Meatless meals

VJsmum wrote: »

ANother thing to try is Jackfruit

I recently made 'pulled jackfruit' using a pulled pork recipe and just substituting the meat for the jackfruit. Struggled to see the difference. Jackfruit comes in cans (you need the green fruit in water - not the ripe fruit in syrup). i got mine from planet Organic in London, but am told you can get it in waitrose.

Sainsbobs are also selling it in the chilled vegetarian section and in the prepped veg section. I haven't tried it yet though.

Stir fry is popular in Casa Spiky:

Get the noodles out of the cupboard before you start (so you can realise there aren't any/enough and do rice instead if needed...
Prep the protein (choose 1) - drain and press 1 pack of tofu; drain a can of ready prepared chickpeas; defrost a tub of aduki beans you soaked and cooked yourself, use a pack of LindaMacCartney 'shredded hoisin duck' from the freezer (so far, found in M0rris0ns, but not Sainsbobs); soaked vegetable protein chunks...
Half fill a large lidded pan with water for the noodles. Retrieve the wok from the back of the saucepan cupboard and pour in approx tablespoon of bland oil. (ie, rapeseed, sunflower, 'vegetable oil'...)
Get a large mixing bowl and put the veg into it as you prep it so you can give it all a good stir before cooking (optional).
Peel and slice 1 or 2 onions
Wash and julienne 2 or 3 carrots
Wash and cut into strips 1 each of red, yellow and green peppers
Wash and cut into strips some mushrooms (1 x 250g tub?)
Wash and cut up a small head of broccoli (or half a large head) - I start by trimming off the dry end of the stalk as I use the stalk as well. You want the bits quite small so it will cook with the other veg - or you could blanch it first.
(This is what I use for preference and affordability - you use the veg you like and have! I like to add baby sweetcorn, and the boys like bamboo shoots and water chestnuts)
Put the heat on under the wok and noodle pan (If I'm using rice, I use brown rice so have already started it before prepping the veg)
When the oil is hot, add the veg and stir well, stirring regularly. (Add frozen protein now to give time to cook)
When the water boils, put in 1 nest of noodles for each person.
While the veg and noodles are cooking, prep the sauce:
Crush 2 or more cloves of garlic into a cereal bowl.
Add fresh chopped ginger - about 1 inch? (I get a good amount of root ginger at a time, peel and grate it/chop finely in the food processor if DS1 has bought 600g of ginger and freeze it in ice cube trays so it's ready when I need it. I use 1 or 2 cubes for a stirfry.)
Chilli - 1 or 2 fresh chillies or half a teaspoon of dried crushed chillies to taste (or leave out if you don't like it)
1 teaspoon of Chinese 5 Spice mix (if you have it)
1 teaspoon stock powder
1 tablespoon of cornflour
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of tomato puree (optional)
Cold water (about 4 tablespoons)
Stir well
The veg should be nearly ready now, it really takes less time to make the sauce than to type it! So add the protein if using tofu or something else that is ready cooked but needs to heat through. Stir well.
Stir the sauce for a last time in the bowl (remember, uncooked cornflour separates when standing) and add to the wok - stir well.
Nearly done!
Drain the noodles - I can't fit them in the wok as it's still full of veg, so they go straight into pasta bowls or onto the plates.
Stir veg and dish up.
Think that you should have toasted some sesame seeds before putting oil in the wok so they were available for sprinkling over the yummy meal...

Something that DS2 likes (though DS1 does not!):

Pasta, baked beans and hummus

Cook pasta for 2 people and drain.
Add 1 can of baked beans, stir well, add approximately 1 tub of hummus, stir well and season to taste and serve.

Very simple and my preference to the [STRIKE]demand[/STRIKE] polite request from DS2 that I get chips from the chippy... With baked beans and hummus counting as a serving of veg, not a bad fast food meal And we've a Mr T express as our corner shop, where there's often reduced hummus so it works out cheap.

It's a variant on the pasta, cheese sauce and baked beans mum used to cook for us, though DS1 will eat the cheese sauce original (with extra seasonings including mustard in the cheese sauce).

This is a cracking recipe https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10035/golden-veggie-shepherds-pie


I made butternut squash & black bean chilli last week. No recipe but I basically replaced mince with cubed butternut squash and kidney beans with black beans in my usual chilli con carne. I had it with sour cream, grated cheese and tortilla chips. Really tasty and I didn't miss the meat.



HM tomato sauce is a winner and so versatile. For a basic sauce I use 1 diced medium onion and 1 clove of garlic for every can of tomatoes. Soften the onions/garlic in a little oil, add tomatoes, 200 ml of water, 1 tsp each of oregano or mixed herbs, salt and black pepper, pinch of sugar. Simmer until well reduced and thick then blend until smooth.


Spinach & riccotta makes a lovely lasagne filling. Mix two tubs of riccotta with 1/2 a bag of cooked well-drained frozen spinach, salt pepper and a grating of nutmeg. Layer up as follows tomato sauce, lasagne, spinach mix, lasagne, tomato sauce, lasagne top with becamel sauce & grated cheese. Bake in medium oven for 45 -60 mins.


Brown lentils sub well for beef mince, use a cup of lentils to every 400g of mince. Add and extra cup of water to your recipe. If cooking for meat eaters a beef stock cube adds the beefy flavour folk might miss.

Some weeks I'm better than others for being meat free. I may have a veggie pasta dish, a veggie rice dish, a bean or lentil burger in a Portobello mushroom bun and then a fish dish.

caronc wrote: »

Brown lentils sub well for beef mince, use a cup of lentils to every 400g of mince. Add and extra cup of water to your recipe. If cooking for meat eaters a beef stock cube adds the beefy flavour folk might miss.

I do this a lot, as mentioned above cottage pie, or a ragu type sauce for bolognaise or lasagne as well as moussaka, get the seasoning right and they are fantastic.

lessonlearned wrote: »

Skid Row Stroganoff.

Basically the same as beef stroganoff but using mushrooms. Cheap and cheerful and the mushrooms are surprisingly filling. I can't eat rice so I usually serve it with either either cauliflower or broccoli "rice".

I love a good mushroom stroganoff and very partial to a mushroom risotto, I've also made a mushroom, leek and sweetcorn lasagne which was also a really big hit.

... not if you buy washed salad leaves!

I only eat meat 2-3 times a week, because I try to buy only ethically sourced meat and it's bloomin expensive! I don't use many recipes but I do recommend the HFW book mentioned above, Everyday Veg, it's brilliant.

Macaroni cheese, cauliflower cheese, mushroom risotto (use a few dried porcini to give it more punch), butternut squash risotto; onion tart, vegetarian chilli made with lentils; vegetable soup ... I just see what's in the fridge and make it up as I go along.