Getting started with Meat-free dishes

Hopefully I've whetted your appetite a little towards going a little more meat-free. Where do you start? What should you make? Here's some quick ideas to start making meat-free dishes (see the link below for a large article with the original idea).

1. Think of three meat-free dishes you already like or eat. You know how to make them, so eat them up. Here's some ideas.
          Bean burritos
          Pasta/spaghetti
          7-bean soup
          Vegetable soup
          Grits and eggs
          Stir fry
          Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

2. Take three of your favorite meaty dishes and convert them to meat-free. There are lots of ways to get rid of the meat, but still get an enjoyable food. Here's some ideas.
   Hamburgers: try veggie burgers (such as. Boca burgers or bean burgers) or portobello mushrooms
   Hot dogs: Go with tofu dogs
   Pizza: eliminate the meat and load up on vegetables
   Chili: get rid of the meat and go with bean chili
   Biscuits and gravy: use TVP instead of sausage
   Deli sandwich: remove the meat and try hummus or avocado
   Lasagna: make a meat-free version, loaded up with vegetables

 

Photo courtesy of Flickr: chrisphoto

3. Try three totally new recipes. There are so many recipe sites out there.  Sparkpeople, Allrecipes, FoodNetwork, Food.com. Google "recipes" and you'll get many more sites. Or check out some vegetarian cookbooks from your local library for free. Find a recipe that looks interesting and try it!


You now have nine different recipes you can make. Did you know that most families only cook nine different recipes, but keep rotating them around? You should be set for a while.

Resources:
Vegetarian Starter Kit