Vegetarian & Low Carb Recipes And Discussion

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

We eat very little meat and if we do, it is chicken and fish with occasional pork. Beef is an exception. We do alot of veggies in the summer from our gardens, and my favorite is eggplant. We slice it, then bread and pan fry. It's awesome on a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. We also make eggplant lasagna - slice, bread, pan fry and then layer it with noodles, sauce & cheese (use the eggplant in place of meat).

Good luck with your diet PC!

 

[Wifezilla]

There was a veggie burger recipe I had years ago from the 20 minute natural foods cookbook that wasn't bad at all. It had oatmeal, cheddar cheese, egg, worchester sauce, and chopped mushroom in it....I think

 

[PurpleChicken]

Rosalind, I like your attitude of not getting to complicated. That makes
good sense. Those are yummy recipes too and I can't wait to try them.


Linda, Tofurky?

I bought some tofu to try. We'll see if I gag.


LilRalphie, I don't eat much meat either but have been bad about eating
junk and not eating the things my body needs.


Maybe this post should be renamed:
Eat more vegies, less carbs, good meats, and yummy stuff. Recipes Please!

 

[Rosalind]

Just bear in mind that tofu is an ingredient like flour...not to be eaten on its own.

If you're only trying to add protein to a morning smoothie, or you're going to marinate it, bread it and fry it (oh yeah, hot wing sauce is also a good marinade for tofu), then all you'll taste is the other ingredients in the recipe.

By itself....

I used to hate on tofu. And a LOT of those meat substitute things, to my taste, are just horrible. I honestly do not understand how the Tofurkey company stays in business. I think these things only exist for the relatives of vegetarians, so they can say, "And look, we know you don't eat regular food, but we cooked you this special (whatever) we found at Wegman's! Isn't it cute!" I don't know any vegetarians who voluntarily eat those things.

DH is now making suggestions over my shoulder. Ohhh, this is nasty, but we used to eat it in college: Make mashed potatoes with a whole block of Philly cream cheese, garlic salt, pepper. Boil some egg noodles. Fry a sliced onion. Mash it all together into one giant greasy glob of starchy goodness, then eat until you're stuffed (doesn't take long).

I weighed 103 lbs. in college. I swear. And I ate this weekly. Being young and active had nothing to do with it, of course.

Other easy stuff that was pretty good and filling: smoothies. Used to be a total smoothie hound. You can mix just about anything in, I used to put chai powder mix in with bananas, yogurt and applesauce. Or banana-peanut butter-yogurt, you get some protein there. Basically, some fruit, some yogurt, flavorings, ice cubes. Orange juliuses! OMG, they were so good.

The in-laws like hummus with a puddle of olive oil in the middle, fresh ground pepper, pita breads, fresh fruit, and a big Caesar salad for a light dinner or lunch.

 

[ninjapoodles]

LilRalphieRoosMama, when you sautee eggplant, do you do the salt & drain thing first? I'm wanting to make a "lasagna" type recipe using slices of eggplant instead of pasta, and I can't quite figure out how to treat the eggplant.

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Quote:
I don't think so. DBF always has it ready for me to bread before I get there. He has high BP so I know he doesn't do salt. I think he lets them air dry and then pats them down again before they are breaded. I dip them in egg wash and then in bread crumbs mixed with the usual spices, then pan fry them in oil.

He's sleeping now but I'll ask him for sure and get back to you.

 

[peeplessinNC]

This thread has a lot of good information in it! Thanks to all!

One word about sugar consumption from natural, whole foods: those with diabetes and those of us wanting to avoid diabetes know that pure fruit juices are basically pure sugar. You are much better off eating that orange or apple rather than drinking orange juice or apple juice. I told my M.D. a few years ago that I had given up fruit juice altogether and he gave me a little puzzled look. Then I said clearly "I eat the whole fruit rather than drink the juice." The body digests the fiber and juice in the fruit in a different way than it assimilates the concentrated juice, thus helping to prevent spikes in blood sugar levels. Diabetes runs in my mom's family, so I try my best to keep my blood sugar levels at an even keel, not spiking up and falling down.
Oranges, bananas and grapes plus other tropical fruits have a higher sugar content than apples, pears, and berries.
Back in the 2007 holiday season I went overboard on eating candy, cookies, cakes, etc. all loaded with sugar. The more of the stuff I ate, the more I wanted! It is very true for me that consuming sugar just makes me want to consume more sugar - ACK! Now I very seldom make sugary treats or eat them, and I find I really don't crave them most of the time. If I want cake or ice cream, I eat one piece of cake and it had better be really good and homemade! I don't waste my calories on store bought stuff! LOL! If I want ice cream, I go up the street and buy a scoop in a cup and enjoy it right away - I don't buy a half gallon and have it sitting around. This method of having a sweet now and then seems to work for me.

This vegetable sandwich is very good and a great way to use up that glut of zucchini from the garden.

Fred's Vegetable Sandwich (Fred is my BIL)

zucchini, sliced
onion, sliced

saute the squash and onion in a fry pan in a little oil

other ingredients:
tomatoes, sliced
cheese, sliced, munster, cheddar, jarlsberg or other favorite cheese
Parmesan cheese, grated, or asiago or romano
salt and pepper
Italian herb seasonings, or fresh chopped herbs
bread, hearty slices, toasted
mayonnaise

Layer the sauted zucchini and onion on one slice of the toasted bread spread with mayo, sprinkle with s&p, herbs, and Parmesan cheese. Put tomato slices on the other slice of bread spread with mayo. Top with s&p, herb seasonings, and sliced cheese of your choice. Put both halves of the sandwich under a broiler and broil until the cheeses are bubbly. Put the sandwich halves together and cut in half.

I guess you could make this like a panini and press it to toast the bread and melt the cheese. A substantial grain bread holds up better than a soft white slice.

 

[Wifezilla]

Good point about fruit. One thing diabetics used to be told to do was to use fructose as a sweetener because it doesn't spike blood sugar. What is does instead is cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Fruit juice and high fructose corn syrup are behind a lot of cases of NAFLD in children.

Agave nectar, which is gaining in popularity due to it being "Low GI", is another culprit. Chemically, agave nectar is right along the lines of high frcutose corn syrup. Avoid it like the plague.

 

[PurpleChicken]

I have, in the past, used my juicer a lot and plan to start using it again.

What are the opinion on fresh juices which contain a lot of fiber?

My juices of choice include blends of apple, pear, carrot, celery, and melons.
If I have fresh parsley I use that too.

My understanding is that the fresh juices contain enzymes, fiber(pulp),
and other good things. One glass of juice easily contains at least 5
of the items I mentioned. Drinking that glass is a lot easier than eating
all those fruits and vegies.

 

[Wifezilla]

Drinking juice is just drinking a lot of sugar. A glass of juice contains the sugar from several pieces of fruit. Most times more than you would possibly eat in a day. The vitamins, minerals and enzymes in that fruit are also available from veggies and other sources without having it all wrapped up in sugar.

Fruit juice is just plain unhealthy. If you like it, you're grown...drink up

. Just don't do it because of some idea that it is good for you because it isn't.