Vegetarian food budgeting ANY TIPS?

My daughter became a vegetarian about 7 months ago so I'm still trying to get used to catering for this. Even she is really, its a new learning process she is having to learn a new way of eating and buying.

She comes home at weekends sometimes and university holidays so its really 2 things we could do with tips for, her when shes on her own in the halls at uni and me for when shes at home.
Thanx

Lady_K
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  • Rachie_B
    Rachie_B Posts: 8,785
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    if she likes lentils there are sooooo many easy & cheap recipes ,also make use of things like pearl barley,beans etc in a soup cheap and last a while

    a slow cooker is fab ,make vegetable soups,stews etc with whatever veg you happen to have in,add some stock and let cook away all day

    can get a SC for £10 in argos which is pretty good and does the job
  • otterspasm
    otterspasm Posts: 338
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    Hi Lady_K,
    I'm not veggie anymore but used to be and I still eat lots of veggie meals. Quorn pieces/mince are great for putting in dishes you would normally put meat in eg. spag. bol. or chicken & mushroom pie. Farm foods are doing it at £1 a pack at the moment (so my friend tells me) which is great as that's nearly 1/2 price. Also one of my favourites is veg lasange. I just bung in every veg I have in the fridge, chopped up small and cooked with fried onions, garlic and tins of tomatoes. Stick loads of cheese on top. YUM. This is a good one for entertaining.

    Mushroom madras (with a bought sauce I'm afraid) is also one of my faves. HTH. :D
    Tess x

    Underground, overground, wombling free...
    Old Style weight loss so far...2 stone and 7 pounds
  • seraphina
    seraphina Posts: 1,145
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    Lifelong vegetarian here - hopefully I can be of some use!

    Tell your daughter to get handy with making soups - an infinitely variable way of making veggie friendly food, from light lunches to more substantial meals. Pretty much anything goes as well, so you can use the cheapest veg going.

    A good vegetarian cookbook will be useful for her - I think Cas Clarke does a Vegetarian Grub on a Grant for cheap studenty type cooking. Quorn and soya mince can be very useful, especially during the transition to vegetarianism as you can make all the usual suspects such as spag bog etc.

    Cooking and storage facilities at uni are generally pretty poor so I'd advise using tinned pulses rather than dried ones which need boiling - you can just open the can and throw it in to whatever she's cooking.

    If you're going to cook her seperate food for familiy meals, have a think about what goes with what. The number of times everyone else has been having a roast dinner and I've been served up a pasta ready meal accompanied by roast potatoes etc astounds me :confused:

    You can make little tarts or bean burgers and freeze them so you can just take out what you need for her meal.

    HTH.
  • Lady_K
    Lady_K Posts: 4,429
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    I'm concerned that she should be eating healthily and get all the right vitamins and minerals ect. She taking veg vit pills and flaxseed oil.

    The quorn well she doesnt like it that much it makes her ill. She will occasionally have a tiny bit but she really doesnt like it that much. She eats cheese but does get a bit fed up of it too. Packed lunches are a bit of a prob too as she has to take food to uni. She does like all the pulses and uses them. Its variation I suppose and somthing thats easy to fit in when shes at home. I must admit though I'm eating more veg stuff myself now. I eat the quorn yet she doesn't like it
    Thanx

    Lady_K
  • ladywood
    ladywood Posts: 113 Forumite
    Hi

    We've gone largely vegetarian (though we do eat the odd bit of fish or chicken!) because I have to have a low fat diet on medical grounds. I've found it a lot cheaper to do than meat and very easy.

    My shopping list typically includes chickpeas and kidney beans in tins (you can of course buy them dry and soak and cook them but for ease I buy them tinned - and they are not expensive - Asda's value kidney beans are are about 17p a tin!), lentils (red and green), eggs and some cheese, occasionally tofu + loads of fruit and vegetables (whatever is on offer or in season - but a mix of root vegetables, greens, things like mushrooms, onions and peppers etc. Then store cupboard stuff like pasta, rice, cous cous etc. Last week our menu from this included:

    Macaroni Cheese
    Lentil patties with cous cous & tomato salad
    Vegetable and lentil curry
    Moroccan stew again with cous cous
    Mushroom stroganoff
    Tofu & feta pasta
    Chickpea burgers (includes kidney beans)

    I'm at work at the moment so don't have the recipes to hand but can post them later if you want. They are all from WW books or Gillian McKeith! (Except the Tofu and feta pasta which was made up from leftovers!)
  • Rachie_B
    Rachie_B Posts: 8,785
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    yum they sound fab

    im not a veggie but i often choose a veggie option when eating out etc and am trying to make more veggie meals

    some nice sounding recipes here : http://www.riverford.co.uk
  • Rachie_B
    Rachie_B Posts: 8,785
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    SPINACH & POTATO CURRY

    Ingredients:

    4 tbsp oil
    1 tsp mustard seeds
    1 tsp cumin seeds
    2-3 dried chillies, chopped
    1 onion, chopped
    750 g potoatoes, chopped
    1 tsp salt
    1 tsp ground turmeric
    1 tsp ground cumin
    1 tsp ground coriander
    250 g spinach, washed and chopped
    Heat the oil in a large saucepan. When it's bot, add the mustard seeds.
    When they begin to pop, add the cumin seeds and chillies. Let them sizzle for 10 seconds.
    Add the chopped onion to the pan and cook for 5 mins.
    Add the chopped potatoes and fry for 5 mins.
    Tightly cover the pan and cook for 10 mins.
    Stir in the spices (salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander), reduce the heat and cook gently for 10 mins.
    Add the spinach a bit at a time.
    WHen all the spincah has wilted, cover the pan and cook for 10 mins.
    If you like runny curries, add half a can of coconut milk and simmer for 5 to 10 mins.
    Serve with rice and naan bread.


    roasted veg is a good one,topped with feta if she eats it and piled onto toasted ciabatta or ,baked potato,pasta etc
  • Lady_K
    Lady_K Posts: 4,429
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    Oh thanx yes I'd appreciate any recipes that would be great. I'm not sure what tofu is but I'll try it I know she isn't keen on the soya either but maybe she might be ok with some different recipes. Although when I say it makes her ill it really does make her physically sick sometimes and really bad stomach pains she just may not be suited to it.

    The cheese thing, she became a bit concerned because although shed swapped from meat eating to vegetarian she found she had put on a bittle bit of weight and she thought it was probably because she had been eating more cheese or something so she doesnt want this to continue. I suppose its all part of the learning process and transition. I suppose too much cheese isn't that good on the cholesterol either. She was eating more blue cheese and brie veg cheeses are quite expensive too
    Thanx

    Lady_K
  • Lady_K
    Lady_K Posts: 4,429
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    Wow they look great :) I'll have to try some of them and I've saved the websites and I'll email them to her she will prob try some while shes there. I never thought of looking on this old style board before till someone mentioned it in another thread. I'd like to cut down on fat too so I'll try them myself aswell :)
    Thanx

    Lady_K
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