Help Me Eat Less Meat

I actually like the Dr. Praeger’s from Trader Joes but agree they’re not really burger like, more like “stuff mashed together in patty form.” My favorite are the ones from Amy’s, I like most of the varieties but especially the California and quarter pounder ones.

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Oh! I will have to try/look out for Amy’s. I like some of their other food stuffs.

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Speaking of Amy’s frozen foods, their roasted veggie no cheese pizza is a staple in our house.

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Sounds yum!

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I made this meal for dinner last night. I loved it! (Mr. Road of course did not :roll_eyes:)

I used regular rolls (not pitas) and this BBQ sauce recipe.

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You DO make friends with salad!

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Haha…that is absolutely a long-running joke in my house. :laughing:

I used to make tortilla soup all the time - shredded chicken, broth, and salsa topped with fried tortillas and cheese. I did a version with leftover lentil taco filling tonight and it was just as delicious!

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My mom sent me a bunch of veggie cookbooks she had collected over the years! I’ve already bookmarked a bunch of recipes to try!

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Those wraps on the cover of that book already look delicious! :yum: I have no idea what’s in them but I just know they would be tasty.

The other day I made these: Easy Mix Meatballs – GREENFORCE UK Easy Mix Meatballs – GREENFORCE UK
It’s a vegan meatball mix, just add water and mix. The bulk store here sells the mix in glass jars and it seemed very nice to keep on hand just in case.

It’s really easy to prepare and when you add water it really does suddenly look and feel like meat. I added the usual spices for meatballs and fried them. The taste was fine too.

There is one “but”. I got extremely sick after eating them, Mr Imma was fine. There’s a LOT of pea protein in them and not everyone’s digestive system can handle that. I’ve had other meat replacements with pea proteins before and was fine, so I figured this one would be fine too, but it turns out it wasn’t .

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Oh no! I know how frustrating that is to think you found a good substitute only to have your stomach think otherwise. :disappointed: My BIL eats meat substitutes all the time with no issue. It’s just not fair, lol.

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Oh, we had food sensitivity testing & pea protein was a major irritant for all 3 of us (me, man, man-boy). I have heard it’s quite terrible for digestion. Sad that it’s in so many foods.

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Not vegan, just vegetarian, but I made this last week. It was a nice change from normal shakshuka. I used fresh tomatoes not canned.

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I have been wanting to try a Shakshuka, but the runny eggs are not always a hit (for me or Mr. Road). One of the books that my mom sent has a version with cream cheese or yogurt instead of eggs that I think I might try!

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I don’t always like running eggs. Have to be in the mood. So I have made shaksuka and poached the eggs in the sauce until they were set.
I have also eaten the leftover sauce with scrambled eggs. It’s all good.

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Yeah. You can also just make the awesome sauce, and then cook your eggs in a separate pan till they are cooked through (solid). Though I LOVE the eggs in this cooked medium. White fully set, but yolk liquid gold. Perfect for dipping toast into.

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I made the most delicious less-meaty casserole tonight. A bit labour intensive but I cook extra of things so the lentils & roasted veg were other meals too.
Small green lentils cooked from dry with butter, taco seasoning, paprika, salt & pepper added to the water. Strained, the liquid was used to cook rice for another dinner.

Sweet potato & carrots tossed in oil, paprika, garlic powder, salt & pepper, oven roasted, cooled then mashed.

Sautéed onion & garlic, finely chopped veg (cauliflower, peppers, zucchini) paprika, cumin, taco seasoning, ground corriander, thyme, salt & pepper, a splash of tamari, worchestershire sauce, and a bit of grainy mustard. Added some ground beef, sautéed until cooked then stirred in the lentils.

Spooned into a casserole dish & spread the mashed roasted veg on top, into the oven at 350 for 30 mins. Sprinkled with pine nuts just before serving.

Oh, gosh, it was so good. It tasted quite meaty though there was very little ground beef per portion.

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I made a very yummy pasta pomodoro last night.

390 g crushed tomatoes (from a tin or tetra pack)
3 large cloves of garlic, peeled
Maybe 0,5 decilitre tomato paste
A small rosemary twig
Dried sage
Dried rosemary
A couple twigs of thyme
Half a umami stock cube, other vegetable stock would work too
Ground black pepper
Sherry vinegar
Olive oil
Pinch of sugar
A few drops of honey
Water
Pasta
Buffalo mozzarella

Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife to crush them and slice each clove in thick slices. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and fry on medium-low heat to soften without getting much colour. When they start to look cooked and the smaller bits start to brown - add tomato paste and crumbled stock cube. Let those ingredients get to know each other for a while before adding crushed tomatoes.

Rinse the tomato from the sides of the tin/carton and add the tomato water. Add herbs, pepper, vinegar, and a bit of sugar and/or honey.

Leave it alone, stirring now and then, while the pasta cooks. You want a shape that is good at holding sauce. I used pasta screws (fusillini?) and cesarecce since they had the same cooking time and I had a little left of both. Use plenty of salt in the water and cook for one minute less than the package says.

Turn the heat off for the sauce if it gets done before the pasta. Alternatively splash some pasta water into the sauce and keep cooking if it gets too thick.

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the liquid.

Remove the twigs of herbs, then add a splash of pasta water and the pasta to the skillet (or use the pasta pot if the skillet is too small). Heat while coating the pasta with the sauce. This will make up for that missing minute of cooking time.

Serve with chunks of mozarella.

No pictures, because it was yummy :yum:

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I finally made a biryani last night. Came out great!

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My grandpa made an amazing pomodoro!! Your pasta sounds delicious.

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Made a curried couscous salad with dried cranberries today. It’s yummy!

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My local food co-op makes this. Liked it so much I had to look up a recipe so I could make it myself.
Here’s the recipe link:

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