Best easy veggie recipes

[FanGirlFoof]

We are considering going veggie and wondered if people could share their easy veggie recipes with me - looking for inspiration.

We like all vegetables and pulses but would like to avoid too much cheese (a bit is fine but we don't want to just substitute meat for cheese).

Have a look on the BBC Good Food website and filter your search to vegetarian only. People are likely to post some fab recipes in response to your OP but if you’re just starting out you need simple, clear recipes that are balanced in terms of food groups.

Just make sure you have enough protein in every meal. It’s easy to overlook that.

@Warmduscher

Have a look on the BBC Good Food website and filter your search to vegetarian only. People are likely to post some fab recipes in response to your OP but if you’re just starting out you need simple, clear recipes that are balanced in terms of food groups.

Just make sure you have enough protein in every meal. It’s easy to overlook that.

Thank you. Will have a look. Protein is definitely a concern. As is B12 - I think we will take a supplement for that though.

My go to bible is the River Cottage Veg book. Some really good recipes for everyday as well as special occasions.
www.rivercottage.net/recipes-in/veg

Jamie Oliver also has a good Veggie book and the Hairy Bikers; the Joe Wicks lean in 15 veg is really simple every day food too that cooks quickly.
www.thebodycoach.com/blog/tags/veggie

lentil bolognase (use wholemeal spagetti)
lentil chilli (with brown rice) if you do a big batch you can put a couple of types of beans in.
stirfry with edamame beans, bean sprouts
If you are veggie you can make dinnerrs with a white sauce.

some cereals are supplemented wwith B12 but check if veggie. (dd is allergic to eggs and sensitive to milk so different criteria and I have no idea)

Get some engevita nutritional yeast flakes with added B12. Adds a kind of cheesy nutty flavour to food and B12 at the same time.

This website has lots of really tasty veggie dishes on…
www.themediterraneandish.com/?s=Vegetarian+

Roasted veg with vege sausages. Curry. Lentil Dahl. Stir fry with tofu. Pasta sauce using vege mince. Bean chilli. Lentil shepherds pie. Butternut squash, butter bean and spinach stew. Vegetable lasagne.
These are all standard meals for us, I make most of them vegan as one of my DDs is vegan, I agree with BBC good food. And get a few decent recipe books. I have collected loads over the years…

BBC Good Food’s burnt aubergine chilli is lovely, I also second the Jamie Oliver Veg book. The Joe Wicks book is also good as a base; we’ve used a lot of the recipes from here and then adapted them to our tastes

I also actually really like a lot of the veggie recipes in Tesco magazine, too. You can get the recipes on their website and they’re generally very uncomplicated - last week we had the teriyaki (veggie) sausages with spring greens and sweet potato mash, and rarebit potato skins.

If you are going vegetarian not vegan then you don't need a b12 supplement. Protein is really not hard to get on a vegan or vegetarian diet that's a myth.
Have lots of recipes to share. Will pop back again when baby is napping!

My favourite veggie recipe:

"Golden veggie shepherd’s pie recipe | BBC Good Food" www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/golden-veggie-shepherds-pie

It's in the oven right now!

You can download and print these protein sources for free. Pop in fridge or cupboard for easy reference.
www.simplehappykitchen.com/vegan-protein-calcium-iron/
Nutritional yeast is a good source of b vitamins. Add it to things for a nutty or cheesy flavour.

Jamaican curry -
In a big pot add a chopped yellow onion and sliced carrots and cook till onions are soft. Add 600ml water and 2 stock cubes, jamaican curry powder ( i buy a huge bag on Amazon) you can add as little or as much as you like depending on how spicy you like it and also a tin of coconut milk. Bring this to a boil. At this point you can add baby potato's but i prefer to boil them in a seperate pot and some go a bit soft and i dont like that floating about!! And then add them at the end.
It should reduce a little but not too much and should still be quite a runny sauce. I also add some garlic powder and dried thyme.
I serve this with tilda Caribbean rice.

One tray satay potatoes, tofu and green beans.

1. preheat oven. Cut potatoes and boil in a pot for 10 minutes
2. Cover potatoes in sesame or other cooking oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, Chinese five spice and chilli to taste. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
3. Heat sesame oil in a pan. Add sesame seeds and toast if desired. Add soy sauce, a splash of lime and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Season to taste.
4. Take potatoes out oven. Add green bean, beansprouts, pre marinated cauldron tofu(newbies should not attempt tofu- try some from the local Thai before attempting your own so you know what you are aiming for and are not put off. Cook for a further 20 minutes till potatoes are crisp and tender and everything is cooked through.
5. Plate up and pour sauce over it all. Voila.

Taken from the green roasting tin book. Highly recommended.

@Plump82 intrigued by Jamaican curry. How does it differ to east/ South Asian curry spices?

Oh and coconut milk for the sauce too! Sorry forgot that.

[quote BelleOfTheProvince]@Plump82 intrigued by Jamaican curry. How does it differ to east/ South Asian curry spices?[/quote]
It's not the same as just normal curry powder. It's a blend of the following Coriander, Chilli, Turmeric, Fenugreek, Salt, MUSTARD, Garlic, Corn Flour, Fennel, CELERY, Cloves, Sunflower Oil, Bay Leaves.
Which sounds similar to garam masala from memory but it really doesn't taste the same as East/South Asian curries.

@BelleOfTheProvince

One tray satay potatoes, tofu and green beans.

1. preheat oven. Cut potatoes and boil in a pot for 10 minutes
2. Cover potatoes in sesame or other cooking oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, Chinese five spice and chilli to taste. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
3. Heat sesame oil in a pan. Add sesame seeds and toast if desired. Add soy sauce, a splash of lime and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Season to taste.
4. Take potatoes out oven. Add green bean, beansprouts, pre marinated cauldron tofu(newbies should not attempt tofu- try some from the local Thai before attempting your own so you know what you are aiming for and are not put off. Cook for a further 20 minutes till potatoes are crisp and tender and everything is cooked through.
5. Plate up and pour sauce over it all. Voila.

Taken from the green roasting tin book. Highly recommended.

This sounds lovely!!!

It's part of the reason I went from a size ten to shopping in simply b😂

I will give that spice a go. Always on the lookout for a new curry.

Protein is really not hard to get on a vegan or vegetarian diet that's a myth.

What I said wasn’t that it’s hard to get but that you need to make sure you have enough. Not everyone eats nuts and tofu, even though both are amazing foods for non-meat eaters.

Speaking of which:

Vegetable curry:

Chop onion and garlic and fry with chilli and coriander to taste. Use tumeric to add depth to curry and choose from curry Powder, garam masala, chilli, cumin to flavour. Or do what I do and use any and all!
Add tin tomatoes and coconut milk. Tomatoes can be substituted for peanut for a Sri lankan/African type curry. Or use mango for a fruity curry instead.
Add vegetables
Cauliflower,. spinach, sweet potato, butternut squash, pumpkin. Any and all vegetables.
Add pulses. (Without the water obviously, pre cook if necessary) chick peas I find work well for Indian, lentils work well for a Dahl like texture and goes great with peanut.
Eat with a nann and rice.

Protein is in most things though. Peas for example are a great protein source.
Most people over eat protein. We really don't need as much as is pushed.

I would not recommend tofu for a newbie. Not sure they'd cook it right or.appreciate it if it was.

Thanks all! We've decided to have a veggie week next week and see how we get on. Just ordered some of the colliery books from Amazon.

We will be starting tomorrow with mushroom encroute and all the trimmings, instead of roast meat. I went to M&S as I wanted to start off with tasty food to keep us encouraged. Can't afford to shop there all the time though.

Immam fainted

Preheat oven. Cut 2 aubergines into chunks and roast.
Fry onions, garlic and tomato in a pan. Add paprika spice, cinnamon and chilli if you like a kick. Use a tiny bit of sugar or tomato puree to offset the bitterness of tomato.
Add roasted aubergines.

This is a middle Eastern side dish. Serve with hummus and pita bread. A Portobello mushroom is also a good accompaniment.

Can't afford to shop there all the time though.

Most veggie staples can be brought cheap.
I recommend having available.

Tinned chickpeas
Tinned lentils
Tinned tomatoes
Coconut milk
Tinned beans (and refried beans if you like Mexican)
Soy sauce
Mustard(extends cheesy flavours)
Nutritional yeast (expensive but a little goes a long way)
Plant based milk for white sauces etc
Flour
Coconut oil (great for roasting potatoes and making cakes but be warned-very fatty)

@BelleOfTheProvince

Protein is in most things though. Peas for example are a great protein source. Most people over eat protein. We really don't need as much as is pushed.

I would not recommend tofu for a newbie. Not sure they'd cook it right or.appreciate it if it was.

I wouldn’t feel comfortable telling a new vegetarian that they might jot cook tofu “right” or “appreciate” it.

Most people can follow a recipe. Making tofu out to be some kind of holy grail of food that only expert vegetarian cooks can tackle could put people off even trying it.

Hi Op I am trying to follow a diet with little or no meat and fish.
Some of the recipes mentioned sound lovely.
Can anyone recommend an alternative to Quorn mince please as I am not keen.