Any Vegetarians out there

[figment3258]

It's sort of Off topic but are there any vegetarians on this board? I am thinking of switching but wondering how you do it on a budget. Any tips? My husband will still be a happy carnivore and my kids are very picky but I am getting so sick form a lot of food that I just need to detox my body for a while. Thanks!

 

[luckyfin]

I have been vegetarian since I was a child. I eat a lot of beans. Cheap and a great source of protein. There are countless recipes out there for soups, stews, chilis, salads, etc.

 

[Carlyzmom]

I'm not a vegetarian - not a huge fan of meat, but I do like chicken. But, I am sure you could find some great web sites with recipes and money saving tips. Or maybe a blog.

 

[OlivesMom]

I only buy vegetarian (me for the last 17 years, my daughter her whole life). We keep a pretty conservative food budget. We love to get veggie burgers in bulk from Costco and always watch for the Morningstar Farms/Boca frozen food to go on sale and stock-up. I am not much of a cook, but found some great sites on Facebook that post different recipies/photos that look fun.

Feel free to PM me and I can send you some of my favorite recipies! I rarely prepare anything that my 7 year old wouldn't eat.

 

[pigletto]

Around here meat is pretty much the most expensive part of the meal. Especially if it is a main attraction instead of an add in. Dd is a vegetarian and we eat meatless quite a bit. I find it easier and cheaper.
Stews, Soups, Pasta, Chili, Pierogies, Falafel, Veggie and potato or rice casseroles, tofu anything, eggs, stir fry', curry's, burritos etc.. all cheaper, for us anyway.
The only thing I caution .. have some premade veggie items such as veggie burgers on hand for when you need something quick but don't rely on them. First of all because they are boring , and second of all they are expensive. Like 8 dollars for four frozen veggie burgers
The biggest thing you can do for your budget and tastebuds is to stop looking at dinner as meat/potato/veg. You'll feel deprived, and it gets old.
Dinner for dd can be a salad with chick peas and veggies and feta, with black bean burritos. Or a fritata and butternut squash soup. We make a lot at once when we find a recipe we like so we have some to freeze for nights we don't feel like cooking as well.
HTH

 

[-Hope-]

Another non-vegetarian who eats quite a bit of vegetarian meals. It was fairly recent that I decided to eat less meat and since my family still wants lots I had to find ways to save my budget AND my sanity since I didn't want to prepare two meals. The easiest thing I've done is to prepare the meat for the family on the side. For example I no longer put the ground beef directly in the chili, spaghetti, soup, etc. And when I make fajitas I prepare the chicken seperately from the peppers and onions. Just tonight we had make your own mexican and the family had taco meat on their burritos while I had beans. There are, of course, a few recipes where this just doesn't work- but it usually does and it's made the transistion pretty simple. HTH!

 

[swilshire]

My adult daughter is a vegetarian and when we treat her to a restaurant meal, hers always seems to be the most expensive since she often gets an appetizer and salad or various side orders.

Sheila

 

[Ava]

My adult daughter is a vegetarian and when we treat her to a restaurant meal, hers always seems to be the most expensive since she often gets an appetizer and salad or various side orders.

Sheila

My partner is a pescatarian (eats fish but not meat/poultry) & we find this to be the case as well. But I think that's because restaurants more often than not do not have good vegetarian entree options.

For eating at home, vegetarian eating can be very inexpensive. Beans, pasta, rice, lentils are all cheap & good bases for vegetarian dishes. Look at cuisines of other cultures - Mexican, Indian, Chinese/Japanese, etc. You can find a lot of great vegetarian recipes in these cuisines.

I also love quinoa - it's delicious, and a complete protein all by itself. We use it in stir fry instead of rice, and as the base for salads (think pasta-type salads, but with quinoa).

I think part of the difficulty in transitioning to a vegetarian diet is getting over the idea that a meal needs to be meat/starch/veg to be complete, and then just removing/replacing the meat. You need to think outside the box a little to have a satisfying veg diet.

 

[katesorad]

I'm a vegetarian! My DH is not.. his food always costs more than mine! I am a tofu eater. A big block of tofu (more than enough food for 2 people) costs only between $1 and $2! Morningstar products are my favorite, and they can get pricey.. but I'll stock up on them when they're 2 for $5, which is usually once a month or so.. and I am able to buy some of their products in bulk from Costco for really cheap.

At restaurants, everyone always teases me about being a "cheap date". It really depends on what you get.. but I often will get spaghetti with veggies, or eggplant parm, or tofu and broccoli.. or a baked potato, or vegetarian soups, etc., and even at fancy restaurants, I am always the cheapest order!

Unless you're a more difficult vegetarian who is super picky (which there are plenty of us.. and I can be at times), it really isn't too expensive to do.

 

[perdidochas]

It's sort of Off topic but are there any vegetarians on this board? I am thinking of switching but wondering how you do it on a budget. Any tips? My husband will still be a happy carnivore and my kids are very picky but I am getting so sick form a lot of food that I just need to detox my body for a while. Thanks!

Meat isn't toxic. Stay away from processed foods. That has toxins in it.

 

[marie1203]

Meat isn't toxic. Stay away from processed foods. That has toxins in it.

You are right but meat does have a lot of extra hormones that are injected to make them fatter, or lay more eggs, etc.

 

[SOnotLayuh]

I love Morningstar Farms as well - especially their chick'n nuggets. YUMMM.

 

[GoodFairies]

If you are getting sick from a lot of foods you need to go to a doctor/nutrionist/allergist to determine what you are allergic to, then make an eating plan based on that. You can't just cut meat out and assume you will be fine (don't use the word "detox" as it makes no sense in this context)- there are plenty of vegetables and fruits that cause issues too.

 

[Sagginit]

hi im a flexetarian (sp?). i don't really cook meat myself anymore, only eat it when i eat out for lunch/dinner. i like veggie chili, amy's meals for when im in a rush, rice & beans, salads/sandwiches for lunch. i snack on nuts & dairy for extra protein, and try to work beans or eggs into my meals.

today i made italian style rice & beans of sorts. i cooked aboriro rice, added in chopped tomatos and onion, tomato sauce, italian seasoning, garlic, and canenelli beans. ill eat that with a side of veggies for dinner for the next few nights. i also like firm tofu for stir fry dinners. im GF and lot of processed vegetarian foods have gluten in them so I stoik to amy's for frozen meals. pricey at times but a yummy treat.

 

[gudrench3]

I"m a recent vegetarian and my boyfriend is close to being one too (but he loves chicken). Recently, we have started doing "taco salads." We cut up romaine lettuce, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and an avocado. We put down some chips on our plate, add some beans if wanted, pile on the salad and veggies and cover with a little bit of cheese and hot sauce. This has become one of our most favorite meals lately. Plus, now that the veggies are all cut, we will make veggie pizzas the next night. It's basically the same veggies, and you only have cut up the veggies once. Another good idea here would be to add the veggies to turkey meatloaf...yes, I know it's meat, but not red meat.

To get more fruit in our diets, we've recently started doing smoothies for breakfast. I'm getting a bit addicted to having a good smoothie every day. We are having smoothies with bananas, pineapple, peaches, raspberries, and blueberries. We will add primarily apple or ornange juice with just a little bit of pomogranite juice (because it is so epensive) and blend it up. Yum, wish I had one now.

Good luck on eating less meat. We started out by just cutting it out of one meal a week and gradually added more. I have a few other reciped that we make that I'd be glad to share with you if you want to PM me. Haha, my family is no wear close to being veggies (we are hunters from Texas), so when I told them I was making this decision, they were all very supportive, but they all kept asking me what I was going to eat when we gather together for holidays and such. As long as they have some salad and a veggie or two, I'll be good to go.