Vegetarian Wannabe

My 13 yr old daughter & I gave up meat for Lent too. Been messing with the idea of making it permanent too. Join a vegetarian group on here. I'm sure there is tons of recipes

Here are some of my favourite vegetarian recipes:

Black Beans, good with a side of rice or with some eggs.
http://www.menshealth.com/guy-gourmet/one-black-bean-recipe-you-must-make#.

Vegetarian Stuffed Bell Peppers, you can add or take out all kinds of stuff for the filling.
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=102654

Linguini with Garlic and Mushrooms, you can use any kind of pasta, tastes good with whole wheat pasta.
http://simply-delicious.co.za/2011/02/02/linguini-with-garlic-mushrooms/

Vegetable Rice Soup, again you can add or take out any veggies you do or don't like
http://www.food.com/recipe/vegetable-rice-soup-356950?mode=metric&scaleto=4.0&st=null

Egg Drop Soup, a light simple soup with some protein from the eggs. I only use 2 eggs instead of the 4 and one yolk or else it's a bit too eggy for me.
http://chinese.food.com/recipe/egg-drop-soup-restaurant-style-61070

I just got this recipe from here and want to try it.

Chick Pea & Orzo Soup

3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 leeks (both white & green part) carefully washed & sliced thinly
1 tomato, peeled, seeded & chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
2 cups chick peas, cooked or canned
2 Tbsp minced fresh basil
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
6 cups chicken stock
1/3 lb orzo
salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over med-high heat until rippling in a large saucepan or soup pot. Add the garlic and leek and saute until garlic is golden brown. Turn heat down to simmer. Add tomato, tomato paste and rosemary. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.
Stir in chick peas, basil, parsley and stock. Turn heat to high & bring to rapid boil. Add orzo & cook uncovered until pasta is al dente, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat & adjust seasonings. Serve hot or room temp. Serves 6.

It's about 237 calories per cup and it's so yummy!

ETA: My diary is open to my friends. Feel free to send a friend request if you'd like. Then you can have a look at my meals

I did the Daniel Fast for Lent 2 years ago. I felt so great, I decided to continue. Here's my list of favorite go-to recipes that are all nutrient dense for minimal calories (about 2 to 4 servings each):

VEGETARIAN CHILI

1 ½ cups cooked kidney beans
1 ½ cups cooked pinto beans
1 can Dakota Pride Mild Chili Beans (my secret weapon-only thing I buy at Aldi’s)
1 onion, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
2 ½ cups water
1 tblsp chix bullion powder (vegan)
1 tblsp chili powder
1 tblsp garlic salt
1 tblsp cumin

Bring everything to a boil and cook until onions and peppers are soft – about 15 minutes.


RATATOUILLE

Dice & saute up in a tablespoon of olive oil:

1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 green pepper
1 onion
1 clove garlic, minced

Once everything is getting fairly cooked, add in a can of diced tomatoes with juice and a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. Season with salt & pepper, basil and parsley. I like to toast hoagie buns, load them with this, add (vegan) mozzarella and put under the broiler for just a minute - until the cheese is melted.



AVOCADO TOFU SANDWICH

Baked Tofu: Press & drain 1 block firm tofu. Cut into 4 "patties". Brush on mixture of soy sauce and liquid smoke, then sprinkle on garlic powder, salt & pepper. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Flip and bake additional 15 minutes.

Avocado "mayo": Mash 1 avocado and combine with 1 T red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and parsley. Use this in place of mayo.

Serve in a pita with a slice of tomato.



VERY VEGGIE “SPAGHETTI”

2 Tbsp Tuscan Herb Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or regular EVOO)
1 Onion, diced
10 oz jar sliced Mushrooms
2 large Zucchini, shredded in food processor
2 large Carrots, shredded in food processor
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) Tomato Sauce, no salt added
1 can (15 oz) Diced Tomatoes, no salt added - DO NOT DRAIN
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1 Tbsp dried Basil
1 Tbsp dried Parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste
Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Using a julienne peeler, make a huge mound of raw carrot or zucchini "pasta"...then top it with very veggie sauce.


DEVILISH CHICK SPREAD

3 cups chickpeas, cooked
1 cup vegan mayonnaise
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder
Season Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

Combine everything except chives in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse on and off until the mixture is nicely melded, but don’t puree—leave a little texture. Add the chives through the feed tube and pulse on and off a few times to whirl in


THREE BEAN SALAD

1.5 cups cooked kidney beans
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cups cooked green beans
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced

Dressing:

2 T olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar
parsley, salt & pepper to taste

Mix dressing, stir in beans, onion and bell pepper and let marinate for at least 2 hours.


QUINOA VEGGIE PLATE

Ingredients
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
1 tsp vegan chix bouillion (optional)
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup frozen cut carrots
1 cup frozen peppers and onions

*Sauce:
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1/3 cup diced tomato with juice
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp dried minced onion
Dash of garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
Sprinkling of Adobo Seasoning

Directions
Bring 1 cup water to a boil. Add vegan chix flavored bullion, if desired. After boiling, stir in rinsed quinoa, lower heat to medium low, cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes, until quinoa is semi-translucent.

While quinoa is cooking, steam green beans, carrots, peppers and onions for 12 minutes.

For sauce, combine tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, dried minced onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper and heat on stove for 5 to 10 minutes.*

To plate, divide quinoa onto two plates, top each with half of the veggies and sprinkle on Adobo seasoning. Divide the tomato sauce and pour over each plate and top each one with 1/2 tsp of nutritional yeast.

Tips
*To speed this up, you can substitute your favorite pasta sauce for the sauce recipe.



LOADED BAKED SWEET POTATO

(ingredients listed tops 2 sweet potatoes):

Combine 1/4 cup beans (red, black, white, pinto...your choice), 1 diced tomato, 1/2 diced onion, 1 tablespoon ground flax, 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix it all up and top the sweet potatoes.

I usually just stab the potatoes with a fork several times and microwave them for 10 minutes and they turn out perfect!


STIR-FRY SAUCE

I heat up a bag of frozen stir-fry veggies, 1 can of chinese veggies (drained), 1 can of water chestnuts (drained), then pour the following sauce. I know stir-fry is supposed to be quick-cooking, but after I pour my sauce on, I like to keep it on the heat for about 5 minutes, stirring the sauce around and letting it soak in to the veggies.

Whisk together:

1 tsp ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp light agave
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp ponzu sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tsp corn starch


TOFUNA

Baked Tofu
Press a block of Lite Firm Tofu to remove as much water as possible. Cut into 4 "patties". Spray a baking sheet with EVOO. Mix together 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce and 1/2 tsp liquid smoke. Brush onto both sides of the patties, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Flip over and bake additional 15 minutes. When they are cooled, I roughly break them up and pulse them in my food processor. Put into a mixing bowl and add:

1 celery stalk, finely diced
1/2 cup vegan mayo
3 tablespoons dill pickle relish
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt & pepper to taste

Mix thoroughly and thoroughly enjoy!

I am vegan but my husband eats meat so I end up having to prep 2 different menus for each meal (and I hate wasting time in the kitchen!!). I find the key to eating veggie or vegan is to do all of your food prep one day of the week (I do it on Sundays). The cookbook "Chloe's Kitchen" has great recipe's (that are quick) that even my husband will eat! This is one of my favorites (Makes enough for a few meals)


Sweet Potato Chick Pea Curry (from Michael Smith)
a splash vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped
a small knob frozen ginger
1 teaspoon Thai curry paste
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
1 19 ounce can chickpeas
1 14 ounce can coconut milk
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup peanut butter or any other nut butter
a sprinkle sea salt
1 cup frozen green peas
several handfuls baby spinach
a bunch chopped cilantro


Instructions

Add a splash or two of vegetable oil to a stockpot over medium-high heat. Toss in the onion and garlic and sauté them until they’re lightly browned, about 5 minutes or so.

Grate the frozen ginger into the pan with a Microplane grater or standard box grater and add the Thai curry paste. Continue cooking until the spices are heated through and fragrant, another few minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes, chickpeas, coconut milk, orange juice and peanut butter and salt. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat and continue simmering until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the peas, spinach and cilantro.
Serve over rice.

I hate cooking with 2.4 million ingredients so my go-to is www.peta2.org and click on recipes. Very easy and quick

Vegetarian burritos

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 jar salsa
Any tortillas you like

Add the cooked brown rice to a skilled with all the other stuff and heat it all together. Serve it on a tortilla and add all your favorite toppings. Lettuse, tomtato, cheese, sour cream, guac, olives...whatever!

So easy and so yummy!!

I have also omitted the tortillas and stuffed this into red, yellow or orange peppers and topped with cheese and baked on 350 for about 15-20 min.