Vegetarian Foods

My brother called me last week and told me he and his wife were doing a cleanse…no meat, no sugar, etc. He said he was finding it difficult to come up with vegetarian meals. I gave him some ideas and it was like turning on a lightbulb. I think often when someone is used to preparing meals entirely around a meat they can’t think about cooking any other way, but if you step back and think about how many meals you eat without meat, you would probably be surprised. It just takes a little time to think about food differently.

We went to a work function for Aaron’s job last night and the secretary was kind enough to make sure there were vegetarian options for me. This morning Aaron made the comment that it is interesting how there can be meatless options that everyone eats probably without even realizing it. I would go as far as to say you could come to my house for dinner, not know we are vegetarians, eat a good meal and not even realize it was meat-free.

So, if you are trying to eat less meat, a healthy and often cheaper option, here are some meal ideas to get you started:

- Fried Rice, last week I made this with broccoli, carrots, onion, brown rice and egg. It was YUMM.

- Mexican…you can easily do almost all Mexican vegetarian. We eat a lot of enchiladas and burritos.

- Italian, same, most pastas can be done vegetarian, think lasagne, ravioli, fettucini alfredo, etc. And yes, marinara sauce comes meat-free and is also super easy to make.

- Taco Salad, another fave for us. We’ve also been doing nachos with toppings for Sunday night dinners lately. (I consider Sunday night a throw together meal…usually something fun and different than normal.)

- Breakfast…we love breakfast burritos for dinner, and if you want more substance, the only meat substitute I ever recommend (outside of vegie burgers) are Morningstar Vegetarian Sausage Patties. Chop them up and they are great in breakfast burritos. We also eat a lot of egg sandwiches. I love a fried egg with a sausage patty & cheese on an english muffin.

- Soups, again, substitute vegetarian broth for chicken broth and most soups are easily vegetarian.

- Pizza, yes this falls under Italian, but pizza is a great vegie dinner.

- Baked Potatoes with toppings…Trader Joe’s sells a great vegetarian chili without any fake meat. This is one of Aaron’s favorite meals.

Here are what I consider my staples…food I always have around so I can easily throw together a meal:

Tortillas, olives, cheese, beans, brown rice, pasta, vegetarian broth, frozen vegies, eggs, diced tomatoes, raw tomatoes, onions, tomato sauce/paste. I buy most of this in bulk at Costco.

Are bay leaves poisonous?

I was told a few weeks ago that bay leaves are poisonous to humans. I had a hard time believing it since they are called for in recipes and I can’t be the only who…well…has forgotten to remove it and pureed it into a soup (or two). But, on the Food Network I learned that nutmeg in large doses is poisonous, so perhaps this is also true with bay leaves?

This is what I found out:

Mountain laurel leaves are poisonous to certain livestock and are not sold anywhere as a spice (cousin species to the bay leaf). This has led to the mistaken belief that bay leaves should be removed from food after cooking because they might poison humans. Bay leaves are safe to eat, however, a person may accidentally swallow a leaf, and the leaves remain stiff even after several hours of cooking. This sometimes causes cutting of the throat and should be avoided.