[Iliketophaff]

We eat a lot of meat. Tea tonight was home made sausage rolls and a pasta and sauce with added chicken. I'd like to increase our plant food intake and reduce our reliance on meat for a variety of reasons. I lack confidence in cooking vegies (broccoli always over cooked etc) and if I try and do this but I don't do it well it will backfire on me. DH always seems to feel hungry if he hasn't eaten meat. Sandwiches and soup don't fill him.

Can anyone guide me along a slowly softly path?

[la di dah]

Vegetables don't need to be cooked very long at all. I only give broccoli about two minutes from frozen, dropping them into rolling boil water.

Can you start with, for example, a baked yam next to a piece of chicken, with any sides being vegetarian? Don't take that piece of chicken away yet, keep 1 meat component to the meal, but not sausage roll AND meat sauce. Have one or the other? But don't shrink overall portions, just change the ratios.

[jayskette]

Use beans/lentils as red meat substitute in recipes. Use more fish. For breakfast more eggs and no bacon etc.

My DP is a hardcore carnivore and he loved my frittatas - I put as much vegetables and beans and eggs as I can, and meatify it by sprinkling with 2 chopped rashers of bacon, or 100g deli ham.

[countrymel]

Stir fries.

Start cooking more stir fries - one chicken breast is enough to meatify a meal for 6... keep dropping the meat content and you won't even know it.

[Lyra]

I used to put red beans in with mince for tacos to stretch it out and then discovered that my children were picking out the beans and leaving the mince LOL so I switched to a lovely vege filling that uses red beans and rice.
I make a lot of vege risottos or risottos with very little meat in them and my husband never complains about being hungry

[**Xena**]

I steam veg by putting them on the stove in a colander saucepan over a saucepan half filled with water. Lid on the colander saucepan and cook for 20mins on high.

Jacket potatoes are easy to make vego and filling
Homemade vegetarian pizza
Fettucine with pumpkin, fetta and spinach and pine nuts
Nachos with beans, cheese, guacamole and sour cream
Vege Pasta Bake

This post has been edited by **Xena**: 22/03/2012, 06:19 PM

[bluedragon]

I'm vegetarian, DH isn't but we only eat veg at home.

My recommendation would be to make sure you replace the meat with another form of protein to make sure you feel full. So increase your dairy (eg more cheese, yogurt etc.) include lots of eggs and introduce things like lentil, chickpeas, beans and tofu.

Some good combinations are brown rice and red lentils (you can throw some lentils in with the rice as you cook it or make daal and serve with rice) and chickpeas and cous cous. These are complete protein as is quinoa by itself.

If you're making soup a really hearty minestrone is good with whatever veg you like, a can of chickpeas and some small pasta shapes, you can also throw a small handful of quinoa in as well. This fills my DH up!

I would start with stir fry because it's really easy and the veg won't over cook. You can start with using chicken if you want but not use much and then swap to tofu instead.

A really easy meal we do often is a selection of vegies steamed or roasted a small serve of grain like brown rice, cous cous or quinoa and some tofu or a hard boiled egg or two. You can add a bit of grated cheese to the steamed veg if you want to boost the protein too.

This is one of my favourite recipes, very filling, just serve with a side salad. http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/food/cookingtips...-lentil-hot-pot

Bit of a ramble sorry, if you want any more ideas or have any questions about using the tofu etc. let me know.

[Iliketophaff]

I love frittatas, but DH is intolerant to eggs (don't I know it ) but there are some good ideas here, thanks

[twinboys]

You can always try 'Meat free Mondays' as an intro to less meat.

I am planning on making this dish in the next week Brown rice salad

Here is a link to some Meat Free Monday recipes here

[KristyMum-]

increase the protein or carbs, to fill and sustain the 'not hungry' feeling.
have water with meals
have a light dessert
extra large salad
boiled eggs in the salad etc

there are heaps of good non-meat recipes out there and techniques
and this from someone who is unintentionally (kinda, in the 'not vegetarian' sense) eating less meat
with a DH who very much likes his meat n carbs

oh to brocc and veg not overcooking
steam them. turn them off when there's still a slight crunch and then they don't lose their colour.