Dishes that use chickpeas or white/cannelini beans as the base usually are hearty.

Anonymous wrote:We are generally meat and fish eaters but I thought it would be a good idea to try and have at least one day a week be a meat free dinner. So far it's been going great. Things like falafel, vegetable enchiladas, tomato stuffed mushrooms. I am looking for some more ideas for the upcoming weeks. Nothing like pasta with sauce will cut it with my husband. I need him to feel like he doesn't even miss the meat!

Will you be able to manage a little preparation before hand (like buying ingradients from specialty store and making batter a day prior etc.)? If you do, I can suggest many tasty, nutritious Indian recipes which can be very filling.

Stuffed giant portabello mushrooms.

Mix together bread crumbs, cream cheese and minced onions sauteed in olive oil, with anything else that tastes good (shredded cheese, feta, minced veggies or herbs, etc).

Wash, dry and remove the stems of the mushrooms. Brush inside and out with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Pack tightly with your stuffing. Drizzle with olive oil and either grill or bake until center is hot.

This will work as a filling substitute for a main course, and you can change it up with different stuffings.

Indian food is very good and leans towards vegetarian. Vegetable pilaf and dal etc.

vegetable kabobs over basmati rice with a side of tzatzki, quiche, grilled cheese and tomato soup. Soups are actually a great way to avoid meat. We are heavy red meat eaters so once in a while I do a soup and salad. When you load the salad with beans and other goodies you get so filled up that you dont miss the meat. Another good one is stuffed vegetables....we do stuffed peppers with rice, tomato, parsley and onions. Eggplant parmesean? Just some random ideas.

We are generally meat and fish eaters but I thought it would be a good idea to try and have at least one day a week be a meat free dinner. So far it's been going great. Things like falafel, vegetable enchiladas, tomato stuffed mushrooms. I am looking for some more ideas for the upcoming weeks. Nothing like pasta with sauce will cut it with my husband. I need him to feel like he doesn't even miss the meat!