[9/11/06]

I'm new here and new to bein a vegetarian, it'll be 2 weeks on monday

I just wanted to see what people recommend picking up at the grocery store cause this is a whole lifestyle change and i really don't know what foods are good or what you can't leave the grocery store without or just what you think every vegetarian should pick up. Anyone's opinion would be great! I'm really getting tired of eatin top ramen

 

[duck]

I personally am a pretty picky eater. Whenever I go to the grocery store... I purchase lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

As for pre-packaged items I usually buy:

bread

peanut butter

jelly

soup cans or packages (vegetable, lentil couscous, split pea)

cereal

soymilk

baked lays

pickles

tofu

flavored prebaked tofu

dr. praegers burgers

frozen vegetables (corn, stir fry)

rice

pasta

nutritional yeast

frozen berries

oatmeal

crystal light mix

yogurt

That's all I can think of for now.........

 

[nigel]

Read some cookbooks and plan a weekly menu. Then go shopping. There are plenty of prepackaged products (Morningstar Farms, Amys, others) that cost more but take some of the stress off of cooking, and might give you some fresh ideas.

look at the recipes forums for ideas on meals.

When you have the time, please fill out some info on yourself in your profile. I'm sure we'd all love to know something about you.

 

[Laura_I]

What I have is a binder full of 6 weeks worth of recipes, and a grocery list for each week, this makes it easy and hassle free. As far as 'convenience' foods go, I like:

Instant cous cous (comes in lots of flavors)

soy milk

morning star farms stir fry's, etc

bread + peanut butter and jelly

hummus and pita bread

taupenade and crusty bread (some taupenade is made with anchovies, check ingredients, most isnt' though)

 

[Tesseract]

I usually start by coming up with a menu plan for the week bsade on what recipes sound good and what I already have in the house. Then I round it out with fresh produce, particularly whatever's fresh in season and on sale. Some of my usual staples include:

onions

potatoes

bananas

Bread

soymilk

calcium fortified orange juice

canned beans (different kinds)

Canned tomatoes

Frozen veggies (esp. corn)

dry pasta

jar pasta sauce

Tofu

Smart Balance Light

olive oil

corn muffin mix

peanut butter

hummus

pita chips

chocolate

Some other threads with related info:

Your Favorite (and Least Favorite) Commercial Food Products

What's In YOUR Pantry?



What's Your Grocery List?

 

[flvegnewbie]

What I have is a binder full of 6 weeks worth of recipes, and a grocery list for each week, this makes it easy and hassle free. As far as 'convenience' foods go, I like:

Yep, that's what I do too. If you'll put your recipes inside some page protectors you can just pull them out & take them into the kitchen with you & then if you splatter something on it, you can just wipe them clean!!

As far as what to buy when shopping? I say start out slow. Look at how you cook now & see what you can just veganise. If you like spaghetti, just use a marinara sauce (you really don't even need a meat sub. for this).

What about just making some beans in the crockpot & serve it over some rice, or a veggie stir-fry? Also you could do black bean tacos with any toppings you want.

My kids like those Morningstar corn dogs & nuggets, Gardenburger riblets, and those Lightlife soy dogs.

But you really don't need to eat meat replacements if you don't want, I've found though it does help during the transition stage.

Especially until you get more confident in cooking a more vegetarian menu.

If you'd like a basic pantry staples list, just let me know & I can pass along one that was given to me here by another member.

Congratulations on going VEG & WELCOME to VB too!!!!!

That's really GREAT!!

HTH,

Michelle

 

[kikke]

We're new too, or should I say my daughter is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flvegnewbie

I say start out slow

. I have to agree with flvegnewbie, where possible change old favourites and make them vegetarian, e.g:

* spaghetti bolognese with vegetable sauce & quorn mince/meatballs

* soy beefburgers (really nice)

* vegetable lasagne

* stuffed pasta shells with vegetable sauce

We're doing it this way to start with so that the whole family can get used to the different flavours and textures, and gradually I'll introduce new recipes made from scratch. "Vegetarian diet: A starter's guide to a plant-based diet" gives some really good advice for those just starting out. We were really big meat eaters before and the hardest thing I find is stuff to put in sandwiches without relying heavily on cheese.

Here's my last short shopping list:

Vegetarian beefburgers

Quorn mushroom pies

Eggs

Dairylea dunkers

Bagels

Jaffa cakes (didn't know if these were veggie or not)

Cereal bars (for school snacks)

Fresh fruit

Soft Cheese

Lentil soup

Soya milk

Peanut butter

Hope this helps.

 

[codemonkey]

Here's some staples that I try to keep around the house:

Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables

rice (I get brown basmati)

pasta

crackers

oatmeal

olive and canola oil

canned beans (I'm lazy)

canned tomatoes

tomato paste

cereal

whole wheat bread

peanut butter

100% fruit spread

sugar

whole wheat flour

silken tofu

cocoa powder

chocolate chips

nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc)

nutritional yeast

flax seeds

tofu (mostly extra-firm)

tempeh

tempeh bacon

soy cheese

soymilk (plain and vanilla)

salsa

bottled salad dressings

soy sauce

big jar of pre-minced garlic

frozen peas

frozen corn

frozen edamame (soybeans)

fake meat (boca crumbles, chickenless nuggets, etc)

filo dough

soy delicious ice cream

That's just some stuff I could think of off the top of my head. Peruse some cookbooks and try some recipes.

 

[9/11/06]

Hey thanks everyone for your advice and opinions I really appreciate it! I got some great ideas and i picked up a really great cookbook "easy vegetarian"

 

[lillym]

I want to recommend the Vegetarin 5 Ingredient Gourmet. Althought I don't think it's really gourmet cooking. However, over all it's easy cooking! And a lot of the recipes have menu ideas associated with them. I checked it out from the library and copied out a ton of recipes and really liked them. Although because it's 5 ingredients including seasonings the dishes tend to be bland and need extra stuff. But it helped me with my transition.

 

[bethany17]

My advice, real quick because I know that everyone's basically said everything that I would- try a bunch of stuff, repeat what you like, and if you don't like soy meat now try other brands etc either now or later. And convenience-wise, try Amys pot pies! They are delicious and take like ten minutes.