Going Vegetarian - Batch cooking

madnotstupid

Well, as the title says. My OH is considering becoming vegetarian, but at present we are in the planning stage. I generally have a big shop delivered and batch cook, so not too worried about difficulty, just means a little more repetition if I'm making meat and non-meat options. The batch cooking means about 2/3rds of the time we eat HM ready meals- bolognese, curry etc, 1/3rd of the time freshly-made from (usually) frozen ingredients - so stir-fry, chops and so on. We do eat 3 or 4 veggie lunches or teas a week anyway, but totally vegetarian is not for me. One word - bacon! This week is my planning and ordering week, so we are experimenting with a few more veggie things and replacements.

Anyway, my concern mainly is protein. OH has a neurological health condition which prevents her muscles from working normally. So just removing meat is a no go, for protein we need to increase dairy, eggs and pulses - right? Loadsa lentils? I'm good with red lentils for soup, dhal and pate, green lentils instead of mince in all sorts of recipes, chickpeas in curry or any other sauce, or to make hummus and falafel. Kidney beans in chilli, but I'm wondering what else I could do with them, some kind of bean burger? And then there's all these other beans and stuff you can buy - what do people do with them?

Any thoughts or recipes you have would be appreciated. I think I'm needing ideas for freezable recipes with pulses, and quick and easy things to cook from frozen ingredients. Also any vegetarians out there, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on quorn, soya mince and other meat 'replacements'.

Thanks in advance

missty25

Hi,

I'm not a veggie nor is anyone in my house, however, we eat quorn pieces or mince usually once or twice per week as we actually enjoy eating it.

Quorn mince is good in slag Bol and chilli but I don't like it as cottage pie for some reason.

The pieces we tend to stir fry mostly.

Defiantly have to up the pulses and eggs etc for more protein.

Sorry I can't help with other suggestions for you but I'm sure other will be along soon.

115K

madnotstupid wrote: »

Anyway, my concern mainly is protein. OH has a neurological health condition which prevents her muscles from working normally. So just removing meat is a no go, for protein we need to increase dairy, eggs and pulses - right? Loadsa lentils? I'm good with red lentils for soup, dhal and pate, green lentils instead of mince in all sorts of recipes, chickpeas in curry or any other sauce, or to make hummus and falafel. Kidney beans in chilli, but I'm wondering what else I could do with them, some kind of bean burger? And then there's all these other beans and stuff you can buy - what do people do with them?

That sounds about right. Here is a recipe site I use quite a bit. Vegetarian Recipes - Allrecipes.com

Beans are very versatile, in chilis, curries, fajitas, bean burgers and bean dip. Veggie shepherds pie and cottage pie can be made with lentils, beans or soya mince. Holland & Barrett and some supermarkets have a lot of veggie ranges now.

Tofu is a good source of protein and can be very nice if you freeze it and then defrost and cook (it goes more spongy if you freeze it before and soaks up flavour) then you can just leave it to marinate in a sauce (like you would with meat) and then fry up with vegetables for a stir fry and have it with rice or egg noodles.

madnotstupid

thanks for the replies - and the link 115K - looks like it has loads of things I hadn't thought of

NinjaSavingKat

Hello.. I have been raised a vegetarian ( never had meat ) and recently went vegan. You are right with the lentils / beans / nuts / seeds / quinoa (complete protein ) / millet / aramanth / tofu / tempeh etc - but please be careful with dairy. It is not a natural protein replacement and should never be used as a supplment.

There is also no way possible for a rounded, well planned vegetarian diet to be protein deficient so don't think you have to load her diet. Vegetables are the key - and I don't mean that lightly... green leafy veg. Remember the strongest animals on the planet are vegans ( gorilla / elephant etc ) although this line of existance is a way of life and not suitable for everyone...

I batch cook black bean chilli, spicy lentils that can be eaten with rice or one their own with pitta bread, ( use the website Oh She Glows ) for inspiration / Jack Monroe does vegetarian recipes on her website for falafel / red lentil soup is my favoutie / quorn as mentioned above is very yummy for lasagne / bolognese etc... Holland and Barrett have a product called nuttolene ( not the cheapest as a can is £1.99 ) that I chop and fry in different spices although it can be eaten straight from the can to bolster sandwiches / salads or wraps...

You have a multitude of recipes online if you google this though and you will never be short of ideas.

ostrichnomore_2

Speaking as an ex veggie who still eats veggie a couple of times a week

Meat 'replacements'.
Highly recommend Cauldron Lincolnshire sausages - find them in the veggie section in some supermarkets.
I also like Quorn (some don't) but it's best used in curries or other strongly flavoured meals as it can be a bit bland.
Tofu - ghastly stuff with the exception of smoked tofu thinly sliced and fried till it goes crispy and put in a sarnie with ketchup as my veggie alternative to a bacon sarnie.
Linda McCartney stuff is all horrible.
Tivall vegetarian frankfurters - taste great for hotdogs, but make you fart like anything :rotfl:

Without meat replacement - cauliflower and chickpea curry one of my favourites.

If she is veggie - eating eggs and dairy - I wouldn't stress too much about planning for the protein. Most of us eat way too much protein as it is, I think.

catkins

Me and OH have been vegetarian for over 20 years. We don't really like "meat replacements" on the whole. I stopped eating meat because I didn't like the taste or texture so not really interested in something that looks or tastes like meat. Having said that, we do buy veggie sausages.

We cook with lentils, chickpeas, beans etc. We make things like shepherds pie with red and brown lentils and lots of different veg i.e. peas, sweetcorn, cauliflower, mushrooms, green beans, broccoli etc, spaghetti bolognaise with lentils, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes. Other meals we make are:

Chickpea and spinach curry
Spicy chickpea pasties (chickpeas, diced potatoes, onion and spices)
Egg and lentil curry (a Delia Smith recipe and its gorgeous)
Various types of burger using lentils, beans, chickpeas, nuts - tends to vary each time we make them
Nut loaf
Spinach, mushroom and walnut lasagne
Stews with loads of veg plus lentils, pearl barley, various beans
Pizza
Goats cheese and caramelised red onion tarts
Toad in the Hole (can be made with veggie sausages or chunks of roasted veg)

Relocationrelocation

Couldron veggie sausages are divine, really love them and have them in lots of ways - sausage and egg sandwich, toad in the hole, with salad and couscous, or mash and veg gravy.
We use veggie mince in chillies, tacos, burritos etc when making mexican dishes. My mum makes the best quorn 'chicken' curry using just the pieces, friend onion tinned toms, garlic, ginger, spices (cumin, bit of chilli powder, coriander, tumeric) and fresh coriander at the end.
Red lentil and spicy veg soup is delicious and so filling.
Home made veggie burgers with the soya stuff you get from Holland and Barrett is really nice too.
Grilled halloumi is very nice too.

madnotstupid

thank you everyone for your input and ideas. That list is going to keep me in recipes for a long time.

I have done my online shop, so to start me off I'm planning corn chowder, red lentil soup, veggie cannelloni and green lentil shepherds pie - all of which I've made before.
Also for batch cooking I've bought ingredients for cauli and chickpea Korma, soya mince and dried kidney beans for chilli, and some type of burger thing. I'm going to make a chickpea, tomato and pepper stew, seasoned with garlic and paprika aiming for a veggie goulash to have with dumplings. Linda McCartney sausages were reduced so am giving them a bash, although am going to look out for Cauldron sausages.

Also thinking of mushroom risotto
and cheese and leek quiche.

joedenise

Have a look at the girlcalledjack website - loads of veggies recipes on there.

Denise