Going Vegetarian

[NutterlyUts]

I'm seriously considering going veggie, but I'm after meal ideas to give me an idea of what can be cooked and to see if veggie food appeals to me. Right now I eat mainly chicken and only rarely eat other meat.

One of the main reasons I'm considering turning veggie is because I don't agree with the farming methods, but a side reason is I'm overweight, and I've never seen a fat vegetarian..

dh has been a strict veggie for about 35 years and is a fat bastard.

Lol oh dear.. Well i'm still interested in switching for the sake of the animals

Oooooh I have seen lots of fat and unhealthy pale yukky looking vegetarians!! We had a restaurant and there were loads of em!

You do think it is healthier but sometimes it isnt!

Healthy food would be

veggie stirfry
Quorn chilli
Soya mince for shepherds pie
Stuffed Vegetables

I think meat can be cut out of most dishes and replaced with something else. It is important not to cut out protein though so plenty of pulses, nuts and seeds, cheese need to be added to your diet too.

That's great!! There are lots of veggie recipes on the internet and lots of books available - um, where to start?
Most of my books are vegan. You could try the Vegetarian Society, also Viva.

If you swop lean chicken and fish for cheese etc then you will get fat / stay fat. If I was you I would go vegan, much healthier, more consistent, and there are really not many fat vegans around

I am veggie (like my cheese too much) and these are some family meals we enjoy:

Leek and kidney bean stew
Nut and rice roast with new pots and veg (or roasties)
Veg kebabs (courgette, pepper, mushrooms, tofu) with rice or quinoa
Veg korma with beans and rice / naan / quinoa
Mushroom stroganoff
Spinach salad with chickpeas, feta and avocado
Veggie sausage and mash
Risotto or barley risotto with leeks, mushrooms, peas and parmesan
Lentil soup and good bread
Butternut squash and lentil sauce with rice or quinoa
Veg stir fry with tofu and noodles
Pittas or wraps with hummus, bean salad, coleslaw, quorn, avocado, cheese or whatever you fancy

Fab everyone thanks.

Um Franny.. stupid question but how do you make Leek and kidney bean stew and
Nut and rice roast?

The quorn fillets/mince/pieces give you a lot of options if you want low fat veggie meals but are still thinking along the lines of meat dishes.

We make veggie shepherds pie, chilli and curry with them.
Sausages are yum too.

I jest (but dh IS a FB)!

I use quorn mince or Tesco equivalent in shepherd's pie and lasagne and usually add a tin of kidney bean or spicy beans to it.

Quorn do chicken style pieces to use in casseroles - key here is to use a top quality stock cube.

Linda McCartney sausgaes are nice - the kids love these.

Lentil soup goes down a treat, as do stir fries and anything beany.

I was just about to interject that Kidneys are not vegetarian, then...

Redwood make good meat replacement things, so do Fry's (have a look in Holland and Barratt) with no hydrogenated oils. Of course, you can manage just as well (if not better, healthwise) with beans and lentils.

Franny, I am interested in your butternut squash and lentil sauce...

Linda McCartney things contain hydrogenated fats.

Not stupid at all

Nut and rice roast is so easy, you just grind up whatever nuts you have / like the taste of, or if not for young children you could chop them, but I think the fine texture is better myself. I use cashews, almonds and ground sunflower and sesame seeds usually (you can grind them in a coffee grinder if you don't have an attachment thing). Fry some onions and mushrooms (can add red peppers etc) and cook some brown rice. Sorry I don't have quantities but it is one of those made up recipes. I am guessing it is about 1/4 veg, 1/4 nuts and the rest rice? Or maybe equal quantities of rice and nuts, with some veg added. Dissolve a stock cube in a few tbsp of water and mix everything together with some tom puree and soy sauce. Press into an oven dish and bake for about...erm...40 mins or so? It should be firm and getting brown. It tastes really good. Serve with roasties and gravy for the unhealthy version, or a tomato-based sauce, new pots and salad for the healthy one.

The leek and bean stew:

Fry leeks, mushrooms and carrots until getting tender, then add a tin of tomatoes and 1/2 pint of veg stock. Also some paprika, tom puree and soy sauce. Simmer for about 20 - 30 mins then add a tin of kidney beans, some sweetcorn, and add dumplings (using veg suet) at this point if you like. Simmer for another 10 mins or until the dumplings are done.

Tooticky, I fry onions and mushrooms till tender, then red lentils for a couple of minutes before covering with stock. You can add whatever spices you want at the frying point (but also nice without). At the same time steam some butternut squash / sweet potatoes / carrots / parsnips / any starchy veg will do, or a mixture, but butternut squash is my fave

Combine the two when everything is tender, to make a creamy type sauce with melting textured sweet vegetables

Good with quinoa

Oh or you can omit the butternut from the sauce, just do onions / mush / carrots / lentils and serve it over a half a baked butternut, still in its skin. Just scoop out the flesh as you are eating it. That way you don't have to peel the bugger which is a job I hate

Oops you don't just cover the lentils with stock, you simmer them until they are tender. But you knew that

That sounds lovely. I have realised my dcs have fallen into a bit of a food rut - all healthy but maybe verging on a tad boring. Need to broaden a bit but they are not terribly adventurous and I have one tomatophobe. Also, they seem to have turned against beans in general. Oh, and there is a new suspicion of anything with spices...
But anything to avoid peeling blasted squash, the cause of so many near accidents...

This is fairly non-threatening for children I think, because it is soft and sweet

Hi tooticky - have been veggie for nearly 20 years, so can't really remember how I broke myself in, as it were. As already mentioned, you can start by simply replacing meat in recipes with an equivalent, such as quorn. However, I hope the following link might give you some other ideas, even if you don't choose to follow the recipes to the letter just click here!

ds1 is very suspicious of sweet veg, but he worships cabbage/leeks/brown rice, so I suppose I can't really complain

What stock do you use? Only stock coming to mind is oxo stock cubes.. but they are meat?

Kallo stock cubes are good, all veggie, lots of different types, including low salt.

Fab thanks

Can't wait to try out all the new recipe ideas.

Another question.. What are good veggie packed lunches?

I like Kallo stock, too, or Marigold Bouillon powder. Kallo have a low salt one which is good for littlies.

Packed lunches:

Wraps seem popular with just about anything in - cold veg sausages or quorn pieces, hummus, grated cheese, grated carrot, beans or chickpeas, coleslaw, philadelphia, etc

Pots of things like pasta salad, pesto rice, potato salad, bean salad are nice

cold pizza or quiche or tortilla

hard boiled eggs

mixed nuts and seeds (if allowed at school)

mini pots of hummus or sour cream and crudites like cucumber, carrot, red pepper, or breadsticks or pitta to dip

yogurts, dried fruit, flapjacks, scones, fruitcake, malt loaf, fresh fruit

any good?

Fab thanks!

Is mayo veggie? Or do I have to get special stuff? Would eating fish discount me as a veggy?

I left out the obvious: sandwiches

carrot and hummus very nice
brie and grape
mozzarella and tomato
cold sausage
egg mayo
peanut butter (if allowed at school)
pate such as tartex or cauldron foods
philly cheese
cheddar and pickle
homemade lentil pate

Mayo is veggie, but most will have battery eggs in

If you eat fish, you are not vegetarian

but lots of people do eat fish and not meat (just say "I eat fish but not meat" - you don't have to have a special name for your diet!)