Vegetarianism for a meat lover.

I quite like vegie food, I can’t stand quorn though.

Vegie sausage made with chickpeas etc is nice, ditto vegie burgers etc. Then pretty much substitute veg and pulses into any other meal. Curries and asian food are easy simply because a curry is a curry whether you put chickpeas or chicken in it. Thai curries can just be bulked out with veg etc.

Never liked bacon anyway, plus it gives you cancer

Nitrates/Nitrites give you cancer, bacon itself is fine, it’s just the crap that’s in it that makes it red rather than grey that gives you cancer. Parma ham used to have the same stuff in it, but they as a collective decided to omit it from the recipe a few years ago which is why it’s now much paler. Find a butcher that makes their own (or I suppose, make your own), it’ll look grey and a little unappealing compared to the bright red stuff in the supermarket but it tastes exactly the same.

Go and buy tin can cook by Jack Monroe, loads of veggie recipes and cheap and you are donating to food banks by doing so

We had halloumi wraps for tea last night with OH’s patented chili sauce and garlic mayo, it was late-night-kebab-tabulous, mates!

Because it’s in the spirit of things and one of my wife’s points is I eat too much processed meat I’ll try to give the substitute/processed veg a miss. I might try a burger though. I’m quite happy to substitute halloumi etc for meat and the pulses in the chilli.

On that note I’d imagine that processed veg is better than the meat equivalent, I’m thinking sausages here. But is it still not great?

I’d give the beetroot burgers from Aldi a swerve. I had some last night and they were grim.

I’ve tried them in the past, not something I remember as wanting to try again.

I’d swerve most meat “substitutes” but perhaps try Cauldron sausages (chiller section in supermarket).

Just focus on veg curries, veg pasta etc. and enjoy the natural flavours and textures.

I’m interested to try these Impossible Burgers that I’ve heard about, think BK do them?

+1 for avoiding most of the fast-food meatalike options if you have the time and aptitude to cook from scratch. Mainly because I prefer to avoid plastic packaging and too many processed foods these days. Yet some commercial veg burgers etc as mentioned taste good, like the Tofu wieners and Linda Macs Burgers (packaged in cardboard). I dont like most Quorn products. Cauldron Cumberland saus are a guilty pleasure because egg white from mass-farmed ‘free-range’ . Taste and texture is so good. Also am looking forward to making my own DIY ‘Impossible Burger’ 😉

Back to recipes – last night’s stuffed peppers where made with homemade filling courtesy of the long-time vege skillz of Mrs Rider

Roughly: Wild rice, quinoa, garlic (lots) chopped mushroom (whole punnet), chopped pecans , basil oregano, paprika, chopped pimentos,some mixed dried beans soaked overnight beforehand, (aduki, black beans etc) fresh chopped tomatoes for moisture, pinch cumin powder, some tarragon, seasoning

Sorry for rubbish pic of last night’s leftovers, but it gives an idea of the ‘mince’. Delicious and great texture. Seems almost churlish to say it tasted better than a minced pork/beef version. But I enjoyed it more than, and no hype.

I’m interested to try these Impossible Burgers that I’ve heard about, think BK do them?

They do an Impoosible Whopper in the US.

Don’t think Impossible Foods are coming here any time very soon, they are concentrating on Asia markets last I read.

For the time being, it could be a fun challenge DIY’ing, and plan to have a foray soon. Will report on findings. Here’s a starting point courtesy of hellthyjunkfood. Irony!

Think of foods/cuisine that doesn’t already have meat in (Thai, Indian Mexican et c.) and major on that

This.

Going veggie just gets easier with time. You’ll find all sorts of meals that just don’t actually need meat to make them taste better. Although they are generally complex Ottolenghi’s veggie recipes are always great.
And the good thing is, if you are only doing it for health rather than moral reasons the occasional bit of meat if you are missing it is not an issue.

Was eavesdropping on 2 ladies yesterday, one of whom seemed an  enthusiastic vegan and was enthusing about vegan recipes.

” I haven’t eaten meat since….. ( I’m expecting a term of years)…. last saturday, oh except for Monday when I had some ham”

By these standards being a veggie is a piece of piss.

On that note I’d imagine that processed veg is better than the meat equivalent, I’m thinking sausages here.

Depends where you buy your sausages. I’m fairly sure my butcher’s don’t include mechanically recovered meat or pigs scrotums.

Mrs Kennyp has been veggie for over twenty years. Means my evening meals are probably 70% veggie. That said I still, and always will, love a good blue steak. It’s all about compromise.

Bought some Linda McCartney vegetarian pies in Morrisons, had them before and I love them, really tasty with a peppery tang to them. I don’t eat much meat, mince in some dishes, fish and chicken. The sausages from her range are damn tasty as well.

The Joe Wicks veggie lean in 15 is brilliant. My wife has been veggie all her life and I have been for just under a year. There are great meat subs Available nowadays and the Greg’s vegan sausage rolls are fantastic.

Avoid fake meat, it’s all rubbish. Quorn just produces excessive fartgas as it’s mainly undigestable. Aim for good fresh veg cooked well.

I’ve been veggie for around 12 years, my wife has been veggie almost her entire life. i suppose the best way to approach it isn’t to think of meals as ‘without meal’ or somehow not complete anymore. it does encourage you to approach food differently and on occasion, you’ll be disgusted at the lack of options on certain menus.

I’m veggie as i care for animals and not vegan as living were i do in a small rural village would make thinks almost impossible on a day to day basis. If we ever move back into the city, it would happen overnight.

for me, the whole topic comes down to personal preference. eat what you want and like everything, a little bit of moderation is always the best. choose less meat has an environmental impact, a health impact and means you get to explore all sorts of new stuff. it makes sense for everyone to at least be aware were their food on the plate comes from, how it got there and choose accordingly. even doing a meat free day once a week is at very least making a tiny difference and introducing creativity in the kitchen that might just be fun.

I’m veggie as i care for animals and not vegan as living were i do in a small rural village would make thinks almost impossible on a day to day basis. If we ever move back into the city, it would happen overnight.

What would be harder?

Fwiw, I went vegan in 92ish, lived in a small town. I had a cook book which was American, like they all were back then, and most of the ‘exotic’ ingredients, seitan, soya milk, etc meant a 1.5h round trip to Lancaster on the train! Even then, it wasn’t ‘hard’. As someone suggested above, get great at cooking food which is mostly vegan by design – Asian etc – tons of stuff on t’web these day.

I like https://www.veganricha.com/

Don’t forget cauliflower steaks. Almost identical to beef steaks. Cauliflower steak tartare is my favourite and you don’t have to cook it. I accompany it with cauliflower rice.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/whats-best-way-cook-cauliflower-rice

Tofoo (not just any old tofu), is amazing.

I dice it, coat in cornflower, then fry in a big wok (don’t over cook, just till light pale colour). Goes all crispy. Then lob this lovely crispiness into something with sauce; stir-fry, currys etc. The crispy bits soak up all the flavour. It has fantastic texture. Super healthy. Great value, aprrox £2. IMO it’s way better than chicken.

https://tofoo.co.uk/about-tofoo

Cauliflower steak tartare is my favourite and you don’t have to cook it.

I can’t eat it rare. I can’t bear the sight of cytoplasm.

for me, the whole topic comes down to personal preference. eat what you want and like everything,

Probably the best advice on this thread.

Don’t tie yourself up in knots over what the “rules” are or you’ll be miserable and probably fail, decide what you’re going to eat. If you’re “vegetarian” then that excludes fish (a veggie who eats fish is a pescatarian) but that doesn’t preclude you, personally, from eating fish if that’s what you decide you want to do.

Psychologically, you need to move away from the notion that stuff like Quorn is a “meat substitute,” rather it’s a convenient way of packaging protein. You wouldn’t consider a chicken burger to be a “beef substitute,” it’s just another type of protein.

As others have said, there are plenty of dishes which are naturally vegetarian. Curries are great for this, pretty much any dish on an Indian menu is either vegetarian or can be made so. Quorn chunks or sliced fillets work well in home-made curries. See also, stir fries, pasta, rice dishes. It’s not my thing as I’m not a fan of mushrooms, but I’ve got a recipe for mushroom risotto which has gone down an absolute storm with anyone I’ve inflicted it on.

If you’re looking at Quorn mince, the trick here is not to overcook it. If you try to make a chilli that’s been on a low simmer for two hours you’ll end up with slurry, really it just needs to be chucked in at the end and warmed through for a few minutes. Alternatively, fry it off separately first with a good lug of oil and a generous dash of Worcestershire sauce, dollop of Marmite or Maggie “liquid seasoning” , it gives it more ‘bite’.

Cauldron sausages are good as others have said. Brush / spray with a little oil, bang ’em under the grill, then stick them in a giant Yorkie with a pile of mash, drown in Bisto Best onion gravy. Nom.

Also from Cauldron, falafel balls. I’ve started making wraps with these: flour tortilla spread with garlic hummous, greenery (I like rocket), grated carrot, falafel, drizzle with mango chutney. Simple, quick and really tasty.

Tivall hot dogs are amazing if you can find them, I know this gets said a lot and is usually wishful thinking but they really are indistinguishable from their porky bretheren. Otherwise Sainsbury’s and Tesco own-brand ones are almost as good. Avoid Quorn hot dogs, they’re a weird texture and kinda grim. Quorn sausage rolls taste almost identical to the Greggs vegan ones.

Quorn breaded ‘chicken’ burgers are great and come in a variety of styles.

I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, but Fry’s range is generally good. Their pepper pies and curry pies are both ace. http://www.fryfamilyfood.com/uk/category/our-food/meat-free-range/

And then there’s the whole world of soup. I love making home-made soup, it’s less like cooking and more like alchemy. Stalwarts like leek & potato or more exotic like Thai chickenless noodle soup, I once did a bulk batch of my chicken noodle for a couple of dozen people and it was demolished in minutes. It’s almost Rule 34: if it exists, you can make soup out of it.

Oh, and, I’m pleasantly surprised that we’ve made it well into page 2 without any bellendery. Well done, guys.

Cauliflower steak tartare is my favourite

Not quite the same, but this just popped up on my FB feed:

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a27544267/grilled-cabbage-steaks-recipe

+1 for cauldron falafel balls (and Aldi’s) often have them for lunch.

Just had another slip, this time a Gü cheesecake thing 😣

I like meat too much to be veggie, but I find I need spices and/or cheese to replace meat yumminess. So:

Chili or Tex-Mex (refried beans a staple)
Indian
Eggs + cheese + kale

To add a bit of taste to veggie stuff try more salt, marmite, veg stock or soy sauce.

Today was the first bash at a meat free day. Nearly came unstuck at lunch as I found myself wandering around a retail/Industrial estate waiting for my car to be fixed. Regardless of what Id said previously I tried the Greggs vegan sausage roll, seemed an ideal opportunity to do so. And actually it wasn’t bad at all as far as sausage rolls go. Probably better than the normal ones. Dinner has been taken care of with Delia’s cheese enchiladas, I used to make this years ago and amazed myself then that I was eating a meal without meat in it. So today has been a resounding success if not exactly hitting the veggies.

Well done.

Is it not a bit weird that we’ve become so socially conditioned to think that every main meal has to contain some form of meat? You’d never see a thread going “I eat too many tomatoes so I’m going to stop eating as many… had dinner tonight and I was amazed that I was eating a meal without any tomatoes in it!”

I went to a café with a couple of mates a while back, one of them ordered a veggie sausage sandwich. The other went “oh, I didn’t know you were vegetarian!” He replied, “I’m not, I just like them.” The second mate was incredulous. It’s all a bit odd, really.

Similar mindset with alcohol free beer too. Does take a bit of deconditioning.

Vegetarian is easy! Vegan is more of a challenge, but a good positive challenge (Life’s boring if it’s easy)

I followed a vegetarian diet, felt pretty crap, too much cheese/dairy I think! Lasted couple months.

A year later I went vegan, lasted 7/8 months, and found the whole thing tremendously positive. The community around food/recipes ideas are amazing. And I felt fanatstic, lots of energy.

I am not vegan now, I kind of failed when my wife was very ill over Christmas, super stressed etc..

I’m still 90% plant based though. Will go back to it soon.

But the period being vegan taught me a lot about food, nutrition, what we need, what can be done. Learned to use lots of new foods in new ways.

Wtf is this fish bullshit? How in anyway is that not meat? You can’t claim to go fora veggie iet then eat fish.

After watching Dispatches last night, I think post-Brexit I’ll be veggie too, to avoid any chance of eating USA-sourced meat.

It is a little “strange” how people classify fish, as not really animals. And I’ve actually spoken to some people that don’t consider chicken to really be meat!! WTAF. Mind blowing

(In before the inevitable digression into politics)

Nearly came unstuck at lunch as I found myself wandering around a retail/Industrial estate waiting for my car to be fixed. Regardless of what Id said previously I tried the Greggs vegan sausage roll, seemed an ideal opportunity to do so. And actually it wasn’t bad at all as far as sausage rolls go

Well done OP (although imo any kind of cheap sos roll is a poor lunch , ymmv)

Suggest keeping a cold veg samosa or two on you? Tin foil works. Rice and peas in a snap-shut container is also good, along with the samosa/s. Add an apple or other fruit for dessert.

Recently discovered Safeway is still operating via McColls convenience mini-markets, and have done lunch pitstops for their suprisingly tasty samosas. Other veg samosas are available. As is cooking up a batch the night before 👍🏼

i refuse to label myself Veggie; cant have this, cant have that – ill eat what i want thanks… but i choose to eat as little meat as i can. ive never been big on meat anyway, and the meat i did enjoy was the worst kind, processed. and pies, pasties, & sausage rolls were my biggest vice. so i decided to cut it all out at the turn of the year too.

ive lost weight and feel fitter than ever but the best thing is some the discoveries ive eaten since, ive had some fabulous meals out i would never have chosen before, but some vegetarian versions of meaty dishes that are so much better than their fleshy brethren!! I dont like going for substitutes either, veggie sausages are all awful!

There have been blips. i dont want anyone to go out of their way for me, so visits to elderly grandparents have involved a bit of roast beef.. and some countries ive been to id have just gone hungry without it – but i have survived the first few bbq’s of the season without it!

^ this is pretty much me now. I just genuinely prefer the veggie options now. But might have meat as we’re out with friends or whatever..

We’ve got a good collection of veggie/vegan cookbooks too. Also some great sources for inspiration on YouTube. Matt Pritchard’s Dirty Vegan Channel is funny. And Gaz Oakley is really good

Veggie sausages are all awful

Not true. . Have been greedily demolishing these for last 6 months (Cauldron Lincolnshire or Cumberland). As a former lifelong porkaholic, I now prefer these to the spongey ammonia and fat texture and taste of ye old cheap pork/bread sausages I used to love (Waitrose basic sausages). Yes, the last supermarket pork sausage I tried made me feel a bit pukey. So, something to do with conditioning/familiarity? I never really liked the ‘posh’ 110% meat ones either, they also seemed to increase the taste of ammonia.

The scent of a hot pork roast OTOH still tests me to the limit 😬

OP! Suggestion for Easy Sunday roast lunch – few slices of (microwaved) Macsween haggis along with roast tatties, leeks, seasonal roast veg and Bisto roast onion gravy with a few tbsps of Savoury Yeast Flakes stirred in. Add mint sauce and or mustard on the side and Robert is your dad’s sibling 👍🏼

How do you get it all to stick on the ceiling like that?

So how do veggies get round wine? Most of it is not veggie

I shall add a vegetarian haggis to the list of things to try 👍, any vegetarian black pudding going 😀? As for the fish thing, my only forays into fish is chucking a few extra fish fingers into the oven when the kids at having them. Bit of a throwback thing for me, fish finger piece with rid sauce. Falafel and houmous today at lunch, probably the driest falafel in the world, from aldi, looks like the same source as the beetroot burgers mentioned earlier. Halloumi wraps tonight.