Ditto what's been said about the prepackaged fake meat stuff. I always have some Boca Burgers and Morningstar Farms products in my freezer. They've got tons of different kinds of patties to choose from, ranging from fake meat styles to very veggie-flavored. They've also got corndogs and hot dogs and nuggets.
One product of theirs that earns its own paragraph is the "recipe crumbles." These are fake ground beef. Anything you can use ground beef for - from spaghetti to hamburger helper to casseroles - you can use recipe crumbles instead. Along the same lines, Morningstar Farms now has fake fajita meat, beef and chicken styles. I haven't had these yet.
None of those are super expensive, but they're not quite cheap either. With my current budget, I have a low-cost staple that I eat pretty regularly. A can of beans with tortilla chips and assorted other nacho-like toppings. Light red, kidney or black beans, usually. Also, refried (find some without lard). In a similar dish, Hormel makes a veggie chili that's quite tasty (also good for chili dogs).
Any section of prepackaged Mediterranean food will have a lot of veggie options. Hummus has already been mentioned.
About once a week, I enjoy a spinach salad with red beans and chickpeas in it. I add carrots, tomatoes, and ranch. Speaking of chickpeas, here's a yummy chickpea recipe from my friend Gabe.
Then, if there's a family night where you want to cook something, you've got several options. Even besides the fake meat stuff, you might have luck with something like an eggplant or zucchini stuffed with rice and mushrooms (I keep those recipes handy). Solid veggies like that, especially with something savory like mushrooms, will feel substantial enough to be palatable to meat-eaters too, every once in a while.
I get all this from mainstream supermarkets, btw. You'd be surprised how many stores and restaurants have veggie options now.
My own reasons for veggie have ranged from "Paul McCartney is the cooelst ever, and he's veggie!" to "meat is murder!" to "eh, I feel better without meat." It's always interesting to hear an eating journey, so thanks! Hope this offers something. Keep asking questions if we can do anything.
One product of theirs that earns its own paragraph is the "recipe crumbles." These are fake ground beef. Anything you can use ground beef for - from spaghetti to hamburger helper to casseroles - you can use recipe crumbles instead. Along the same lines, Morningstar Farms now has fake fajita meat, beef and chicken styles. I haven't had these yet.
None of those are super expensive, but they're not quite cheap either. With my current budget, I have a low-cost staple that I eat pretty regularly. A can of beans with tortilla chips and assorted other nacho-like toppings. Light red, kidney or black beans, usually. Also, refried (find some without lard). In a similar dish, Hormel makes a veggie chili that's quite tasty (also good for chili dogs).
Any section of prepackaged Mediterranean food will have a lot of veggie options. Hummus has already been mentioned.
About once a week, I enjoy a spinach salad with red beans and chickpeas in it. I add carrots, tomatoes, and ranch. Speaking of chickpeas, here's a yummy chickpea recipe from my friend Gabe.
Then, if there's a family night where you want to cook something, you've got several options. Even besides the fake meat stuff, you might have luck with something like an eggplant or zucchini stuffed with rice and mushrooms (I keep those recipes handy). Solid veggies like that, especially with something savory like mushrooms, will feel substantial enough to be palatable to meat-eaters too, every once in a while.
I get all this from mainstream supermarkets, btw. You'd be surprised how many stores and restaurants have veggie options now.
My own reasons for veggie have ranged from "Paul McCartney is the cooelst ever, and he's veggie!" to "meat is murder!" to "eh, I feel better without meat." It's always interesting to hear an eating journey, so thanks! Hope this offers something. Keep asking questions if we can do anything.
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