STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

sage · Dooney & Bourke

Is anyone vegetarian?

Hermione · Kate Spade

no babe, i'm not

do you eat seafood?

-- Edited by Hermione at 23:17, 2008-07-20

Maddie · Coach

I'm a vegetarian, but I don't cook. So I'll be no help there. But yay for being a vegetarian!

cc · Marc Jacobs

I am. Well, I've gone through phases of eating chicken and turkey but I haven't eaten meat in quite a while. I don't usually use recipes for meals (just for baking) but I'll take a look and see what I have. I can also make a list of what I usually eat.

cc · Marc Jacobs

OK here are the things I usually eat.

-eggs! lots of scrambled eggs and omelettes. I also like to make frittatas since I can easily bring it for lunch. I usually make either egg-potato-onion or egg-red pepper-onion but there are tons of variations.

-sandwiches - sauteed mushrooms with roasted/grilled red pepper and cheese (either some sort of hard swiss or parmesan), mozzarella-tomato- fresh basil or pesto, soft cheese (brie or camembert) with sliced apples and/or walnuts, grilled vegetables.

-stir fry - whatever vegetables I have which are appropriate (broccoli, peppers, carrots, zucchini, onion, scallions, sprouts, mushrooms) plus tofu and either rice or noodles (I tend to use soba/buckwheat noodles since they are high in protein). For a faster meal I just make soba or udon noodles in a mushroom broth. I either buy a little packet of seasoning in the Asian section of my supermarket or look for premade mushroom broth or seasoning near the soups and usually sautee some mushrooms and scallions or onions to add in.

-pasta - my usual recipes are pasta with mushrooms in red wine sauce (just sautee mushrooms with garlic and/or onion in cooking wine), pasta with broccoli and parmesan/romano, ravioli or tortellini with sage-butter sauce (melt butter, add some fresh or ground sage and a pinch of nutmeg, pour over pasta), pasta with asparagus cream (I have an actual recipe for this which I can post).

-other things - pierogies, potato pancakes, flat bread pizzas (sliced tomato and mozzarella on lavosh, wraps, naan or pita), couscous, portobello mushroom burgers, spinach quesadillas.

erin · Chanel

i recently started eating chicken again, so no. but i've been veg/vegan on/off for a long time, and i do not cook meat at home.

i make seitan dishes a lot to get protein, lots of pasta and ethnic foods. (indian, italian, meditteranean/etc often lend themselves very easily to vegetarianism) i usually make my own seitan, but it's a long process. (i make a bunch at once and freeze)

my favorite recipe is a bordelaise sauce. i posted it awhile ago. it's great over seitan strips, which you can get at most grocery stores. it's really quick, and sometimes i even like it just with portabello mushrooms as a side dish. (which i'm sure it could be a meal, too, if you add some other sides to it)

**
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil, or 1 tbs butter and 2tbs oil
4 cloves minced garlic
1 1/4 c veg broth (small box of pacific is good for this)
2 tbs shoyu (or you can use soy sauce)
3/4 c red wine
12 fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbs fresh thyme, stemmed and minced
salt/pepper

-warm oil (or oil and butter) over medium heat. add the garlic, broth, shoyu, red wine, mushrooms and thyme, and reduce until sauce consistency, about 10 mins. season to taste with salt and pepper.

other quick meal suggestions: falafel (you can get quick mixes at the store! great with hummus and pita), penne pasta with baby spinach and sundried tomatoes in oil. (i sprinkle feta on top) for indian, i get frozen naan from a local indian grocer, and usually canned curries (which i add yogurt to, because i can't do hot dishes!). i am all about quick/lazy meals!

i used to have a recipe file saved, but it's on my old computer (which died)! some cookbooks i love: voluptuous vegan, vegetarian cooking for everyone, how it all vegan/garden of vegan. most are vegan cookbooks, but there is always the option of making them dairy and substituting for soymilk/cheese with dairy items.

mckenke · BCBG

I am a vegetarian and I love to cook! My favorite cookbook lately is the Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. I swear every recipe I have tried has been delicious. The cookbook also has a lot of "meat substitutes" i.e. seitan, tempeh, tofu, tvp etc. I know that some veggies don't like that, but I am a big fan. Here is the link to the cookbook

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060392959/104-4730399-6099916?v=glance

I have been on a tempeh kick lately. Last night we made a simple dish we learned while in Indonesia (the tempeh capital :)

Deep fry tempeh (cut them into small slivers) until lightly browned in vegtable oil

Deep fry about a half a cup of raw peanuts (if they are cooked skip this step)

Slice two cloves of garlic, one shallot and one red pepper heat in oil for about 5-7 minutes add the tempeh and peanuts and add ketchup bango (you will have to go to an asian grocery to find this its an indonesian sweet soy sauce) until lightly covered and serve.

Its not a lowfat recipe, but we veggies need to get our fat in somewhere :)

rlutz · Chanel

I am a vegetarian....have been for about 14 years, I donot eat meat, chicken or fish....I don't really cook alot...I eat alot of salad....cheese....veggies....beans.....pizza! I donot have the greatest diet so I am sorry that i am no help

erin · Chanel

mckenke: since you live in ny, peter berley teaches some public classes at the natural gourmet school. the classes are pretty awesome, and not super expensive.

here is the schedule

rosie_the_riveter · Gucci

rlutz wrote:

I am a vegetarian....have been for about 14 years, I donot eat meat, chicken or fish....I don't really cook alot...I eat alot of salad....cheese....veggies....beans.....pizza! I donot have the greatest diet so I am sorry that i am no help

you sound so much like me! I haven't eaten any meat since I was 7......20 years now and I eat nothing but pizza, Eggo waffles, more pizza, cereal, and any kind of pasta. I do eat eggs though.....except for the hockey puck egg in a Egg McMuffin

mckenke · BCBG

Thanks Erin! My husband and I have taken a couple classes at the natural gourmet school and the recipes are delicious. We did take a class on seitan then tried to make it at home. I swear our kitchen had white flour dots all over the walls for months. After that we just stick with buying the white wave chicken style seitan, you must have much more patience than me the seitan making process.

erin · Chanel

i took the seitan class last january, which is where my recipe is from! i love myra kornfeld.

(edited because my post got cut off)

-- Edited by erin at 09:24, 2005-11-04

Metric · Gucci

FYI- my friend was a vegan and when she got pregnant her Dr told her she had to start eating dairy/eggs/fish b/c her diet wasn't providing enough nutrition for growing a baby. Just thought you should know...just in case

erin · Chanel

BrazenCanadian wrote:

FYI- my friend was a vegan and when she got pregnant her Dr told her she had to start eating dairy/eggs/fish b/c her diet wasn't providing enough nutrition for growing a baby. Just thought you should know...just in case

bc- this is not towards you, but i get really angry when i hear of doctors spouting shit like this. while i am not veg anymore, i only eat chicken maybe once every few months (and that is the only meat i eat). soymilk provides as many nutrients and protein as regular milk. not only that, but many meat replacers are very nutritious and high in protein. as long as a veggie/vegan isn't eating a total crap diet (which meat eaters can do just as well!), there are plenty of nutrients available.

when i told my obstetrician that i rarely eat meat, she said i probably get a better diet anyhow, since i tend to go more towards vegetables and whole grains.

mckenke · BCBG

I think we took the seitan class in January of 2003 that would be funny if we had been in the same class.

And to back you up on the pregancy point. I have had plenty of friends remain vegetarian while pregnant, exercise during the entirety of their pregnancies and have healthy babies.

jen · Kate Spade

I've been a vegetarian since I was eight. Here's what I eat on a typical (not pms or stressed out day).

breakfast-Kashi go lean cereal

Lunch-Amy's chedder, tofu, veggie bowl

dinner-Amy's rice, tofu, veggie bowl

Snacks-fruit, veggies, sugar free pudding cups, applesauce, 100 calorie packs.

I also eat a lot of 100% whole wheat pasta.

I don't even think about it anymore. It's really so easy to not eat dead animals. I recently gave up gelatin as well. It's found in gummy candy, jello, things like that. It's ground up cow and pig teeth and feet so it's gross. Now that's kinda hard for me cause I did love me some gummy candy!

Edit- I probably get more nutrients than 90% of people on this earth so don't let that stop you. My pet peeve is when people who eat McDonald's and empty calories all day ask me how I get my nutrients! I'm like, hello-look at yourself!

-- Edited by jen at 12:03, 2005-11-04

sage · Dooney & Bourke

Thanks for your input everyone!! I am not sure about giving up fish completely. And I will probably still eat egg whites. But I don't eat them often. My protein comes from tofu and TVP, I also eat veggies, brown rice, soy milk. I really love yogurt so I will probably still be eating that too. Oh and I eat lots of fruit too. It really isn't hard for me. I honestly like vegetarian fare. And cutting up a bunch of tofu is so much easier than cooking meat!! Honestly. And rehydrating some TVP is much quicker than cooking hamburger. I think being vegetarian takes some more planning and thought but once you get a routine and some favorite recipes it is easy!!

Thinking about vegetarianism has of course led me to read a lot about the subject. One popular diet right nowis going raw, eating nothing that has been heated over a certain temp, involves a lot of dehydrating and sprouting(I love all kinds of sprouts BTW, they are great on tofu sandwiches with some quacamole

) This seems like a lot of work but the people who are on it say they feel fabulous.

I am going to get some of my recipes together. One of my favorite cookbooks is The Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen. I always look in used bookstores for old veg cookbooks, I have found several good ones. Another good one is Laurel's Kitchen.

I am trying nutritional yeast as a parmesan cheese option. This is new to me. I haven't had the opportunity to use it much yet. Has anyone done much with miso and tempeh???? (thanks mckenke I can't wait to try your recipe!!

Oh, nuts are great too!! Natural peanut butter, almonds, walnuts.

-- Edited by sage at 17:02, 2005-11-04

rlutz · Chanel

I am pregnant and I talked to my doctor about my diet...she said it is ok as long as I take vitamins and try to get protien, from cheese, veges, beans and such....I am having a hard time digesting beans and raw veges lately, so I have been trying to eat alot of cheese and fruit and grains...my doctor said i should be good

wicked · Coach

I went three years without eating meat or poultry (still ate seafood), but last year I started eating poutry again and pork once in a while.

Anyhoo I still make vegetarian meals more often than not and here's a super easy, super yummy recipe:

CURRIED CHICK PEAS

1 can chick peas (drained obviously)

1/2 C yogurt

2 tsp curry powder

2 tsp garlic (fresh)

2 or 3 scallions chopped (I often skip these if I don't have them on hand)

a sprinkle of salt

Combine all and cook until hot. Serve w/ brown rice.

LoMish · Kate Spade

I have been a vegetarian for 2 years...and being a college student, I've had to be creative with making quick easy nutritional meals..here are some of my usuals..

sandwiches---cucumber with cream cheese, portobello mushrooms and mozzarella cheese with pesto

soup-chili with beans and morningstar scramblers, vegetable soup, tomato soup and grilled cheese

snacks--yogurt with granola or fiber one, sliced tomatoes and cucumber with olive oil and basil

entree--grilled tofu, black bean burgers, stir fry

and my favorite is...
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa
shredded cheese
can also add onions, peppers, etc....
i put it in tortillas, pitas, on salad, or just eat it plain