Lent - Moral support may be needed ;)

gt5688

Yeah but if I want to stop eating something, I just do that. i don't need a fictional period to do so. As I said, whatever works I guess.

Spendless

My 13yo daughter became Vegetarian last year. Initially it lasted a few days before she went back to eating meat and then when she wanted to give it another go about a month later, I wasn't enthusiastic as I was aware she'd been eating a lot of crisps/chocolate to fill up between meals. It took 6 months of trial and error before we'd discovered her Vegetarian likes/dislikes and is still a work in progress 10 months on.

Please make sure you get enough protein.

Anyway here are some of my DD's likes (excluding the Quorn/Linda McCartney substitutes)

Hummus is nice in a sandwich and makes a welcome change from cheese or egg. You can get different flavours in some supermarkets.

Sweet and sour with the sauce and assorted veg with egg noodles.

You can do the same as a chow mein, but some have fish sauce in the packet and I'm unsure whether you would be avoiding this or not

Never tried a home made one but our nearest put does Vegetable lasagna purely with veg in, no meat sub.

Stuffed mushroom. I buy a packet of 2 large stuffed mushrooms at Aldi, but you could make your own. You can also do a stuffed pepper

Jacket Potato with cheese/baked beans/coleslaw

You asked about a Sunday roast. They were easier to find around Christmas time, but I got DD a vegetarian wellington to have for her roast dinner. Again you'll find recipes on-line.

Don't forget for 'junk-time' or quick meals chips, egg and beans is vegetarian as is beans on toast.

NewShadow

Thank you everyone.

I'm going to update my list and do a plan for next week - from Wednesday.

I'm feeling quite positive right now but just know I'm going to be craving corned beef hash by Friday - I will be strong!

VfM4meplse wrote: »

And nothing that comes out of a goat, ugh.

I have eczema and my parents tried to shift me off cow milk as a child - one of the things they tried as goat milk/cheese.

I know some people like it but :eek: I never understood how everything squeezed from a goat could smell/taste quite so much like goat!

TiredTrophy wrote: »

Falafel

Talking about making a plan - Wednesday. Falafel pita with hummus and salad

Spendless wrote: »

I wasn't enthusiastic as I was aware she'd been eating a lot of crisps/chocolate to fill up between meals. It took 6 months of trial and error before we'd discovered her Vegetarian likes/dislikes and is still a work in progress 10 months on...

Don't forget for 'junk-time' or quick meals chips, egg and beans is vegetarian as is beans on toast.

Yes

I - in no way - intend this to be full on long term, but really hope stealing all of your experiences and suggestions will get me through this 44 days.

I think I'm a little 'luckier' than your daughter in that - I know this is a fixed length attempt to force myself to try new things and experiment rather than a 'way of life' change.

I think the deadline will make it easier to stick to - and I hope you guys will 'tell me off' if I just eat cheesy mash and beans all day every day.

Might be a bit drastic, but I don't currently buy or eat crisps/ chocolate, and I've been drastically cutting down my bread intake since January - so hopefully I'll be filling up on 'food'

That's the plan anyway... :cool:

In prep for this next week I've bought 15 eggs (planning 2 a day), pumpkin and sesame seeds (in place of nuts), a block of low fat mature cheese, 3.5 kilo of potatoes, yogurt.

I've already got various pulses, spices, a freezer full of veg.

Wednesday's plan (atm) is blueberry pancakes for breakfast, Falafel and salad for lunch, and cheesey mash with beans and egg for dinner. I've got some tiny oranges and an apple to pick at in-between. Hopefully quick, simple, and filling around work.

_gt5688 wrote:

Yeah but if I want to stop eating something, I just do that. i don't need a fictional period to do so. As I said, whatever works I guess.

Thank you for joining this thread.

While I understand what you're saying, I'm hoping to keep religion out of the thread - if that's okay with you?

Lent is just an easy defined time I've picked to try and kick start a way of thinking - like making resolutions at the new year.

I'm not religious - but I know several people who are - and while I don't believe myself, I respect them and their right to believe differently.

I always think: Is what they believe hurting me? If not, will what I'm writing or saying hurt them?

It would be great if you had any suggestions for quick and easy meet free meals you wanted to share - I've already got a great looking blog someone sent me to read today, but every little helps :rotfl:

eandjsmum

Puff pastry sheet spread with pesto covered with chopped tomatoes and then cheese , bake in oven til pastry is golden and cheese melted. Can be eaten hot or cold with salad.

Frith

Have a look at the Girl Called Jacks website. I like the 9p burgers.

splishsplash

I'm not giving up meat for Lent, but by coincidence, my meal plan has 16 days in March which are vegetarian.

tarka dahl w/rice, veg
waldorf salad
curried chickpeas, rice, veg
mixed bean stew, sweet potato wedges, veg
falafel, hummus, garlic tahini sauce and salad
kale salad
spinach quiche, spuds, veg
poached eggs, ratatouille, spuds
chana masala, rice, veg
verdura pizza w/salad
stuffed mushrooms, mash, veg
thai red curry w/rice
veg stir fry w/rice
vegetable chilli w/rice and veg
caprese salad
baked spuds w/peperonata topping

I'm seeing new ideas here which all look great - I don't think I'll manage the full six weeks, but I'll give it a shot.

NewShadow

splishsplash wrote: »

curried chickpeas
mixed bean stew
chana masala
peperonata topping

I'm seeing new ideas here which all look great - I don't think I'll manage the full six weeks, but I'll give it a shot.

Please - any and all company welcome.

I'm avoiding saying 6 weeks - sounds waaayyy longer than 44 days...

The above sound interesting - any recipes?

LameWolf

Hi NewShadow I'n vegetarian, and most assuredly not sniggering.:o

One of my DH's favourite meals is HM pizza. I do make the base myself in the bread maker, but I think you can buy "blank" pizza bases.
Anyways, I usually sling on: Tomato puree, grated cheese, diced onion, a couple of Qu0rn bacon-style slices cut in pieces, sliced tomatoes, pineapple chunks and a bit of basil straight off the plant.
* I get pineapples off the market when they're selling them off cheap and get Mr LW to cut them into chunks, which I then freeze, so I always have pineapple to hand.

If you fancy a pasta dish, try tagliatelle with the following:
Diced onion, lightly fried in a small saucepan; add either chopped up veggie hot dog or some chunky vegetables - peppers work well, as do florets of cauli or broccoli - stir for a bit. Add some tinned chopped tomatoes, keep it on gentle heat til it's heated through nicely; you can also add dried mixed herbs if you wish.
Serve over the tagliatelle.
* I find one standard can of chopped toms serves two people doing this.

HTH.

maryb

If you look around any office there will be a lot of people giving up chocolate (or whatever) for Lent. And most of them are not religious. But there is still some sort of cultural connection with old customs. And why not. Similarly, loads of people eat fish on Friday. It helps as a reminder to include more oily fish in the diet.

I am going to try fasting for two days a week. This hasn't been a religious requirement for Christians in Western Europe for a long time but it used to be the rule for Lent AND Advent. Orthodox Christians in Eastern Europe are still supposed to do a much more stringent fast (No eggs or cheese)

I need to do this for health reasons and in fact I have already started but Lent coming up does give it a sharper focus. There's lots of work being done out there on the effects of intermittent fasting and it turns out it's one of the best things you can do to increase insulin sensitivity. Our ancestors worked it out

maryb

Sorry New Shadow, meant to say, look at Memory Girl's blog for inspiration: Mortgage Free In Three. She's not vegetarian per se but does a load of meatless meals for cost reasons and is a real foodie on an amazingly low budget