I've been on and off vegetarian for a long time, currently OFF. MY boyfriend
however, is suffering badly due to my extremely rich cooking (beef, eggs,
cream, butter. cheese). His cholesterol is really bad. I think I need to
revert back to veggie. BUT, I get SO sick of the same things over and over
again, and all the veggie recipe books I have seen in the bookstore are full
of recipes like curry and full of peppers and hot stuff. I can't eat spicy
foods, I can't even eat chili powder anymore, or I spend the entire night
cramped up on the toilet.

Can you guys suggest a vegetarian recipe book that's got mild recipes, not
all kinds of fancy Indian and Asian stuff, but just plain old bland American
stuff, stuff you top with a glob of ketchup or gravy or cheese (maybe a
kid's recipe book)? Is there some sort of vegetarian equivalent to
"Hamburger Helper"? I find that's what we tend to eat at least 4 days a
week, and it's not proving to be good for his health. I thought about just
making the hamburger helper but without the meat, and adding TVP, but it
lacks texture. I work evenings, and I get home from work at 8pm - 10pm, and
so I need meal plans that can be prepared and cooked in 30 minutes if
possible. We generally don't eat breakfast at all, we eat once a day at work
(he eats sandwiches, chips, and yogurt; I eat pizza, subs, salads,
calezones, since I work at a pizza shop), then we eat together once a day at
around 11pm. I don't mind spending my one day off a week baking stuff, if I
can freeze it and pull it out and eat it during the workweek.

I don't want to kill him, and I admit, I'm a bit out of shape (well, I'm
round, and that's a shape, but you get the idea) myself. But last time we
tried going veggie we got really sick of TVP sloppy joes and meatless
fajitas.
That and a can of beans, served with a mound of rice, and a side of canned
veggies. No matter if you vary the kind of beans, flavor the rice, or switch
from peas to spinach, it just gets incredibly unsatisfying after a few
months. Please tell me someone has invented "Vegetarian Helper" by now (in
at least 10 different varieties), where all you do is add a can of veggies
and two cups of water and boil for 10 minutes! I know I'm a fat lazy slob,
but why does health have to so frustratingly difficult?

Or, if there's not a recipe book called "The bland white trash American
vegetarian cookbook", could you guys possibly share some of your tried and
true quick and easy recipes with me?

OH, and my boyfriend is a diabetic (Insulin dependent and with BAD control),
so no meals with tons of pasta or breads as the main filler.

Thanks!

Jenn

In article >,
says...
> Can you guys suggest a vegetarian recipe book that's got mild recipes,
>

I suggest you try "American Wholefood Cuisine" by Nikki and David
Goldbeck:

http://tinyurl.com/5cs3l

I can't speak to it fitting all of your dietary requirements exactly,
but it does have lots of non-spicy, non-fancy recipes. And you can get
it used for pretty cheap.

Woof

In article >,
Jenn > wrote:
>Can you guys suggest a vegetarian recipe book that's got mild recipes, not
>all kinds of fancy Indian and Asian stuff, but just plain old bland American

If you're off vegetarian and want to go back on, try the book
_Almost Vegetarian_. It might be the compromise you're looking for.
Search for it on http://www.amazon.com -- the full title is "Almost
Vegetarian: A Primer for Cooks Who Are Eating Vegetarian Most of the
Time, Chicken & Fish Some of the Time, & Altogether Well All of the
Time." I thought it was a pretty good book, containing recipes that
are more American in taste than exotic foreign.

-A

i recommend soups. i cooked that way for my mother who was diabetic and
had high blood pressure etc and her condition improved. there are
hundreds of great recipes where you do minimal prep and it basically
cooks itself. i think you need to cut way back on all that dairy in
your situation, because it is much worse for diabetes and high blood
pressure than previously thought. on the other hand, eggs are much
better for you than their reputation suggests. throw some interesting
things into your omelets.. at health food stores and whole foods
markets there are lots of new products to try just as you are
describing. i bring a new one home every week. also experiment with
buddhist meat substitutes soy based (and seitan, wheat based, which may
not work for you). they have been making fake meat longer than anybody
else, and you don't have to flavor it asian.
we like the won ton/dumpling wrappers at our house, from which can
make potstickers
shumai, or other dumplings teeny egg rolls, pierogi, fruit turnovers,
pasta such as tortellini or ravioli,etc. they are very thin, versatile,
and easy to work with. you control fillings and level of seasoning. i
know how to do bland, because i have two family members who prefer
that. if you suggest to me your likes and dislikes, i can give you some
recipes to try ). we fry the dumpling bottoms in
a little oil, then steam them in stock for potstickers. everybody loves
those. in any case, good luck!

On 2005-01-28, Jenn > wrote:

> I've been on and off vegetarian for a long time, currently OFF. MY boyfriend
> however, is suffering badly due to my extremely rich cooking (beef, eggs,
> cream, butter. cheese). His cholesterol is really bad. I think I need to
> revert back to veggie. BUT, I get SO sick of the same things over and over
> again, and all the veggie recipe books I have seen in the bookstore are full
> of recipes like curry and full of peppers and hot stuff.

Hrm - I've seen plenty of veg**n recipe books w/ non-spicy recipes (in
fact, as someone who likes food with a bit of spice, I have to look hard
for non-bland veg recipes). Too lazy to look in depth, but "the high
road to health" (by lindsay wagner and ariane spade) has got a lot of
good stuff. Though not a vegetarian cookbook, I've also really been
liking the Alice Waters "Chez Panisse Vegetables" book recently.

My biggest suggestion (personally) is not to worry too much about veg
specific cookbooks. Adapt non-veg recipes you like and make them
vegetarian, reduce or replace the butter, eggs and cream, etc. I've been
essentially vegan (diet-wise, anyway) for about 12 years, and many of my
best recipes are adapted or taken from non-vegan cookbooks or sources.

w

This might help. I have a listing of over
700 vegetarian recipe websites with
free recipes. Some are spicy, but
some are much more bland. There's
a mixture of recipe styles, but out
of 700 you should be able to find
a few good ones.

--
SN
http://www.scentednectar.com/veg/
A huge directory listing over 700 veg recipe sites.
Has a fun 'Jump to a Random Link' button.

This might help. I have a listing of over
700 vegetarian recipe websites with
free recipes. Some are spicy, but
some are much more bland. There's
a mixture of recipe styles, but out
of 700 you should be able to find
a few good ones.

--
SN
http://www.scentednectar.com/veg/
A huge directory listing over 700 veg recipe sites.
Has a fun 'Jump to a Random Link' button.

There is a good selection of cookbooks on all topics at
www.vegansociety.com in the shop section

The new vegan cookbook by Hamlyn has lots of traditional British type
dishes rather than Asian Foods. Although it's comfort food nutritionist
Yvonne Bishop has overseen the creations to ensure they are as healthy
as they can be - without robbing the dishes of the pleasure.

It's quite ground breaking and lots of pictures too to help you
choosewhat to cook.

See what the critics said at

http://www.foodsforlife.org.uk/recip...-cookbook.html

ISBN: 0600609154 =A37.19 on Amazon authors Tony Weston and Yvonne Bishop
RRP =A312.99/ $14.95 Publisher- Hamlyn






Scented Nectar wrote:
> This might help. I have a listing of over
> 700 vegetarian recipe websites with
> free recipes. Some are spicy, but
> some are much more bland. There's
> a mixture of recipe styles, but out
> of 700 you should be able to find
> a few good ones.
>
> --
> SN
> http://www.scentednectar.com/veg/
> A huge directory listing over 700 veg recipe sites.
> Has a fun 'Jump to a Random Link' button.

Jenn > wrote:
> I thought about just making the hamburger helper but without the meat,
> and adding TVP, but it lacks texture.

Try seitan or crumbled up non-meat burgers (Morningstar Farms makes
a ground beef analogue called "harvestburger crumbles" or some such);
these tend to have a more realistically meat-like texture. You may be
able to find a big bag of dried shiitake mushrooms cheap at an Asian
grocer, reconstitute them in boiling water, & chop up the caps (toss
the stems/use for stock) -- they're pretty chewy.

-myrrh

(strike strike.)