What to give a vegetarian on a "whole food" diet for lunch?

[SteveHadTheRightIdea]

I'm struggling a bit.

This friend has had some serious health problems and this diet seems to be helping him.

He's coming for lunch at the weekend and I want to make him something nice. He is lovely and would bring his own food. Not at all demanding or fussy.

As I am neither vegetarian, nor am I on a whole food diet, I'm a little clueless!

Any ideas much appreciated.

No idea, op, but just wanted to say how nice you sound! Hope you get some good ideas and have a lovely day with your friend.

Frittata and mediterranean veg?
Homemade curry or stew?

How about a quinoa salad with roasted peppers, basil and toasted pine nuts. (Dressing half a squeezed lemon and olive oil) strawberries for pud

Chickpea curry would be my choice!

Aw bless you ladymariner! Thank you. How nice of you to say that.

Thanks mother 👍.

This is my go to vegetarian recipe

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/veggie-chilli/

Chickpea and sweet potato curry is lovely. Not sure what sides you can have on a whole food diet though. Hopefully not just cauliflower rice!

Anything Deliciously Ella would be a good place to start, though she’s dairy and egg free as well. You could definitely add something like a frittata if you wanted. Avoid wheat/flour and things made out of them.

I’d do halloumi and roasted veg kebabs (pepper, onion, tomato, courgette) with a tomato rice or couscous. Just watch though as not all halloumi is veggie.

a vegetarian curry or chilli

not sure about whole food diet, but I assume it means minimally processed ingredients.

I had this AMAZING baked potato when I was out recently.

I'm not sure if the exact recipe, but it was chunks of butternut squash, cooked with spices, on a baked potato, with a quinoa salad on the side. It's not normally my kind of thing, but it was bloody delicious!

I think you need to ask him what he means by "whole foods". A salad topped with avocado, dressed beans, maybe a bit of nice flatbread on the side or potatoes dressed with balsamic vinegar and a fresh herb might work. Hugh FW's veg book suggests mezze style catering - you could do different hummuses, sour cream, roasted peppers and cherry toms, pittas. But he might not be eating bread.

How about this? You could swap the goats cheese for feta if that's more to your/his taste

www.feastingathome.com/warm-lentils-wilted-chard-roasted-beets-and-goat-cheese/?epik=dj0yJnU9SVlfeDhXZFBfem1PMXliM1ctZE9YbXJsZW9BbV9kazQmbj1Jd2RBMVAzRzNlNVRTXzJEUjBHeFR3Jm09MyZ0PUFBQUFBRjFWRHU0

Veggie curry with brown rice? Maybe a daal? Or my DS’s favourite - chickpea, spinach and sweet potato?

Thanks all! Great suggestions.

I am pretty sure he is GF or definitely no white flour / pasta etc. Maybe couscous / bulgur wheat is ok though.

Do mushrooms qualify as a whole food?

If so, mushroom stroganoff served with rice and salad?

Fruit salad/kebabs for after?

If you ask him what his actual restrictions are (alongside likes/dislikes) it will be much easier for you.

Vegetarian whole food should = not processed so you’d be fine with most beans, pulses, rice, grains etc. But if he hates goats cheese or bean chilli and that’s what you plan it’ll be tricky! So just ask, I’m sure he won’t mind.

Couscous is not GF

If he is GF through intolerance then you can’t use cous cous or bulghar wheat but there are lots of GF pastas etc available now - you will need to ask him though as some of the GF offerings are better than others - but it is very much personal preference as to which ones are the best!

This one from the River Cottage Children’s cookbook is a nice curry recipe. I use twice as much cumin and chilli and loads more garlic, and add some fresh coriander. You can use any veggies you like - DS likes sweet potato and chickpea, DH likes beans and lentils. Serve with brown rice. You can also swap the yogurt/cream out for coconut milk.

www.essentialbaby.com.au/baby/baby-food/vegie-bean-curry-20111102-1mv07

Couscous is not GF

I know! It's wheat. So is bulgur wheat... Well obviously as it has wheat in the name .

So he has said he does eat oils and salt, nut butters and nut milk (which I think some whole food diets don't have). He doesn't have refined / white carbs or sugar including honey and maple syrup. We q I personally wouldn't class couscous as a refined carb, but to be on the safe side, I'll stick to other grains, like brown rice etc. He does eat potatoes and sweet potatoes too.

He doesn't like a lot of chilli, but he does like Mexican and Thai food. Maybe a mild fajita bowl thing with avocado and black beans and sweet potatoes? I'm thinking maybe a sugar free brownie made with dates for pudding with creme fraiche on top? Or maybe a Thai salad of some kind? I might make gazpacho (without the bread) for a starter as well.

There is a delicious Hello Fresh vege chilli with a sweet potato/cheesy topping served with guacamole and a crisp salad.

I serve it to all my vege/vegan mates (omit the cheese) and it goes down well. It’s tasty and looks pretty.

Oh perfect thanks atalune! I'll look it up.

Thai salad with tender stem broccoli, sugar snaps and mange tout. Lime and fish sauce dressing.

You could serve that along side a pad Thai?

Or qhat about a Lebanese type thing-
Taboleh with a green bean, garlic, tomato and harrissa side with some crumbled feta on top. You can get GF flat breads.