[MJMS]

Hi Beachers! I am hoping to pick your brains for meatless main dish ideas for Lent. Hubby just can't bring himself to eat fish, so that is out for us. I am looking mostly for Phase 1 ideas, as well, because we seem to do better with eating carbs earlier in the day. What are all of you planning to serve? Any and all ideas are welcomed and appreciated!
MJMS

[Ruthxxx]

Check out the Phase I Entrees in the recipe section. Taco Bake, Eggplant Lasagna and Kale and cauliflower are stickied but there are others in there. Eggs are good too - omelets and crustless quiche, for example.

[JoviMom]

I have a recipe for Spinich Leek and Canelini soup. THe recipe has WHole Wheat Couscous in it, but I leave that out. I made it last week for the family to see if they liked it, and EVERYONE did! So That will be one of my lent recipies... I will post it here later...

Taco bake is another huge hit with the family. Just take out the meat

[Barb0522]

I do fix fish, shrimp and scallops quite a bit during lent but I also fix things such as Eggplant Parmesan (I use whole wheat bread crumbs so it isn't strictly phase 1 but you could eliminate them). I also fix Broccoli Cheese Soup. That also use whole wheat flour to thicken it but not too much.

[beachgal]

Great minds think alike MJMS! Thanks for starting this...I was thinking of doing the same when in church on Sunday but hadn't gotten to it yet...and Ash Wednesday is tomorrow!

We've gotten very creative for Lent...even having 'Buddha's Delight' tofu stir fry! It's fun to try newer things so you don't feel bored.

Cooking Light has an awesome vegetarian section each month called "Inspired Vegetarian." I find their recipes very easy to adapt to SBD. You can see their recipes (they have a phenomenal search engine) for free, but you have to register.

On thing that I do that has helped is to check out a bunch of vegetarian cookbooks from the library during this time of year. A restaurant that is local to me, Moosewood, has over a dozen published cookbooks that are world-famous...they have tons of great recipes. You can find them at any library, I'm sure! It's nice to get a chance to try new things!

Here are some great vegetarian recipe sites. If you need help adapting a recipe to SBD, just ask!

Vegetarian Resource Group

International Vegetarian Union's Recipes From Around The World

In the Vegatarian Kitchen with Nava Atlas also has a section on kid-friendly recipes.

This interesting site has vegetarian recipes from B&Bs!

More about Chinese Vegetarian cooking (click on recipes at end of each bulleted section)

Vegetarian Recipes for Easy Family Meals

Hope these help! I'll share more recipes for things I like soon. In the meatime, here's a wonderful soup I made from Cooking Light last week: Chunky Red Dal Soup. We had it with veggie burgers on WW buns...but I think you could have it with bunless ones.

[kmy68]

I guess great minds think alike. This is a virtual lent power house! I can't wait to try some of these recipes. Thanks everyone, and Laurie, thanks for the links!!!!

[MJMS]

Thank you so much for all the ideas eveyone. And, thank you Laurie for the awesome links. I love reading recipes and exploring new sites and these look super. Here are my good wishes for a successful and beachy Lent for everyone!
MJMS

[beachgal]

So, what's everyone doing, so far? I think this is the hardest week because you have two meatless days! Plus, I hate fish, so it means I'm eating truly vegetarian. Yesterday DH's flight, which was supposed to arrive at 9:30 a.m. didn't come in until 3:30 p.m. Oy! Anyways, it didn't turn into a very inspiring day. I had some leftover of that chunky dal soup and a quesadilla with 2% milk cheese and a WW tortilla. For dinner we had Progresso Lentil soup and veggie burgers on WW buns with cabbage instead of lettuce. I definitely needed to eat more veggies!

Tomorrow we're going to try the Barley Pilaf with Chickpeas and Artichoke Hearts from Cooking Light. Should be easy...the only substitute I'm making is using regular barley instead of quick-cooking because the quick kind has less of the grain. I'll let you know how it goes.

What have you been doing?

[MJMS]

Hi Laurie and all the other lovely Beachers! I ended up making an Eggplant Parmesan yesterday. Today, I made a pot of the Soupe au Pistou that was sent out in the South Beach Diet Online Daily Dish yesterday. I didn't make the Pistou that goes along with it because garlic and I don't get along, but just now when I tasted it, the soup was delicious without the topping. I will post it in the recipe section. It is a Phase 1 recipe and it made quite a bit and wasn't difficult to put together at all.
MJMS

[Barb0522]

Wednesday, I pulled a serving of Broccoli Cheese soup out of the freezer for lunch and then had Parmesan Tilapia for dinner. Today I pulled out Hearty Bean and Pasta soup from the freezer for lunch and we are having Eggplant Parmesan for dinner.

I need to plan some more meals to fill the freezer with meatless stuff for lunches. This was my last non-meat containing meal in the freezer. I can't bring fish/seafood to work for lunch since I'm in a cubicle and it tends to smell when reheated.

I think I need to make another double batch of the Broccoli Cheese soup. I love that and haven't made it in awhile.

[JaimePhan]

Hi! I don't give up meat during Lent, but I thought I would share an awesome dish I made last night that you could definitely make without the meat.

Mexican casserole

can of organic fat free refried beans
can of black beans, no additives, rinsed
2 green peppers, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 red peppers, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 yellow peppers, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped into bite sized pieces
chicken breasts (for a non-Lent meal ), cooked and chopped into bite sized pieces
low fat or fat free cheddar cheese (I did low fat and I didn't measure but I lightly covered the entire thing)
low fat or fat free sour cream
sugar free salsa, your choice of hotness
lots and lots of mexican type spices (garlic powder, chili powder, ground red pepper, cilantro, salt, pepper, etc.)

Saute the peppers and onions in a bit of olive oil or Pam with all of the spices, add some salsa if it gets dry
IF you do meat, saute seperately, also with spices, a bit of oil, and a touch of salsa
Spread some salsa at the bottom of a casserole dish (I used the long, 9 by 13 type glass dish)
Spread the refried beans over the salsa
Bake uncovered at 450 for about 5 or 10 minutes, just to "crisp" it up a bit
add the black beans to your veggies and meat (if you do the meat) once the veggies are done in the pan, and stir it all up
Pour the veggie/bean/meat mix onto the refried beans
Cover in cheese
Bake uncovered for 10 minutes at 450, or until cheese melts.
Broil a bit to get "crunchy" cheese if you like
Serve with salsa and sour cream with a salad on the side

This fed me and my boyfriend for dinner last night, lunch today, and there is enough left for dinner for both of us tonight.

Hope you like it! Mine was spicy, but it will be up to you how hot you want it based on the spices you use and the salsa you choose. This is super filling, and really satisfies a craving for burritos.

[beachgal]

Thanks, JaimePhan! I put the Mexican Casserole recipe in the recipe section so everyone can benefit. I also added some suggestions for adding the veggie wattage. Great recipe!

The barley was totally delicious!!! I boiled it on the stove with water for about 30-45 minutes using pearl barley and it was done...not 2 hours like the label on the barley bag said (YIKES!!!)

Barb, I love how you can just pull stuff out of the freezer! I need to do that more!!!

[JoviMom]

I made the Mexican Casserole last night, and added a can of rotel to the veggies. It came out a little soupy but the restof the family used it in tortillas and I ate it almost like soup. IT was fantastic!

[MJMS]

For yesterday's supper, I made a Crustless Spinach Quiche that I found on the RecipeZaar website that was submitted by Ellie and received good reviews. I adapted it to SB by using lowfat cheese and olive oil. It turned out great and the leftovers made a good breakfast this morning. It is similar to the Breakfast Quiche Cups in the SB book but made in a pie pan. I will post it in the Phase 1 recipe section.
MJMS