In the 6 years since becoming a vegetarian, people have constantly asked me, “Uh, so… what do you eat? Salad?”. (No. Rarely.) Those first few years, I eased into it with fairly simple recipes with vegetables I was already super familiar with. There’s no need to become intimidated right off the bat with raw kale salads and mashed parsnips, so here are a slew of “starter” recipes: recipes that were my go-to when I first transitioned to vegetarianism. Yes, they are cheese-heavy, and if you’re looking for vegan recipes this isn’t the blog. This is for those dabbling with going veggie: people doing Meatless Mondays and contemplating the big switch without scaring off the rest of the family used to gorging on meat and potatoes. These are the exact recipes that set me on the path towards a cruelty-free and healthy lifestyle and not one of them includes tofu, which I know wigs people out.
Eat up!
**I would combine all of these recipes with something more simple. For example, if I made the pesto risotto I would just saute some green beans with slivered almonds on the side, or roast some brussel sprouts- anything, really. You don’t need recipes for those sides. Just go for it. Olive oil with salt and pepper is always the best.
Zucchini and Ricotta Galette by Smitten Kitchen
Butternut Squash and Carmelized Onion Galette by Smitten Kitchen
Kale Lasagna Diavolo by Vegetarian Times
Risotto with Pesto and Peas by The Food Network (leave out the stupid ham)
Spicy Squash Salad with Lentils and Goat Cheese by Smitten Kitchen
Asparagus and Cheese Tart by The Food Network
Spinach or Broccoli Calzones by The Moosewood Cookbook
Tabouli by The Moosewood Cookbook (serve with hummus and pita, maybe some grape leaves or falafel- you can find frozen falafel at Whole Foods and they’re fab.)
Baked Potato Soup by Smitten Kitchen (skip the bacon)
Lentil Soup by The Food Network (Use veggie broth, and tweak to make your own. I omitted the celery and added more carrots. I have also added diced sweet potatoes.)
Yam and Black Bean Burrito by The Esalen Cookbook
Asparagus and Shiitake Mushroom Strudel by The Esalen Cookbook
Zucchini and Parmesan Omelette by Tessa Kiros’s book Apples For Jam
Saag Paneer by 101 Cookbooks (with some Naan or Vegetable Samosas and rice)
**More tips: Indian Food and Mexican are simple ways to go veggie. So is Italian! Eggplant Parm with a side of broccoli rabe! Pasta pasta pasta!! So. Freaking. Simple. Good luck!
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8 Comments
I have many times wanted to go vegetarian. The problem is, I have a love affair with seafood. I seriously don’t think I could give it up. Born and bred in New England…fish and lobstah are in my blood…
I could easily give up everything else, though. I hate cow bc it seriously looks and tastes like carcass. And I don’t love poultry or pork. I’ll eat chicken, but I could def live without it. Tell me I can’t have my fish in chips, though, and we got a problem.
Girl, stick with the seafood- that’s FINE! Become a pescatarian! I’ll admit it: when we were in Maine in July I had some clams and a lobster roll. Seafood has a ton of good omegas and whatnot that can’t be found in meat. Beef has zero nutritional value and your body can hardly digest it. I say, go for it! Bc really, is chicken really that good anyway? It’s pretty lame.
Thanks for the recipes! My husband is a vegetarian, so I’m always looking for new things to try. I am definitely not a vegetarian, but I cook that way most of the time and it’s great! Vegetarian cooking is actually a lot easier than non-vegetarian cooking for me. I love not having to cook meat, and I love that I can make a salad and my husband actually likes eating it. But I eat burger about once a month and it feels so right.
Haha. Beef is usually what most people miss and go for after eating vegetarian, but for me? I miss the salty guys the most: salami, pastrami, sausage. I won’t touch it ever again, but thinking about them makes my mouth water.
I’ll check these out. My big problem is that I really need to try and avoid refined flours as they suck the life-force right out of me. So pasta pasta pasta becomes – catatonia catatonia catatonia.
If you find any South East Asian recipes you like do let me know as I need/want to shop local.
I’ll never give up meat completely but I do want to cut it down to 5% or so of diet so I have a lot of work ahead of me! From a devoted carnivore… x
You know, I have tried and tried to cook Chinese and Thai and I’m terrible at it. Korean? It’s seems meat heavy to me. Indonesian? Clueless. I think Indian and Mexican/Latin American work so well as vegetarian cuisines because they’re bean and lentil and pea heavy, you know? A lot of Asian vegetarian food is tofu and soy based, which is great, but I’m trying to limit my soy intake. Too much of it makes my hormones go wild. I’ll research, though, because I’m always looking for some new menu items.
These are great. I love lentil soup, it screams happy to me!!
This post is making me so happy right now.