Sigh, another attempt to BBQ for vegetarians. Seitan

I'm not a vegetarian but about as close as one can get, flexitarian.  For the standard omnivore that's trying to cook for vegetarians or vegans I'd say the best advice is to stick with what you already know how to make well & they'll love you for it; the beauty of being an omnivore that enjoys cooking is that you're already a good vegan cook, vegetarian cook, meat cook...  the mistake, as displayed here, is to try & go super-vegan to please the audience which isn't necessary

I agree with @Cen-Tex Smoker that I usually prefer "real" vegan food than "fake" meat, and when I'm eating vegan, I pretty rarely eat vegetarian burgers, sausages, etc..  Though I have to say, seitan has a nice chewy, sort of "meat-like" chew and mouthfeel that can be very satisfying.  And maybe I'd change my mind if I tried a few more recipes, but for the same reason I've never been very interested in making my own vegetarian "burgers" -- I'd rather have something that isn't trying to remind me of a meat dish.  Plus, most vegetarian burgers have egg whites in them to hold them together, so they're vegetarian but not actually vegan, anyway, if that's what someone's aiming for.

I disagree a little, maybe, in that most of the things on his list have very little protein, and when I was first learning how to eat vegan, getting adequate protein was the biggest struggle for me.  I eat a lot of beans and rice, but that can get a little old, after a while, but beans & lentils in their various forms are probably the most important source of protein for vegans.  I love lentil soup in a number of variations, and Indian-style lentil dals with rice, lentil salad, etc..  My all-time favorite vegetarian dish is probably a "Tunisian Vegetable Stew" that I got out of a Moosewood cookbook, years ago, with cabbage, tomatoes, chick peas and sweet/savory North African spices.  Love that stuff!    There is some protein in most plant-based foods, like nuts, grains, etc., but beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc., are a big part of a vegan diet, at least for me.

I think my biggest problem with grilling for a vegan meal is sort of psychological -- I just tend to associate grilling and smoking with MEAT.  Sort of like Pavlov's dogs, I guess -- I see my Big Green Eggs and my mouth starts watering for some MEAT.  For me, at least, when I'm eating meat, it's the meat that's the focus of the meal.   I mean, nice plate of pulled pork, sure we want some other stuff with it, but the focus of the meal ain't the cole slaw, know what I mean?  Hush puppies are good, too, but a plate with just cole slaw, fries and hush puppies is a plate that's missing something to me!  And again, for me, at least, it can be hard to get out of that mindset.  I'm just so used to pulling nice smoky pieces of MEAT out of my BGEs that I think I'm going to feel like something's missing if I grill and don't get a piece of meat when I'm grilling.  My own problem, I guess.  A plate with some churrasco AND beans and rice, some tomatoes, onions, corn maybe, just seems really, really different to me than a plate with some beans and rice, tomatoes, onions, corn maybe, but NO churrasco.  It's actually a great and well-balanced vegan meal, but... I can't help missing the churrasco.

I think it's why I don't grill much, when I eating vegan.  I just seem to associate grilling or smoking with wonderful pieces of smoky meat, and firing up my Egg for asparagus, let's say, for a vegan meal just hasn't appealed to me very much.  But I agree with @Cen-Tex Smoker that a wonderful vegan meal can be made out of the stuff he listed, especially if one of the items includes beans, lentils, etc., and maybe I just need to make myself grill more during my vegan times and maybe I'll like it more.

I'm really impressed with how open minded this thread has remained, especially as this is primarily a barbecue forum. The research shows that a vegan diet that comprises lots of leafy greens, legumes, and whole grains has no difficulty providing sufficient dietary protein. The only supplement a vegan requires is B12, which comes from soil, and is otherwise only present in meat (or dirty vegetables).

For sure you can be vegan and have a very unhealthy diet. I suspect a lot of young people who 'were vegan for a couple of years' tend to be relatively uninformed about eating beans, greens, and whole grains, and just eat crap sans meat and dairy. That's nothing but eating poorly.

And to those who object to the fake meat phenomenon, I have to say that no vegan strives to replicate meat. We do however strive to include variety in texture and flavour in food, like anyone else does, and options like seitan and smoked lentil loaves offer a great way to introduce flavours and textures that are familiar. Ignoring the cooking and flavouring methods used to cook meat serves absolutely no purpose, and using familiar terms to describe these things is only natural. It's beyond me why anyone would object to that.

The idea to serve vegan guests plain or marinated grilled vegetables rather than a fancy concoction is fantastic. This is how a healthy vegan eats most of the time. One thing I have learned from my experience is that if you love food, you will always love it, regardless of what you eat. What I mean is, I look forward to and enjoy my meals as much now as I did at any other point in my life.

SkySaw said:

I'm really impressed with how open minded this thread has remained, especially as this is primarily a barbecue forum. The research shows that a vegan diet that comprises lots of leafy greens, legumes, and whole grains has no difficulty providing sufficient dietary protein. The only supplement a vegan requires is B12, which comes from soil, and is otherwise only present in meat (or dirty vegetables).

For sure you can be vegan and have a very unhealthy diet. I suspect a lot of young people who 'were vegan for a couple of years' tend to be relatively uninformed about eating beans, greens, and whole grains, and just eat crap sans meat and dairy. That's nothing but eating poorly.

And to those who object to the fake meat phenomenon, I have to say that no vegan strives to replicate meat. We do however strive to include variety in texture and flavour in food, like anyone else does, and options like seitan and smoked lentil loaves offer a great way to introduce flavours and textures that are familiar. Ignoring the cooking and flavouring methods used to cook meat serves absolutely no purpose, and using familiar terms to describe these things is only natural. It's beyond me why anyone would object to that.

The idea to serve vegan guests plain or marinated grilled vegetables rather than a fancy concoction is fantastic. This is how a healthy vegan eats most of the time. One thing I have learned from my experience is that if you love food, you will always love it, regardless of what you eat. What I mean is, I look forward to and enjoy my meals as much now as I did at any other point in my life.

very well said.

Zmokin said:

 the only vegans I know I eat.

Cows are vegans and they taste very good.

adult cows are...

SkySaw said:

And to those who object to the fake meat phenomenon, I have to say that no vegan strives to replicate meat.

Exactly, enjoying what you eat is in great part like anything else, perception.  When I left the Philly area for college the first thing I did (in the Pittsburgh area) was to order a hoagie.  Sorely disappointed with the thing they served me I didn’t get another one there for a year.  It wasn’t until I changed my perception that I was able to eat them & even enjoy them.  I simply didn’t look at them as hoagies, rather, sandwiches on oversized hotdog buns.  When your mind compares what you’re eating to the real thing, it’s gonna suck unless it’s the real thing.

Same holds true here.  If you try to make a meat-like substitute from vegetables to fool yourself, you will be disappointed.  Whole real foods are the best foods, embrace them for what they are.  Someone above mentioned a distaste for ‘veggie burgers’ & that they wouldn’t make them which I see as a mistake.  I frequently make them though I never perceived them as a substitute for a beef burger, maybe in the rotation of eating but not in terms of flavor or texture.  Call them burgers or veggie patties or whatever you want but if you bite into a meatless sandwich with the perception/expectation that it’s going to taste like a whopper you will be disappointed & you won’t be back.  If you bite into a ‘burger’ that consists of a variety of veggies with the expectation of the various flavors & textures you know will be present it’s absolutely delicious, for my taste more so than beef.  But here’s the rub, you have to enjoy veggies & the concoctions you can make from them.  If you’re a diehard carnivore trying to trick yourself for whatever reason you’ve decided to cut back on meat, you won’t be successful at it unless you actually like veggies & what you can do with them & rid yourself of the idea that you can trick yourself.

do you have any recomendations for main dishes that did work out? We have one couple we are friends with and I haven't come across a good vegetarian main dish for them. So far the best idea i have is a veggie pizza.