Vegetarian Meals

By: Allrecipes Staff, allrecipes.com
More and more people are making the choice to become vegetarians.

A great deal more people have made it a goal to eat less meat, often by cooking one or more meatless dinners every week. Not only can a plant-based diet be beneficial to your health, and create a lower impact on the environment, but cutting out meat can cut your grocery bill way back, too. When you're ready to venture into the realm of meatless meals, we're ready to help!

No More Missing Meat
Vegetarian cooking may seem a little mysterious to people who have never dabbled with it. Most of us were raised to think of a proper meal as one that contains three elements: meat, starch and vegetables -- usually arranged into three neat sections on a dinner plate. When you take away the meat from the equation, suddenly the meal is incomplete. Of course eating vegetarian meals does not seem very exciting when you picture your dinner plate with the big blank outline where the meat usually goes! Luckily, there are infinite alternatives to the Missing Meat model of veggie dining. Some other common misconceptions about vegetarian meals is that they all contain baffling, obscure ingredients; that they involve complicated and time-consuming cooking techniques; or that the food is just bland and unappetizing. None of these things need be true, though. A meatless meal can be just as satisfying and just as nutritious -- if not more so -- than a meat-centered one.

Meat your Alternatives
As vegetarianism becomes more mainstream, it's much easier to find vegetarian recipes and meal ideas. Not only that, but most grocery stores now carry an array of meat alternatives, not to mention a gorgeous variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and spices. There are vegetarian substitutes for most of your favorite meats, including hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, chicken, and even bacon. But you don't even need to use meat substitutes to cook a wonderful vegetarian meal. Ingredients to put protein, bulk, and that gratifying texture you can sink your teeth into, without resorting to meat, include tofu , legumes , nuts , tempeh , seitan and vegetables.

Don't feel limited only by the vegetarian recipes you find: you can turn any recipe into a veggie one by replacing the meat with any of the above ingredients. Roast or grill your vegetables before adding them to a recipe - it will give them a richer, more satisfying flavor.

For more on healthy vegetarian cooking, visit allrecipes.com