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Vegetarian neighbor
We sold some of our property last year & the buyer has built a beautiful, large house on it. We feel very blessed to have found buyers who are nice, friendly & quiet. We just found out that he is vegetarian & I was wondering what other vegetarians eat when it comes to a full meal. I'm not sure if his wife is also vegetarian or not. I want to have them over for a meal at our home in the near future but not sure what to do as I've never had a "full" vegetarian meal for anyone before. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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There are different types of vegetarians.
And there are some that proclaim their vegetarianism, but would not be considered as such by others. Best ..... to outright ask your neighbours! Tell them you would like to invite them for dinner, and want to respect their choices. Ask for their help in planning the meal. Perhaps even sharing of recipes. You may find that what they eat really is no different foods than you would eat (along with their exclusions). You may also find that there are foods they would suggest, that you have never tried before. What others advise you here, may or may not hit the mark. Being neighbourly friends, already, should make it easy to open the door to this discussion. |
I agree to ask them. They may have specific requirements and not what any of us suggest.
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Lime Quinoa
1 cup Quinoa (rinsed) 2 cups Water Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, lower heat, cover and cook until all water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. (Cool) 2 cloves Garlic (sautéed with a little olive oil for two minutes) 3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper 5 Green Onions (sliced thin) or 1 Shallot (chopped fine) 1/2 cup fresh Cilantro 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes (cut in half) 1/4 cup Olive Oil 1/4 cup fresh Lime Juice (about 1-1/2 limes) 1 Avocado (diced) Stir the cooked/cooled quinoa and remaining ingredients together. (Combine the lime juice and avocado in last to prevent the avocado from turning brown.) Serves four. |
Lentil Salad
24 oz. Petite French Green Lentils 8 cups Water 3 teaspoons Sea Salt 6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 bunch Spring Onions (sliced thin) 3 ribs diced Celery 1 diced cucumber 1/3 cup diced Pimiento Boil lentils and salt in water for three minutes. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes. The lentils should be tender, but still firm. Drain, toss with olive oil, and cool. Add onion, celery, cucumber, and pimiento. Pour vinaigrette dressing over salad and toss well. Vinaigrette Dressing ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3 tablespoons Wine Vinegar 1 teaspoon Black Pepper 1-1/2 teaspoons Sea Salt 1 teaspoon Oregano 1 teaspoon Caraway Seeds |
Pinto Bean Sloppy Joe Sandwiches
1 cup Onion, diced 1/2 cup Green Pepper (destemmed, deseeded, and diced) 2 tablespoons. jalapeno pepper, (destemmed, deseeded, and diced) 1 tablespoon Olive Oil 1 tablespoon minced Garlic 1 (15 oz.) can Pinto Beans (rinsed and drained) 1 (6 oz.) can Tomato Paste 1/2 cup Water 1/3 cup Wheat Germ 4 teaspoons Blackstrap Molasses 1 tablespoon Chili Powder 1 tablespoon Paprika 1 tablespoon dried Basil 1 teaspoon dried Oregano 1/2 teaspoon Salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper Hot Pepper Sauce or Tabasco Sauce, to taste 6 split Hamburger Buns or Large Rolls In a large non-stick skillet, saute the onion, green, and jalapeno peppers in the olive oil, for five minutes to soften. Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute. Add remaining ingredients, season the mixture with hot pepper sauce, to taste, and simmer an additional five minutes. Using a fork or the back of a spoon, coarsely mash the simmering mixture, and then simmer an additional five minutes. Serve the mixture on hamburger buns or large rolls. The pinto bean sloppy joe mixture can also be used as a sauce on pasta, grains, or vegetables. Yield: 6 sandwiches |
Mushroom Barley Soup
2 tablespoons Olive Oil 2 Onions, chopped 4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 pound fresh Mushrooms, sliced ½ cup Soy Sauce ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup Barley 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder 1 teaspoon dried Dill Weed ¼ cup fresh Parsley, chopped 10 cups Water 2 Carrots, sliced 2 stalks Celery, sliced In a large pot, combine olive oil, onions, garlic and mushrooms. Saute for about four minutes. Add the soy sauce, salt, barley, garlic powder, dill weed, parsley and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Add carrots and celery. Cook an additional 45 minutes. |
Casablanca Couscous
1.5 lb. extra firm Tofu (or ground meat) 1 Onion, chopped 1 cup sliced Carrots 1 cup sliced Celery 1 cup sliced Mushrooms 3 tablespoons Olive Oil 1 can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 (15 oz.) can Tomato Sauce 1 teaspoon Curry Powder ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Powder 1 teaspoon Paprika 2 teaspoons Salt ½ teaspoon Cinnamon ½ cup Red Wine ½ cup chopped Pecans ½ cup Raisins In a large pan brown tofu, onion, carrots and mushrooms in olive oil. Add the remaining ingredients, except pecans and raisins, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add pecans and raisins and heat ten more minutes. Couscous: Boil 3 cups water with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Pour over 2 cups couscous, stir, cover, let stand for five minutes or until water is absorbed. Serve vegetables over steaming couscous. |
Garbanzo Stew
6 tablespoons Olive Oil 3 medium-sized Onions, chopped 2 Bell Peppers, chopped (not finely) 8 large Garlic Cloves, minced 2 cans Garbanzo Beans, including liquid in can 1 can Stewed Tomatoes, diced 6 medium-sized Carrots, skinned and sliced 7-8 Potatoes, peeled and quartered 1 tablespoon Salt 1 tablespoon freshly ground Black Pepper 1 tablespoon Flour
Serves - 8 |
Vegan Chocolate Cake
1-1/2 cups Flour 1 cup Sugar 3 tablespoons Cocoa 1 teaspoon Baking Soda ½ teaspoon Salt 6 tablespoons Oil 1 tablespoon Vinegar 1 teaspoon Vanilla 1 cup Cold Water Mix the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients. Stir until smooth. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. |
Vegan Sugar Cookies
Use a cookie scoop to form the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll them around in the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar, then place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and gently flatten them a bit. Bake the cookies in the 400 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes, until they're puffed and lightly golden around the edges. Remove them from the oven and let them cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. These vegan sugar cookies are soft and fluffy, with a fresh lemon flavor everyone will love. |
A nice marinara sauce with pasta is a good one.
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You can't go wrong if you serve them a totally vegetarian meal. The variations occur when you add another food group into the mix. For example, ovo-vegetarians also eat dairy. pescetarians also eat fish. To create a vegetarian diet, you need complete proteins that are plant based. Quinoa and soy (including tofu) are complete proteins. Another option is to create complete proteins by combining incomplete proteins, such as legumes (beans or nuts) and bread, or beans and pasta, or rice and beans. Gelatin and corn are other incomplete proteins. As long as you complete the nine essential amino acids that your body needs to repair/replace/build human tissue, your food cobinations will be correct. An incomplete protein is like a sign that has all consonants but no vowels. Your beans are your consonants and your rice are your vowels.
My grandmother was from the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. Her mother was from a Catawba Indian tribe, which is where I believe this recipe originated from: Grandmother Nonnie's Pasta Salad Large Elbow Noodles Tomatoes Cucumbers Kidney Beans Mayonaise (I use Hellmans, Grandmother used Dukes) Salt Pepper Scallions (optional, Grandmother included them but I don't) |
Look up The Jazzy Vegetarian. Wonderful meal planning and creative meals.
It is asparagus season so roasted asparagus with some tamari sauce and lemon as a side would be good. Creamy veggie risotto with asparagus, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. A spring mix salad on the side, Avacado pudding, yummy. |
I agree ask them. I have a friend who doesn't eat meat (which helps with her fibromyalgia) and I have done a spinach quiche for her that does well.
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My DDs have had friends and boyfriends over the years who were vegetarians or vegans. When they were here for meals I never changed what foods I cooked. They chose what to eat from what I cooked. Mostly it was not eating meat dishes. Vegans are easy, chop a carrot and give a glass of water. Big mushrooms are a good choice to pan fry to sub for meat.
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I love Trisha Yearwood's Chickless Pot Pie Recipe.
Chickless Pot Pie Yield: 8 servings Ingredients 1 cup thinly sliced carrots 1 cup frozen green peas 1 cup small diced potatoes 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery 1/3 cup finely chopped onion 1/2 cup butter substitute, such as Earth Balance 1/3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon celery seed 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1 3/4 cups vegetable broth 2/3 cup almond or soy milk Two 9-inch deep dish, unbaked pie crusts, lard free Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, combine the carrots, peas, potatoes and celery. Cover with water, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the onions in the butter substitute until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, celery seed and garlic powder. Cook for 2 minutes to get the flour taste out. Slowly stir in the broth and then add the milk. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the drained vegetables. Roll out one of the unbaked crusts and place in a 9-inch-deep pie plate. Pour the mixture into the bottom crust. Roll out the second pie crust and place on top. Seal the edges and cut small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. |
Black bean burritos with pico de gallo. I'm not a vegetarian and I love black beans.
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You do need to ask what kind of vegetarian they are. My husband is what is called an Ovo/lacto vegetarian. That means he will eat eggs and dairy just not "meat" of any kind. If they are true vegans they will have very strict guidelines. Nothing with animal product at all. For instant not all powdered sugar is vegan. True vegans will not even eat figs because there are tiny wasps inside the figs.
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I have 3 family members that are vegetarian, so I have been coming up with ways to adapt my recipes for them to have when they eat over. The easiest way I have found is to substitute ground beef with a mixture of two or more of the following:
Pressed, crumbled firm tofu Cooked Barley Cooked Brown Rice Cooked Quinoa finely chopped mushrooms grated carrots and zucchini I mix up whatever of the above I have on hand and use it exactly as I would ground beef--such as in "meatloaf", "meatballs", as taco filler, in casseroles and in lasagna, burgers, etc. So far I have had no complaints and more than a few compliments, even from the meat-eaters. |
You can't go wrong with Morning Star Original Veggie Burgers on the grill, sliced potatoes/onions/peppers wrapped in foil on the grill, a 3-bean salad, a tossed green salad and fresh fruit for dessert. The meat eaters won't even notice.
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I made this garbanzo stew for dinner last night and it was yummy! DH loved it too. We are not vegan or vegetarian but several of our kids are. We shared it with our son and his wife and they also loved it. Can't wait to try some of these other recipes.
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It's so kind and hospitable of you to want to invite new neighbors to dinner. Such a rare treat in this day and age to be asked to someone's home for a meal. My dad and sister are vegetarian, but there are things that agree with him that don't with her, so my advice to is to ask. They may or may not do certain foods because they simply don't take care for them, but they probably would hesitate to be picky if invited.
Mexican food is easy to fix and please everyone--you can keep the meat separate from the bean paste and everyone still gets a protein. All the other condiments can be built into tacos or nacho salad. But do ask--some people like salsa, if it's not too spicy. I'd suggest a fruit salad or a bowl of berries as a side dish. |
Never heard the "wasps in figs" before..how did they get there? Sorry, but I like figs, fresh or dried. I am not a vegan nor do I have any friends, relatives or acquaintances that are. Why not just go to a restaurant (if their choosing) and let someone else do the "cooking".
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I like zozee's idea of Mexican food. That works well for my son and his wife, who is a vegetarian. She was raised as a vegetarian, did not take it up as a trendy idea. They can order fajitas when they go out, she eats just the veggies and he will have both. Same at home with tacos and other Mexican food. They work it out what ever type of meal they have. She is actually can find something to eat even if people don't make something special for her. Bread and salad will work for her if need be. We eat a lot of vegetables at our house anyway so not a problem. Vegetable lasagna is also a popular option around here. Everyone likes it. BTW, DDIL is one who does not eat mushrooms. Doesn't like them.
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Wow! I was gone from the board for awhile and came back to find all of these amazing vegetarian recipes! What an awesome thread! I'm definitely trying some of these recipes.
My advice: If you don't feel comfortable asking them what their preferences are, just go vegan. It's a safe bet and trust me, no one will miss the eat, cheese, milk, etc. There are so many fantastic vegan dishes out there right now. Here are some sites that might give you some inspiration: olivesfordinner.com https://wickedhealthyfood.com/ https://fatfreevegan.com/ https://www.veganricha.com/ http://www.isachandra.com/ http://ohsheglows.com/ I have more, but that will keep you busy for awhile. :D Have fun cooking for your new neighbors and friends! ~ C |
I have made this garbanzo stew a couple times since finding it here. Hubby loves it and since 3 of our 4 children have gone vegan it's great to find things that everyone likes. Thanks!
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Thank you for pointing out that some foods that would seem to be vegetarian are really not tesspug. I have heard that strawberry and raspberry yogurt have bugs in it to flavor it "artificially", but I didn't know about figs. I posted a recipe with mayonaise in it. Mayonaise has eggs as an ingredient, so you would have to be an ovo-vegetarian to use my recipe. Also, I wanted to say that in my post I mentioned that Gelatin was a complete protein. I wasn't thinking clearly enough when I mentioned that, because Gelatin is an animal product. So yes, you do have to be careful about seemingly innocent ingredients with a vegetarian diet.
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I never understood a vegetarian wanting food to look like meat or taste like meat but not be meat. A friend's grandson is allergic to meat from a disease he got from a tick bite. He said eating a fake burger is the worse thing ever. He by passes the resemblance of food that is suppose to be like meat. He said it only disappoints.
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Originally Posted by Onebyone
(Post 8077233)
I never understood a vegetarian wanting food to look like meat or taste like meat but not be meat. A friend's grandson is allergic to meat from a disease he got from a tick bite. He said eating a fake burger is the worse thing ever. He by passes the resemblance of food that is suppose to be like meat. He said it only disappoints.
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Originally Posted by Onebyone
(Post 8077233)
I never understood a vegetarian wanting food to look like meat or taste like meat but not be meat. A friend's grandson is allergic to meat from a disease he got from a tick bite. He said eating a fake burger is the worse thing ever. He by passes the resemblance of food that is suppose to be like meat. He said it only disappoints.
I think that most people in the USA did not grow up on a plant-based diet. They grew up eating pork, chicken, burgers, cheese, bacon, etc. It can be difficult to change over from that type of diet to a vegan lifestyle after many years of eating animal-based foods. Having plant-based substitutes can help to make the change. Besides, they're fun to make and eat. It just takes an open mind and adventurous spirit to make the old foods and recipes in a new, healthier, plant-based way. As for burgers, we make a homemade, vegan burger that's delicious! I'll agree, some of the vegan, burger patties in the grocery store taste terrible. But then, I've had some store bought, meat burgers that were pretty bad too. You just have to look around until you find one that you like. If you can't find one, make your own. ~ C |
Thanks for all the input. We had them over on Sunday & I made cheese enchiladas with refried beans, spanish rice, tortilla chips & salsa & they loved it. They said they like Mexican food so that's what we had. They are going to take us to an Indian buffet in the next week or so & we can sample Indian food & she will know what we like & make it for us when we go to their home for a meal. She doesn't cook with curry & that is good because we know we don't like curry.
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