For vegetarians?

Question

I have recently decided to change my life style to vegetarian I know that is a bold move but I want to be healther are there any good recieps that people can share with me. if so thank you. and since I have not eaten any meat here lately I have lost 5 pounds is that good.

Answer 1

A lot of people lose weight at the start of a vegetarian diet, because they generally just start to eat more healthily as a result. You'll be taking in more vegetables, and far less of your diet will be coming from fat (probably).
There are millions of recipes to choose from. My recommendation is to have a look at the Vegetarian Society website (link below), and VegWeb (link also below). Failing that, type vegetarian recipes into Google and you'll be inundated. Get yourself a really good recipe book too and just randomly open it and try the first thing you see!
One of my favourite recipes (though it's kind of more summer related) is halloumi kebabs.
Halloumi is a gorgeous vegetarian Cypriot cheese that you buy in a block, a bit like feta, but it's harder than feta.
Cut halloumi into about 1 inch cubes
Get a long kebab stick (or a barbecue metal prong)
Alternate halloumi cubes, cherry tomatoes, thick slices of courgette (zucchini), halved mushrooms, chunks of red or yellow pepper.
Brush each kebab with extra virgin olive oil.
Cook on the barbecue, or under the grill, until the tomatoes are nice and hot and the cheese has just started to look a little brown but not so cooked it starts to fall off the stick!
Well done for taking the plunge to a healthier lifestyle and for not being part of the cruel meat industry any more.
Just as a note, please, please remember that vegetarians do not eat fish!!!!! And remember to check all ingredients for gelatine - the bane of the life of all vegetarians!

Answer 2

I am not vegetarian, but I have tons of vegetarian friends so I try to accomodate them as much as possible. I can only cook some vegetarian, and mostly lacto-ovo, but not many vegan meals.

Anyway, I found that eggplant is an excellent substitution if you're ever having cravings for meat. Make sure to soak the eggplant to "bleed the bitterness" out of it. If you cut it thickly, it can resemble meat in some instances.

I often look to the Mediterrean cookbooks when I have needs for vegetarian meals. Although in picturebooks the Mediterrean coast looks awesome, it's usually 90-110 degrees in the summer and having a belly full of meat is the last thing on anyone's mind. That factor alone is huge among all around the Mediterrean which includes parts of Italy, Greece, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Spain.

Although we're in the colder part of the year, that's no excuse to claim there's no need to eat vegetarian. Look for classic Middle Eastern dishes like hummus and tabouleh which are quite easy to make with a food processor. If you're willing to go lacto-ovo, Italian frittas offer a wide selection of ways to make vegetables more suitable. When vegetables become more abundant in the spring and summer, Spanish gazpacho is a staple in my refrigerator. The greek tzakaki can be easily made into a cucumber soup (rather than a sauce) which is quite tasty.

Many middle eastern food augment their flavors with spices such as saffron and cumin.

One last thing, now that you're eating a higher fiber diet, you may want to take a B-complex supplement now that you're pushing out your fat soluble vitamins quicker.

Answer 3

congrats for becoming a vegetarian! i have been for pretty much my whole life and my favorite dish is fettucine alfredo with garlic bread. just boil some water, add the pasta, drain when ready, and add the sauce. garlic bread you can buy or make by melting butter onto some bread and chopping up garlic to put on top. you could also have some salad with it if you like. check out this website, i think you will find it helpful: http://www.vegcooking.com/index.asp
good luck! =)