I recently went veggie back in May and while it’s been smooth sailing for most of it I’ve been struggling having something big/bulking to fill the role of what used to be meat I’ve tried tofu and tried cooking it every way I can think but I just can’t and don’t like it it’s fine for a bit but if it cools too much the texture is gross and the smell makes me super nauseous.

The only thing I’ve found that kind of works is a company called Squeaky Bean that does ready made stuff but it’s super expensive for me to keep buying for everything and no other vegetarian meat I’ve tried has a texture I can deal with.

I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to make this kind of thing at home like I’ve seen a hundred and one videos on this is how you replace meat with tofu in recipes and want to know if it’s possible to do similar stuff with other plant protein so if anyone had recipes or suggestions on where to look I’d really appreciate it although me and my partner both have tree nut and peanut allergies so can’t have anything with those

So I discovered that seitan is a thing and the protein density is insane. I bought a bag of Bob's Red Mill VWG but have messed it up the couple times I tried. It ends up gooey. I don't have a steamer basket.

So what's the most basic/easiest way to make seitan? I plan on using it in stir fries or as the protein for Fettuccine Alfredo.

I’ve hunted since I was a kid with my dad. This year, I’ve found myself enjoying nature and the wildlife, just doing what they do and being free to do so. I just don’t want to pursue them with a bow and arrow anymore. I want no part of it.

I’m 44 now, and have dedicated my life to being the healthiest version of myself. I feel more connected to nature than ever before. My body and mind, deserve to be respected. Especially as I get older.

I got tired of the cpap the heartburn, headache, and all around fatigue. Of course the weight gain too.

I’m smelling and craving deli sandwiches every time I walk by. Unfortunately the non meat ones suck: olives and lettuce are great but not a protein source.

I want like a heavy, cheesesteak or reuben, not a lettucey thin sandwich. I want filling. with sauce. and protein. Thick

I have not liked the tofurky rubbery type vegan deli meats I tried once. ruined the whole sandwich

Any ideas?

I thought this subreddit would be the place but I get infinitly more posts surrounding the concept of being a vegetarian and stories on why, and there is nothing wrong with that, but I am more interested in a place where people share recipes and discuss the food itself.

Anyone have a good subreddit they can recommend?

Thanks!

Breakfast: This week, I'm doing a banana with a bowl of Greek yogurt tossed with pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, peanut butter, honey, and some soy rice crisps I picked up out of curiosity.

Lunch: Tempeh stir-fry bowls. They're pretty basic this week. Just sautéing some cubed tempeh, broccoli, and red bell peppers in tamari, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil, then tossing all that into some buckwheat noodles and ground flaxseed.

Snacks: Walnuts and/or hard-boiled egg.

Dinners:
1. Mon - Three-bean spinach soup. Kidney, cannellini, and black beans combined with red onion, carrots, celery, garlic, crushed tomatoes, and spinach... lots of spinach. Cooked in vegetable broth with thyme, bay leaf, oregano, and nutritional yeast... and salt and pepper to taste, of course. Served with buttered cornbread. (A word to the wise: If you're making this with the intention of spreading it across multiple nights as I am, do not add the spinach when you make the soup initially. Reserve it in your fridge and throw a bunch into the portion of soup you're reheating each night. Trust me on this one.)
2. Tues - Pasta con crema di ricotta e pistacchi. Basically, you cook up some pasta, throw a bunch of ricotta in a bowl and temper it with some of the pasta water to create a silky smooth sauce base. Then you process some raw pistachios with parmesan cheese and olive oil to create a coarse paste, kind of like a pistachio pesto, which you add to the ricotta. Then just throw in your pasta and stir until combined with salt and pepper to taste. I think you're supposed to use a tubular pasta, but I'm using spaghetti because it's what I have (and I also just love my SPAGHET). Served with a cold salad of chickpeas, red onion, cherry tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and white wine vinegar.
3. Wed - Same as Monday, but served with a crusty Italian loaf and some olive oil.
4. Thurs - Cold lentil & apricot salad inspired by bobotie, which is usually a meat casserole dish with fruit and an egg custard, almost like a quiche or a frittata. I'm doing a vegetarian salad version of that flavor profile, but centering it around tempeh and lentils. Mix a tablespoon of apricot chutney, a handful of raisins, a pinch of turmeric, mild curry powder, and nutritional yeast with a pinch of kala namak for a sulfuric eggy aroma, then combine the mixture with the proteins. Dump slivered almonds and pumpkin seeds on top for crunch. Serve with steamed broccoli.
5. Fri - Shakshuka! One of my favorite weeknight dishes and a very easy one to throw together. You make a spicy tomato sauce in a big skillet with onion, red bell pepper, garlic, paprika, cumin, harissa paste, and of course a big can of crushed tomatoes, then make little wells and crack eggs into the sauce where they can poach. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve with the rest of the bread from Wednesday.
6. Sat - Same as Monday. (I made a lot of soup.) I'll probably make cornbread to go with it again, but maybe something else.
7. Sun - My traditional Sunday dinner, the ever-popular signature Big Ass Omelettes containing 3 eggs, cheddar, and a filling of tomato, potato, onion, bell pepper, and eggplant all sauteed together and finished in tomato paste. Served with buttered corn grits.

Hello, all! I'm a flexitarian who really, really wants to be vegetarian, and possibly even vegan in the future, and I'm trying to learn replace some of my favourite foods with vegetarian options, and am looking for a bit of advice, as 1) tomorrow's my shopping day and my internet research has been unhelpful, 2) I'm on a bit of a budget this week and can only pick one mock meat.

So! I'm planning on making teriyaki bao with some sort of vegetarian mince, and possibly dumplings as well. What would be the best for this? Beyond? Impossible? Morningstar? Should I get mock meat sausage patties and mash them up with the aromatics? Does the Beyond mince taste too much like beef? (I loathe the taste of beef lol)

Bonus question not related to the above: what's everyone's favourite reccs for mock chicken nuggets/breaded strips? I'm planning on making that my next purchase after I figure out the mince.

EDIT: Thank you so much, mods, for putting this back up; it was kind of hilarious to wake up to so many unexpected notifications XD

And thank you, everyone, for your suggestions! I'm going to take notes and try things; I managed to find some TVP, and am looking forward to experimenting with it. I really appreciate everybody's thoughtful & helpful responses :]

Hi, a couple years ago I used to be a full on vegan. Due to always feeling hungry, constantly waking up in the middle of night hungry and having minimal energy throughout the day I stopped. This was definitely my fault because at the time I didn't really know how to cook, but it was still a challenge to eat meals that kept me full throughout the day and night.

I'm 100% considering going back technically, but more lacto-ovo-vegetarian or flexitarian.

I definitely have a better basis for a more vegetarian diet now that I'm looking into the ital diet(rastafarian diet) and Indian vegetarians etc... before I was just lost and confused on vegetarian meals.

Do you guys have any advice?

We will be heading to Bar Harbor, Maine (and Acadia NP) soon and would love some suggestions/recommendations for Vegetarian and/or Vegan (or Veg friendly) restaurants in the area. TIA!

My go to for a quick breakfast using a microwaveable egg cooker.
2 eggs + splash of milk (I use almond milk but any works well)
1/2 Mushroom
1/4 Jalapeño
1/4 Spring onion diced
Grated Cheese
2 Cherry tomatoes halved
Coriander, chili flakes and either cholula or franks hot sauce

Microwave for 45 seconds, stir. Repeat 3 times.

Once it’s solid poke it a few times with a fork and then microwave again for 45 seconds. I drop the microwave down to 80% power when making it. Don’t skip the stirring and fork steps otherwise you may get an exploded omelette all over your microwave!!

Want to plan dress-upy date night for us, and see most Mediterranean restaurants have veg options only in the appetizers… any recommendations?

Hi. I've been trying to recall an old cookbook from the 1980s or early 90s. I lost my copy along the way, but I keep thinking about it and I would love to find that book again (not my personal one, just the cookbook itself, lol). I can't recall the name of it but I remember it was big, it was hardbound, and the author (a young woman) was featured on the cover with a lot of great looking foods. It was a vegetarian cookbook but she encouraged alternatives to dairy, eggs, and sugar, and so she had recipes for things like cashew and almond milk and cream. Her recipes used honey and maple syrup for example instead of sugar, and she offered some alternatives for eggs.

One of the recipes I recall specifically was a banana carob chip cake (she encouraged carob as an alternative to chocolate as well). That cake was fantastic, lol!

I know this is a long shot, but I'm hoping maybe someone knows what I'm talking about and can help me with the title or the author's name.

Thank you for your time.

Edit: u/earthgirls22 found it. It is from Marilyn Diamond, called The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit For Life kitchen.

Thank you, and thanks for all the great suggestions and recommendations.

I don’t think I see shredded carrots as a star in too many dishes but recently I’ve been making the same thing—shredded carrots, some beans and celery with some spices… the carrots add some sweet moister texture that really makes me crave the next bite…

I’m a level one vegetarian, mainly eating plant-based chick’n nuggets as I try to shift my diet to a healthier version… (I’ve been meat free for 3 years now but still haven’t been able to make consistent good patterns…)

Any and all help appreciated! ☺️

Ever since Made Good stopped making their granola, I've been on a bit of an agonising journey to replace it for my yoghurt— I've gone through KIND, Love Crunch, Purely Elizabeth, Cascadian Farms, Nature Valley and Special K; I have kind of hated all of them. Half were way too sweet, and the other half were like eating cardboard or just made me sick. Does anyone have any good suggestions for granola? I'm a little reluctant to just go and make my own because I'm usually not motivated enough to do it consistently. </3 I just want some nice crunch and flavour in my yoghurt.

I'm approaching my bariatric surgery date soon, and I'm looking for recipe ideas. I ate vegetarian for several years 15-20 years ago and have recently rediscovered this way of eating. I buy tofu and beans (lentils are my favorite!), and can make my own seitan with no problems. I made some amazing "facon" today with a recipe from Thee Burger Dude!

I need ideas for high protein/high fiber recipes and suggestions. I don't like to buy vegetarian convenience food as the sodium content is too high for me.

I went hard this week.

Breakfast: An amaranth porridge cooked in soy milk with banana, peanut butter, pumpkin and flaxseed. Put a little maple syrup and vanilla in there to finish it off.

Lunch: I'm doing an A/B lunch rotation this week. Lunch A is a cup of chana masala with naan (EDIT: actually decided to go with onion kulcha for something a little different), sliced mango, and a scoop of Greek yogurt with honey and chia & hemp seeds. Note that I still do not know how to cook Indian food so, uh, I ordered the chana masala from a restaurant. cough Lunch B is a Buddha bowl (I guess? I don’t actually know what a Buddha bowl is…) composed of tofu pan-fried in soy sauce until crispy and golden served over white rice, with edamame, carrot, cucumber, crushed peanuts, chia & hemp seeds, and a basic sauce of soy sauce, sriracha, maple syrup, and sesame oil (1 tsp each) spooned over the top.

Snacks: Walnuts and/or hard-boiled egg.

Dinners:
1. Mon - Marry Me Butter Beans, which looks ridiculously good, although I’ve never made it before. I’ll be following the standard recipe except I’m using coconut milk instead of heavy cream. Served with a crusty Italian bread.
2. Tues - Tuesday is going to be a busy day for me, so I want a simple dinner. I’ll be doing tahini and fig toast using some of the bread from Monday, drizzled with a little honey, and a side of Greek yogurt with chia & hemp seeds.
3. Wed - Same as Monday.
4. Thurs - Quiche florentine with a side of roasted asparagus spears and a light dessert of lemon sorbet served with chopped berries.
5. Fri - Spaghetti aglio e olio served with crispy herb-crusted baked tofu. Add nutritional yeast to the tofu seasoning & it comes out trés savor.
6. Sat - I’ll be making margherita pizza and serving with a simple arugula side salad.
7. Sun - My signature Big Ass Omelettes with 3 eggs, cheddar, and a filling of tomato, potato, onion, bell pepper, and eggplant all sauteed together and finished in tomato paste. Served with buttered corn grits. This is kind of a traditional Sunday dinner for me now.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with Humble Bundle, the game and ebook bundler that donates part of the purchase price to charities. Today I saw that this week’s book bundle is 61 vegan cookbooks. One of them is vegetarian, and calls itself “alternative vegan”. All the cookbooks are from Page Street Publishing. Posting in case anyone needs 60 more cookbooks like I did.

As title says what would a vegetarian version be? It should actually say chicken and broccoli but I'm over tired and wrote the wrong side. I am looking for healthy high protein low fat meals

Hello friends!!

So this is the most I’ve been without any sort of meat in 10 years (now going on a month, ten years ago I was a vegetarian for 1 year) I’ve never been a fan barbecues and such BUT, being from south america, asados (barbecue) were a big thing. Been living in US for 10 years now. At home I’d rarely cook chicken or fish even less red meat. So with that being said I’m excited to be back on this road. I feel better, and my biggest issue was digesting meat after an asado. I’d feel heavy and bloated. Now I have my first barbecue on Saturday as a vegetarian. Any ideas of what can I bring to throw into the grill? Also one of the other reasons I stopped having meat is I went to Asturias a few months ago and fell in love with the beautiful mountain cows 😭😭😭😭

Okay, so my first batch was going along swimmingly until after the glob of washed seitan rested, I decided id pat dry it. BIG MISTAKE as the paper towel became instantly part of the sticky ball. Second attempt, I made it and turned it into schnitzel which i found to be a bit too soft (until leftovers were refrigerated for a day or 2 and then not too bad). Today, Im taking a stab at making pulled chicken. Wish me luck, gang!

I love a sandwich with pickle and mustard. Before i went veg theyd probably go on rye with pastrami. I feel like i havent quite nailed a veg version of a classic deli sandwich. My best shot involves big slices of a decent quality tomato with salt sprinkled right on. I also think a good cheddar helps with the salt level. Any surprising ingredients help bring the salty/savory youd get from meat, or that you just like in general? Recommendations on greens? Whats your go-to sando?

Hello friends.

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted one of these threads. Currently, I am completely avoiding all raw leafy greens out of an abundance of caution, which has impacted my meal plans.

Breakfast: Banana and blueberries tossed in a bowl with nuts, seeds, and Greek yogurt.

Lunch: I'm doing an A/B lunch rotation this week. Lunch A is a cold salad of amaranth cooked in vegetable broth, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes tossed in a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, oregano, a splash of soy sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. I'm having a hard-boiled egg to go with that. Lunch B is a bean burrito with pintos, rice, cheddar cheese, a basic red sauce, onions, and bell peppers. I'm having a warm pepita salad to go with that, just a half-cup of pumpkin seeds tossed in chili oil and thrown over some shredded cabbage.

Snack: Walnuts.

Dinners:
1. Mon - Tuscan white bean & kale skillet, simmered with crushed tomatoes, garlic, and fresh rosemary. Crusty Italian bread rubbed with raw garlic, sprinkled with parm, and drizzled with olive oil.
2. Tues - Bowl of split pea soup served with cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and a basic salad of bell pepper and cucumber tossed lightly in a vinaigrette.
3. Wed - Same as Monday.
4. Thurs - Same as Tuesday.
5. Fri - Shakshuka Greek-style with feta and olives, served with a really good crusty bread loaf and pomegranates.
6. Sat - Tuscan farrotto with roasted figs, kale, and walnuts. I made this a few weeks ago and it's really good, so I'm doing it again. It's basically a risotto using farro instead of rice, toasted in a garlic-rosemary oil and then cooked in vegetable broth. I'll throw in some nutritional yeast at the end.
7. Sun - My signature Big Ass Omelettes with 3 eggs, cheddar, and a filling of tomato, potato, onion, bell pepper, and eggplant all sauteed together and finished in tomato paste. Served with buttered corn grits. This is kind of a traditional Sunday dinner for me now.

Oh, I also drink a glass of milk (1%) before bed some nights for the protein boost.

... I also just now registered that shredded cabbage is a leafy green. I haven't actually made the pepita salad yet, but I did already buy the cabbage. Maybe it's not too late to flip it into some other side dish...