Vegetarian advice please

FrugalWorker

+1 to what others have suggested.

Vegetarian burgers - I use a recipe by Mark Bittman
http://www.howtocookeverything.com/recipes/the-simplest-bean-burgers
I make up a batch and then freeze them. They're handy to have if everyone else fancies meat!

I'm not a fan of the fake meats - Quorn/etc... I'm not a fan of eating huge amounts of soy. I used a lot of beans/lentils (I was a vegetarian, not now). Anything that required mince, I'd happily replace with beans.

Feeding vegetarians should work out a bit cheaper.

I used to soak up a bag of beans over night and then boil the whole bag at once. This is far too much to eat at once, but then I'd portion them up in to the freezer. It's cheaper than buying tins of beans/chickpeas. They can then be used from frozen without any problems.

For sambos - try hummus / guacamole. Okay so hummus is high in protein, guacamole is higher in fat. In fact I preferred these on rice cakes as opposed to bread. But was nice to have changes in a sambo to cheese and 'salad'.

Quinoa - I will say, wash it well before cooking. I didn't the first time and it put me off it for ages. Use this as the basis for a salad. I made up a big bowl of it last week and added veggies/dried fruit /lime. This is quite high in protein so fills you up properly.

There's a new to me chef, Anna Jones - http://annajones.co.uk
I've just got her book out of the library, and looks good. She's vegetarian. Some good suggestions - but I haven't tried enough to write out here.

I found replacing meat with cheese was bad for my waist line and my pocket. But small amounts of strongly flavoured cheese go a long way - for example, broccoli/ goats cheese fritattas or quiche.

Eggs - I fill silicon cup cake cases with veggies (sometimes some smoked salmon/ham as I'm not a veggie any more), pesto/bit of goats cheese, but mainly veggies, then top this up with whisked eggs and bake for about 20-30 minutes. two of this use 1 egg, and do me for breakfast in work.

I used a lot of soups for lunches, but these tend to be vegetarian most of the time. Just don't forget to use vegetarian stock.

tessasmum

Thank you, Frugal Worker. I'll have a look at those x

VJsmum

Have a look at Plant Based Pixie and Deliciously Ella who have some lovely recipes.

pixie's vegetable, coconut and Mango curry is amazing.

jackyann

I often do roast vegetables: onions, peppers, aubergines & some tomatoes, and keep a batch in the fridge.
You can heat them up to go with anything, you can mix them in with cous-cous and serve hot or cold
Best of all - layer them with potatoes to make a "moussaka" or pasta to make a "lasagne".
Stuffed mushrooms (the large ones) always go down a treat.

uk_american

Echoing what others have mentioned...veg cooking should come out less expensive per meal. Personally I'm not a huge fan of Quorn products but instead prefer lentils, beans, etc.

Jack Monroe's recipes are lovely and affordable: http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/vegan-recipes/

I bought this book at Oxfam and found it quite useful. A lot of options, basic meals, well worth it if you can find it locally at the library or on amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/1000-Vegetarian-Recipes-Around-World/dp/0752584278/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1441566230&sr=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=%221000+vegetarian+meals%22

I've been a veg since 2000. Even if you're just doing pasta with some tomato sauce, throw in some mushrooms and fresh basil (grown from seed on the windowsill) and it becomes superb. You can go with commercial sauce on offer, or instead do your own with canned tomatoes, garlic, onion, pepper, etc.

Well done for being able to host to your student's needs! I was in a similar situation in Spain 20 years ago and the house mother was so lovely about it.

ciderwithrosie_2

I've recently discovered aubergine 'meatballs' ....

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2015/07/eggplant-meatballs.html

I change the seasoning - e.g. a bit of harissa, but just use plain breadcrumbs and parsley and chives instead of basil.

There's some made with courgettes too (or zucchini)
and a few other veggie recipes on there

PasturesNew

I'd stick with simple stuff:
- vegetable quiche, served with a salad or chips/beans
- cheese/potato pie, served with baked beans
- salads where people help themselves, with a plate of meat in the kitchen for meat eaters and on the table lots of pasta salads/potato salad to fill up on, alongside the usual: lettuce, cucumber, boiled eggs, tomatoes, radishes, spring onions, bread/butter

For "roasts" either just do an overload of roast potatoes, always have lots of yorkshire puddings and two stuffings ..... or turn your hand to a nut roast/similar.

For a "roast style" mid week then you can't beat a giant yorkshire pudding filled with mash/veggie sausages, or mash/veggies. Lots of gravy available....

Then there's the usual vegetable lasagne, or veggie curry or various veggie burgers (e.g. Lidl have some spicy bean burgers, cauliflower cheese burgers and veggie burgers).

Then there's cheese omelettes and frittatas.

Or get some veggie sausages and vegetables and a packet mix for sausage casserole and make that up, served with mash and veggies.

Don't try to fiddle about with fancy/schmancy stuff with bizarre ingredients you're not used to buying/cooking.

A load of veggies tossed into a large baking dish and just roasted make a nice side dish.

You can also just swap out veggie mince/Quorn for meat mince and make shepherd's pie.

Then there's vegetable pizzas.

Maybe you just need to think like a veggie with what you usually cook. Don't try to do unknown stuff, using ingredients you don't know/like. Keep it simple.

tessasmum

Can't thank you all enough for all these fab links and ideas. She has had a goat's cheese and red onion tart from Tesco tonight with loads of veggies, roast potatoes and mini Yorkies as we had roast chicken. She said it was good, which is just as well as there is another one in the packet! I shan't rely on things like that too much, but it was handy to have available for Sunday dinner today. It helps that she is fairly easy going.

LameWolf

If you do your own pizza, you can throw on whatever you like - I make my own pizza dough in the BM, but I believe you can buy pizza bases if making it them yourself isn't convenient.

Anyways, my "standard" pizza recipe consists of:
HM base - simple dough recipe with a few poppy seeds added into the mix
Tomato puree
Grated cheese - I use "Extra Extra Mature Cheddar" from the farmers market, as Mr LW loves VERY strong cheese; fortunately for me, the stall we go to sell all cheese made with vegetarian rennet.
Diced onion
A couple of veggie bacon-style slices cut up small
Sliced tomato
Chunks of pineapple - I buy it from the F&V market stall, get Mr LW to cut it into chunks, and freeze it for later use
Basil from the windowsill if available

HTH

catkins

Me and OH have been veggie for about 30 years now. Neither of us are keen on the fake meat products (they seem to affect my stomach) but do eat veggie sausages.


Some of the meals we make are:


Mushroom stroganoff
Spinach and mushroom lasagne
Goats cheese and red onion tarts
Toad in the hole
Sausages, mash and onion gravy
Shepherds pie made with lentils and lots of veg and topped with mashed potato and mashed sweet potato
Chickpea and potato pasties
Chickpea and sweet potato curry
Egg and lentil curry (lovely recipe by Delia Smith)
Bolognaise made with lentils
Vegetable chilli
Bean chilli
Pizza - lots of different toppings you can use
Stuffed large mushrooms
Stuffed marrow
Stuffed peppers
Mushroom and onion suet pudding
Sausage and veg stew
Sausages cooked and cut up mixed with baked beans and topped with mash potatoes
Lentil fritters
Cheese and onion pasties
Quiche
Risotto - various such as mushroom, pea, asparagus
Nut loaf
Chickpea burgers
Poached egg with potato cake. Nice easy meal - just left over mashed potato mixed with some spring onion, cheese made into patties and fried or cooked in the oven
Stir fry
Omelette
Frittata
Paneer tikka