Help please! Need vegetarian recipes, carnivores will love!

i make some good fajitas with no meat at all, i know contradiction, if you are full vegi then its good, if you are egg and chese only vegi then its still good, i use zuccini and summer squash insted of the steak, still gives a nice texture and with the fajita seasoning it still taste great, gave it to a few family members and they dident even know it had no meat, they just said it was one of the best fajitas they have ever had. if you want to know more, just ask. im not full vegi but im close, not a fan of red meat.

TVP sloppy joes!

Hi there,

I'm a meat-eating guy. When I eat meat I really love it, but its not something I *must* have at each meal. The big challenge is getting that "satisfied" feeling, as opposed to feeling like you just ate a meal with something missing. I can easily enjoy a meal of soup and salad, but after several days running, I'd be longing for a ribeye.

Several of the ideas posted hear are right up my alley. Indian food, of course, has tons of great options. I love Bhaigan Bartha (???, I call it Born-Again Bertha) which is roasted eggplant, and the one with cauliflower and potatoes, and just about everything else. I used to have an all-time favorite Indian restaurant that I went to maybe 6 times before I realized it was vegetarian.

I find that any dish with eggplant or a good dose of mushrooms (esp. portobello) in it is pretty satisfying. And beans are great, just need to find ways of making them irresistible other than pork fat....

Personally, I really don't like most of the imitation meat products. Just seems like bizarre manufactured gloop or putty that nobody in their right mind would want to eat, except that it helps them pretend they're eating something else. Sort of a culinary equivalent of a blow-up doll. One exception is (some) veggie burgers; I really like the one I had with black beans.

If eggs are an option, I think they're great for dinner. I can't believe its so rare in America; lots of Europeans and Mexicans have egg dishes for evening meals.

Polenta can be good, but I usually make it with meat sauce. Also from Italy, mushroom risotto. But this and polenta are pretty carb-y; might not fit in your diet.

A Chinese restaurant I go to has a tofu and wild mushroom dish which I love, but I've never had that by itself; I go with friends and we eat family style.

Maybe its the time of year, but I'm remembering a pumpkin soup I had in an African restaurant that was amazing.

Oh, and another standard that is completely satisfying for meat-lovers : falafel. Never made it at home, but seems like it should be quite do-able.

Finally, people eat veggie for many reasons. For some folks, a very reasonable "step in the right direction" is to eat food with less meat. Using meat as an ingredient lets me have that completely satisfied feeling while eating 1/3 to 1/5 less meat than a steak or a burger. A little bit of sausage (and white wine) can turn a bowl of cabbage into a seriously awesome meal. Tonight I'm having chickpeas with ground lamb.

Wow, I'm really getting hungry here ! Hope you find some helpful ideas. Good luck.

Butternut Squash and Lentil Casserole
Ok, this is one of my absolute favourites. It has a great balance of protein to carbs, and is low in fat and - even better - low in calories. I should add that I lost weight through a combination of educating myself about nutrition and the phenomenon of calorie counting. The way our body works is far too complicated to ignorantly assume that even accurate calorie counting is a sure-fire method of ensuring that we lose weight, but it is a fantastic guideline to ensure you are eating at a defecit.

My daughhter found this recipe on CC and it sounded crazy! Butternut squash, garlic and cranberries!? But Iwas curious so had to try it. Sure enough, with a little tweaking, it was a taste-bud sensation!(note my daughter makes this with cranberries i think they are too sweet so i make it with prunes) My meat eating husband and my veggie son love this!

Butternut Squash and Lentil Casserole
Serves: 6
500g Butternut Squash
1 1/2 cups green lentils
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cloves garlic
3g thyme
400g tomatoes, tinned
100g dried cranberries/Prunes
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion
1 chicken stock cube
400 ml water

Boil the lentils in the chicken stock cube and water for 1 hour.
Roast the squash in chunks in the oven for 30 mins.
Warm the oil and add finely chopped garlic and coarsley chopped onion.
Add the squash and any fluids which may have come off during roasting.
Drain the lentils, reserving the stock and adding it to the pan.
When the squash begings to break up a little, add the lentils and tin of tomatoes.
Simmer for 20 mins then add cinnamon,nutmeg, thyme & cranberriesor prunes.
Mix well and leave to simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until the squash has almost completely broken down and the sauce has thickened.

227 calories per serving, 0.2g F, 0.0g SF, 44.2g C, 6.9g S, 10.1g Fb, 11.9g P

This freezes well and refridgerates for up to 3 days. I know the combination of flavours sounds crazy, I was skeptical too, but it really tastes delicious! I eat it on its own, its quite a large portion. Would perhaps go well with a small green salad, and maybe some bulgur wheat or brown rice if you fancy some starchy carbs/gr