What can I feed my family?!
Answers: I am not planning on becomming a vegitarian, but I do think my family eats way too much meat. What are some non meat menu items I can feed my family a few times a week?
When people try to cut out (or cut down on) meat in their diets, they oftentimes make the mistake of going carb-crazy by eating a lot of pastas, lasagnas, raviolis, potatoes, etc.. Cheese commonly goes with pastas and then a LOT of fat is added to the meal that supposed to be "healthier".
You want to make sure that you are feeding your family a good mix of veggies and fibre. Here are my dinner suggestions:
~A tossed salad, vegetarian chili and a slice of whole-wheat garlic bread
~Vegetarian sub sandwiches and vegetable soup (you can get SO creative with the sub sandwiches - add lettuce, tomato, onions, marinated artichokes, pickles, alfalfa sprouts, spinach leaves, soy cheese, hummus {for a dressing instead of high-fat mayo} or cucumbers, etc. to some great wheat bread
~Veggie tacos or fajitas and Spanish rice (you could also make black bean tacos...just steer clear of re-fried beans. they are loaded with fat as many of them are re-fried in lard)
~Vegetable stir fry with lo mien noodles or brown rice, veggie egg rolls (some really tasty ones can be found in your grocer's freezer section)
~Any of your favorite casserole with the meat removed (or replaced with a soy meat substitute), a tossed salad and a healthy dessert
The possibilities are endless. Good luck!
try fish fillets with a salad its so good and healthy.
http://www.fatfreevegan.com
http://www.theppk.com
http://www.vegetarianlunchbox.com
http://www.veganlunchbox.com
or google "vegan" or "vegetarian" and then whatever dish you want to try vegetarianized.
Pasta's and Squash
salads and veggie stir fry without meat, rice
We eat non meat foods three times a week, but then I must hasten to add that 2 of those three times, we supplement meat with fish.
The third meatless meal will be truly vegetarian, like mac+cheese, spinach+feta muffins or veg curry pies.
Also try pizzas, especially home made ones, (buy the frozen bases and add whatever you like)...
Do a vegetarian meat loaf (without the meat)....
Very simple.
quiches are also good, make em your self, and cut out the meat content, or reduce it to one or two vienna sausages per quiche.
Vegetable soup using a vegetable base - I make a vegetable broth and add random spices and chopped vegetables and cooked pasta or rice to my liking. Very simple, hearty dish!
Salads - soooo many possibilities. Why not try a cauliflower salad, which is basically chopped cauliflower, capers, chopped red bell pepper, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing?
Pasta with sauteed onions, mushrooms and zucchini, with a soy cream sauce (boil 2 tbsp vegan margarine, add 2 tbsp flour, then add 1 cup low fat soy milk, bring to boil stirring constantly, then add spices/wine/soy cheese/whatever you'd like).
You can make almost anything vegan or vegetarian - there are a lot of great meat alternatives (usually soy based) that help with that! For example, you can substitute ground beef with soy "ground beef" in shepherd's pie! It's really delicious. :)
Try cooking some of the imitation meats (ie. veggie patties), they can be very nice depending on the brand you get. Otherwise there are plenty of websites and books filled with delicious vegetarian recipes. Fish seems like a lighter meat to me, and I find it tasty.. Good luck!
Beef trust me
EAT MEAT!!!
better to prepare soups and salads
and polkas meals with fish and eggs....
soups are the best digestive and belly filling ones to stop more eating.
Beans, beans and more beans! Beans are a part of almost every culture! So start going ethnic for fun!! Lentils are a wonderful quick bean that you can use for all sorts of dishes! Garbanzos are popular in Indian cuisine, black and pinto great for Mexican (burritos without meat is okay), navy/ white for American like Baked Beans. Then as others stated salads are a great option and you can really play with those!!