Hello,

We are new to vegetarian, my husband has cancer and we are really changing his and my diet.  I have tried out a few recipes and most of them turn out bland.  We also don't use salt or anything artificial, so it's all natural and organic.  Could anyone give me some good tried and true recipies?  I am able to understand most recipes and chopping up veggies doesn't intimidate me, so it doesn't even have to be super easy.  Just good. 

 

Thank you so much!

A few keys to tasty veg food are to use seasoning and fresh herbs. Indian and Mexican food have many veg options and tons of flavor. Use garlic and onions for cooking beans and making soups, add veg broth instead of water, and season as u cook.

This is how i make black beans:
Sauté diced onion, add 4-8 cloves of crushed garlic
Add 1 lb black beans ( rinsed and soaked at least 4 hours), and broth to cover beans
Add 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp coriander, 1/2 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp oregano
I also toss in a few Serrano chiles but we like really spicy food, so those are optional of course.

Cover and let cook in med-high about 1 1/2 hours more or less until beans are soft.

These beans are perfect for burritos, tacos and tostadas. Can also be used for soup and in chili. Mash them up for a refried bean texture too

This recipe works good for pinto beans too

Cucumber and Tomato Salad (vegweb) A lot of flavor and no added salt. :)

I only use 1/4 cup olive oil, not a 1/2.

Welcome!

My best advice is to spend time on amazon.com under 'vegan books". So many cookbooks have extensive "look inside" features, you get random full pages-plenty of full recipes, as well as pages of info straight from the books. I esp. suggest Forks over Knives for the healthiest low fat, low sugar and whole food recipes. Happy Herbivore, Thrive, and  Appetite for Reduction. Really, browse them all!

I suggest vegan instead of vegetarian because that's the healthiest start. I'm not suggesting you have to be vegan, it's just so many vegetarian recipes involve replacing meat with eggs and dairy. Vegan cooking is not bland, nor tasteless once you realize it's a whole new way to eat, and that herbs and spices are really food!

When you see books you like, you can order from your library, or just go ahead and get them from amazon.

 

Internet search for vegan... will get you many hits, like vegweb.com

http://pcrm.org/

http://veganhealth.org/

great sites.

It is always a good time to switch to a vegan or vegetarian diet. Many people have allergies to animal products and are vegan as a result, but rather than being defined as being one or the other I like to select from either camp. The point is to tread lightly on the planet and do the least.

 

Here is a recipe I found in a magazine which is simple to prepare and takes me about 30-40 minutes to make. It tastes pretty good too and is especially enjoyable on a cold wet wintery day.

 

    1 cup red lentils

    1 cup yellow split peas

    1 tsp tumeric

    1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

    2 tbsp vegetable oil

    4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

    1 medium onion, diced

    1 knob of fresh ginger, diced (about one cubic inch)

    1 tsp crushed dried chiles

    1/2 tsp chili powder

    1/2 tsp paprika

    1 tsp garam masala

 

Soak lentils and split peas in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse them then add them to a thick bottomed pot with 6 1/2 cups of water. the salt and tumeric. Bring this mixture to a boil then simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes (until the beans have become soft).

 

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions, garlic and ginger together for 5-10 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the crushed chiles, chili powder, paprika and garam masala to the onions and continue to fry for another minute while stirring. Add the onion mixture to the beans, stir well and your done. If you don't like it too hot leave out the crushed chiles. Also I like to blend the mix using a immersion blender, but these things are optional.

 

The resulting dahl/soup goes well over cous cous or rice.

Hi Michelle123,

 

I have a few easy-to-make recipes to share, here's the link :http://thetravellingmedstudentfruitarian.com/category/recipes/  Enjoy!