Vegetarian Ideas...please?!?!?

I'm converting to vegetarian after much thought, and do not think it will be a stretch for me. I already don't eat meat very often, as meat is expensive and I like veggies better. I am a big fan of flavorful, diverse foods however, and need some ideas for a shopping list. It should be noted that I am very "thrifty" as I am trying to pay of a lot of bills, and don't have a very big grocery budget. My friend Nandu has told me about textured vegetable protein (which sounds a bit scary), and I already have tofu, lentils, chick peas, eggplant, and zucchini on my list. I'm just looking for "heavy" vegetables that will fill me up and work well in recipes.





Any ideas?|||Enjoy the wholesome goodness of some carrots.|||wel u can eat a vegie burger or fish i mean fish dont have miinds and god gave us theas animals so we can eat anmd well u can eat crabs andfruite saldas|||ASian cookery is really inexpensive buy rice and soya sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, coconut milk, some vegetarian curry paste (or make your own). Here are some recipes





Noodles With Stir-Fried Tofu and Broccoli





Ingredients


1 lb firm tofu


8 ounces udon noodles or soba noodles or Chinese wheat noodles or linguine


1 tablespoon canola oil


2 large broccoli florets , cut into bite size pieces


1/3 cup stir-fry sauce (good quality)


1/2 cup thai peanut sauce


Directions


1Cut tofu into 1/2 inch thick slices.


2Dry by blotting between layers of paper towels or, preferably, clean tea towels.


3Cut blotted tofu into 1/2 inch dice.


4Cook noodles according to package directions and drain.


5Heat oil in a wok or extra large skillet.


6With heat on medium high, stir fry tofu until golden on most sides.


7Remove from pan.


8Combine broccoli with 1/4 cup of water in the pan.


9Cover and steam until tender crisp.


10Add tofu, cooked noodles and stir fry sauce to pan.


11Toss gently until well coated.


12Cook until heated through.





Sesame Noodles With Napa Cabbage


Sesame Noodles With Napa Cabbage


Recipe # 284507 | 13 min | 3 min prep | SERVES 4 (Change Servings)


Change to: Servings US Metric


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RECIPE BY: WI Cheesehead





From Vegetarian Times. Good hot or cold. I use Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids for the soy sauce. It's a lot lower sodium.


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3 tablespoons natural-style peanut butter


2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil


2 tablespoons light soy sauce


2 tablespoons sherry wine or mirin


1 tablespoon rice vinegar


1 tablespoon sugar


1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or


1/2 teaspoon chili sauce


10 ounces udon noodles or spaghetti noodles


1/2 lb napa cabbage , shredded (about 4 C)


1/4 cup chopped cilantro


Directions


1Whisk together peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, sugar and red pepper flakes in saucepan.


2In separate pot, cook noodles according to pkg directions.


3Meanwhile, place cabbage in colander over sink.


4Warm sauce over medium-low heat.


5Drain noodles over cabbage in colander to wilt cabbage.


6Transfer noodles and cabbage to serving bowl, add sauce and toss to combine well.


7Sprinkle with cilantro and serve





Braised Tofu Skin


Ingredients


4 pieces dried tofu


2 tablespoons peanut oil


3 garlic cloves , minced


2 cups bok choy or other chinese other chinese greens


4 shiitake mushrooms , rehydrated and sliced


1/2 cup toasted unsalted cashews


1 tablespoon hot bean paste


1 cup vegetable broth


1 teaspoon sugar


1 teaspoon cornstarch


1/2 teaspoon sesame oil


Directions


1Soak the tofu sticks in water for 2 hours; drain. Cut into 1-inch pieces.


2Heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat and saute the garlic then bok choy until tender. Add the mushrooms and saute until hot. Toss in cashews.


3In a small bowl, stir together the bean paste, broth, sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil. Pour into the skillet and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens.


4Serve over rice, rice noodles, chow mein noodles, or wrapped in rice paper sheets like a burrito.


http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?ca…


A note on textured vegetable protein


its like mince meat when you add some hot water to it but its made out of soy product. Its quite good we make "meat" balls out of it for spaghetti and meat balls and it tastes good.|||potatoes, u can this to ur list. then if possible try to get the C vegetables.that is carrot capsicum cauliflower cucumber.they all go well in salad.


do forget to get lemon.jus a squeeze of it over ur dish and u have yummy tasting dish.


good luck....|||I find tofu to be way tastier than TVP, even if it doesn't have the same texture. That's just my opinion. Tofu is cheaper too. They are both made from soybeans though, so don't be afraid, lol. Your list looks good. Bok choy, asparagus and artichokes are my favorite vegetables. Peanuts are also good for you. Not peanut butter, which is loaded with sugar.|||my son and I love roasted broccoli with olive oil and garlic. Roast in the pan at 400 for about 15 minutes. Take about 2/3 cup of balsamic vinegar and add 2 teaspoons of brown sugar. Cook till heated. Add the the broccoli with some parmesan cheese and wheat pasta.





Also I made sweet potato hash browns the other night and they were wonderful. I shredded my potatoes, melted a little butter with some olive oil in the pan. Add the shredded sweet potatoes with just a little bit of brown sugar, a dash of salt, pepper and I added some cayenne pepper because I like sweet and hot. I cooked them until one side was browned and then flipped them over. They were awesome.|||you dont really have to eat just veggies but squash is great .


Here's a link to people that make veggie patties, veggie dogs ect. remember it take 21 days to make or break a habbit.





good luck|||You can do a lot with pasta. Nuts add texture and are a good source of protein. Actually, carmelized onions with almonds make a good dish. All you do is cut up a sweet onion and stirfry (throw in the almonds, too)it in a little oil until it softens. Then just sprinkle on a bit of sugar and keep heating it until it dissolves, just a few seconds.


Making your own bread is fun, and filling. All you need is flour and yeast. Then you can make herbed or garlic butter to spread on it.


TVP is good for making sloppy joes or spaghetti sauce. You have to soak it in tomato sauce to soften it.


It's easy to make veggie burgers out of different grains and beans. My favorite is lentil burgers or rissoles.|||Here are some links to vegetarian fake meat recipes...seitan (made with vital wheat gluten or whole wheat flour that is washed under water to wash out the starch and leaving the gluten) is high in protein and can be flavored to taste like meat with the use of vegetarian bouillon cubes.





I like homemade Banana Nut Bread to fill me up, but that is not really a high protein food but it does have nuts in it.





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Vegetarian Fake Meats





Bacon (vegan)


http://recipeswithtofu.blogspot.com/ (2 recipes for vegan bacon)


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Faken-Veggi… (fake bacon)


(Idea- take a Yam and slice it length wise thinly


soak in soya sauce and fry in oil result Fake Fried bacon!


optional: you might prefer to dip strips in cornmeal for to get a crunchier result!)





Bologna (vegan)


(Idea- Take thinly sliced beets, soak in soy sauce, and fry in oil.)





Beef (vegan)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1190/Sw… (swiss steak)


http://www.ellenskitchen.com/recipebox/g… (seitan steaks)


http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/… (seitan Portobello stroganoff)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/mo… (mock beef stroganoff)


http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vjseitan.htm (seitan and shitake mushroom stroganoff)


http://www.vegparadise.com/news18.html (stroganoff from sunburgers)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/se… (seitan mock beef stew)


http://www.vegparadise.com/news18.html (stroganoff from sunburgers)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/222/Sei… (seitan beef cutlets)


http://www.bbqu.net/recipes/403_1.html (ginger grilled tofu steaks with miso mayonnaise)


http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7586.0 (seitan roast beef sandwiches)


http://kitteekake.blogspot.com/ (seitan spare ribs)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/mo… (beef bourguignon, from seitan or tempeh)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/se… (seitan cheesesteak)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/mi… (vegetarian mincemeat)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/tv… (TVP and tofu meatloaf)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/pa… (veg liver pate)





Breakfast (general)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/te… (tempeh hash)





Cabbage rolls(vegetarian)


http://www.fatfreevegan.com/veggies/veg-… (bean stuffed cabbage rolls)


http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/croc… (potato stuffed cabbage rolls..crockpot)





Chicken (vegan)


http://www.chezbettay.com/salads_chicken… (chicken salad..vegan)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/te… (mock chicken salad)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1153/Bu… (Buddha’s chicken..vegan)


http://www.fatfreevegan.com/Meat_subs/88… (chick or italian tofu burgers)


http://recipeswithtofu.blogspot.com/ (mock chicken patties)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/223/Sei… (seitan chicken cutlets)


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-sei… (seitan chicken)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/669/Bre… (chicken breast of tofu)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1372/Ch… (chicken fried tofu)


http://donteatoffthesidewalk.com/?page_i… (Tempeh “wingz”)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/ch… (mock chicken chow mein)





Clam Chowder


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/oc… (Veg clam chowder)





Crab (vegan)


http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/krab-k… (crab cakes)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/te… (mock crab cakes)





Duck


http://spiceislandvegan.blogspot.com/200… (mock tofu duck)


http://tofufortwo.net/2007/10/18/mock-du… (from canned seitan mock duck)


http://www.vegsource.com/articles/bryann… (bryanna’s mock duck from canned seitan)


http://www.vegsource.com/articles/bryann… (using canned seitan duck..oriental tamales)





Fish (vegan)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1198/Th… (fish and chips vegan)


http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/tunafi… (vegan tuna fish salad)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/824/Veg… (veggie tuna salad)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/mo… (mock tuna salad)


http://www.naturalways.com/salomeb.htm (It tastes like tuna..salad)


http://www.fatfreevegan.com/soy/faux.sht… (faux fish cakes)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1155/Fi… (fish fry vegan)


http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=14902.… (baked tofishy)





Gravy (vegan)


http://rubies.articledirectoree.com/reci…


http://www.veganrepresent.com/forums/arc…


http://grazingrecipes.blogspot.com/ (scroll down)


http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/gravy.…





Ham (vegan)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1156/Mo… (mock ham)


http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=10803.… (tofu ham)


http://chinesefood.about.com/od/vegetari… (vegetarian ham from bean curd sheets)





Lamb


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/mo… (mock lamb curry)





Lobster (vegetarian)


http://www.lobsterlib.com/taste.html (vegan lobster recipe..with seitan)


http://www.vegieworld.com/cart/product_p… (to purchase)





Meat (general fakes)


http://www.vegan-food.net/category/meat/ (list of lots of fake meat recipes)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/mo… (several recipes)


http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vjseitan.htm (several seitan recipes..scroll down for Mock BBQ Pork)





Pork (vegan)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/225/Sei… (seitan pork cutlets)


http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vjseitan.htm (scroll down for mock BBQ pork)





Sausages (vegan)


http://www.webvalue.net/recipes/sausage.… (veggie sausages, not with tofu..seitan?)


http://www.associatedcontent.com/article… (making seitan from whole wheat flour, page 1)


http://www.associatedcontent.com/article… (making seitan from whole wheat flour, page 2..has some tips on seasoning it for sausage flavor)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/sa… (tofu tempeh sausages)





Sloppy Joes


http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/… (lentil sloppy joes)


http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/slop… (TVP sloppy Joes)





Turkey (vegan)


http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/seitanrecip… (seitan and tofu turkey roast)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/889/Tur… (Vegan seitan turkey)


http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/p… (bryanna’s seitan turkey and other vegan holiday recipes)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/817/Sei… (turkey with gravy and stuffing)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/822/Tof… (tofu not-a-turkey)


http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/vegan… (tofu turkey with stuffing)


http://www.fatfreevegan.com/soy/oven-roa… (oven roasted tom tofu)


http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/than… (Thanksgiving lentil loaf, gravy)


http://www.vegparadise.com/otherbirds411… (noasted nurkey, from nuts)


http://www.boutell.com/vegetarian/nut-ro… (peta’s vegan nutroast)


see other loafs under “veggie loafs” below..





TVP


http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/slop… (TVP sloppy Joes)


http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/burg… (TVP and bean burgers)


http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1447/Mo… (TVP meatloaf)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/se… (TVP mock beef stew)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/mo… (mock beef stroganoff)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/ch… (mock chicken chow mein)


http://www.theveggietable.com/recipes/tv… (TVP and tofu meatloaf)





Veal (vegan)


http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/tofu/tofu… (veal parmesan..tofu cutlets)


http://www.chow.com/recipes/10596 (seitan veal picatta)





Veggie Burgers


http://search.foodnetwork.com/food/recip… (boy meets grill , grilled Portobello mushrooms)


http://www.webvalue.net/recipes/american… (super soy burgers with soy beans mashed)


http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetai… (veggie burgers)


http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetai… (mushroom cheddar vegetarian burgers)


http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/burg… (award winning burgers)


http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/burg… (more award winning burgers)


http://recipeswithtofu.blogspot.com/ (recipes with tofu)


http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/slop… (unsloppy joes)


http://www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/oam… (garden burgers)


http://www.recipelink.com/ch/2002/decemb… (original gardenburger copycat recipe)


http://www.astray.com/recipes/?show=*%20… (lots of veggie burgers)


http://www.vegan-food.net/category/patti… (lots of recipes)


http://www.cooksrecipes.com/meatless-rec… (2 pages)


http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/recipes/t… (vegan tofu burgers)


http://www.vegparadise.com/news18.html (sunburgers..sunflower seeds)


http://recipeswithtofu.blogspot.com/ (tofu walnut patties)


http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetai… (veggie burgers with tofu)


http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetai… (vegan tofu burger)


http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/sandwiche… (tightwad lentil burgers)


http://www.recipeatlas.com/specialdietre… (lenti|||My personal favorites are broccoli and spinach. Broc isn't necessarily heavy, but very versatile. Also, spinach is high in vitamins and iron.|||try other types of squash other than zucchini, also try carrots and potatoes. white and whole grain rice also keep you full. Eat fish.|||ever try vegetarian chili?


prepare it just like regular chili but with out the meat, it's my favorite!|||http://www.fatfreevegan.com


http://www.peta.org/accidentallyvegan


http://www.vegetarianlunchbox.com


http://www.theppk.com


http://www.vegcooking.com





Rather than just buying random things (unless you tend to eat mostly whole foods) it's probably easier to look up recipes and find actual meal ideas.|||Ensure you up your dairy - nuts, milk, yogurt, hummus, cottage cheese, cheese, beans, tofu and eggs. I am a recent convert and am eating fish too. it makes it easier for eating out, celebration etc.


Eat protien with carbs. eg. peanut butter on bread. This stops you from not getting enough protien which you will esp. need if you are execising.