Hey all, I had a veggie phase when I was about 8 but quickly reverted because I couldnt stick to it (missed meat). I'm now thinking about trying it again, more to do with the things i've heard about meat eating being unsustainable. I don't know whether this is the norm, but my meals have always been based around meat, accompanied by chips, potatos, veg and whatever else. I was just wondering what you tend to replace it with? If you could give some examples of meals you eat I would appreciate it a lot. Thanks.
There are lots of soy meat alternatives sold at mainstream grocery stores. If you're in the States, name brands like Boca and Morningstar Farms are the ones most widely available. One idea is to look at foods you currently like and note which ones are already meatless. For instance, if you like both waffles and strawberries, combine the two for a more filling meal: waffles topped with strawberries. Here are other possible meal ideas: Veggieburger with your favorite toppings and fries or a side salad Grilled portobello mushroom with toppings on a bun or hoagie A bagel with peanut butter or as a sandwich for a soy sausage patty Veggie pizza Cereal topped with fresh bananas or strawberries Vegetarian chili with cornbread or rice Baked potato loaded with vegetarian chili Soy hot dog with meatless baked beans Refried bean burrito with your favorite toppings These are just a few things I thought of. You could find more meal ideas in tune with your personal taste preferences at sites such as www.tryveg.com and http://www.vegsource.com/veg_faq/ .
Yes... there's many brands that focus primarily on the vegetarian. I enjoy making things and discovering recipes... playing with recipes. But microwavable (Gardenburger appears to have a few vegan choices) is usually easier and fast.
I found it hard at first to part with the taste of meat(bleh now) but I overthought it one day... My reason for missing meat: Taste - meat has no taste exept -blood -char and -salt, exepting of course hormones etc. Texture - fibrous chewy texture of meat isn't that hard to replicate by frying boca burgers, frying them makes them a little tougher. I found that frying boca burgers and adding flavoring to be suitable. Then later I ate more healthy after the taste craving issue was solved... good luck with yourself!
I don't like Bocca burgers...they just taste too wierd. So, if I'm not eating meat for a meal that day or whatever, I'd rather just go with a salad or something, instead of the meat-replacement thingys...
I used to eat fake meats, but now they are just too werid. Quite like soy bacon in sandwiches though. My mother will cook all the veggie accompaniments then I'll just have a veggie burger or quorn something or other, whilst everyone else has meat. Othertimes I will cook, nothing fancy. We often make things with soya mince as a subsitute for minced/ground beef e.g lasagna, chili con carne etc. vegweb.com/food has loads of great simple recipies.
