Ready to eat vegetarian dishes can add up quickly, so why not make your own versions? A great substitute for meat is mashed black beans. Buy a can of black beans, drain and rinse them, and mash them with a potato masher. They have lots of protein and they are tasty. When you mash them, you can leave them a little chunky if you like, for more texture. Use for tacos, casseroles, mix with barbeque sauce for sandwiches, or get creative!
I agree! One of my favorite dishes is as follows: Vegetable, nut and lentil Koftas Fry up onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and chili for 5 min. Add curry powder or paste and the lentils and cook gently for 1 min. Add vegetable stock and tomato puree and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 min or until lentils are tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and cool slightely. Add breadcrumbs, nuts, coriander (cilantro), egg and seasoning to taste. Mix well and leave to cool. Using 2 spoons, shape into round golf ball sized pieces. Place the balls on a greased baking sheet and drizzle with oil and sprinkle with a little gram masala to taste. Bake at 350F/180C for 15 to 20 min until piping hot or golden. make a dressing to dip them in out of yogurt, cilantro, and mango chutney. It is sooo delicious!!! You'll not miss meat at all!
Thanks for that, H.C. That's another one I'll have to try. I've only recently tried cooking lentils. I have a friend who is vegetarian, so my experience has all been in cooking food for her, trying to make sure she's comfortable and fed well, even while surrounded by meat eaters. She seems to like my cooking though, so I'm glad. She doesn't get much home-cooking aside from mine, so it makes me happy to do it for her.
A vegetable stew with potatoes is always good. It provides nutrients, energy from the potatoes and I find is rather filling. It is somewhat lacking in protein but you'll be able to accommodate that from other sources. That's my staple meal anyway. Omelettes are another snack I enjoy, and they are high in protein.
Oh, this is another one that sounds really good. I will add this to my list. Thank you. I do like to use potatoes instead of meat too. One time we were having fajitas so I made a separate batch for my friend but instead of chicken, I substituted chunks of potato.
I really make my own vegetarian meals. And I rarely follow recipes. I read recipes to get ideas of what I will do, but I don't at all feel comfortable doing it exactly as it directs. I am not good so much at following instructions and often I don't have the ingredients ready at hand. And I don't want to go out just to get those stuff. What I do is I try to make the most of what I have, with most of the vegetables I have. And this kind of thing works for me.
One of our favorite vegetarian dishes here is vegetable spring rolls. It's a vegetable combination wrapped up in rice paper and either steamed or fried. The choice of filling is up to you of course, but the most common ingredients for it are bean sprouts, carrots, and tofu. We dip them in any sauce we like such as sweet and spicy sauce, vinegar, etc.
Thanks for the thoughts and the tip- I agree, no reason not to go just one step further and make your own. I could never be a Vegetarian, much less the rest of my family, but we really have been pondering more seriously the idea of a "meatless Monday" or something like that.
What of succotash? It's not only cheap but can get you virtually all nutrients you need. There are thousands of ways you can cook succotash and the ingredients in the cookbooks differ. What you need though is corn kernels, lima beans [or any other beans], some pepper, onions, tomatoes. Recipes are all over the net . . .
My favorite vegetarian meal would be "Buttered Beans". It only requires butter, carrots, corn and beans. I still don't know how to cook it yet though, so I think I must take time to learn how to cook it because it is very easy to make.
