Non-Meat Eater....Ideas Anyone?

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beckewecks
beckewecks Posts: 4
in Recipes
Hi everyone -

So you would think not eating meat would mean I'm naturally thin - let me just ease you mind on that one....I'm not. So I'm trying to find meatless, lower calorie meals (most sites are loaded with extra calories or are all made of tofu). I found a few great recipes on dietdiva.com, eatinghealthy.com and allrecipies.com (although I think most of those are loaded with extra cheese, which kind of defeats the purpose).

Any ideas that don't involve tofu would be great appreciated!

(oh and to be clear - I'm not a vegan....just not a meat eater)

Thanks!
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Replies

  • Shannonlastname
    Shannonlastname Posts: 48 Member
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    I walt a lot of Greek yogurt because it keeps me full and its high in protein.
  • HotAshMess
    HotAshMess Posts: 382 Member
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    My dietitian once called me.... anti-protein. I don't object to meat, just too lazy and paranoid to cook it.

    DO you have objections to chicken bouillon? I like brown rice and veggies....follow directions on rice....bring water to a boil. Add bouillon cubes to make broth (1 cube per cup of water). Also add dried onions (or fresh) and minced garlic to taste. Add rice, reheat to boiling (per directions) then stir in an equal amount of veggies (so you have equal parts rice and veggies). Let sit for 5-7 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with paprika, add a dollop of whatever butter you're using (spray, light, real butter, whatever). I like to add a tablespoon of ranch and give it a stir.

    Shiratake noodles. There are lots of recipes for these....google it.

    What about the forever infamous cabbage soup? YOu can find it, and variations for it online.

    In the asian food aisle of your grocery store they should carry House of Tsang stir fry sauce. Try stir frying some garlic ad veggies, adding one cup of broth (I use beef) and a tablespoon of the sauce (this makes it go further). Thicken the sauce with some corn starch. Add cashews if you need/can afford more calories and protein. Serve over brown rice.

    Try using spaghetti squash instead of traditional pasta, use with your favorite sauce.

    I love eating spinach salad made with spinach (duh!) topped with yogurt (I prefer the extra creamy variety, but this adds calories....light strawberry is great too), and fruit. Some good combinations: spinach, extra creamy vanilla yogurt, strawberries and sprinkled with poppy seeds; spinach, vanilla yogurt and mango; spinach, strawberry yogurt and purple grapes.

    Hope something here helped you. Good luck.
  • shaynak112
    shaynak112 Posts: 751 Member
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    I don't eat meat either!
    I eat rice quite a bit. I usually add lots of vegetables to it and sometimes soya sauce (just a bit!). I sometimes add tofu to it, lol, but you don't have to! I usually make fried rice, it's pretty good, and it fills me up!
    I also eat a lot of salad. Just basic salad with tomatoes and sometimes I put fake bacon and low calorie Parmesan cheese on it. Caesar salad dressing or this raspberry vinegrette kind, I just try and keep the portions down!
    Tacos with black means instead of meat. Add lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, whatever you'd like.
    Vegetables can be made with spices and it's pretty good!
    Mashed potatoes, make sure you only make a smaller portion.

    :)
  • naomi8888
    naomi8888 Posts: 519 Member
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    I'm loving Quorn products, lots of protein there.
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
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    My diary is open!
  • sotrem
    sotrem Posts: 4
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    I like legumes, like lentils, garbanzo beans, split peas, kidney beans and many, many more. Lots of fibers, high in proteins, not expensive and very satisfying. You can eat loads of it and add very few calories to your menu. A nutritionnal jackpot! My favorite cookbooks are Easy Beans and More Easy Beans. I prefer beans soups during winter and beans salads during summer. I often cut the fat added in recipes. I am lucky, my husband and my 2 kids enjoy legumes too. If you are not familiar with legumes , they are worth a try.:bigsmile:
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    You might try going to a recipe website like Epicurious and searching cuisines that have a large number of vegetarian dishes. Indian pops to mind immediately, but there are also a lot of vegetarian Mediterranean dishes, as well as from countries with large Buddhist populations (China, Japan, etc.). The websites often allow you to search specifically for vegetarian dishes.
  • jodi_robyn
    jodi_robyn Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi! I'm a veg-head too. For breakfast I have a PB Banana smoothie made with my new BFF the Magic Bullet.

    PB Banana Smoothie (420 cal)
    1 banana
    2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
    1 cup vanilla soy milk (using the lite version would lessen your cals)
    4 ice cubes
    Blend until smooth! Sometimes I add fibre powder as well, since it keeps me full longer, adds about 45 cals.

    For lunch today I had a this salad (321 cals)
    1 cup mixed greens
    1/4 c mushroom
    1/4 c peppers
    1/2 c cucumbers
    1/2 c canned/drained black beans
    1/2 c 1% cottage cheese
    2 tbsp ranch dressing (this is the biggest cal booster, exchange for lower fat for less cals)

    I also snack on lots of low cal stuff throughout the day - like cucumbers, strawberries, etc.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    HI there! Fellow vegetarian here. For simple meals I like to just combine all of my favorite veggies with some sort of carb. So, veggies and brown rice, veggies and whole-grain pasta, grilled veggies on wheat bread, etc.

    For protein I make sure to eat a lot of beans and the like! Black bean tacos are one of my favorite things to make. I'm also pretty good friends with cheese :) I eat greek yogurt often and I drink a protein shake every day, since I lift weights.

    There are so many amazing veggie recipes out there. Here's one I just made for lunch and just now shared on MFP: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/590549-skinnytaste-avocado-egg-salad

    Skinnytaste is awesome and she has a huge section of vegetarian recipes! Check it out.
  • jlwbeans0823
    jlwbeans0823 Posts: 178 Member
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    My favorite cookbook is The Vegetarian 5 Ingredient Gourmet by Nava Atlas. There are so many simple recipes that incorporate different ideas for vegetarian cooking. Another poster recommended products by Quorn which are very good and soy free I believe. My favorite quick meal to fix is 2 cups of Kale, 1 cup of Key Largo Blend veggies, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of no salt seasoning and 1 Quorn meatless chicken cutlet.
  • ednawhatnot
    ednawhatnot Posts: 93 Member
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    I eat a LOT of Quorn and eggs. Today I had boiled eggs for breakfast, soup for lunch and a kind of Quorn sausage casserole (made in a roasting bag with tomatoes, barley, onions and spices) for dinner. I work full time and tend to have similar foods for breakfast and lunch most days so I only really have one meal a day to think about cooking.
  • msmimi
    msmimi Posts: 381 Member
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    My daughter doesn't eat meat but she will eat seafood,meat substitutes, eggs and beans. Do you eat any of those things? Here's a breakfast treat for you. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/04/huevos-rancheros.html
    Gina also has some excellent Vegan & vegetarian recipes
    http://www.skinnytaste.com/search/label/Vegetarian Recipes
  • msgremmy
    msgremmy Posts: 88
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    I'm vegan (long, long time), and I'm always trying to figure out new recipes. I love vegweb.com for recipe ideas-- I always modify them, but it's a good place to start.

    Last night, I made a really yummy eggplant dish. My husband isn't vegan, so I'll describe how I made his. I sliced the eggplant, sprayed the slices with olive oil (I have a cool sprayer) and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Then I mixed together two triangles of the Happy Cow soft cheese, about a quarter cup of parm and quarter cup of mozzarella. I spread that mixture on 5 slices sprinkled them with bread crumbs. I served it with polenta with spinach on top and a salad. It was really, really good and really low in calories for a whole meal!

    My other favorite is taco salad... Morning Star crumbles with shredded lettuce, salsa, taco seasoning, black olives, sour cream and a bit of avocado. I serve it with homemade tortilla chips. So yummy and so quick.

    Ooh, if you have a Trader Joe's nearby, you've got to try the meatless balls. The serving size is huge, and they're really good.
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
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    http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/quinoa-vegetable-soup/
    My Quinoa Vegetable Soup is really tasty.

    http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/tuscan-baked-zucchini/
    Tuscan Baked Zucchini

    http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/spinach-feta-scrambles/
    Feta Spinach Scrambles

    http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/homemade-tortellini-soup/
    Homemade Tortilla Soup

    http://toneandgroan.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/vanilla-protein-pancakes/
    Vanilla Protein Panckes

    Thats all I got!
  • rlwinton
    rlwinton Posts: 101
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    Go to skinnytaste.com and look up vegan/vegetarian recipes. They have a brown rice/black bean recipe that is outta this world!!
  • ickybella
    ickybella Posts: 1,438 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/523632-what-do-your-meatless-meals-look-like-photo-thread
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
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    Quinoa! The complete protein seed that fueled Aztec warriors for centuries. Contains all 9 amino acids, simpler that rice to prepare. Get that intta yah!

    Cheers
  • mdmchoco
    mdmchoco Posts: 15 Member
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    Add me. I am veggie but do eat some fish/seafood on occasion. You can see my diary for some meatless ideas. I don't eat a lot of soy...but do eat some.
  • jpombert
    jpombert Posts: 3
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    Hemp protein Powder
  • Jain
    Jain Posts: 861 Member
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    Veggie here.

    Just made a yummy veggie stew and it was so easy! It serves 4-5 people & it freezes well.

    2 teaspoons olive oil
    1 red onion chopped
    as much garlic as you want, sliced
    about 200gms butternut squash chopped
    1 carrot, sliced
    1 courgette, sliced
    about 200gms mushrooms
    1 can drained aduki beans (the no added salt kind)
    1 can chopped tomatoes
    1 veggie stock cube.
    Herbs (I used thyme and bay leaves)

    Fry the onions in the oil till soft then add the garlic. Add the veggies, beans, tomatoes, stock cube, herbs and a little water (about 1/2 a can full). Bring to the boil & simmer till the veggies are cooked.

    Serve with rice & greens.

    Yummy & very filling.

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