15 min (easier to peel skin)

Sauté diced sweet onion and a few cloves of garlic in .5 ts olive oil
Add
1 TBS cumin and paprika, .5 TBS red pepper flakes (more or less to your personal taste preference) stir
Add one box organic vegetable broth
Add three cans of rinsed beans (I use black, kidney, and northern)
2 cans salt free diced tomatoes
Add about 2 c cubed butternut squash
Peel peppers from above and add to pot
Bring everything to a boil for about 5-10 min and then simmer until squash is at consistency you like

I rarely use recipes and exact measurements and just make according to my taste but this is really, really good!!!! Found it in a magazine about 10 years ago.

Dreamwa1ker

Here is my lunch this week (491 calories):

Penne Arrabiata with cannellini beans and ricotta
==============================
1. Make this sauce: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/spicy-arrabbiata-sauce/ I use 1 cup of it per serving because I like it saucy. I make with crushed tomatoes instead of whole.
2. Boil 2 oz raw per serving of penne (will cook up to ~1 cup per serving cooked). I like Kroger Reduced Calorie penne because it has a TON of extra fiber without having a weird texture: https://ship.kroger.com/p/011110849250/kroger-reduced-calorie-penne-rigate-enriched
3. I add 1/3 cup canned cannellini beans drained/rinsed to my lunch container with the other stuff (it will heat up when I reheat my lunch). You could do more if you need a more filling lunch.
4. After I reheat my lunch I top with 1/4 cup of lowfat ricotta.

bh4me2

Forks over knifes has a great app that has a lot of vegetarian recipes on it. Very nice app

grimendale

BBQ tofu with carrots is nice and easy. Just press the tofu, cut into squares roughly 2" x 2", then pan-fry in PAM for a few minutes each side until browned. Toss with the BBQ (or other) sauce of your choice and serve with steamed carrots. It's one of my go-to meals. I also like to make tacos with corn tortillas, morningstar grillers, and spinach or chili over pasta, also with morningstar grillers, your favorite spices, and the lentil pastas.

acpgee

You might like gado gado. The constants are the peanut dressing, tofu, tempeh, boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, blanched green beans. Add any other blanched or raw veg you have on hand.

https://rasamalaysia.com/gado-gado-recipe/