Vegetarians - Virtual Meal Plan Swap Meet

[bicker]

We're pescetarians (i.e., vegetarians that also occasionally eat fish; we're not vegans!) and I thought it would be nice for vegetarians to share meal plans. Recipes are a dime-a-dozen, but what we've found (especially since we eat very little fish -- like only when we go out to a restaurant), that meals get a little redundant. Cheese, then beans, then cheese, then beans, etc. Sure, we switch things up a bit (a Mexican vegetable casserole on Saturday, a pasta with beans and greens on Sunday, an Indian-flavored spinach and chickpeas dish on Thursday, veggie burgers on Friday, etc.) but we could still benefit from seeing how other folks vary their meals day to day. And we're finding it especially challenging since we're also trying to keep the amount of cheese (saturated fat + sodium) down, and overall calories down, at the same time.

Please feel free to share vegetarian recipes, too, but please do share your meal plans, lists of meals you each all week, since that's what I think we need to see most of all.

Thanks!

 

[PrincessKitty1]

This is an awesome idea, thank you! I always say it's easy to find recipes but hard to come up with varied menus. I'm vegetarian and DH is not, but we generally eat the same menu at dinner and he might add in a little meat. Our meals sound similar to yours. A typical week of dinners might be burritos, pasta with veggies, Sunshine burgers (we've also made our own veggie burgers from a yummy recipe but Sunshine burgers are so easy and good), black bean soup, etc.

We're always looking for meals that are different. One new meal idea that we're really enjoying is paninis. We brush the bread with olive oil, use a very minimal amount of cheese, then put in veggies like tomatoes, onion, and green pepper with salt, pepper, and yellow mustard. Sometimes we saute some of the veggies first but usually we don't. This is a delicious, healthy meal and very quick.

The panini maker (you could also use a George Foreman grill or just a frying pan) is also good for crisping up burritos and wrap sandwiches, which we make with whole wheat wraps.

I also have a one-pot dish I make with lima beans, corn, red onion, bulgur, and spices. It's a complete meal and different from anything else we make, so it's a nice change.

Organic corn is currently our favorite side dish and we usually microwave a couple of ears wrapped in wet paper towels (if the husks are already off).

I'd be happy to post the recipes for black bean soup and the bulgur succotash if anybody is interested.

Our favorite diner makes very interesting wrap sandwiches on the grill. One includes artichoke hearts, pepperjack cheese, potatoes, spinach, and scrambled eggs (I like it without the eggs). Another has roasted red peppers in it. We are always looking for creative ingredients to put in our wraps and paninis.

 

[etoiles]

It is nice to hear from other veggies on the disboards!

I am a vegetarian but DH is not but eats what we make 99% of the time. We do make a lot of different things and like to change up our menu so it would be good to get ideas from other veggies on here!

This week we had planned:
- Vegetable biryani (Indian rice dish)
- Homemade pizza (DH's specialty)
- BBQ (usually some veggies and a veggie dog for me)
- Pasta with blue cheese, tomatoes, walnuts, mushrooms in a balsamic vinegar and olive oil sauce so good!
- Home fries with veggie crumbles, onion, green pepper, and salsa
- Sweet and sour tofu

I use a lot of recipes from http://www.allrecipes.com since they have an advanced search feature that lets you check off 'vegetarian' and other qualifications.

My main struggle is making sure to have enough protein in each meal. We had a while where we were eating a ton of beans and DH has asked for less meals with beans lately. Any advice on that would be great.

 

[bicker]

The veggie panini sounds great, but I worry with stuff like that -- it is either "too much cheese" or too little protein. The balancing act (keeping saturated fat and calories down, while getting enough protein) is one of the hardest parts of being vegetarian for me.

In soup times, I could definitely see doing a lot more soups with grains in them. We don't do that quite enough, leaning more towards soups that are mostly beans and veggies.

 

[Planetsis]

I'm bicker's wife, Robbie. Nice to meet you. I'll start off with a recipe I made last week that was really yummy and perfect for summer.

Lentil Salad

2 cups lentils cooked in 1 quart water with a little salt for 30 min.
(drain any excess water)
1 cup quinoa cooked (follow pkg directions)
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 tomatoes, diced (or use halved cherry tomatoes)
4 stalks celery diced
1/2 sweet onion diced

Mix all together in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
handful of basil
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix above in a blender, then mix with the lentil/veggies.

Cool the salad for a few hours, then eat. Keeps for several days in the fridge.

 

[bicker]

Hmm... I think the last of those leftovers is what I'm having for lunch today.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

My family is vegan. I'm inclined to think people tend to obsess over protein WAY too much. There is some protein in practically everything!

We tend to collect vegan cookbooks so have lots of variety in our meals. One of my sons loves Indian food so he cooks that quite often. I'm fond of Italian food so I often make pastas, pizza, calzones, lasagna, polenta, gnocchi, etc.

What has helped me the most is to get away from the "meat-eaters" way of thinking where you base your meal around the protein source. Instead, I focus on the vegetables, and any protein items (whether it's seitan, beans, tofu, tempe, nuts/seeds, etc.) are more of a garnish, not the centre of the meal. So we might have a large main-dish salad with greens and raw vegetables, and add almonds and walnuts. Or have silken tofu chocolate pudding for dessert instead of the nuts. This makes it much easier to have variety - there are so many different vegetables and grains out there!

Teresa

 

[npmommie]

- Pasta with blue cheese, tomatoes, walnuts, mushrooms in a balsamic vinegar and olive oil sauce so good!

oh that pasta sounds really good, I am going to try it!!

THis is a great thread idea

our meals sometimes get boring, and I am always looking for new ideas, I am trying to stay Vegan, but its hard for me sometimes, so I can't call myself vegan because i do eat cheese occasionally. mostly only pizza night.

so lets see this week
pizza night
pasta with garlic olive oil broccoli cauliflower and carrots
bean/cheese quesadillas
breakfast for dinner as in vegan pancakes and syrup, hubby had a veggie and cheese omelet
tofu and veggie teriyaki stirfry

tonight is mexican again. mine will be just beans, rice and cheese burrito with veggies,
i got hubby some grass fed beef at the farmers market yesterday , he is not vegetarian, but eats mostly veggie at home, occasionally i splurge and get him beef or chicken from a local farm to have, so he will have beef bean and cheese burritos.

the kids usually eat what I cook , but sometimes i have to change things up for them, their veggies need to be hidden........LOL.......so lots of red sauce on their pasta......LOL!

i get a lot of recipes on goveg.com also the vegan dad blog, and I collect vegan and vegetarian cookbooks! my favorties are nava atlas's books

 

[PrincessKitty1]

My family is vegan. I'm inclined to think people tend to obsess over protein WAY too much. There is some protein in practically everything!

I agree. Although I'm not vegan, I've been lacto-ovo vegetarian since 1970. I eat plenty of beans and nuts (I keep a jar of nuts on my desk at work to snack on, usually almonds), so if I have a low-protein meal once or twice a day it doesn't concern me.

I do share bickers too-much-cheese concern though, and I've greatly decreased my cheese intake. We do have pizza about once a week.When we make pasta, though, cheese is a garnish rather than an integral part of the dish (that's why we only make lasagna for company now! ). Teresa, do you make Italian meals with vegan cheese??

 

[Teresa Pitman]

[. Teresa, do you make Italian meals with vegan cheese??[/QUOTE]

Sometimes, but usually not. I find vegan "cheese" tends to be expensive and not all that tasty. I have found a vegan version of Parmesan cheese that is pretty good, and we'll sprinkle a little of that on pizza or pasta - not much, but it adds a nice tangy flavour. When I make lasagna, I make a middle layer of a somewhat "cheesey" sauce based on cashew butter and nutritional yeast (I'll dig up the recipe and post it if you like) and sprinkle a little of the vegan Parmesan on the top of the lasagna after cooking.

Teresa

 

[npmommie]

I have a recipe for tofu ricotta from Vegan with a Vengeance that is really tasty, works great in lasagne and tastes pretty much like the real thing.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Last night I happened on some already peeled/sliced raw sweet potatoes at the grocery store. I googled "savory sweet potato recipes" and ended up making something very simple: I dipped each side of the sweet potato slices in olive oil, then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and szechuan seasoning (the recipe suggested cajun seasoning which we didn't have), then roasted at 425 for 35 minutes.

Incredibly delicious!

I have to admit that's all I had for dinner, besides the slice of pizza I had at the mall food court around 5 PM.

 

[minkydog]

My DD16 has been vegetarian for over a year now and I cook vegetarian most of the time. About 3 days a week I'll cook or grill some meat and those of us who eat a little meat get some on the side.

I require my DD to take a multivitamin every day and to educate herself about vegetarian living. A lot of times she'll fix herself a meal or snack. We don't eat a lot of cheese around here(I'm on Weight Watchers) but we do eat feta which is lower in fat. We eat whole wheat pasta and bread. Hummus & crackers. Homemade pinto beans or red beans & rice. Vegetarian refried beans in pita bread or corn tortillas.

DDs favorite is probably Tortellini Soup.

1 small package of whole wheat cheese tortellini (from the refrigerated section of the store)
3 cans vegetable broth or equivalent
1 can no-salt diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt & pepper to taste(opt.)

Bring the broth and tomatoes to a boil. Add tortellini and return to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer about 8 minutes until tortellini are done(floating on top.) Serve with a whole grain bread and fruit slices.

 

[etoiles]

I went to a cooking group last night and our theme was picnic foods. My favorite dish was a greek style pasta salad.

It had pasta, chopped cucumber, tomato, green onions, feta, and garbanzo beans and was dressed with olive oil and lemon juice and salt/pepper. Yummy!!!

I am such a carb addict I have to make sure to add it some protein to each meal or it won't be anywhere close to being balanced. When DH said he didn't want to eat that many beans recently I just don't know what to do. We don't use seitan or eat a lot of the veggie 'meats' either.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

When DH said he didn't want to eat that many beans recently I just don't know what to do. We don't use seitan or eat a lot of the veggie 'meats' either.

I find most veggie "meats" distasteful. I don't want anything that tastes even vaguely of meat, and I also don't like the spongy texture of many fake meats.

Sunshine burgers are the exception. They're made with sunflower seeds (among other ingredients) and each patty has 9 grams of protein.

I also like freshly ground almond butter as an alternative to peanut butter. It's available at a local natural foods store--unfortunately I ate so much of it a few years ago that I had to take a break--got thoroughly sick of eating it!

Just a couple of ideas for alternative proteins.

 

[npmommie]

I find most veggie "meats" distasteful. I don't want anything that tastes even vaguely of meat, and I also don't like the spongy texture of many fake meats.

Sunshine burgers are the exception. They're made with sunflower seeds (among other ingredients) and each patty has 9 grams of protein.

I also like freshly ground almond butter as an alternative to peanut butter. It's available at a local natural foods store--unfortunately I ate so much of it a few years ago that I had to take a break--got thoroughly sick of eating it!

Just a couple of ideas for alternative proteins.

what are sunshine burgers? never heard of them

we don't do the fake meats either, the exception is the ones from the asian markets, or chinese restaurants, ( they are the absolute best).......also the canned companion brand seitan, is sooooooo yummy

I like almond butter too, i usually find it at Trader Joes

 

[Teresa Pitman]

We sometimes use the fake meats, but we don't think of them as meat. I would find that distasteful, too. We call them what they are - seitan, or vegetable protein, or tempe or tofu and then I find nobody is either expecting them to taste exactly like meat or is grossed out because they do taste like meat! Most are quite bland tasting but with some spicy sauces and seasoning they can be good.

I second the recommendation to try Asian grocery stores - their selection of non-meat proteins is amazing!

Teresa

 

[etoiles]

I have an Asian grocery store nearby to the house but haven't gone there yet to take a look but you all just motivated me to! Is it labeled pretty clearly in English so you can make sure there is not meat in it or is there a term I should look for??

Some of the ethnic grocery stores I have been to don't always have clear labels.

 

[java]

Not vegans here but we do eat several meatless meals during the week.

Some of our favorites are

Spicy pasta(Just a tomato based sauce kicked up with red pepper flakes)

Or Eggplant pasta- lightly fry breaded pealed eggplant chunks- then add to that sauce above-


Vegtable frajitas. mmm but we do use the cheese a little bit.

Also as a result of a bad fish taco experience we also do veggie soft tacos. I have kids so I let everyone decide what they want in it- but it usually includes sauted onions and peppers, guacamole, chunky salsa, chipolte sauce( sour cream and chipoltes mixed up) and chopped lettuce and more tomatoes and raw onion. All rolled up into a tortilla. Serve with yellow rice and black beans.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

what are sunshine burgers? never heard of them

we don't do the fake meats either, the exception is the ones from the asian markets, or chinese restaurants, ( they are the absolute best).......also the canned companion brand seitan, is sooooooo yummy

I like almond butter too, i usually find it at Trader Joes

Sunshine burgers are the brand name of organic vegan veggie burgers that put all other veggie burgers to shame.

http://www.sunshineburgers.com