Non-Meat Eater....Ideas Anyone?

beckewecks

Hi everyone -

So you would think not eating meat would mean I'm naturally thin - let me just ease you mind on that one....I'm not. So I'm trying to find meatless, lower calorie meals (most sites are loaded with extra calories or are all made of tofu). I found a few great recipes on dietdiva.com, eatinghealthy.com and allrecipies.com (although I think most of those are loaded with extra cheese, which kind of defeats the purpose).

Any ideas that don't involve tofu would be great appreciated!

(oh and to be clear - I'm not a vegan....just not a meat eater)

Thanks!

Shannonlastname

I walt a lot of Greek yogurt because it keeps me full and its high in protein.

HotAshMess

My dietitian once called me.... anti-protein. I don't object to meat, just too lazy and paranoid to cook it.

DO you have objections to chicken bouillon? I like brown rice and veggies....follow directions on rice....bring water to a boil. Add bouillon cubes to make broth (1 cube per cup of water). Also add dried onions (or fresh) and minced garlic to taste. Add rice, reheat to boiling (per directions) then stir in an equal amount of veggies (so you have equal parts rice and veggies). Let sit for 5-7 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with paprika, add a dollop of whatever butter you're using (spray, light, real butter, whatever). I like to add a tablespoon of ranch and give it a stir.

Shiratake noodles. There are lots of recipes for these....google it.

What about the forever infamous cabbage soup? YOu can find it, and variations for it online.

In the asian food aisle of your grocery store they should carry House of Tsang stir fry sauce. Try stir frying some garlic ad veggies, adding one cup of broth (I use beef) and a tablespoon of the sauce (this makes it go further). Thicken the sauce with some corn starch. Add cashews if you need/can afford more calories and protein. Serve over brown rice.

Try using spaghetti squash instead of traditional pasta, use with your favorite sauce.

I love eating spinach salad made with spinach (duh!) topped with yogurt (I prefer the extra creamy variety, but this adds calories....light strawberry is great too), and fruit. Some good combinations: spinach, extra creamy vanilla yogurt, strawberries and sprinkled with poppy seeds; spinach, vanilla yogurt and mango; spinach, strawberry yogurt and purple grapes.

Hope something here helped you. Good luck.

shaynak112

I don't eat meat either!
I eat rice quite a bit. I usually add lots of vegetables to it and sometimes soya sauce (just a bit!). I sometimes add tofu to it, lol, but you don't have to! I usually make fried rice, it's pretty good, and it fills me up!
I also eat a lot of salad. Just basic salad with tomatoes and sometimes I put fake bacon and low calorie Parmesan cheese on it. Caesar salad dressing or this raspberry vinegrette kind, I just try and keep the portions down!
Tacos with black means instead of meat. Add lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, whatever you'd like.
Vegetables can be made with spices and it's pretty good!
Mashed potatoes, make sure you only make a smaller portion.

naomi8888

I'm loving Quorn products, lots of protein there.

pdworkman

My diary is open!

sotrem

I like legumes, like lentils, garbanzo beans, split peas, kidney beans and many, many more. Lots of fibers, high in proteins, not expensive and very satisfying. You can eat loads of it and add very few calories to your menu. A nutritionnal jackpot! My favorite cookbooks are Easy Beans and More Easy Beans. I prefer beans soups during winter and beans salads during summer. I often cut the fat added in recipes. I am lucky, my husband and my 2 kids enjoy legumes too. If you are not familiar with legumes , they are worth a try.:bigsmile:

bathsheba_c

You might try going to a recipe website like Epicurious and searching cuisines that have a large number of vegetarian dishes. Indian pops to mind immediately, but there are also a lot of vegetarian Mediterranean dishes, as well as from countries with large Buddhist populations (China, Japan, etc.). The websites often allow you to search specifically for vegetarian dishes.

jodi_robyn

Hi! I'm a veg-head too. For breakfast I have a PB Banana smoothie made with my new BFF the Magic Bullet.

PB Banana Smoothie (420 cal)
1 banana
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 cup vanilla soy milk (using the lite version would lessen your cals)
4 ice cubes
Blend until smooth! Sometimes I add fibre powder as well, since it keeps me full longer, adds about 45 cals.

For lunch today I had a this salad (321 cals)
1 cup mixed greens
1/4 c mushroom
1/4 c peppers
1/2 c cucumbers
1/2 c canned/drained black beans
1/2 c 1% cottage cheese
2 tbsp ranch dressing (this is the biggest cal booster, exchange for lower fat for less cals)

I also snack on lots of low cal stuff throughout the day - like cucumbers, strawberries, etc.

LaurenAOK

HI there! Fellow vegetarian here. For simple meals I like to just combine all of my favorite veggies with some sort of carb. So, veggies and brown rice, veggies and whole-grain pasta, grilled veggies on wheat bread, etc.

For protein I make sure to eat a lot of beans and the like! Black bean tacos are one of my favorite things to make. I'm also pretty good friends with cheese I eat greek yogurt often and I drink a protein shake every day, since I lift weights.

There are so many amazing veggie recipes out there. Here's one I just made for lunch and just now shared on MFP: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/590549-skinnytaste-avocado-egg-salad

Skinnytaste is awesome and she has a huge section of vegetarian recipes! Check it out.

jlwbeans0823

My favorite cookbook is The Vegetarian 5 Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas. There are so many simple recipes that incorporate different ideas for vegetarian cooking. Another poster recommended products by Quorn which are very good and soy free I believe. My favorite quick meal to fix is 2 cups of Kale, 1 cup of Key Largo Blend veggies, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of no salt seasoning and 1 Quorn meatless chicken cutlet.

ednawhatnot

I eat a LOT of Quorn and eggs. Today I had boiled eggs for breakfast, soup for lunch and a kind of Quorn sausage casserole (made in a roasting bag with tomatoes, barley, onions and spices) for dinner. I work full time and tend to have similar foods for breakfast and lunch most days so I only really have one meal a day to think about cooking.

msmimi

My daughter doesn't eat meat but she will eat seafood,meat substitutes, eggs and beans. Do you eat any of those things? Here's a breakfast treat for you. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/04/huevos-rancheros.html
Gina also has some excellent Vegan & vegetarian recipes
http://www.skinnytaste.com/search/label/Vegetarian Recipes

msgremmy

I'm vegan (long, long time), and I'm always trying to figure out new recipes. I love vegweb.com for recipe ideas-- I always modify them, but it's a good place to start.

Last night, I made a really yummy eggplant dish. My husband isn't vegan, so I'll describe how I made his. I sliced the eggplant, sprayed the slices with olive oil (I have a cool sprayer) and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Then I mixed together two triangles of the Happy Cow soft cheese, about a quarter cup of parm and quarter cup of mozzarella. I spread that mixture on 5 slices sprinkled them with bread crumbs. I served it with polenta with spinach on top and a salad. It was really, really good and really low in calories for a whole meal!

My other favorite is taco salad... Morning Star crumbles with shredded lettuce, salsa, taco seasoning, black olives, sour cream and a bit of avocado. I serve it with homemade tortilla chips. So yummy and so quick.

Ooh, if you have a Trader Joe's nearby, you've got to try the meatless balls. The serving size is huge, and they're really good.

SeasideOasis

http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/quinoa-vegetable-soup/
My Quinoa Vegetable Soup is really tasty.

http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/tuscan-baked-zucchini/
Tuscan Baked Zucchini

http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/spinach-feta-scrambles/
Feta Spinach Scrambles

http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/homemade-tortellini-soup/
Homemade Tortilla Soup

http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/vanilla-protein-pancakes/
Vanilla Protein Panckes

Thats all I got!

rlwinton

Go to skinnytaste.com and look up vegan/vegetarian recipes. They have a brown rice/black bean recipe that is outta this world!!

ickybella

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/523632-what-do-your-meatless-meals-look-like-photo-thread

kokaneesailor

Quinoa! The complete protein seed that fueled Aztec warriors for centuries. Contains all 9 amino acids, simpler that rice to prepare. Get that intta yah!

Cheers

mdmchoco

Add me. I am veggie but do eat some fish/seafood on occasion. You can see my diary for some meatless ideas. I don't eat a lot of soy...but do eat some.

jpombert

Hemp protein Powder

Jain

Veggie here.

Just made a yummy veggie stew and it was so easy! It serves 4-5 people & it freezes well.

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 red onion chopped
as much garlic as you want, sliced
about 200gms butternut squash chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 courgette, sliced
about 200gms mushrooms
1 can drained aduki beans (the no added salt kind)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 veggie stock cube.
Herbs (I used thyme and bay leaves)

Fry the onions in the oil till soft then add the garlic. Add the veggies, beans, tomatoes, stock cube, herbs and a little water (about 1/2 a can full). Bring to the boil & simmer till the veggies are cooked.

Serve with rice & greens.

Yummy & very filling.

kklemarow

Check out the book, "The Kind Diet". Lots of very healthy vegan recipes in there.

TKHappy

I just made the most fabulous Black Bean Burgers ever the other day!

1 16oz can of black beans
1/2c. seasoned bread crumbs
1 Large egg
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 c diced onion
1/2 c diced green pepper
3 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder

Mash the black beans and mix well with the rest of the ingredients. Form into 6 patties and place on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes on each side (I like my crispy) at 350 degrees.

They are about 130 calories a piece, I topped mine with salsa, guacamole and sour cream....soooo yummy!!

mummma

check out this thread....

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/523632-what-do-your-meatless-meals-look-like-photo-thread

lolcatftw

I see you're vegetarian. I'm a former vegan, then vegetarian (meats are very $ on a student's budget), and currently a carnivore--in moderation. There's a lot you can do as a vegetarian...

If you have a juicer then juice!
If you have a blender then blend! (more fiber than juicing)
^ one of my favorite blends is 3 bananas + 1 c. milk + 1 tsp cinnamon (that's a lot btw) + 1 tbsp vanilla protein powder
Veg dishes...
* Ragu alla marinara + whole wheat pasta. Make a simple ragu: whole tomatoes + fresh basil + fresh garlic + olive oil + salt.
* Veggie stir fry (use your imagination...I use what I have laying around, e.g., mushroom+garlic+green bean fried in a tsp or so of peanut oil + soy sauce + sambal oelek.
* DIY fried rice ... you can add eggs too if that's your thing!
* make your own salsas to chow down w/ homemade tortilla chips -- salsa source: YouTube user previribon, start w/ salsa verde con chili arbol and go from there (it's in Spanish--do NOT trust a salsa recipe from an English speaker, yikes!... but I don't speak Spanish and I can still get the gist).
* find a good recipe for casamiento, a Salvadorean black bean+garlic+rice dish served at breakfast, but I eat it any time of the day
* fried potato in a small amount of your fresh salsa verde (or roja) + cilantro, then eat as a taco!
* pretty much any Indian food recipe is vegetarian (and many are vegan). Try making Aloo Gobi (aloo=potato, gobi=cauliflower) or punjab choley.
* boil or steam up some edemame
* look up a good recipe for honey corn bread
* veggie omelets (most ppl suck at omelets bc they don't BEAT the ever-living *kitten* out of the eggs before adding to pan)
^ you could add spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, garlic, avocado and if you eat cheese then gruyere and feta
* veggie breakfast burrito (again, BEAT those eggs!)

Once you realize that dozens of cultures around the world are/have been vegetarian/vegan for hundreds/thousands of years, it becomes easy to cook amazing while avoiding horrible, no-flavor, bland, uninspired American style veg recipes. Google is your friend. Good luck!

pdworkman

It is a myth that other plant sources are "incomplete" and don't contain all 9 amino acids.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/apr/protein.htm

But quinoa is fabulous and I use it lots.

Quinoa! The complete protein seed that fueled Aztec warriors for centuries. Contains all 9 amino acids, simpler that rice to prepare. Get that intta yah!

Cheers

beckewecks

Greek yogurt rocks! I do eat a great deal of that. Yummy stuff!

beckewecks

Thanks everyone for the great ideas! I truly appreciate it!

foxyforce

hey there,

I am also a vegetarian, but i find myself eating a lot of:

avocado: turned into guacamole, on toast, in salad
beans: bean salad (just take a can of mixed beans, or any beans, mix with chopped up tomato, onion, and any veggie really, top with your favorite salad dressing and refrigerate), veggie burgers, falafal, put into spaghetti sauce
salads: i have a really hard time being creative with salads but i find a spring mix using random ingredients i love will work, such as: beans, olives, roasted red peppers, hot peppers, avocado, mango.

you can still eat a lot of yogurt, apple sauce, fruits as snacks.

i have a hard time, just keep it creative. and when you are craving greasy foods i would really look into some soy products, i know you said no tofu, but there are some amazing mock chicken wings out there!!! just put a lot of hot sauce and they do the trick.

SueGremlin

I think my favorite non-meat protein-packed meal is dal over rice and maybe even chick peas.

I could take a bath in it, it is so good. It is easy to make, too.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/wolfgang-puck/dal-recipe/index.html