The LAV has a friend who’s looking to cut way back on meat in his diet (good for him!). He’s a California guy and has access to all the meat substitutes you can ask for. But he’s new to the game, and most of his meals consist of a protein, a veggie option, and a starch. He asked if he could easily replace the meat portion of his meals with tofu, and I told him in my experience tofu’s a lot of work and best in small pieces. He can always take the Morningstar/Quorn/Tofurky/Boca route, but while quality has improved in those products quite a bit in the last few years, most still aren’t great standing alone (as opposed to in sauces and other dishes, where they’re pretty darn good).
My question for you - what’s a guy used to this type of diet to do? He knows he can eat more pastas, casseroles, and ethnic dishes that use less meat by design - but that’s not what he wants to do for the majority of his meals. He’s looking to cut back on meat, but wants to maintain how he eats and what he likes, and a happy eater is more likely to stick to a new diet than an unhappy one. Any tips/thoughts/advice for him? What do your dinner plates look like?
He could try reducing the portion size of meat, or having meat every other day. I also find beans to be a good protein substitute and it’s more satisfying that extra helpings of veggies and starch. The cans of “mock” meat that’s sold in asian stores are also very good.
Before going vegan my fiance was a big meat guy so he might be a good reference. When he’s working he’ll go to a place like Chipotle or similar mexican for bean burritos, guacamole, etc. He also used to live in L.A. and said Del Taco was vegan/vegetarian friendly.
Also hearty are falafel sandwiches with hummus.
If he gets hungry during the day or craving something “meaty” he’ll grab a Clif Bar, Odwalla Protein Shakes are awesome or a smoothie with peanut butter & bananas.
At home we’ll cook veg sloppy joes, having a rice cooker is awesome for easy rice and some fake meat/tofu/tempeh stir fry, homemade pizza (real or vegan cheese depending on your guy) with veggies and mock meat pepperoni, etc..
Okay, I’ll stop now. Hope this is helpful!
I am not a vegetarian, but a low-meat consumer (and locavore as much as possible). One thing I did at the start was reserve meat for weekends: I’d get the best meats (organic, local if possible, free range, what have you) and cook up something really nice over the weekend (bbq, etc). During the week, I focused on either meatless or low meat dishes, especially easy to make/reheat and tasty. Even something as simple as decreasing themeat portion (and the dish size!) and upping the vegetables he normally eats will help — it looks familiar, etc. But for me I found that making meat dishes a special treat on weekends and finding easy veggie substitutes during the week worked very well. (Over time, I have dropped the weekly meat dishes, and do something special about once a month.)
Thanks for the input. I’m the friend that Mike was talking about, and the next time I go to the grocery store, I plan on experimenting with some meatless choices. I guess what may help me in my endeavors is to try some different styles of meals - not all necessarily have to be “big piece of protein”, “side of vegetables”, “side of starch”. Like veggie pizza - that never occured to me to make. I do make lots of soups/stews and the like, and I that’d probably be the easiest to start with as far as replacing the meat.
I don’t plan on going vegetarian, but I think just the food I make at home should be meatless, that would help cut back on meat tremendously. I’m doing it for a few reasons - health, environment, politics, animal treatment (but I guess those are all the main reasons anyway). So wish me luck!