Vegetarian diet. Where do I start.

[Magnum PEI]

Subway veggie delight is quick and cheap. There's also Freshiis everywhere now, but they're a little overpriced, especially if you get tofu.
Fatburger Real Veggie Burger is pretty awesome.

[indes]

Not a vegetarian but we do 'tortilla pizzas'. Just take a tortilla spread a little mayo and permesan on it, load it up with spinach tomatoes mushrooms and whatever else you want, little bit of shredded cheese and bake for 10 minutes.

We also do sourdough with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with a balsamic glaze in the oven for 10. This one's more of an Appy though.

Also I love grilled veggies. Take zucchini, peppers, mushrooms and just cover them with olive oil and garlic plus, toss them on the grill for 15 and done.

The best way is probably to cook in bulk for a while and freeze.

[Party Elephant]

Get into cooking curries. Once you have all the spices you like then it's not much work to make a tasty meal.

[Itse]

Basic Thai/Malesian is also super quick. Cook noodles, veggies are fried with spices just enough to warm them, mix everything, eat. Once you've done it a few times the whole thing takes maybe 10 minutes total. Buy a few sorts of spicy pastes and you'll have a ton of variation.

Btw, it's kind of weird how quickly things have changed here in Finland on this front. In the last year or two, there's been just an explosion of ready-made vegetarian meals, snacks etc. More than I have time to try out. (Or interest really, I only eat ready-made a couple of times a week.) Essentially every place in Helsinki that serves food now serves some good veggie options, often several.

Eating vegetarian has very quickly gone from a hassle to a complete non-issue, and the whole image of eating vegetarian has transformed likewise. Essentially there's no image attached to it anymore. Being at least partially vegetarian (meaning you mostly don't eat meat) is so common you finally don't have to be constantly explaining yourself.

(No offense CaptainCrunch or EricVail, but in Finland jokes like that are probably now more likely to get you laughed at, not laughed with. Just so-o outdated.)

There's even a new word for the "new" type of vegan, called "sipsari". Short for sipsikaljavegaani or chipsbeervegan in English. It's kind of hard to explain the phenomenon, but there name comes from a hugely popular FB-group where people pretty much post pictures of their unhealthy vegan food. (You're supposed to apologize if there's green in the picture )

I linked a few pictures for an idea what "eating vegetarian" stands for these days. That wine there is likely the thing with most animal in it,

Spoiler!

Essentially it stands for "eating".

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Itse

Basic Thai/Malesian is also super quick. Cook noodles, veggies are fried with spices just enough to warm them, mix everything, eat. Once you've done it a few times the whole thing takes maybe 10 minutes total. Buy a few sorts of spicy pastes and you'll have a ton of variation.

Btw, it's kind of weird how quickly things have changed here in Finland on this front. In the last year or two, there's been just an explosion of ready-made vegetarian meals, snacks etc. More than I have time to try out. (Or interest really, I only eat ready-made a couple of times a week.) Essentially every place in Helsinki that serves food now serves some good veggie options, often several.

Eating vegetarian has very quickly gone from a hassle to a complete non-issue, and the whole image of eating vegetarian has transformed likewise. Essentially there's no image attached to it anymore. Being at least partially vegetarian (meaning you mostly don't eat meat) is so common you finally don't have to be constantly explaining yourself.

(No offense CaptainCrunch or EricVail, but in Finland jokes like that are probably now more likely to get you laughed at, not laughed with. Just so-o outdated.)

There's even a new word for the "new" type of vegan, called "sipsari". Short for sipsikaljavegaani or chipsbeervegan in English. It's kind of hard to explain the phenomenon, but there name comes from a hugely popular FB-group where people pretty much post pictures of their unhealthy vegan food. (You're supposed to apologize if there's green in the picture )

I linked a few pictures for an idea what "eating vegetarian" stands for these days. That wine there is likely the thing with most animal in it,

Spoiler!

Essentially it stands for "eating".

Oh no offense taken at all, I love vegetarians, I mean after the apocalypse hits, I think they will taste a lot better then meat eating humans.

I plan to start a vegetarian farm and sell em by the pound.

Now is human meat Red or white, and what wine goes best with Human?

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by RW99

A little bump on an old thread. I'm trying to reduce meat from my diet and I'm having issues, mainly based on convenience. I will not be able to spend the time to cook my own vegetarian meals. So I'm going to use what advantage I do have, and that is a generous budget to get what I need.

CP vegetarians, what do you do when you don't have time to prepare meals or just don't want to? I've looked into fresh meal services and it seems none of them offer any real vegetarian options. Is it always takeout from restaurants? Grab what's available pre-made at Suntara? Any ideas would be great.

Since you're just reducing meat, how about increasing snacking? Hummus, bruschetta, almond butter carrot sticks, fruits, veggies etc.

Meal prep large portions in advance probably helps on the meal front though. Vacuum sealing food in the fridge/freezer that can be easily warmed up to be consumed will help you greatly on this front. Another thing perhaps is to find friends to make it with you. A favorite restaurant on speed dial isn't a bad thing either and if you're a regular somewhere, maybe you could be as bold as to ask them to make you something custom when things are a little slow?

Another thing that's pretty fast is noodle soups. Easy to make at home if you prep broth. A handful of noodles such as vermicelli or udon + vegetarian seafood balls and shred of vegetables takes around 5 minutes. Even less if you have the portions pre-prepped.

Stir frys can be super easy too. A stir fry can be made with as little as cabbage, garlic, oil and salt. Dry spicy peppers in it too if you want. Blanched asian veggies and adding oyster sauce is quick and easy and tasty.

Then, there's ramen and instant foods. Some of these can be modified with ingredients to make gourmet food. Always fun.

Air fryer and slow cookers I have not experimented with, but I have friends who swear by them.

[CaptainCrunch]

Oyster sauce is a miracle cooking aid whether your a meat eater of a veggie.

Everyone's fridge should always have a bottle of that as a staple.

[ernie]

Haven't read the whole thread but thought I'd chime in. I'm not a vegetarian and likely never will be. My wife has been in the past though no longer is. As many have pointed out protein can be issue but I want to break it down further...the problem is the 9 essential amino acids your body can't make (hence essential). That is what you'll need to concentrate your protein source investigation on...i.e. the complete protein sources. Quinoa, Soy and Buckwheat tend to be the predominant ones that get the most press. Given some of these proteins are significant carb sources so are often high calorie...it's shockingly easy to gain weight on a vegetarian/vegan diet.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by ernie

Haven't read the whole thread but thought I'd chime in. I'm not a vegetarian and likely never will be. My wife has been in the past though no longer is. As many have pointed out protein can be issue but I want to break it down further...the problem is the 9 essential amino acids your body can't make (hence essential). That is what you'll need to concentrate your protein source investigation on...i.e. the complete protein sources. Quinoa, Soy and Buckwheat tend to be the predominant ones that get the most press. Given some of these proteins are significant carb sources so are often high calorie...it's shockingly easy to gain weight on a vegetarian/vegan diet.

Protein is not an issue at all. This is the biggest, dumbest myth about vegetarian diets that keeps getting perpetuated by uneducated people.

Have you ever seen a vegetarian or vegan with a protein deficiency? Do you know what a protein deficiency even is?

It's called kwashiorkor and it is virtually unheard of in the west.

You ever see a cow? An elephant? Do they have protein deficiencies?

If anything, the over-abundance of protein in people's diets are largely leading to the huge health crisis in the western world.

If you're vegetarian or vegan, you only need a B12 supplement. That's it.

PS - the simple fact that you called proteins carbohydrate sources made me LOL

[troutman]

I went Veggie yesterday:

Breakfast, granola and fruit smoothie. Lunch at Planet Organic - $10 vegetarian deal is good with one entree and two sides: veggie shepherds pie, greek salad and pasta salad. Dinner - falafel balls in greek pita bread with cucumber, tomatoes, hummus etc.

Community Foods (downtown or Crowfoot) has a good buffet with many veggie options.

[bossy22]

My son was vegetarian. His favorite cookbook was thug kitchen. Lots of easy recipes in there.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Protein is not an issue at all. This is the biggest, dumbest myth about vegetarian diets that keeps getting perpetuated by uneducated people.

Have you ever seen a vegetarian or vegan with a protein deficiency? Do you know what a protein deficiency even is?

It's called kwashiorkor and it is virtually unheard of in the west.

You ever see a cow? An elephant? Do they have protein deficiencies?

If anything, the over-abundance of protein in people's diets are largely leading to the huge health crisis in the western world.

If you're vegetarian or vegan, you only need a B12 supplement. That's it.

PS - the simple fact that you called proteins carbohydrate sources made me LOL

Just to clarify cows and elephants do not have protein deficiencies because they are ruminants capable of digesting cellulose and plant cells. They can gain protein and calories from something like celery, whereas it just passes through us.

Different types of animals also have different capabilities in terms of synthesizing different compounds from sugars. Humans are particularly bad at making both fats and proteins out of sugars. We need to consume most of the protein we need directly as protein. Under normal circumstances humans do not convert sugars into fats.

Also, there really isn't such a thing as too much protein in the average diet. The problem is that high protein foods also tend to be high in calories. If you're obese and eating cheeseburgers all day, it's probably not good.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by blankall

Just to clarify cows and elephants do not have protein deficiencies because they are ruminants capable of digesting cellulose and plant cells. They can gain protein and calories from something like celery, whereas it just passes through us.

Humans are capable of digesting plant-based protein and have been for a million years. The protein we get from meat sources is primarily the plant protein an animal ate before us.

Originally Posted by blankall

We need to consume most of the protein we need directly as protein.

What does this even mean?

Originally Posted by blankall

Also, there really isn't such a thing as too much protein in the average diet.

The "average diet" consumes three to five times more protein than they need

Excess dietary protein can lead to elevated blood sugar, weight gain, kidney stress, leaching of bone minerals, and stimulating cancer cells

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Excess dietary protein can lead to elevated blood sugar, weight gain, kidney stress, leaching of bone minerals, and stimulating cancer cells

Or you could keep eating protein and avoid sugar / restrict carbohydrates and be just fine. [shrug]

[troutman]

Interesting discussion - some fairly definitive statements being made, so I would enjoy if posters could show their work (citations).

[Weitz]

Meat could have a 1 in 5 chance of killing me and I wouldn't stop eating it.

[Itse]

People make way too big of a fuss about the protein thing. Unless you're stricly vegan or actively trying to build muscle it's not that easy go get an actual deficiency. (Okay you could also have an eating disorder or just otherwise eat like crap or something like that.)

If you're worried about your B12, vitamin supplements are cheap.

[calf]

Originally Posted by Tyler

PS - the simple fact that you called proteins carbohydrate sources made me LOL

I think he's referring to the fact that a cup of quinoa has 39g of carbs vs 8g of protein, or a cup of buckwheat has 22g of protein and 122g of carbs

[Fire in the disco]

Serious question. I have seen in this thread and also know a few vegetarians that eat absolutely no meat, but they all eat eggs. I don't get it, how is an egg, which is essentially a chicken fetus a vegetarian option?

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Meat could have a 1 in 5 chance of killing me and I wouldn't stop eating it.

Then why are you in the vegetarian diet thread? I find if so odd that people feel like they need to announce that they eat meat and always will when questions about vegetarianism arise.