Vegan and vegetarian food on the cheap

angeluk69_2

(please, if in wrong place, move to somewhere appropriate)
Over christmas my husband was extremely ill (in my car:eek: , but thats a whole new thread!!!), he has since decided it might be due to the amount of meat, mainly processed, that he/we were eating. And since then he has not eaten any meat.

I am not against this at all, I do all the cooking in the house, and have so far managed to come up with some good meals, but the thing is I don't want to exclude meat from my diet or my childrens (they are 5 and 2)diet. I feel that my kids need the good bits from meat, and I do enjoy meat.

But I have got a bit stuck with what to cook without cooking loads of different meals. My husband wnats to lose weight ( as do I ) but I don't want him missing out on vital minerals and vitamins...Am I over reacting???

I need some good ideas, that are quick to make (he works shifts) without being salads or soups. We have been out today and bought a load of veg (courgettes, cauliflower,broccoli,onions, potaoes,carrots, spring onions, tomatoes,cucumber, lettuce, mushrooms etc...)

I really hope someone can give me some tips, about how to make sure he is getting everything he needs from a vege diet.

Thanx in advance

thriftlady_2

Has he given up fish too ?

I'm no expert, but I think the protein requirements of even a grown man are not as high as we generally assume. Substitute beans, lentils, cheese and eggsfor a good source of protein. Serve pulses with grains for a complete protein, or dairy with grains. Don't forget seeds and nuts

The mineral you will need to keep an eye on is iron. This is most easily obtained from red meat. I think good veggie sources are ; pulses, whole grains, dried fruit and dark green leafy veg.

cuddlymarm

Hi:wave:

I'm veggie but my husband and kids aren't so I cook potatoes and veg for all of us and then put meat (chops, sausages, pies etc) with theirs and I have a veggie version.
I also make chillis and lasagne with quorn mince because its very difficult to tell the difference.
As long as the kids have a varied diet they don't need meat every day.
Vegetarian food doesn't have to be complicated and the library will have loads of cookery books with veggie ideas.
It can seem a bit daunting at first having to change what you cook but if you think about it you probably do a lot of veggie food already and there's a lot of veggie foods available in the supermarket ( stock up on quorn and veggie burgers and sausages when its on BOGOF )
On the plus side veggie food can be extremely cheap to cook which might even save you money.

Good luck:rotfl: :rotfl:

Quackers

Divorce him?

I'm a [STRIKE]vegetable[/STRIKE] vegetarian and the rest of the family eat meat. We often have seperate meals as we just find that easier. Its going to be a case of trial and error I think until you find whats works best for you.

It is easy enough though to cook certain things and take one portion out for a veggie before you add the meat. I stir fry veggies for fajita's/enchilada's and cook the chicken in spices seperately to add later.

I mostly cook 2 seperate things though - like a meat chilli & a veggie one as the taste would be different if I added meat at the end (I imagine?).


Ideas that aren't salad or soups - Omlettes, baked potatoes, quiches (hot or cold with veg & potatoes or salad), veggie chilli, veggie casseroles, loads of veggie pasta recipes - with tomato sauces, pesto etc, pizzas, ratatouille (i so know I've probably spelt that wrong but its lovely with cheese on baked potatoes ), couscous.

Will he like quorn stuff. I dont eat it but lots of people do and you could consider having some meals with it and you could all eat it as they do chicken and mince versions I think.

Good luck

jellyang

So many recipes so little time

I have been veggie for 30 years & I can make simple meals in minutes. Without knowing your OH fav food its hard to suggest so here are a few of mine.
Veg & lentils, any combination into a saucepan, cassorole or slow cooker with a vegtable stock cube. I find this very filling.

Steamed veg with an omelette.

Jacket potato with cheese/ beans

Stuffed mushroom. BUy extra large mushroom (about 70p in tesco) then mix brown breadcrumbs, chopped mushroom, cheese & egg & stuff mushroom. Cook for about 25 mins. Rice can also be used. Sorry I have no exact weights, I never weigh things, just throw it all together.

Vegtable bake . Lots of veggie in a ovenproof dish make a topping with breadcrumbs.

Loads & loads of variations of pasta dishes.

Veggie burgers are quite filling. I tend to make my own as shop bought are not to my liking.

Look on BBC website, lots of very good recipes on there.

Hope this has given you some inspiration.

Jelly

Peem

Have a look at Gingham Ribbon's vegetarian meal planner thread.

It's great.

I would post a link but the search facility's not playing for me at the moment. When I can get it to work I'll add a link (unless someone else can manage it.)

I've fed hubby and his carniverous mates on the 3 bean chilli and not had a word of comment about the lack of meat (and they would say if they weren't happy)

DH eats veggie quite happily, but not all of his mates do.

black-saturn

Have a family trip to mcdonalds and order everyone a big mac and him a floppy bean burger or whatever they are offering for veggies. He'll soon change his mind.

angeluk69_2

black-saturn wrote:

Have a family trip to mcdonalds and order everyone a big mac and him a floppy bean burger or whatever they are offering for veggies. He'll soon change his mind.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Tried that, but didn't work!!!!!

Thank you so far for the ideas.

MimiJane

Snacking on nuts and sunflower/pumpkin seeds is a good way of receiving vitamins/minerals. Contrary to popular opinion, they are "good" fats which do not make you fat (in reasonable quantities!), but aid the burning of calories. They are also quite delicious

lightisfading

black-saturn wrote:

Have a family trip to mcdonalds and order everyone a big mac and him a floppy bean burger or whatever they are offering for veggies. He'll soon change his mind.

true, mcdonalds veggie burgers are disgusting.

... but so are the meat ones.