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DOOL Discussion Group
About two weeks ago I decided to try to cut meat out of my diet. I thought I would start with Red meat, pork and turkey (only eat that one once a year anyway!)
So far in two weeks I have had chicken one time. All other meals have been meat free.
I am keeping track of my protein to make sure I get enough and I am.
But I need some help. I need some easy vegetarian recipes. We are on a major budget so I can’t get too crazy. I tried Tofu…watched videos on how to prepare it and I am not a fan. Maybe if someone who knew what they were doing cooked it, I would be. But for now…ick.
I know that there are several vegetarians on this board so……Any ideas for me?
Also how long have you been a vegetarian and why did you start? Oh and do you still eat dairy? I do.
Thanks SO much!






As for recipes, I rarely cook! I do eat a lot of soy meats, especially by Yves. They have excellent veggie souvlaki and a good selection of mock lunch meats. I don't know where you live but we have a chain here in Canada called Loblaws and they have a lot of veggie products. Vegetarian bolognese spaghetti sauce is fantastic and they also have a good selection of fruits and veggies, organic and non-organic. Last week I made lasagna for the first time ever and it was really good, I just used lots of sliced mushrooms, zucchini and peppers.
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I would suggest looking into cuisines which are less meat-centric. Many people think of vegetarian meals as altered versions of meat-containing meals, but there are a lot of traditionally vegetarian dishes in Indian, Thai, and Middle Eastern cuisines, to name a few. Italian cuisine has a lot of great meatless meals as well. Just about every culture has at least a few, in fact.
I do enjoy some of the soy-based fake meats and such, but I think the best way to enjoy vegetarian food is to focus on real vegetarian meals that have been around for generations.
I have been a vegetarian for about 4 years or so, but even before going pure veg, I never ate much meat. My mother, who did most of the cooking in the house, was vegetarian, and so, the only meat I ate was from restaurants and occasionally someone else's home. So there is much meat I have never had. I've never had a steak, for example. Growing up in the Indian culture, I have never viewed meat as the centerpiece of a meal. I also have texture issues ... I hate meat that's lumpy, or squishy, or has weird bits in it ... So for all these reasons, giving up meat was not very difficult for me.
I gave up meat because I do not like the way most animals raised for meat are treated, and I couldn't be bothered with trying to figure out which meat was humanely raised and which wasn't ... easier just to give it all up!
Yes, I still eat dairy as well as eggs. I absolutely love them both, plus I do not believe the vegan diet is healthy.
Good luck!
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Any ideas for me? Just google. There a literally a million recipes out there. I'd also recommend going to your favorite bookstore and browsing the cookbook category. I like the Moosewood series a lot but there are tons of others. And you can always just make stuff up.
BTW, I usually just pick up pre-grilled tofu at Whole Foods off their fresh foods bar or order it in a Chinese restaurant since frying tofu at home can be tricky (takes a super hot skillet to do it right). I used to get hickory smoked, pre-grilled tempeh at the grocery store in the deli section, that could just be thrown in a frying pan for a few seconds just to warm it up and it was really good. I used that in place of corned beef in reuben sandwiches. There are so many different ways to prepare tofu, don't just decide you don't like it until you've tried it in different variations. It can be very different depending on how it's used.
Also how long have you been a vegetarian and why did you start? About 25 years, I made the switch in my 20s. I wasn't a big meat person anyway so it didn't take much. It just felt like the natural thing to do.
Oh and do you still eat dairy? Yes. The vegan thing isn't very practical and also makes it harder to get a balanced diet. It can be done but it's not easy or convenient.
IMO, the best thing you can do is just read, read, read and pay attention to the ingredients listed on the labels on the foods you buy. It can be a real eye-opener.
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Any particular reason for going veggie? It doesn’t matter, I’m just curious.
We aren’t veggie, but we eat quite a few veggie dishes… they are yummy and we like to mix it up.
Stuffed peppers are nice, veggie style. I cook some rice (a cup dry rice – I like brown)… in a bowl I mix the rice with a can of tomatoes, an onion, a dash of worcestershire sauce, a beaten egg, spices to taste (salt, pepper, oregano, whatever you like), and a can of black beans (drained and rinsed).
I stuff this into the peppers (this amount of stuffing works for 4 peppers, then pour a can of tomato sauce over the whole works. You can use green, red, orange, or yellow peppers. Just regular bell peppers.
I do these in the crockpot, low, for 5 or 6 hours or so… or you could bake them in the oven.
Just a few minutes before, I grate some cheddar and put it on top, let it melt.
They are so yummy and quite healthy.
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