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Vegetarian recipes?

My wife wants to try going vegetarian.  We compromised with a cheat day (possibly 2) so I can get my meat fix and try to eat a bit better at the same time.  All the recipes we've found seem pretty lack-luster.  I was interested in finding a vegetarian option to emulate protein without constantly resorting to the cliched grilled portabella or veggie burgers all the time.  Any suggestions would be really appreciated. 

Comments

  • canegger
    canegger Posts: 540
    edited April 2013
    Grilled stuffed pepper. Bell pepper hollowed out then stuffed with rice cheese and whatever else you would like.
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817

    Google VahrehVah, Sanjeev Kapoor or Maangchi and you will get some great ideas. The most important thing about going vegetarian is combining proteins unless you eat fish and dairy

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • SmokinDAWG82
    SmokinDAWG82 Posts: 1,705
    We do 1 or 2 veggie days a week. Just saw an Eggplant Parm recipe on here (see link below)  We do Black bean burgers, Stuffed Shells. There are a lot of choices

    LBGE
    Go Dawgs! - Marietta, GA
  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
    edited April 2013
    why is there only edit, but not delete


    _______________________________________________

    XLBGE 
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414

    Google VahrehVah, Sanjeev Kapoor or Maangchi and you will get some great ideas. The most important thing about going vegetarian is combining proteins unless you eat fish and dairy

    +1 on Maangchi

    I love her site.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    what i think i would do is add fish, scollops, shrimp, dairy and eggs to the vegetarian diet........(pescetarian diet).   its the only compromise ive seen that looks healthy to me, then have that meat day cheat
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817

    Google VahrehVah, Sanjeev Kapoor or Maangchi and you will get some great ideas. The most important thing about going vegetarian is combining proteins unless you eat fish and dairy

    +1 on Maangchi

    I love her site.
    And cute as a little button too

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727

    Google VahrehVah, Sanjeev Kapoor or Maangchi and you will get some great ideas. The most important thing about going vegetarian is combining proteins unless you eat fish and dairy

    If you're interested in Indian veg options search youtube for Manjula's Kitchen. Its like your momma's teaching you how to cook... if your momma is Indian that is.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • jerryp said:
    My wife wants to try going vegetarian.  
    Sorry to hear that. You're a good man to consider a compromise.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
  • alphacentauri
    alphacentauri Posts: 54
    edited April 2013
    I was vegan/vegetarian for 5 years at one time, a favorite of mine was grilled tofu believe it or not.
     
    get the firmest tofu you can. freeze the tofu first, then thaw it out and press out all the liquid.
    you can coat with whatever spices, rubs, sauces, oils and grill it in chunks. 
    I also liked to top it with provolone and have it on a sandwich with avacado, lettuce, tomato. 
    grill some veggies with it and have rice or beans on the side and its a great meal. 
  • bbqlearner
    bbqlearner Posts: 760
    I was vegan/vegetarian for 5 years at one time, a favorite of mine was grilled tofu believe it or not.
     
    get the firmest tofu you can. freeze the tofu first, then thaw it out and press out all the liquid.
    you can coat with whatever spices, rubs, sauces, oils and grill it in chunks. 
    I also liked to top it with provolone and have it on a sandwich with avacado, lettuce, tomato. 
    grill some veggies with it and have rice or beans on the side and its a great meal. 
    +1 When our family is going without meat a few weeks annually, tofu is our best friend - we made all kind of things mixed with tofu. Tofu rolls, tofu with green bean, tofu with bean burger, etc.  

    Houston, TX - Buddy LBGE, Don SBGE, Tiny Mini & Shiny Momma Pitts n Spitts

  • PSHome
    PSHome Posts: 41

    Are you doing this for health reasons or for animal rights?  For health reasons, we’ve cut back dramatically on meat.  Went from 15+servings / week to well under 5 week.  I’d say we feel the same, but blood work looks great and so does the scale.  Still use the Egg a lot to roast a ton of veggies, fish, bread, soups, and some meat.  Roasted veggies are your friend as is tofu and fish.  Check out Forks Over Knives, Happy Hebivore and others already recommended.    

     

  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
    I highly recommend two books: A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop (CI managing editor) and Madhur Jafffrey's World Vegetarian. Don't know how much would translate to the egg, but I make dozens of recipes from each book. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    I was an "ovo-lactarian" for a couple of years. Eggs and milk products were OK. If your wife thinks that is acceptable:

    Beans in chili sauce w. some cheddar or sour cream, great stuff.
    Fried 'taters w. a soft egg on top.
    Huge salads w. every shredded green, avacado and a handful of mozz, yum.
    Spinach balls packed w. parmesan, and served in a slow cooked 'mater sauce, oh yeah. Multi-grain sourdough toast slathered w. butter, ahhh.
    Buckwheat groats and scrambled eggs, w. sauteed onions.

    I never liked tofu, any more than I like chicken breast meat. The soy sauce that usually is added to fried tofu is worth eating. Check out tempeh or seitan for slabs of veg protein.

    I keep some quinoa around for days that I want balanced protein. I've found some hard to digest, but it does give all the proteins humans need.

    One of the downsides of vegetarian is blandness. Check out south Indian cooking. Note that it is mostly vegetarian, but uses a huge variety of spices.

    Soy sauce is a base ingredient for savory flavor. Surprisingly, so are walnuts. Likewise, mushrooms. There's a recent product called "quorn" that is fungus based. Not bad, but some people have bad reactions. If milk products are acceptable, blue cheeses, parmesan, romano and others are great savory boosters.
     
    Foods w.nut butter can be quite satisfying. I've come across several nice African recipes for peanut stews that made for good meals. I've been gathering ingredients for a north Indian chicken dish that places the chicken in a spiced yoghurt sauce that includes pureed almonds, cashews, and poppy seeds. I'm sure the sauce alone would be great slurped up on a piece of flatr bread.

    Hope you don't have to fuss to much.
  • jerryp
    jerryp Posts: 232
    PSHome said:

    Are you doing this for health reasons or for animal rights?  For health reasons, we’ve cut back dramatically on meat.  Went from 15+servings / week to well under 5 week.  I’d say we feel the same, but blood work looks great and so does the scale.  Still use the Egg a lot to roast a ton of veggies, fish, bread, soups, and some meat.  Roasted veggies are your friend as is tofu and fish.  Check out Forks Over Knives, Happy Hebivore and others already recommended.    

    My reasons are for health.  I grew up a hunter so I have no objections to eating meat.  I was just looking for a way to substitute my protein needs.  I swing a hammer for a living so I need all the energy I can squeeze out of whatever I consume.
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    jerryp said:
    PSHome said:

    Are you doing this for health reasons or for animal rights?  For health reasons, we’ve cut back dramatically on meat.  Went from 15+servings / week to well under 5 week.  I’d say we feel the same, but blood work looks great and so does the scale.  Still use the Egg a lot to roast a ton of veggies, fish, bread, soups, and some meat.  Roasted veggies are your friend as is tofu and fish.  Check out Forks Over Knives, Happy Hebivore and others already recommended.    

    My reasons are for health.  I grew up a hunter so I have no objections to eating meat.  I was just looking for a way to substitute my protein needs.  I swing a hammer for a living so I need all the energy I can squeeze out of whatever I consume.
    Like Little Steven said earlier, make sure you are combine vegetable proteins for a "complete protein" that has all essential amino acids for human function. Also, pay attention to B12-rich foods. They are harder to get without animal products.

    (All this is rendered moot if you are going to consume dairy) 
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    edited April 2013

    Eggselsior,

    It doesn't really render it moot. I've done it for a couple of years and the energy and endurance doesn't stay up there unless you're eating octo-lavo every meal. I could do full vegan if I didn't have to go to work. It is a tough thing to maintain the protiens. If you are eating fish once a day you would get enough but that probably has more adverse health effects than eating ribeyes seven days a week.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414

    I should have been more clear. What I was saying is that MY point is rendered moot if you are going to consume milk and cheese or even eggs. Since these are animal-based, they contain all the necessary stuff. It is really hard to find B12 in animal-free products. My mom is vegan(3 years) and has to take supplements like whey powder to meet her body's demands. She is a MD and averages 14 hour work days so it certainly can be done, it is just difficult.

     To get complete proteins, you must eat corn and beans, not just beans(for example). By adding cheese to the beans, you wouldn't need the corn...this is what I was trying to say.

    Sorry for any confusion.
  • fletcherfam
    fletcherfam Posts: 935
    Ideas that we have done:

    - Roasted Acorn squash with coconut oil and brown sugar
    - Sweet Potato French Fries
    - Grilled Zucchini (This will not be good the next day though)
    - Corn on the cob
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    edited April 2013

    I should have been more clear. What I was saying is that MY point is rendered moot if you are going to consume milk and cheese or even eggs. Since these are animal-based, they contain all the necessary stuff. It is really hard to find B12 in animal-free products. My mom is vegan(3 years) and has to take supplements like whey powder to meet her body's demands. She is a MD and averages 14 hour work days so it certainly can be done, it is just difficult.

     To get complete proteins, you must eat corn and beans, not just beans(for example). By adding cheese to the beans, you wouldn't need the corn...this is what I was trying to say.

    Sorry for any confusion.

    No confusion at all. My point was that if you are not eating octo-lavo at every meal and not combining properly that you won't get enough protien at those meals. I too am sorry for any confusion....way sorrier than you are

    image

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    Get a vitamix if you don't have one. You can put all sorts of stuff into that thing and a good tasting shake comes out. Grilled some cauliflower the other night and threw it in the vitamix and made soup. We had a vegan pizza this weekend that was actually not too bad. My better third has been eating vegan for several months now and the vitamix is a key to about half of what she eats.
  • egger ave
    egger ave Posts: 721
    edited April 2013

    1 Large BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 1 Minimax BGE, Original wife and 3 dogs living in the heart of BBQ country in Round Rock Texas. 

    "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

    Albert Einstein
  • egger ave
    egger ave Posts: 721
    edited April 2013
    I love server problems on web servers.
    1 Large BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 1 Minimax BGE, Original wife and 3 dogs living in the heart of BBQ country in Round Rock Texas. 

    "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

    Albert Einstein
  • egger ave
    egger ave Posts: 721
    edited April 2013
      
    1 Large BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 1 Minimax BGE, Original wife and 3 dogs living in the heart of BBQ country in Round Rock Texas. 

    "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

    Albert Einstein
  • egger ave
    egger ave Posts: 721
    edited April 2013
    Anyone remember Soylent Green?
    ;)
    1 Large BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 1 Minimax BGE, Original wife and 3 dogs living in the heart of BBQ country in Round Rock Texas. 

    "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

    Albert Einstein
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657

    I should have been more clear. What I was saying is that MY point is rendered moot if you are going to consume milk and cheese or even eggs. Since these are animal-based, they contain all the necessary stuff. It is really hard to find B12 in animal-free products. My mom is vegan(3 years) and has to take supplements like whey powder to meet her body's demands. She is a MD and averages 14 hour work days so it certainly can be done, it is just difficult.

     To get complete proteins, you must eat corn and beans, not just beans(for example). By adding cheese to the beans, you wouldn't need the corn...this is what I was trying to say.

    Sorry for any confusion.

    No confusion at all. My point was that if you are not eating octo-lavo at every meal and not combining properly that you won't get enough protien at those meals. I too am sorry for any confusion....way sorrier than you are

    image

    that is the most confusing food pyramid ive ever seen, no wonder vegatarians die young
    :))
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    I agree but I couldn't find the old pyramid one. It was easy to understand.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • PSHome
    PSHome Posts: 41

    The food combo pic looks cool but it is confusing.  Best thing to do is figure out what works for your body and be honest with yourself.  EG if you feel like crap is it because you had 1 too many bourbons the night before or the drop of meat in your diet.  With moderation and good eating, any diet can be healthy.  And on the flip, you can pack on the pounds regardless of what you eat for dinner if you’re downing a full bag of chips at lunch or ice cream before bed.  

     

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    The point is that in vegans have to combine certain foods to get complete protiens. For instance if you ate pasta and beans exclusively you could die. If you ate either and leafy greens you get a complete protien. We allow other animals to do that for us and eat them

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Just in checking around the internet it seems my information is out of date....never mind

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON