What are some good foods/meals to help "wean" meat-eaters?

Question

If someone wants to become a vegetarian/vegan, but finds it hard to give up meat, what are some good meal ideas that can help them fight their cravings while being satisfied at the same time?

Answer 1

1. dressing without chicken
green bean casserole
fried cream corn
fried okra
turnip greens
sliced red onion
rolls
2. pasta salad with assortment of vegetables topped with shredded cheese and croutons
3. cheese ravioli's with alfredo sauce, italian spinach and a italian salad with garlic bread
4. eggplant parmigana with marinara sauce with italian spinach, salad, and garlic bread
5. cheese quesadillas with refried beans, mexican rice, and salsa and chips on the side.
6. vegetable egg rolls with vegetable fried rice.
7. grilled cheese sandwiches with chips
8. cheese empanada's with mexican rice, refried beans, and salsa and chips on the side.
9. cheese omelet with toast or biscuits (jelly, jam or butter) and hashbrowns
10. broccoli /cheese and rice casserole, hashbrown casserole, squash casserole, and english peas with rolls
11. large baked potato's topped with vegetarian chili, green beans, corn on the cobb, and texas toast
12. spaghetti /angel hair pasta with marinara or alfredo sauce and italian spinach and garlic bread on the side

Answer 2

The moosewood cookbook suggestion above is good.

But the easiest is to use receipes you know and subsitute in Morningstar or Boca products. The easiest ones are sauces and chili.

We put the ground meet subsitute in Spag sauce when we want punch it up. We also make chili using it as well. In those items the flavor of the sauce\spices will over power the meat substitute and they probably won't even notice it. There are also fake chicken, sausage and other products for other reciepes.

You can also just make some meals that don't require any meat to begin with which they already eat - pizza - veggie or cheese, pancakes.

Once you move from there you can start on the moosewood cookbook and create dishes that use beans, tofu or veggies as the main ingredient.

My wife and I became vegetarians together 16 years ago. It took about a year and we didn't have an official goal of becoming vegetarians just quick eating meat and worked from there and ended up here. At that time the amount a good qualitiy look-a-like subsitutes was must less than it is now.

Answer 3

I still eat meat, but my aunt doesn't, and a few good things she makes are tacos--with some sort of soy filling instead of hamburger, Also she gets a kind of hamburger patty thing in the frozen food section that I like better then regular hamburgers.
Besides that just make sure there's a variety of GOOD tasting food around. If a persons not hungry it helps with cravings. I would visit my aunt for weeks at a time when I was a kid, and never 'miss' meat--just because she kept my full of really good food. And a variety of junk foods. Good Luck!

Answer 4

Lot's of possibilities, but in order to make the change, it helps to have a recipe book on hand to help with the transition. The Moosewood cookbook has some excellent recipes that are very filling (and of course, healthy). It also provides some meal options so that all of your protein needs are met. Some of my favorites are the Chili recipe which uses bulger for the texture of hamburger. There is also a killer lasagne recipe. Good luck~

"I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants." A. Whitney Brown

Answer 5

THe morningstar farms/boca/garden burger/Quorn products. The Amy's frozen meals are pretty good, too.

Come up with creative uses for the meat replacers as well. We use crumbles in pasta sauces for a boost of protein. We use the buffalo wings cut up and put into burritos. We use the 'Chicken' & 'Steak' Strips in Asian foods. We use the 'chicken' patties to make 'Chicken' parmesan (thaw the patties, put in a baking pan, top with plain marinara sauce, sprinkle mozzarella cheese, bake at 400 degrees until cheese is melted and sauce is hot, then broil on high until cheese is bubbly & brown. Serve over pasta).

You can also use lots of veggies instead of meat. Especially in pastas and mexican foods.


Remember not to set yourself up to fail. If you eat something animal, just start again without meat at the next meal. Don't give up and expect pure vegetarianism to take awhile.

Good luck to you!

Answer 6

For a little while I say go for the veggie junk food. Veggie pizza, veggie subway sandwiches are tasty and very filling, bean and cheese burritos, there are a lot of meatless patties out there, look for ones made of mushrooms and onions, theyre better than beef. TVP hides well as the meat in chili and has a good texture. Make taco salad with the chili as the meat in it. Scrambled eggs in taco shells with all the goodies of other tacos. cheese enchiladas. Mozzerella sticks, Jalapeno poppers, substitute portabella mushrooms sliced in some stir fry or like faijitas in a flour tortilla with onions and green peppers. Look to poor folks food for ideas, good taste thats cheap.

Answer 7

Substitute Tofu in your stir frys. In Hawaii we eat a lot of Tofu both cooked & cold recepies w/ just shoyu, tabasco, & minced or diced green onions on top. Tofu is made out of soy beans, & is healthy protein. Remember when you subtract meat from your diet, some things are incomplete protein & you have to eat seeds & nuts (unsalted) with them. Just ask your nearest health food store, almost guaranteed they will have printed recepies to give you. There is also fake meat & chicken mostly made of soy.

Answer 8

Add black beans, red beans or soy beans to cooked rotini pasta. Toss in lots of sauteed garlic, onions, celery, olive oil, tomatoes & spices you like. Serve this with a green salad & a fruit dish dessert & you have a meatless meal that meat eaters will enjoy. It's a fill you up dish with lots of flavor.

Answer 9

Go buy some soya products. My carnivorious husband recommends:

Amys Texas BBQ Burgers
Boca all american grills
Morningstar farms recipe crumbles
Lifelight "sausage" roll
Boca or Morningstar farm chicken patties
Boca Italian sausage

Check out the morningstar farms and Bocaburger websites too!

Answer 10

mix real meat with meat replacements a little at a time. like, make tacos with 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 Boca Crumbles.

Answer 11

Try morningstar frozen foods (there soy) but taste like meat. Good Luck!