Easy balanced vegetarian meals

[Thingsthatgo]

My children, 9 and 6 years, have raised the idea of being vegetarian. We are currently meat eaters, but I am open to the idea of being vegetarian. I do not enjoy cooking, and I don’t get particularly excited about eating, so I need easy and fast meals (preferably things that survive being reheated too because we have a lot going on and often eat at different times)
I have suggested that we try one week of eating vegetarian over the summer holidays, so please could you tell me your simple vegetarian meals? I’m happy to use meat substitutes, so a quote bolognese or veggie sausages with mash are on my list...
Thank you 😊

*quorn

Stir fries are good and easy and there's 100's of combinations so you make them to your own taste.
Mac 'n' cheese (as it is called these days )is always a winner

If you're happy to use substitutes, at least to begin with, it is really easy. Almost every meat product has an alternative, it's just a matter of finding the one your family like.

For me,

Mince - Morrisons own brand vegan is our favourite
Burgers - Linda McCartney mozzarella or pulled pork
Meatballs - Co op own brand
Pizza - Chicago town fully loaded cheese or Dr oetker mozzarella
Sausages - Richmond meat free
Chicken pieces - quorn vegetarian (vegan ones are a bit mushy)
Nuggets - quorn
Roast dinner - naked glory roast chicken strips

Alternatively easy meals without the substitute are

Jacket potato with cheese and beans
Pasta with vegetarian pesto
Chickpea, spinach and sweet potato curry
Frittata
Vegetable stir fry with cashew nuts and mushrooms

Or a bit more cooking

Vegetable tart with new potatoes and salad
Mushroom risotto
Stuffed peppers - with a rice and vegetable filling
Roasted veg with giant couscous and feta

Sorry, I lost the formatting!

Lifelong veggie here, I echo a previous poster saying you can buy meat free versions of most things now so that would be a good start as it's an easy swap.

Bolagnaise - just use veggie mince instead
Mac n cheese
Burgers - veggie burgers
Quorn nuggets and chips
Lasagne
Curry - loads of veggie based ones
Pizza - you can even get quorn pepperoni
Tacos
'Meat'balls and spaghetti
Pasta bake

Brilliant. Thank you. I’ll check out the substitutes you have recommended. Do you use both frozen and fresh?

Yes, I have tried several different mince alternatives such as frozen quorn and fresh meatless farm. I think you learn which ones are best for which job.

I would use frozen quorn in bolagnaise but I would use the fresh meatless farm one for making koftas for example.

I think with young kids, you don't want to bring in too many new things (that will take a lot of work for you). For example, this is one of my favourite midweek dinners: www.easycheesyvegetarian.com/15-minute-creamy-chickpea-curry/

It's quick and easy but kids may not buy into it. I'd recommend using the meat substitutes and branching out later on if you want. Keep it simple for yourself

Stir fries, fried rices.
Anything you'd make with meat, you can make veggie. Lentils are amazing in bolgneses, lasanges, soups.

I agree that the substitutes can be an easy swap and they are very convenient but I’d be careful not to become reliant on these as they’re not necessarily going to be nutritionally adequate. Trying a week of vegetarian meals isn’t a bad start but I’d recommend doing some research if they really want to be vegetarian long term. the vegetarian society is a good place to start.

A healthy vegetarian diet should include various beans, lentils, nuts etc and if you’re not familiar with using these in recipes you might find it a bit of a pain at first, especially if you’re not the most enthusiastic cook. On the plus side though there are loads of great bean and lentil based recipes that are great for batch cooking and freezing . There are also loads of threads in this section with veggie recipes and links to really good sites so you won’t struggle to come up with meal ideas.

Cheese and tomato bread pudding recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/cheese-and-tomato-bread-and-butter-pudding
Halloumi burgers www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/halloumi-burgers
Sweetcorn and chickpea burgers realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sweetcorn-and-chickpea-burgers-with-smoky-tomato-sauce.html
Naan pizzas recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/naan-bread-pizza
Puff pastry tart www.janespatisserie.com/2015/06/06/pesto-cheese-tomato-puff-pastry-tart/

I eat meat but absolutely love the meat free options from the asda freezer department.

I have been eating a plant based diet for decades now. My top tip is that don't use too many substitutes. Try cuisines with lots of vegetarian options such as Indian where you use chickpeas, lentils, paneer (if you're not a vegan), tofu etc. You are more likely to succeed if you start appreciating the natural taste and flavour of vegetables and plant based options. There is a wealth of vegetarian options in Mexican, Italian, Thai cuisines. Of yourse you can always use quorn if you want comfort food like bolognaise but don't let it become the mainstay of your vegetarian diet.

Lentils are a good alternative to mince in a Bolognese sauce if you want to avoid too many substitutes.

Homemade bean burgers can be great and again avoid substitutes. You can still have them with all the trimmings.

I like to make a garlicky cashew sauce, tasty and nutritious and goes with lots of things.

Kebab skewers with button mushrooms, peppers and marinated tofu cubes.

Home made hummus is really, really easy and much more nutritious than shop bought.

Falafels are really good especially made properly.

When DC want to go veggie/vegan I've always refused to deviate from my made from scratch principles so have not bought substitutes. Some good options include using a portobello mushroom instead of a burger, lentils, mushed up mushrooms and a teaspoon of marmite in a bolognese, Cookie and Kate's vegetarian chilli and lots of the Jack Monroe recipes.

The Bosh! Cookbooks have some hearty meals in them.

If you don't want to buy a bunch of cookbooks then the local library will have some or can order them in. And charity shops will have a selection though they may be a bit out of date.

I have dozens and will either lend to friends who ask or take a picture of my favourite recipes and send to them (depending on whether I trust them to give the book back )

These are all great ideas. Thank you. I think it is going to come as a bit of a shock to my DCs (who are imagining eating jacket potatoes with baked beans and margarita pizzas for the week!)

When DC want to go veggie/vegan I've always refused to deviate from my made from scratch principles so have not bought substitutes. Some good options include using a portobello mushroom instead of a burger, lentils, mushed up mushrooms and a teaspoon of marmite in a bolognese, Cookie and Kate's vegetarian chilli and lots of the Jack Monroe recipes.

Both of mine have gone Veggie at times and this is exactly the sort of stuff we've had.

Summer is great because you can get them into eating salads (winter is great because if the soup 😋).

My kids love lentil daal - and I change it up with different vegetables in it. So sometimes I have it on its own, or I roast sweet potatoes or cherry tomatoes and chuck them in to vary it! It can be frozen and super easy for reheating if you add a little extra water.

www.spicepots.com/blogs/recipes/lentil-daal

These are easy and very kid friendly (everyone can make their own):

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/veggie-fajitas

We try to eat vegetarian about 2-3 times a week if we can.

Halloumi features heavily - eg fried halloumi with a caramelised honey/lemon/garlic "sauce" usually in a flatbread with whatever additions I feel like (onion/fennel with rocket was this week. Last week we had chargrilled broccoli, asparagus and mange tout with it). Halloumi in fajitas with peppers and onions is another popular choice.
I might try halloumi and mushroom burgers next week.

Pasta sauces that are veggie only are easy and generally popular - arrabbiata (add additional veg), creamy mushroom (or make a stroganoff), roasted tomatoes with burrata and avocado are all popular. Me and Dh also love fried courgette with lots of garlic, chilli and lemon.

Roasted veg on couscous/pasta with feta (super easy).

Veg curries

Roasted cauliflower with pilaf is another popular choice around here. I often add chunks of carrots and/or chickpeas to the roasting tray.

We have those as well Proustian.

I first made them when we had Vegetarian friends come over for tea and now the DC regularly ask for them.