Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has any good low cal veggie recipes? I have started getting a bit more creative in the kitchen., but I'm still looking fr new recipes to try.

Any suggestions?

I've been a vegitarian for about 16 years now. While I am not a chef, most of my meals revolve around some sort of fresh vegetables, a starch, tofu (baked or lightly sauteed) and also usually some sort of beans. I do have a few recipes at home which might be interesting to you, I just need to enter them after I get home from work. I have used ediets in the past for a few months it is a good resource. They do have very easy and tasty veg recipes in normal portions. Typically I eat the right things...but too much of the right thing. Luckily I love almost every vegetable and I've even learned how to make tofu work for me. I'll put up some recipes either tonight or tomorrow depending on when I have time. Best of luck!

How do you cook Tofu? I've had it when I've been out for meals, btu I tried to cook it myelf and itwas less than pleasant! :(

I have a fantastic recipe for brown rice casserole - it involves lots of veggies, tofu, brown rice, and cheese. I'll try to track it down to post.

I also had a lot of bad experiences with tofu at home. What I do is I just sort of pan fry it with some cooking spray (not oil). I will throw it into almost any meal that I'm having just to make sure that I get some protein. If I want some flavor, sometimes I'll add garlic and lemon juice or soy sauce. I've even tried hot sauce when having a spanish-themed night. I can't say that my friends look at it and drool in envy, but I like it just fine.

One of my favorite dinners is chick peas, green peas, and mushrooms, sauteed in a little olive oil with onions and garlic for flavoring. It's really delicious and filling!

Ingredients
1 can sweet peas
1 can chick peas
1 can mushrooms
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 tbs chopped garlic (to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Sautee onions, garlic, and olive oil in a big pan until onions are almost clear. Add mushrooms. Heat about 3 - 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, cook until tender. Finally, add sweet peas. (These don't need to cook as long or they get mush). Heat until warm. Use salt and pepper to taste. Makes 3 - 4 servings.

here are some of mine, I have posted them in other support groups, hope that is OK.

1. lentil 'bolognese' - serves 4 generously
sautee chopped onions, garlic, mushrooms and red bell pepper in a little olive oil. Add 1 x 14oz can chopped tomatoes, some tomato paste, 4oz dried split red lentils, 2 finely chopped carrots, ground black pepper, dried basil and dried oregano. Simmer 20 mins (or longer for a more stew-like texture). Add 2 chopped zucchini and simmer for another 10 mins. Serve on brown pasta on a big bed of raw baby spinach, or on a baked sweet potato.
This sauce is also great mixed with brown rice and used to stuff half red bell peppers, top with a few breadcrumbs or some shredded cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes.

2. refried bean chilli (also for 4)
sautee chopped onions, garlic, mushrooms and red bell pepper in a little olive oil. Add 1 x 14oz can refried beans, 1 x 14oz can red kidney beans, 2 chopped fresh tomatoes, some tomato paste, chilli powder, dried ground cumin and dried ground coriander (you can also just use a sachet of taco seasoning mix).
Heat through.
Serve with taco shells, salad and salsa. If you have any fresh cilantro, that is great in it.

3. veggie burgers with sweet potato 'chips'

make up the veggie burgers with whatever you have to hand - I tend to mix together mashed potato, black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, mushrooms, red pepper and some spices. Fry in a tiny bit of oil, then serve with salad on burger buns.
for the sweet potato chips, cut sweet potatoes into wedges, coat with spray oil or a bit of olive oil, add black pepper and whatever seasoning, and bake them on high for 25 minutes.

4. moroccan-style vegan stew

sautee onions and garlic, add chopped butternut squash and carrots, 1 x 14oz can tomatoes, 1 x 14oz can garbanzo beans, some chilli powder, ground cumin and ground cinnamon, and black pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes and serve with brown couscous or quinoa.

5. mexican 'lasagne'

Make a bean and veg chilli - I use basic veg eg onions, bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms (lol I put them in everything it seems!), tinned tomatoes, chilli spices and mixed beans.
layer in a dish with brown tortilla wraps - 2 layers of chilli then wraps.
Top with a can of vegan enchilada sauce (many supermarket brands are vegan, but not all). Top with lots of sliced jalapenos and bake for 20-25 minutes.
I sometimes put a little cheese on the top as well.
I find doing it as a lasagne style dish cuts out some of the wraps used in enchiladas so makes it lower cal.

6. lower-fat 'lasagne'
Make a basic veggie bolognese sauce, either with quorn or soya mince, or just a veg or roasted veg and tomato sauce.
Layer up with lasagne sheets.
Instead of cheese sauce, make a topping by mixing 12oz low fat plain yogurt and 8 oz extra light Philadelphia cream cheese or a similar thing (some aren't veggie so watch out). Spread topping over the top layer of lasagne sheets and bake for 30minutes.

Rach xxx

Thanks so much for all those recipes! I think I'm going to make the chili this week! It's getting really cold here.