Vegetarian Lunch Ideas

Morningstar Farms makes great frozen meat substitutes. They are the easiest way to make vegetarian foods for someone not used to cooking that way. They are in the frozen section of nearly every grocery store.

There are lots of great Mexican, Italian and Asian meals that are vegetarian. Things like Cheese Enchiladas, Eggplant Parmesan, and vegetable fried rice or lo mein. I keep up a vegetarian recipe blog if you want some other ideas. martasrecipes.blogspot.com

Best wishes!

Hi, J.!

I'm a vegan / raw foodie, and there are SO many delicious recipes you can make that are really simple to prepare, and far more filling than the usual veggie tray. :-)

I can give you recipes for things like Black Bean and Mango Salad; Vegetarian/Vegan Chili; Hearty Bean and Vegetable Soup; Carrot, Ginger and Lime Soup; Green Salad (with Red Onion, Pine Nuts and Currants) with Creamy Garlic Blender Dressing; etc.

These dishes are all really delicious, and are all relatively easy to make. (The exception is the Carrot soup; it's easy to make, but involves cracking open a Young Thai Coconut and digging out the meat. Not difficult, but a bit of a hassle!) The salad is delicious with the homemade dressing, which is surprisingly easy to make. You also can't go wrong by serving an appetizer before lunch, and Hummus is a favorite among the veg crowd. I'd recommend picking some up from a good Middle Eastern restaurant rather than the grocery store, though. The cost is not that much higher, but the taste is worlds apart!

You might do something like Hummus to start (with pita bread, and maybe some baby carrots and celery), then serve a small Romaine salad with thinly sliced red onion, pine nuts and currants (you can leave the pine nuts out if there's an allergy issue) and top it with a creamy garlic and citrus blender dressing, and follow it up with the Hearty Bean and Vegetable Soup. Or, if you want to go another route, you could do a live guacamole (so simple and delicious!), followed by a small salad, and an amazing Tortilla Soup. Yummy!

Let me know if you're interested in any of these, and I'll get you the recipes!

Cheers!
S.

Hi J.-
Be sure to find out what kind of vegetarians they are.
1. No animal products at all: No eggs, no cheese, no dairy, no honey.
2. Will eat dairy products, please check the cheeses for rennet (stomach lining of calves) cheese.joyousliving.com has a good list for shopping.
3. Will eat eggs and rennet free cheeses.

Please be mindful of mixing serving pieces, cooking surfaces, etc. It is usually best to eliminate meat from the table for their visit.

Finding this out will let you know which direction to go. Now you can find a veggie website and get some food ideas.

A grilled veggie sandwich would be nice, I use roasted red peppers, eggplant and/or zucchini, cheese and avocado. Or, a stir fry...spaghetti, bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, onion and maybe some broccoli, really any veggies you have in the fridge would work and it can be served hot or cold. A pasta salad is nice too.

If they eat eggs and cheese you can do a veggie quiche with a salad, crusty bread and baked potatoes.....

Unless they specified that they are vegan, I think you are okay with dairy products. I'm a vegetarian and run into the opposite problem all the time with meat-eating guests :-) My favorite solution is to do a sandwich bar. Here are some good veg-friendly things you can put out: sliced avocados (or guacamole), roasted red peppers you can get them in a jar at the market), hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, sliced white mushrooms, olives, etc. You can get some good bread selections, like a nice sourdough or something else fun (pita?) in addition to a simple white or wheat. I would also put out a few cheeses to choose from, and a selection of sides (chips, baby carrots, fruit, pickles, potato salad, etc.). You could easily add a deli plate so the meat-eaters have some meat to choose from as well. Lemonade or juice.

Another option would be pizza. You could do make-your-own mini pizzas if you have the time and oven space. Again, it gives people the option to go veg or meat.

you may want to check out different recipe sites.I love going to kraftfoods.com that has easy and quick dishes or allrecipes.com or even the foodnetwork site. I don't know any dishes off hand being we aren't vegetarians. But maybe you can find a veggie lasagna?

Good luck-J.

Bean burritos or tacos?

Hi J.,
try this veg fried rice dish..
Boil/cook some white rice with salt to taste. keep aside. Saute some veggies with onions and when 3/4 done add salt, pepper to taste and some ketchup. Saute few more mins then the cooked rice. Throw in some cilentro if have it and Enjoy!!!

You can add saute veggies to pancake mix and make that for a quick snack too...

What about veggie chili and grilled cheese sandwiches. You could have some hommus and veggies on the side. I love to add hommus to my veggie chili in place of cheese, it gives it that creamy texture. You could serve a salad with it also. I don't have a recipe but I'm sure they're all over the net!

If there are kids, I like cashew butter (instead of peanut butter) and jelly sandwiches. Also- pasta and salad, macaroni and cheese, hummus and crackers, or my personal favorite- Tempeh Ruebans: steam the tempeh (fermeted soybeans sold in a airtight block), grill on bread with swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and thousand island dressing. For easy thousand island dressing, just mix ketchup, mayo, and relish.

As a vegetarian family, I think it is nice you are looking for helpful advise.

Vegetable/Lentil Soup, bread, and a veggie/cracker tray with hummus for dip...and some sort of fruit, maybe fruit salad or a simple baked dessert. All simple to make and all yummy.

I guess it depends on whether they eat cheese or eggs. I like to make spinach artichoke dip or little spinach pies served with a tomato basil soup.