Healthy veggie meals please!

[MrsHoolie]

Hi,
I would like is to eat less meat during the week as I always seem to rely on spag Bol/chilli etc.
Can anyone give me some suggestions for healthy veggie dishes please?
I have never used quorn or any of the meat substitutes btw.

Beans and lentils - dhal and rice, spicy beans and tortillas, chickpeas in tomato sauce, curried any-kind-of-beans and veg. Look to the parts of the world where most people can't afford meat and don't have our western obsession with dairy and you'll be fine!

I'm veggie, here are some of the ones I often do...

• Saag aloo / aloo palak
• Lentil dhal (I use frozen diced veggies for ease)
• Lentil, tomato, carrot and red pepper pasta sauce (boil the lot then blitz with blender, add basil to taste)
• Risotto (I especially like butterbean, pea & saffron but there are loads of great combinations, just google)
• Lasagne but with layers of diced butternut squash mixed with green pesto, frozen spinach and tinned chopped tomatoes, then cover in cheese sauce.
• Cheese, onion, sundried tomato & spinach pasties
• Macaroni cheese but with chickpeas, sundried tomatoes and sweet corn added

I use soya mince a lot, but I always buy the Holland and Barrett dried savoury soya mince as it's only about £1.69 for a huge bag which does 8/10 main meals for DH and I (we have big portions too ) and it's gluten free for me. If you do give it a go, make sure you put it in a saucepan on its own first, then add enough boiling water to saturate it, 1tbsp oil and 1 tbsp soy sauce for optimum flavour, then start cooking it as normal.

My brain has now given up the ghost for the day (teething DS has sapped it ) but if remember anymore I'll post again.

Thankyou,some great ideas there!

Soups are my go to healthy veggie meal- they are endless in variety, pretty much all healthy, and easy to make. My favourites would be

• Thai spiced squash and coconut soup, lentil chickpea and chilli, broccoli and Stilton ( okay that's less healthy) carrot and coriander, French onion, tomato, potato and leek, pea and mint

Chunkier soups/ stew are delicious too like minestrone, ribollata, butter bean and cabbage, veg and barley, etcetera

I also love medjera- it's a lentil onion rice thing - Google ottolenghis version which is sublime

Shashuska- a tomato and pepper stew type thing with baked eggs is lovely too- and easy to do in two pans if dc don't like the spicy version

BBC good food have a Greek style filo pie which is made with spinach and feta- it's delicious, there are lots of veggie filo pie recipes to be had- Google is your friend

As others have mentioned a vegetarian lasagne is delicious abs like soup there are loads of different varieties. I particularly like hfw mushroom and kale veg lasagne, and BBC good foods roasted veg lasagne.

Have you tried chickpea or lentil loaves? Veg alternatives to meatloaf- they are lovely with a salad, and most can be sliced and frozen in slices which can then be fried to order - a girl calked jack has a recipe which is good but there are loads online.

Those soups sound delicious!

Mrs Hoolie if you buy Hugh F.W.'s book River Cottage Veg. for Everyday you'll find lots of easy, healthy veggie meals in it, it's brill.

Thanks,I will look it up. I love buying cookbooks.

I posted a load of recipes on this thread which might fit the bill? All pulse based.

Hi OP

My DP doesn't eat meat so we tend to eat veggie at home. We eat a lot of curries at home in various guises, mainly because we both love flavor and spice, and one pot cooking is my preferred cooking style.

+1 for HFW veg everyday book btw, great recipes and also a nice read.

I am going to give you some of my reasonably easy, highly tasty favorite veggie recipes.

On the really easy scale, any veg plus a tin of green lentils, plus a tin of chickpeas plus a jar of indian curry sauce is really nice.

Butternut squash thai curry.
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2631/thai-squash-and-pineapple-curry
Add a red pepper too, and I use a whole tin of coconut milk and no stock.

Chard, sweet potato & peanut stew
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/420645/chard-sweet-potato-and-peanut-stew
Quite interesting, go heavy on the spices though (I prob double them)

Quinoa meat balls
skinnyms.com/quinoa-meatless-meatballs/
Use a tin of lentils for speed. Don't fry them, they spit horribly, they come out very nice baked in the oven at 220 dec for 25 mins (ish) esp if you spray with an olive oil spray and turn and spray half way through cooking. Serve with pasta and a rich tomato sauce (2 x cartons pasata, 2 x tablespoons balsamic vin, salt, pepper, tablespoon oregano, handful of basil leaves and reduce down by 1/3)
On reflection this isn't really a weeknight meal but IT IS SO YUMMY

Yotam Ottolenghi's Multi vegetable paella
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/apr/12/foodanddrink.recipe
Do all your chopping first because it gets busy once you start doing things.

Beetroot risotto with griddled veg.
This looks AMAZING.
Follow a basic risotto recipe but after you have fried off your risotto add a bunch of grated fresh raw beetroots. Fry for a bit, then add rice and continue on. Grill or do in a griddle pan some asparagus, baby courgette, something like that to serve with. Oh oh oh chopped walnuts is a must to scatter on top.

If you can stand the prep, Yottam's aubergine and lemon risotto is one of the nicest things I've made recently. This is not a weekday thing.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/feb/23/foodanddrink.shopping1

Veggie chili just sub in quorn mince. Top tip a couple of jarred roast red peppers add some extra smokey flavour.

Veggie fajitas (peppers, onions, courgettes and maybe broccoli - just omit the chicken) with refried beans, or these ones here are lushtastic :
www.veggienumnum.com/2011/07/quinoa-bean-burritos-w-slaw-green-tomato-salsa/
In fact, anything from her blog is lush but a lot of it takes quite a bit of prep. The veggie kofta korma is quite simply the most divine thing ever.

I like tagines to, try these two:
mostlyfoodstuffs.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/potato-tagine-with-preserved-lemon-and.html
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/146608/pumpkin-cranberry-and-red-onion-tagine

I think those are my favourite things to cook.