www.101cookbooks.com!!!! Heidi posts some of the most amazing, fulfilling vegetarian recipes I've ever eaten. And they're relatively simple - nothing too complicated or crazy. The orzo soup and mushroom casserole are amazing. Plenty of vegan options as well, with a healthy emphasis on whole foods. =) This blog is a staple of my diet.

I also enjoy a "fake risotto" recipe from The Green Kitchen. Check it out here: http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/no-rice-risotto/

Enjoy!

Jamie - I am a vegetarian! a good substitute to meat is the morning star meat crumbles. Stores like whole foods also have soy based sausages which are awesome.

Food network has a lot of vegetarian recipes...

a lot of times i substitute veggie meatballs or morning star's "mock meats" for reciepes that call for chicken or sausages!

Have fun!

Mark Bittman's book about vegetarian eating is great & has wonderful ideas.

My family & I are eating more vegetarian, too. I find that I need eggs more at the main dinner meal to keep me full & not feeling weak the next day. An easy meal that I make some version of almost every week:

Melt some cheese on tortillas, top with black beans cooked with some corn, salsa, cumin, and whatever green veggie I have on hand (spinach or zucchini work best for me). Add diced avocado or mango (or both!), sour cream, more salsa & a fried egg or 2.

I often have leftovers & can make a 2nd dinner or lunch out of it. My family loves it! And if I have leftover chicken or pork, I will add small bits to the above bean mixture.

Last night I made super veggie pizzas- caramelized onion, sundried tomato, sauteed mushroom, fresh broccoli. The best pizza ever! I made a huge dough recipe & made more veggies than I needed for the pizzas.

Tonight I'll make quiche with the leftover veggies. The leftover veggies also pair nicely with fresh pasta & can doctor up a pre-made sauce nicely (or work well with a can of tomatoes).

What helps me most is prepping 2x the veggies I need, so I can quickly create a meal. Caramelized onions add such an amazing flavor that I always cook up 4-6 onions at a time since they take about 30 minutes to be done. They keep in the fridge several days & even longer in the freezer.

Happy cooking!

I agree with the bean theme. Here are some of my fav lunches (great for dinner as well!):
-French green lentils tossed with red wine Dijon vinaigrette and a poached egg (you can poach eggs and refrigerate them, BTW), on top of salad greens.
-Quinoa tossed with black beans, corn (frozen is convenient), cilantro, green or red onion, bell peppers, lime juice, olive oil, and cumin. Great hot or cold.
-Trader Joe's grain mix (Israeli couscous, quinoa, lentils, etc.) mixed with all manner of chopped veggies (carrots, green onion, peppers), frozen peas, fresh herbs, and tossed with lemon juice and tahini dressing.
-Hoppin John: layer in a casserole dish: cooked brown rice, nice spicy tomato sauce (make your own or dress up jarred with spices), green or red onion, black-eyed peas, a bit more tomato sauce, and top it all off with shredded white cheddar cheese and bake at 350 till bubbly.

This recipe from epicurious is awesome, healthy, vegetarian and totally filling!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Eggplant-Cannelloni-240811

I would suggest for a new vegetarian to not try anything too far out (stay away from the lentil loaf) and stick to foods you normally eat. Next time you have pasta, leave out the chicken (or beef or whatever) and add some cannellini beans or pintos!

I second the 101cookbooks.com recommendation. Otherwise, my favorite vegetarian cookbooks: World of the East Vegetarian Cooking (Madhur Jaffrey), anything by Deborah Madison (Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is her basic book), and The Passionate Vegetarian (Crescent Dragonwagon). The Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks are good as well, although most of them have a fish chapter.

www.vegrun.blogspot.com

I second the recommendation for 101Cookbooks. As well as http://www.herbivoracious.com/. Epicurious and the Kitch'n of course also have a ton of vegetarian recipes. And as always, just leave out the meat in recipes that call for it.

Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is wonderful, as is Deborah Madison's book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Beans and legumes are great, and as a working grad student, I'd also suggest Barilla Plus any number of ways for a quick filling meal. The pasta is fortified with protein, fiber, and Omega-3s, and doesn't taste much different from regular pasta. One really hearty use for it is in casseroles; I do one with the rotini, lentils, zucchini or celery, and cheese and it's delicious and really filling!

My household LIVES on lentil soup. We have it for lunch and dinner at least 3 times a week! Mostly because it's fast, and easy.

I don't use a recipe, it's more of a method:
Start with crunchy vegetables: onion, carrot, celery, peppers, some or all of these.
Dice the veg, then brown in oil or butter (sesame oil adds a great flavor!)
Add 3 or 4 cups of broth or stock (or more, depending on how much soup you want to make).
Add 1 cup of lentils.
Season to taste. I often need to salt the bejesus out of this soup, the lentils absorb a lot of salt, and I don't salt my broth to start with. Some spice combos that are yummy: Garam masala and a 1/2 cup of coconut milk; thyme and rosemary; chinese five spice and sesame.
Cook lentils over medium-low (or low) heat for about 45 minutes, or until cooked to your preference. Add more vegetables based on their cooking time; for example, add broccoli with 10 minutes left on the lentils, but add carrots with more like 20 minutes left. I like to leave the veg out, and serve it separately, because then I can make a large batch of soup and change up the flavors for different meals during the week. Serve as soup, or over rice like curry.

You can adjust this recipe for pretty much any use you want; we made curried lentils and used less liquid so we ended up with something the texture of re-fried beans to use in Indian flavored burritos the other night.

The Recipes for Health section of the NY Times has excellent vegetarian recipes. You can even search the recipes by specific vegetables or grains.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/index.html

I recently became a full-fledged vegetarian. It was something that I had been leaning towards for a long time. What finally pushed me over the edge was Bittman's book How to Eat Everything Vegetarian. It is similar to Joy of Cooking or his non-veg book, How to Eat Everything, in that it is a sort of food encyclopedia. It's wonderful to have on hand. My favorite recipe from the book is braised lentils. I make this once or twice a week. Echoing sentiments from above, beans and legumes are very filling and healthy. We tend to have them in some form almost every meal.

I find it easiest to eat veg-only when I just go with a cuisine that's primarily vegetarian--southern Indian, for instance, or Mexican. Also, think of the 'combining proteins' premise laid out in 'Diet for a Small Planet'--it helps you concoct a dish that's nutritionally sound, and also a good variety of textures and colors.

All that's a lot easier than trying to shoehorn fake-meat bits (which are full of weird additives, usually) into meaty recipes.

I also wholeheartedly recommend The Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home book--it's not so 70s-crunchy as the original Moosewood, and most dishes are very easy. There are a couple of pilafs in there that I make regularly (even though I'm not really veg now).

I wrote more about this book on my blog a while back: http://bit.ly/c8kxpX

we've recently gone vegetarian at home, too! it has been a wonderful change and i've never felt healthier.

i have a lot of meatless recipes on my blog: http://www.sustainablediet.blogspot.com

also, i must recommend Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian." some of our favorite, easy, healthy weeknight meals range from veggie stir-fry, veggie sushi, pasta dishes, veggie pizzas, black bean casseroles, etc. YUM! the possibilities are endless and amazing--you'll hardly miss meat at all (unless you smell bbq, that is). good luck!

Curry! My favorite is mutter paneer (pan-fried cheese cubes and peas in spicy tomato sauce), and sometimes I add kidney beans or chickpeas to it for more protein. There are also a bazillion variations on dal, and depending on what you want to, shall we say, beef up (protein? iron?), you can add beans, paneer or other dairy, potatoes, eggs, or leafy greens to your liking.

For recipes, I agree with the 101cookbooks.com and Moosewood recs. Also, Vegetarian Times posts most of their recipes to their website (vegetariantimes.com) a month after publication. They also have a guide there for new vegetarians, with tips on moving to the veg diet and some recipes to get started. And once you learn your tastes and preferences, it is easier to start building your own dishes.

Hi Jamie -

I am pescetarian/vegan (rarely eat any meat other than fish, usually omit dairy) and have loads of recipes on my blog, all with links to printable pages! I suggest you take a look - tomorrow I will be posting an amazing 8 layer tortilla pie which is hearty, vegetarian and great for leftovers. I highly recommend the hummus, corn salad, pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola & hazelnuts...the list could go on forever!

Take a look:

http://www.abbeycatchat.com (there's a link to the recipe index on the top bar)

I've been vegetarian for almost twelve years now, and really awesome main dishes seem to me like the area in which we're still lagging behind. But this recipe for sweet-potato quesadillas is one of my all-time favorites, and always goes over well: http://aseasontotaste.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/sweet-potato-quesadillas/

I'm a meat-eater, but I made some delicious bean and cheese enchiladas from leftover vegetarian chili that I had frozen. I just reheated the chili in a skillet with some oil and smushed the beans like you would if you were making refried beans and than used that to fill my enchiladas. With some sour cream and guacamole, the enchiladas were delicious and so filling - it wasn't until the end of the week that I realized I hadn't eaten any meat in 3 days.

http://www.neverhomemaker.com/

is also a great site. I found them through this site and their recipes are easy and delicious!

there is a bit of olive oil in this recipe, so i don't know how it scores on the "healthy" scale... but this turkish eggplant lentil pomegranate molasses stew is simply delicious!! my husband and i are devoted omnivores but we love this vegetarian recipe.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/eggplant-and-lentil-stew-with-pomegranate-molasses

I agree with Downtown cook - 101 cookbooks has become my go-to site for good, inventive vegetarian recipes.
Pat Crocker's vegetarian cooks bible is also great, lots of easy recipes and extensive nutritional advice:
http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Cooks-Bible-Pat-Crocker/dp/0778801535
And as a vegetarian my whole life, I also agree with others that beans are the way to go for satisfying veggie food. Here are a couple of my recipes:

http://cooklynveg.blogspot.com/2010/03/deconstructed-hummus-salad.html

http://cooklynveg.blogspot.com/2010/03/sauteed-butter-beans-with-onions-and.html

Everyone is bang on with the Bittman and Moosewood recommendations. Also Robin Robertson (she has a great veg slow cooker book) if she hasn't been mentioned..

My favorite filling/satisfying meal is white bean cassoulet with crusty bread on the side.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/the-next-food-network-star/white-bean-cassoulet-recipe/index.html

The Real Food Daily cookbook has some very filling recipes...whenever I use it, I don't feel hungry for DAYS.

I invented this makeshift Mexican lasagna concoction when I really didn't feel like cooking one day (and bonus: my Meatatarian Dad didn't realize there was no meat in it until he was into his second helping):

1 can black or kidney beans
1 can refried beans
3-4 flour tortillas
taco seasoning packet (or spices of choice)
1 container of fresh salsa
handful of your cheese of choice

spray some olive oil in a square baking dish and layer: tortillas, refried beans, tortillas, black/kidney beans mixed w/ taco seasoning; tortillas, and salsa. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes to hear through and add cheese; bake until melted, slice, and enjoy. I sometimes add a bit of sour cream to the top, and I try to keep some spring onions on hand as well. Yummy, filling, and great as leftovers.

This website has lots of great vegan recipes:

http://fatfreevegan.com/

Hi Jamie, there are a lot of good suggestions here- Mexican and Indian foods are a really good place to start. I'd also be careful about how many eggs and dairy products you eat- they satisfy because they're fattening and salty and sometimes hard to digest. Not much of an improvement on meat. Focus on lots of plant variety in your meals.
I'm not sure if you're feeding just yourself or someone else with you... I'd recommend "The Vegan Table", it's full of familiar foods, has a focus on healthy comfort food, and organizes recipes by the occasion you're cooking for (brunch for two in the spring, holiday dinner for 10 in the fall, etc.)
The "Veganomicon" is also a great resource, it tells you all about how to prepare all manner of beans and grains, how to stock a vegetarian pantry, and offers tons of delicious recipes.
For blogs, I'd recommend vegandad or vegan lunch box if you're interested in kid-friendly fare, and I second fatfreevegan for healthy, hearty recipes.

Of all these, I'd say Vegan Table is the best place to start. I make the chickpea salad (aka better than tuna salad) sandwiches all the time, they're super filling, familiar, and healthy to boot. I'm also a fan of grain and legume based salads- when you stop thinking of salad as based on lettuce, you open up all new possibilities for satisfying, filling cold entrees. Try and eat whole grains when possible, and keep up lots of dark green vegetables for their satisfying mineral contribution.

Also, bear in mind that as you cut out animal fats from your diet, healthy fats from nuts, seeds, avocados and coconuts can take their place. Eating healthy fats not only helps you feel fuller with a meal, it also helps you absorb nutrients from the fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains you eat. They also can help reduce your cholestrol, which is a good thing if you've been on an animal diet for a while. So be sure to use these healthy, whole-food fat sources in your vegetarian meals. Keep some dried figs and almonds, or whatever nuts and fruit you like on hand as a snack between meals.

Lastly, treat yourself to dessert. Fruits, smoothies, even baked goods on occasion help you feel satisfied with your meal. Check out "Vegan cupcakes take over the world" or "Vegan cookies invade your cookie jar" for some really indulgent recipes.

Hope this helps! If you want more suggestions, feel free to ask :)

My ex used to make THE MOST amazing Vegetable Terrine. Totally company worthy, totally satisfying. I think it had a risotto element to it, which of course made it rib-stickin.'

There was one faux pas, though, when he made it for visiting vegetarians... he used chicken stock. Ooops!

But I'll try to track down the recipe. It was gorgeous looking, too.

As regular staples, learn how to make fried rice, risotto, soup, and frittata; they're all great fridge cleaners and infinitely variable with whatever vegetables are in season. If you aren't fond of rice, variations include pasta and quinoa. A dal with plenty of tomatoes and fresh ginger and garlic is in heavy rotation in our household, too. And red beans and rice, a Cajun favorite, can easily be modified to be meatless; I use smoked paprika if I'm leaving out smoked meat. Kale chips are also very yummy if made with smoked paprika.

I like punching up the nutrition on dishes that would normally be accompanied with potatoes or other white starches by using winter squash or sweet potatoes in their place. They can also be used as thickeners in soups.

I want to thank everyone for all the great suggestions in this thread so far. I'm a very active and healthy guy and have no intention of giving up meat completely, I just like it way too much. However, as in most things in life, I figure it's best in moderation. This thread and the info therein will certainly go along way in helping those meatless meals be much better received.

Thanks again.
-Jamie

I love The Guardian's vegetarian column: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/series/thenewvegetarian

Vegan Yum Yum: http://veganyumyum.com/

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

and my personal blog as well, where I post vegan comfort food recipes that's super quick and easy: tinaxgao.tumblr.com

I cook almost exclusively vegetarian. I have a great recipe for veggie chili that uses cracked wheat, which gives it that ground meat texture. You can see the recipe here:

http://wp.me/pI6Ms-5h

Hope you like it!!

Two words: Deborah Madison.

Please take a look at "American Wholefoods Cusine" - some call it the "vegetarin Joy of Cooking." The autho'rs website is HealthyHighways.com

one veggie cookbook I discovered recently and absolutely love is Simple Vegetarian Pleasures. it's not too expensive, and every thing i've made so far is delicious and usually pretty easy (though sometimes you may have to buy a few ingredients for the sauces, like sesame oil, for example). it has the best tofu recipe i've ever had: baked thai tofu. you can get the book on amazon for about $15: http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Vegetarian-Pleasures-Jeanne-Lemlin/dp/006019135X

All the recs above are great. I did want to mention that, while I love Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (the first veg cookbook I ever owned), I also really like Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, which might be more appealing if you are a new vegetarian. It is shorter but it has lots of pictures and suggestions for wine pairings. It makes it easy to conceptualize vegetarian food making up a meal, which seems like an obstacle for new vegetarians or omnivores trying to add more veg meals.

great advice above...

here's my thing... I get depressed at the way so much in vegetarian/vegan etc cooking tends toward substitutes for what you're assumed to be missing... meat analogues... and also pretends the whole history of cooking never happened (I'm talking about traditional food)... one gets cut off from the roots in a way... and it all ends up tasting a bit same-ish (though Bittman has the right idea in HIS book)

what I'm doing now is just going to my most traditional cookbooks (french and italian in my case, my soul food) and finding all the stuff that just happens to be vegetarian... and there is SO much (check out Bittman's other great books).. and once again I feel I have rejoined the human race and its wonderful food history.

the tough thing is really adjusting to the different more subtle palate one will develop if one doesn't panic

changing one's diet is really personal and VERY panic-inducing... and it's okay to mourn what one is leaving behind

then the new world unfolds

and we learn to thank the poor, and the religious and spiritual folk, who managed to make really great food from they had.

yum

amiebarber8:

sorry but you can't be "pescatarian/vegan".

vegans never ever eat or wear animal products. not even sometimes, not even for special occasions or when you're really hungry and there's nothing but fish around. fish is not a food for vegans.

technically people who eat fish are still not true vegetarians because fish isn't a vegetable or dairy product but feel free to call yourself a precatarian. i have no problem there :)

saying you're "/vegan" causes confusion and this is probably why as a vegan people have to ask if I eat fish as well. Just trying to keep the misinformation down.

Another vote for Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone here.

I have also recently discovered Quick Indian Cooking, which has tons of yummy vegetarian recipes

I write a cooking blog of all vegetarian recipes - a lot of Indian recipes on here, but also some random ones thrown in:

http://abcdsofcooking.blogspot.com

oh and also my friend gave me this recipe for chili that includes the usual suspects with the gimme lean and edamame in it too - so colorful and topped with feta, avocado, hot sauce and some cilantro:)