How to go vegetarian?

[Anonymous]

I love meat. Bacon is quite possibly the world's most delicious food. However... I may be reaching the point where the factory farming and the environmental concerns outweigh my deep-seated love for a giant, buttery steak.

But HOW to do it? My cooking revolves around meat. When I'm planning a meal, I start with the meat and go from there. Without meat to anchor the meal, where do you begin? If I have chicken, then I can find mushrooms, cream, and pasta. With no chicken... mushrooms in cream on pasta doesn't sound very filling.

We like all sorts of legumes, but don't like leafy greens. And I loathe all those fake-meat products. Simply inedible. Plain tofu is ok in a highly-spiced dish.

I'd appreciate any strategies, ways of thinking about food, that would lead to a reduction in our meat consumption. How do you make interesting, varied, filling meals without it?

[Anonymous]

Try starting with a vegetable stir fry or curry with a nice sauce. If you want something 'heavier', try eggplant parmigiana, lasagne, quiche, etc. But you will probably have to get used to 'lighter' meals on the whole. I've been a strict vegetarian for most of my life, but I feel a bit stuck in a rut since the starting point for almost all my meals is either rice or pasta!

[Anonymous]

Well, for starters, you will have to rethink the notion that meat has to be the focus of a dish. Think of dishes and cuisines where vegetarian meals are the norm. For example, many mediteranean and middle-eastern dishes are vegetarian (and nearly always vegan). Greeks typically make dishes called "ladero", which literally means with oil - the idea being that when a dish has little protein, olive oil will both provide necessary nutrients and calories. Vegetable dishes that are given the "ladero" treatment:
stewed green beans and potatoes
eggplant (or zucchini, or a mix of the two)
okra
spinach and rice
dried beans (typically garbanzos, or large dried limas)

In these dishes the vegetables are usually stewed or baked in a sauce of tomato, onion, garlic, and olive oil. Generations of burly Greek men have been raised on these foods, and I don't think that I have every heard a complaint of hunger.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes fake meat can be deceptively delicious as spinach in smoothies. It seems to work particularly well in Asian dishes. I would recommend trying the fake bulgogi at Javagreen or the fake chicken dishes at Asian Bistro in silver Spring. Or try anything at Yuan Fu in Rockville. You might just change your mind...

I'd also go heavy on the hummus and falafel and tofu, which feel more substantial than some other main dishes.

[Anonymous]

I like a good chick-pea curry, or a lentil based stew.

[Anonymous]

I'd start with cuisines that have great vegetarian dishes such as Italian, Thai and Indian. Invest in some great cookbooks and slowly start increasing the number of vegetarian meals that you eat per week. As vegetarian meals generally cost less than meals based on meat, you could use the savings you have made to buy small quantities of organic, free range and non-factory farmed meat. Going cold turkey (as it were!) is difficult to do if you are not familiar with vegetarian food.

[Anonymous]

Try grilling and roasting. Vegetables taste much better this way. I agree cuisines other than traditional American or European are mostly centered around vegetables, grains, and past. It doesn't seem like something is missing. Asian and Indian are good. Mexican is an option with cheese, beans, and rice dishes. Try trader's joes frozen prepared foods to get a feel for what you might like.

[Anonymous]

You said that your concerns centered around factory farming and environmental issues, rather than moral concerns about meat or health issues. One option, if you don't want to go full veg (I couldn't!) is to purchase meat from local farms. We get meat from Polyface farms in Charlottesville, VA (the farm was profiled in The Omnivore's Dilemma). They have buying clubs all over the DC area - every six weeks or so, you place an order, and they deliver it to a home in the area, where you pick it up. It's definitely not cheap (unless you have a big freezer and can buy in bulk) but it tastes MUCH better than anything you can buy in any store, and the environmental philosophy is very appealing.

[Anonymous]

Look into the Flexitarian Diet, which is what we did for the very reasons you talk about. Basically, it means that we cook/eat mainly vegetarian/pescatarian meals and don't feel guilty when we eat a burger from our fave organic burger joint. We transitioned to this diet by avoiding cooking meat at home and only eating it while we were out. Now I probably cook meat 1x per month in the summer and maybe a couple times per month in the winter. I also ONLY buy meat from Whole Foods, the farmer's market or an organic butcher so that I really know where my meat is coming from and know that it is free-range, organic, etc., etc.

I started off by cooking hearty stews, pasta dishes, frittatas, etc. and moved into more adventurous veg cooking from there. This is easy to do in the winter. Summer involved lots of farmer's market fresh salads and grilled veggies. I never cook with meat substitutes either. I do use a lot of beans in my cooking.

Cookbooks I've really enjoyed include Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker and The Vegetarian Family Cookbook.

This weeks menu includes:
Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili
Crispy breaded shrimp w/ cannellini beans & spinach
Butternut Squash mac & cheese
Tomato Basil Soup w/ grilled cheese sandwiches
Potato Pierogi w/ sauteed cabbage and apples
Mushroom Bourguignon

It can be done! And it is really satisfying as the person responsible for cooking the majority of our meals to create a vegetarian menu that leaves us all feeling satisfied. I was right where you were a year ago. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I really like Deborah Madison's book, "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" (and also another of her other books, "The Savory Way"). The other staple in our kitchen is "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home" (love their sweet potato quesadilla recipe).

We're not vegetarians, but these cookbooks mean that we have many delicious meatless meals as part of our family repertoire.

[Anonymous]

I would not go full steam into it if I were you. For awhile I ate very little meat, but when I tried to move to full vegetarian - it was very hard (I was shocked at how many foods have bits of meat or broth it int) I made it a month (my goal) and then happily went back to adding meat to my diet.

But I rarely make meat the center of my meals (my DH does -so when he cooks it is). So I think the first step for you is simply moving to meals that are meat-centric (is this a word?). Or aim for one or two vegetarian meals a week. As you move toward it, you may find you totally embrace it or you may find (like me) a little meat in your diet is needed for sanity.

Vegetarian options:
Black Bean tacos
Veggie burgers
Veggie lasagna
Cheese and Spinach Calzones
Add veggies to simmer sauces (indian spices do great with chickpeas and spinach)
Pad Thai (if you are game to use tofu - or add a little chicken or seafood for a non-meat-centric meal)
Mac and Cheese and Roasted veggies
Baked Potato - can load with Fage Yogurt and cheese - and brocolli
Soups (hard to find true vegetarian a thimes) and rolls

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look into the Flexitarian Diet, which is what we did for the very reasons you talk about. Basically, it means that we cook/eat mainly vegetarian/pescatarian meals and don't feel guilty when we eat a burger from our fave organic burger joint. We transitioned to this diet by avoiding cooking meat at home and only eating it while we were out. Now I probably cook meat 1x per month in the summer and maybe a couple times per month in the winter. I also ONLY buy meat from Whole Foods, the farmer's market or an organic butcher so that I really know where my meat is coming from and know that it is free-range, organic, etc., etc.

I started off by cooking hearty stews, pasta dishes, frittatas, etc. and moved into more adventurous veg cooking from there. This is easy to do in the winter. Summer involved lots of farmer's market fresh salads and grilled veggies. I never cook with meat substitutes either. I do use a lot of beans in my cooking.

Cookbooks I've really enjoyed include Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker and The Vegetarian Family Cookbook.

This weeks menu includes:
Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili
Crispy breaded shrimp w/ cannellini beans & spinach
Butternut Squash mac & cheese
Tomato Basil Soup w/ grilled cheese sandwiches
Potato Pierogi w/ sauteed cabbage and apples
Mushroom Bourguignon

It can be done! And it is really satisfying as the person responsible for cooking the majority of our meals to create a vegetarian menu that leaves us all feeling satisfied. I was right where you were a year ago. Good luck!

Please post your black bean and sweet potato chil recipe. Pretty please

[Anonymous]

Quick Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili Recipe

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/2004/family/chili.html

ENJOY!

[Anonymous]

Get an Indian cookbook or plan a bean-focused meal, a green vegetable-focused meal and a starchy vegetable-focused meal every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Quick Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili Recipe

http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/2004/family/chili.html

ENJOY!

Thanks! I love anything that start with the word "quick" and it appears easy enough even for me (not the OP, but hopefully she/he will enjoy it also).