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I have not eaten meat for THIRTY YEARS. I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian, a vegan, a sincerely trying to be vegan, a pescatarian (only because I was told to be by a doctor) and no dairy vegetarian - and until this mother's day - I have never, ever owned a food processor.
I would start to look up rice and bean recipes, - there are so many! Learn about lentils - and get to love them - they cook quickly, and you can fill tacos with them, make a "meaty" loaf with a mushroom onion gravy, make a delicious soup, Dal, Indian food. AND MORE.
CHICK PEAS - get to know Middle Eastern cookery. Hummus - made out of chick peas, Felafel - made out of chick peas and tabouleh salad, make a delicious dinner.
AND - there are so many prepared vegetarian foods now!
I would also explore "fake meats" - there are so many good ones available now that there is sure to be one that will taste good on the grill or substitute for your favorite recipe - just add a BIG salad, and a potato, corn, rice, or pasta.
Don't want to grill? Make these with fake meats -
"Chick'n Salad" with celery, carrots, and mayonnaise (real or vegan) lettuce and tomato.
Veggie Chili with Ground Meatless
Meat Balls and spaghetti - made with Nathan's Meat Balls.
I hope this gives you some ideas!
I agree with what you said except for the fake meats part. Those are great for those who are meat eaters that want to cut back, for those in transition, or for very occasional meals. They are processed and should not be relied upon. I think it is more important to "learn" how to eat without directly replacing meat with something that resembles meat. Get out of the mentality that each meal must contain a meat, a potato, a veggie, and a bread.
There are a lot of really good meat replacements out there, but I would not suggest getting into the habit of relying on them.
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I agree with what you said except for the fake meats part. Those are great for those who are meat eaters that want to cut back, for those in transition, or for very occasional meals. They are processed and should not be relied upon. I think it is more important to "learn" how to eat without directly replacing meat with something that resembles meat. Get out of the mentality that each meal must contain a meat, a potato, a veggie, and a bread.
There are a lot of really good meat replacements out there, but I would not suggest getting into the habit of relying on them.
While I agree that faux meat is a processed food that should not be eaten daily or even weekly, in an ideal world, many new vegetarians/vegans do rely upon it in the beginning.
I believe that I listed many other ideas - that one was my last. One of the reasons I mentioned it, was that Spring and Summer are not times when many people want to be involved with complicated recipes. Many people also want to grill outdoors. I often get a craving for a grilled burger, hot dog or sausage at this time of year, and I don't beat myself up if I eat a non-meat grilled hot dog. Certainly better than the real thing.
I am also a harm reductionist. Not everyone is a cook, or likes spending an inordinate amount of time on food preparation. I'd rather see people eat a Boca burger than a real burger. Neither qualifies as health food. But one kills an innocent life.
Some people, like the OP, are scared off from giving up meat, because they think they will suddenly have to invest in a food processor, or completely change their lifestyles. That "purist" type of thought scares some people off. Many new vegetarians are just not ready to give everything up all at once.
And, people vary in their personal limit for eating "processed food". For some, store bought bread is a processed food to be avoided at all costs. For others, baking bread is something that I do perhaps twice a year. If that. I don't like baking bread, particularly. So, I avoid it, and purchase the most healthy, tasty bread available.
I am not disagreeing with you, in a perfect world, everyone would instantly change the paradigm of what constitutes a "meal" from the "meat, starch, small amount of vegetables" model to thinking that sauteed seasoned greens, beans, and brown rice, or a sweet potato baked with pure Vermont maple syrup, roasted Brussels sprouts, and a large green salad constitute a meal. For me they do. But, newbie vegetarians might have a hard time swallowing that. No pun intended.
I am not disagreeing with you, in a perfect world, everyone would instantly change the paradigm of what constitutes a "meal" from the "meat, starch, small amount of vegetables" model to thinking that sauteed seasoned greens, beans, and brown rice, or a sweet potato baked with pure Vermont maple syrup, roasted Brussels sprouts, and a large green salad constitute a meal. For me they do. But, newbie vegetarians might have a hard time swallowing that. No pun intended.
Right. That is why I said they are good for those in transition to veg*n or for those who want to reduce their meat intake. It's a process to learn how to not eat in your usual way with some sort of meat at every meal, but I think it is best that it is learned...eventually. I was not saying it was instant. People who want to change for the better don't quit drinking whiskey and just replace it with beer, or quit cigarettes and replace them with chewing tobacco. Many people go vegan and find themselves gaining weight, which seems opposite of what you would expect, because they are eating all of that processed stuff. They are replacing fried food that contains meat with fried food that doesn't (chicken strips or fish, for example)
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I'll add to the bunch: I've prepared a lot of vegetarian meals and never used a food processor, and I have one.
Now vegan might be another thing, I see a lot of cashew creams and such...
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I eat a vegan, whole food plant based diet and I don't have a food processor. Just lots of chopping at times! But I have a Vitamix blender that I use daily for creams, sauces, smoothies, etc. Now *that* is something I can't live without!
So wife and I are planning to go vegetarian. We are looking to do meals can have leftovers and casseroles. So far all we found requires a food processor.
Any recepies can recommend or links for veggie recepies to help with our search.
Appreciate the feedback.
All you need is a good chopping knife to replace the food processor if you don't want one.
You don't need a food processor to cook rice and beans. Or pasta. Or baked potatoes and salad. Or vegetable stir-fry. Or vegetable soup, or chili.
People survived for thousands of years without fancy electronic kitchen gadgets :-)
Yes indeed.
Stews and chili are my standby dinner dishes (and hot cereals for breakfast). A pot, a knife and a cutting board are the only tools required. Sometimes I steam veggies too. Nothing against food processors, but I've never owned one, because I never saw a need to.
You don't have to have a food processor but I use mine to make hummus and "nice cream" (ice cream made from frozen bananas). Why not buy one? They're not that expensive.
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