Vegetarian Dinner Ideas Needed

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tmarie1213
tmarie1213 Posts: 43 Member
in Recipes
I became (mainly) vegetarian back in November and need some new dinner ideas. I eat seafood on occasion and eat other meats very, very rarely, so I'm trying to keep these ideas meatless.

I feel like I have been in a pasta rut for a while now, as we typically have that for dinner. So to all you other veggies out there, I need some new ideas that are fairly easy to make and will appeal to my non-vegetarian boyfriend as well.

Thanks much!

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  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    the vegetarian times website is a great source of inspiration!
  • Yahme
    Yahme Posts: 25 Member
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    Grains are a good choice.... quinoa and millet are two good ones. Great sources of protein.

    Another idea would be checking out recipes for a "Daniel Diet".... the recipes are all vegan, no animal or dairy in the recipes. I use two books on the "Daniel Fast" and they have a lot of recipes in them...the great thing is that they have websites you can go to and get the recipes too. www.daniel-fast.com and www.ultimatedanielfast.com

    Hope that helps some and Good luck!:smile:
  • Jenna423
    Jenna423 Posts: 178 Member
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    Vegweb.com is also another good one for recipes. I also struggle with trying to find something new to make. And I still have to cook for my non vegan husband so I know how hard it is! Mexican is a nice change from pasta... two of my favs!

    If I find anything new and exciting I'll let you know. :flowerforyou: Do the same for me? THANKS! :bigsmile:
  • jeanaustin
    jeanaustin Posts: 101
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    My boyfriend is a vegetarian and I don't miss the meat in the meals we make. I find that they have a lot of flavor in them. I love having tacos made with Soyrizo. If you've never had it it can be found in the produce section of your grocery store. Rice and veggie chili is another good one. Veggie stirfry with Tofu. Have you had baked tofu in stirfry? It's SO good and has a meaty texture. It's similar to what I've had at Pei Wei. I've only found it at the asian grocery store. Hope that helps!

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  • steph5565
    steph5565 Posts: 36
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    I eat largely vegetarian by choice (weird, I know, but I just love vegetables so I don't eat meat like... ever). Tonight I had an amazing stir fry (healthy and quick too!):
    100g Green beans
    60g Red Pepper
    1/2 Onion
    1 cup Garbanzo beans (adds protein and fiber)
    1 T Low sodium soy sauce
    ~1/4 cup water
    1 tsp Grey Poupon
    1 tsp Sesame seed oil
    Sriracha chili sauce to taste
    Sesame seeds to taste

    Basically you can just dump it all in a skillet with the exception of the Sesame oil, which will go on last, saute it up for about 10 minutes and bam! Delicious vegetarian meal! Feel free to vary the vegetable amounts for what feels right.

    I also do couscous with veggies, ahi tuna marinated in lime & cilantro, channa masala, vietnamese fresh rolls, and homemade soups (you can do a thai coconut lime one that's divine).

    Good luck and enjoy!
  • steph5565
    steph5565 Posts: 36
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    Oh... I forgot to mention that's the recipe for 1 person, so scale up or down accordingly.
  • tmarie1213
    tmarie1213 Posts: 43 Member
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    Thank you all so much for the many tasty sounding ideas! I'm looking forward to grocery shopping and trying some new dishes! If I come across anything good, I'll post and let you all know. Thanks again!
  • theotherkate
    theotherkate Posts: 14
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    Spinach, red lentil and bean curry.
    I made this one tonight, I got it off a webstie http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-Red-Lentil-and-Bean-Curry/Detail.aspx because it had great reviews, but I changed it slightly just because of what I had and didn’t have in the house. It serves 2-3 people.

    Ingredients:

    1/2 cup red lentils

    1 tablespoon tomato paste

    1/6 (ish) of a 500g container plain yoghurt

    3/4 teaspoon garam masala - I made garam masala using 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp crumbled bay leaves, 1/8 tsp ground cloves. You will have some leftover, but yeah.

    1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground dried turmeric

    1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

    1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (again, less if you don’t want it too spicy)

    1 tablespoon olive oil

    1 small onion, chopped finely

    1 clove garlic, chopped finely

    a 3-4cm (ish) piece of fresh ginger root, grated

    Spinach - I think I used too much spinach, because I used frozen instead of fresh, and I chucked in about 4 cubes of it. (The original recipe called for 2 cups fresh). Basically I’d say put in however much you want, it just depends how much you like spinach.

    1 tomato (chopped as finely as you want)

    1/2 can mixed beans, rinsed and drained (I had no mixed beans so I just used cannellini beans, but mixed would’ve been better)

    Method:

    Rinse lentils and place in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Drain.
    In a bowl, stir together tomato paste and yogurt. Add garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and chilli flakes. Stir until creamy.
    Heat oil in a saucepan over medium - low heat. Sautee onion for a couple of minutes before adding the garlic and ginger; cook until onion begins to brown (or for about 5 minutes). Stir in spinach; cook until dark green and wilted, or defrosted if you’re using frozen spinach. Gradually stir in yoghurt mixture. Then mix in tomato.
    Stir lentils and beans into mixture until well combined. Heat for about 5 minutes.
  • kristarablue
    kristarablue Posts: 707
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    They have great vegetarian products now such as morningstar farms and boca they are expensive, however you can order coupons on ebay to curb the cost. We eat vegetarian ribs, burgers and chicken nuggets. They are lower in fat and calories than the real stuff and taste great. Also I use TVP (textured vegetable protein) all of the time. It is a dried soy product that almost looks like granola. You hydrate it to make it simulate hamburger, I have made sloppy Joes, "meatloaf", shepherd’s pie, nachos, ect. anything you can do with hamburger you can do with TVP, it takes on the taste of the food it is in. Probably the best vegetarian cookbook I have ever used is Linda McCartney’s "home cooking" It has lots of easy recipes and it is real food. The cookbook is really old though so I don't know if it is available. Do a google search for vegetarian recipes; you will come across more than you ever want. Give tofu a try as well, you can do so much and tofu also takes on the flavor of what it is cooked in and if you press it, it changes the texture. Good luck!! Going vegetarian is a great way to go. One more thing, legumes are a great way to go as well.

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