What do vegetarians eat again?

[Madrigal]

I'm having trouble thinking of vegetarian dishes that:

1) Aren't completely pasta based
2) Aren't all beans and rice
3) Don't look like a snack.

So I mean, real dinners that are vegetarian. By dinners I mean things that can come out of pots or casseroles, not pieces of food with cheese on them, not anything that looks like a snack or a sandwich. So what does that involve? Share any good vegetarian meals here. Real meals please.

[HighlyIrregular]

I bought Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant a long time ago and I used to make the stuffed peppers (stuffed with seasoned tofu). It was good.

[HighlyIrregular]

I started eating salads every day recently but I stopped. I used dressing and they all have vinegar. I'm afraid it will rot my teeth eventually. I looked for salad seasoning but you're supposed to add it to dressing. I like salads with plain mayo too but IDK...possibly I'll do that, or salt and olive oil. I'm still working on a plan. I may go back to just eating salad components without making a salad. Salads with dressing taste really good. I don't know why Jay Leno doesn't eat veggies. He said he doesn't think he ever ate a salad.

[starjots]

I'm having trouble thinking of vegetarian dishes that:

1) Aren't completely pasta based
2) Aren't all beans and rice
3) Don't look like a snack.

So I mean, real dinners that are vegetarian. By dinners I mean things that can come out of pots or casseroles, not pieces of food with cheese on them, not anything that looks like a snack or a sandwich. So what does that involve? Share any good vegetarian meals here. Real meals please.

I'm guilty as charged on this, not that we are vegetarians per se, but we often eat meals with no meat. When I cook, there's almost always pasta or noodles as a base.

Not quite sure how you get enough calories in a day without eating grains, beans, or potatoes.

Soy is a no go in our house due to allergies, we don't do meat substitutes.

[starla]

I eat spaghetti squash with lentil bolognese. It's a pretty easy meal. The sauce is better if you use an immersion blender to puree some of the lentils into the tomato sauce, and then add the rest of the lentils to the mix. Technically, it's not pasta.

I also have a vegan instant pot cookbook that has some great recipes. This one: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ve ... 1129963480. I really like the khichdi recipe, and there's a couple others in there we make a lot. I like the millet and cauliflower mash, though I don't think rhinosaur likes it as much as I do. I think that author has a bunch of non-instant pot vegan recipes on her website.

Indian food is always good. I have a couple recipes that I make, but we also go out for it. And try south indian too, it's amazing and completely different from north indian food.

Sometimes I just cook lentils, mashed potatoes, and greens for dinner. Sometimes instead of lentils I make beans. Sometimes instead of potatoes I make rice or grits (polenta), sometimes instead of greens I make broccoli. Which is a green, I guess? But yeah, this is the standard dinner at our house -- legume + carb + green. I like to do the lentils with carmelized onions and chopped portobellos, cook those down with salt and then add the cooked drained lentils, then a touch of balsamic vinegar to balance it. The beans I like to just stew with a chopped tomato or two and some diced onion, thyme, and salt.

Tonight we had a "mexican casserole" that had a masa base with a layer of seasoned black beans and then a layer of chopped peppers/onions/squashes, topped with another layer of masa and enchilada sauce. It was great.

Lentil shepherds pie is also pretty good if you want something hearty.

Do you eat tofu or tempeh? Both are really good in stir fry, with rice, of course. Tempeh I sometimes marinate/baste in sauce and bake in the oven. Even if you don't see it on a menu, most Chinese and Thai restaurants will have tofu if you ask and you can get that instead of beef or chicken in any dish.

Split pea and barley soup is really good in the winter. Eat with brown bread.

Quinoa bowls are also a relatively easy go-to. You can throw whatever you like in there. I usually do beans and sauteed veggies.

Also taco salads (with either bean base or lentils with taco seasoning) or falafel salads. We get frozen falafel balls from Trader Joe's.

That's it. That's all I eat.

[Yesterday]

I eat spaghetti squash with lentil bolognese. It's a pretty easy meal. The sauce is better if you use an immersion blender to puree some of the lentils into the tomato sauce, and then add the rest of the lentils to the mix. Technically, it's not pasta.

I also have a vegan instant pot cookbook that has some great recipes. This one: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ve ... 1129963480. I really like the khichdi recipe, and there's a couple others in there we make a lot. I like the millet and cauliflower mash, though I don't think rhinosaur likes it as much as I do. I think that author has a bunch of non-instant pot vegan recipes on her website.

Indian food is always good. I have a couple recipes that I make, but we also go out for it. And try south indian too, it's amazing and completely different from north indian food.

Sometimes I just cook lentils, mashed potatoes, and greens for dinner. Sometimes instead of lentils I make beans. Sometimes instead of potatoes I make rice or grits (polenta), sometimes instead of greens I make broccoli. Which is a green, I guess? But yeah, this is the standard dinner at our house -- legume + carb + green. I like to do the lentils with carmelized onions and chopped portobellos, cook those down with salt and then add the cooked drained lentils, then a touch of balsamic vinegar to balance it. The beans I like to just stew with a chopped tomato or two and some diced onion, thyme, and salt.

Tonight we had a "mexican casserole" that had a masa base with a layer of seasoned black beans and then a layer of chopped peppers/onions/squashes, topped with another layer of masa and enchilada sauce. It was great.

Lentil shepherds pie is also pretty good if you want something hearty.

Do you eat tofu or tempeh? Both are really good in stir fry, with rice, of course. Tempeh I sometimes marinate/baste in sauce and bake in the oven. Even if you don't see it on a menu, most Chinese and Thai restaurants will have tofu if you ask and you can get that instead of beef or chicken in any dish.

Split pea and barley soup is really good in the winter. Eat with brown bread.

Quinoa bowls are also a relatively easy go-to. You can throw whatever you like in there. I usually do beans and sauteed veggies.

Also taco salads (with either bean base or lentils with taco seasoning) or falafel salads. We get frozen falafel balls from Trader Joe's.

That's it. That's all I eat.

Whoops. I need to correct my reputation comment to, "You eat healthy like my Mom."

[last_caress]

Long time veg but really it's mostly pizza, pasta, lots of bread, beans, rice, nuts. Thai, Indian or Lebanese are good too.

[Madrigal]

That's it. That's all I eat.

Thanks for the book recomendation, I've always wondered whether I should get an instant pot and I think that if I did want to start with vegetarian meals involving lots of legumes, that would be a good idea.

I do make split pea soup and black bean stew, and lentil stew, but it always has meat in it (specifically pork). Maybe I can start from there. I find that some spices taste really meaty, like thyme and merken (a smoked red pepper here that's only moderately hot).

I tried tofu I didn't like so I don't think I will do that again. I'm pretty intrigued by the lentil shepherd's pie now.

[Madrigal]

I almost forgot about this

[jyng1]

Fejoia salsa. Hmmm... heaven. https://thespinoff.co.nz/food/08-05-202 ... ymhvVX4kp0