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Post by 🔪 silly buns on Apr 6, 2021 12:44:20 GMT -5
So...I made the mistake of watching a video about how "farm" animals are treated and how deceptive the "humanely raised" and "pasture raised" label is.
I am seriously going to start making the move to...... vegetarianism... *stifles sob* I looked at the Purple Carrot delivery service, and I do not like texture of avocado all that much, so eating that with every meal is not so appealing to me. Any suggestions for recipe websites or delivery services?
Any help will be appreciated...(oh dear god why am I doing this to myself)...thanks!  |
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Apr 6, 2021 12:58:08 GMT -5
I have a close friend who's vegan, and who I cook for sometimes, so I can offer some tips from that point of view. My first advice would be to take what you normally eat and just vegetarianize it - so use plant-based proteins instead of meat, veggie broth instead of chicken broth, that kind of thing. No need to overthink it too much  Sites: Cookie & Kate Oh She Glows (I think this is more vegan, but - easy enough to use real dairy if you want to) If you're into meat substitutes, Impossible is honestly pretty tasty in my experience. Gardein chick'n is not bad either. You can also usually swap in tofu or TVP crumbles for meat in various recipes. Chickpeas, various beans, all your friends. And a lot of East and South Asian cuisines are pretty adaptable to vegetarian cooking, especially Indian. Thai too, but watch out for fish sauce depending on how strict you're being |
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Post by songstarliner on Apr 6, 2021 15:37:46 GMT -5
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Apr 7, 2021 10:13:20 GMT -5
I'm not super strict, but I am vegetarian and do try to incorporate vegan meals as much as possible. I'm happy to try to give meal ideas if you have specific types of things you are looking for. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, they have some good vegan/vegetarian freezer meals if you bring stuff like that to work. Good meatless balls and a few other things as well. IMO, unless you are looking to get into getting into a specific cuisine, don't bother with vegan/vegetarian cookbooks because I feel like a lot of the stuff gets kind of same-y. If you were going to take up PET's suggestion of Indian, I did like Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen because the recipes are fairly accessible (I'm an adequate home cook) and a lot of them will give you lunch leftovers for days, if that's your thing. Owlette has ordered through this site in the past: vedgeco.com/collections/all-products . Some of it is stuff you might be able to find in the grocery, but it might be a good way for you to try a few different brands at once and see what you like. |
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Apr 7, 2021 10:19:10 GMT -5
Oh, and Lightlife crumbles have been a fucking godsend in our house after our kids decided they weren't falling for lentils in their tacos or spaghetti meat sauce
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Post by pantsgoblin on Apr 7, 2021 10:37:54 GMT -5
Seconding the Ottolenghi recipes. You can also find many of them for free on The Guardian's website. |
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Post by 🔪 silly buns on Apr 7, 2021 11:00:27 GMT -5
I'm happy to try to give meal ideas if you have specific types of things you are looking for. For the most part, I think textures and lack of lamb and beef flavoring is going to be a problem, and why I quit in the past.
Looking through some recipes, I think its going to be making sauces to flavor vegetables that will be tricky. Store bought sauces (Except for marinara!!) are usually lacking in the flavor department.
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Post by 🔪 silly buns on Apr 7, 2021 11:04:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the website suggestions, so far. I have a market list I am making, so glad I live near a cheap produce place. I am so happy I became a weird quarantine gardener, and started saving the herbs I bought. Currently trying to get some mint and parsley to root.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Apr 7, 2021 11:12:30 GMT -5
I'm happy to try to give meal ideas if you have specific types of things you are looking for. For the most part, I think textures and lack of lamb and beef flavoring is going to be a problem, and why I quit in the past.
Looking through some recipes, I think its going to be making sauces to flavor vegetables that will be tricky. Store bought sauces (Except for marinara!!) are usually lacking in the flavor department.
Look for other ways to up the umami - mushroom powder, or mushrooms themselves, msg, anything with glutamates will help - soy sauce, fish sauce, parmesan cheese... Also, just using more seasoning in general will help |
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Crash Test Dumbass
AV Clubber 
ffc what now
Posts: 7,058
Gender (additional): mostly snacks
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Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Apr 7, 2021 11:29:54 GMT -5
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Gumbercules
AV Clubber
Get out of my dreams, and into my van
Posts: 2,979 
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Post by Gumbercules on Apr 7, 2021 13:18:50 GMT -5
I'm happy to try to give meal ideas if you have specific types of things you are looking for. For the most part, I think textures and lack of lamb and beef flavoring is going to be a problem, and why I quit in the past.
Looking through some recipes, I think its going to be making sauces to flavor vegetables that will be tricky. Store bought sauces (Except for marinara!!) are usually lacking in the flavor department.
There are things you can add to get that umami that's lacking from vegetarian versions. Marmite, tomato paste, soy sauce, miso paste, nutritional yeast, deep roasted mushrooms, etc. Depends what you're looking to recreate. I'll third Ottolenghi. I will never stop praising Serious Eats. Years ago they were doing Vegan Month. I'd suggest looking there as well. www.seriouseats.com/vegan-experience |
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Post by Dr. Rumak on Apr 8, 2021 5:16:04 GMT -5
I mentioned on the regular food thread that I have been trying the HungryRoot delivery service, and so far I like it a lot. We are using the vegetarian, no-dairy option. |
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Apr 8, 2021 6:58:10 GMT -5
For the most part, I think textures and lack of lamb and beef flavoring is going to be a problem, and why I quit in the past.
Looking through some recipes, I think its going to be making sauces to flavor vegetables that will be tricky. Store bought sauces (Except for marinara!!) are usually lacking in the flavor department.
Look for other ways to up the umami - mushroom powder, or mushrooms themselves, msg, anything with glutamates will help - soy sauce, fish sauce, parmesan cheese... Also, just using more seasoning in general will help Seconding the MSG. Seriously, it's so great. A friend got me to start using it when she made vegetarian chili for me, then had me taste it before and after she added the MSG. It's cheap, easy to get, and a little goes a long way. I add it to almost anything with a sauce.
I also like to keep citric acid on hand, not just for home-canning purposes, but also for when I want to add a pinch of acidity to a dish but I don't want to add more liquid like lemon juice or vinegar.
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Post by 🔪 silly buns on Apr 8, 2021 7:53:41 GMT -5
okay, I am getting less scared this time about becoming a vegetarian. I am playing it safe for the next few days with veggie burgers and salad. But I will make a chili (knock off beyond burger with a bunch of veggies, beans, marinara sauce, and spices. Definitely going to roast some mushrooms and look for mushroom powder to see what flavors that adds. I have def also seen MSG at the market, so I will pick that up and look for citric acid.
Plus getting into the idea of meal prepping and pre-chopping veggies to do more stuff.
Looking forward to making the stock that Crashtest linked to.
Thanks y'all! ...and please post other stuff that you want to share.
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Post by 🔪 silly buns on Apr 16, 2021 9:24:29 GMT -5
Not a fan of Just Egg. Regular eggs are better. Glad there are some local places where they guarantee and have live streams of the chickens running around in their yard. So I do not have to feel bad about eating these eggs.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Apr 16, 2021 9:37:01 GMT -5
Somewhat related to Just Egg - I have now tried several kinds of faux butter, plant milk and vegan "cheez". I know you're not necessarily going vegan. But Miyoko's brand seems to be the best of the fake cheese and butter - they actually culture their butter to give it a better taste. I have a tub of the oatmilk-based butter in the fridge right now, and it's not a 100% match, but it's pretty solid and once you've put garlic on your garlic bread or jam on your toast you can't really taste a difference. The oatmilk I've tried is also pretty good, on its own it has a faint aftertaste of Cheerios.
As for cheese - in my opinion nothing really matches the real stuff, but Daiya shreds melt pretty well, and the Miyoko's pub cheese is a solid substitute. I haven't tried any of the sliced/cheeseboard variety.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Apr 16, 2021 13:17:17 GMT -5
Yea, Miyoko's is miles better than any of the other mock cheese stuff, imo, but you still have to kind of have to understand going in that it's more it's own thing that serves the same function of cheese in a dish, not 'replacement cheese' (if that makes any sense).
I also don't particularly care for Just Egg. A decent tofu scramble does a better job of scratching the eggs for breakfast itch, imo. Discovering black salt as a way to help incorporate some egg-ish flavor was a game changer.
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Post by Powerthirteen on Apr 16, 2021 13:30:38 GMT -5
These squash tacos came to mind for me today. They're kind of labor intensive, but holy cow do they taste great. 
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Post by Dr. Rumak on Jun 4, 2021 11:51:47 GMT -5
I'm not going to pretend that "Cashew Cheddar" is anything like real cheese, but as long as you mix it in with rice and beans, it does add a cheesy flavor that I enjoy.
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Post by DangOlJimmyITellYouWhat on Jun 5, 2021 20:26:01 GMT -5
Not a fan of Just Egg. Regular eggs are better. Glad there are some local places where they guarantee and have live streams of the chickens running around in their yard. So I do not have to feel bad about eating these eggs. Just a drive-by tip: if you haven’t made lentils before, make sure you cook them very, very thoroughly. I’ve failed both times I tried to make daal, and my god, they gave me incapacitating cramps. I don’t have the issue when I buy daal at Indian places, and tbh I’m not a big enough lentil fan to spend the time learning to do them right. oh yeah too much tofu at once can do the same thing. you can also blend avocado into a lot of things & never notice it’s there. |
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