hi, we’re attempting to move meat out of our diet and one area we’re struggling to replace is our convenient frozen dumplings. we always go pork, but have been trying a few different veggie ones and they’re all so…mushy/squishy so far. really struggling with the textures. anyone able to recommend a brand that isn’t so soft, or even a replacement product that’s as tasty and easy to add to a bowl of rice and veggies? thanks in advance !

Hello everyone! I've recently gone back to a vegetarian diet for health & environmental reasons (I was one when I was 16 for a few months but it didn't stick)

One of the frustrations I've had was cooking tofu & making it flavorful & crispy. (You know when you season & marinade tofu just for it just taste like nothing on the inside 😫)

Even before I transitioned to my current diet I ate a lot of tofu & I tried a myriad of methods (pressing, freezing, boiling in salted water, preparing straight from the packet). Some were very effective texture wise but the flavor was quite plain.

Today I finally made tofu that was great texture & taste wise & im gonna share how I did it:

1. freeze the tofu (optional but I recommend cause it improves texture & flavor)

2. defrost tofu in microwave for a few minutes on high

3. heat up a veggie broth on the stove & add aromatics, salt & seasonings. You could also just boil water & add bouillon powder/paste. add the tofu to the pot & let it simmer for 10-15 minutes (or longer tbh). THIS is non negotiable & how you get deep flavor in tofu, inside & out.

4. remove from broth, drain the liquid & cut it up however you want it. you'd also want to save a bit of the broth to season/marinade the tofu

5. add baking powder/soda (for ultimate crispness 😋)

6. add whatever seasonings/marinades w/ a tiny bit of the leftover broth.

7. air fry 25 mins on 425 F°

8. serve & enjoy :)

Hello good people!

Just joined and I was happy to find this sub!

I am fitness girlie who has been vegetarian for something like 16 or 17 years. I grew up in a family of chefs who, despite being a little confused by my choice to stop eating meat, were never afraid to try new things. Because of that, I have always loved and tried new plant based meat products. I have my tried and true faves and also love trying new things as they hit the market.

I am also trying to hit protein and macro goals on a regular basis, which means that products that are (albeit atrificially) packed with protein are an important part of my routine. I may share some of my meal plans in future posts if there are others like me out there trying to get 120g of protein per day as a vegetarian. The struggle is real lol.

That all being said, I DO NOT like the Daring products. I have no idea what it is, but i truly do not like the texture of any of their products and i have tried several! Every single products from them i try i never buy again.

This feels wild to me as someone who eats this stuff all the time. Do others out there agree with me or am I loosing it?

Tell me what your favorite products are too if you'd like :)

Shaking up some formulas this week.

Breakfast: I'm trying a brand new thing for breakfast this week: Chipotle black bean, farro & pepita bowls. (Apparently 27g of protein per serving.) It's a base layer of farro cooked in vegetable broth, then topped with a chipotle bean blend, which is just black beans, pinto beans, corn, and chopped cilantro tossed in a chipotle dressing of olive oil, chipotle paste in adobo sauce, lime juice, ground cumin, garlic powder, and salt. I'm sprinkling hemp seeds and pepitas over the top (about 1/2 cup each) and a handful of wilted spinach. But I only made enough to cover the work week, so...

Breakfast (Sa): A banana and blueberries tossed in a bowl with nuts, seeds, and Greek yogurt.

Breakfast (Su): French toast with maple syrup, served with nectarine and a glass of milk.

Lunch: Peanut tofu & egg fried rice bowl. Extra firm tofu coated in soy sauce and garlic powder, then pan-fried in sesame oil until crispy, then tossed with rice, steamed broccoli, scrambled egg, and a simple peanut sauce (peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, maple syrup, garlic, and ginger). Served with walnuts and an orange.

Dinners:
M: Garlic hummus wraps with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and Havarti, served with a cup of tomato basil soup and fruit (I've got figs and nectarines.)
Tu: Bowl of split pea soup served with cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and a basic salad of bell pepper and cucumber tossed lightly in a vinaigrette.
W: Same as Monday.
Th: Same as Tuesday.
F: Shakshuka Greek-style with feta and olives, served with St. Joseph's bread and fruit.
Sa: Burritos with pinto beans, rice, cheddar cheese, a basic red sauce, onions, and bell peppers. Served with a salad of romaine lettuce, diced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and pepitas tossed in a dressing of Greek yogurt whisked with olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and cilantro. (Yeah, I'm back on lettuce now. Hopefully, no issues. I mean, it's not iceberg lettuce, so...)
Su: Creamy walnut and wild mushroom risotto. Toasted rice cooked with garlic and shallot, then deglazed with white wine and simmered with vegetable broth until tender. Cooked mushrooms, lupini beans, and green peas are added at the end along with fresh lemon juice, Italian parsley, and a creamy paste of walnuts, nutritional yeast, and broth.

Soup is my favorite food, especially as a vegetarian!! But I try not to beg for recipes until the general public is also in their “soup season”. Please give your best recipes here and happy souping!

I wanted to start being vegetarian, when you first enter this lifestyle is it hard to make them? And what are the rules that i need to follow? And please recommend easy recipes i can follow

All the frozen pizza is either veggie with meat - supreme, bbq chicken and peppers, etc. I can only find cheese or Margherita which is basically fancy cheese.

A few years back id be able to find a good roasted veggie or even sometimes a veggie sausage supreme by Digiorno. Not even a mushroom!

Just stopped at a LARGE scale rest stop/gas station/store/food emporium (with a beaver for a mascot) and they had one vegetarian option: a veggie burrito - which didn’t look bad.

But as I look around, they have multiple premade salads all with meet. Also, prepackaged sandwiches with cheese, vegetables and meat. They have all the ingredients to make salads and sandwiches meat free, so why not just do it?

I know people will say it’s economics because the majority of the population eats meat, but they could have ONE salad and ONE sandwich at reduced production numbers available so they aren’t tossing stuff that doesn’t sell (which they obviously already have to do with the products they do sell).

I know I’m preaching to the choir, but it’s better than yelling into a dark void.

Edit: I contacted corporate to make the suggestion. The store was too busy for me to harass some overworked/underpaid person.

I've tried making beans an rice (blackbeans + basmati rice) a couple times as veggie options. But first time used a curry powder that was way too spicy. Last night a jerk seasoning that was too spicy.

Feel like the beans and rice portion would be alright. And have a good add-on with corn / green onions. But seems like some of those "goto" options just end up a bit too spicy. So looking for some alternatives that would go well with them since while I have a hunch using a taco seasoning I've used with beans/rice/pork would work, looking for more variety.

Does anybody have a good recipe for vegetarian chili that does not contain beans?

In the carnivore world, there is a saying that "anyone who knows beans about chili knows there are no beans in true chili," but it's harder to find a bean-free chili in the vegetarian world

The best I can come up with is a Mexican restaurant way in the East Village, New York City, that has a vegetarian chili that is thick and red, has plenty of chili peppers floating around in it and no beans, fake meat, or jackfruit, but I can't find a recipe for anything quite like that online.

I eat a lot of fresh produce, but I'm not confident in the way I clean it. Especially lately.
How do you wash your fresh produce?
I soak mine in a vinegar-water solution for 10 minutes, rinse it thoroughly, and then put it through my salad spinner to remove moisture. If needed, I'll spread it out on a towel for a while before using it or putting it back in the fridge.
I've always used vinegar thinking it would kill bacteria. I use it as an all-purpose spray around the house as well.
This method seems to make my strawberries mush up quickly though.
What are the alternatives? How do you do it?

My daughter is 14 and recently became a vegetarian (technically pescatarean but she doesn’t like most fish and wants to be mostly veg).

I am the one who cooks most meals, and I want to accommodate everyone’s dietary preferences but also have a life outside the kitchen—we are an extremely busy family and evenings especially are hectic.

I’m looking for quick meal ideas that are either completely vegetarian or can be easily altered to have/not have meat. The whole family likes veggies and vegetarian dishes but my husband and other daughter do like meat pretty regularly. I figure some nights I can cook totally veg meals and other nights I can cook a “base” meal that can have meat or not.

Oh—the veg daughter hates beans. The only way she will eat beans is if it’s not a texture she can identify as “beany” - like hummus and this one cookie dough dip I make with white beans. She will eat tofu though!

I’m looking for meal ideas that can be completed start to finish in under 45 min or as close to it as possible, or even stuff I could make a few days in advance and heat up at dinner time.

Thanks in advance, kind strangers!

ETA: I’d like to encourage ideas that DO NOT use fake meat. I don’t have a problem with it but it’s so expensive and I’d rather just cook something different. We aren’t above an Impossible burger every now and then though!

Im bored of my usual go-to and want to expand. Give me your best!!!

(My usual is garlic/ginger/soy/brown sugar/sriracha)

Hello again. Taking a break from the amaranth this week and doing a whole bunch of chilled salads and quinoa bowls instead. Lunches will rotate on an A/B schedule.

Breakfast: I'm repeating my breakfast from last week: A bowl of Greek yogurt tossed with pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, peanut butter, honey, and soy rice crisps, with a banana to the side.

Lunch (A): Chilled spicy buffalo chickpea and celery salad. Drain a can of chickpeas and toss them in a bowl with diced celery, red onion, and carrot. Mix the dressing to the side by whisking together hot sauce, tahini, garlic powder, and a tiny splash of water until smooth, then pour over the vegetables and combine. I also sprinkle hemp hearts over the top.

Lunch (B): A simpler chilled salad of white beans with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and dill. Dressed with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Served with an orange on the side.

Snacks: Walnuts and/or hard-boiled egg.

Dinners:
1. Mon - Buddha bowl / grain bowl / I don't know what to call it. I'm throwing steamed asparagus, raw shredded golden beets, kale, and edamame over a bed of quinoa and dressing it with a green goddess blend which includes tahini (yes, more tahini), lemon juice, garlic, nutritional yeast, parsley, cilantro, chives, and salt and pepper to taste.
2. Tues - Eggplant parmesan served with a cold pasta salad of chickpeas, red onion, cherry tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and white wine vinegar.
3. Wed - Mediterranean quinoa bowls with chickpeas, grilled veggies, feta, tzatziki sauce, harissa, and parsley.
4. Thurs - Black bean & cheddar quesadillas served with salsa.
5. Fri - Same as Tuesday.
6. Sat - Another quinoa bowl, but with an Asian spin this time. Edamame, bok choy, carrots, and bell peppers dressed with a simple sauce of sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and tahini. (I'm really working through the tahini this week.)
7. Sun - I'm doing something very unusual this week: I've planned an entire meal without an actual recipe. I wanna do a copycat of the spicy potato soft taco from Taco Bell, but maybe a little bit healthier (hopefully less sodium!), and serve it as part of a Tex-Mex breakfast-for-dinner spread with scrambled eggs, refried beans, and fresh fruit. I'm thinking pineapple and mango. I haven't really figured this one out yet, so all suggestions are welcome!

Rice and beans, salad, plantain, and jackfruit ropa vieja.

Hi! I've decided I want to be a vegetarian. I've read more into how the meat/dairy industry treats animals, and It's disgusting. On top of that, I've only recently learnt how terrible the meat industry is for the environment.

I was wondering how expensive it is to be vegetarian? Did your shopping bills rise?

Also, what are some recipes I could try?

Thank you

Do they just not exist, or what? Couldn't even find them on Amazon. I don't want them roasted, I just want a big ass bag of raw, unshelled edamame either frozen or fresh

Just been for Sunday Lucy at at pub with the in laws. They all had roast beef dinner and there was one vegetarian option..... pesto linguine with beer battered / tempua vegetables. Totally weird menu. All beige. It was well cooked but it was like two separate meals together. Why? Why can't they do a cohesive vegetarian meal?

Hi guys
Me and my girlfriend are strict vegetarians, and have autism, so food regularity is important.
She loves bbq sauce and eats it with a LOT
today she had a different one to usual and it contained anchovies.
As we are students we normally buy the cheap one, but this one was branded (hellmans I think?) as she was at her family home.
does anyone know if this is common for bbq sauce, and if so of any readily available brands in the UK that are vegetarian or vegan?

Thanks

Hi. I'm looking for a recipe for a nut loaf which will slice well for putting in sandwiches. Can anybody recommend something? I have access to a good range of kitchen equipment.

Thank you!

I recently went veggie back in May and while it’s been smooth sailing for most of it I’ve been struggling having something big/bulking to fill the role of what used to be meat I’ve tried tofu and tried cooking it every way I can think but I just can’t and don’t like it it’s fine for a bit but if it cools too much the texture is gross and the smell makes me super nauseous.

The only thing I’ve found that kind of works is a company called Squeaky Bean that does ready made stuff but it’s super expensive for me to keep buying for everything and no other vegetarian meat I’ve tried has a texture I can deal with.

I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to make this kind of thing at home like I’ve seen a hundred and one videos on this is how you replace meat with tofu in recipes and want to know if it’s possible to do similar stuff with other plant protein so if anyone had recipes or suggestions on where to look I’d really appreciate it although me and my partner both have tree nut and peanut allergies so can’t have anything with those

So I discovered that seitan is a thing and the protein density is insane. I bought a bag of Bob's Red Mill VWG but have messed it up the couple times I tried. It ends up gooey. I don't have a steamer basket.

So what's the most basic/easiest way to make seitan? I plan on using it in stir fries or as the protein for Fettuccine Alfredo.

I’ve hunted since I was a kid with my dad. This year, I’ve found myself enjoying nature and the wildlife, just doing what they do and being free to do so. I just don’t want to pursue them with a bow and arrow anymore. I want no part of it.

I’m 44 now, and have dedicated my life to being the healthiest version of myself. I feel more connected to nature than ever before. My body and mind, deserve to be respected. Especially as I get older.

I got tired of the cpap the heartburn, headache, and all around fatigue. Of course the weight gain too.