Calling All Vegetarians...

[Eden]

Another thing to look for, though you'll probably only find it if you live in an area with a significant Asian population, is pressed or baked flavored tofu. The texture is very different from regular tofu. It is very firm and a a bit chewy. I love just cubing it up and putting in cold noodle salads. It doesn't hold any water when its been prepared this way, so no draining needed.
This is my recipe that I made up and its yummy!

Thai inspired noodle salad (quantities are guesses - I hardly ever measure if I'm making something up)
Rice noodles - I like the really, really fine kind that only need soaking, but any kind will work.
1 cucumber cut into strips or quarters
1 green (not ripe - it should be pretty hard and still a bit sour) mango peeled and cut into strips
2 or 3 medium tomatoes cut into 1/8" segments
4 or 5 green onions, white and green parts cut into 1" pieced and julienned (or just cut into rounds if you are in a hurry)
1 block of baked tofu cut into small cubes - I like 5 spice or Thai flavored
toss with:
fish sauce
rice vinegar
sesame oil
white pepper

this is a super refreshing supper on a hot day and if you can find the Maifun style noodles there is not any cooking at all involved.

[Karma007]

I have D. Madison's Vegetable Soup book- Yum! Her "Sick Person's Soup" (I'd post but @ work) is awesome- ginger, cabbage, miso and garlic. Awesome for a chili day.

[Blueberry]

Another thing to look for, though you'll probably only find it if you live in an area with a significant Asian population, is pressed or baked flavored tofu. The texture is very different from regular tofu. It is very firm and a a bit chewy. I love just cubing it up and putting in cold noodle salads. It doesn't hold any water when its been prepared this way, so no draining needed.

Trader Joe's has a really good version of this in a couple of "flavors" - teriyaki, and I'm not sure what else. Goes really well in lots of dishes.

CA

[endurancerider]

W
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.

Well for really simple, buy the baked tofu at Trader Joe's, and fry it in a pan with some spinach and salt. If you want more complex, add garlic.

I also like the Soy Chorizo they sell at Trader Joe's. I cook it with onion and tomato. Don't put in too much, a little goes a long way. I know you're avoiding dairy--I often add this to an egg and a little cheese--but you could add a little soy cheese to cut the chorizo. Good on a tortilla with guacamole.

[Over50Newbie]

Wow - these are all great ideas!!

Thank you so much, everyone!

And I do have a Trader Joe's about a half hour from my house, although I have to admit that I have never gone shopping there.

But I will go now, and with my shopping list in hand.

Thanks again, everyone!

And a special thanks to divingbiker for lending me those cookbooks. She won't even let me pay for the shipping. What a sweetheart!

That's what I love about this TE community - we all help each other out!

Lynette

[Blueberry]

Well for really simple, buy the baked tofu at Trader Joe's, and fry it in a pan with some spinach and salt. If you want more complex, add garlic.

I also like the Soy Chorizo they sell at Trader Joe's. I cook it with onion and tomato. Don't put in too much, a little goes a long way. I know you're avoiding dairy--I often add this to an egg and a little cheese--but you could add a little soy cheese to cut the chorizo. Good on a tortilla with guacamole.

Oh...the Soy Chorizo is fabulous!!! We cook it and put it and corn salsa over a potato. Yummy!!!

[msincredible]

Trader Joe's has a nice selection of vegetarian and vegan foods at very reasonable prices.

[NbyNW]

I'm an omnivore who happens to love vegetables.

I have "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison, and it's a pretty reliable one to have.

Is salt an issue for you at all?

Like a few others have mentioned, I'm not a fan of trying to get soy to masquerade as something else. Other cultures have been using soy in their cuisine for centuries without trying to market it as a meat substitute.

One of my favorite things to do with silken tofu is to just put it on a plate, and slice it into cubes, but leave the whole block intact. Then sprinkle some chopped scallions, and bonito flakes if I have them. Drizzle soy sauce (the really good thick stuff) and sesame oil. Makes a nice appetizer.

You can also add a few cubes of silken tofu to miso soup, to change things up a bit.

Soy yogurt is also not bad. I was skeptical, then a co-worker brought some in to go with some berries. Quite tasty.

[divingbiker]

...instead of immediately putting me on a statin drug, my doctor and I decided that I would only eat only vegetarian food for the next 4 months and then be retested in August.

So, how did your four-month experiment with vegetarianism go?

[katluvr]

And has anyone switched to a vegetarian diet and loss weight? I guess when I try and lose weight I go w/ vegies, fruit and lean protein (chicken, low fat dairy choices) and minimize the pasta and grains.

[rubywagon]

I have been a vegetarian since January and have lost 12 pounds. The first 7 came off within a matter of 3 months, the last 5 since I started road cycling. I feel GREAT!

I didn't read through everyones suggestions, but quinoa is a great source of protein for vegetarians. It contains the B vitamins and amino acids that can usually only be found in animal protein. You can make it sweet, like an oatmeal, or as a savory dish. It is a superfood and tastes great!

WARM GARBANZO AND QUINOA SALAD

1 1/2 t. chopped garlic
1 small zucchini, quartered and sliced
2 carrots grated
1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper
2 c. canned garbanzo beans rinsed and drained (I'd probably use less next time around)
1/2 c. (packed) chopped scallions
2T. extra-virgin olive oil
3T. white-wine vinegar
1/4t. salt
1c. quinoa (cooked with vegetable broth as per package directions (can substitute couscous)
4c. baby spinach leaves

1. Coat a saute pan with cooking spray and heat to medium high. Add garlic, zucchini, carrots, and pepper. Saute until softened (around 5 min). Add beans and heat through.
2. In a food processor, puree scallions, gradually adding oil, vinegar, salt and pepper (to taste) Process to a thick consistency.
3. Add scallion mixture and quinoa to saute pan; heat through.
4. To serve, arrange spinach on plate with quinoa/bean mixture on top

[Over50Newbie]

Hey everyone,

Here's an update:

I was really, really good!! I only cheated once when I went on vacation to Texas. I couldn't be in Texas and not at least taste Texan spare ribs. But that was the only time meat passed through these lips the whole time. And it wasn't so hard after all.

After changing my eating habits to become vegetarian, my total cholesterol dropped 6 points (from 241 to 235) and my LDL dropped 9 points (from 167 to 158). Not earth shattering results, I know, but the bottom line is that both numbers went down and that makes me happy.

My doctor wants me to stay vegetarian until January and then get retested to see what my numbers are like. So, it looks like more of the same for me until then.

DivingBiker - I still have your tofu cookbooks. I am using them, but not as much as I did in the beginning. Do you want them back now? I will be happy to mail them back to you whenever you want them.

And thank you again for letting me borrow them!

As for losing weight - I am about 138 pounds right now. When I started this journey, I was 138, so it looks like eating vegetarian has not helped me lose weight.

Lynette

[aeiea]

how wonderful! congrats.

(another good vegetarian dish is mudjaddarah, a rice/lentils dish with delicious spices)

This isn't really a recipe, but something I love to do when I travel is look on yelp.com for people's favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurants in the area. Checking out their dishes will help inspire ideas too. So if you come to LA... head to RFD or Euphoria Loves Rawvolution

[OakLeaf]

something I love to do when I travel is look on yelp.com for people's favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurants in the area.

I like Happy Cow. Found some pretty good places through there.

[shootingstar]

Hey everyone,

Here's an update:

I was really, really good!! I only cheated once when I went on vacation to Texas. I couldn't be in Texas and not at least taste Texan spare ribs. But that was the only time meat passed through these lips the whole time. And it wasn't so hard after all.

After changing my eating habits to become vegetarian, my total cholesterol dropped 6 points (from 241 to 235) and my LDL dropped 9 points (from 167 to 158). Not earth shattering results, I know, but the bottom line is that both numbers went down and that makes me happy.

My doctor wants me to stay vegetarian until January and then get retested to see what my numbers are like. So, it looks like more of the same for me until then.

DivingBiker - I still have your tofu cookbooks. I am using them, but not as much as I did in the beginning. Do you want them back now? I will be happy to mail them back to you whenever you want them.

And thank you again for letting me borrow them!

As for losing weight - I am about 138 pounds right now. When I started this journey, I was 138, so it looks like eating vegetarian has not helped me lose weight.

Lynette

Congrats. for these improvements. As for becoming more vegetarian, do many of your dishes contain much cheese, eggs, butter in preparation? At least try low-fat cheese. Occasionally substitute eggs with egg whites. It still looks like scrambled eggs with a lighter taste. You get the picture..


P.S. I'm not vegetarian. I just eat meat 1-2 times per week. Primarily seafood, chicken breast. Haven't had a sparerib..um..maybe in last 12 months, simply because it was never my favourite cut of meat. If you give me grilled chicken breast or meat kebabs with roasted veggies, now we're talkin'!