Vegetarian quick questions thread

weezl74

I also live in a family where complete vegetarianism wouldn't be everyone's choice, and one of the things that has helped us has been to use mealswhere the meat component is much cheaper. Examples of this would be toad in the hole (meat 9p) or sliced pepperami on HM pizza, meat component 10p, or bacon lasagne or pasta carbonara meat 8p and 5p respectively.

These types of meals have really helped our meat liking family be frugal

Raspberry_Swirl

I live on my own so can cook and eat what I want, but have started only have meat about half of the week now as it's helping me on the weightwatchers diet and also keeping my costs down.

Quorn products are on offer in ASDA and Morrisons at the moment for £1 a bag and are a compromise if the OH wants meat!

Look out for reduced meat items and stick them in the freezer for another time. Chicken thighs, belly pork and turkey are all cheaper meat options too.

candygirl

I'm veggie and OH isn't, but is happy to eat meat at work, and whatever fab veggie concotion I make for us at tea time;).He likes lentil n quorn spag bol, veg soup, curries etc:D:D
I know meat is expensive but if you eat the right veggie stuff ie fruit, veg, pulses etc it isn't as cheap as lot of peeps imagine:D

shellysue

I am veggie and I have made meals for friends that had quorn instead of meat and not told anyone, they have been surprised to find out afterwards.
If you just have half meat/half quorn it would help with cost and over time perhaps add more quorn, but I found if the meals have enough herbs and spice they dont notice.

MrsGSR

Thank you so much to everyone who has replied to my post. I absolutely love Quorn and bought some for tomorrows stirfy instead of the beef as it was £3 saving! We already do a meat free monday so every week have a meat free meal but think I will try doing that more than once a week, also will try bulking out the meat with quorn like for bolonaise etc. We do eat cheap cuts alot, have had lamb breast and have belly pork for roasts (much better than loin!) I love the idea of using one chicken breast for a curry instead of two. Like tonight I am doing chicken wrapped in bacon stuffed with philidelphia with potato cubes and veg, I guess next time I could cut the chicken and bacon and not use as much and use it in a bake with the potatoes?

I do like meat but I could live without or cut down much more.

We don't shop at Asda and rarely at Morrisons but might grab a few bags as my dad works for the latter and I will get discount also DH works for Iceland so we try to get as much as we can from there but we find some stores don't do fresh lamb for instance.

I will try the suggestions and ideas above thanks again!

artichoke

Hi all

we often cook meals and invite people around but as we keep sheep and work with pigs i usually cook with red meat when people come around as we have unlimited stocks...

but I have invited 2 couples and kids around next week and one family 2 adults 3 kids under 6 are all vegetarian, and the other family 2 adults one child eat no red meat (but do eat fish and chicken)...

my kids are real red meat eaters - roast dinners, meaty lasagne and bolognaise, chops, lamb shanks etc although i would love them to eat more vegetarian based meals i don't want a scene in front of these other families where they refuse to eat - they are only 5 and 6...

So i am looking for inspiration of what to cook... i don't mind doing 2 different main courses - in the past when these couples have been round separately with other families of meat eaters i have cooked eg 2 thai curry dishes one vegetarian, and one beef and a noodle dish with prawns...

or done italian with HM pizza's with lots of different toppings so i can tailor each pizza to each person...and HM garlic bread and a large salad

or cooked risotto and done 2 versions...

or cooked a chilli and done 2 versions meaty and veggie..

but i am now stuck for inspiration...i need a veggie dish and a chicken / fish dish that are linked together with a theme - and have the same accompaniments eg both go with rice, or pasta etc...

when i am cooking for a crowd i ideally would like it to be either something that can be made in advance and left in the oven - or cooked quickly on the hob eg risotto and stir fry ...I have an aga type oven so lots of oven space to cook in advance and keep warm.

our kitchen is our main socialising room so adults tend to sit around the kitchen table and talk / drink whilst i sort out finishing the meal off or getting it out...and i dont want these guest (one couple we dont know very well) seeing me stressing about cooking vegetarian food)

The kids will play in the living room until food is ready for them..We might have to do 2 sittings at the table ie kids first as there will be 6 kids and 6 adults and we cant fit them all down at once.. so i could do something different for kids to what the adults are having..

the meal needs to be OS ie not too expensive - i have a freezer full of home grown pork and lamb - but that is no use to me this time...but no veg growing in garden but do have a freezer full of summer fruits eg rasberries, redcurrants, rubarb etc

so inspiration for vegetarian meals for childen and adults with other fish and chicken alternatives possibly...

any suggestions most welcome

i have just looked in large freezer and found i have 2 packs of smoked salmon with birch and juniper that i got reduced after christmas and a bag of salmon steaks...

but that still does not solve the vegetarian problem...

perhaps i could do a vegetarian shepherds pie and a fish pie?

but please let me have any more suggestions..with recipes if possible as i need to improve my vegetarian cooking skills ...

we have quite a few vegetarian friends who i am ashamed to say i have been reluctant to invite around because i don't have any vegetarian staples that i know i can bang out without worrying about it....

art

short_bird

You may need to check on something: do tomorrow's guests use veggie products that resemble meat in appearance or texture? Some vegetarians would be happy with this, some aren't.

The shepherds pie idea sounds great, there's a vegetarian alternative called red dragon pie which uses aduki beans - you could substitute kidney beans. And the great thing is about that meal, it's all done beforehand so less to stress about.

snowy134

Something I find easy when cooking for a mixed crowd is jacket potatoes with a range of fillings - say chilli / curry, cheese, coleslaw, beans, ratatouille etc. All straightforward to prepare in advance and everyone can tailor to their own likes / dislikes. Would also have salad with it.

Alternatively - quiches can be done with a range of fillings and again served with salad, garlic bread etc.

artichoke

short_bird wrote: »

You may need to check on something: do tomorrow's guests use veggie products that resemble meat in appearance or texture? Some vegetarians would be happy with this, some aren't.

i myself don't like quorn type products so i will not want to use them...i actually love vegetarian food - i just have not got much experience in cooking it - there is a veggie restaurant in our town that i always choose to go to if someone is taking me out for a meal.. they cook a wonderful shepherds pie with ginger and red lentils and with a beetroot mash on the top - it looks and smells fantastic but the owner will not give me the recipe...


hum - i might have to experiment and try out a few recipes ..

and its not tomorrow - its the satruday after - so i have time to plan...

i was just doing me menu plan today ie from monday to the following monday and realized i needed to start thinking about it now...

artichoke

snowy134 wrote: »

Alternatively - quiches can be done with a range of fillings and again served with salad, garlic bread etc.

quiche might be ok - as i can get organic eggs from the farm, and could do with jacket pots as well....

they are all great suggestions but keep them coming....

art