Help! I need five more dinners!

[Lantern Light Mama]

Here is a sample menu for our first two weeks for veggie recipes. I know it has A LOT of soy protein in it right now but im really trying to make the transistion easier during this first few weeks for DH so he can still have the foods he loves. I have to go shopping tonight so im wondering how much its going to cost. We never ate tons of meat anyway. Id stretch it a longgg way! Any suggestions? Anyone please??

25. Veggie Sloppy Joes and Fries
26. Stir Fry with Tofu + Rice
27. Spinach Casserole + Dinner rolls
28. Veggie Chili ( with Bulgar)
29. Amy's Enchiladas + homemade Queso with chips
30. Pizza + Salad
31. Barbeque style baked tofu on buns + potato salad
1. Chik Nuggetts, pasta, and green beans
2. Morning Star Corndogs with Mac + Cheese, and veggies
3.corn chowder , bread, and salad
4.black bean tacos
5.black bean burritoes
6.veggie shepards pie
7-------
8--------
9-------
10------
11.veggie chili dogs w/ leftover chili
12.veggie meatballs, bowtie pasta, garlic bread and salad :P~
13.hmmm something leftover?

[Mama Calidad]

Tacos. You could use any combination of grilled veggies, beans, rice, guacamole, salsa and lime juice.

Pasta. Top with either marinara or pesto.

Vegetable soup. :grin

[snlmama]

Black bean burritos are a staple around here. You can just get canned beans if you like and put on tortillas. Top w/ lettuce, tomato, onions, salsa and guacamole.

[Lantern Light Mama]

The burritoes are a good idea. Do you just keep the beans whole or blend them? He actually loves mexican food so I think we can pull this off!

[PurpleButterfly]

Careful not to turn dh off with the tofu! :wink

Spaghetti with veggie meatballs, salad, whole grain bread spread with margarine and topped with cheese, then melted under broiler

Soft and crunchy tacos made with canned refried vegetarian beans and the usual toppings, canned pineapple slices or chunks

Corn & potato chowder with buttered bread and fresh fruit salad or mandarin oranges (I made the chowder using 2 cans creamed corn, 1 can sliced new potatoes, 1 can carrot slices, boullion cubes, non-dairy milk, and a can of great northern beans, then use a hand blender to puree it to a fairly creamy consistancy - the guys LOVE it every time and it is so easy and inexpensive)

Veggie chili dogs (use your leftover chili - we like SmartDogs veggie dog) on whole wheat buns, baked fries or tater tots (we love Cascadian Farms brand organic), coleslaw or applesauce

Veggie and rice soup made with your stirfry leftovers, or stirfry leftovers turned into a baked casserole topped with melted margarine (we love Earth Balance) and crushed crackers

Hummus (just puree 2 cans chickpeas with a tbsp of tahini/sesame seed butter, 1 tbsp olive oil, squirt of fresh lemon juice) and (leftover?) coleslaw sandwiches on whole grain bread with leftover potato salad and fresh fruit

Banana pancake dinner (Aunt Jemima makes an affordable whole-wheat pancake mix) made with the mix and non-dairy milk plus 1 lg or 2 small ripe, mashed bananas, cooked in margarine and topped with homemade fruited syrup (blend pure fruit preserves with maple syrup) and veggie sausage patties.

[Lantern Light Mama]

Im lookin' at that thinking. I have directions on how to get all of the water out so that it cooks right. I can always buy a small steak for him and if he wants to cook it that is ok with me.

Do you have a recipe for veggie meatballs?

[Mothering by Heart]

:popcorn

Saving this thread, good ideas!! :tu

[PurpleButterfly]

Do you have a recipe for veggie meatballs?


No, I'm all about shortcut cooking - I use Morningstar Farms brand (frozen) veggie balls and they are surprisingly good! :grin

[mamaKristin]

We've really been enjoying taco bakes here. It's just a simple thing I came up with (and then found a recipe for!) I take ground beef - or veggie equivalent, cook it up with some taco spice, beans and cheese. Layer it between tortilla shells, and throw in some salsa, top with some cheese and bake. It's like a taco pie. My kids adore it. It's like enchiladas, but a different presentation. (My MIL asked for the recipe when I made it when she was here too :jawdrop)

[AmyDoll]

i make veggie pitas - stir fry lots of veggies (peppers, onions, tomatoes, what ever looks good) in fajita sauce put in pitas top w/ sour cream... yummmmm

baked ziti is veggie - cook/drain noodles, add ricotta cheese, spaghetti sauce top with mozzarella, bake until cheese is melty and good.

are you eating fish? i know a lot of people who convert to veg for health reasons keep fish in their diet :shrug

[PurpleButterfly]

Im lookin' at that thinking. I have directions on how to get all of the water out so that it cooks right. I can always buy a small steak for him and if he wants to cook it that is ok with me.

I just figured out you are talking about the tofu! :) Good luck - I pressed and pressed and did everything I could ever read and never have been able to get tofu to work for me very well (not enough for dh and ds to like it). Be sure to get the extra firm, whatever you do!

[Lantern Light Mama]

argh why does tofu have to be so difficult? If its not really firm it wont work here. Maybe I can replace the tofu w/ grilled portabella shrooms'.

I might keep limited tuna fish in our diet since DH like tuna helper on occasion (I have no clue why).

[emmalouise]

Don't know if you do lentils or not but a couple of my favourites are Pumpkin and lentil casserole (red lentils), red lentil dahl, and brown lentil and vegetable soup. The pumpkin and lentil casserole is really satisfying and it has green beans - I usually serve it with low fat yoghurt for protein and calcium and a drizzle of tahini for flavour - yum!

[MidnightCafe]

We are not vegetarian, but we eat vagetarian meals on a regular basis. Some staples around here:

This carrot soup: http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/mb/index.php?topic=36094.0
There are cashew nuts in it for some protein. We eat it with bread or popcorn!

I have a chili recipe that uses buckwheat - no meat, no soy. I posted it in this thread: http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/mb/index.php?topic=87.0

Baked potatos with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, olives, onions - whatever. Sort of like tacos, only with potatos instead.

We eat bean enchiladas fairly regularly. Fill tortillas with beans, onions, chilis & cheese. Line them up in a row in a baking pan. Top with salsa. Bake until the edges get crispy.

Pea soup & grilled cheese. (Or tomato soup & grilled cheese! :grin) We get a pea soup mix in the bulk bins at our co-op.

Stir fry - rice, veggies, cashews & sauce of choice. (rather than stir-fry with tofu)

Spinach mashed potatos with veggie burgers (or walnut burgers - our co-op sells them).

Hope that helps!

[snlmama]

The burritoes are a good idea. Do you just keep the beans whole or blend them? He actually loves mexican food so I think we can pull this off!


I leave the beans whole. If you do dairy, they are really good w/ sour cream and cheese.

[AmyDoll]

ooo portobello mushrooms are sooo good!! I make portobello mushroom, spinach and monteray jack cheese quesidillas.

[webbeccjo]

The burritoes are a good idea. Do you just keep the beans whole or blend them? He actually loves mexican food so I think we can pull this off!


I mix a can of black beans with a can of refried beans and add salsa and cheese, roll it up in flour tortillas. then I either add lettuce and tomatoes and eat as is or I skip the lettuce and tomatoes and bake the burritos with salsa and cheese yummy either way!

[Lantern Light Mama]

We actually only spent 137.00 total tonight on meals for the next two weeks. But I could not find Seitin or Tahini so I have to go to a small health food store in the morning. No meat at all tonight. I noticed we'll be relying heavily on beans though. Oh yeah, they didnt have any canned northern beans---how odd is that? I will have to add that to my list.

Dh and I made a deal- if he cant tell it doesnt have meat in it- why bother telling. lol.

[PurpleButterfly]

:rockon :grin

[Lantern Light Mama]

Can I substitute Tahini with real butter or are the flavors too different? What about Northern Beans in the Chowder...can you use other types or will it change the flavor?
How important is nutritional yeast in vegatarian recipes?

Is meat withdrawel gonna be hard? I think we have one box of chicken nuggest and one box of fish sticks to finish up before we start.

[PurpleButterfly]

Can I substitute Tahini with real butter or are the flavors too different? What about Northern Beans in the Chowder...can you use other types or will it change the flavor?
How important is nutritional yeast in vegatarian recipes?



Butter is nothing like tahini, really. Tahini has an almost peanut-butterish quality/texture, and a very strong and distinct nutty/sesame flavor. Splurge on a small jar to try it, but don't chow a big spoonful or anything - it's really strong and most people prefer it only in recipes in small amounts for flavoring. :)

You could use any type of white beans for the chowder - I like northern beans because they are very mild, mash easily, and are always cheap. Wild that your store would be out of them! You could try garbanzo beans, or better yet, navy beans. :yum

Nutritional yeast is not an essential, tho it is a nice way to add cheesy flavor and B vitamins. Personally, there is only one brand and type that my family finds palatable KAL Nutritional Yeast FLAKES (http://www.totaldiscountvitamins.com/Templates/frmTemplateP1.asp?CatalogID=5996&SubfolderID=44) (not powder) ...it took us a while to find the right stuff, and now I order it online if I can't find it locally. I have tasted some really disgusting nutritional yeast before, and even worse, Brewer's Yeast that health food store employees sold me when I asked for the nutritional yeast :sick; nothing at all like what we use now (it's especially yummy on buttered popcorn). I wouldn't sweat it if you can't find this right now...plenty of time for experimenting with new things as you go along. :-)

We found the switch to veg*n to be exciting as we tried so many new things, with the wonderful knowledge that we were also doing something wonderful for our bodies. :grin

[Hannah Jo]

Do you like Asian food? Other than the stir-fry I didn't see anything from my continent. How about some Thai food- everyone likes Pad Thai noodles with lots of peanuts, bean sprouts, green onions etc. Or curries? (Not my thing, but I know many people are crazy about curry). Chinese food like dumplings? Japanese miso soup and vegetarian sushi rolls? Korean bibimbap is rice with lots of vegetables stirred in. Asian seasonings (ginger, garlic, soy sauce, etc) make vegetables yummy.

As for tahini, I can't find it easily in Korea, but whenever I have a recipe that calls for it I just dump in a bunch of toasted sesame seeds instead.

[freshwaterfish]

What about a cous-cous salad??? This is my all time favorite...

Cous-cous salad

1 box of whole wheat cous-cous, prepared according to package directions (with veggie broth, not water)
1 can of artichoke hearts
1/2 cup sliced sundried tomatoes
1/2 red onion, diced
2 t crushed fresh garlic
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 T olive oil
feta cheese

Sauté garlic, onion, and sundried tomatoes until onion is translucent. Add the artichoke hearts and balsamic vinegar and simmer for 1-2 minutes until heated through. Stir in cous-cous. Add more balsamic vinegar if needs more flavour. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve either hot or chilled.

[Lantern Light Mama]

I love noodles but I can never get them right. :doh I dont know why. I love them with onions and sprouts so they are crunchy but I seem to be having issues with the texture.

[Singingmom]

About the tofu, try cooking it in a non-stick pan. I've never been able to get that nice crisp browning, but I watched someone do it in her large, non-stick skillet. I don't know if it was frozen, thawed, and squeezed first. She let it cook on each side for a nice long time over med-low heat before she turned it. Oh, I think it was dredged in whole wheat flour, salt, and pepper first.

[freshwaterfish]

Here's the trick to pan fried tofu... my mom used to make the BEST. First you have to start with extra firm pressed tofu and cut into chicken nugget size pieces (sorry, that's the only description I could think of! LOL)... Mix some nutritional brewers yeast and spike (I think it's available in the states?) in a baggie and shake the tofu in the mixture until each piece is thoroughly coated. Heat some olive oil in a non-stick pan and fry each piece until they are browned and crispy on the outside... YUM!!! Now I think I'll have to go get myself some tofu...

April

[Hannah Jo]

Ooh! And lasagne! You need lasagne on your list!

This thread is so yummy :yum

[Katiebug]

~Whole Wheat Macaroni and Cheese w/ a green salad
~Minestrone and Garlic Toast
~Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry over brown rice
~Omelets, hashbrowns and fruit salad


As far as tahini....I use natural smooth peanut butter in place of tahini in my hummous when I'm out and it's fine.

[freshwaterfish]

~Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry over brown rice


Would you mind PM'ing me (or post here if others are interested) your chickpea curry recipe?

Thanks!

April

[Singingmom]

~Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry over brown rice


Would you mind PM'ing me (or post here if others are interested) your chickpea curry recipe?

Thanks!

April


That sounds good! I'd like to see the recipe. :)

[Katiebug]

I'll post the curry recipe in the vegetarian recipe forum later this morning :tu

[serenemama]

SOUP!!!!!
I am a big soup person especially in the colder months.
Lentil curry has gone well as long as its thin.
Potato Leek.
White beans and greens with fresh parmesean grated on top.
Black bean with fresh cilantro and sour cream.
Miso soup with mushrooms, scallions and tofu.
Veggie, barley and red lentils.
Cabbage, potato and black eyed peas. (I have made this with meat too)
Squash soup made with roasted garlic, onion, nutmeg, broth and milk or silkin tofu.

I also either throw together bread in my machine or make it by hand with the kids. Nothing like freah bread with soup!
My top ingredients in my soups are veggie broth, garlic, onion, shredded carrot, kale, spinach, bok choy, tomatos, miso paste, fish sauce, thai kitchen red curry paste, cumin, Bragg's, nutritional yeast, olive oil, silken tofu (for potato leek but you could use milk too), I try to add as much veggie nutrition as I can.
Good luck