This mixed bean goulash is delicious, quick and really tweakable. We use butter beans in place of baked beans and smoked paprika. It can be bulked out with roasted sweet potato or butternut squash and is lovely with a chunk of home made bread.

Line a large baking dish with filo pastry and fill with a mixture of grated courgette and chopped cooked spinach leaves (squeeze out extra moisture from both), chopped sauteed onion and garlic, a cup of cold cooked rice, some grated strong cheddar cheese, herbs and seasonings to taste, and a beaten egg or two to bind. Top the pie with crumpled sheets of filo, brush with melted butter and bake for around 40 minutes.

Sorry that measurements are vague, I tend to cook by eye/taste/guesswork

I aim to eat veggie twice a week. Here is one of my favourites, though not exactly what you want to cook in this weather. It's very tweakable. I don't use the cheese, often add a splash of Worcester sauce (which of course makes it non veggie, but I'm not bothered)
https://www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/life-and-living/explore/recipes/mary-berrys-vegetable-and-lentil-cottage-pie-recipe/

I find this cheap and cheerful basic mixture great for making burgers & meatballs its quite versatile as can be added to a tomato sauce for a pasta meal or subs or served with mash and mustard sauce or Swedish gravy to ring in the changes,

1 tbs olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
8 oz button mushrooms, cleaned with dry towel and chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili flake
1 400g tin of white beans, drained and rinsed
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs, split into 1 cup and 1/4 cup to roll the meatballs
heat oven to 180 fry off the onions garlic and mushrooms then add in the in the seasonings and beans remove from heat, mash mixture together ( easiest done in the food processor from a few blasts) then add in the breadcrumbs and rest until the mixture firms up. roll into balls or burger patties and roll into the remaining breadcrumbs bake for around 40mins until evenly brown

Apologies, I cook by eye and have no idea on weights, times or temperatures!

Red pepper and red onion quiche - rub together flour and butter for the pastry, roll out and line a dish, blind bake while you lightly fry the onions and pepper, beat eggs and cheese together with the veg, pour into the pastry case and bake.

You can also make great fajitas with refried beans instead of meat, or add some kidney/butter/whatever is handy beans to a stir fry instead of meat, or. home made pizzas with just veg.

Not forgetting the quick and cheap classic of baked potato with cheese and baked beans, or coleslaw.

I also aim to eat veggie / vegan at least twice a week - am also striving for more

I like Sarah Brown's lentil cottage pie

here is one of our (more wintery) favourites

Winter veg casserole

Oil
Garlic
¼ pt dry white wine
6 carrots
Tom puree
2 tsp mixed herbs
3 onions
Can tomatoes
4 celery sticky
2 leeks
Cauliflower

Topping
6 oz flour
3 oz butter
4 oz cheddar

Saute onion, celery, leeks, garlic in the olive oil. Add the chopped carrots and saute a little. Add tomatoes, cauliflower, wine, tom puree and herbs and simmer until cooked. Put in a casserole dish.

Rub fat into flour and add cheddar, sprinkle on top and bake for about 20 mins on about 180 - 200 until topping is cooked (i guess the last bit)

And a summery one

Cheese and Lentil loaf

6 ounces red lentils
12 fluid ounces water
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 large egg
3 tablespoons single cream
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon butter

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5, 375 deg F (190 deg C).
Pick over the lentils for any sticks and stones.
Rinse thoroughly and cook in a tightly covered pan with the water for 10-15 minutes.
Check after 10 minutes in case you need to add more water.
The mixture should cook to a stiff puree.
Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the grated cheese, chopped onion, parsley, cayenne pepper and lemon juice.
Season to taste.
In a separate bowl lightly beat the egg.
Stir in the cream (to the egg).
Pour this mixture over the lentils.
Greas e 1 lb loaf tin with the teaspoon of butter and press in the mixture.
Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is golden brown and the mixture feels firm to the touch.
Let it stand for 10 minutes in the tin before turning out.


Nice with salad - or cold for lunch the next day...

i use deliciously Ella and Plant based pixie websites for some inspiration. As well as Jack Monroe

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.

This thread will be useful, we're planning for midweek vegetarianism for the foreseeable.

My mum has our Keralan cook book, so from memory

Curried Squash

Butternut squash/crown prince pumpkin cut into reasonable chunks (inch to inch and a half)
Garlic cloves
Ginger (fresh)
Coconut milk powder (stores well)
Turmeric
Cumin
Garam masala
Cardamom
Pinch of chilli



Soften squash in a pan
Add chopped ginger and garlic
Add spices in quantities to suit (I eyeball this, but a teaspoon of all but the chilli is a good place to start) and stir
Top with stock and coconut milk powder, allow to reduce until squash is cooked and sauce is thick

Lovely with lemon cashew rice or paratha

Wow, fantastic posts everyone and I really, really like the sound of all of them particularly your lovely versatile mix TORI.K that is going to be a very useful and economical addition to many of our future meals.

I hope the thread can be used as an easy reference resource to help us all and perhaps let people thinking of trying some meat free recipes see just how simple and thrifty they can be, thank you all so much, keep the recipes and ideas flowing, Lyn xxx.

I've been a vegetarian most of my life; not bothered by the meat replacement substances, I just like veg. Once you've got yourself into the mindset that veg can easily be the basis of a delicious meal, rather than a supporting role to meat, there are countless amazing dishes to try.

The Hugh Fearnley-Posho Veg Every Day book is a good starting point.

An Indian variation on laksa:

Fry chopped onions with a couple of tablespoons of madras paste, plus chillis if you like heat
Add whatever veg you've got lying around; greens, roots, anything that needs using up
Add milk to the consistency you like (soup or stew), simmer
Serve with Indian sides, and mop up with naans

Feels like a takeaway treat, without the rich greasiness of a lot of Indian food.

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 demand 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).

I don't eat much meat, it's pricey and you really have to be able/willing to use it once purchased... I picked up some mince and stewing steak reduced to half price about 2 months ago, they're still in the freezer as I'm "waiting for it to be meat weather/colder".

I'm a fan of nut roasts - although bl00dy expensive to make. Not a fan of lentils, nor soup.

But even simply not having meat on pizza toppings, or choosing a cheese/onion quiche instead of a quiche lorraine is doable for most ... although not cheaper than choosing the meat content.

For takeaway I go for vegetarian curries - the additional £2 or so cost of choosing a meat one isn't usually worth it for the few blobs you get.

Veggie food is "better/easier" as there are fewer concerns about storage and use by dates involved... so it's more flexible about when you use/eat it and how long it was in your bag before you got home. So "laziness" can be a motivator

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.

Wow....great recipes and tips. Although an omnivore who has to eat a paleo Diet....no grains or pulses ........I do try and eat a diet based around vegetables and fruits, with only modest a amounts of meat and fish. And I too try and go meat free a couple of days a week.

I am sorry but I'm another cook by eye and taste rather than following recipe books and using weights and measures.

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".

Come now Ms LW.

Mushroom roulette! All you have to do is ask.

PS. Don!!!8217;t believe the bullshine.

Hi BOP beans on toast with an egg, mushrooms too, and another egg !!! food of the Gods and 'proper grub!'.

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.

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.

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.

Non-cooked food, like salads & fruit is going to be environmentally friendly.

... 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.