I'm trying to cut down on my consumption of meat. Can you give me some tasty vegetarian recipes that are easy?

Question

And I'm sick of tofu... Or maybe I'm just not doing it right. I dunno... I need tips! And gluten recipes!

Thanks!

Answer 1

vegetable chowder:     half a gallon of vegetable broth, one bag frozen vegetables, one cup of flour, half of cup of non-dairy creamer, one teaspon of herbes de provence. salt, pepper, thyme to taste.  put everything on high and cook till veggies are almost done.  first dilute the flour in cold broth before adding.

Answer 2

Amy's Soy Mac-n-cheese, add Soy Knox or Smart Dogs.

Amy's Indian food or Trader Joe's Indian Food (Dal) with rice.

Veat 'Salmon' (pan fry in olive oil, garlic powder and capers or lemon juice) serve with rice and a salad.

Hummus, pita bread and a salad.

Gardenburger Breakfast Bacon - make a BLT add avacado.

Slice tomatoes in rounds, top with Soya Kaas mozzarella cheese, basil, cut up figs (peeled, washed in hot water to bring out the sweetness) sprinkle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Leave out to room temp until cheese is 'melted' looking.

Stir-fry veggies and rice with Tofu - I use extra firm, wrap in paper towels to soak up the excess water. Cut in slices, fry in a little olive oil, hot pepper sesame oil and soy sauce. Sprinkle with ginger, garlic, curry, whatever you have in the cupboard. Top with sesame seeds. You can also top it with sliced veggie cheese and serve on toasted sourdough with mustard.

Gardenburger Riblets, baked potato, broccoli (w/ lemon, margarine and garlic) and a salad.

Pasta w/ marinara sauce, if you have Boca Itailan Sausages cut them up and add it to the sauce. Serve with garlic bread - spread butter on bread, sprinkle with garlic powder and brown in a pan, butter side down.

Clean portobello mushrooms, cut up, saute in olive oil, garlic and a little soy sauce. Serve with salad.

MorningStar Farms Sausages (not the breakfast ones) are good on homemade pizza - add mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, onions, soy cheese.

Easy Corn Chowder Soup – 1 can each of White Corn, Yellow Corn and Creamed Corn, including the water from the can. Cut up celery add to the pot, add a little rice dream milk.

To vegetarian refried beans add mild green sauce. Add soy cheese if desired. Make Spanish Rice – Far East and/or Rice-a-Roni makes it in a box, just add tomatoes. Serve in a burrito, taco or tostada – add lettuce, tomatoes, soy cheese and avacado to the top.

Quorn turkey roast, with mashed potatoes and a vegetable. Use leftovers on for a 'turkey' sandwich or in soup -

Vegetarian Chicken Noodle Soup

6 cups of pure water

¾ cup Vegetarian Chicken Soup Base

6 organic celery stalks, chopped

1 ½ cups sweet onion

6 carrots, chopped finely

1 package organic noodles (rice, corn or barley)

1 package of Quorn Tenders (or use leftover Quorn Turkey Roast cut up)

Sauté Tenders lightly in olive oil. Heat water, add soup base, stirring gently. Add vegetables, noodles (consider breaking them into 1-2 inch pieces) and Quorn Tenders.

Basil, Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich

INGREDIENTS

1 (1 pound) loaf Italian bread

6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 tomatoes, sliced

4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced (Soya Kaas)

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS

Slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise. Layer the basil, tomato slices, and mozzarella cheese between the two halves of bread. Cut into four sandwiches.

In a small dish, stir together the balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes. Use as a dipping sauce.

Answer 3

allrecipes.com THE BEST...and drink smoothies they fill you up and are delicious!

Answer 4

I make my own seitan, which you can do with a box of Vital Wheat Gluten.  There are instructions on the box for making the dough.  Knead the dough until it's stiff, and cut into pieces or form two large lumps.  Take four cups of water (if you're using the whole box, which I do), add some tamari or soy sauce, toss in nutritional yeast, and some herbs and spices, then bring to a boil.  Put the gluten pieces in and cook for 40 to 50 minutes (if you cut into small pieces, it won't need as much cooking time).  The dough expands while cooking, so if you do the large hunks method, don't be surprised.  After it's done cooking, you store with the liquid.  I never use my seitan the same day I make it.

As for what to do with it, you can marinate and grill, stir-fry, bake, etc.  "The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook" might be for you, as it has several seitan recipes.  Robin Robertson has her own take on making seitan--you just need to find the way that works for you.

There's also a cookbook on cooking with gluten and seitan that may help.

Another option is tempeh, an Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans.  It has a nutty, chewy texture.  I buy the Lightlife Flax Tempeh because it has a softer texture and doesn't need to be simmered, as many forms of tempeh do.

As for tofu, do you freeze it?  Freezing tofu gives it a chewier texture.  I have tips in my profile on how to get the best texture from your tofu.

There are plenty of meat analogues out there; don't be afraid to try some out.  You can get veggie burgers, veggie dogs, veggie "chick'n" patties, veggie crumbles, etc.  Experiment to find what works for you.

And check out www.vegweb.com for recipes.

Good luck!

Answer 5

If you don't want to completely erase meat from your diet yet, fish is a great alternative. It's high in healthy fats and proteins, and it's great for your brain/heart!

A good way to feel full while not eating meat is to eat a lot of beans/legumes (like chickpeas, lentils, blackbeans, etc), and a lot of whole grains. These will make you feel full and give you good proteins and good fats instead of what you'd get from the meats.

Also eat a lot of bold-flavored vegetable dishes, and vary the kinds of veggies you eat, to start, this way you won't get bored and decide to go back to eating meat all the time.

I'll give you one fish recipe, and then a bunch of veggie recipes. (you MUST try the chickpea casserole! OMG!)

MEDITERRANEAN FISH AND RICE

4 white-fish fillets (halibut, sea-bass, talapia, etc)

Garlic-and-herb seasoning

salt and pepper

1/2 cup Vermouth wine

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

about 1/4 cup Nicoise or Kalamata olives, pitted

1 bag brown rice, cooked

1/4 cup oregano, diced

In oiled, heated skillet, begin browning fish (if fish has skin, put the skin-side down). Season well with garlic seasoning and salt and pepper. Add wine and tomatoes; simmer for a minute or two. Add a small handful of olives to top. Cook until fish is done (won't take long!)

Season rice with 1/4 cup fresh, diced oregano.

Lay fish on top of rice to serve, pouring sauce from bottom of pan over the top. Garnish with oregano, if desired.

VEGGIE DISHES:

GRILLED VEGGIES AND SAFFRON RICE

1 2/3 cups vegetable broth

1 packet (5-oz) saffron-flavored rice

cooking spray

1lb fresh asparagus, woody ends removed

2 medium red bell peppers, cut into 1" pieces

1 zucchini, cut into 1/4" slices

1 tsp capers, drained

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil over high heat. Add rice; reduce heat to low. Cover, simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy.

Set up grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat. Coat a grill pan with cooking spray. Preheat pan. Working in batches, place asparagus, peppers, and zucchini on pan and grill just until tender. Use tongs to remove from heat. Cut zucchini and asparagus into bite-size pieces.

In a large bowl, toss together rice, veggies, and capers. Top with almonds.

Serves 6

141 calories, 3g fat, 0 chol, 486mg sodium, 25g carbs, 5g fiber, 6g protein

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Casserole of Eggplant, Tomato, and Chickpeas

Serves 6 - 8

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, or 4 cups canned chickpeas, drained

salt

olive oil

2 medium eggplants, washed but not peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

pepper

3 medium onions, finely chopped

10 small tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped

If using dried chickpeas: in a bowl, soak dried chickpeas covered by 2 inches of water overnight. Drain. In a kettle, cover chickpeas with fresh water, add some salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 2 hours, until peas are tender. You will need to add water from time to time.

[Obviously, the easier and faster way is using canned chickpeas. ]

Preheat oven to 400.

In a skillet, heat some olive oil and saute eggplant 10 - 15 minutes, until light brown. With a slotted spoon, remove eggplant and transfer to a casserole. Season with paprika, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt, and pepper. In the same skillet, add a few drops olive oil and saute onions until light brown. Spread onion with pan drippings over eggplant. Add pepper, salt, and a layer of chickpeas. Cover with tomatoes. Dribble a little olive oil on top and season one more time. Bake 35 minutes.

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Tomato Tart

Serves 6 - 8

1/3 cup olive oil

2 sheets frozen puff pastry

1 egg beaten with 1/3 cup water (egg wash)

2/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup gruyere cheese, grated

5 ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp herbes de provence

pepper and salt

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Oil a rectangle or square baking dish (casserole size) with some olive oil.

Defrost puff pastry according to package. On a floured board, roll out pastry. Line the prepared baking dish with 1 pastry sheet. Cut second sheet into 4 strips. Place a strip on all 4 sides of baking dish as if you were making a box.

Make ridges along the sides with a fork. With a pastry brush, brush pastry with egg wash. Poke holes with a fork in the pastry. Bake 20 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy.

Remove tart shell from oven and spread feta and gruyere cheese over bottom. Place tomato slices, overlapping, on top of cheeses. Sprinkle with garlic, herbes de provence, pepper, and salt. Trickle olive oil over tomatoes. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle with basil.

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Zucchini Cakes, Greek Style

Serves 4 - 6

Zucchini cakes with a garlic yogurt sauce are a good dish for lunch.

2 small zucchini, unpeeled and washed

salt

1 small onion, minced

2 eggs

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 cup finely chopped fresh dill

2 tbsp flour

pepper

olive oil for frying

garlic and mint yogurt sauce, recipe follows

Sauce:

1 pint greek-style yogurt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

pepper and salt

      Combine and mix ingredients. Set aside.

In a food processor, shred zucchini. Transfer shredded zucchini to a colander set over a bowl, sprinkle with 1 tbsp salt, and let stand 30 minutes. Rinse off salt, squeeze zucchini, and pat dry. in a bowl, mix zucchini with onion, feta cheese, dill, egg, flour, pepper, and salt.

With you hands, form zucchini mixture into cakes or patties.

In a frying pan, heat olive oil and cook zucchini cakes over medium heat until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes on each side.

Serve zucchini cakes with a dollop of yogurt sauce.

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Black Bean Burrito, Indian Style

The combination of Southwestern ingredients and Eastern seasonings put an unusual and exciting twist on this burrito.

Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

•1 medium onion cut in half and sliced thin

•4 medium cloves garlic, chopped

•1 tsp minced fresh ginger

•1½ cups sweet potatoes cut in ½ inch cubes

•1 cup green peppers, thin julienne

•1 cup red peppers, thin julienne

•1 tsp garam masala (Can be found in the spice section of your favorite market.)

•½ cup + 1 TBS vegetable broth

•1 15 oz can black beans, drained

•*optional 2 oz Chevre goat cheese

•salt and black pepper to taste

•4 whole wheat tortillas

•Topping

•*(optional) prepared salsa

•1 head of romaine lettuce, shredded (remove outer leaves and discard)

Directions:

1.Prepare vegetables by chopping and slicing.

2.Heat 1 TBS broth in a 12 inch stainless steel skillet. Healthy Sauté onion, garlic, ginger, and peppers in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garam masala, sweet potatoes and mix well. Add 1/2 cup broth and cook covered on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

3.Add beans making sure they are drained well first and mix. Cook for another 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

4.While vegetables are cooking shred lettuce. You also might want to wrap tortillas in foil and place in the oven to warm while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients.

5.Place vegetable mixture in tortilla and top with some goat cheese. Roll and top with salsa and shredded lettuce.

Healthy Cooking Tips:

Cutting bell peppers thin and the sweet potatoes small will allow their flavors to blend together better as they cook than if they are cut into large pieces. Try to cut them as directed for best results. Store your leftover spices in the freezer to keep fresh for the next time you want to make this wonderful dish.

nutritional information:

267 calories; 10g protein; 53 carbs; 9g fiber; 6g sugar; 2.5g fat; .08 sat fat; 0 chol

Answer 6

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Everyday-C...

Answer 7

Potatoes, an endless cornucopia of cheap, easy, healthy, delicious food.

Answer 8

this is a simple way to cook things like zuccini, mushrooms and other vegies, heat a skillet a little, when it starts to get hot add a dash of olive oil put in veggies stir around to desired doness right when its done sprinkle with a dash of salt.

Answer 9

I know my chili and corn cake is worthy of applause. We had it last night and it was the best. I came up with it myself and it's the best thing I ever thought of or made...AND it is super easy and super fast!

The ingredients are 1 bag of Boca ground, 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, 1 can of chili magic, a chichi's corn cake packet and a can of cream corn.

In a large pot, combine all the ingredients except for the corn and the corn cake mix. Heat until boiling and let it boil for like 8 minutes and it's ready.

Follow the directions on the corn cake mix and heat it in the oven. It's better to start the cake first because it takes a lot longer. You can time it out right after practicing though.

When both items are done, fill a bowl with half corn cake and half chili. Take a little corn bread and a little chili with each bite. Trust me, you can't go wrong with this recipe.

It's completely cruelty free, and it only costs about 11.50 to make it. It serves 4 people with too much and probably 6 if you eat normal portions.

Answer 10

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Everyday-C...

http://vegweb.com/

There's a main website with tons of dishes,desserts,snacks for Vegetarians. Has videos as well, so you can watch and cook.

Answer 11

if you like black beans, this is my favorite recipe: for one person, or two : 1 can of black beans, 1 tomatoe sliced,1 onion sliced,1 bunch of cilantro thinly sliced,about  5 tbs.of olive oil (or more if you wish) the juice of 3 or four large limes, 1 green or red bell pepper sliced,salt and pepper to taste and you can use a little bit of destilled vinegar about a spoon or two depending if you like it or not, also I  roast about a cup of corn and then I add it to it, mix all together and there you go, great black bean salad. enjoy it, I eat that a lot.

Answer 12

Giving up meat doesn't mean you "have to" enjoy one particular "meat substitute" (tofu), or even use meat substitutes.  I LOVE the following recipe:

Lentil Soup

INGREDIENTS

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 cups dry lentils

8 cups water

1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons vinegar

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve stir in spinach, and cook until it wilts. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper, and more vinegar if desired.

(I personally cut the olive oil in half.)

Answer 13

My step daughter is highly allergic to dairy.  I make tofu lasagne for her.  I use Silk in rice pudding with fruit.  I grill alot.  There are alot of soy and rice products out there.

Be careful.  Make sure you eat enough protein.  If you crave chocolate, you're not getting enough.