Around the half-way mark of my pregnancy, my husband and I were inspired to make a conscious effort to eat less meat and incorporate more vegetarian meals into our lifestyle. To get the process started, we created a fully vegetarian meal plan for the week and went shopping. Imagine my surprise when two days into the adventure, Mr. M came home from work announcing he was officially a vegetarian. This was a record scratch moment for me. To make a long story short, Mr. M felt a huge shift in his body that was so positive he decided to fully pursue vegetarianism. I did not feel this shift, but fully supported him (I’ve never been a huge meat eater as is). So, from that moment on, we’ve been eating vegetarian at home. I occasionally buy meat for my own meals, but for the most part, we eat vegetarian at home.
Vegetarianism from my perspective requires more planning, and more prep time. So, we really try to meal plan when possible (which, with a newborn isn’t always!) as it does make life easier.
I wanted to share with you a week of meals from some of our favourite recipes we’ve added to our arsenal.
Monday – Veggies and Lentils in Peanut Sauce
This dish by Vegan Richa is hands down my absolute favourite vegetarian dish. The flavour is bang on and it’s a great source of protein. I’ve recommended this dish to many people and I have never heard a bad review. Just promise you’ll add broccoli. This dish is also vegan.
Tuesday – Roasted Chickpea and Broccoli Burritos
Thug Kitchen is one of our favourite recipe books, and this is easily the best recipe in their book. Thug Kitchen is all vegan; however, I am all about adding the sour cream and cheese to these wraps.
Wednesday – Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese & Walnut
This Mealime dish was recommended to me and has quickly become a favourite in the rotation. Do not skip the thyme, and make sure it’s fresh!
Thursday – Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Spinach Coconut Curry
We also love Oh She Glows for sourcing recipes, and this recipe from her newest book is delicious! Mr. M and I aren’t big on cooked tomatoes, and skipped the can of tomatoes. We didn’t miss it at all (obviously). Oh She Glows is all vegan as well.
Friday – Lemon Quinoa Salad
One of my best friends brought us this dish she created shortly after our little peep was born and it is incredible. I usually make some chicken to go with it, and Mr. M (as shown in the photo) adds falafels. It’s possible to make this dish vegan.
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 1 cup of uncooked quinoa
- zest of 1.5 lemons
- juice of one lemon
- 1-2 tbsp of olive oil
Dressing
- juice of one lemon
- zest of half of lemon
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- salt and pepper
Salad Mixture
- arugula
- baby spinach
- diced cucumber
- diced bell peppers
- chopped green onions
- slivered almonds
- lemon hummus (I buy the President’s Choice brand, they also sell a version at Whole Foods)
- feta cheese (optional)
Directions
Cook quinoa according to directions. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil to quinoa and stir. Set aside.
- While quinoa is cooking, mix dressing and whisk together.
- Layer salad with proportions of choice on top of generous helping of the mixed quinoa (you can do the quinoa cold or hot). Toss with dressing. I tend to do about 1-2 tbsp of hummus per plate. It adds a delicious edge to the dish.
Do you have any favourite vegetarian recipes to share?
cherry / 222 posts
CookieandKate has really great recipes!!
apricot / 317 posts
Veggies and lentils in peanut sauce?! Yum!!!!! I canNOT wait to try that
A word of caution: all vegetarians should take Vitamin b12 daily! I was a vegetarian for three years in my twenties, and gave it up bc of a combination of b12 struggles and multiple grain allergies that made it harder to get protein.
guest
We love this Buddha bowl. Flavor is on point. I often skip the brocclini because it’s not something I can easily find at my grocery store. It isn’t lacking without.
http://minimalistbaker.com/sweet-potato-chickpea-buddha-bowl/
pear / 1737 posts
I’m always excited about vegetarian stuff! :). I have been a vegetarian my whole life and so far we are raising our daughter that way and I hope she will choose to continue being a vegetarian when she is older. My husband isn’t, but I do 95% of the cooking and it doesn’t bother him. The recipes you posted look/sound tasty!
Other easy recipes:
-the one pan roasted veggies with a vegetarian sausage cut up into it. I do peppers, mushrooms, carrots, onion, potatoes, and sweet potatoes mixed with olive oil, salt, and rosemary. Roasted for 40 minutes at 400 and served with quinoa or another grain. The sausages have to be sliced and thrown on for the last 10-15 minutes otherwise they get way too crispy. But you can freeze this uncooked and then throw it on a cookie sheet. Super easy.
-quinoa casseroles (pizza flavour or spinach and artichoke flavour) with tvp (texturizing vegetable protein) or lentils. Also super easy and all over Pinterest.
blogger / apricot / 275 posts
these are inspiring!
pomelo / 5621 posts
Monday and Thursday’s recipes have been marked for future use. They sound delicious and easy to make.
blogger / nectarine / 2043 posts
These sounds amazing, thank you! My husband is a lifelong vegetarian, so I’m always looking for new ideas.
blogger / olive / 53 posts
Yum! You’ve inspired me.
And I love Thug Kitchen…I don’t think I’ve made anything from their cookbooks that wasn’t good. 
blogger / apricot / 389 posts
@merriment: Oh thank you! I am going to check out some recipes!!
@tlynne: it is SO good. Thanks for the vitamin b12 message, we actually found that out after Mr. M had been veggie for about 3 months and he felt so much better after he started taking it regularly! I believe in the idea that certain blood types are better suited for vegetarianism… my husband is one, and I am not. So I make a conscious effort to eat way less meat, but also still indulge a few times a week! I just didn’t feel great only eating vegetarian.
@Mrs. Goose: Thank you for sharing! I’ll have to try your ideas out! I’m a big fan of quinoa enchilada bake!
@Mrs. Gumdrop: glad you’re inspired!! hope you find a new regular for your meal circulation
@ALV91711: You’ll have to report back what you think!
@Mrs. Carrot: Us too! We love trying out new recipes at least a few every month!
@Mrs. Tornado: it’s so true – they’ve really perfected their flavours!
persimmon / 1233 posts
Thanks for these! My favorite recent recipe was Coconut Curry Lentils. My husband is a big meat-eater and he loved these, as did I.
https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/07/slow-cooker-coconut-curry-lentils/
blogger / apricot / 389 posts
@hummusgirl: I will have to check that out! Thanks!