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Originally Posted by MattyC
Ok, I'm bumping this thread.
It's been on my mind lately, and my younger brother brought it up yesterday so we were discussing it. We're thinking of at least trying a vegetarian route minus anything taken from the wild. This is a morality-based thing, not a health thing. I never thought I'd be one of these people. We are carnivorous, have been eating meat for thousands of years, and I love the taste of pretty much any type of meat. But we've gotten to the point where we just can't ignore the way these things are being farmed. This is why I make a caveat for wild meat. My family has always had hunters, my Dad does it every year. Ethically, I have no problem taking an animal from the wild and using every piece we can. I don't want this to turn into a debate on the merits of vegetarianism, the ethics behind it, or how less manly I am for thinking about this.
What I want is ideas. We were brainstorming what we could eat and were having a tough time coming up with tasty ideas, mostly in the hot food domain. So my questions are:
Good breakfasts? - Love myself a hot breakfast with some eggs and sausage. The sausage can be wild, just wondering what veggies do for hot breaky meals.
Packed lunches? - What can I bring to work outside of veggies and dip that can keep me going throughout the day? Trying to avoid breads and carbs too.
Dinners? - I like curries, so doing a veggie curry/pasta sauce will likely become a staple. What can I add to it that will give it a protein boost? Kind of want to avoid tofu too, for taste reasons.
Any help would be great. Thanks!
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Breakfast - that's easy. Pancakes. Eggs and Hashbrowns. Huevos Rancheros. Egg McMuffins. This one is really not hard at all.
Packed Lunches - Egg Salad Sandwiches are pretty easy. So is leftovers. If you still eat fish, Sardines are surprisingly good. Personally I find going out for lunch to be a better way of living than packed lunch, but to each their own.
Dinners aren't hard either. Pasta is so easy without meat, especially pesto dishes. Corn on the Cob is still awesome. So is Potato Salad, and so on. Stirfrys, Casseroles (just not Lasagne, ect), they are all easy. The only dinner you are going to be short on is roasts, or stews. That's like the only thing that will be missing. And if you eat fish, then roast salmon can still be done. Veggie Chilli, however, can be excellent, and replace the hearty stew that you may crave.
There's something out there called Ground Round. It's a soy based replacement for ground beef. Honestly, it's better than beef in taco's, or burritos. And I love beef.
As for Tofu, you likely have been eating it wrong. There's really two types of Tofu. Soft, and Hard. Soft tofu has a gelatin like look, is soft and mushy. Most people think of this when they think Tofu. I do not like this. Hard tofu is different, it is dry, and stiff, it has a consistency of cheese - especially paneer, or feta. Firm tofu fried, and crispy, is actually quite nice.
A note about those people who think that Tofu is bad because it's "processed". Yeah, it is - and has been made like this for centuries. It's made exactly the same way that cheese is, but with Soy Beans instead of milk. Crush the beans, add some rennet, drain off the whey (which makes soy milk, btw), and compress into bricks. I saw someone mention earlier in the thread (in 2011), that they didn't like the processed nature of tofu, but would eat peanut butter?? Isn't Peanut Butter processed too?? It doesn't grow in butter form, that's for sure. but I digress.
In case you are wondering, I am a meat lover - I absolutely love eating meat. I have a goal to eat nearly every living species out there (within reason). I am, however, married to a vegetarian who won't eat fish. I have learned to deal with this issue well - most of my dinners are meat free. Most of my lunches are not. I have found I do not resent my dinners being meat free - I have learned to be an equal opportunity eater. Beef - good. Pork - good. Potatoes - good. Tofu - good. What matters - or rather, what should matter - is whether or not the food you eat is good food, not whether or not there is an arbitrary volume of meat in it. A ####ty bologna sandwich isn't somehow elevated over an egg salad just because it's meat, and a nice ratatouille isn't somehow less than a cheap chicken breast. I personally couldn't live without barbeque, or fried chicken, or thanksgiving turkey, but I don't need it every meal. I find I eat just fine.