Your best VEGETARIAN resources, please!

[FriedClams]

I've read the other thread and don't want to get into the WHY of vegetarian/ vegan living. I'm just looking for resources for the HOW. Recipes, blogs, youtube, cookbooks.... What are your favorites? How can one tradition smoothly? How do you prevent becoming a carbitatian and eat healthy? Thank you!!

[regentrude]

My favorite cookbook is Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook. She has several others.

Smitten Kitchen has a lot of vegetarian recipes as well.

 

The easiest way not to become a carbitarian is to love veggies. And to enjoy cooking.

As long as you are only vegetarian (i.e not vegan) and still consume dairy, protein is not really difficult.

[eagleynne]

I was a vegetarian (later vegan) for over ten years, and my mother still is, so we have quite the collection of cookbooks. My advice is to look for recipes that don't try to replicate non-vegetarian foods. They usually don't work very well, and are disappointing because you are expecting the taste of the non-veg version. Also, it is a lot easier to make something vegan into something vegetarian than it is to go the other way, so bear that in mind when you start building your library.

 

As for transitioning smoothly, my best advice is to think of the things you are going to be giving up and figure out what you're going to replace them with BEFORE you actually give them up. If you're taking something off the plate you have to replace it with something just as good or you just end up eating a lot more of whatever else was on the plate, i.e. carbs.

 

I've listed some of our favorite resources below.

 

Cookbooks:

 

    ** Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker-- Robin Robertson **

    ** The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen-- Donna Klein **

    ** Vegan Italiano-- Donna Klein **

       How to Cook Everything Vegetarian-- Mark Bittman

       Veganomicon-- Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero

   ** Everyday Happy Herbivore-- Lindsay Nixon **

       River Cottage Veg-- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

   ** The Joy of Vegan Baking-- Colleen Patrick-Goudreau **

      The Everyday Vegan-- Dreena Burton

   ** Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World-- Isa Moskowitz and Terry Romero **

       Bean Banquets: From Boston to Bombay-- Patricia Gregory

       The Vegan Slow Cooker-- Kathy Hester

       Vegan Planet-- Robin Robertson

 

  The entries with asterisks are some of my favorites.

 

Other Books:

 

       Plant Based Nutrition and Health-- Stephen Walsh PhD

 

 This book is a wonderful resource for making sure you are getting all the nutrition you need. It has lots of really good science-backed information and is easy to understand.

 

Websites:

 

      veganricha.com

      fatfreevegan.com

      veganstore.com

      + many of the above authors have their own websites

[Sandwalker]

What kind of foods do you usually eat, there are so many great blogs and recipes online. If you like to cook and don't mind fussy recipes, Chef Chloe's food comes out delicious every time.

http://chefchloe.com/recipes

 

For everyday https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Vegan-4-00-Day-Conscious/dp/1570672571/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1472035621&sr=8-1&keywords=eat+vegan+on+4+a+day&linkCode=sl1&tag=bitsizveg02-20&linkId=e4d117aaf315e21dd33b235c84120564

 

 

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCEjkioV3LO_OIUaSWRxFZ3A

 

Tips and discussion about going vegetarian: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/relax/

 

Great tips on Veganuary (and of course you can add dairy/egg/honey to any recipe you want.) https://veganuary.com/us/starter-kit/

 

Most of these are vegan links, but of course it's easy to sub cow milk for soy, or use eggs rather than egg replacers like chia seeds in baking.

Edited December 24, 2017 by Sandwalker

[hornblower]

Some sources not listed yet: 

Forks Over Knives

This not only has recipes, it actually IS a whole how-to guide and it directly addresses your issue of avoiding just becoming a bread & pasta vegetarian. 

Meal Mentor  and her parent site:  Happy Herbivore is recipes (some free) plus a weekly batch cooking plan (sample free; otherwise it's a subscription). 

also these recipe sites  Minimalist Baker (not just desserts), Chocolate Covered Katie & Happy Healthy Life 


For evidence based science stuff and answers to questions about everything

Dr Greger's Nutrition Facts https://nutritionfacts.org/ & his book How Not to Die (there's an accompanying cookbook now but I haven't seen it myself yet..) 

The Vegan RD & her books (Ginny Messina) http://www.theveganrd.com/

Jack Norris RD has all the answers about supplements IME http://jacknorrisrd.com/ FWIW, I've read several times now that vegetarians tend to have less optimal levels of B12 than vegans, probably because vegans KNOW we need supplement and vegetarians don't know they probably should. 

ALSO - everyone over 50 yo, even if an omnivore should supplement with B12 or consume B12 fortified foods. "As a result, the IOM recommends that adults older than 50 years obtain most of their vitamin B12 from vitamin supplements or fortified foods [5]" https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/

 

[OrganicJen]

There is a vegetarian cookbook from Rancho Gordo that I love, and this is coming from a non vegetarian. It is available on their website. And another favorite of mine is the vegan cookbook available from Baker Creek Heirloom seed company on their website. Again, even as a non vegan I love it.

[OrganicJen]

You also asked about ways to eat healthy, and I have found that I like veggies more and eat a lot more of them, when they are a bigger part of my life. As I started growing even a small amount of my own veggies I started eating more and it grew from there to where now I easily eat well beyond the recommended daily servings of a variety of veggies. I also mill my flour from whole grains myself so any bread products I eat are healthy complex carbs and not just the empty calories and simple carbs of most baked goods. Basically for me it took becoming more involved in my food instead of just buying it from the store. The more involved with it I became, the easier it was for me to eat very healthy. Obviously it won't work for everyone but it's what worked for me. I think part was because once I started tasting what I could grow or make myself everything pre packaged wasn't as good and I stopped craving it and now I crave things like braised red cabbage instead of donuts lol. Good luck to you in your food journey.

Edited December 24, 2017 by OrganicJen

[SparklyUnicorn]

You might like Thug Kitchen.

 

 

[FriedClams]

Y'all rock! Thank you. I've been rocking ww, but with the push for more protein I'm not super happy with it being all animal based. But, I don't want to eat much bread, pasta, rice, potatoes.... Lots to look up at the library and for me to get cooking. Thank you guys!!

[displace]

I’m not vegetarian, but I try to incorporate more vegetarian meals and days in my diet. I like chocolatecoveredkatie.com

 

I found her by her healthier desserts on her website but she has some great vegan and vegetarian recipes. Like sweet potato chili!

[displace]

Thanks for starting the thread. I wanted to as well, then remembered there’s another vegetarian thread not too old but I couldn’t find it and... life!