Going meatless -- Looking for recipe ideas

I love spaghetti squash with either a white wine or a marinara sauce. Load it up w/ other veggies like summer squash, zucchini, eggplant, mushroom and onion. Sometimes I simply use a small can of seasoned diced tomatoes for the sauce and add a little crushed red pepper if you like a little kick. Fills you up better than real pasta w/ more vitamins and less guilt!

I have been vegan for two years and my teenage girls have begun to choose meat less often, even when eating out. They no longer eat dairy because one has never liked it and the other discovered a link between her dairy consumption and her acne - now she drinks soy and almond milks and doesn't have a problem. She was also questioning whether or not she was lactose intolerant - now she knows she is. I have a blog where I share some of our family's favorite recipes. http://vegancajun.blogspot.com/ I also like the Peas and Thank You blog and the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog.

Black bean burgers are one of my favorite vegetarian meals. It's nothing like a meat burger, but it's delicious in it's own right. Really filling and easy to make.

http://happygoodtime.com/2011/11/16/indian-spiced-black-bean-burgers-with-yogurt-sauce/


one of my favorites is shakshuka, or eggs poached in tomato sauce. If you don't like the Israeli style sesoning, it can easily go Italian. Then, it would be Eggs in Purgatory.

http://happygoodtime.com/2011/11/04/israeli-shakshuka-with-peppers-and-goat-feta/

black beans absolutely yummy! dried black beans, cook in water w/bay leaf, cumin, chili powder, garlicf powder, onion p0owder, chili flakes to taste,black pepper, and salt to taste. i make it vegan so i use absolutely no meat or meeat broth

Will you still have tuna?

I have a little rice mixed in with tuna (the flavored tempters) with Cherry tomatoes and occasionally avocado.

YUM!

I don't eat meat, my husband does and before my daughters grew up and flew the nest they did also. So I found that I can make almost any recipe ( especially ones that have cheese in them) with and without meat. I put meat in theirs and omit it in mine. For instance:
Chicken tettrazini:
Spaggatti
Cream of mushroom soup
Cheese
Sauted onion and celery
Boiled chicken
onion salt
veggie boullion

Or when I make chicken and dumplings, I make a side pot with boiled new potatoes and use that to add alittle milk and butter to the water bring to a slight boil and drop the dumplings into.

I make a dorito pie and in mine I use nacho flavored doritoes, pinto beans, cheese, onion, and some cream of mushroom soup. The family gets the version that contains cooked ground meat, or cooked chicken and mine does not.

Any cold pasta salad is better if you add it to leaf lettuce and cut of veggies. I found a good recipe off a container of cottage cheese.
Rotini pasta
Cut up broccoli crowns
shredded carrots
sliced green onion
cottage cheese
small amount of low fat ranch
I also put in some hidden valley ranch dip powder
cherry tomatoes
It didn't call for it but I aded some feta cheese to it also

Two fun recipes (although I noticed chilli is a popular choice! lol)

Breakfast burritos: heat a tortilla, spread with a little guacamole. Saute onions, peppers until lightly browned and a handful of fresh spinach and continue cooking until nearly wilted, add some whisked eggs or egg beaters and make into a veggie scrambled egg mixture. Place onto tortilla and add a pinch of shredded cheese if desired.

Tex-Mex Vegetarian Chili: Heat 2 TBLS olive oil over medium heat in stock pot. Add 1 peeled and chopped red onion, half seeded and diced red, yellow and green peppers each, 4 cloves of peeled and minced garlic, salt and pepper, 2 TBLS chili powder, 1 TBLS cumin, 1 TBLS paprika and cook about 10 mins until veggies are soft. Add 6 oz canned, rinsed and drained of each black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans (and we added chickpeas too for good measure), 14 oz tomato sauce, 14 oz stewed tomatoes and 1 sachet of cinnamon stick and 4 bay leaves. Simmer uncovered 30 mins. Add 1/2 diced zucchini, 1/2 diced yellow squash, and the kernels of 1 ear of corn and simmer 5 more mins. Finish with 2 TBLS minced fresh cilantro and 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced.

I'm making this now! Thanks for sharing! Yum! Very easy.

One my husband LOVES (on his list of must-haves when he came home from deployment) AND I won 3rd place at our battalion's chili cook-off last year....

1 can northern beans, drained
1 can chili beans, any heat you like
1 LARGE can of diced tomatoes
1 packet of taco seasoning (I try to get low-sodium)
1 packet of dry ranch dressing
1 package of Morningstar or Boca crumbles (last time I had to use ground imitation meat by the tofu because store was out)
Dump in a pot and heat it up!! Easy!!!
Eat as chili, top a potato with it, or use for chili fries!!!

I like Boca burgers, and my husband can even them put them on the grill for me too!
Also, try some of the vegetarian/vegan groups on MFP...I am sure they have a lot of ideas for you!!

Bump.

Just remember that a vegetarian diet is usually very high carb...so be careful, you need a protein source for each meal..look at tofu, soy, beans, watch the nuts, cause those calories really add up quickly, meatless protein substitues and whey powders to get your protein in. Protein keeps the body satisfied for longer periods, helps to prevent you from over eating and provides the muscles the protein to be able to grow....so don't leave it out!! whichever form you choose make sure it's at every meal

And this is the main reason I often either don't have enough protein or end up eating more meat than my budget likes. Just can't seem to get enough protein in a veggie diet, which I would much prefer!

Just remember that a vegetarian diet is usually very high carb...so be careful, you need a protein source for each meal..look at tofu, soy, beans, watch the nuts, cause those calories really add up quickly, meatless protein substitues and whey powders to get your protein in. Protein keeps the body satisfied for longer periods, helps to prevent you from over eating and provides the muscles the protein to be able to grow....so don't leave it out!! whichever form you choose make sure it's at every meal

Great advise, I know the importance of protien, and want to make sure that it stays in my kids diet (as well as mine). But I am trying to reduce the unhealthy fats and high calorie foods that we have gotten into the bad habit of eating frequently. I have been substituting quinoa for rice, potatoes and other common carb sides in my meals.

I mainly want my girls to learn how to cook and eat healthier food with more vegetables. I've always struggled with weight, and I don't want them to.

Good for you being a role model for your kids!! It will certainly make their lives easier if they learn how to eat well from you! I never learned how to eat well and it's taken me 10 years to figure it out.

I totally agree protein is essential in your diet but meatless substitutes are just as crappy as eating any other processed food. So use them sparingly. And even though I'm mainly meatless (I eat meat 1-2x/wk) I make my protein requirement on beans and nuts everyday and I keep those carbs to around 150g/day. Generally speaking 125g carbs is considered low carb so don't believe that meatless necessarily means carbo-loaded! I still eat bread, rice and potatoes just not all 3 in a single day

Another awesome easy vegetarian dish is to take a small butternut squash, cut off the top and de-seed. Pre-bake in a 350deg oven about 10-15 mins. Fill the cavity with vegetarian baked beans and bake again until the beans are heated through. It's super simple and awesome. I then use the top of the squash to make roasted veggies or butternut squash soup! Good luck :-)

My Chilli

1 onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of red kidney beans
2 tables spoons of tomatoe puree
150 grams of Quorn mince
salt
pepper
teaspoon of cinammon
teaspoon of coriander powder
teaspoon of cumin
chopped fresh coriander
half a teaspoon of chilli powder
juice of squeezed lime

works out to around 135 to 150 calories a portion not including rice

My bolognaise sauce
Throw all these into a bowl and use a blender on it

tin of chopped tomatoes
tomatoe puree
garlic
mixed herbs but some fresh basil too
salt and pepper
a splash of olive oil
lemon juice
splash of balsamic vinegar

the rest:
1 onion chopped
mushrooms
150g of quorn mince

this is between 120 and 130 calories per portion

I am a vegetarian. My wife is not. When we are having friends over, we often make vegetarian tacos substituting morningstar crumbles for ground beef. Our friends definitely eat their share and say they don't mind the substitution.

Here are a couple I've enjoyed:

Mexican Style Brown Rice Casserole: http://caloriecount.about.com/mexican-style-brown-rice-casserole-recipe-r544727

Vegetarian Taco Salad: http://caloriecount.about.com/vegetarian-taco-salad-recipe-r561230

Here are a few of my favorites-
Tomato basil soup http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tomato-basil-soup-10000000225897/
Curry coconut lentil soup http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/coconut-red-lentil-soup-recipe.html
Black bean and butternut squash chili (good garnished with a little sour cream) http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-squash-chili-50400000115488/
Kale almond pesto (I just make the pesto and don't do the beans part. Serve on pasta or make a pesto pizza) http://newhope360.com/food/spicy-kale-almond-pesto-and-white-bean-pasta