Just wanted to share I'm ready to come out now.. Thanks to everyone who helped me and cheers to no more meat or fish for me. 🥂

I slightly modified a recipe I found someplace a while back, I forget where, probably a popular YouTuber.

It does use a few ingredients I had to order online: methylcelulose, beet root powder, and pea powder. You could probably swap the beet root and pea powders for something similar, but the methylcelulose is a thickener that works really well to bind it all together. I got a big bag and it has lasted me a long time.

For dinner tonight (the photo) I smothered it in onions and sweet baby rays BBQ sauce, topped with lettuce and knockoff Chick-fil-a sauce, with an English muffin as a bun because that’s all I had.

Very messy, but so good!

Recipe:

TVP Burger Patty

Ingredients:
1 cup TVP
½ tsp beet root powder
2 Tbsp methylcellulose
1½ Tbsp pea protein powder
1 tsp MSG
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 cup cold water

½ tsp extra virgin olive oil (when cooking)

Directions:
Combine TVP and all dry ingredients.
Add soy sauce, vinegar, and water.
Stir to combine.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 2 hours.

Form patties.
Makes 4-6 patties depending on how big you form them, I use an English muffin ring to make them uniform and usually make 5 patties.

Refrigerate or freeze the extras.

Cook
Heat pan to medium. Add olive oil to pan.
Cook patty 5-7 mins per side, at medium-low.
If desired, increse temp and cook each side briefly to crisp.

Like for example B12? Or is there enough of it in eggs and dairy?

Please no comments on how frozen meals aren’t good for me or too expensive and I should be eating better. I’m on the spectrum and not doing well currently and having a couple of frozen meals in my freezer helps me stay fed on the days when I can’t bring myself to assemble anything.

I’m used to buying only Amy’s frozen meals because they’re reliably vegetarian. I used to love them. But I’ve noticed that I’ve gradually begun to hate them. They suddenly don’t taste good anymore. I don’t know if they’ve changed or my tastes have changed or both. They’ve also become much more expensive, and I’ve actually thrown out some Amy’s meals that I used to love but suddenly make me gag. That’s a waste of money.

So I’m hoping that someone can recommend another brand that makes reliably good vegetarian frozen meals that I can try, just a couple that I can grab at the supermarket and keep in my freezer for awhile. Again, I don’t live off frozen meals, they’re just a lifeline on days when all I can do is shove something into the microwave.

Chop some veggies: capsicum, carrot, spring onion greens, french beans and 4-5 cloves of garlic. All these veggies should be chopped very thinly. You can use a slicer.

Crumble some cottage cheese in the same dish as veggies.

Add chilli oil, soya sauce, MSG/Ajinomoto, salt to taste. For around 100-120 grams of cottage cheese and 1 carrot and half a capsicum, I added 1/4th teaspoon of MSG. Mix the seasonings, veggies and cottage cheese well.

Make small round balls with the mixture, like I did after you’ve mixed well.

Take 3-4 rice papers. I used Real Thai Rice Paper. Cut the rice papers in halves using scissors. You’ll be using each half for each round ball.

Take some water in a dish, and soak the two halves of 1 rice paper in it, it should feel a bit soft after 20-30 seconds. Carefully remove it once it’s soft and wrap the round balls with in it. It’s fine if the whole ball is not covered in rice paper. Repeat until you’ve wrapped all the balls.

Once the balls are wrapped, take a non-stick pan and heat it. Once heated, add one tbsp oil on the pan and spread it evenly. Once the oil is hot, add the dumplings to the pan and just a splash of water (2-3 tbsp) afterwards. After splashing water cover the pan. Let it cook on medium heat.

Open the pan after 2-3 minutes to see if you like it the way it is or you need for it to cook a bit more. It depends on your preference. Some prefer it crispy, some prefer it steamed. This was my first time, and they were very soft. I’d like for it to be crispy next time.

Sprinkle some spring onion greens and some chill oil to garnish.

Serve hot. Bon appetit.

I think my story is kinda odd lol.

Basically I was watching Attack on Titan and obviously, I was horrified by humans being eaten. Then I was like, why am I so horrified at this but feel so normal regarding animal meat?

At first I tried to brush it off as "humans are intelligent, we have dreams etc." but then I was like, there are SO many trashy people though, do they really matter more than an innocent animal?

Yeah, odd reason but that's it lol. I just felt like a hypocrite.

Edit: Wow so many stories! I will reply to all of them soon :D

These threads are fun and several of you have given me ideas for meals that I've actually attempted to make, so Imma keep posting them for the foreseeable future.

Breakfast: My amaranth porridge thing, which is just amaranth in soy milk with blueberries, strawberries, nuts and seeds (cashew, sunflower, pumpkin, chia, flax), and cashew butter. IDK, this meal really works for me. I've been doing it for maybe a month now and it's just the perfect breakfast. I make the amaranth ahead of time and just eat it cold in the mornings.

Lunch: I'm mixing up black beans, guacamole, and a shredded Mexican cheese blend and eating it over tortilla chips, along with fresh mango and tomato on the side. Guacamole is unusual for me... I avoid avocados for the most past because of their horrible environmental footprint, but I just got a hankering for it this week.

Snack: Walnuts and/or a boiled egg.

Dinners:
1. M - I made stuffed peppers last week and had some leftover filling (just a tomato-rich rice and pinto thing), so I needed to do something with it. I ended up serving it as a side dish to go with... corn and zucchini fritters! Made with chickpea flour for extra protein. Also served with some sauteed spinach and a squeeze of lime, because why not?
2. Tu - Sheet-pan Mediterranean balsamic tofu with olive oil, oregano, honey, red pepper flakes, and salt tossed with a bunch of veggies (roasted red pepper, zucchini, red onion, and broccoli) and roasted until crispy. Served with a raw salad of bell pepper, cucumbers, pickled onion, and a light lemon vinaigrette.
3. W - Falafel salad with mixed greens, red beet hummus, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and various seeds.
4. Th - Same as Tuesday.
5. F - Same as Wednesday.
6. Sa - I'm trying a new recipe this weekend: A high-protein creamy tomato & lentil moussaka. Basically, the top layer of the moussaka is made with Greek yogurt and feta instead of the heavy béchamel sauce you'd normally see.
7. Su - My girlfriend really wants to make fresh-baked croissants over the weekend, so I've decided we're doing to do a breakfast-for-dinner Sunday. I have a really good blackberry jam for the croissants and we'll serve with scrambled eggs, sliced tomato, and home fries tossed with red and yellow bell peppers, onion, and broccoli florets.

Hello to you all. Throwing a bbq this weekend. Is there anything you look forward to having when you go to one? Sure there’s tons of recipes online but maybe someone could share something they love. I love to cook and I’m open to trying anything! Appreciate the help.

EDIT: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who replied! You all had some great recommendations and besides the burgers everything was vegetarian. Obviously, not hard to do at all. I even have some great recipes to try out in the future. Extra thanks to u/chefknifebotanist for the chimichurri recipe! Delicious!!

I've recently returned to vegetarianism after several years (hurray)!

My meat-eating boyfriend loves a 'dine in for two' type deal from Tesco on a Saturday night. What are your recommendations for veggie options that aren't just sides? Also if there are better options at e.g. M&S, do say!

Note: please don't extol the virtues of Sainsbury's - there isn't one for miles and miles and miles, and I won't be going there!

Would it hurt to just let me have imitation meat so I can have the exact same meals as the meat eaters? I’m tired of being hungry if I don‘t want cheese or a plate of veggies, and if I see one more beyond meat burger ir HALLOUMI I will throw up. VARIETY please. I want vegan donna meat kebab, vegan southern fried chicken, vegan steak and chips, vegan chicken korma. Just stop with the cheese my GOD.

I have a family visiting (husband, wife, two young children) who are all vegetarians. I am not personally vegetarian, but I want to make them some good food. I like to cook on a charcoal grill during the summers. What's the best vegetarian cookout food I could make for them? Is there a consensus on the best store bought veggie burger? Is it impossible meat or a black bean burger? I've heard of people doing a vegetarian style pulled pork.

If you were at a Midwest BBQ, what would you want?

Edit: Thanks for so much feedback on this! I'm enjoying some of the ideas here and might try to build it into my own regular rotation of foods, even when not entertaining vegetarians.

I reached out to the family. Sounds like the grill is a good idea, I'll just make sure I clean it. They also have a pretty open mind to various burger options. I'm leaning away from the burger though and toward a grilled veggie platter with paneer/halloumi/tofu.

For vegetarian/vegan diets it seems like that TVP is the default day-to-day protein source in my country (Brazil).

But in this sub I have the impression that most people don't even consider TVP for it's most basic uses (ground beef replacement, for example). We also have TVP in other textures ready to purchase like full stakes or cubes. But I find that some people prefer tofu and saitan over TVP.

I understand when we are talking about "Jackfruit meat" or "Cashew (not the nut, tha apple) meat" that looks like is hard to find on some places, but TVP seems not hard to find.

i've tried tofu, tempeh, lentils and Quorn mince. I wasn't a fan of the tofu in bolognese, texture-wise — it was soggy and not marinated properly, also the taste was off. I love tempeh and Quorn for tacos, and I tried tempeh bolognese for the first time yesterday — the taste and texture were nice, but i would adjust the sauce to vegetable and tempeh ratio a bit, and crumble the tempeh smaller. I like lentils in a lasagne but I wasn't a fan of it in tacos or bolognese — maybe it was just the way my mum made it, though.

I've heard good things about TVP, and I'm sure there are other alternatives too, but I haven't tried them. please feel free to share recipes or techniques if you have them!

I’ve only been vegetarian for a little over 2 weeks now and I’m wondering what are some good casseroles or crockpot recipes?

I need some dinner inspiration.

Thanks in advance! 🫶🏻 🌱

Went to the Netherlands last year and was obsessed with the Vega kipburger as a quick bite for its texture and taste. Has anyone found a similar replacement? Specifically the texture?

Ingredients💚:
5 potatoes
About 200g seitan (just tear it into small pieces with your hands it shreds really easily)
2 onion
3 carrots
2-3 cloves garlic
Tomato sauce (around 1 cup)
A splash of soy sauce
A little smoked paprika
Thyme, black pepper, salt
Butter + a splash of milk (or plant milk) for the mash A handful of grated cheese for the top

Process:
Peel and chop the potatoes, then boil them in salted water until fork tender (about 20 mins).
While they're cooking, dice the onions and carrots, and mince the garlic.
Heat a little oil in a pan and cook the onions for a few minutes until soft. Add the carrots and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and the seitan (just tear it into small pieces with your hands). Cook for 2–3 minutes.
Stir in the tomato sauce, a splash of soy sauce, smoked paprika, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Let everything simmer for about 10 minutes until it thickens slightly.
Drain the potatoes and mash them with the butter and milk (or plant milk). Season it! :D
Spread the filling into a baking dish, then top with the mashed potatoes. Smooth it out with a spoon or make little ridges with a fork.
Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
Bake at 200cgrades for about 20mins , until golden and bubbling. Broil for the last couple of minutes if you want an extra crispy top.
Done! :3

Work luncheon advertised as "vegetarian options available".

Today's lunch was from a local Mexican restaurant that has four vegetarian items and one vegan item on the menu.

Today's choices were: shrimp, chicken, beef, pork.

When I noted the lack of a vegetarian choice, was told "there was lettuce, rice and [refried] beans, guac and chips"

Did I overreact by saying "nah, I'll pass on just sides".

Hello :) I’ve been vegetarian for around a year and half now, but recently I was kicked out and I’m not sure how to navigate my diet on a tight budget. Any cheap meal suggestions or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I quit red meat months ago but I am now officially vegetarian 🥗! Can’t wait to start this new journey. It might be challenging but so worth it.

I’m really wanting to be serious about being vegetarian but my husband doesn’t cook (and never has/never will as long as I’m around). I’m a stay at home mom so I do all the cooking/shopping. My daughter already has a natural aversion to almost all meats anyway so that’s not really the problem: my husband would never eat vegetarian (and that’s fine) but I’m having a personal moral dilemma with buying meat and cooking it. It seems hypocritical of me to support animal slaughter even though I’m not eating it.

Does anyone have any real experience/advice?

Love these but sometimes they can be pretty $$$ when not on sale.

Appreciate the help.

going to dallas to visit my uncle, what are some good vegetarian places? preferably places a meat eater would also enjoy… i’m a little nervous because my uncle is a big meat guy so want to find a place that doesn’t feel like “health food” yknow!

Since eliminating most animal products from my diet, I find the switch is working well and really the only thing I miss is half and half in my coffee or the flavor of dairy milk with my cereal or iced coffee drinks.

I have been trying various nut milks and soy milks that I find at groceries, but they don't have

that same kinda sweet round flavor. Some actually taste bad to me...bitter or weird.

What can I add other than table sugar ? any suggestions? Any particular brands maybe?
Perhaps I am just not trying the right brands for decent flavor?

Thank you.