Plain but tasty veggie food (pregnant SIL)

[StacksOfSnacks]

My vegetarian SIL is visiting in a few weeks, we typically enjoy Ottolenghi style spreads, and for ease eat fully veggie when she is round. She is pregnant and has been struggling with food - crunchy white carbs seem to be the top hits right now - she will be in her second trimester when she visits and things have been improving slowly. Can anyone recommend dishes that are vegetarian, fairly plain, and comforting but interesting and tasty for the rest of us. These are what I have come up with so far:

• Potato slab pie with salsa verde
• Leek and potato soup & crusty bread
• Macaroni cheese
• Toad in the hole

(I will of course invite her to bring her favourite crackers and feast on them, and will check in that week to see what is going down well)

Those are great options. You sound like a great host. Richmond meat free sausages and mash, mushroom risotto, and jacket and beans spring to my mind.

Vegetable tagine with cous cous - Can be quite tasty without being spicy, just adapt to taste.
A root veg crumble with seeded topping
Roasted veg fritata

Cauliflower cheese?

Leek and mushroom pie
Chilli and rice
Spaghetti Bolognese
Tortilla
Enchiladas
Quiche
Spinach and ricotta pasta
Lentil soup
Baked potato
Vegetable stir fry and tofu
Cottage pie

Quiche
Paella
Pasta salad (pesto, tomato)
Hummus and warm pitta

My go to veggie dish,
Roast sweet potato and (pasteurised)goats cheese salad. Grated carrot, mixed leaves crumbled goats cheese and quarter cherry tomatoes. Apply a little olive oil and balsamic and add the sweet potato just before you serve topped with mixed seeds. I usually have it with vegetable pakora or bahji and a yogurt dip and sweet chilli sauce.

Butternut squash soup
Tomato and red pepper soup
Quesadillas
Lemon and courgette linguine
Bean burgers

Fennel, shallots, artichoke and potato roasted with lemons, capers and a dash of wine/vermouth/stock. You could replace the potatoes with a grain and sausages, chicken and fish all go well if you have any meat eaters who must have meat. I imagine you could also add tofu or beans if you wanted. It’s a very flexible tray bake

Cheese & potato pie
Loaded nachos
Noodles, either chow mein style or ramen with gyoza
Minestrone soup with cheesy garlic bread
Pizza
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Pasta alla Norma
Halloumi burgers & wedges etc.
Spanakopita
Mushroom stroganoff pasta

Those are all my veggie carby comfort foods.

Ottolenghi has a brilliant cauliflower cake recipe. Mild, cheesy and delicious.

Baked gnocchi or traybake style roasted gnocchi dishes would-be good too. Rukmini Iyer has a few good recipes.

For the pure comfort food element - Homity Pie. Goes well with a crisp green salad.

Loads of recipes online but I tend to use this one - https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/deep-filled_homity_pie_48616/amp

There a Tesco soup recipe called Nana's magic soup. It's tomato, red pepper and sweet potato basically, lovely with cheese on toast.
Frittata/ Spanish omelette with salad.
Pasta primavera (I use any veggies that I have, but often just courgettes and or green beans).

Ottolenghi, but serve everything with flatbread, plain rice and plain couscous and a salad. Stodgy meals like leak & potato pie would kill me, because the texture is the same all through and requires a lot of chewing. There's no escape!

thanks everyone! I should have said - she doesn't eat mushrooms, or strong cheeses or goats cheese (some of these aren't safe for her now anyway).

I will do a bit of a spread so she can pick at the bits she likes, and I will try and include plenty of textural variation, in particular crunchy bits. Things like spanakopita could work really well there. I wonder about the Ottolenghi curried cauliflower cheese pie? Perhaps a bit too rich and flavourful.

Veg paella? Good Food has a nice recipe.

When I was pregnant and feeling very sick over the summer months I loved sushi and Asian noodle salad /crunchy slaw with only a v light dressing. Vietnamese summer rolls would be nice too