Any Veggie dinner ideas for someone who's going to try be a Vegetarian for a week or two?!
Italian Stew
2 tbsp. Italian dressing
1 package Morningstar Farms sausage crumbles
3 14 oz. cans vegetable broth
1 red pepper sliced
1 yellow pepper sliced
1 small white onion sliced
1 14 oz. can kidney beans (drained)
2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup elbow macaroni
Serves 6
Heat dressing over medium heat. Add sausage crumbles and cook about 10 minutes until browned. Add broth, peppers, onion, beans, & tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until macaroni is cooked through. Ladle into serving bowls.
Penne with Portabella
3 tbsp. olive oil
? tsp. butter
? cup chopped onion
1 tsp. fresh sage (minced)
3 cups sliced portabella mushrooms
? cup soy milk
? tsp. salt
? tsp. pepper
1 cup penne pasta
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil & butter in skillet. Add onion to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in sage, cook 30 seconds. Add remaining olive oil and mushrooms, cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add soy milk and cook for 2 minutes to reduce liquid. Stir in salt and pepper.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add to mushroom mixture. Toss gently and simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Vodka Cream Pasta
? tbsp. olive oil
? tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 shallot (minced)
? cup vodka
16 oz crushed tomatoes
? cup soy milk
10 basil leaves (shredded)
6 oz. linguine
Salt & pepper to taste
Heat skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, butter, garlic, & shallots. Sautee for 5 minutes then add the vodka. Cook for 2-3 minutes to reduce the vodka by half. Add tomatoes, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer. Add salt and pepper. While the sauce is simmering cook your pasta according to the package directions. Stir soy milk into the sauce, bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Toss drained pasta and basil leaves in the sauce.
Also some good info. on a veg diet:
What is a Vegan?
A vegan is someone who, for various reasons, chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians choose not to use flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, down, and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals.
Veganism, the natural extension of vegetarianism, is an integral component of a cruelty-free lifestyle. Living vegan provides numerous benefits to animals' lives, to the environment, and to our own health–through a healthy diet and lifestyle.
For The Animals
Despite the common belief that drinking milk or eating eggs does not kill animals, commercially-raised dairy cows and egg-laying chickens, whether factory-farmed or "free range", are slaughtered when their production rates decline. The same factory farm methods that are used to produce most meats are also used to produce most milk and eggs. These cows and chickens live their short lives caged, drugged, mutilated, and deprived of their most basic freedoms.
On U.S. farms, egg-laying hens spend their entire lives in a battery cage with a floor area the size of a vinyl record cover. Living on wire floors that deform their feet, in cages so tiny they cannot stretch their wings, and covered with excrement from cages above them, these chickens suffer lameness, bone disease, and obsessive pecking, which is curbed by searing the beaks off young chicks. Although chickens can live up to 15 years, they are usually slaughtered when their egg production rates decline after two years. Hatcheries have no use for male chicks, so they are killed by suffocation, decapitation, gassing, or crushing.
As with any mammal, cows produce milk only when pregnant and stop after their calves have been weaned. When a dairy cow delivers a female calf, the calf becomes a dairy cow herself, born to live in the same conditions as her mother. But when a dairy cow delivers a male calf, the calf is sold to a veal farm within days of birth, where he is tethered to a stall, deprived of food and exercise, and soon slaughtered for meat. Life is only a few years longer for the mother. Because it is unprofitable to keep cows alive once their milk production declines, dairy cows are usually slaughtered at 5 years of age. Thus, a cow's normal lifespan of 25 years is cut 20 years short just to cut costs and maximize production.
Today's farms are not like the ones most of us learned about in school; they are mechanized factories where an animal's welfare is of little concern compared to profit. Veganism emerges as the lifestyle most consistent with the philosophy that animals are not ours to use.
For The Environment
Animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the earth. It is an inefficient way of producing food, since feed for farm animals requires land, water, fertilizer, and other resources that could otherwise have been used directly for producing human food.
Animal agriculture's dependence on higher yields accelerates topsoil erosion on our farmlands, rendering land less productive for crop cultivation, and forcing the conversion of wilderness to grazing and farm lands. Animal waste from massive feedlots and factory farms is a leading cause of pollution in our groundwater and rivers. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has linked animal agriculture to a number of other environmental problems, including: contamination of aquatic ecosystems, soil, and drinking water by manure, pesticides, and fertilizers; acid rain from ammonia emissions; greenhouse gas production; and depletion of aquifers for irrigation.
In a time when population pressures have become an increasing stress on the environment, there are additional arguments for a vegan diet. The United Nations has reported that a vegan diet can feed many more people than an animal-based diet. For instance, projections have estimated that the 1992 food supply could have fed about 6.3 billion people on a purely vegetarian diet.
For Your Health
The consumption of animal fats and proteins has been linked to heart disease, colon and lung cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, and a number of other debilitating conditions. Cows' milk contains ideal amounts of fat and protein for young calves, but far too much for humans. And eggs are higher in cholesterol than any other food, making them a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease. The American Dietetic Association reports that vegetarian/vegan diets are associated with reduced risks for all of these conditions.
Vegan foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans, are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are rich in fiber and nutrients. Vegans can get all the protein they need from legumes (e.g., beans, tofu, peanuts) and grains (e.g., rice, corn, whole wheat breads and pastas); calcium from broccoli, kale, collard greens, tofu, fortified juices and soymilks; iron from chickpeas, spinach, pinto beans, and soy products; and B12 from fortified foods or supplements.
With planning, a vegan diet can provide all the nutrients we were taught as schoolchildren came only from animal products.
Answers: You will feel SO much better!! Here are some of my favorite recipes! Make sure to add some fresh steamed veggies as a side dish!!
Italian Stew
2 tbsp. Italian dressing
1 package Morningstar Farms sausage crumbles
3 14 oz. cans vegetable broth
1 red pepper sliced
1 yellow pepper sliced
1 small white onion sliced
1 14 oz. can kidney beans (drained)
2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup elbow macaroni
Serves 6
Heat dressing over medium heat. Add sausage crumbles and cook about 10 minutes until browned. Add broth, peppers, onion, beans, & tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Add macaroni. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes or until macaroni is cooked through. Ladle into serving bowls.
Penne with Portabella
3 tbsp. olive oil
? tsp. butter
? cup chopped onion
1 tsp. fresh sage (minced)
3 cups sliced portabella mushrooms
? cup soy milk
? tsp. salt
? tsp. pepper
1 cup penne pasta
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil & butter in skillet. Add onion to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in sage, cook 30 seconds. Add remaining olive oil and mushrooms, cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add soy milk and cook for 2 minutes to reduce liquid. Stir in salt and pepper.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add to mushroom mixture. Toss gently and simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
Vodka Cream Pasta
? tbsp. olive oil
? tbsp. butter
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 shallot (minced)
? cup vodka
16 oz crushed tomatoes
? cup soy milk
10 basil leaves (shredded)
6 oz. linguine
Salt & pepper to taste
Heat skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, butter, garlic, & shallots. Sautee for 5 minutes then add the vodka. Cook for 2-3 minutes to reduce the vodka by half. Add tomatoes, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer. Add salt and pepper. While the sauce is simmering cook your pasta according to the package directions. Stir soy milk into the sauce, bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Toss drained pasta and basil leaves in the sauce.
Also some good info. on a veg diet:
What is a Vegan?
A vegan is someone who, for various reasons, chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians choose not to use flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, down, and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals.
Veganism, the natural extension of vegetarianism, is an integral component of a cruelty-free lifestyle. Living vegan provides numerous benefits to animals' lives, to the environment, and to our own health–through a healthy diet and lifestyle.
For The Animals
Despite the common belief that drinking milk or eating eggs does not kill animals, commercially-raised dairy cows and egg-laying chickens, whether factory-farmed or "free range", are slaughtered when their production rates decline. The same factory farm methods that are used to produce most meats are also used to produce most milk and eggs. These cows and chickens live their short lives caged, drugged, mutilated, and deprived of their most basic freedoms.
On U.S. farms, egg-laying hens spend their entire lives in a battery cage with a floor area the size of a vinyl record cover. Living on wire floors that deform their feet, in cages so tiny they cannot stretch their wings, and covered with excrement from cages above them, these chickens suffer lameness, bone disease, and obsessive pecking, which is curbed by searing the beaks off young chicks. Although chickens can live up to 15 years, they are usually slaughtered when their egg production rates decline after two years. Hatcheries have no use for male chicks, so they are killed by suffocation, decapitation, gassing, or crushing.
As with any mammal, cows produce milk only when pregnant and stop after their calves have been weaned. When a dairy cow delivers a female calf, the calf becomes a dairy cow herself, born to live in the same conditions as her mother. But when a dairy cow delivers a male calf, the calf is sold to a veal farm within days of birth, where he is tethered to a stall, deprived of food and exercise, and soon slaughtered for meat. Life is only a few years longer for the mother. Because it is unprofitable to keep cows alive once their milk production declines, dairy cows are usually slaughtered at 5 years of age. Thus, a cow's normal lifespan of 25 years is cut 20 years short just to cut costs and maximize production.
Today's farms are not like the ones most of us learned about in school; they are mechanized factories where an animal's welfare is of little concern compared to profit. Veganism emerges as the lifestyle most consistent with the philosophy that animals are not ours to use.
For The Environment
Animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the earth. It is an inefficient way of producing food, since feed for farm animals requires land, water, fertilizer, and other resources that could otherwise have been used directly for producing human food.
Animal agriculture's dependence on higher yields accelerates topsoil erosion on our farmlands, rendering land less productive for crop cultivation, and forcing the conversion of wilderness to grazing and farm lands. Animal waste from massive feedlots and factory farms is a leading cause of pollution in our groundwater and rivers. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has linked animal agriculture to a number of other environmental problems, including: contamination of aquatic ecosystems, soil, and drinking water by manure, pesticides, and fertilizers; acid rain from ammonia emissions; greenhouse gas production; and depletion of aquifers for irrigation.
In a time when population pressures have become an increasing stress on the environment, there are additional arguments for a vegan diet. The United Nations has reported that a vegan diet can feed many more people than an animal-based diet. For instance, projections have estimated that the 1992 food supply could have fed about 6.3 billion people on a purely vegetarian diet.
For Your Health
The consumption of animal fats and proteins has been linked to heart disease, colon and lung cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, and a number of other debilitating conditions. Cows' milk contains ideal amounts of fat and protein for young calves, but far too much for humans. And eggs are higher in cholesterol than any other food, making them a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease. The American Dietetic Association reports that vegetarian/vegan diets are associated with reduced risks for all of these conditions.
Vegan foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans, are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are rich in fiber and nutrients. Vegans can get all the protein they need from legumes (e.g., beans, tofu, peanuts) and grains (e.g., rice, corn, whole wheat breads and pastas); calcium from broccoli, kale, collard greens, tofu, fortified juices and soymilks; iron from chickpeas, spinach, pinto beans, and soy products; and B12 from fortified foods or supplements.
With planning, a vegan diet can provide all the nutrients we were taught as schoolchildren came only from animal products.
idk, order a veggie pizza. or make yourself a salad.
Portabella mushrooms, marinated in soy sauce, grilled and served with a slab of monterey jack cheese, tomato and baby spinach on kaiser rolls.
At this cold time of year, there are always a multitude of wonderful meatless soups that you could try. One of my favorites is leek and potato soup.
Leek and Potato Soup
2 medium leeks, cleaned thoroughly and sliced fine
3 Tbsp. butter
4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced water to cover the potatoes
? tsp. thyme
? cup milk
Salt and pepper
Saute the leeksin the butter in a soup pot over medium heat until transparent.
Add the potatoes and stir.
Add the water and thyme, bring to the simmer, turn the heat down, partially cover, and simmer carefully for 40 minutes.
You can use a blender or a food processor to puree the soup until it’s the consistency if you like. I prefer mine unprocessed.
Return the soup to the pot (if necessary), add the milk or cream, and simmer for an additional 3 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste and a little cream on top as a garnish.
Serve!
Or, You can find a number of recipes online. Serve with crusty french bread..... yummy!
Make yourself a bean and veggie burrito ( refried beans, fresh lettuce, tomato and onion with salsa wrapped in a tortilla). If you are still eating cheese, you can shred some on.
Saute some zuchinni (sliced), yellow crookneck (sliced), quartered tomato and sliced mushrooms in a pan with olive oil and garlic. Add the juice from the tomato and a little vege broth. Serve over pasta. Pass the parmeasan cheese and garlic bread.
http://www.fatfreevegan.com
http://www.theppk.com
http://www.vegetarianlunchbox.com
http://www.veganlunchbox.com
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyvegan
http://www.vegcooking.com
Pasta with marinara and a salad.
Vegetable or French onion soup with french bread.
Vegetable lomain, with veggie springrolls.
Veggie fried rice.
Meat free chili with beans and macaroni, sprinkled with cheddar or jack.
Tofu fajitas.
I would either buy a veggie cookbook or browse through one at a bookstore to get ideas.
If you want to keep it simple I'd suggest you buy blocks of tofu, cut it in cubes, fry it, and then add flavoring powder on them. There's many types of flavoring packets and they're all delicious.
You can also cook brown rice and mix it with the tofu dish, or different types of beans. There are different sauces that go with each type of bean. Again check a veggie cookbook.
Get broccoli, kale, mushrooms, and steam them.
You can buy tofu slices made to taste like pepperoni, bologna, salami, turkey, etc. and make sandwiches with them using whole grain breads.
Get those dry noodles that come in a cup and all you have to do is add hot water on it. They come in all kinds of flavors.
Buy dry soups made with beans and rice and veggies, add water and boil it.
Veggie burgers, of course.
Snack on rice or corn cakes, tofu or rice ice cream, yogurt, soy pudding, roasted almonds with soy sauce, etc.
Go to a health food store, take a walk around and get more ideas that way.
i made a great vegetable lasagna and i just put whatever kinda veggies i wanted in it (i put mushrooms broccoli and carrots ) but u also need a can or homemade Alfredo sauce some Parmesan cheese and a box of lasagna noodles. cook you noodles in a pot of boiling water(duh!) saute veggies and then mix with Alfredo layer your ingredients in this order
sauce/veggies
pasta and so on until your pan is full or you don't have any more ingredients and then sprinkle top with Parmesan bake at 350-375 for about 20-30 minutes and it will be delicious
Yes!, try my cowboy bean pot. Slow cook baked, kidney and any other tinned beans you fancy with fried onion, peppers and tinned toms. Add tom puree, chilli sauce, tinned toms and salt n pepper in about 3 hours on slow cook - yummy! with rice! we went veggie for two years -so much cheaper, but we didn't notice any body changes!.
ive been a vegetarion since kindergarden.
it was hard for my mom at first to figure out food to give me.
tofu is good. i love having a stir fry with noodles, tofu, and lots of veggies.
usually i have pasta and salad
if u do become a vegetarion, ur gunna need to keep getting iron and protein, i have to take supplements
hope i helped :)
question for jennifer...arent sausage crumbles uhh sausage? just wondering. because im not sure =\
I like the Subway vege sub. On wheat. White american cheese. lots of tomatoes, carrots, peppers, olives, onions, pickled pepper rings, salt an pepper, vinegar an oil.
As a vegan who's dating a man who can't physically digest veggies, beans, nuts and seeds, I've learned to make easy meals that can be altered for the both of our needs.
Basically, start out with a simple "main" dish to which you add your toppings. For veg add veggies, mushrooms, and/or beans! Here are some easy examples:
Rice:
Add veggies via frying or steaming! Most flavorings are veg. Soy sauce, sweet and sour, teriyaki, Hoisin... Black beans and mushrooms go well, too.
Pasta:
Make sure you don't use "meat" sauce! Marinara is my fave... Also make your own easy sauces: olive oil with garlic and basil, olive oil and lemon pepper, "butter and parmesan" if you're not going vegan. Roast or fry some veggies with herbs, salt and pepper. Add some mushrooms. Pink and red beans are paticularly tasty with pasta...
Burgers:
Check out some of the meat-free burgers and cook them as instructed. Add ketchup, mustard, onions, tomato slices, pickles, etc. If you don't want to buy a boxed "veggie burger" than cook up a few whole portabella mushrooms.
Salads:
Yuck, I don't eat those.
If it's only a few weeks, using variants of these ideas are good. I would suggest eating TOFU, but that scares some people away. Truth is that it's very filling, just like any "meat." Also, fake meats are available but only some are good enough that non-veggies won't notice. And if you don't want to cook with oils, here's a trick: use a mix of flavored vinegar and water and add water as necessary.
Good luck! :)
One or two weeks is not really long enough to feel the health benefits 100%.
When you remove meat, you may start to detox, which may cause tiredness and headaches. This normally passes after two weeks.
To really appreciate the health benefits, can you go without meat for four to six weeks instead?
What do you eat now? Unless your diet is very bad (junk food / takeaways) you could simply eat the same but without the meat - easy peasy.
Yummy & filling meals could include:
Baked veggie lasagne served with salad and hot crusty garlic bread.
Spaghetti served with mixed veggies and a tomato based sauce mixed in.
Fettuccini served with mixed veggies and a cream based sauce mixed in.
Baked potatoes with a filling of: avocado & sautéed mushrooms OR baked beans, onions & cheese OR use your imagination etc…
Cheese, tomato & onion toasted sandwiches
Stir-fry Chinese veggies with tamari or soy sauce dressing
Shepards pie made with a bean filling
The list is endless, I could go on forever.
.
why not FOREVER. doooo iiiitttt
jokes.. no pressure. just go to the freezer section in the supermarket and get a whole lot of vegeterian frozen stuff, morningstar is a really good brand, theres stuff like:
*vegeterian pizza
*nuggets
*corndogs
*lasagne
*vegeburgers
*these bite thingies
you can eat things like pasta, bean burritoes, stirfries with tofu, salads etc...
good luck!
Hey, go to your local supermarket and buy mourningstars Chik'n patties ranch parmasan, THEY ARE AMAZING! They taste just like meat, take it from me, I use to eat meat! Then just buy some hamburger buns and stuff, or just go to like wendy's buy the 89cent hamburger with everything except meat, and bring that home and cook your pattie in the oven for like 20-30 min, on like 400 degrees, and it tastes amazing! If you want to speed it up, just microwave the patty, then stick it on broil in the oven. They are really good, try it trust me, i crave meat all the time and eat this!
Portabello Mushrooms you can do all kinds of things with them. They make an awesome sandwich....enjoy! :~)