After our US trip, Thomas requested cutting back on our meat intake. Although the US has many more vegetarian options in the grocery stores and restaurants, I think he was overwhelmed by all the beef in our meals. We’re not ready to go vegetarian, but we decided to try to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our diet.
One of the nearby towns, Gent, does a citywide meatless Thursday, where once a week, all schools and public offices serve only vegetarian dishes to promote sustainability. I think it’s a great idea! This last week, I tried to cook a few vegetarian meals (and they were tasty too). Here’s what I made:
Couscous and feta stuffed peppers
I also made some penne alfredo with zucchini and tomato, but since it was without a recipe, I didn’t take a photo. I’m now quickly running out of ideas and would love some recommendations on vegetarian recipes or websites. I still have a bunch of black beans (from the US) to use up, and I would also love to find a tasty veggie burger recipe since you can’t buy those here. Got any suggestions?
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My husband is vegetarian. At our Delhaize, next to the fish and refrigerated meals, there is a wide range of vegetarian burgers. We tend to cook a lot of Italian and Thai meals. Often I’ll throw in some tofu mince in to make spaghetti bol, or some quorn, onion, and capsicum together to make some fajitas.
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That stuffed pepper looks really good. I always stuff them with black beans and rice, but your way looks tons better. I spent 6 years as a sorta vegetarian (I ate fish), starting when I was in Switzerland for 7 months.
The “easy” out for vegetarian food, to me, is pastas. Its easy to make gnocchi and pesto. Kitchen sink pasta (where you sautee whatever vegetables you have in the fridge in garlic and olive oil and toss it over noodles). Or pasta salads (my favorite, tricolored pasta, mozzarella cheese chunks, black olives, cucumber, red and green peppers, cherry tomatoes in balsamic vinagerrette).
Its also easy to make Chinese food or Indian curries with just vegetables leaving out the meat.
I made veggie fajitas a lot. In addition to mushrooms and onions, I used carrot and pepper slices sauteed in cumin and chili powder as the filler. Black beens. Sprinkle some cheese. Homemade guacamole. Lived on avocado. When you start tackling lunch food, avocado sandwiches are my FAVE. We would just go to the grocery store and buy avocado and bread, and then spread the avocado on like butter.
Another obvious one is grilled portabella sandwiches (marinate them in balsamic vinegar for a while). Same with eggplant parmasean, an old standard but still good.
Nothing like comfort food – homemade tomato basil soup (which is actually another really easy one) and grilled cheese sandwiches is good.
Artichokes. Yum. Low cal too. I eat lots of artichokes even now.
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I have a really yummy Zesty ravioli skillet made in one pan….
can you get canned tomatoes?
Its a pampered chef recipe. I will scan it and send it your way.
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My favorite is Pinto beans and cornbread. I like just plain old veggies as long as they are cooked(except cucumbers and peppers).
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Hey there,
The stuffied pepper looks delicious…I just printed out the recipe to try this weekend.
Some of the best vegetarian recipes come from Moosewood cookebooks, not sure if you can order one in Belgium but here is a link to some of the best recipes:
http://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/recipes_archive.html
Let me know if you try any of the recipes!
Cheers,
Kate
Pampered Chef has a great recipe for black bean burgers that even us carnivores love! I found a link to the recipe here: http://docsdining.blogspot.com/2007/04/iso-perfect-vegetarian-burger.html
Gent has some really good vegetarian restaurants. I’m trying to cut our meat consumption in half, personally.
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homemade fried rice:
cook rice one day before. saute spring onions, celery, and edamame in a skillet. add 2 eggs and scramble. then, add pre-cooked rice to the skillet and stir fry. season with soy sauce, salt, and seasame oil.
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These recipes have good reviews: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/BlackBeanBurger.htm;
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-Rice-Burgers/Detail.aspx; and
http://www.yumsugar.com/Black-Bean-Burger-Recipe-3320549
I have a great recipe for Black Bean Soup and Lentil Stew. Two big hits in our house! Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll pass them your way!
We’re aiming for more meatless meals ourselves- I agree with all of the above comments. I’m a huge fan of Indian curries- they’re quick and easy and delicious! Although it can be expensive to build up a spice stash, once you have that down, dinner can be ready with as little as some canned beans (or dried beans, soaked), tomatoes, and onion. Cheap!
I know the groceries there are probably quite different, but the best thing of all is to shop fresh from the market. Fresh veggies, with pasta or fish, is inherently delicious. I’ve started experimenting with more stir fry sauces, which amps up the flavor. More veggie-friendly recipes to come on my blog, too!
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