Dad asking for help here... I’d like to start introducing main course vegetarian dishes into our meal plan. Of a sort that my kids won’t turn their noses up to.
I also need to keep it simple. Seems to be a lot of work gathering all the right ingredients. So much so, I’ll lay in inertia daunted by the task.
Are there any simple recipes out there? Say with just a few ingredients that will win-over my kids? Can’t wait to see what might show up here. Thanks.
Most of my friends are vegetarian/vegan, so I've had some pretty good vegetarian food. One of the simplest, best-tasting vegetarian dishes is pesto pasta (pesto sauce is really easy to make). I have found that green-colored sauce tends to put some kids off, but they usually like it if they try it. To make pesto sauce, you just take about two cups of basil leaves, a fourth cup of pine nuts, two garlic cloves, one third to one half cup olive oil, and a bit of salt, and then put it in the blender to make it saucy. Just put that on some pasta and add a bit of Asiago cheese and you're set. Some people also like to add sauteed veggies to it as well.
Hey Beammeup...
My hubby was a vegetarian when we first married (I'm assuming you mistyped cuz I don't know what vegetation diet is) and now he's starting to eat chicken, in addition to the fish and lamb he already ate before. Since you weren't specific about exactly what kind of vegetarian cooking you were interested in... here's some helpers...
I generally like the kraftfoods.com website because its easy and most of the recipes are around half an hour or so and rarely require much work (like chopping or something that takes real time) They have a nice selection of vegetarian recipes and a cool seasonal magazine that's free, and neat to look at.
I personally don't like wasting money on fake meat, so I usually subtituted with beans instead. For italian meals I would use red kidney beans or cannelini beans (white kidney) For mexican meals we use a lot of black beans- there's lots of soups and casseroles you can find... black beans with a little bit of ground cumin is super yummy. Lots of extra veggies too...
I tried to find some links to my favorite bean recipes but couldn't find any... the big better homes and gardens cookbook has a lot of our favorites, we really like mexican food... yum.
I mistype all the time... Grrr...
Hey Beammeup...
My hubby was a vegetarian when we first married (I'm assuming you mistyped cuz I don't know what vegetation diet is)...
I mistype all the time -- Glad that you pointed this out: “Vegetarian Diet”. Not sure where you’re from, but around here, the word: “diet”, can also be used to simply describe the nature of the foods we eat. We’re not on any special diet, just wanted to move towards less red-meat and such. Thanks again.
Regards Beammeup.
I try to do vegetarian meals for myself mon-fri. You could try just having certain days of the week as vegetarian days at first. My husband really likes meat so I still cook it for him. He is interested in losing weight so he has started to join in eating some vegetarian meals with me.
I try to spice up the foods somewhat. Justing taking some vegetables and boiling them is not going to do it. Try to get a good vegetarian cook book. I have too. It is not vegan (dairy and eggs are used) Seeds and nuts are also good additions to some vegetarian dishes. My husband prefers Indian dishes.
Usually you need to balance out the amino acids to get complete protein. The combinations are rice and lentils, rice and beans, whole grain and beans, corn and beans.
It makes me feel better when I am trying to eat locally grown vegetables as that is better for the environment.
I'm a pescitarian - a vegeratian who eats fish.
I could never be a full veggie/vegan - I love fish and cheese, although not at the same time!!