Making the decision to eat vegetarian meals isn’t one that you should take lightly. It’s going to involve discipline and significant changes to the meals that you prepare for your family. Here are a few ideas to consider that will give you some of the same flavors that you enjoy from meals that have meat in them but that are healthy and full of vegetables and other ingredients.
Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
Whether you enjoy them while watching your favorite game on television or you want to prepare something quick and easy for your family, buffalo wings are an option to consider. Even if you’ve made the decision to lead a vegetarian lifestyle, you can still enjoy the taste of hot wings but with cauliflower. Cut a head of cauliflower into small pieces. Bread the pieces in the same seasonings that you would use for hot wings. You can deep fry the pieces or bake them in your oven if you don’t want to consume a lot of oil and grease. Once the cauliflower is crispy and golden brown, drizzle the pieces with hot sauce and ranch dressing. You could also put a small bowl of dressing on the side along with a few carrots or celery sticks.
Smashed Potatoes
Often, you can customize vegan and vegetarian meals especially with a personal chef with any kind of ingredient you like. Boil enough small potatoes to feed your family. Once they are tender, lightly smash each one on a baking pan. Place the pan in the oven to bake the potatoes until they are brown. Top with any ingredient that you like, such as hot sauce, cheese, or a few vegetables.
Vegetable Fried Rice
if you enjoy Chinese food, then you know that there is a lot of chicken and other meats that are used in the dishes. With a little sauce and a few other ingredients, you can make fried rice that has all of the flavors that you like but that is meat-free as well. Prepare a pan of fried rice along with soy or teriyaki sauce depending on which one you prefer. Add chopped vegetables of any kind to complete the meal. Make sure the vegetables get brown and tender before serving. You can also add sesame seeds on top of the rice.
Tacos
Just because you make the decision to switch to vegetarian meals doesn’t mean that you have to give up a good taco every now and then. Instead of using beef or another type of meat, you can use tofu for the filling. You would then add the traditional ingredients that you would normally have on your tacos, such as lettuce, tomatoes, and peppers.
Zucchini Spaghetti
Use a spiralizer to cut pieces of zucchini into noodles. Boil the zucchini just like you would prepare spaghetti. Make pesto sauce or Alfredo sauce to drizzle over the noodles. You’ll have the same texture and appearance of spaghetti but without the pasta and meat sauce. Top with sesame seeds or a small amount of garlic salt.