Want to go half veggie

SailorSam

Although i'm a meat eater i make lots of curries and casseroles in the slowcooker without meat.
Whatever veg is in the freezer and then handfulls of various lentils and don't miss the meat, i make pasties the same putting in some gravy mix to taste.
Asda have their own packets of meat free things, sausage mix; burgers; nut roast; falafel and i have them in the cupboard as a quick emergency.
But then i do like a bacon butty.

Racheldevon

I'd keep in mind as someone else mentioned above that the quorn/meat substitute stuff is heavily processed food, and there's lots of cheaper meals you can make that still have the right balance of nutrients. Have a look at the good food website for ideas (bbcgoodfood.com), there's also a good starting out vegetarian cookbook by Good House Keeping - it's a step by step vegetarian cookbook.

Alter_ego

I think I'm half veggie.
Half of each main meal is meat, the other half veg.

katiegizmo

I'm veggie and for protein content beans are my saviour... there are so many different types now, I try them all no meal is ever the same at my house! Go well in pastas, curries, casseroles, soups etc etc
To make a meal feel hearty and satisfying, try basing it around a vegetable that is very filling - i.e. butternut squash, very yummy and no fat, yay or very flavoursome such as juicy portabella mushrooms. There's nothing worse than a veggie meal that lacks bulk!
I'm a butternut squash junkie these days, it goes so well with everything, and makes yummy chips too
good luck!

SailorSam

This is a good site for working out recipies/menus.
I think it was someone else on Mse who pointed it out to me, all you do is enter all the foods you have in your cupboard and fridge then each time you log on it will give you a list of ideas and how to cook them.
Supercook: recipe search by ingredients you have at home

Justamum

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

Please don't tell people you are vegetarian when you make this change, or people who are completely vegetarian will get served up fish/chicken

"but lotus-eater eats fish and s/he's a vegetarian"

my worst vegetarian meal out was whole, raw swordfish to be cooked on hot slabs at the table...

It annoys me too. Sally Traffic on Radio 2 calls herself vegetarian, but on Thursdays when they have the chef in she happily eats fish :mad:. Fine, if she wants to eat fish, but I wish she wouldn't call herself vegetarian.

Lotus-eater

Justamum wrote: »

It annoys me too. Sally Traffic on Radio 2 calls herself vegetarian, but on Thursdays when they have the chef in she happily eats fish :mad:. Fine, if she wants to eat fish, but I wish she wouldn't call herself vegetarian.

Don't worry all you carrot munchers, I'm not calling myself a veggie, I'm going to eat fish and some meat at the moment, I just wanted to eat less of it and wanted to eat vegetarian style meals in between as I thought it would be better for us and tastier.

Soya milk is apparently better than cows milk for you. According to this http://www.all-soy-products.com/a21-soy-milk-vs-cow-milk.php
I expect there is another side. My DD (8) likes soya milk and she has a desire to become a veggie eventually when I allow it, this makes her happier and won't hurt all of us either.

I just remembered I bought Rose Elliots veggie cook book for the OH last year. It's got some decent recipes in it, but no real explanation of the amount, or what you need to eat to replace meat.

Thanks to all the decent answers, I hadn't thought about quorn being a heavily processed food. Beans and lentils could be the easy answer I think, I'll have to give tofu a try as well.

Lotus-eater

I already use organic milk btw.


I think one of my problems, is that I grow alot of our veg in the garden, so our meals are usually very simple fare. Just steamed veg with potatoes and some meat of some kind, with gravy if you want it.
So that's why it's difficult to just stop eating meat and replace it with something else. I could do it with quorn products, but I don't want to eat that every night.

We had quorn sausages tonight though, which everyone liked. I have to find a way to incorperate all the lovely fresh veg I have, into good tasting and nutritionally decent, varied food.

marmiterulesok

I've been a vegetarian for over thirty years,so having to think about 'where to get protein' isn't an issue any more.I can understand your concerns however.

For meat-eaters there is really no need to eat meat every day.It certainly won't do you any harm to cut down on meat consumption.

There are lots of good sources of veggie protein:beans and pulses,dairy (eggs,milk and cheese),nuts and seeds and soya products.

I'm not a huge one for buying veggie cutlets and the like (too processed for me),but I love the Quorn slices.I also tend to make lots of 'one-pot' meals ie veg and lentil soup,various dhal dishes with rice,pasta and veg.

Simple standbys like egg mayo/cheese and tomato sandwiches are nourishing and hasslefree.

A lot depends on your likes and dislikes.You should be willing to try new/different combinationsThere's no need for complicated meals each day,otherwise you may just give up!

I don't know if this will help,but here is what I've eaten today:

Breakfast toast,butter and jam

Snack natural yoghurt and apricot compote

Lunch pasta and vegetables with a sauce,apple.

Tea porridge and honey with milk then some Brazil nuts.

Not a typical day I'd like to add....

I'm not a fan of soya milk,it makes my tea taste funny...

Hope this has been of some help,and good luck trying the veggie way.

PS Rose Elliot is good.

miss_corerupted

god I wish I could get OH to cut down on meat it's not every day but every meal almost (and I am including breakfast). So by default I end up eating it at least once a day as he does most of the cooking.

It's the amount as well!! If I make lasgane I use 1/2 a pack of mince he will use two whole bags. it drives me to distraction