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Eggplant casserole:
Cook a cup of dry, whole-grain (brown) rice, and set it aside (short grain is best, but long works fine, too). Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Boil or roast or bake 2 medium-sized eggplants until they are soft enough to mash with a fork after they cool down. (If baked/roasted, scrape the meat off the skin.)
Mash the eggplant and mix with two lightly beaten eggs and a cup of ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese mashed smooth). Add 1/2 t. salt, 1/8 t. black or cayenne pepper, and 1/8 t. ground cloves (adjust spices to your taste). Mix in the cooked rice.
Options: Add 2 medium-sized pressed garlic cloves (if you don't have a garlic press, use a mortar and pestle to mash the garlic with the salt). Fresh tarragon (or other herb) is also good.
Now place the mixture into a lightly oiled baking dish. Lay tomato slices on top, and thin slices of your favorite white cheese on top of that. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes (or an hour at 350 degrees if it's deeper than 2 inches), then remove foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes more (to gently brown the top).
Cut into squares or slices and serve hot.
There are tons of excellent vegetarian cookbooks out there. Pick one or two according to what kinds of food you know your bf likes. If you think he might like Indian food, that is the cuisine with the most well-developed and variegated tradition of vegetarian cuisine, mainly for religious reasons.
If the main purpose is to get him to eat less meat, think about fish, too (paying attention to which ones are free of toxins and, I hope, environmentally stable).
I recommend against using commercially prepared "meat substitutes," for two reasons: 1) They mostly rely on denatured (extracted, hydrolized, etc.) soy protein, which is not as nutritionally sound as whole soy products (edamame, tofu, soymilk, etc.); and 2) For flavor, they may satisfy vegetarians, but they are a pallid imitation of meat. Better to teach him the joys of well-prepared vegetables, whole grains and legumes, and other satisfying vegetarian foods.
I cook for vegetarians and meat eaters at the same time and I've found that the best meals are: Noodles and vege fried in a pan (had this tonight..... YUMMM), hamburgers with normal burger stuff (lettuce, tomato, beetroot, cheese etc) and falafel fried for the vege with normal patties for the meaties, do the falafel first in the pan, then the meat second. Rice with a side of broccoli and carrots, with chicken pieces for the meat eaters, and a side of tofu for the vege is good too. Vegetarian sausages and normal sausages is a quick and easy thing to have for lazy meals or BBQs. Toasted sandwiches can have anything in them and be eaten by anyone.
Things like spaghetti and other pastas can be prepared to suite everyone, both vegetarians and meat-eaters. It's very simple.
For spaghetti, simply make it without the meat. Then, cook up a bit of meat separately for the meat-eaters to add into their plate themselves.
For pastas such as chicken and broccoli alfredo, and others...do the same. Make the noodles, broccoli, and alfredo sauce together... and cook up some chunks/strips of chicken separately for the meat-eaters to add into their plate.
I hope this helps! :-)
lol, it is...love those we have it once a week on Saturday mornings...its light, and a winner..
ooh btw if you choose the mashed potato one, there is a great addition you can top that off so its not that dry...there is this thing like a mushroom powder that you turn into a mixture when you boil a glass of water & add one tablespoon of the powder mix. sautee some mushrooms & toss it in the sauce, **OPTIONAL...add a mined clove of garlic for flavor & some black pepper...its the bomb
Everything that a vegetarian eats is great for a meat eater also because it's healthier and if you get the right type of vege meat you can't even tell the difference. My family loves meat except for me and I made a vegetarian lasagna last week with vegan meat and they couldn't even tell the difference and my sister, mother and I thought it was the best lasagna we've ever had.
greek pastries...can find them in any groc frozen section. They have them in Bulgarian(feta)cheese, mashed potatoes, mushroom, spinach & pizza flavor filling. They take 15-20 mins in the oven to bake til nice & golden to a crisp(watch not to burn them) Can be served with salads, boiled eggs cut into halves. Every one loves them and they make awesome finger food.
i agree...fish is really good for you,omega 3's, isnt meat & does still have the right dose of proteins too.
You know you can still have him eat meats, just more chicken or turkey. If suppose he doesnt like fish, not all peeps like fish(like me, i am not really a fish lover.)
There is always a way to find a substitute.
oh yeah! im greek so i love greek food. you should try Spanakopita (spinach pie). i have to say that is one of my favorite foods, and i dont even eat spinach besides that. you can probably find the recipe online, i dont think my mom wrote it down since she knows how to make it without one
pasta salad, with pesto and then for the sause you mix manaoise with the salad dressing called chesse fantastico, and also if the vegetarian eats chesse add shredded cheese to it and/or fetta chesse...its super yummy, i add chicken, but it's also very good without it!
oh awesome...im a major animal lover but iv'e never been able to get myself to be a vegetarian...i'd miss meat too much and would easily give in to eating it when my mom makes it for dinner haha...tried many times, wish i could!
My dad was one through all his 20's
yeah, im only 13 so i need the meat for i think it's protein? haha but when i get older im probably gonna go vegetarian cause my mom won't be tempting me with meat, haha and also my mom probably won't let me cause the same reason i need the nutrients and all that lol
what also tastes good on pasta is get the really thin angels hair i prefer and warm up butter then put parmasean cheese and salt on it...simple but delicious! i also add different herbs to mine depending on what im in the mood for haha
Salad. Pasta. Spaghetti. Most meals that include meat (means that dont have meat as the maind) Can be substituted for something else.
Well I can't bring my self to go vegan, that's even more restricted than vegetarian, I do find it healthy though
Mmmmm that snds good, and I'm the vegetarian, I'm tryin to convert my bf a little from eating so much red meat
lol, glad you find that the bomb like I do...it really is mouth watering...very yummy in the tummy!:P
lol, glad to be able to help...have a lot of recp's feel free to funmail me about anything...:)
Mmmmmmm I love mushrooms and so does he so snds like a winner, or as u call it "the bomb"
Curried Tofu! we have a saying hear that goes "If you dont like it, then curry it".
Felafel, yes! (But not too many, or they become "feel-awful" :P
I will definately try this, u have my mouth watering allready
pasta with chicken, cheese and brocoli in it :)
i think its called borek...we call it bourekas
That's very true don't eat to much of it lol
That will b cool, and yes u need ur protein
Interesting, I will have to remember that
Yep we eat chicken, fish, turkey and tuna
Interesting, I will have to try those
*"less meat" - I meant less red meat.
I love spring rolls, the kids do to
just remove the smoked beef :-)
eggrolls,salads,pasta,soups,etc
oh. we call it Spanakopita.
that sounds really yummy!
Cool and we love lasagna
spring rolls? :-D
Mmmmmmm
cheese*
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