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Vegetarian Girlfriend
SkyGheNe
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So my girlfriend is a vegetarian because she cannot stand the taste of meat. She eats a hamburger maybe once a month and doesn't necessarily mind eggs. Lately I've been having a hard time coming up with meals that aren't boring or repetitive. Her diet, if I don't cook, is absolutely horrible and so I was wondering if anyone here can help me with recipe ideas for a vegetarian.
She's Italian and really loves pasta. Raviolis are her favorite, she likes hummus and olives, things like that, doesn't really care for cold pasta but still eats it, loves rice/strawberries. But for instance, just to mix things up I resorted to Italian bread and dipping oil with a side of strawberries for a desert - my desperate attempt at finding something she'll eat and also enjoy.
So things to keep in mind...
1. Doesn't really care for the taste of meat.
2. Absolutely hates chocolate.
3. Eats smaller meals during the day...like, her stomach can't hold all that much so her intake tends to be smaller. This either leads to snacking throughout the day for meals or missing meals.
Again, if anyone has any great recipes or meal ideas for a vegetarian I'm all ears.
*edit* Cheap is also nice haha.
She's Italian and really loves pasta. Raviolis are her favorite, she likes hummus and olives, things like that, doesn't really care for cold pasta but still eats it, loves rice/strawberries. But for instance, just to mix things up I resorted to Italian bread and dipping oil with a side of strawberries for a desert - my desperate attempt at finding something she'll eat and also enjoy.
So things to keep in mind...
1. Doesn't really care for the taste of meat.
2. Absolutely hates chocolate.
3. Eats smaller meals during the day...like, her stomach can't hold all that much so her intake tends to be smaller. This either leads to snacking throughout the day for meals or missing meals.
Again, if anyone has any great recipes or meal ideas for a vegetarian I'm all ears.
*edit* Cheap is also nice haha.
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http://www.nadineabensur.com/cookery_books/the_cranks_bible.html
For example, she may hate bacon, but if you buy some good quality back bacon, cook it, and dice it up, you can throw it on a salad. way better then generic bacon bits.
She actually doesn't mind the broth. Things like chicken noodle soup are okay in her book.
Honestly, I don't have too many great suggestions since my diet is pretty boring/bad also. let's see... quesadillas are easy to make and interesting and cheap. get some tortillas and some veggies and cheese and fry 'em up in a pan, the end. savory crepes take more work, but are also delicious. I
Chickpeas and Lentils are both high in protein and can be used in a variety of ways.
CousCous is another option.
Potato Pea Curry
3 large baking potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup clarified butter (you can use regular butter or margarine)
2 large onions, diced
1 tablespoon pureed garlic (or just chopped finely, but use fresh garlic if you can.)
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes (or just plain ground red pepper)
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (I leave the seeds in and don't peel them.)
2 to 3 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups fresh or frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon palm sugar, or brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Raita (yogurt-cucumber garnish) (unnecessary)
Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a bowl and rinse with cold running water until water runs clear, to remove excess starch.
Heat 1/4 cup clarified butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute onions until brown. At same time, heat remaining clarified butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. Fry potatoes until golden and add sauteed onions.
Add garlic and ginger, and cook just long enough to release their aromas. Remove from heat and add cumin, turmeric, coriander, and pepper flakes. Return pan to moderate heat and cook 12 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes, water, and salt.
Simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook until peas are heated through. Adjust seasonings and serve immediately with basmati rice and assorted chutneys and raita.
Also, we used to have bread pudding, shit was so good.
Also if she loves rice, fried rice is fairly simple and delicious and requires no meat.
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Hell, sometimes I just have a meal of olives and peppers with some feta cheese and good bread w/ some good herbed olive oil.
I've also got a killer recipe for home made falafel that I'll have to post. Just make sure to get a candy thermometer for your oil so that you can make sure it never goes below 340 degrees fahrenheit when you fry, otherwise the food will start to absorb the oil and will be teh suck. But seriously, the falafel sandwiches I make are fucking orgasmic.
Oh and make sure to have a fire extinguisher handy too. Setting fire to your kitchen doesn't make the food taste any better.
If she likes pasta, look into making eggplant parmesan. It's pretty easy and really good. There are a lot of meatless pasta dishes you can go for. Also, lentils will be your friend. They operate as a good meat substitute, just like black beans. I used to make burgers, tacos, etc all using lentils.
well, most vegetarians choose to be so later in life after they're accustomed to eating meat. it is difficult for them to give up meat, and so naturally, they are interested in products that simulate meat without being meat.
I have been a vegetarian all my life so it was not easy for me to start eating fake meat because it looked gross. however, veggie burgers are delicious and are often the only vegetarian option on a lot of restaurant menus.
It's good if you have ethical objections to meat eating. Plus healthier.
I like how some people went "MAYBE SHE JUST HASN'T HAD GOOD MEAT YET?!" I would guess that she has tried a lot of meat before reaching this decision
Recipe books are the way to go; the gf and I use Weight Watchers books that often have vegetarian meals, and I never realized I could actually eat a meal without meat and actually feel satiated. I'm practically carnivorous, so this says a lot. You just gotta put some extra prep in when you go to the grocery store.
That sort of makes sense I guess. Still weirds me out but then I guess I can always eat a meat dish so that is why I like my vegetarian dishes to look distinctly vegetarian
Well, don't know if she eats chicken, but am I the only one who has a problem with him saying his girlfriend is vegetarian and immediately following it by saying she eats a hamburger once a month?
If she eats hamburgers -- even just once a month -- she's not a vegetarian.
I guess some people are vegetarians by virtue of their conscience? They still like the taste of meat but for non-culinary reasons, choose not to eat it.
The Chinese Buddhist cuisine is filled with imitation meats. Some of it is really great too but none are particularly suited for making at home. They mostly rely on infusing chunks of dough or soy bean creations with flavour. Hard to tell the difference sometimes.
Edit: Beat'd hard.
Now, other people say this tastes great. They may just be saying nice things, or if they're sincere, you and yours may be the first to absolutely hate it. But here's what you do...
You can use ground almonds as a substitute for the ground beef in a meat sauce. Toasting them adds a different flavor, but untoasted they have a richer, little fattier flavor.
If you're feeling adventurous, you can make your own sauce from scratch, or just buy a can and add to it. Doesn't matter but Spaghetti or Rotini I would recommend, just don't buy shit pasta.
Throw in a bunch of pitted kalamata olives. Lot of parm.
(Actually I'll sometimes dice up pieces of cream cheese and mix that into the pasta and sauce. But this may be too wierd for some people, plus with almonds, olives, olive oil [to cook garlic and other spices in for the from-scratch sauces], and cream cheese, that's a lot of fats).
Plus they're throwing in things you typically think of as vegetarian into non-veggie dishes all the time. Like a bunch of fucking shrimp or pork right in there with your fried tofu.
Yeah you gotta go to speciality vegetarian restaurants. In Cantonese, Buddhist cuisine is referred to as "jai" and there are places that are specifically for jai. In a regular Chinese restaurant, well it can depend on your luck sometimes.
Falafel, Syrian and Lebanese-Style:
Makes 20 patties.
The word falafel, derived from the Arabic word fulful or filfil meaning "pepper,".
1 cup fava beans, soaked overnight and drained
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained
3 medium onions, chopped
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
8 cloves garlic, crushed (I love garlic so you might want to tone this down just a smidge if you're not a huge fan)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
oil for frying
Place fava beans, chickpeas, and onions in a food processor and process until beans and chickpeas are very finely ground. Add remaining ingredients, except oil; process to a dough-like paste. Form into patties--if patties tend to crumble, process further or add a little flour (following the recipe above I've never had to use flour). I'd also recommend putting the dough-paste into the fridge for about 2 hours so it can intermingle and get all happy together.
Heat oil in a saucepan and fry patties over medium heat, turning until they are golden brown on both sides. (ok, I do mine a little differently. I use a large cast iron dutch oven pot for frying. Put in a good amount of oil. Maybe about 1-2 gallons. This can be reused a couple times, probably 4-6, you'll be able to tell it's no good anymore when it starts to smell funny. Clip a hard candy thermometer to the side of the dutch oven to measure the oil temp. Heat to 380 degrees Farenheit as it will cool once you start dropping the falafel balls into it. Make sure to keep the oil above 340 degrees at all times while frying. Otherwise the food will absorb the oil and be icky.)
Serve patties warm as main dish with fresh vegetables and Sesame Tahini Sauce on the side or in sandwiches of half-rounds of pita bread stuffed with salad vegetables and topped with Tahini Mix.
For the sandwiches, I cut up some romaine lettuce, tomatoes seasoned with some sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and make some tahini sauce. Pack all that goodness into a pita and go to town. I also make my own pita bread which isn't too hard (recipe below), but I recommend a pizza stone to cook it on so it comes out better. The stone can also be used to make pizza too. Go figure.
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Pita bread is served at just about every meal in the Middle East. It can be used for dipping, or to make delicious sandwhiches in the pocket. In the Middle East, pita is made in brick ovens, where very high heat can be achieved. It is very hard to duplicate in a home kitchen, but this recipe, combined with high heat comes very close.
Ingredients:
* 1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
* 1/2 cup warm water
* 3 cups all purpose flour
* 1 1/4 teapsoon salt
* 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
* 1 cup lukewarm water
Preparation:
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.
Combine flour and salt in large bowl.
Make a small depression in the middle of lour and pur yeast water in depression.
Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.
PLace dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer stick and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.
Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.
Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.
Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to preheat your baking sheet also.
Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.
Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.
Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.
Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.
Storing Pita Bread
Pita bread can be stored for up to a week in a pantry or bread box, and up to a month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags when storing in the freezer.
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Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
1/3 cup raw tahini
1/3 cup cool water
1/2 lemon
1 small garlic clove
3-5 stalks of fresh parsley
salt
Preparation
1. Put the tahini in a small bawl and pour a little water.
2. Stir slowly until the texture starts to become thicker, then add more water and stir. Repeat a few times. keeping the mixture more or less homogeneous.
3. Squeeze and add the lemon juice. Chop the garlic and the parsley well, and add them while stirring. If the tahini is too thick, add a little more water. Add the salt.
4. Serve with some chopped parsley on top.
That's about it. I had a ton of leftovers and they reheated great the next day. I used a toaster oven to reheat the falafel but you could probably use an oven just as well. I kind of doubt the microwave would work as well, but the falafel's aren't too bad cold either.
I know others have mentioned it, but I can not over emphasize stir fries. You can completely change a stir fry depending on the sauce used. You can go curry style, or Thai Peanut sauce.
If her diet is poor, be sure to suggest stir fries and salads a lot, as veggies are super important. If you feel like she isn't eating enough protein, think of bean dishes. 2 of my favorites are chili and tostadas. Of course, burritos are always an option. Just be sure to use vegetarian beans, as many refried beans have lard in them. Although, considering she eats hamburgers once a month, she's not really vegetarian.
Some of those dishes take more effort to prepare than others. For quick and easy meals, I highly recommend tostadas. They take about 5 minutes to make and are super tasty. All you need is tostada shells (you can broil soft shells too, in a pinch), some refried beans or whole beans, and then whatever veggies you want. I go with tomotoes/salsa, avacadoes, black olives, spinach, etc. She eats cheese, right? She could use that, too. Just layer it all on, salt it up, and microvwave it for a minute.
This thread is making me hungry.
There's a lot of starch and bean suggestions in this thread but uhm, she needs to be eating a LOT of vegetables, at least 5 cups uncooked a day, if not more, to support a healthy lifestyle.
As far as the veggie burgers and things like that go - she doesn't really like them because they tend to taste like what they are substituting. Her main gripe is with the taste meat has, so if something tastes like meat even though it isn't meat, she doesn't particularly enjoy eating it. The same thing goes for chicken which is hard for me since a lot of the meals I cook have chicken in it. I can't really control her diet at home, but when she comes over for several days I like to have meals planned for her since like someone called themselves, she is very much a street vegetarian that thrives on goldfish, strawberries, bagels, pasta....I think those are what she thrives on if she doesn't have her college cafeteria at her disposal.
That sounds really interesting.
Thank you to those of you who posted specific recipes and also provided styles of cooking that will make this easier. I'll be sure to use a lot of what was posted here.
Some of our common meals include:
- Fried plantains. Slice a plantain up and fry it in a little vegetable oil. Add chipotle salsa, guacamole, cilantro, and black beans on a tortilla.
- Tofu stir-fry. There's a million variations on this. You can do it simple with teriyaki and vegetables, or you can go a little more fancy and use peanut sauce with one tiny little drop of fish sauce for a Thai flavor, for instance. The nice thing about this, too, is if you have a second wok, just grill up some chicken with a little sauce and put it on your plate. That way you can have chicken and she can have tofu.
- Grilled portobello mushroom paninis. Throw a portobello mushroom cap on a grill, and cook it up like a burger. Put it on a bun or sliced focaccia bread with cheese, avocado, grilled bell peppers. Also, Trader Joe's makes this red pepper and tomato tapenade that goes great with this.
- You didn't mention if she likes fish. If so, learn to make sushi. Seriously, as long as you have a good source of fish (a lot of higher-end supermarkets will sell sushi-grade fish) it's stupidly easy.
- Also on the fish note, there are a lot of things you can do with fish. Sear a salmon steak, or a tuna steak, or mahi-mahi - don't overcook the damn thing, people who overcook fish get to occupy a special plane of Hell between child molesters and Katy Perry fans - with the seasoning of your choice. Pro-tip: mix some wasabi powder in some balsamic vinegar and use as a glaze on fish before searing.
- The suggestions above for Indian food and mediterranean food are great. In Indian food, anything with chick peas (like chana masala) or lentils will provide a lot of vegetarian protein; I also like samosas. Falafel were a good suggestion too.
- Regarding veggie-burgers, we just had this topic in D&D recently. There are a lot of veggie-burger products that don't really emulate meat but taste good in their own rights. There is a Morningstar brand portobello mushroom patty that tastes like, well, seasoned mushrooms and is damn good. Trader Joe's makes an Indian-seasoned patty that tastes like a veggie samosa. Also very good.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Even though i'm not a vegetarian, I rarely cook meat in my home so I tend to make a lot of vegetarian dishes when I eat in.
Nachos is one option. There's something called a botana that's kind of like a mexican casserole or a massive plate of kitchen sink nachos. Basically a layer of tortilla chips, layer of refried beans (vegetarian style in your case), layer of cheese, layer on random mexican type veggies like onion, green pepper, olives, avocado, jalapenos, etc. For some reason every mexican restaurant in Detroit has these and they weigh like 5 pounds per order. On the west coast I can't find them. When I make 'em at home, they're not as good as the restaurants back in the D, but it's not bad.
Also, I really like tofu scramble wraps. There's a vegetarianism for dummies book that I got from the library that had the recipe in it. It's freaking great. I'll add some salsa when I wrap it up in the tortilla sometimes. I've even eaten them cold and it's still delicious.
You can also just make veggie sandwiches. I do this a lot too. Wheat bread with a sweet onion salad dressing or even mayo, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, sprouts, avocado, green pepper, (sometimes roasted poblano pepper), banana peppers, some kind of cheese, salt & pepper. Add or subtract what ingredients you want as it does add up for a really large sandwich quickly. Good for you and great tasting as well.
Man, I just keep thinking about what I might eat w/out meat and keep getting ideas. Ok, so for breakfast, I do a lot of Kashi cereals (whole grains) but you could do anything that's not sugar heavy, i.e. plain Cheerios, Grape Nuts, etc. Add some soy milk and fresh fruit like random berries in season or peaches and bananas etc. Kashi makes something called 7 Whole Grain Nuggets that I usually eat when I can find it.
One thing that you mentioned that kind of concerns me a little is that you said that she's a street vegetarian, i.e. eats a lot of processed foods. I've known several people that developed kidney stones from eating a diet heavy in processed foods. Besides that the processing method tends to strip out a lot of things your body needs to flush itself out. There's also the concern that it's developing a bad habit and if her metabolism slows down later in life it will be tough to maintain a slim figure. Some people never have a problem, but most doctors would recommend eating a more balanced diet. Other than the nachos/botanas I think everything else I listed is very high in fiber and vitamins and low on saturated fat. Plus when I eat good stuff like that I feel a lot better both physically, mentally, and emotionally.
1 can black beans, drained and rinse
1 can kernel corn
1 sweet pepper (red orange or yellow), cubed
1 c cherry tomatoes, half (or quartered)
about 4-6tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped finely
2-4tbsp lime juice (to taste)
1 tbsp olive oil
1tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder (optional/to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, cubed
mix all together in a large bowl. I typically add the avocado last because it browns easily, unless you make sure it gets covered in the lime juice. You can also add a gagillion other veggies to it, cubed fairly small (about the same size as the black beans or corn, well, a bit larger), liiiiiiike
carrots
onion (green onion tops especially)
cucuber
jicama (works REALLY well in this dish, it's a nice slightly sweet veg, somewhere between a sweet potato and a radish... peel it and dice all the white yumminess. I love this veg. so much)
mango (the recipe originally calls for this, but I find it can get too sweet sometimes)
Sidenote: What kind of family does this girl have, are you dating Sean Hannity's daughter? They sound like jerks.
I host a podcast about movies.
stews are also wunderbar, really easy to throw a good and hearty stew with veggies from the grower's market together.
1 butternut squash
2 cups vegetable broth (you can sub chicken broth if you want)
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
Salt and pepper
1. cut squash in half longwayss and cook (in the oven, you can cook the whole thing on a pan at 350ish until tender). remove from oven, let it cool a bit, scoop out the flesh (discard seeds and skin).
2. in a saucepan, saute onion and garlic until tender. add broth, scooped-out squash, curry powder, salt and pepper. simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Puree soup with an immersion blender (or in a blender, but let it cool first).
voila!