May you please help me broaden my vegetarian diet because I am getting tired of the same old stuff?

Question

All I eat is Pasta Roni, Rice a Roni, bread, sweets, Taco Bell, and an occassional salad about 1-3 times a week. I am pretty sure I'm not getting the required daily vitamins and minerals. Not even close. I really need more variety, but I don't eat red or green peppers, white or red onions, chunky salsa, green salsa, kelp, or egg plant. Please give me some suggestions.

Answer 1

I've been a vegetarian for about 10 years now, and I never get bored with what I eat (and I'm really picky). There are so many options for you! Here are some of my favorites, many of which will give you lots of good vitamins, protein, fiber, etc.

-Boca burgers on hamburger buns
-Cheesy Enchilada or Double Cheese Quesadilla Hamburger Helper with fake hamburger meat (I like Lightlife's Smart Ground) and tortillas
-Boboli pizza topped with pineapple, broccoli, etc.
-cooked green beans with brown rice and topped with shredded cheese
-add broccoli or cauliflower to Pasta Roni or Rice-a-Roni
-baked potatoes topped with cooked veggies (fresh is best, but you can also cook up frozen veggies) and sour cream and/or cheese
-white rice, refried beans, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, and Taco Bell sauce
-soup (there are tons of recipes online for soups, but you can also get lentil soup, vegetarian soup, etc. in grocery stores)
-pasta (I love mini penne) or tortellini with Ragu or Hunt's sauce topped with some parmesan cheese
-if there's a Trader Joe's, Wild Oats, or Whole Foods store near you, they have awesome frozen foods (vegetarian taquitos, enchiladas, "chicken" nuggets, etc.)
-Lean Cuisine has a really tasty southwestern rice and beans frozen meal
-Ore Ida tater tots, fries, or hashbrowns
-Tasty Bite brand Indian food with white rice
-carrot sticks
-fruit salad
-low fat popcorn
-100% fruit juice

If you spend some time browsing through the grocery store, I'm sure you'll find tons of foods to add variety to your life. Try to eat fresh fruits and/or vegetables everyday. I would also recommend taking a multivitamin everyday.

Answer 2

All Vegetarians should eat plenty of fruit.. Fruit has some similiar enzymes in it that meat has and no chlorestal and no animal unless the plant was fertilized by animal compost!
How can you be a vegetarian without kelp? You need that to make gravy for your potatos.
You are leaving out some essentials of a vegetarian diet onions, green peppers.. Have you tried steamed and buttered carrots in a hot dog bun? How about Chinese Green Soup:
corn, cucumber, spinach, bamboo shoots, (any greens desired) soya sauce.. add to boiling water cover cook at medium or low heat and then when cooked serve as is or if
you want a little color ad a veg red pimentos or
peppers. or Tomatos! You might like the book: The Vegetarian Corner available thru:
www.dollardaysplus.biz

Answer 3

Get some fake meats from Morningstar Farms or Boca. Eat pasta with spaghetti sauce and burger crumbles. Vegetarian baked beans. Near East rice in box products (mushroom, ginger, almond, spanish rice flavors). Cooked barley (add vegetarian bullion cube to cooking water). Eat more vegetables such as green beans or broccoli. Add stuff to make them irresistible such as chopped peanuts and coconut shreds (unsweetened!) and plenty of salt and butter. Eat baby carrots with salad dressing. Granny Smith apples spread with peanut butter. You should eat a green vegetable and an orange vegetable every day at the very least. Orange colored veggies have vitamin A, you should eat something that has some fat in it to make it more usable to your body. (Vitamin A is fat soluble and you need fat to assimilate it. Salad dressing is fine). Get a cookbook. "How it all Vegan"and "In the Garden of Vegan" have recipes for beginner cooks.
We don't want you getting sick and making vegetarians look bad! :)

Answer 4

I can tell that by the choice of foods you're eating you are not getting any vitamins, minerals, or proteins. You cannot live off of what you're eating! Sooner or later you will end up in the hospital if you keep it up from malnutrition. You need food with more nutritional value in them.

-Sauteed vegetables in olive oil (be creative, whatever vegetables you want to use) sprinkled with garlic powder & add a little soy sauce and serve with steamed rice. This is really easy to make.

You need to eat any type of beans, lots of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and anything with soy. Soy milk, cheese, tofu, yogurt, etc.

Answer 5

I'm glad you're asking for assistance, because you're right--what you're eating is utter garbage. You'd be doing your body a world of good by instead of eliminating meat, eliminate pre-processed nutritionless crap. But, if eating no meat is the way to go, then you need to start eating a whole lot more fruits and veggies and incorporate beans (like lentils) into your diet so you are getting adequate protein. And start taking a multi-vitamin.

Answer 6

Try Morning Star Tofu Dogs & Veggie Burgers

Answer 7

I am not even vegetarian but here are some of my favorite vegetarian dishes: Hummus, veggie pitas with ranch dressing, spinach balls, grilled cheese, black bean burgers, black bean soup, potato soup, non-fat yogurt (be careful some contain gelatin try stonycreek farms? I think), smoothies, nuts, the list goes on and on. I have recipes for a lot of these if they sound like something you would be interested in.

Answer 8

You aren't getting any complete proteins in your diet, and you can get these from beans and nuts. You can buy canned kidney beans or garbonzo beans and cook them with your rice, then some kind of veggie and fruit for a complete meal. If you drink milk, you should make sure to drink some every day for more protein also.

Answer 9

You could try alpha sprouts in your salad or bean sprouts. Add more raw veggies like broccoli, carrots and cabbage. Brown rice is healthy and good. Add some fruits and add different breads to your diet. Honey wheat, hawaiin, kallah, etc. Try using different flavored butters and cream cheeses too.

Answer 10

when i was a vegetarian, i would eat couscous with some extra virgin olive oil and green beans and tomatoes. lentil soup by campbell's select is good.
slice some tomatoes and melt cheese over them. then toast some whole grain artisan bread and drizzle some extravirgin olive oil over the tomatoes.
i like amy's frozen food (a vegetarian line of frozen dinners). the mattar paneer and sag paneer are very good.
spinach wraps, or broccoli lasagna.