Vegetarian

Rossy2692

Good evening all,

Great to have the site back!!

Anyway here goes, my 15 yr old DD has just announced she wants to be a vegetarian, it is something she has been thinking about for a while. Her Dad and me have decided to give it a go too, my only worry is keeping things interesting. Does anyone have tried and tested meat free alternatives of the old favourites like chilli, spag bol etc. Also does anyone have a tasty recipe for a nut roast??

Thanks in advance

A desparate MUM x

adouglasmhor

Millet is a good thing to replace mince in a chili or a spag bog. I have been veggie for 26 years without eating nut roasts.

love_lifer

hiya

good on you all, once you know about factory farming and abbattoir practice being veggie makes sense.

all the usuals can be made with soya or quorn mince. tofu is good but must be marinated (bought that way or DIY)or its nasty. smoked tofu is nice.

cranks do great recipe books, sainsburys too

re nut roast, i have some great ones- pm me if you want them- a quick one and a delicious summer job. yum

good luck, it gets easier...

beerqueen

My 11 year old daughter is vegetarian but the rest of the family are meat eaters. We will all eat some veggie meals though - vegetable curry, dahl, that sort of thing.

Often I cook similar things for her as for us but using quorn mince, and 'chicken'. I find that the 'chicken' looks and tastes just like the real thing but the mince seems to have a funny taste and flavour though she likes it. I always try to have a few ready made veggie alternatives in the freezer for her too for those nights when I can't adapt what we're having. Her favourite is the lamb-style steaks. Another thing she likes is the quorn chicken burgers which she insisted that I check the packet (and show it to her) as she couldn't believe it wasn't real chicken. Also different makes of veggie sausages are very different to each other so if you don't like the first variety, don't assume you won't like any - some are like meat substitutes whereas others are more like breadcrumbs and others again diced vegetables. So I suppose what I am saying is buy small quantities first to check whether you like something or not! p.s. ready made veggie meals are quite pricey compared to meat ones so you might find your bills go up if you aren't making things from scratch.

Gingham_Ribbon

I'll look out my veggie meal planners for you. There are recipes and lots of ideas for seasonal cooking. My mother in law makes a great nut roast but I haven't tried it yet. I make veggie burgers with whatever I have lying around though. I'll be back in a few minutes.

Gingham_Ribbon

Pink-winged took a lot of time to look out a few different veggie threads and link to them in this post. If you click on the blue writing, then click on the links in her post you'll get loads of ideas. My meal planners are in there too.

ceridwen

1 large onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
a little oil
1 1/2 lb finely chopped mixed vegetables - carrots/celery/mushrooms/green peas/potatoes
1 x standard size can tomatoes
1 tabsp washed split red lentils
2 tsps Italian-style mixed herbs
generous grind of black pepper
1pt vegetable stock (veggie stock cube)
1 dsp honey
1 dsp tamari or yeast extract
salt to taste
12 oz wholewheat spaghetti
2oz grated Parmesan or Cheddar cheese

Fry onion and garlic in oil till transparent. Add mixed veg/lentils/herbs/pepper. Saute 10 minutes. Cover with stock and raise heat till liquid almost boiling. Stir in honey and the tamari or yeast extract thoroughly. Lower heat to gentle simmer. Add little salt. Simmer gently till veggies tender and lentils mushy (25-30 mins).

Cook spaghetti in large pot with 6 cups cold salted water and dash of vegetable oil and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer 12 minutes.

Drain pasta and serve covered with sauce and with the cheese sprinkled on top.


(My "standard" dish to serve to non-veggies - and they come back for more).
(Better still - serve with garlic bread accompanying)

Rossy2692

Thanks so much everyone!

Michaela

sassi

nice nut roast recipe, and more here

and FREE going veggie pack here

i turned veggie aged 10 and have always enjoyed a varied and delicious diet...most nice recipes i have found on the internet...the ones in recipe books always seem to be posh dinner party ones rather than old faves.....HTH

Gingham_Ribbon

Also, co-op jellybeans are vegetarian, smarties and M&Ms have cochineal in the red ones and the co-op have a couple of fruit juices that say they're vegetarian but also state on them that they may have used fruit coated in cochineal. (Just while I'm thinking of some of the complications of trying to learn which products are veggie and which aren't, which seems to be a minefield for many people, like my dear dad who still gets muddled about gelatine etc!)

rockie4

Have a look at the Vegetarian Society website, lots of info on healthy eating and recipes on there.