Veggie Meals Made Easy

When coming up with meal ideas to my family I have to think of easy meatless substitutions for my traditional dinner dishes.

If you have the resources and you know what the veggie member in your household likes then this is actually very easy to accomplish.

I take my ideas for a simple dinner meal and give it some meat free appeal. There are so many meatless products on the market today that can give you the texture and taste of meat without the animal by-product.

When I grocery shop for 1 lb of meat the list will also include a meatless product like tofu. If I’m making hamburgers for dinner then I also purchase a package of veggie burgers.

It is so simple to adjust my meal planning to include easy meatless options for dinner each night. I would also recommend preparing vegetarian dinners and use your meat as the side dish, this is a great way to introduce the family to new veggies and gain control over your healthy eating habits.

I have some great veggie casserole recipes here that will help you. (just click on the highlighted link)

Here is a basic list of simple veggie food options you can use to create with a meat free version of your favorite dinner dish:

Meatless Substitutions For Veggie Meals

BBQ Sandwiches – yep good ‘old BBQ sandwiches are easy, cheap and can feed both kinds of eaters

• Veggie eater - use fried tofu
• Meat eater - use beef or chicken

Pizza – my favorite meal with or without meat

• Veggie eater – mushrooms, green pepper, onions, olives and the list goes on and on
• Meat eaters – all the meatless ingredients with sausage, ham, and of course pepperoni

Spaghetti – This is the cheapest family meal I can create

• Veggie eater – loads of vegetables, your favorite sauce and lots of yummy cheese
• Meat eaters – all of the above top with some yummy meatballs

Burgers – The best all American Meal

• Veggie eater – a great veggie burger made with lentils – healthy and delicious or your favorite store bought brand
• Meat eater – a regular hamburger patty cooked to perfection

Pasta – You choose the sauce, Alfredo is my favorite

• Veggie eater - a rich sauce smothering a bed of your favorite noodles top with cheese
• Meat eater – all of the above but include some chicken with a white sauce or sausage with a red sauce

O.K. so this is just a few of the easy veggie meal options you can prepare for the “meatless” eater as well as  the meat lover. Creating your favorite meals doesn’t have to seem impossible anymore.

Check your local health food store, there are so many great meat substitutions these days and some great Internet sites that can help you get the flavor and texture your looking for.

Above all else experiment, you never know what masterpiece you might create. Check out the Vegetarian Cookbooks and get cooking the ideas are endless.