Going vegetarian (me ovo-lacto, Mrs. 200Meters more plant-based vegan)

200Meters

A real bustard
Yeah, Mrs. 200 Meters and I have gone vegetarian. This is something we have talked about for a while but are now finally doing.

It's challenging and fun, really. We are enjoying exploring a whole new kind of cooking.

About 3-4 years ago, we decided to minimize processed foods and cut out white rice, white flour, margarine (which is just plain gross) and white sugar. We started drinking...wait for it...water and stopped adding sugar to our tea and coffee.

I have been thinking for a while about not wanting animals to be killed just so I can fill my stomach so ovo-lacto suits me. Mrs. 200Meters is moving in a bit of a different direction but we are happily managing.

Our dogs, however, are not thrilled about our new style of eating. No bones, no bits of meat, no licking the pots. No, they're decidedly underwhelmed.

So, who here has made a similar change? Who has advice, thoughts and comments?

Thank you in advance.
 

Nandina

Member
Hi 200 Meters, I am not a vegetarian though I could easily be. I love vegetables and many non-meat dishes, however, I’m married to a confirmed carnivore! I manage to sneak in a couple of non-meat dishes a week, since I am the chief cook, though. Hubs never seems to mind. But a steady diet of it...uh...probably not happenin’!

I commend you for your new lifestyle choice! What I would like is if you wouldn’t mind sharing some of the recipes you end up using or perhaps cookbooks you find interesting. I am a real foodie and enjoy trying new things. In particular, if you have specific Israeli dishes you’d like to share that would be great. (I am assuming you cook?)

Are Israeli dishes typical of other Middle Eastern cuisine, ie. moussaka, hummus, tabbouleh, baba ghanoush (I mostly know appetizers and love them!) I used to live in the Detroit, Mich. area and they have a fabulous Middle Eastern part of town where I spent time in my youth and have loved those dishes ever since. But those are sort of the more popularized dishes, I’m sure. Perhaps you can suggest some real, “down-home“ Israeli foods.

Thanks, and enjoy your new, healthier lifestyle!
 

Crayola13

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure I could do a low carb diet as a vegetarian. Vegetables and certain wraps are low in carbs, but not much else. My nutrition specialist said fruit carbs are just as bad as regular carbs.
 

200Meters

A real bustard
Nandina said:
What I would like is if you wouldn’t mind sharing some of the recipes you end up using or perhaps cookbooks you find interesting. I am a real foodie and enjoy trying new things. In particular, if you have specific Israeli dishes you’d like to share that would be great. (I am assuming you cook?)

We both cook; we share all the cooking. Except the baking, I do all the baking. I have been baking our own bread (challah, for Shabbat, i.e. the Sabbath) for about a year now, always and only some variety of whole grain. I'm also into muffins (as opposed to cakes).

I like raw tehina (tahini), which also happens to be a very good source of protein. The Samaritan community makes a fabulous tehina that we are never without.

I am very much into zhoug.

Most mornings we make porridge from a combination of oats, corn meal & wholewheat semolina or crushed wheat groats.

For main course, we are experimenting with tofu, soy tvp, lentils, etc. We are into whole rice, whole wheat pasta, etc. I don't know that any of what we make is specifically Israeli though.

We do make our own falafel, which we bake, as opposed to fry.
 

200Meters

A real bustard
Today is Israel's 72nd Independence Day. By mid-afternoon, a pall of barbecue smoke will hang over the country, although from people's yards & balconies, and not from the city parks, national parks, nature reserves & beaches, which are all closed thanks to corona.

Mrs. 200Meters & I will be marinating and grilling skewers with marinated tofu & veggies, and corn-on-the-cob. We've got some local beer & all-natural locally-made hard 4.5% cider (sole ingredient is apples) to wash it all down with.

Does anyone here have experience with grains like amaranth, sorghum or millet?
 

Copabanana

Well-Known Member
Does anyone here have experience with grains like amaranth, sorghum or millet?
I don't. The most exotic grain that I consume and cook is barley, which I love and adore. Is farfel a grain? I love that too (the non-pasta version). I found this link online: https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/slideshow/grain-identification-guide. As far as recipes I kept seeing a middle eastern salad with sorghum.

I think I have millet in the house to use for baking bread. King Arthur flour has recipes to use amaranth, sorghum, millet and other grains in baking bread: Quinoa, sorghum, millet, amaranth, and... bread
 
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