299829 Mon Feb 14 20:13:07 -0800 2005 17 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1663260 I gave up meat/fowl/fish and booze/wine/beer for lent. I am not adverse to veggies - as a matter of fact I love them. I need ideas though on how I can keep some variety in my diet outside of pasta and tofu. Just as a frame of reference - I regularly eat sushi and I will have a bloody steak whenever I can, and I consider fried chicken to be the greatest invention, with the Internet being a distant second. any tips from long lasting vegetarians are appreciated. i can have cheese/milk/eggs by the way. Mon Feb 14 20:13:07 -0800 2005 0 jaydee 1 1663262 these aren't innovative, per se, but just stuff to keep in mind: large salads with protein-filled ingredients rice and beans hummus and other middle eastern eat a lot of indian egg-based dishes for dinner Mon Feb 14 20:48:57 -0800 2005 1663260 0 The Jumps 1 1663264 Cottage cheese and ricotta are great for making blintzes. I love omelettes, and you can get creative with your fillings. You can also make panini with grilled eggplant, roasted peppers, olive tapenade, mozzarella... and whatever else pleases you. Lentils, soy beans (edamame), vegetarian chili, beans in general for a tostada. I saw an interesting recipe for a meatloaf made from tofu and lentils. Mon Feb 14 20:51:17 -0800 2005 1663260 0 Emme 1 1663265 I am a meat eater but, just to be more healthy, I bought tofu crumbles to replace ground beef in a pasta meat sauce. It was almost interchangable. I was very impressed with how much the tofu crumbles tasted like ground beef. Mon Feb 14 20:51:18 -0800 2005 1663260 0 rkn 1 1663267 Eat more Japanese food. Incorporate miso soups (kombu dashi based, not fish based) with vegies. Vegetables with Japanese sauces. See the link below for recipe ideas and options. I am not a vegetarian, but definitely eat a wide variety of vegetables living in Japan. Happy and Healthy Eating! Link: http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/recent/localflavors.asp Mon Feb 14 21:30:30 -0800 2005 1663260 0 shochu queen 1 1663270 We've been trying to eat meatless main dishes now twice a week for dinner...black beans are great for this, I've found. Chickpeas also are super...both are, well, almost meaty in substance and are so satisfying. There's a black bean and polenta recipe on Epicurious if you'd like it that we've had 3 times now, very hearty. Portobello mushrooms are another great meat substitute, we've found. Mon Feb 14 22:06:51 -0800 2005 1663260 0 Val 1 1663278 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0767900146/qid=1108445301/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-6943748-0890356?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517596326/qid=1108445327/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/104-6943748-0890356 Tue Feb 15 00:29:26 -0800 2005 1663260 0 veg 1 1663289 Don't forget the basics, like steamed or stir-fried veggies over rice, stuffed baked potatoes, roasted veggies including squashes, brussel sprouts, and root vegetables. Thank you. Tue Feb 15 10:16:23 -0800 2005 1663260 0 Bride of the Juggler 1 1663290 You should also Google websites and discussion boards for the Eastern and Orthodox Christian churches; eastern Christians have developed a deep repertoire of vegetarian foods for their fasting periods (not just Great Lent, but other times which are much more extensive than that for western Christians), which often involve giving up all flesh (except fish on certain feast days in the fasting periods), dairy, eggs, oil, wine, et cet. Needless to say, necessity is the mother of invention, so you might be interested to follow their lead for ideas. Tue Feb 15 10:32:43 -0800 2005 1663260 0 Karl S. 1 1663291 One word - cheese enchiladas. OK, it was 2 words. When my daughter went vegetarian, she loved them. Get some green chilis, onions and a good sauce. Tue Feb 15 10:33:04 -0800 2005 1663260 0 Bobfrmia 2 1663351 Mexican is just full of great, fresh, healthy possibilities...more for the OP: Bean and cheese tostadas are mighty tasty, too. Just pick up some vegetarian pinto or black refried beans, some tostada shells, your fave shredding cheese, a head of iceberg lettuce, and make (or buy, if need be) some pico de gallo. Also, guacamole tostadas are just....words fail me! Messy and fattening, and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so good (and full of vitamins and minerals, too). Also, Huevos Rancheros will keep you going all day. I like to poach the eggs right in the fresh salsa. Use one of those same tostada shells - the frying gives them body and will save you lots of time and trouble. Buen provecho! Wed Feb 16 00:38:00 -0800 2005 1663291 0 peg 1 1663294 My favorite veggie sandwich: saute brocoli rabe in oliveoil with garlic and hot pepper place on any good crusty roll with sharp provolone cheese and roasted red peppers. Tue Feb 15 11:36:05 -0800 2005 1663260 0 Drew 1 1663303 I would recommend looking into vegetarian Indian cooking. The food is healthy (as long as you stay away from the deep fried stuff), tasty, filling and very varied (thus ensuring you get all necessary nutrients without eating the same things all the time). Tue Feb 15 13:16:54 -0800 2005 1663260 0 kavi 1 1663304 I was a vegetarian for six years. Now I enjoy meat, but mostly on weekends. One of the things I've noticed about vegetarian eating is that you get away from the typical American style of plate - a veg, a starch, a "main dish." The most comfortable way for people to start to make the transition is either to replace the meaty main dish with a vegetarian equivalent, like eggplant parm, a grilled portabello, or tofu, or to eat vegetarian versions of the one-pot meals that are familiar - vegetable stew, vegetarian chili, pasta. But I find that not thinking about a main dish frees things up a lot. Go in the direction of a family meal at the Chinese restaurant. I will often make two or three vegetable dishes for dinner, say baked sweet potato, cauliflower au gratin, kale and white beans, and then add some nice whole grain bread and a salad. If you give yourself enough variety of vegetables, properly prepared (don't skimp on seasonings, on garlic or olive oil), a mostly vegetables meal will actually be filling and satisfying. Including at least one dish with egg or cheese or beans helps of course, as does including some sort of starch. The world of meatless food is huge - borscht, frittatas, rice-stuffed peppers, mint and fresh pea soup, calzones, mushroom tarts, green salads, chickpea curry, stir-fried eggplant, spinach quiche, beans and rice, dal, samosas, you name it. I don't generally care for food that is traditionally meaty that's been made with meat substitutes for vegetarians. There's a lot of great food in the world that has traditionally been vegetarian, as meat has always been expensive. The simplest, most useful vegetarian cookbook I know is Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. Almost everything is very good and can be prepared in 45 minutes or under, and she doesn't use any processed ingredients. You might also look at older cookbooks; I've noticed that my old Fannie Famer, and most other older cookbooks I've seen, may be weak on vegetable dishes, but they are very strong on egg dishes. Eggs were comparatively cheap, and people used to have egg dishes for dinner a lot more than they seem to now. Tue Feb 15 13:17:55 -0800 2005 1663260 0 curiousbaker 2 1663343 a truly insightful post - thanks so much! Tue Feb 15 19:39:43 -0800 2005 1663304 0 jaydee 1 1663344 I agree with curiousbaker. I've been a vegetarian for 30 years and variety is the key. Others may not really like this book but I appreciate this far-flung approach to cooking vegetarian meals Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon, Robbin Gourley. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761128255/qid=1108512997/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6874955-3152157?v=glance&s=books&n=507846 Here are some helpful sites with this caveat - vegetarian does not cut it with these folks. They would like the world to consist only of vegan weedeaters but you may find some lacto-ovo stuff. VegSource http://www.vegsource.com/ Somehow they obscure their recipes with some awful page rendering. Recipes from VegSource http://www.vegsource.com/recipe/ Vegetarian Resource Group (some very interesting recipes): http://www.vrg.org/ International Vegetarian Union Regional Recipes: http://www.ivu.org/recipes/regions.html AllRecipes is overflowing with more mainstream vegetarian stuff: http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/ Finally I hope you try some of the fun stuff that you've walked by in the grocery store. Pick up some flavored tempeh and throw it in a stirfry. Ever wondered how the not hot dogs taste? Pick some up! I find them too close to real hot dogs, which I know is silly but thirty years of training has warped my brain. Enjoy. And if you should slip up during Lent, don't be hard on yourself. Retraining for even forty days is not easy. Best of luck. Tue Feb 15 19:40:01 -0800 2005 1663260 0 venus_de_mpls 1 1663382 I think that i'm sort of recapping a lot of other sugeestions, but I've found that Indian, Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern, Japanese & Chinese cuisine offer a lot of options for non-meaters. I really agree with the suggestion to serve an assortment of dihes as opposed to strcuturing it like a traditional meat-based meal. Anna Thomas's Vegetarian Epicure books are great, Claire's Corner Copia cookbook (only vol. 1) has many easy recipes. Madhur Jaffrey's Indian cookbooks have good veg. options...Hope this helps... Wed Feb 16 13:55:27 -0800 2005 1663260 0 kitnimbus 1 1663431 When cooking you can substitute TVP for ground beef almost anywhere. You have to account for the fact that TVP will not give off the fat that the beef does when it cooks. Adjust by adding more oil and/or other liquid. I have had success with TVP in Dim Sum and Peccadillo. The great thing is that you often can't tell it's meat free. Also, look into Tempeh. This stuff is amazing! K-bobs, sandwiches, stews. When you have a craving for something "meaty" that is not cheese this is your best bet. Good luck! Eli Thu Feb 17 10:22:21 -0800 2005 1663260 0 ChefElias