Easy Vegetarian Recipes

I found Quorn ‘Chicken’ recently in my grocery store while I was picking up veggie burgers and other quick, microwavable meat analogs - like veggie corn dogs, which I love. I think I’ve mentioned that before.

But I digress…

I’d never seen Quorn or even heard of it before, and I thought it could make a good addition to a stir-fry, so I picked it up. And I must say, for fake chicken, it’s pretty darn yummy. I’ll admit that it’s been quite a long time since I’ve had any real chicken, but I still think that Quorn makes a decent chicken replacement.

A word of warning, however: Quorn is not a vegan friendly product. It does contain dairy and egg products. If you aren’t a vegan, though - like I’m not, this could be a good thing to keep in the freezer for a quick, no-brainer kind of meal.

I’m all about soy meat replacements. They make my life easier (and tastier!). They make meal planning a cinch, provide a decent source of protein, and let me enjoy foods that would normally be off-limits for my diet - like corn dogs, which I love.

I’ve always held the opinion, however, that some things just couldn’t be replaced by a soy product and taste any good. Ice cream was one of those things. Until I found this:

I was initially drawn to the fact that these ‘ice cream’ bars were only 90 calories a piece. I figured that I could satisfy my late-night sweet tooth with one of these and not gain 50 lbs. - which I felt I was well on the way to with the help of Ben & Jerry’s. I was pleasantly surprised to find that these frozen treats were not only low in calories and fat, but were also heavenly tasting. Even my extraordinarily skeptical hubby loves them. They also come in two fruit cream flavors that, by the way, have even fewer calories! I’ve personally only had the orange cream, but it was just stellar. If and when my local store gets a hold of the raspberry cream flavor, I certainly won’t hesitate to test it out.

As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, I’m no stranger to frozen or ready-made meals. As a matter of fact, I love them. I often (OK, always) have quite the stockpile of them on hand, just in case things get hectic, or I get tired and lazy. With products like Amy’s Organic, I never have to worry about my family not receiving a decent, vegetarian meal.

I don’t even really know where to begin in talking about all of Amy’s products. Their selection is tremendous! They’ve got pizzas and more “traditional” frozen entrées as well as soups, and they offer a wide variety in types of cuisines - from Greek to Mexican! Everything I’ve eaten from Amy’s (and it’s been a lot!) has been perfectly delicious. The best thing about Amy’s, in my opinion, though, is its accessibility. I haven’t found a grocery store yet that hasn’t offered even a few of Amy’s products.

Start stocking your freezer and cabinets now. You won’t regret it.

I can’t help it. Sometimes I miss things like buffalo wings. This is where soy meat analogs come into play. Most of the time I don’t recommend eating these types of foods as a substitute for the real deal. They’re just not the same. That’s something you need to know and accept about soy-based meat replacements.

With Morningstar Farms Buffalo Chik’n Wings, that isn’t necessarily the case, in my not-so-humble opinion. These are delicious! And, strangely, they not only taste just like chicken, but their texture is so similar to (what I remember of) chicken, that I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a person who could tell their texture from that of a McDonald’s chicken nugget.

I know that McDonald’s chicken nuggets aren’t the pillar of fine dining, by any stretch of the imagination, but they still taste OK. And these Morningstar Farms nuggets are much better. They make a quick easy lunch for kids, or a decent snack for friends.

Get out there and give them a try.

Have you been worried that going vegetarian was going to bring an abrupt halt to your convenient, frozen food dependency? Well, stop! There’s no need. Vegetarianism has come a long way in recent years, and with it has come the availability of delicious, convenient vegetarian food. Tandoor Chef is just one of the myriad companies that makes this possible.

Look, I know making your own food from fresh ingredients is best. However, vegetarians are people, too, and people get busy. Or lazy. Or are just plain bad at cooking. And that’s OK. You have options.

Tandoor Chef specializes in (you guessed it) Indian food. They have a variety of vegetarian entrées, as well as a few vegan choices. We usually have a few packages in the freezer at all times - just in case we get busy, or lazy, or dinner gets burned to a crisp. (Oops.) My personal favorite is the Kofta Curry (one of their vegan entrées), but all of the other varieties I’ve tried have been perfectly delicious as well.

Additionally, I didn’t have to go anywhere special to find these products. I found them in my local supermarket in the vegetarian/organic section.

As I mentioned before, it probably wouldn’t be ideal to eat frozen entrées day and night, but in a pinch, the entrées from Tandoor Chef are fantastic. And it beats the heck out of a Hungry Man Dinner.