For about 4 weeks now I’ve been eating mostly vegetarian (minus our vacation week when I happily enjoyed fresh seafood and whatever Fred served). I’m pretty sure that qualifies me as an expert in vegetarian eating and I am hoping to bestow my wisdom onto you today (lol).
I’ve really enjoyed trying new vegetarian dinner ideas and playing around more with beans, lentils, and bread. I hadn’t excluded those things previously, but only dabbled with them in favor of lean meats. The great thing about experimenting with my eating style is I get to find out what works for me. I am a huge believer in that the ideal diet (and exercise plan) is quite individualized. For example, I am grateful to have no food allergies so excluding an entire food group for an extended amount of time just doesn’t make sense for me. At the end of the day, I believe most strongly in moderation and intuitive eating.
However, I’m also always up for trying new things and getting out of my comfort zone to gain a new perspective. I’ve really enjoyed this vegetarian adventure and have realized a few things along the way:
Planning and Prep is Essential.
I’m pretty sure this is a universal theme in any whole-food, healthy way of eating. I blame (credit?) the vegetables, but with vegetarian cooking it can also be about remembering to soak the beans or cashews. It’s also about knowing what you’re going to make for dinner otherwise you (OK, I did) just end up with a bowl of romaine and some grape tomatoes and chickpeas.
Grain Bowls Instead of Salads.
I shouldn’t say instead because I LOVE a good salad and have eaten plenty over the past few weeks. However, even sometimes the heartiest salads didn’t satisfy my hunger longer than an hour or two. I found instead a bowl based with a grain (this week it’s farro!) plus vegetables of some sort and a healthy fat (olives, avocado, etc) stuck around much longer.
It Can’t Be Beans All the Time.
Yall, I soaked and rinsed and rinsed again until the water ran clear, but I still found that if I was relying on beans for more than one meal a day, then I’d pay for it with the ever-so-uncomfortable bloat. I did realize how much I love beans again (so versatile!) but I’ll be sticking to bean-based options only once a day.
Experiment with New Protein Options.
I’ll be honest, I’m a little uneasy with the faux-meat idea, so I haven’t explored that world to a large extent and have eaten boiled egg whites for protein (not exactly exciting). However, having tofu as an option when we went out to eat made my meal so much more filling. I also mentioned this minor frustration to my friend Courtney who convinced me to try tempeh again. I’ve never really found a way to make it taste great but she says thinly slicing it and searing it in a little coconut oil and coconut aminos will change my mind. It’s on this week’s lunch menu and I’ll report back on my instagram!
It Makes a Big Difference in the Grocery Budget.
I didn’t realize how much meat (chicken, fish, seafood, etc) was costing us until I bought grocery’s for a vegetarian meal plan for a few weeks in a row. We are talking a sincere noticeable difference even with snagging a few extras that weren’t on the list (Bitsy Brainfood Crackers for the girls and sprouted mung beans for me). I loved this perk and for this reason (among others) I plan to stick to 3-4 vegetarian meals a week going forward.
Keep a Stash of Chips and Salsa.
It’s my current go-to filler food for vegetarian dinners that don’t quite satisfy David. I stocked up on Aldi’s organic salsas (really good and less than $2 a jar!). We tried Newman Own’s Black Bean and Corn Salsa (delicious!!) and Willy’s Fresh Salsa (which is addictive). You can put salsa on anything to instantly make it tasty so I’ve been snagging a few jars of whatever is on sale and looks good.
Vegetarian Meals to Try:
(Based on what we’ve liked and your recommendations)
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
Garlicky Sweet Potato Noodle Pasta
Kale and Sweep Potato Brown Rice Bowls
Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili
Vegan Stuffed Shells with Roasted Eggplant
I also am really into baking sourdough and am realizing I need to be baking weekly to keep up with our demand. I get a lot of questions about it on instagram so a few tips: I use Jen’s step by step sourdough tutorial. It makes two loaves each time. It is a lengthy process in the fact that you feed the starter for a couple days before getting started, but it really isn’t complicated. I highly recommend trying it!
I don’t (and didn’t) have any intentions of becoming a vegetarian full time, but this trial has widened my culinary horizons and I’m enjoying trying new dishes in the kitchen. I hope to increase the amount of vegetarian meals we eat each week, aiming for 4/5 nights out of 7 to be vegetarian meals. I think I got into a rut of depending on red meat a little too much so I look forward to this new routine to benefit our health and our wallets- and if it is good for the planet too, well, that’s wonderful!
Do you experiment with your diet to see how you feel eating different ways?
What have you learned does or doesn’t work for you?
How did you know it did or didn’t?
Sarah says
This is great insight, thanks! Have you ever seen the TED talk about being a weekday vegetarian? I can’t remember who gave the talk, but if you Google weekday vegetarian – Ted talk, you’ll find it. It’s pretty good!
montessoriishmom says
Love this! I totally agree about grain bowls, that is probably my favorite lunch. Making sure I include lots of healthy fat like avocados, also ensures I stay full with vegetarian meals. I’m curious to see how the tempeh turns out, I’ve never tried it!
Cassie says
My biggest marker for food experiments is how much energy I have and how stable are my emotions. I’ve gone vegan for a few months and felt great, but it takes so much time that I don’t have anymore. If I’m not cooking or prepping a lot, I end up falling back on prepared foods and missing out on protein. I’m still struggling with protein in fact. I feel best with meat only for dinner.
Nadia says
Your veggie meals look delicious! I love Michael Pollan’s simple advice: “Eat foods. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Words to live by, for sure.
Brittany Dixon says
YES! I love that book and I always end up going back to his simple and profound advice. I couldn’t agree more!
Karen says
I use that same one pan mexican quinoa recipe and its wonderful. I believe you will like this one…..all my daycare kids love it also.
We have been doing lentil tacos……half meat/half lentils for my husband and its working great. You can also make taco lentil melts with this and it goes twice as far as just meat tacos.
Brittany Dixon says
That’s an awesome tip and I will definitely be trying that! Thanks Karen!
Liz says
Glad you are trying to have more vegetarian meals. I just wanted to say that tofu is not processed soy, you could make it yourself from soybeans. And soy has not been shown to be bad for you (http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/health/soy-foods-history-cancer-where-do-we-stand-explainer/index.html).
Also, another great reason to eat more vegatarian meals is the environmental impact of meat, especially beef. Beef is incredibly resource intensive to produce and is terribly for our environment.
I’ll step off my vegetarian soap box now 😉
Brittany Dixon says
I always welcome feedback with topics people are passionate about! I heard a lot with the Meatless Monday movement about the positive environmental impact and I think that’s wonderful! Thanks for your input 🙂
Laura says
I would love to experiment with more vegetarian meals, but my husband is not down with it at all. If he’s away, than I’ll throw together an easy vegetarian meal for the kids and me, but when he’s home and I attempt that, he always feels like something’s lacking in his meal. Plus, beans don’t agree with him, so that makes going veg challenging.
Sometimes I do find I need to eat more of a vegetarian meal to be satisfied (Black bean and butternut squash enchilada, for instance), so I get where he’s coming from. Maybe I will give it a try and still keep a pound of cold cuts in the fridge, so he can grab a few slices if he needs a little more!
Brittany Dixon says
I feel vegetarian meals are easier in the winter because stews and soups feel hearty enough to satisfy. A few David has given a solid thumbs up to are any Indian curry dishes over rice and Mexican, like the lentil tacos, nachos, etc. He did enjoy the butternut squash soup last night but we had plenty of sourdough and butter to go with it! I’ll admit though, I need more than soup for dinner as I had to eat a ton to fill up last night too 🙂
Rachel says
I’d love to hear about the different ways you use beans! I’m a vegetarian but struggle with the texture of beans, and am always looking for new ways to integrate them. It’s great to hear that being a part-time vegetarian is working for you!
Shelley says
My family is also doing more vegetarian meals after my husband and I read How Not to Die. I’ve always loved your meal posts and recipes, so I’m excited to see more veggie recipes on your blog! The key with me eating vegetarian is to consistently seek inspiration to stay on track through blogs, new cookbooks, etc. I’ve loved a Modern Way to Cook recently for veg inspiration.
sherry says
I tried the the slow cooker lentil tacos last week and they were delicious! I did have to add more liquid after two hours (on low). It makes a lot so I have leftovers to put in salads, grain bowls, etc. Thanks for the inspirational recipes–your one pan Mexican quinoa is next on my list.
Blair says
I have been a vegetarian for coming on 30 years and I love it. I have also been told I have the healthiest skin (by my ob doctor during delivery) and that my heart and cholesterol levels look amazing. My hardest intakes are keeping my iron up and getting enough vitamin D (since I am mostly vegan but not strict as in I eat milk and eggs in things but don’t eat them alone). During pregnancy I was told I’d crave meat and so far all three times no cravings of any kind except ice water. I do get in a rut where I cannot come up with new meal ideas however I supplement Terra’s Kitchen or Blue Apron once or twice a month for veggie dinners and it gives me a new
Brittany Dixon says
I love trying the meal deliveries every so often for new ideas- great tip! Thanks 🙂
Marissa says
I agree that eating vegetarian seriously cuts grocery costs as we’ve tried it before. However, for me personally, it does not work. When we tried, I literally felt weak all of the time. I also came up deficient in several vitamins. I was quite “skinny fat” while eating like this as it was difficult for me to tone & gain muscle with no animal protein. I know it works for some people, but my husband & I both feel so much better eating some animal protein.
Maria says
This past summer/fall, we signed up for a new CSA that was plentiful on the veggies. It kinda forced me to make more vegatarian dinners in order to go through it all and it’s been fun discovering new recipes and saving money too!
Brittany Dixon says
I really enjoyed our summer CSA for the same reason! I didn’t do it this fall though because fall is a crazier time for us and it was more difficult to meal plan with the CSA. Hoping to do it again next year though!