tips for newbie veggie

ziggy23

Hi guys
I'm thinking of going vegetarian. (not vegan yet) I never eat red meat but would occasionally eat chicken and fish. I'm a busy single parent so don't really have the time to be cooking anything too fancy, was just looking for people's recommendations for meat subsitutes. Are the quorn 'chicken' pieces any use? Also I've had tofu in curries etc before and I thought it was quite nice ,any recipes for this? Basically just looking for a few tips if you don't mind.:)

actua11

Great to hear your thinking of going vegetarian. From personal experience, I think to make the switch I found that it's a great help just to give yourself a little time to adjust to new habits of eating foods that you may not have done in the past e.g when replacing chicken/fish take time to try a few different foods like Quorn (which I think is great!), tofu, tempeh or other meat replacements and you gradually find which you like and don't like, rather than dismissing all replacements if you don't like a particular one.


Vegeterian food definitely need not be fancy, things like salads, pizza, pasta, lasanga, curry, stir-fry, fajitas or just a burger and chips can be thrown together in the evening very easily. The thing is though, everyone I know (including myself) who have gone veggie have began trying new foods that they would've never tried before and working them into their meals, like tofu, falafel and a few others which you'll no doubt encounter over time.

As for tofu I attempted this and found it quite nice - http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/420641/veggie-thai-red-curry. However I've never managed to get my tofu near the standards of what I get when I'm eating out, so I'd love to hear a few tips too...

Shenshen

ziggy23 wrote: »

Hi guys
I'm thinking of going vegetarian. (not vegan yet) I never eat red meat but would occasionally eat chicken and fish. I'm a busy single parent so don't really have the time to be cooking anything too fancy, was just looking for people's recommendations for meat subsitutes. Are the quorn 'chicken' pieces any use? Also I've had tofu in curries etc before and I thought it was quite nice ,any recipes for this? Basically just looking for a few tips if you don't mind.:)

Hi Ziggy, glad to hear about your decision. There are lots and lots of simple and quick meals you can throw together easily, with and without meat substitutes. My husband and myself will always have some things in the freezer, Linda McCartney burgers, Quorn pieces and mince, veggie sausages, things like that, for when I really, really don't feel like cooking.
But I find that there are lots of fresh things that are quick to make:

We had a tortilla tonight, bits of boiled potatoes, fried onion, red bell pepper and sweetcorn, mixed with a few eggs and fried, then grated cheese on top and under the grill until golden. Took all of 15 minutes to make

ziggy23

Thanks guys for your suggestions:)
Shenshen that sounds delicious:D I have to lose some weight so am hoping the vegetarian way of eating might help too but I really need to watch my portions of cheese I love it:(

Shenshen

ziggy23 wrote: »

Thanks guys for your suggestions:)
Shenshen that sounds delicious:D I have to lose some weight so am hoping the vegetarian way of eating might help too but I really need to watch my portions of cheese I love it:(

I'd recomment staying away from the Quorn Chicken Style Burgers, and all of the vegetarian ready-made meals. They tend not to be exactly low on calories.

I find eggs are your friend there - not mad high in calories, but nicely filling.
And do try pulses. Beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils. While they have a lot of carbohydrates, they are very filling and can be great replacements for meat.
A lentil loaf can be a great thing for Sunday roast, and if you own a food processor, baked falafel are utterly delicious and really quick and simple to make. I can post a recipe if you like.

Stompbox

I'd love to see that recipe, Shenshen!

ziggy23

Thanks Shenshen! Yep would love that recipe

fatb0y

Good tip Shenshen... beans, peas and lentils are a vegetarian's best friend!

ziggy23, going vegetarian is an excellent idea but you do have to make sure you are getting enough protein, which could be a challenge compared with a meat diet so make sure you make the following a part of your regular diet:
- lentils, pulses, beans (cook them, sprout them, eat them in salads)
- yogurt (incredible and tasty protein, try going plain to avoid all the high sugars and fat in flavoured varieties)
- milk and cheese (watch out for rennet though)
- soy products - tofu et al. (not my favourite!)

Looking forward to that falafel recipe!

Shenshen

Sorry for the late reply now, here's my favourite falafel recipe :

1 can of drained chickpeas
1 onion, roughly chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 egg
chopped fresh coriander or parsely (if you want it, I only put it in occsaionally)
1 pinch of salt
1 pich of dried chili flakes
1-2 tablespoons of chickpea flour or regular flour

Pre-heat the oven to about 200 degrees, and grease a baking tray with a little oil.
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth-ish. The consistency should be similar to cake mixture, you don't want it to be too wet. If it is, add more flour.
With a spoon, shape little balls (they can be as rough as you like, don't worry), and place them on the baking tray.
Put them into the oven for about 10 minutes, then take them out to turn them. Bake for another 10 minutes after that.

These are best served either with some couscous and vegetable salad, or stuffed into pita breads with dips and salad.
If you have kids, go for the pita bread, it's eating with your hands and a little messy, they'll love it.
I usually make some tsatsiki and houmous as dips, and I find that a salsa dip is lovely with them too.

PigeonPie

Hi Ziggy, I'm not veggie but one of my favourite dinners is chickpea curry. I'd have it over chicken or beef curry any day!

ziggy23

PigeonPie wrote: »

Hi Ziggy, I'm not veggie but one of my favourite dinners is chickpea curry. I'd have it over chicken or beef curry any day!

Mmmm Shenshen deffo going to try that maybe Thurs evening:)
Yea I hate Chinese food but when I go Indian I always get the veggie option so much tastier...god I'm hungry now:o

HTML5!

I know it's an 'oldish' thread, but how you getting on Ziggy?

Shenshen, I've taken down that recipe!

I'm only vegetarian four days!! But I was out for dinner earlier and found it surprisingly easy not to eat meat.

I am eating more carbs than I should, but hopefully I'll balance it out shortly when I'm more 'together'.