Wanting to Eat Less -- and Eventually No -- Meat, But Don't Know Where to Start
zamphir66
Posts: 582 Member
Title Says It All.
Any tips? A Beginner's Guide?
I mean, I get the basic idea -- beans, rice, yogurt and eggs for my protein mainly -- But I'm so fuzzy on how to go about making "meals" that don't focus on meat.
Any tips? A Beginner's Guide?
I mean, I get the basic idea -- beans, rice, yogurt and eggs for my protein mainly -- But I'm so fuzzy on how to go about making "meals" that don't focus on meat.
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Replies
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Some tips that have helped others: pick one day a week to go meatless and try new meals on this day (Pinterest can be a great source for recipes), explore meat substitutes, try recipes from traditional cuisines that feature less meat/vegetarian options (Indian is a popular one).6
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What type of foods do you usuallly eat or enjoy? Try those but substituting the meat for a non meat option.
I’d be happy to give you a few pointers - I’ve been vegan for 20 years.1 -
title says eventually no meat? are you going vegan for ethical reasons or? just curious1
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Just search for "vegetarian recipes" in your browser - there's a lot of recipe sites out there like:
https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes
I've moved to a mostly pescetarian diet - fish, non-animal proteins, dairy and eggs. I have no interest in becoming 100% vegetarian or vegan, but some use pescetarianism as a bridge to full vegetarianism. Here's a pescetarian recipe site:
https://pescetarian.kitchen/recipes/3 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »title says eventually no meat? are you going vegan for ethical reasons or? just curious
I think OP is asking about lacto-ovo vegetarianism, not veganism.3 -
janejellyroll wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »title says eventually no meat? are you going vegan for ethical reasons or? just curious
I think OP is asking about lacto-ovo vegetarianism, not veganism.
maybe thats it ,was just wondering was all0 -
Basically, watch the movie what the health. I haven't eaten meat since September 2017. Make up your mind and use Youtube for recipes. You will quickly learn what to eat to hit your macros.17
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Experiment with tofu. I didn’t like it the first time I had it because someone used silken in a veggie chili recipe. But then I had it where it was seasoned well and baked. Try freezing for a chewier texture and try to press excess water out. I like it cubed in a stir fry and the baked slices are good hot or cold is great on sandwich, salad or just to snack on. There are so many kinds of beans. Hit the bulk foods section at Whole Foods and try a variety that’s new to you. Pick up some quinoa while you’re there too and use it instead of rice, quinoa is a complete protein making it a great center of the plate.0
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When I first stopped eating meat, I relied a lot on meatless protein like Morningstar, Gardein, Boca, and similar products, and just used those in place of meat in dishes I normally cooked. I don't eat very many of those things anymore because I've learned new recipes, but they were a good way for me to get started.5
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Basically, watch the movie what the health. I haven't eaten meat since September 2017. Make up your mind and use Youtube for recipes. You will quickly learn what to eat to hit your macros.
Same here, and I only watched bits and pieces. I haven't had meat since August 2017. I'm also down nearly 50 pounds. Whole Foods, plant based was the way to go for me. I've never felt better.5 -
Basically, watch the movie what the health. I haven't eaten meat since September 2017. Make up your mind and use Youtube for recipes. You will quickly learn what to eat to hit your macros.Basically, watch the movie what the health. I haven't eaten meat since September 2017. Make up your mind and use Youtube for recipes. You will quickly learn what to eat to hit your macros.
Same here, and I only watched bits and pieces. I haven't had meat since August 2017. I'm also down nearly 50 pounds. Whole Foods, plant based was the way to go for me. I've never felt better.
That's really sad since most responsible vegans and vegetarians despise that film8 -
I think one good way to start out is just go ahead and cut any meat products that you don't really like. For example, I used to eat pretty much "all" meat except wild game/exotic stuff...but I never cared much for turkey, ribs, sausage, or pork chops, and rarely ate steak. I've always liked hamburgers, chicken that is not on the bone, and the occasional bacon on a BLT. So I kept eating those things while cutting out all of the not-so-appealing (to me) meats. It made it a lot easier to go meatless. I went meatless for a year but now I am back to what some call flexitarian, I order meat in restaurant meals a couple of times per month, but don't eat meat at home except fish/seafood (husband is pescetarian)...and we eat primarily vegetarian/vegan meals with lots of tofu, beans, eggs, various meat substitutes, etc. We use mostly vegan websites and cookbooks for ideas because they tend to be creative and high quality much of the time (Isa Chandra Moskowitz is one good source for recipes) and it's no big thing to just use regular dairy cheese, for example, instead of buying or making vegan cheese. Good luck!0
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2,417 vegetarian recipes here: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/search/ ?f[0]=field_special_diet:25
163 vegetarian recipes featuring beans or legumes: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/search/ ?f[0]=field_special_diet:25&f[1]=field_recipe_main_ingredient:789
107 featuring tofu: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/search/ ?f[0]=field_special_diet:25&f[1]=field_recipe_main_ingredient:786
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For meals that feel like they 'need' meat, I'll use substitutes, like meatless burger patties or meatless schnitzel with sides.
For meals such as pasta, rice, curry, tacos, pizza, I add lots of veggies I enjoy and usually beans/lentils/chickpeas (maybe not on pizza
) and make sure the sauce is yummy and I don't even think about it 'missing' meat.
Just go slow and find things you love eating that don't have meat, or can be adapted to be meatless. Better to take a year to stop eating meat than go cold turkey for three months, make yourself unhappy and switch back. Good luck!1 -
Just make everything that you normally like to eat, remove the meat part and use a substitute.
hamburger patty becomes an Impossible Burger patty
meat lasagna becomes veggie lasagna
steak and potato becomes tempeh and potato
chicken tacos becomes tofu chorizo
beef stew becomes bean stew
swap chicken and beef stock for vegetable stock, add beans instead of chicken to salad, eat cheese and hummus sandwiches instead of turkey...
There are a lot of options, and a lot of vegetarian products on the market now that require very little prep or seasoning. Many restaurants offer a decent amount of vegetarian options or are willing to accommodate requests.1 -
Just make everything that you normally like to eat, remove the meat part and use a substitute.
hamburger patty becomes an Impossible Burger patty
meat lasagna becomes veggie lasagna
steak and potato becomes tempeh and potato
chicken tacos becomes tofu chorizo
beef stew becomes bean stew
swap chicken and beef stock for vegetable stock, add beans instead of chicken to salad, eat cheese and hummus sandwiches instead of turkey...
There are a lot of options, and a lot of vegetarian products on the market now that require very little prep or seasoning. Many restaurants offer a decent amount of vegetarian options or are willing to accommodate requests.
Can you buy the Impossible Burger where you live? Where I am we only can get them from restaurants.0 -
Might wanna try a vegan or vegetarian meal subscription service to get you started. I use Hungryroot (it’s WFPB).0
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I stopped eating mammal meat for ethical reasons (carbon/acreage footprint and they readily bond with humans). That's a good half step towards going vegetarian. I eat vegetarian a fair amount because fish and poultry doesn't provide a lot of variety. I use morningstar crumbles a lot. Extra firm tofu marinated and cooked in the air fryer is good.1
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Well, don't do what I did...when I first went vegetarian in 2011 I ate pasta with marinara sauce every night for weeks! I love my pasta (am having stirfry noodles tonight, in fact) but that was too much and too unbalanced!
You didn't mention if you're cooking just for you or if you have a partner or family. For just me, I like to keep things relatively simple...things like a taco salad of romaine lettuce, refried beans, gardein beefless crumbles with a little water and taco seasonings, olives, red onions, salsa and avocado. I sometimes add some vegan sour cream. The same beans and "meat" can go inside a tortilla for a burrito.
Personally, I don't do a lot of meals that consist of "protein, starch, and veg" all separate on the plate. You can certainly eat that way as a vegetarian, but I prefer things like soups, stews, casseroles, and foods that are more traditionally vegetarian like hummus, dals, curries, stir fries, that kind of thing.
It's a vegan meal plan, not vegetarian, but plantbasedonabudget.com has a one week suggested meal plan available for 5 dollars, and the meals are very inexpensive. I also like budgetbytes, minimalist baker, connoisseurus veg, and other vegetarian/vegan blogs.
Also, my diary is open! Feel free to look it over and message me if you have any questions.0 -
Best thing I found to replace a burger patty was a large portobello mushroom sautéed in a homemade balsamic oil dressing and grilled, it has a umami flavor. My wife and I like going meatless a day out of the week and this is our go to for dinner.
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janejellyroll wrote: »Just make everything that you normally like to eat, remove the meat part and use a substitute.
hamburger patty becomes an Impossible Burger patty
meat lasagna becomes veggie lasagna
steak and potato becomes tempeh and potato
chicken tacos becomes tofu chorizo
beef stew becomes bean stew
swap chicken and beef stock for vegetable stock, add beans instead of chicken to salad, eat cheese and hummus sandwiches instead of turkey...
There are a lot of options, and a lot of vegetarian products on the market now that require very little prep or seasoning. Many restaurants offer a decent amount of vegetarian options or are willing to accommodate requests.
Can you buy the Impossible Burger where you live? Where I am we only can get them from restaurants.
Yep! Chicagoland Whole Foods. I think I've also seen it at Plum Market and Treasure Island Foods.
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A pity, i've only ever seen beyond burger in stores and have never seen impossible burger. Admittedly, I'm not much of a burger person, but still....it's always nice to have more options.0
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Funny thing about the Beyond Burger. It's definitely the closest burger analog I've found, but it kind of annoyed me. It's expensive and it leaked grease all over my pan and stuck and I had to really wash my pan. With a Boca patty I can just microwave it for a minute on a plate. I think I've gotten spoiled since going veg*n.1
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Some of the best tips I can think of:
- Stirfry and pasta dishes are veggie friendly.
- Tofu is easy to make and will absorb whatever flavors you marinate in.
- Chickpeas can be substituted to make mock "chicken" salad sandwiches
- Lentils can be used as a ground beef replacement.
- These lunch wraps are super easy to make in bulk and freeze for quick meals.
- If you are having a takeout night, Indian food is very vegetarian friendly.
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Do you have any veg restaurants near you? Maybe visit one a few times and try different things to see what you like. Tofu is super delicious when you press it and then bake or pan fry. To press cut the block in half lengthwise (so it’s not as thick), then wrap in towels and put something heavy on it. I usually use my cast iron. Leave it for up to an hour and you get super chewy yummy tofu that soaks up sauces and marinades really well.0
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This is old school but there's a cookbook called Veganomicon. This is awesome for basics of cooking with whole plant based foods and some great recipes. Good luck.1
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peggym4640 wrote: »This is old school but there's a cookbook called Veganomicon. This is awesome for basics of cooking with whole plant based foods and some great recipes. Good luck.
Yes! Isa Chandra Moskowitz has many good ones including Veganomicon. So good!
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janejellyroll wrote: »Just make everything that you normally like to eat, remove the meat part and use a substitute.
hamburger patty becomes an Impossible Burger patty
meat lasagna becomes veggie lasagna
steak and potato becomes tempeh and potato
chicken tacos becomes tofu chorizo
beef stew becomes bean stew
swap chicken and beef stock for vegetable stock, add beans instead of chicken to salad, eat cheese and hummus sandwiches instead of turkey...
There are a lot of options, and a lot of vegetarian products on the market now that require very little prep or seasoning. Many restaurants offer a decent amount of vegetarian options or are willing to accommodate requests.
Can you buy the Impossible Burger where you live? Where I am we only can get them from restaurants.
Yep! Chicagoland Whole Foods. I think I've also seen it at Plum Market and Treasure Island Foods.
That's awesome! I hope Minneapolis gets it soon.0
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