Toying with the idea of going vegetarian....

Finally!  Someone else who doesn't like red meat!  Being from the South, my family thought that I was insane...red meat...blech 

Blech is exactly how I feel! I do like tofu, but none of the other meat substitutes really cut it for me.

I've been veggie for 19 years and I don't like a lot of the fake-meat products (they taste/smell too much like meat). Boca is probably the worst line of meat substitutes out there (makes me queasy to even smell Boca Burgers!). Quorn nuggets are OK because they just taste kind of salty, but not like real meat.

Here's the secret to stir-frying tofu! Use extra firm tofu. Cut it into reasonably small cubes (the size of dice, maybe a little bigger). Put the cubes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them and stir gently once. Let the tofu sit in the water for 5 mins. Drain/pat dry thoroughly. THEN stir-fry them....they will brown uniformly and have a nicer, firmer texture than if you attempt to cook tofu right out of the box. It really works!! I like to stir-fry the tofu first, remove it when it's browned, then do the veggies & stuff and add the cooked tofu again right at the end just to heat it through.

I have been trying to go vegetarian for about 4 months and have failed miserably at it. I like Quorn products and do like some Morningstar things, but I have been far too chicken (haha) to try tofu at home because the packages imply it takes a lot of care to keep the tofu. You have to change the water everyday, etc. I would only be cooking for myself, so there's no way I could really cook all the tofu in one go.

I have tried making my own curries, and they've been really tasty. Not a fan of hummus, and I don't like much indian food, so a lot of the veggie meals out there are not to my taste (like the frozen ones). I just discovered veganaise though, and LOVE it. This is so hard!

I don't keep tofu in water in the fridge any more, if I don't use it all I freeze it. When you defrost it, it has quite a different texture, kind of spongey & more chewy.

As well as using meat substitutes don't forget to try new ways of cooking vegetables or using vegetables you might not have eaten much in the past. Mushrooms are great for texture & flavour and aubergine/egglant is great for a lot of things too. This is something I made for lunch today, it takes a little while to prepare becuase you bake the aubergine first but it's worth it!

Mirza Ghassemi

1 large eggplant
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
Tomato paste
2 eggs

Prick the eggplant with a fork several times to prevent it bursting in the oven.  Cook it in a 200 degree oven, turning every few minutes, til the skin is charred and going very black (takes about 20 minutes).

When it's cooled down, peel off the skin.  It should be fully cooked now, mash well with a wooden spoon or potato masher.

Chop or crush the garlic and fry it in a little oil for a minute or two (use a heavy bottomed pan)  then add the mashed eggplant.  You will notice some liquid comes out of the eggplant, that's fine, fry it til the liquid reduces then add a good big dollop of tomato paste and stir into the eggplant. 

Beat the eggs well.  Push the eggplant to the sides of the pan so there is a hole in the middle, put the eggs in there and scramble them.  When the eggs are done, stir the whole lot together.  Serve with some fresh flatbread and herbs.

Yummy!

I always found a huge portobello mushroom grilled up is better than any piece of meat anyday!

~BEG

As well as using meat substitutes don't forget to try new ways of cooking vegetables or using vegetables you might not have eaten much in the past.

i was just going to say... if you are a vegetarian, dont forget to eat vegetables!   
im not veggie, but if i was, i dont think i would bother with fake meat... something off-putting about it to me.

I'm not really into the Quorn as much as when I first went veggie.  Now I use more lentils, beans, quinoa, brown rice and load of fresh fruit and veg.  I cook tofu only a couple times a month, not a big soy eater.

We went to brekkie a few weeks ago here in Bristol and had the best veggie sausages!  Cooked with veg and potato then grilled.  Really really tasty, I can't stand the fake meat sausages, they just gross me out!

I'm a lot like Jenn, I eat mostly whole foods and only sometimes tofu.

I can't stand Quorn, as I think it has a weird texture.

bean burgers - I love them! Tesco makes a good frozen one, mexican or indian flavoured bean burgers. Cauldron makes a good black bean burger too.

I'm not vegetarian, but I limit my meat intake for health purposes and have found that some of the meat free products or vegetable dishes just taste better than meat. DH isn't that into chicken, so that is limited too.

either way - good luck!

I'm not vegetarian either but I do like soy burgers. 

I like the texture of the Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles.  I prefer it to ground beef in chili.  Their riblets smell pretty tasty too.  My daughter eats them.