Deanna, go back through posts of the last few days and look for Vegetarian chopped liver. It's a pretty tasty spread and could be made even better by adding sauted mushrooms. Call it something else like veggie spread so it doesn't weird her sensibilities.

Also there are scads of recipes on the web for veggie burgers, garden burgers, etc.

It's pretty easy to be a vegetarian these days with so many resources. The fact that she eats cheese and eggs makes balancing protiens almost a non-issue, so thats good news.

No animal whatsoever vegetarianism requires deligence, planning, and alot of study. I wound up in the hospital once upon a time due to my radical veggie diet. I learned from my mistakes and got smart on the subject, eventually after 10 or so years began with meat again.

If this looks like a choice for her rather than a passing fancy, you should engage her in study and don't do all the work yourself. She needs to be aware.

michaelp

I'll go find the burger thread..

There was some tasty looking veggie burgers..and the chicken burgers were really good!

some pictures are missing, but I bet you could re ask for them. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Burger Parade

Gosh, thanks Terri!

Off to read...............

This recipe is a favorite from my vegetarian days, and I still keep a stack of them in the freezer. -Grainlady

BEAN BURGERS
(source: Eat More, Weigh Less - by Dr. Dean Ornish)

Makes 6 5-inch burgers (I made smaller ones)

1/2 c. minced green onions (regular onion works fine)
1-1/2 T. minced garlic
2 T. white wine or vegetable stock (water will also work)
1 29-oz can cooked drained pinto beans
3/4 c. cracker meal (I also like to use WASA rye crackers)
2 egg whites (or 1 egg)
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 T. seasoned rice vinegar (or other vinegar)
1/2 t. SPIKE seasoning powder (found in health food stores - BTW, there's NO substitute for SPIKE)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a small nonstick saute pan, braise the onions and garlic in white wine until soft.

In a medium bowl, combine the sauteed onions and garlic, beans, cracker meal, egg or whites, parsley, vinegar, and seasoning powder. Mash well with a fork or potato masher until blended but not entirely smooth.

On a parchment-lined nonstick baking sheet, drop the mixture by 1/2-cup amounts and flatten gently with a spoon to form six 5-inch "burgers." Bake for 25 minutes, or until set and beginning to brown lightly. Serve hot.

Serving size = 1 5-inch burger
179 calories
2 grams fat
0 milligrams cholesterol
738.2 milligrams sodium

I make vegetarian eggrolls all the time too. It's easy as your rolling, to add chicken or shrimp for those who want some meat in them. I make them fairly standardly, but bake them in the oven using dark sesame oil on the pan.

Vegetable Crumble

This is a delicious meatless baked vegetable casserole. The crumbled cheese, nut & seed topping takes this over the top flavour-wise.

Serves 4 - 6

1 TBSP olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped = 2 cups chopped
1 medium leek, sliced (light green and white parts only) = 2 cups chopped
1 medium courgette, cut into 1 inch (2 cm) pieces
1 large carrot, cut into 1 inch (2 cm) pieces
1 cup (4 oz) (125 grams) sweet potato, peeled and cut into
1 inch (2 cm) chunks
1 1/2 cups (4 oz) (125 grams) mushrooms, quartered
1 stick celery, cut into 1/2 inch (1cm) slices = 2/3 cup sliced
1/2 a medium red bell pepper, cored and cut into 1 inch (2cm) slices = 1 cup sliced
1 TBSP chopped fresh thyme
3 TBSP (10 oz) (25 grams) whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups whole canned tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
- this is a one lb (450 grams) tin
1 cup (9 fl oz) (250 ml) vegetable stock
1/2 cup (4 fl oz) (125 ml) milk
4 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teasp sea salt
1/2 teasp freshly ground black pepper

For the Topping:
*******************

3 TBSP soft margarine
3 TBSP (10 oz) (25 grams) all purpose flour (I used whole wheat again)
3 TBSP wheat bran
3/4 cup (3 oz) (75 grams) grated reduced fat mild Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz )(50 grams) chopped mixed nuts (measured after chopping) I used hazelnuts & almonds
2 TBSP sesame seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 375F (190C), Gas 5.
Heat the oil over a medium high heat in a large saucepan.
Cook the leek and onion for 5 minutes or until softened.
Add the carrot, courgette, sweet potato, mushrooms, celery, red pepper and thyme.
Cook, stirring frequently for 10 minutes.

2. Mix in the flour and cook for 1 minute more.

3. Stir in the tomatoes, stock, milk, parsley and seasoning;

4. Meanwhile, combine the margarine, flour and wheat bran in a bowl.
Rub the ingredients together using your fingers until the mixture is crumbly.
Stir in the cheese, nuts and sesame seeds.

5. Spoon the vegetable mixture into a 2 quart (2 liter) shallow baking dish.

6. Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is crisp and golden and the vegetable mixture is bubbling.

For Freezer Storage:
***********************
Add 2 TBSP whole wheat flour to the filling in Step 1.
After step 4, wrap well and freeze for up to 1 month.
Bake from frozen, increasing the cooking time by 30 - 45 minutes.

Source: Adapted from: Rick Gallops GI Diet Green-Light Cookbook
**********************

KIDNEY BEAN TABBOULEH - serves 6

3/4 cup (150 grams) bulgur wheat
1 teasp sea salt
1 x 14oz (400 grams) tin of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
small handful of chopped parsley, (leaves only)
small handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 teasp freshly ground black pepper
lettuce leaves and lemon wedges for garnish

1. Combine bulgar and salt in a large metal pot.
Stir in 2 1/4 cups (500 ml) of boiling water and let sit for 15 - 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and bulgar is tender.
Fluff with fork.

2. Mix the chopped tomatoes, beans, onion and greens into the bulgar, drizzle over the lemon juice and olive oil, add the pepper and mix well.
Adjust seasoning if needed.

3. Place lettuce leaves on a platter, pile the mixture onto the lettuce and use lemon wedges for garnish.

Mint, coriander, or chopped cucumber could also be added in place of parsley.

Source: Adapted from Rick Gallop's GI Diet Green-Light Cookbook

SharonCb

Deanna, I was just glancing thru Mark Bittman HUGE How to Cook EVERYTHING Vegetarian and one of the points he makes is that a vegetarian does not look for one specific focus in a meal as a meat eating omnivore does. Uneless there is little outside the meat event, she will probably be ok. Bittman is not a vegetarian but is, as he notes many Americans are, eating more vegetables etc and less meat these days.

I think the two of you might enjoy going over the book together. Try the library first as it's a heavy tome but easy and light reading.

We ate a lot of these when we were vegetarian. I used this recipe when I worked for our extension teaching nutrition/cooking to low income families. Lentils sure aren't as cheap as they were back then!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Surprise Burgers

Recipe By : Katie
Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/4 cups lentils
3 cups water
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped carrots
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs -- more if necessary
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano -- * see note
1 egg -- optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, margarine, or oil
cheese slices

Wash lentils. Add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes.

Add onions and carrots. Cook 15 minutes or more until lentils and vegies are tender.

Stir in bread crumbs, seasoning and egg.

Drop lentils by rounded 1/3 cups into hot oil. Flatten with pancake turner. Cook until firm and brown on both sides. Top with cheese slice and cook until cheese is melted.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : I use sage and a little thyme...use whatever herbs you like for meatloaf.
.................................

I've been vegetarian for 40 years. In addition to casseroles and burger recipes, there are many frozen meat-substitute products available in most markets. Morningstar Farms, Boca, Trader Joe's and Quorn to name a few.

There are also several lines of canned products, but they are harder to find in a common market. The Adventist Book Center (there should be at least one in most states) carries a good variety of canned, frozen and some dried products. I use them much like meat in most meat recipes.

I highly recommend Quorn if you have it available. Wild Oats (recently bought by Whole Foods) carries it. Most of the products are similar to chicken. The loaf can be thawed and chopped or shredded to use in all kinds of recipes. I make "chicken" salad to use for DH's sack lunch. There are "naked" cutlets that can be grilled, breaded varieties for sandwiches, nuggets, and cutlets. They are very low fat, with is a plus for me.

Deanna -
Sounds like a lot of good suggestions here. We are "fishaterians" and I have learned to use anchovies as seasoning in MANY dishes. (even if you don't like anchovies out of the can, as a seasoning, I think they are quite wonderful.)
I wonder if you tried your first attempt at "patties" as you mentioned and added to it a couple of mashed anchovies? Plus maybe a tsp to a tbsp of tomato paste.

p.s. I know that Worcestershire sauce has anchovies as one of its ingredients but I think using them by adding the real thing would be worth seeing if that improves the taste.

Thank you all for the great ideas.

After thinking more about this, I believe the biggest problem is that she just doesn't plan anything. I'm sure I feel more guilty about not providing a "protein".

Bittman makes a good point about the focus of the meal. I grew up with meat as the focus and still tend to cook that way, although I AM learning to expand thanks to everyone here!!

Sometimes my DD doesn't eat all day, then comes home famished and loads too much on a plate, wolfs it down and usually can't finish it! It ends up in the fridge, only to be thrown away the next day. It appears we have other things to work on besides protein content.

Anyway, I really appreciate all the recipes and suggestions as they'll help all of us eat healthier (even it's only some of the time...I'm not giving up my steak!)

Deanna

There are some really good recipes on that burger thread.

My DD became vegetarian before I did, and had a very poor diet at first, cause she didn't like vegetables, either. But one of the foods she lived on was burritos. If you live where you can get fresh tortillas, either flour or corn - whichever she likes the best, and some canned refried beans, or regular beans (be sure to check the ingredients for lard, which is animal based). Keep some cheese on hand, and she can make herself a burrito or quesadilla pretty easily. Put some of the beans on the tortilla, top with grated cheese, and heat in the microwave until hot and the cheese has melted. Then add whatever other toppings she likes, such as salsa, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, black olives, sour cream...... For burritos, you fold them up and eat, but for quesadillas, you layer the one tortilla on the bottom and one on top before heating. They are easy and very tasty.

She can also make herself a grilled cheese sandwich if you don't have any burger on hand.

One thing about my DD is that she's always been skinny as a rail, and there wasn't a problem with her eating a lot of cheese. I'm a cheese-a-holic, too, so I depend on it a lot - too much, for a protein source.

Sally

I don't make meat the focus of a meal either, and so I don't think in terms of creating substitutes for meat. The best way to conceive of meals for vegetarians is to look at cuisines that are primarily vegetarian - or that don't emphasize meat, and that includes a lot. South Indian cuisine is vegetarian and extremely flavorful. Japanese cuisine uses minimal meat, although it is heavy on seafood, as are some Scandinavian diets. Middle Eastern cuisines have dishes like falafel, hummus, and other bean dishes that are very flavorful. I generally try to avoid dairy as a source of protein, and I have found plenty of vegetable sources, particular from legumes, nuts & seeds, avocados, grains, vegetables, and fruits. I have survived on trail mix during certain periods of my life as well. It's important to use whole grains instead of refined ones, however, and then they can be a good source of protein.

Lars

I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm very partial to the MORNINGSTAR brand of frozen veggie burgers. They come in a variety of flavors. There are other pretty good brands of frozen veggie burgers, but I prefer MORNINGSTAR.

Lars,
Thanks for the ideas. I'll check out some of the 'other' cuisines. LOL

If I were cooking for all three of us in that style it would be easier, but DD "keeps her own hours". I don't really cook specifically for her (and this is a temporary situtation). She tends to just grab what is quickly available.

My typical meal consists of a vegetable or two, some kind of meat and a small amount of starch. So there are plenty of veggies/fruit/carbs for her to eat, it's just the protein that I get concerned about.

Yesterday when I came home, I found the 'remains' of a romaine salad with sunflower seeds, cheese and ranch dressing on it and some tortilla chips on a plate in the fridge, so that wasn't bad.

She tends to be a bit of a carb-a-holic and I want to make sure there are lots of protein options for her. We DO keep nuts, eggs, cheese, milk, homemade yogurt, etc. around all the time. all of which she eats.

I think it's more ME than her! I just struggle with cheese and nuts as the protein source, even though I know better!! LOL

Maybe I should just relax and let her worry about it (yeah, right, that from the control freak of the county).
She HAS survived the last 2 years on her own...

Maybe I'm just slipping back into "mom" mode. I need to be a roommate and let her deal with her own diet.

Anyway, I appreciate all the recipes, suggestions, and "open ears". We'll work through this.

Deanna

I've finally had some time to check into this thread. I'm a 30 year vegetarian. Veggie good/healthy and veggie quick are often not very compatible. When I was younger, I had a lot of time to cook. I guess I did't have much of a life and was happy to spend my weekends and evenings cooking. Even back then I didn't like "veggie burgers" very much. They are a pain to make, and they just don't taste all that great to me, plus for me, my dislike for homeade veggie burgers is a texture thing. They are usually made with beans or tofu, already quite mushy, then with eggs and some type of starch as a binder. Then fried, and they end up greasy and mushy, IMHO. I've seen recipes using different techniques to try and counter the greasy, mushy factor, but to heck with it, now I just buy the packaged veggie burgers which are very quick, and sooooo much better that what I could make from scratch. The commercial veggie burgers are made from either wheat gluten, or textured vegetable protein from soy, which gives them the "meat like" texture. You can mess with wheat gluten and seitan and soy flour at home, but these products are not common things that you can pick up in any grocery store. Adventists do a lot with fake meat, but all their products have MSG in them so I don't like them. I am allergic to MSG. So if you buy commercial "fake meat" products, watch out for MSG as an ingredient if you are allergic. Some people are sensitive to any type of gluten.

I too do not like the taste of red meat. It is too rich and heavy for me, and the decaying blood taste which is what so many people like, is just a big yuck for me. I also am not a fan of the "grilled" smoke taste. The reason I go into this, is there are some brands of veggie burgers that go out of their way to include grilled and fleshy tastes in their "burgers" and since I don't like those tastes in the first place, I don't like those brands of veggie burgers. My favorite brand is Morningstar Farms. As Haus Proud says, they have a lot of tasteful varieties. I like the garden burger and the roasted vegetable ones, and the italian style ones. I don't like anything that has "grill" in the description.

So now my ideas diverge. There's good veggie "patties" but I rarely eat them because they are not fast food for me. Fast for me, btw, means I can get it on the table about 15 min. after I get home late, late from work. For me that means cooking on the weekends and reheating or thawing during the week. Fried veggie patties are just OK reheated. So one way to go with this is "fast, healthy vegetarian" and the other way is "good vegetarian pattie kinds of things." Not the same, IMHO.

Good vegetarain pattie kinds of things--falafel, beanburgers, tofu sloppy joes. I buy Fantastic brand falafel mix or some special mixes I get in the middle eastern market.

Fast vegetarian sandwiches--tofu salads (I make tuno salad, hamless salad, and eggless salad with tofu). Hummus and other bean spreads make good sandwiches. I also like fake lunch meat. It doesn't taste all that much different from the real, which has loads of chemicals and fillers in it already. I buy Yves brand fake ham, which looks and tastes like bologna. I make fake ham and swiss cheese on rye. I think they even make fake pastrami, but since I don't like real pastrami I don't get it. If she eats fish, then tuna salad is good. I used to make homeade hummus, but now I buy it premade.

Other grab and go: emapanadas, pocket pies made with eggs, cheese or fake meat. I buy these but you can make them. Pasties, calzone, even egg rolls are all variations on this theme. I'm dough challenged so don't make them very often, but I like eating them. If you wanted to be a real great mom, make your daughter some calzones and put a bunch in the freezer for her to heat up. Something else I buy frozen are little pot pies, Amy's brand. I love those! I also get lots of veggie frozen dinners. They are not that cheap but most are very good. I hardly ever get them because I can't afford them, so that would be another way to treat your daughter.

Here's my recipe for beanburgers. I made it years ago when I was young and had time on my hands. I think the original recipe came out of "Seventeen" magazine, so I think I made these back when I was just about that age.

Beanburgers
1 cup dried lentils
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 TBLSP wheat germ
1 TBLSP vinegar
1 TBLSP mustard (I don't know if this is dried or prepared. I would use dijon unless I was prepared to loose a batch and try dried)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 egg beaten (these days I'd use two egg whites to cut fat)
3 TBLSP butter or margarine (or olive oil probably)
6 sliced american cheese
6 whole wheat rolls

Rinse lentils. Cook with 5 cups cold water until soft. (about 50 min.) Drain. (And down goes all the nutrients. I'd rather use less water, like two cups. And soak the lentils in water overnight to make them cook faster. Drain the soaking water, which does drain away some nutrients, but makes the beans less likely to cause gas.)
Combine the lentils with the next 8 ingredients. Divide mixture into 6 equal parts. Form into patties. Fry in the butter or oil for 3 min. on each side. Place cheese on patties, cover skillet, cook until cheese melts. Serve on toasted buns with whatever condiments you like.

Note: I suspect these may be on the mushy side, but such is the nature of a bean burger. PUt some crunchy things on the burger, like iceberg lettuce and pickles. Tomato is good too, but only if in season.

This is an interesting recipe out of "Moosewood REstaurant Lowfat FAvories" that I have been wanting to try. I've not made it though.

Middle Eastern CAnnellini patties

2 tsp. olive oil
2 cups minced onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tsp. salt
1 cup minced bell peppers
2 tsp. ground cumin
4 cups cooked cannellini or other white beans (Two 20 oz. cans, drained)
1 cup minced fresh parsley.
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 TBLSP fresh lemon juice
ground pepper to taste (I'd use white pepper)

Add the olive oil to a nonstick pan. Saute the onions until soft. Add the garlic, peppers and cumin and saute a little longer, until the peppers are soft. (ABout 5 more min, stir frequently). REmove from heat and set aside.
Thoroughly mash the beans in a large bowl. Add the brown rice, parsley, lemon and pepper. Combine the sauteed onion mixture with this mixture. Add the pepper to taste.

Shape the mixture into 18 small patties, about 2.5 inches across. Prepare a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Heat the skillet to med. and cook the patties until they are golden brown on one side (about 5-10 min.) Turn over and cook on the other side, about 5 min. longer. Serve hot or at room temp.

Oh I didn't read the wolfing down dinner part. I struggle with my extremely busy, "on the road all the time" schedule to eath healthy. Here are some ideas.

Keep good, rustic whole wheat bread on hand. That can be spread with all kinds of things--bean spread, tofu spread, peanut or almond butter, neufatchel cheese, tomato sauce and mozzarella for a quick pizza. I buy fake pepperonni and put it on toasted english muffins with squeeze pizza sauce and mozz chese under the broiler. This good bread can also go for toast in the morning. I often have toast with fake sausage patties (again, MOrningstar Farms, but Bocca makes these too). They heat up from freezer to plate in less than 2 min. in the microwave. I eat a package a week, at least! Bagels and english muffins are also good, for similar reasons.

Either make or buy good soup to reheat for lunch. There are lots of kinds now that are made for travel and reheating in a micro. I invested in some nice Corningware soup cups with platic lids that go from freezer to lunchbag to micro to desktop to dishwasher. I like them because they have cup handles for eating on the go. If you are going to drink your soup though, it has to be a creamy or brothy soup, lol!

Buy some sandwich sized plastic containers. Keep some hummus, fake sandwich meat on hand to make a fast sandwich to grab on your way out the door.

Buy or make good granola bars, healthy muffins (you can freeze those), and oatmeal cookies made with whole wheat and raisins. These are great for eating in the car on the way to work, lol!

Make up a big pot of something to nosh on out of the fridge. Substantial salads like potato or pasta, roasted veggies, brown rice pilaf, etc.

Make a big layered casserole and then cut it up into individual portions and either freeze for longer term, or keep in fridge. They make all kinds of special plastic containers for this, or even better, the corningware ones. I like lasagne, but my favorite casserole to make like this is enchiladas.

Mexican fast is what I eat often. Something rolled into a tortilla. Often is is canned bean spread and sour cream with nachos. Not healthy, but filling with protein. I make a lot of chili and heat that up. If I'm not doing chili, it is often minestrone with pita on the side.

Apples and bananas with nuts or peanut butter and a piece of cheese. That's a common snack for me. Along with soup cups.

Any of those kinds of things you could make and have on hand for your daughter would be nice. A big pot of pasta salad with feta and veggies would be heavan to come home to. There was one posted here last summer by. . . oh dear, I made it and loved it but can't remember who posted it. It was pasta salad made with orzo and bottled italian dressing.