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Gingham's Vegetarian Meal Planner

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Comments

  • LizD_2
    LizD_2 Posts: 1,503 Forumite
    I've been Money Tipped!
    Gingham_Ribbon wrote:
    We drink water and the lad has milk sometimes. My husband likes the odd glass of morrisons pop though.

    But I wanted to mention orange juice for those who don't normally eat veggie food. Any meal high in iron, such as the lentil dishes, will be improved with a glass of orange juice as it aids the absorption of the iron as far as I know. (It's the vitamin C) We usually juice a fresh orange and top up with water, and will buy oranges reduced when they're available, whether they're organic or not.

    I didn't know that lentils are high in iron, or that orange juice aids absorption. Will definitely take that up, especially as a woman (monthlies! :D )

    One word of warning though, don't drink loads of OJ, cause it can make your skin really bad.
  • Gingham_Ribbon
    Gingham_Ribbon Posts: 31,520 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    1 large onion
    1 large courgette
    1 pepper
    couple of handfuls of mushrooms
    2 mugfuls of green or brown lentils - cooked
    half mugful of frozen sweetcorn
    Italian herbs (oregano, basil)
    garlic
    Passata
    tomato puree
    splash of red wine
    pinch of sugar
    salt and pepper to taste

    pint of cheese sauce
    extra cheddar to sprinkle over
    ready to use lasagne strips.

    Fry onion and garlic in olive oil
    add chopped vegetables and fry briefly
    add lentils (drain cooking water first and use for soup) and cover with passata
    add a tbsp dried herbs, generous splash of red wine and a pinch of sugar
    Allow to reduce and thicken
    Add the frozen sweetcorn and allow to heat through.

    Use a wide, deep oven dish and layer it: bolognaise, pasta strips, cheese sauce, bolognaise, pasta strips, cheese sauce, grated cheese

    Will cook in oven in about 25 minutes at about 190 degrees.

    (I put a bay leaf in my cheese sauce and a small taste of mustard.)
    May all your dots fall silently to the ground.
  • Wilkinson_Sword
    Wilkinson_Sword Posts: 363 Forumite
    For some reason I didn't have you down as a vegetarian Gingham :beer:
  • Gingham_Ribbon
    Gingham_Ribbon Posts: 31,520 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    18 years and counting.

    Although the baby doesn't seem to be veggie. (I've had chicken! SHHHH!)

    Edit. 19 years. Just realised I'll be 35 this month. :eek:
    May all your dots fall silently to the ground.
  • finc
    finc Posts: 1,095 Forumite
    Wow these sound delicious. I might even be able to convince my kids with these recipes. :T
    :smileyhea
  • Gingham_Ribbon
    Gingham_Ribbon Posts: 31,520 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Fry an onion until soft, add some chopped veggie sausages and brown them. Throw in some roughly chopped and lightly steamed or boiled veg (parsnip, carrot, turnip) add half passata and half vegetable stock to cover, then allow to simmer until cooked through and thickened. I'd throw in my trademark brown sauce too.

    I would either add lightly steamed or boiled chopped potato with the other veg, or add some boiled quinoa at the end. Or you can put a pastry cover over it, with a little hole to let the steam out and put it in the oven. It would be nice with dumplings too.
    May all your dots fall silently to the ground.
  • Gingham_Ribbon
    Gingham_Ribbon Posts: 31,520 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    It's difficult to give exact amounts as I pretty much wing it. It also depends on how many you're cooking for etc. But here's the very basics:

    One chopped onion, fried till soft in olive oil, adding crushed garlic after a few minutes.
    Add chopped mushrooms, courgette, pepper, baby sweetcorn or any other suitable vegetables. (I find root veg unpleasant in this.)
    Continue to fry for a few more minutes, until mushrroms are cooked.
    Add passata to cover and about half again, a squeeze of tomato puree and a glug of red wine, stir and gently simmer, adding dried Italian herbs at this point.
    When it's reduced and thickened, add some chopped black olives and some capers, rinsed. You can add frozen sweetcorn at this point.
    Place in an ovenproof dish along with some cooked pasta, place grated or sliced mozzarella over it and bake for around 20 minutes.

    This is good with a side salad, crusty bread, balsamic vinegar, side veg such as corn on the cob or steamed broccoli or some garlic bread.
    May all your dots fall silently to the ground.
  • dorry_2
    dorry_2 Posts: 1,427 Forumite
    hi gingham, :wave:

    thanks for your menu planner, its fab. although we are not veggie, we do eat a lot of broth, (i also use morrisons broth mix) .

    one of the reasons i started making hm broth was that the lentils are full of phtyo estrogens ?? and are excellent for hot flushes etc. the barley is also realy healthy for our digestion systems! :j

    over the holidays, i visited my friend for lunch, she is veggie and we had humous, with pitta bread, cheeses, olives and pasta, it was really nice, so now that i have tasted some veggie stuff, i am keen to have some more!!

    your thread has inspired me,

    thanks dorry.xxx
    'If you judge people, you have no time to love them'
    Mother Teresa :D
  • Wilkinson_Sword
    Wilkinson_Sword Posts: 363 Forumite
    I suppose you don't have to be a veggie to enjoy these meals?
    I'm not a vegetarian and some of these sound bloomin lovely

    Do you have a recipe for vegetarian lasagne?
    The OH is not so keen on mince she told me last night.
    could you substitute it for lentils?
  • Quackers
    Quackers Posts: 10,157 Forumite
    Gingham_Ribbon wrote:
    Tuesday: Toast and cheese puddin'

    Is this cheese on toast or something different?

    I LOVE you (again) Gingham. I've been a veggie for 19years and its always good to have a few new ideas. As someone else says its really easy to get stuck in a rut of eating the same few things week in, week out.

    Thanks. :D
    Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold...But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow...
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