Vegetarian Meal Ideas

[alex11602]

Someone mentioned starting a thread like the what's for dinner but having it for vegetarian meals and since I am going to try becoming a vegetarian I figured that I would start it. Personally I am unsure of how to get all my protein since as a family we can't have alot of dairy, no soy, so far no eggs and I have never had beans in a way I liked them although I am willing to try. So what vegetarian meals is everyone making???

[freeatlast]

I haven't made this yet, but just found a Paula Dean meatloaf recipe in her Aug. magazine that uses blackbeans to hold it together and crushed corn tortillas for the bread crumbs. Will report back after I make it (I'm not vegetarian, but am leaning in that direction).

[love2travel]

Tons and tons! Roasting and grilling lots of vegetables but I also enjoy braising lentils in red wine with caramelized onions and kale/spinach/other hearty green.

Are you going to have dairy? If so, leek gratin is lovely. I also love roasting leeks and making vichyssoise soup with them.

How about oven-roasting tomatoes with fresh thyme and S and P? Then blitz to make roasted soup or use in pasta, etc.

[alex11602]

Tons and tons! Roasting and grilling lots of vegetables but I also enjoy braising lentils in red wine with caramelized onions and kale/spinach/other hearty green.

Are you going to have dairy? If so, leek gratin is lovely. I also love roasting leeks and making vichyssoise soup with them.

How about oven-roasting tomatoes with fresh thyme and S and P? Then blitz to make roasted soup or use in pasta, etc.

My oldest can have dairy a couple of times a week (really bad eczema otherwise) so we will be having it sometimes.

[adab8ca]

Today I had some leftover quinoa and I bought some spicy cilantro pesto and added them together and it was DELICIOUS. I don't like quinoa plain but it just takes on the flavour of anything you add to it. I was thinking with some grilled veggies and a salad, this would be really good.

[love2travel]

Sorry - I had to finish my last message abruptly - dinner was ready (and darned good). Anyway, I would also highly recommend all kinds of risottos. My favourites include herbed risotto, roasted butternut squash, roasted asparagus, wild mushroom, Milanese, tomato - lots and lots of kinds.

You could make all sorts of pesto (they freeze well) for make quick pasta sauces or as pizza toppings or stir some into risotto. Same thing with marinara sauce. So good on creamy polenta, too. If you like polenta you have lots of options - you can make it thick and fry or grill; spoon over sauteed mushrooms or a ragout.

My favourite veg to grill include scallions, leeks, asparagus, butternut squash, zucchini, carrots, green beans, fennel; fruits such as nectarines, peaches, watermelon (with grilled feta), pineapple...

I recently posted a fruit leather recipe that does not require a dehydrator. I also make tons of kinds of apple and other fruit sauces to freeze. I make lovely chutneys (i.e. pear, nectarine, mango) and jams and jellies (i.e. basil, sage, lavender and even tomato). Homemade ketchups and mustards are fun to make and taste great. One of my favourite ketchups is papaya.

Have you tried your hand at braising vegetables? My favourites include leeks with white wine and radishes.

Vegetable "ribbons" are cool, too. I peel cucumbers, zucchini or carrots into ribbons and toss with a great vinaigrette (I've never bought vinaigrettes or salad dressings as I love to make my own).

Or why not try fun toppings for baked potatoes? Or twice-baked with chives and interesting cheeses? Or hasselback potatoes are fun and tasty. How about oven fries? Carrot, beet, turnip or parsnip chips with a great pomegranate molasses toasted walnut dip or hummus or aioli are delicious.

Then of course there are tons of smoothie ideas - I like to use coconut milk, flaxmeal for fibre, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mangoes (all frozen, of course). Add in some cranberry juice.

I make intriguing salads such as shaved raw asparagus with toasted pecans and dried berries with a vanilla bean vinaigrette. When I was having dairy I would add gorgonzola cheese. I also used to make all sorts of fabulous cheese fondues.

Herb oils such as chive are lovely drizzled over veg dishes or risotto.

[adab8ca]

Sorry - I had to finish my last message abruptly - dinner was ready (and darned good). Anyway, I would also highly recommend all kinds of risottos. My favourites include herbed risotto, roasted butternut squash, roasted asparagus, wild mushroom, Milanese, tomato - lots and lots of kinds.

You could make all sorts of pesto (they freeze well) for make quick pasta sauces or as pizza toppings or stir some into risotto. Same thing with marinara sauce. So good on creamy polenta, too. If you like polenta you have lots of options - you can make it thick and fry or grill; spoon over sauteed mushrooms or a ragout.

My favourite veg to grill include scallions, leeks, asparagus, butternut squash, zucchini, carrots, green beans, fennel; fruits such as nectarines, peaches, watermelon (with grilled feta), pineapple...

I recently posted a fruit leather recipe that does not require a dehydrator. I also make tons of kinds of apple and other fruit sauces to freeze. I make lovely chutneys (i.e. pear, nectarine, mango) and jams and jellies (i.e. basil, sage, lavender and even tomato). Homemade ketchups and mustards are fun to make and taste great. One of my favourite ketchups is papaya.

Have you tried your hand at braising vegetables? My favourites include leeks with white wine and radishes.

Vegetable "ribbons" are cool, too. I peel cucumbers, zucchini or carrots into ribbons and toss with a great vinaigrette (I've never bought vinaigrettes or salad dressings as I love to make my own).

Or why not try fun toppings for baked potatoes? Or twice-baked with chives and interesting cheeses? Or hasselback potatoes are fun and tasty. How about oven fries? Carrot, beet, turnip or parsnip chips with a great pomegranate molasses toasted walnut dip or hummus or aioli are delicious.

Then of course there are tons of smoothie ideas - I like to use coconut milk, flaxmeal for fibre, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mangoes (all frozen, of course). Add in some cranberry juice.

I make intriguing salads such as shaved raw asparagus with toasted pecans and dried berries with a vanilla bean vinaigrette. When I was having dairy I would add gorgonzola cheese. I also used to make all sorts of fabulous cheese fondues.

Herb oils such as chive are lovely drizzled over veg dishes or risotto.

I want to come eat at your house

[love2travel]

I want to come eat at your house

How about this deal - you come to my house, I'll cook for you and you can clean!!!???

[lucia]

Tonight we had:

-pureed carrot soup (shallots, carrots, veggie stock, buttermilk, nutmeg, chives as garnish)

-kale (blanched first), corn kernel & cherry tomato salad with a dressing made of thyme, apple cider vinegar & olive oil

-roasted potatoes with a vegan pesto (yes, it can be done! substitute Brewer's Yeast for the cheese)

Good times!

[Skylark]

If you like Indian food I'd highly recommend you get one of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks. Her cookbooks are thorough with a lot of explanation and there are a lot of naturally gluten-free, soy-free, egg-free vegetarian Indian dishes. You can use olive oil in place of ghee in most Indian recipes to make them dairy-free, although it doesn't taste quite as rich. I'm not vegetarian but I make daal all the time, and I also like to make channa masala.

Glancing at Amazon, it looks like she has a cookbook called "Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World" that might give you a few ideas.

[eatmeat4good]

Have you checked out Vegiac.com?

A site for vegetarian Celiacs.

I'm not one...but I bumped into the site while searching so thought I would share.

Bet you could find lot's to eat there.

[alex11602]

I will have to look at that website, thank you. And Skylark, I looked at that book and it looks very interesting so I reserved it from the library to look at it first. I have never had Indian food, but I am more then willing to try it.

I'm trying with the food today...for breakfast I had apple slices dipped in homemade pumpkin butter and 24 roasted almonds.

Lunch will be rice cakes and peanut butter plus a small salad with balsamic vinegar and oil.

And finally dinner will be sauteed garlic and onion mixed in with spinach, basil, tomato, mozzarella cheese and served over Pad thai noodles.

[adab8ca]

How about this deal - you come to my house, I'll cook for you and you can clean!!!???

deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GlutenFreeManna]

I'm not vegetarian but my dinner included a great vegetarian comfort food. Cuban Black beans and rice: Open Original Shared Link

Eat with plantain chips. Yummy and filling!

PS: for a while when I could not tolerate black beans I made this same recipe with pinto beans and it was just as good.

[freeatlast]

I'm not vegetarian but my dinner included a great vegetarian comfort food. Cuban Black beans and rice: Open Original Shared Link

Eat with plantain chips. Yummy and filling!

PS: for a while when I could not tolerate black beans I made this same recipe with pinto beans and it was just as good.

Yum. That looks good. Will definitely try that!

[come dance with me]

We are vegan but I'll put what we have up when I have more time. Have to type then run at the moment

[alex11602]

We are vegan but I'll put what we have up when I have more time. Have to type then run at the moment

Vegan works too:), especially right now since we can't have eggs and very limited dairy...

[come dance with me]

Cottage Pie:

2 tin of lentils

1 grated carrot

1 diced capsicum

1 grated zucchini

1/2 diced onion

4 mushroom sliced

Put potatoes on the stove to boil for mashing then in a bowl mix all of the above ingredients then transfer to a baking dish. When potato is cooked, mash then spread over the top of the other vegetables and put it all in the oven until it looks ready.

That one is a hit with my daughter which means we have it fairly often.

Also you can make patties with lentils uing a little rice bran oil and gluten free cornflour to hold it together then put that with other veges like we sometime have it with mash potato, pumpkin, and sweet potato, boiled corn on the cob, steamed carrot and broccoli, and some steamed pinach.

**That's 2 anyway sorry. I'm a sole parent with 37 hours a week of work so really busy. I feel like a snob about now but really it's only that I'm busy not snobby

[Kelleybean]

Hi -

Can you do beans? We make bean patties a lot - very cheap and easy. The 5 minute mac and cheese from the Spunky Coconut website (it's dairy free - she uses cashews as the base). If you need a quick meal, Amy's has a couple of vegetarian gluten-free options. I also do eggplant parmesan. For the bread crumbs I just run the heels of my gluten-free bread in the blender.

[alex11602]

Cottage Pie:

2 tin of lentils

1 grated carrot

1 diced capsicum

1 grated zucchini

1/2 diced onion

4 mushroom sliced

Put potatoes on the stove to boil for mashing then in a bowl mix all of the above ingredients then transfer to a baking dish. When potato is cooked, mash then spread over the top of the other vegetables and put it all in the oven until it looks ready.

That one is a hit with my daughter which means we have it fairly often.

Also you can make patties with lentils uing a little rice bran oil and gluten free cornflour to hold it together then put that with other veges like we sometime have it with mash potato, pumpkin, and sweet potato, boiled corn on the cob, steamed carrot and broccoli, and some steamed pinach.

**That's 2 anyway sorry. I'm a sole parent with 37 hours a week of work so really busy. I feel like a snob about now but really it's only that I'm busy not snobby

Not snobby at all, I remember busy from when I was working. Thank you for the recipes.

[alex11602]

Hi -

Can you do beans? We make bean patties a lot - very cheap and easy. The 5 minute mac and cheese from the Spunky Coconut website (it's dairy free - she uses cashews as the base). If you need a quick meal, Amy's has a couple of vegetarian gluten-free options. I also do eggplant parmesan. For the bread crumbs I just run the heels of my gluten-free bread in the blender.

I actually need to try beans, I never liked them growing up but since tastes change so much over the years I will be trying them again. The mac n cheese recipe sounds really good, I'm going to have to try that.

[lucia]

Tonight will be:

-butternut squash soup

-roasted red potatoes

-zucchini tomato frittata with rosemary

You can tell the temperature just dropped 10 degrees! And squash (happily, just in time) appears to have come into season.

[love2travel]

Tonight will be:

-butternut squash soup

-roasted red potatoes

-zucchini tomato frittata with rosemary

You can tell the temperature just dropped 10 degrees! And squash (happily, just in time) appears to have come into season.

That sounds delicious! It has Autumn written all over it. There is something about Autumn foods that is so comforting. That frittata sounds really good, too. I need to make more of those! The last one was asparagus I think.

[love2travel]

I was GOING to have Simona's Challah Bread yesterday but was too busy canning. So, I made it today (delicious) to have with leftover Vichyssoise soup. Simple but good. Tomorrow will be a touch more elaborate.

[lucia]

Soft polenta with summer corn, basil and asiago cheese topped by sauteed garlic beet greens.

Went to the farmers' market today and came back with an armful of beets & their greens - yum!