Calling All Vegetarians...

[malkin]

When my numbers soared, I became a fan of oatmeal.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002

[Eden]

I'm not a vegetarian.... but I usually eat like one...

I have culinary objections to soy masquerading as other things myself... I just don't think you need to pretend its hotdogs or chicken nuggets. Usually those things are pretty nasty and your mind and mouth are expecting something entirely different. Personally I prefer to cook in styles that use foods in a natural way.

I love Chinese, Thai and Indian food. Chinese and Thai of course uses lots of soy - and many many Asian recipes that calls for meat can be made with tofu instead. One of the biggest tricks to getting tofu to taste good is to drain it thoroughly. I usually cube it and press it between a few paper towels while I'm preparing everything else for the meal. If its wet through it won't pick up any flavors from your dish. You can also freshen it up by giving it a quick par boil - though I find, around here at least where the tofu is generally pretty fresh, this is unnecessary. Silken tofu, is not only nice for desserts, but really good in soup too. I like to make a stir fry/ soup by stir frying cabbage or bok choy, mushrooms (shitake, cloud ear, or straw) and bamboo shoots with lots of garlic and hot chili bean paste then adding enough stock to make it soupy - add in loosely cubed silken tofu, heat it through top off with green onions - yum, yum - and quick too.

Indian cuisine has lots of legume dishes. I love, love, love curry chickpeas (garbanzos). I have probably half a dozen lentil soup recipes, all different and all extremely tasty. Middle eastern food also uses chickpeas pretty extensively and is very tasty too.

[Over50Newbie]

Wow - so much information! Thank you everyone for such quick responses. I think I will start by checking out the suggested websites and then go to my library to see if I can find some of the books that were also suggested.

And I also really like the idea of being flexible, especially in the beginning, as I will be trying out a bunch of new tastes and textures.

I still would like a specific "How to Cook with Tofu" cookbook suggestion that would be appropriate for a true beginner, written in very simple terms. With tips in it like Eden's post about putting tofu between paper towels to dry it out before cooking it.

With the right information, this new journey could be a lot of fun, as well as healthy!

Thanks again, everyone.

And if anyone wants to add anything else, I am all ears!

Lynette

[Ana]

It would not be easy at all for me to give up dairy. I love cheese and it most definitely is not unnecessary to me.

+1!

I looove cheese and some rich foods but I just eat them in moderation and make healthy choices when I can. I am a semi-vegetarian because I eat some fish (love the salmon...can't give it up--plus it's omega-3 fatty acid rich) and my HDL is 84 and my LDL is 73 If my levels change in the future, I may have to make other changes.

My main challenge is getting variety of fruits and veggies because I like relying on old stand-by favorites I see some very interesting veggies that I'd love to cook if I only knew how I am going to start cooking more this summer and maybe try a new vegetable each week.

[malkin]

I have culinary objections to soy masquerading as other things myself...

Exactly!
I want real food, and I want "food that looks like food."
My test is that if our ancesters would not have recognized a substance as food, then maybe we'd be better off not eating it.

[Jolt]

I have culinary objections to soy masquerading as other things myself...

Exactly!
I want real food, and I want "food that looks like food."
My test is that if our ancesters would not have recognized a substance as food, then maybe we'd be better off not eating it.

Well said!

[shootingstar]

I'm not vegetarian but eat meat 1-2 times weekly- seafood or chicken breast.

At home, we seem to only buy butter um...1-2 times annually usually to bake something "special". It's at restaurants where I might order something that used butter. No we don't use margarine nor mayonnaise at home at all. We just eat a slice of yummy artisan bread from bakery as is. If you buy quality bread like this, no need to cover up this wonderful bread with any spread.

We have found a decent tasting soy cheese. (it's a Canadian brand).

Pureed root veggie soups solves any cravings for cream-based soups --ie. squash soup, carrot soup, pumpkin (we use a veggie broth base), beet soup. Can be creative in spicing-- grated ginger root, curry, or even star anise or fennel seed, puree cooked veggies in broth... He makes these soups in bulk. They freeze well and can be microwaved later..

No sugar, no eggs, no milk needed for these type of soups.

[divingbiker]

I still would like a specific "How to Cook with Tofu" cookbook suggestion that would be appropriate for a true beginner, written in very simple terms. With tips in it like Eden's post about putting tofu between paper towels to dry it out before cooking it.

The only tofu-specific cookbook I have is Tofu Cookery, but I never use it so I can't vouch for it. But when finding the link, This Can't Be Tofu came up, and that might be a good one to try, because most cookbooks by Deborah Madison are pretty good. It says it talks about preparation (like pressing).

[tpb]

Our family has been eating (mostly) vegetarian for 15 years. Like another poster, we don't necessarily substitute veggie alternatives (tofu, etc.) for meat. Usually, we just load up on veggies or make things that were intended to use beans, tofu, etc. I think another poster brought up ethnic foods. We love Chinese and Thai food because the tofu is *supposed* to be there - it's not standing in the place of something else (not sure if that is clear).

Anyway, cookbook-wise, we like How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman. We also have a few by Deborah Madison that we really like.

Also, don't overlook beans. You can easily take something that a meat-based meal would consider a "side" and turn it into the entree. Beans and rice, for example, is a wonderful "main dish".

Happy eating!
TB

[Over50Newbie]

DivingBiker,

I sent you a PM about those cookbooks. What a nice thing to offer!!! I think I will take you up on it.

Thank you,

Lynette

[skinimini]

Ditto for Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, I also like the Greens restaurant (San Francisco) cookbooks, Greens and Everyday Greens. I also like Vegetarian Times magazine. I know that a lot of people swear by the Moosewood cookbooks, but I've had less than stellar results with many of their recipes.

There's a lot of good info in the previous posts, I'd just like to add that I really like quinoa and farro and have begun to use them more. Quinoa provides superior protein to other grains and may even be considered a "complete" protein.

Right now, I'm ready to move on with the spring/summer vegetables. I have one butternut squash left in the fridge, and after that, so long until next fall.

[OakLeaf]

If you don't already have a pressure cooker, get one, along with one of Lorna Sass's excellent cookbooks. Pressure cooking beans is so quick and easy (and SO much cheaper and less wasteful than canned beans)! Some of my standbys: pasta e fagioli, risotto (also in the pressure cooker) with white beans and rappini; highly seasoned Spanish style garbanzos with saffron (so sue me, it's from one of the Moosewood books); Cuban style black beans with oranges and kale....

mmmm, I'm getting hungry.

[skinimini]

"Cuban style black beans with oranges and kale...."

Can you pass along that recipe? I love Cuban black beans, but I've never had it with oranges and kale.

[OakLeaf]

I don't have a real recipe with proportions, but it's pretty simple.

I saute onion and garlic in a little oil in the pressure cooker, add the soaked black beans, some ground cumin, and water or unsalted stock to cover. Bring to high pressure and cook for 4-5 minutes, then let the pressure come down naturally. (Or, you can use a quick-release method, either running cold water over the cooker or some cookers have a release valve; if you're going to quick-release, the beans need to cook at high pressure 5-9 minutes. Bean skins have a tendency to break when you quick-release, though.) If the beans aren't done when you open the cooker, either finish cooking them conventionally, or return them to pressure for a minute or two.

Once the beans are done, I add a chopped red jalapeno (you could use ground red pepper or a green jalapeno or other hot pepper), some thyme, sometimes a diced green or red bell pepper, salt and black pepper, orange slices cut into 1" chunks (I don't bother to take the membranes off, but you might prefer it that way), orange zest if the orange is organic and/or maybe a little bit of orange juice, and a bunch of roughly chopped kale, then cook conventionally until the greens are tender.

(Most recipes call for cooking greens separately, then chopping them and adding them when everything else is done. I love greens, so I don't mind a stronger flavor, and plus I'm all about doing everything in as few steps as possible. )

I usually serve it with rice; crusty bread would be good too. Enjoy!

[divingbiker]

The only tofu-specific cookbook I have is Tofu Cookery, but I never use it so I can't vouch for it. But when finding the link, This Can't Be Tofu came up, and that might be a good one to try, because most cookbooks by Deborah Madison are pretty good. It says it talks about preparation (like pressing).

Ha, it turns out that I do have This Can't be Tofu! I also have a Lorna Sass soy cookbook. I buy cookbooks and never use them. I'll send both of them along with some others.