Bean/lean vegetarian protein recipes?

Posts: 39
4/13/11 10:58 P

Type in "Vegetarian" in SparkPeople's recipe finder. One of the first recipes is called "Coach Nicole's Vegetarian 'Meat'Loaf". I made it last night, and it's awesome... Though I recommend using a food processor to combine the ingredients before baking them. It was awesome.

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4/13/11 10:04 P

A couple of cookbooks I really like, that I'm pretty sure have either no soy or very limited soy, are Vegan Italian and Vegan Mediterranean. I know you're not vegan, but they might give you an idea of things you can cook. That being said, I also don't know what the protein content of many of the recipes is.

Posts: 602
4/13/11 4:52 P

Quorn, I have never heard of it before. Now that I looked it up I think I will pass. I have enough fungus in my life that I can't control I think I will put this one in the category with mushrooms, some like it but not for me. I do appreciate your post though and thanks for trying to enlighten me and expand my horizons. I think I am stuck in a time loop of foods I recognize. Have a Great Day!

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4/13/11 3:53 P

A favorite resource of mine for bean and lentil-based recipes is this one.
www.vegrecipes4u.com/bean-recipes.html
www.vegrecipes4u.com/dals-and-soups.htmla>

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Posts: 371
4/13/11 3:36 P

Below are two of my favorites. I substitute Quorn for the meat in both, when I'm cooking for vegetarians. One of my close veg friends is very allergic to soy, and she swears by Quorn, so here's hoping it will be okay for you, too. Enjoy! :)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Tur
key-Chili/Detail.aspx

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,162,1311
90-249195,00.html

Posts: 602
4/13/11 3:09 P

Thanks will do

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4/13/11 2:29 P

There are a lot of dishes in there that do not use tofu. (I'm not a fan of it, so i look for that as well), but i do think he uses TVP in some of his recipies, and i understand that is mostly soy.

My suggestion is see if your library has it, and check it out for a week. or thumb through it at a book store.

Posts: 602
4/13/11 2:00 P

Thanks for the post on the bean book, do many of the recipes use things like tofu? I cannot eat the soy products and find most recipes I find call for so many fake foods and soy based foods that it really doesn't do me any good to buy the book.

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4/13/11 1:42 P

PS, this book is a godsend to me. "lean bean cuisine". www.amazon.com/dp/1559584386/?tag=googhydr
-20&hvadid=10255238609&ref=pd_sl_7b8fk
nunp0_e

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4/13/11 1:41 P

Lentils are a cheep god send, cause you can cook them in like 20 minutes, unlike the hours it takes for dried beans to cook.

using cumin some days, and curry other days gives them a different taste.

Split peas are also really good. If you can look into Ethiopian recipes, they will have a great yellow pea "mash" that does not use butter or milk, but because of the texture of the peas, tastes creamy.

Posts: 602
4/13/11 1:31 P

I have replaced meat in most of our meals with beans. I now make my chili with beans and no meat at all, I never knew that was how chili was originally made. I also use black beans (mostly) for stews with veggies added, we love homemade hummus for snacking with veggies and I don't put any oil in it because I like it without. Black bean brownies are amazing, but you may want to stay away from them, they are way too good LOL. I mostly use dried beans because they are usually cheaper and I can control how much sodium and other items go into them. I soak them overnight and cook them the next day for whatever I am making. I also cook extra beans and store them in the fridge or freezer for later use. It sounds like a lot of work but really you don't have to babysit them just put them on and stir occasionally or put them in a crock pot to cook while you are at work. Good Luck!

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4/13/11 1:12 P

Seitan is gluten... not pepper or mushroom.

If you could buy it plain then it shouldn't be an issue for you.

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4/13/11 1:10 P

Also consider oats (steel cut), textured vegetable protein, & bulger as some options to put into your diet.

Posts: 10,784
4/12/11 11:09 P

start checking out vegan cookbooks.
mediterranean vegan kitchen uses basically no soy [i think there might be a bit of edamame in there somewhere] and is a great resource. plenty of vegan cookbooks have soy free options, some label better than others. but head to the library and start checking them out.

as far as a mushroom and pepper allergy making you unable to eat seitan, well, this confuses me. don't make or use broth that has peppers or mushrooms. it's easy enough to leave out and you still get to eat wheat meat.

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4/12/11 10:59 P

I second the quinoa recommendation. Yum! And it's a good protein source.

Some ideas for beans:
* Sloppy joes (tonight I made it with tempeh, which is soy, but I've seen recipes with kidney or black beans)
* Chili
* A pilaf with cooked lentils
* Any beans on top of salad
* Spicy baked chickpeas (can of chickpeas, tsp of oil, mix of spices, bake at 425)
* Lentils in spaghetti sauce
* Bean "burgers" or meatballs
* Soups and stews galore

Another good source of protein (though higher in fat) is nuts and nut butters.

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4/12/11 7:54 P

I would recommend Quinoa!
It's a slightly crunchy grain when cooked and offers a great source of protein for vegetarians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa#Nutr
itional_value

Posts: 14
4/12/11 7:50 P

I'm having a very hard time meeting the protein recommendation without going over my fat allowance. Unfortunately, my diet is restricted, so I can't just have a chicken breast on my salad.

- I have a mild dairy allergy, so I have to limit my dairy intake. I can tolerate small amounts of certain cheeses, but no liquid milk, no butter, no protein bars containing whey, no whey powder in a smoothie ... and the texture of reduced fat cheese makes me gag.

- I also can't handle soy protein powder, because I'm very sensitive to excess estrogen and soy is estrogenic. Similarly, tofu is a bad idea for me.

- My fiance is a pescetarian, and we live together so I don't really want to be cooking two meals every night. There are also budget constraints that make meat or fish every day impractical; we'll have fish maybe once a week and other than small amounts of ham on a sandwich or going out to restaurants, I don't eat meat.

That leaves me with eggs, some cheddar, nuts, and beans, and I have no idea what to do with beans. Oh, and I'm also allergic to peppers/mushrooms, which eliminates things like seitan and many southwestern bean recipes.

Every meal plan I've put into the nutrition calculator has me over by 5-10 grams of fat and under by at least 10 grams of protein. Help!