My husband and I are trying to eat healthier in this new year. I have suggested to him that we try to "go vegetarian" for dinner most nights of the week, and he has agreed to try it. It will save us some grocery money too :) So, I'm looking for some recipes that are "user-friendly" to us carnivores. By that, I mean it needs to be hearty and filling, and not too weird of ingredients. I'm willing to do tofu, but I think it will have to be somewhat disguised for my hubby to eat it, lol. Anyone have any gems to share? Thanks!
Big fan of lentils and beans for vegetarian meals.
www.allrecipes.com - search vegetarian
My favorite tofu is flavored - there is a teriyaki flavored one that I add to stir fry veggies.
Pasta dishes without meat are easy.
Salads with nuts for protein.
OK, now I am hungry...
My son (3 years old) and I are both vegetarians but my husband is not. Still, 99% of our meals at home are vegetarian since I do the cooking and the shopping. My husband enjoys all of them! However, I will say that some of the recipes use a lot of meat replacement things so that he can still have his comfort foods and those can be expensive. But, much easier to cook with!
On a regular basis, we have "meat"loaf, goulash, chick'n nuggets, chick patties, spaghetti (with and without "meat" or "meat"balls), stir-fry or fried rice (sometime with chick'n pieces), vegetable noodle soup, chickpea casserole, lentils, "sausage" stew and more. Feel free to email me if you want any of the recipes!
There are also many great recipes online for pure veggie dishes (no meat substitutes). Vegetariantimes.com is a good source, but I often find they have some expensive specialty ingredients. Still, you can easily sub or leave things out.
Last night we had lentils and rice, topped with burnt onions.....delish!
Other nights we have potatoes and spinach salad with everything in it (no meat.)
Great idea and good luck!
Make friends with the egg : ) It makes a great dinner meal.
Start with lots of things that have meat in them, and then just take the meat out - lasagna, chili, burritos, etc. Chopped mushrooms don't actually taste like that much and serve as a much healthier "hearty" option for things like tomato sauce.
Do a recipe search for beans and rice casseroles - there are a ton of good ones out there.
Polenta (cornmeal mush) is very satisfying and you can top it with an infinite variety of things.
Since you're not actually going to be vegetarian, and are just looking for ways to cheapen and make healthy dinner, don't be afraid to add a little meat to things for flavor. For example, chickpeas cooked with spinach and served over couscous? Healthy and good. Chickpeas cooked with spinach and 2 slices of bacon over couscous - healthy and really delicious.
Finally, be careful about substituting cheese for meat - while it's cheaper, it's actually less healthy. I've found that if I want something with a cheese flavor, I have the same taste if I put some right on top and brown it while baking rather than filling it through.
Good luck!
"vegan with a vengeance"- its a great book. Also you should look around for tofurky brand products, they are awesome and youll never miss real meat.
Check out allrecipes.com
They have a great variety of recipes...
I am a vegetarian. No one else in my family is, but my teenage daughter loves veggies. We make a lot of veggie and mushroom fajitas, pasta with veggies, grilled fish (I do eat seafood), and TVP tacos. TVP stands for Textured Vegetable Protein. (Yummy sounding, eh?) It's actually really amazing stuff. I HATE, Hate, hate tofu, but this stuff is cheap, easy, and good. It's a wonderful source of protein too. It comes dried and looks kind of like granola. Bob's Red Mill Brand is awesome. Look it up! If you are looking for Healthy, Bob's Red Mill makes AWESOME stuff!
I also agree that Allrecipe.com has fantastic vegetarian recipes.
Try looking for a recipe for vegetable Korma. Awesome stuff!
