Vegetarian Meals (lots of photos!)

pocketmole

So many replies - thanks for the kind words everyone!

I'm not going to get to all of the recipes just yet, but I thought I would pop in and post how I made the savory oatmeal since a couple of different people asked about it. I will try to write up some of the others later after I cook dinner tonight.

This dish is pretty rich because of the smoked cheddar and sausage. You can opt for a reduced fat cheese and leave out the butter, but I just love food too much to do that. Everything in moderation, right?

Savory Oatmeal

I set 1 cup of low sodium stock + 1/2 cup of skim milk (I actually used buttermilk just because I had some sitting around that I needed to use up - normally I'd use regular milk or almonds milk) to boil, reduced to a simmer and added in 1/4 cup of steel cut oats. At this time I also put in a pat of butter, some salt and pepper to taste, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Steel cut oats need to cook for about half an hour, but you could use rolled oats if you're low on time. Stir occasionally, add more liquid if you don't want them as thick, then at the end stir in your chopped, cooked breakfast sausage (two vegetarian sausage patties in my case ), about a half a cup of frozen spinach (the heat from the oatmeal will cook it), about a tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme (or other fresh herbs of choice), and a small amount of grated smoked cheddar. I'm not sure on the amount of cheese I used, but it was a pretty pungent cheese so I think I used about an ounce. Put a lid over the pan to let the steam melt the cheese and cook the spinach. It will just take a few minutes. The fixings you put in your oatmeal can easily be changed to suit your tastes, but in this case the addition of the cheese makes it remarkably similar to risotto. It's great and incredibly filling from the density of the oats and added protein from the sausage and cheese.

This is about 300 calories, 14g of fat, 24 carbs (4g fiber), and 21g of protein for half of what is prepared here.

Removing the butter and swapping to a reduced fat smoked cheese changes the figures to around 240 calories, 6g of fat, 24 carbs (4g fiber), and 20g of protein.

Sorry about the weird recipe format but I tend to just throw things together on a whim. If I start that blog I'll try to be more precise with my instructions.

kristapennie

That's some good lookin eats!

I'm also a vegetarian, and a photographer!

If you made a cookbook I would absolutely buy it!

NeekoM03

I am not vegetarian but trying to get my family to go meatless a couple nights a week. I really think some of these dishes could convince my very picky husband! Please post recipes soon!

ToughTulip

They look delicious!

Also the kitty peeking in the background of one made me giggle xD

Janet9906

Thanks for posting, I'm going vegetarian for the month of September...going to try it out Those meals look amazing.

skinimin

BUMP.

trybabytry

These are gorgeous photos and give me lots of great ideas! I'm not a vegetarian but I cook like one, haha, and am always on the lookout for delicious non-meat ideas!

Hoppymom

If I ever win the lottery I'll be happy to hire you as my personal chef. Wow! This looks amazing! I am not a vegtarian but I could eat like this 70-80% of the time. Yum!:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

econut2000

Thank you for posting!!! I'm not vegetarian but try to only eat meat 1-2x per week so things get a little boring around here! Those dishes do NOT look boring at all. Thanks for the savory oatmeal recipe and the polenta looks divine and the portobello fries and the.....well everything! :drinker:

NiliP

Those look great--I'm hoping to see many more recipes!

brttnyhrrll

i would eat that way all the time if someone cooked that for me lol!

Carla2299

Lots of these look great and would be a great addition to our meal rotation!!! I look forward to the recipes- thank you for posting and congratulations on your weight loss!

Oops25

bump!

Vx3_

kidnap me!!!!!!!!!!

frankensteen

I'm not a vegetarian but these look amazing!

yourenotmine

Holy crap that looks good... Want to move in with me?

tumblyweed

Bump! *drool* Bump! *drool* BUMP!!!!! :bigsmile:

missjacki

i've been vegetarian 20+ years (since gradeschool) and I"m a pretty boring cook.

Part of me is inspired, and part of me is overwhelmed.

Questions:

Do you meal plan (like a week at a time or whatever?)

How many do you cook for? All this work for 1 person seems like a wasted work of art....but my 3 year doesn't really "branch out" with his meals very much so I wouldn't want to prepare separate meals.

Do you do a lot of leftovers, or do you actually cook 2-3 meals a day? (Right now I cook big batches of food for our family about 3- 4 times a week and we live on leftovers in between cooking days....I work 40+ hours a week though....)

If you are not working full time, I really bet that if you started a blog and provided a meal service you could EASILY get a dozen or so families signed up. You cook for a couple of hours a day....mom or dad swings by at dinner time to pick up their meal (or you deliver for an added fee). I'd be willing to pay probably $25-35 per meal that feeds 3-4 people.

dmisty24

So it's not quite a recipe (though if anyone is curious about how anything here is prepared just ask) but for the past 2-3 years I've photographed everything I've eaten. Since May of last year I was doing this as an alternative to calorie counting and it worked great for holding myself accountable, but I've plateaued out a bit and needed to get more strict. That's how I ended up here, to start tracking my caloric intake.

I really enjoy cooking and for the most part my dietary requirements have been to reduce my processed sugar and carb intake and just to eat less of everything. I allow myself two "cheat" meals on the weekend, one entree and one dessert. This method doesn't work for everyone but it's been one of the main things that's kept me on track for over a year. Whenever I start craving something bad I like looking forward to Saturday night when I can have the best of the best of whatever it is I want.

Anyway, I thought I'd introduce myself with a whole bunch of pictures! This is basically just a summary of how I've eaten since May of last year to lose around 45 pounds.

Polenta rounds stacked with mascarpone spinach and marinara with a side tomato salad



Whole grain thin crust pizza with veggie sausage, mushrooms, and fresh arugula



Rosemary tomato soup with grilled cheese on ezekiel bread



Handmade mushroom raviolis with a brown butter sauce, fresh thyme, and toasted walnuts



Bananas foster muffin with pecan streusel and butter rum glaze (made with whole wheat flour and apple sauce in place of butter)



Caprese salad with rosemary parmesan crisps (super easy and reduced carb)



stuffed zucchini boats with baked portobella mushrooms "fries" and marinara



seitan and broccoli with pesto and cherry tomatoes



wasa with cucumber and cheese with fruit on the side



seitan with green beans and slivered almonds



savory oatmeal made with sausage, spinach, herbs, and parmesan. my cat is intrigued.



Veggie sausage, spinach, tomato, and feta cheese.



White bean, tomato, and spinach soup with lots of fresh basil, Ezekiel croutons, and Parmesan cheese.




Ezekiel greek style wrap with veggies, hummus, and feta. Side of carrots and strawberries.




Spaghetti squash with marinara and a side of garlic broccolini.



veggie turkey and caprese salad on wasa



cinnamon peaches and oats



Avocado rotini with tomatoes and parmesan.



i know this is just unfair to post, but this is one of my cheat desserts. Fudgey brownie soaked with a bit of rum, topped with bourbon vanilla ice cream, homemade hot fudge, vanilla rum whipped cream, and toasted pecans. Eff yeah.

Well my fondest wish is to live in your house and sit down to these spectacular dishes!!!!!!!!!!! I'll do the clean-up!!

If you have time can you send me the Polenta and Pizza dish receipes.....but, I really think you should write a book!!

I hope I have done this post correctly it is the first time that I have tried this.......so sorry if I didnt.........Misty
dmisty@cox.net............thanks

pocketmole

Looks delicious! I never thought of using polenta that way. My daughter does not like eggplant so that might work out great. Will you share the tomato rosemary soup recipe?

This was the next "in line" as far as the recipe requests go so I thought I would do it next. Unfortunately I make tomato soup so often that I do it with dozens of variations and rarely measure my ingredients. It's rare that it comes out the same way twice, haha. I often base it on this very basic tomato soup recipe that I've used for years though.

Recently I've been opting for using whole grain bread, or often no bread at all. I sometimes add white beans, spinach, or chopped basil. One time I used tortilla chips instead of bread and added in a number of southwestern spices and hot sauce. Sometimes for a little more indulgence I'll add a bit of cream, yum yum.

However, for the rosemary soup I add an entire sprig of fresh rosemary to the olive oil and let it "steep" for a couple of minutes before I continue on with the recipe as usual.

While I can't give the specifics on that exact soup from that meal, here is a very simple starter soup recipe that is great to experiment with.

Basic Super Easy Tomato Soup

1 can (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes, with juice (you could use whatever canned tomatoes you have on hand though)
2-ish cups of vegetable stock
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic (optional, unless you're me - then fresh garlic is NEVER optional XD)
1/2 onion, diced (also optional, i didn't have onion last time i made it)
1-2 bay leaves
1.5-2 slices of soft sandwich bread, crusts removed
Miscellaneous dried herbs for seasoning, or fresh if you've got them

Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat and cook the onions until soft, then add the garlic and cook another minute or two.

Add everything (seasonings too) but the bread into the pan. Bring to a soft boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5-10 minutes. I personally don't add salt to this because the stock and canned tomatoes both have sodium, and it's salty enough for me. season to your own tastes of course.

Tear the bread into pieces and add to the soup. Simmer and stir until the bread begins to break down.

Remove the bay leaves.

At this point having an immersion blender will make this WAY easy. Just blend it until it's smooth right there in the pan, or leave some chunk tomato bits if that's what you prefer. If you don't have an immersion blender you'll need to transfer the soup to a standard blender or food processor to get it smooth.

Ready to eat!