Vegetarians: Will you please supply me with an example of what you eat during the day?

@psychocandy : A number of people I know have been pleased with this when making the transformation.

I’m not 100% vegetarian, but I do eat it pretty often. I’m not a “three meals” kind of person, though I recognize the importance of a good breakfast. Mainly, I have a breakfast, then I munch on healthy things throughout the day, whenever I’m hungry, so I usually bring a good amount of munchies with me, or I have them on hand in my home. I usually prepare a dinner, and maybe one more snack before I go to bed.

Breakfast: Oatmeal or some ridiculously healthy cereal, with plain whole-milk yogurt (don’t feel bad, you need to get your calories and fats from somewhere!). A piece of fresh fruit is easy and nice, too!

Snacks: Popcorn, tea, dried fruit, seeds, nuts, cheese, crackers, breads, tap water, fresh veggies.

Dinner is usually either whatever vegetables I can find, roasted or sauteed, usually with a side of beans that I start cooking early or made previously in a big batch. Sometimes over pasta, sometimes with brown rice, often with squash, potatoes, yams, quinoa.

An average food day for me:

Breakfast: Two eggs over easy on toast with beans and cheese
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch: Tomato soup with crackers and blue cheese
Snack: Banana nut muffin
Dinner: Pasta and Shitaake mushrooms sauteed in safflower oil and goat cheese

You may have guessed that I really like cheese.

Remember, it’s okay for you to eat meat. Humans have evolved to eat both animal products and plant products. If you are worried about the health and care of the animals you eat, you can shop places that only sell free range meat. If you live on a coast, go fishing! Catching your own fish is a great way to both supply your own meat and help the local fish population to evolve by picking off the stupid fish. Seriously, if it falls for the lure, it needs to check out of the gene pool. ~

Vegtable egg rolls. Watch the label for fats, but everyone in my family loves them, with sweet and sour sauce.

Right now I’m eating a breakfast burrito—eggs, cheese, potatoes, salsa, tortilla. Not the healthiest thing in the world but I love ‘em.

Other favorite breakfasts: greek yogurt (especially with fruit and/or granola), cereal, omelettes.

I eat lots of salads. Lots.

Beans + rice and lentils + rice are staples for dinner, along with tofu and noodles. I like to make sauces (green curry, peanut sauce, tomato sauce) on the weekend and then I can just throw them on tofu or vegetables or noodles during the week.

Lately I’ve been getting really into soups, too.

I’m not vegetarian any more but I was for many years and I still choose vegetarian options fairly frequently.

Typical breakfast for me is toast with poached or scrambled eggs, or just with marmite. I never have ceareals or sweet things for breakfast – just don’t like them.

For a light lunch, typically I’d have a cheese or egg sandwich with lots of salad. If I was making the sandwich myself at home I’d often use those “fake” lunchmeats made of soya or quorn, or vegetarian pates. Vegetarian pizzas.

Main meals; stews, curries, pasta dishes, rice dishes, noodles. Lots of veg. For protein I’d have beans, nuts, tofu or again with the fake meat. Quorn was (and still is) a staple in my freezer. I also relied fairly heavily on vegetarian convenience food, particularly vegetarian sausages and burgers. Locally, I can get a vegetarian frankfurter that’s made for the Jewish market, and they’re delicious.

Breakfast- a homemade muffin with lots of fruits and veggies in the batter (a great way to eat your vegetables if you don’t like them much!) made with whole-grain flour.

Lunch- At work, it’s frozen meals I make myself, a month or so’s worth at a time. Examples may be potato curry with roasted eggplant in coconut milk sauce, mixed greens over farfalle pasta with goat cheese and pine nuts, macaroni and cheese with grated roasted Brussels sprouts, mixed-greens salad with homemade croutons, nuts and cheese.

Afternoon snack- Homemade dried fruit, a piece of cheese, homemade breadsticks or the like.

Dinner- Depends on what we get in our CSA produce box for the week. A few lately have been manicotti stuffed with greens and nuts topped with green bean pesto, Chinese hot pot soup, whole-wheat pizza with roasted beets, caramelized onions and goat cheese, potato chowder and homemade 10-grain bread.

I’m vegan. Here’s what I eat, generally

Breakfast: A giant smoothie that includes multiple fruits, a glass of soy milk, protein powder, loads of acai berries and flax seed oil with some chocolate chips.
Lunch: Lots of spinach with cooked tofu, tomatoes and beans w/lemon juice on the side. (Sometimes, caesar dressing if I slip up)
Dinner: Chicken substitute with rice with homemade curry simmer sauce.
Snack: chocolate, sometimes chocolate non-vegan ice cream (I know I know).

I’m a vegetarian and I love to cook and I love to eat and I love to sample new foods. Part of overcoming your dislike of vegetables (or any other type of food) is to make an active decision to start trying them.

I have read several articles about the fact that you sometimes have to try a food 10 or 12 times before you “acquire” a taste for them. There’s lots of stuff that I wouldn’t have touched with a ten foot pole when I was young, but now I eat almost anything as long as it is vegetarian. The only exception to this rule (so far) is eggplant, but even with eggplant, I still give it the old college try and hope that I will find a preparation that I like. This finally happened with okra. Used to hate it until I found the perfect preparation at an African restaurant in my town. So don’t give up hope or say negative things like: “I hate vegetables” or you will just defeat yourself. You have to make the effort, it won’t happen magically.

A real good way to introduce yourself to new foods is to find a willing friend (it’s easier if you do this with someone rather than doing it alone, because self-defeat is EASY). Tell that friend what your goal is and then start going to farmers markets and trying at least one new thing each time you go (you may need to try several preparations of the same item) for instance, if it’s carrots—try steaming them and add a little bit of sugar and butter (I’ve heard that putting sugar on veggies helps little kids to enjoy them more) and then try some raw with a good tangy dip, then shred some into your tomato soup or vegetarian chili, or try pickling them. Each preparation has it’s own taste, temperature and texture.

If you can afford to do it, try taking a vegetarian cooking class with your friend. In my city, they have entire courses, but they also have single evening classes where you just make one type of dish. Learning to cook really helps you change your mind about what food is and how great it can be. And get a couple of good vegetarian cookbooks.

I’ll tell you what I might eat in a typical week:
MONDAY—Breakfast: 2 frozen whole grain waffles with heart healthy (Smart Balance Brand) non-trans fat margarine, real maple syrup and chopped pecans, coffee with non fat milk.
Lunch: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread; almonds, a small piece of cheddar cheese; raw carrots and celery and a glass of iced tea.
Dinner: a bean and cheese burrito with guacamole and salsa; carrot and cabbage slaw with a vinaigrette; glass of orange juice.
TUESDAY—Breakfast: a “fake McMuffin” made with a toasted whole grain English muffin with a slice of pepper jack cheese, a Morningstar Farms fake sausage patty and a fried egg; dried cranberries; earl grey tea.
Lunch: home-made soup (tomato, lentil, bean, minestrone, greens and grains, mushroom etc.); piece of whole grain toast with Smart Balance and garlic powder.
Dinner: spaghetti with marinara sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese; a green salad with healthy greens (no iceberg lettuce, not enough nutrients) grape tomatoes, raw mushrooms, shredded carrots, canned beans (black, pinto, garbanzo, kidney etc.) with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a few chopped walnuts; piece of garlic toast or bread and Smart Balance.
Dessert: oatmeal cookies and milk.
WEDNESDAY—Breakfast: Grape Nuts cereal with walnuts and dried cranberries added; piece of whole grain toast with Smart Balance and orange marmalade.
Lunch: Vegetarian chili with shredded cheese; glass of chocolate soy milk; peanut butter filled pretzels.
Dinner: burritos made with Morningstar Farms fake ground beef crumbles with grilled onions, tomatoes and salsa; side of Greek pasta salad (noodles, feta cheese, tomatoes, kalamata olives and cucumber slices in a lemon vinaigrette).
Dessert/Snack: Trader Joe’s brand of “wheat thins” or “triscuit” style crackers with peanut butter or cheese.
THURSDAY—Breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar and added walnuts, hot cocoa made with non-fat milk or soymilk.
Lunch: sandwich of either real egg salad or tofu “fake egg salad” on whole grain bread with lettuce, tomato and green onion (either real or soy mayo like vegenaise); tortilla chips and salsa; florets of broccoli and cauliflower.
Dinner: enchiladas made with corn or flour tortillas, vegetable combos (mushrooms, kale, cauliflower, broccoli) with low fat cottage cheese, a little bit of pepper jack or sharp cheddar, diced green chilies, sliced ripe olives and canned enchilada sauce (with lower sodium); vegetarian refried beans; glass of grape juice.
Dessert/Snack: handful of peanut butter filled pretzels or honey glazed peanuts.
FRIDAY—Breakfast: pancakes.
Lunch: fake meat sandwich (such at Yves brand of fake boloney or Tofurkey); sun chips, fat free fruit yogurt.
Dinner: pasta with broccoli and pesto sauce; a green salad; warm crusty bread with oil and vinegar dipping sauce.
Dessert/Snack: peanut butter cookies or a piece of dark chocolate.
SATURDAY—breakfast: warm tortilla with peanut butter; apple slices
lunch: hummus on pita bread with lettuce, tomato and kalamata olives; pita chips with tziki dip; cranberry juice.
dinner: either frozen cheese pizza (to which I add my own veggie toppings such as mushroom, broccoli, jalapenos, sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, kale and spinach) with a green salad.
Dessert/Snack: container of fat free fruit yogurt.
SUNDAY:
Breakfast: go out to lunch and have huevos rancheros or a veggie omelette or french toast or pancakes.
Lunch: cold soba noodle salad with tofu, green onions, broccoli in a spicy peanut butter dressing topped with chopped almonds; miso soup.
Dinner: Vegetable lasagne; green salad
Dessert/Snack: homemade shortcakes (made with heart healthy bisquick) and thawed, sugared frozen strawberries.

Try everything: carrots, mushrooms, corn, kale, turnips, cabbage, lettuces, beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, olives, radishes, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, beans (black, pinto, navy, kidney, garbanzo, black eyed peas) whole grains (wheatberries, quinoa, bulgur) different kinds of bread, fake meat products, fruits, nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, macadamias) dairy products, herbs (basil, oregeno, thyme, chives, parsley, cilantro) and spices, oils and sauces. And then try each of these things with different preparations: toasting, grilling, steaming, stewing, boiling, baking, frying, braising, raw. Put these things into soups, pasta dishes, enchiladas and burritos and sandwiches and on top of pizza. Try everything until you find things you like.

You can eat fruits, nuts, berries, and machine processed foods such as macaroni and soups.

I’m no vegetarian but I do eat a lot of veggie meals.
Maybe try:
– low fat vanilla yogurt with granola and raspberries (sometimes i’ll prepare a bowl at night for the next morning and when you put the berries in, they get really delicious! but don’t add the granola until you’re ready to eat).
-salad!! if you find a dressing you LOVE, you can add anything to the salad to disguise the veggies… just watch out for fats.
– burritos are great… rice, beans, avocado (or guacamole), sour cream, onions, and whatever veggies you do enjoy.
– also, I just bought steamed lentils and a container of mixed, chopped veggies. I sauteed the veggies in some toasted sesame oil, added the lentils, hot sauce and soy sauce. not bad!
– veggie chili is delicious! you can add what you would to the burrito!
– for quick and easy, Amy’s frozen products are really good…
– and there’s always pasta!
– CORN!!! I eat bowls of frozen (heated up) corn and add a little earth’s balance (or other butter substitute) and some seasoned salt… delish!!

Sometimes special diets are challenging but between Fluther and immersing yourself in cookbooks… you’ll be good to go (and probably a little overwhelmed!). Try headed to a bookstore and grab a handful of books on being a vegetarian… sit down with a note pad and pen and write down what sounds good to you. Be creative, mix and match. Enjoy :)

Here’s a few recipes that might be appealing to you:

Roasted butternut squash with mushrooms and savory gravy here

Pesto, pine nut lasagne here

Vegetarian chili here

Thai pineapple fried rice here

Minestrone soup here

Broccoli macaroni and cheese here

Spinach and mushroom enchiladas here

Yogurt tzatziki dip (to dip vegetables or to put on falafel) here

Chinese hot and sour soup here

Raw kale salad with root vegetables (this is my new favorite pot luck go-to recipe!) here

Sweet potato salad here

Black bean soup here

Spinach and mushroom lasagne here

Vegetable pizza here

Greek pasta salad here

Hummus dip here

Wheat berry salad with cranberries (this is nice to serve at holiday functions) here

Cold soba noodle salad with peanut butter dressing and tofu here

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do and that you find some new things that you thought you might never have tried, or might never have liked. Remember that you can always make substitutions wherever you like.

I watch a lot of cooking shows on TV, and although most of them don’t specialize in vegetarian food, you can still get great ideas (and alter them). Rachel Ray usually has pretty easy, delicious and healthy meals that aren’t too complicated. Have fun!

@Kardamom Okra is the only vegetable I cannot eat. I’ve tried it done various ways but never found a way I liked.

@downtide

Okra is a tough one! We kept getting it in our CSA box this summer. I finally found two things that worked for me- I put it in the crockpot for a gumbo and cooked it for so long that it just disintegrated into the sauce, and I pickled it. I could eat the pickles although they were not my favorites, and the gumbo was yummy.

it helped that these were young red okra, not old tough pods.

@crisw I’ve never tried pickled okra. I might, now, if I ever see some. I love pickles.

@crisw I have had okra pickles which were actually pretty good. I forgot about that. The other way that I had them prepared (and I have no idea how they did this) was at a restaurant in which they were flash fried so that they were super-super crispy, almost like potato chips or really crunchy crackers in this ingredient called teff flour, which is an African (Abbyssinian) grain. Not only was it not bad, it was fabulous! It only took me about 100 times of trying okra every which way until I found 2 ways that I could stand it. Ha Ha.

The typical way that it’s prepared in the U.S. is to dredge it in cornmeal and fry it in a pan full of oil. It’s nasty and slimy and “sandy.” But like I said, if you keep on trying it, or other things that you don’t particularly care for, you are likely to find at least one way that is good, if not great. : )

Just made another EASY, yummy veggie dish: frozen brown rice from Trader Joe’s, cut up veggies from TJ’s (the ones I mentioned earlier), Soyaki (a teriyaki sauce), some toasted sesame oil and some mushrooms! I put the oil in the pan, let it heat up, added garlic, veggies & mushrooms a few minutes into it. I added some soyaki, and a little serracha (I love hot sauce). I put the rice in the microwave and just threw all of it into a huge bowl – added a little soy sauce, so good :)

@Samantha_Rae that Soyaki stuff is really good! It’s great on baked tofu with stir fried vegetables and is really good on a salad with baby greens, water chestnuts, broccoli florets and carrot slices with crunchy chowmein noodles on top. And it would probably make a good dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls like these

Breakfast: Morningstar veggie patties with a piece of whole grain toast,coffee
Lunch:Salad with white kidney beans for protein, an apple
Dinner:Morningstar Veggie riblets or vegetarian eggplant with green beans,a baked potato
Snacks: fruits and vegetables