Vegetarians for Health

For about 2 and a half months now, Jordon and I have been eating vegetarian meals throughout the week and then become carnivores on the weekend. I believe there are reasons Jordon wanted to start this that I probably cannot properly explain. BUT I can say it has been very nice on our wallets and our health. "Fresh" (as fresh as you can get here in E-town during the winter) vegetables are delicious and eating things like lentils, beans, and quinoa are filling and cheap. I have what smells like a delish vegetarian lentil soup on the stove right now. So here's a couple vegetarian meal ideas that we've tried and have been awesome!

1. Easy Vegetarian Chili

 Super easy. Just chop up your favorite veggies (we use peppers, celery, carrots, mushrooms), can of tomatoes (I use crushed), couple cans of beans (I use a mix of kidney, black and white beans), and throw that all together. Add some chili powder, cumin, S&P and just let it cook. Serve with some fresh bread and it tastes just as good without the hamburger!

2. Red Lentil Curry & Naan Bread

Click here to grab the red lentil curry recipe and here for delicious home made naan bread. The red lentil curry is not difficult at all. It tastes great and it's pretty quick too. The naan bread isn't hard either though it takes longer. You have to let it rise for an hour, roll it into balls and then rise again. We have a grill on our stove top so I grill the naan bread and brush on melted butter (okay so not the healthiest) but I figure it is okay once every two weeks or so. We've tried other tasty Indian dishes but I think this was the favorite.

3. Black Bean Burgers

Click here for the black bean burger recipe. These are SO GOOD! I am not a fan of the fake meat products so trying to find something to substitute for meat favorites (clearly hamburgers) was a goal for me. The mashed up black beans have added components so you're not just eating mushy bean burgers (how unappealing.) I add half a sweet pepper, a jalapeno or hot pepper, garlic, onion, cumin, chili power, 1 egg and panko crumbs. 

So there you have it folks, some fantastic vegetarian meals. But you might want to follow up supper with some ice cream or popcorn, you know, just to balance out the calories. And my soup is about done now so have yourself a veggie meal,

-Vanessa xo