Brainstorming meal ideas
So you’ve decided to make the switch to a healthier, meat-free diet. Good for you! But now what? What do you eat? A key part to the success of this transformation is to make sure you don’t feel deprived or bored with your food. Another key is to make sure you find a routine that works with your schedule, budget, and lifestyle.
You are opening the door to a whole new culinary world when you stop centering your meals around meat – allow yourself to explore new things! This post will focus on meals you prepare yourself; we’ll cover dining out in another post. My suggestions sometimes include eggs or dairy products – if you are going vegan, just skip those options or use a replacement (such as vegan cheese).
As you consider the suggestions below, jot down all of the ideas that come to mind. You should have a multi-week meal plan together in no time.
1. What meals do you already make that are vegetarian or could be vegetarian?
Chances are that a lot of what you already eat could be adapted into vegetarian-friendly meals. Think about your favorite things to cook, and how they could be tweaked to be meat-free. Sometimes you can just leave the meat out of the recipe all together. You could also try substituting an imitation meat product, or any form of vegetarian protein. Don’t be afraid to experiment and find out what works for you.
Love spaghetti with meat balls? Leave out the balls all together, or try making a vegetarian version. Are you a big fan of a cheeseburger with all the fixings? Explore your local stores for a veggie burger you can love just as much. If you’re not sure which brand to try, why not get several and have a taste test? Instead of chicken fajitas, just have veggie fajitas.
2. What favorite vegetarian foods could you learn how to make?
When I’m looking for new cooking ideas, I often turn to my favorite foods that I don’t yet know how to prepare. Think of your favorite restaurant meals, or those specialties prepared with love by your friends or family members. Then google the recipe, or hit up your friend for hers (or even a personal cooking lesson). Love stir-fried veggies but don’t know what to use as a sauce? Now’s a great time to learn.
Saag paneer is my standard order at Indian restaurants, or was until I moved to a city where I couldn’t find a restaurant which did it well. But thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to find a recipe I liked and make it myself. Pad thai with tofu has long been one of my favorite restaurant dishes, but it only occurred to me to try to make it myself when I came across the recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance
3. What recipes catch your eye?
Thumbing through some cookbooks or browsing around online can expose you to more recipe ideas than you could possibly try in your lifetime. Don’t get overwhelmed – just look for one or two dishes that sound interesting to you. Try browsing the cookbook section of your local bookstore for vegetarian cookbooks. You could try this online, too, but I find it more fun when you can literally thumb through the books. See if your local library has any vegetarian cookbooks on offer – and if they don’t, put in a request that they get some.
The internet contains a wealth of recipe sources for vegetarians. Even most non-vegetarian recipe sites allow you to search for vegetarian recipes. Check out the Veggie Chic sidebar under the heading Vegetarian Resources, or this page for a list of some of my favorite veg sites.
4. What’s available at your grocery store or market?
It’s easy to get into a routine at the grocery store, always grabbing your same standby foods and not really looking at the other things on offer. Time to open your eyes! Start by focusing on the fresh produce aisle. Challenge yourself to purchase at least one new veggie each time you go shopping. If you’re not sure how to prepare it, try looking up some recipes online.
In addition to fresh foods, you may be interested in exploring some other vegetarian products. Check out the refrigerated or freezer sections for vegetarian products such as veggie burgers, Quorn, etc. Wander down aisles you usually skip and see what’s available. Better yet, visit a specialty shop, farmers market, or health food store where you don’t normally shop. Don’t go too crazy with the processed foods, but don’t be afraid to try new things, either.
There’s such a wealth of delicious, fresh, vegetarian food out there waiting to be discovered. What are some of your favorite vegetarian foods to prepare?
A lot of people don’t like it, but tofu is a huge saver around here. I can make stir-fry or a pot pie or anything that we used to put meat in. the tofu absorbes the flavors of the foods so well.
Living without Meat has a great post up on making the switch slowly. thought you might like it. http://www.livingwithoutmeat.com/dont-go-cold-turkey-how-to-switch-to-a-veggie-diet
Thanks for writing this post. I know that many would-be vegetarians run into the difficulty of not knowing what to eat if they were to make the switch and that holds them back.
A recent conversation with friends showed how much of a problem not knowing what to eat after years of having meat included in their diets can be. “How do you get your proteins?” I hear every time. So I try to educate them my best (without terrorising them of course…) but it does take some willingness to change.
Personally, I found eradicating meat from my diet child’s play. As you say, it’s important to try out new things, like new veggies. A few years ago, I had no idea how to cook broccoli… now it’s in the fridge every week! To all people who are considering becoming vegetarians: switching is easy. Don’t be concerned, just give it a go, I promise you will enjoy it.
Great post. I meet a lot of people who are interested in veg*nism but really don’t know what to eat or where to start.
Also, start shopping at local farmers markets or buying food directly from a farm. They often have recipes to give you. Whole foods and other gourmet grocery stores often have a free magazine with veggie recipes.
Moosewood Restaurant also has a veggie cookbook.
Such a useful and helpful post! I often go to South Indian restaurants b/c a large portion of the menu (if not all) is vegetarian. My favorite entree is mixed vegetable uttapam: a pancake whose batter is made from lentils and rice–an yummy treat for those of us who don’t do well with wheat.
When I turned vegetarian I did it gradually. As you’ve suggested, I started out with the meals I already cooked that were meatless. Then every week I tried to add something else – either a completely new recipe, a vegetarian version of something I already cooked, or a new vegetarian product.
It was about four weeks before I came completely vegetarian – which wouldn’t suit everyone. But it worked for me, and gave my cooking skills and my body time to adjust.
This is some great information Jul! I’ve been vegetarian for about two months, and want to eventually work toward becoming vegan. It’s tough, especially as far as finding a variety of food choices.
By the way, you’ve been tagged for a b5media blog specific meme – check out the details over at http://www.mentalhealthnotes.com/?p=241