I don’t have much to say about it all, especially to a community which largely adheres to a vegetarian diet 365 days a year, but I thought I’d make a post anyways (if not for anyone other than myself).
**TL;DR:** Surprisingly easy. I expected to struggle with meal planning, but the only thing I struggled with was remembering not to eat meat when buying prepared food/fast food. I was also surprised by how unappetizing meat-replaced recipes and meals were.
So yeah, I was surprised by how easy it was. In 2023, there’s vegetarian recipes and meal inspiration everywhere, so i didn’t struggle to find meals like I thought I would. In the past, the only thing that really held me back from doing this was this idea that I had to find A WHOLE LIST of vegetarian recipes before I even started the 30 days. To be honest, I kind of forgot that I was planning on doing veg-for-30-days until May 3rd (hence why tomorrow is my “last day”), and just happened to make myself a veg recipe for my weekly meal prep. It was a “well, might as well,” decision that started it off, rather than the impeccable planning I thought I needed.
Turns out, the hardest part of eating vegetarian for 30 days was remembering I was eating vegetarian for 30 days lol. I got thisclose to buying non-veg food every few days (though I’m a very forgetful person by nature), mostly when buying fast food or prepared food from stores/restaurants. The closest I got (and it should be noted that I am *not* counting this as breaking the 30 days) was tasting a shredded chicken recipe I made for my boyfriend (I cook, he cleans) for seasoning. I realized immediately and spit it out, though, so still counts in my books!!
The other thing that surprised me was how unappetizing meat-replacement recipes were. I use pinterest for meal inspiration, and there was an unending scroll of “Beef tacos you won’t believe are 100% vegetarian!” or “Shredded chicken… made out of jackfruit?” or “Mushroom steaks with gravy that taste like the real thing!” I have a few friends who have been vegetarian or vegan for years if not decades, and I remember one of my close friends responding to an article I sent her back in college about Beyond Meat, back when it was brand new. I expected her to be like, ah that’s cool, good way to get more people on board with vegetarianism, but she was like I hate meat, I don’t like the taste, I don’t like the texture, I don’t want anything adjacent to it, and that was the first time I really thought about a vegetarian diet being something a lot more than just *removing* meat from your diet (like in a “defined by what it is” instead of “defined by what it isn’t” kind of way).
When I was looking for recipes to cook (since I do a meal-prep style of cooking 2 recipes every week), I thought back to that conversation every time I saw those dumb recipes. I just… don’t really want meat that much. There are plenty of vegetarian frozen meals, quick and easy recipes, protein-full ingredients and delicious combos that just don’t require meat.
Also beans rule. One day i’ll write my Ode to Chickpeas.
I will say, vegan would be way harder in my opinion. That doesn’t mean I won’t try in the future, but I think a lot of the difficulties I expected to have with a vegetarian diet might be true for a vegan diet. Maybe not, but that’s for another 30-day meal plan (and another subreddit).
For now, I’ll say this: If you are considering doing a 30-day vegetarian diet and have never done one before, just do it. No “buts” about it, just start it. It doesn’t take any kind of special prep (UNLESS you have any medical concerns or other restrictions that I can’t even fathom), just start it. It’s a great way to find yourself re-inspired with cooking vegetables if you, like me, sometimes forget how amazing and easy it is to include them in your diet.
And finally, I’ll leave you with this: the recipe so good that I made it twice in the 30 days and ate it for a total of 8 days in a row.
**Fried Cheese and Chickpeas in Spicy Tomato Gravy, adapted from** [**NYTimes Cooking**](https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024010-fried-cheese-and-chickpeas-in-spicy-tomato-gravy)**.**
Ingredients:
* high-heat oil of choice
* 2 small or 1 large block (original recipe says 10oz) of frying cheese like halloumi or paneer, cut into 1cm-thick slices (not all paneer/halloumi is vegetarian, so do select wisely)
* 1 large vidalia onion, sliced
* 1 shallot, diced (original recipe: no shallot)
* 1 small stick of cinnamon (original recipe: 1/2tsp ground cinnamon)
* 2tsp turmeric powder (original recipe: 1tsp)
* 1tsp ground cumin (optional, included in original recipe)
* 1″ thumb of fresh ginger, grated (original recipe: 1tsp ground ginger)
* 2 garlic cloves, diced (original recipe: 4 cloves garlic)
* 1tbsp dark soy sauce (or light/regular) if using a cheese other than halloumi, 1tsp if using halloumi (original recipe: 1tsp kosher salt or 1/2tsp if using halloumi)
* 1tbsp gochujang (original recipe: 1tsp cayenne pepper), +/- depending on preference
* 1tsp oligodang/oligosaccharide syrup (or honey) (original recipe: 1/2tsp granulated sugar)
* 1 28oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes (original recipe: diced, puréed or crushed tomatoes, not fire roasted)
* 1 15oz can of chickpeas NOT drained (original recipe: drained)
* rice to serve
Recipe:
1. Heat a large saucepan or skillet until water dances on the metal instead of evaporating quickly. Add a few tsp of oil to coat the pan, then fry the slices of cheese until golden, 1-1.5 minutes per side. Remove the cheese and set aside
2. lower the heat to medium-low, then add another few tsp of oil. Add the onions and shallot and allow them to cook until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add the cinnamon stick, turmeric, ginger, and garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with the soy sauce, then quickly add in gochujang and oligodang/honey and stir to mix.
3. Pour in the can of tomatoes and chickpeas (including the aquafaba, aka chickpea liquid) and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the flavors infuse with the chickpeas.
4. Place the fried cheese on top, cook for another 1-2 minutes to reheat the cheese, then serve over rice.
Adaptations make this a more Asian-inspired flavor profile than the original, which is just how I tend to cook with ingredients around my kitchen. I cooked both the original and this adaptation, and loved them both, which is why I included the original recipe ingredients. I had it with halloumi the first time I made it, following the recipe exactly, then with paneer the second time and both were fabulous.
If you read this far, honestly I’m impressed. Thanks for sticking around!
by unknowncinch
8 Comments
Nice! Agree on meat replacements. I don’t use them in my regular meal rotation but I will occasionally get a Boca burger or quorn patty. I don’t use grounds anymore (I used to) now I just use minced zucchini.
I’ve never had Asian-inspired chickpea curry. Now that ‘ve seen it, I’m intrigued to see how different it would be to the chickpeas that I’m used to- Chole or Chana Masala.
So….. just that was that and you’re back to eating animals…?
Nice. And thanks for sharing the fried cheese and chickpeas recipe.
Looks great, I’ll try the recipe thanks for sharing!
I became vegetarian about a year ago and also expected it to be a lot tougher but I really enjoy cooking and find I am much more experimental now with veggie meals. I make my own paneer for curries and seitan etc.
My partner who has been vegetarian all her life is the same as your friend who doesn’t like meat replacements that are too realistic for the same reasons. Quorn is great though!
Jackfruit for chicken I definitely agree. Try cooking some then putting some barbecue sauce on it, transfer to a bun. It’s like magic!
A lot of meat substitutes suck but some are good. I grew up not liking meat in a family that had a hard time conceptualizing a dinner that wasn’t formatted as meat hunk, potato, starchy vegetable, bread. Now they eat vegetarian a lot of the time because I plan the meals.
Something I like about cooking my own meat subs from scratch is the ability to ensure there is no grizzle or weird fat blobs that turned me off red meat. Jackfruit can be really darn good but you have to get a handle on how to cook with it. I made a vegan pot roast with it that my mom loves and requests even though she still eats meat.
I’ve also found that impossible chicken nuggets and Trader Joe’s beefless bulgogi are really darn good and hit the meat spot for me without some of the off putting issues I have with meat.
My big weakness is bacon. It’s pretty much the only meat I liked as a kid, I associate it with a lot of fun meals (BLT), and there are not good 1:1 replacements. There are items that can serve the purpose of bacon but they don’t smell, taste, or feel the same. I can enjoy them but it doesn’t hit the same spot.
For me, it’s more of a health concern at the end of the day. When I eat vegetarian, my blood work is better. I could probably get the same results if I limited meat to chicken breast but I hate chicken breast. I am opposed to factory farming but not necessarily to limited consumption of meat. Trying to get back to vegetarian after some health issues necessitated a relaxation of what I was eating.
I know some people are going to criticize you for doing veg for 30 days and stopping but doing it for any length of time is positive. And it sounds like you found good meals you might incorporate in the future which will reduce your meat intake which is positive.
If you like cottage pie, then you should try to make one substituting ground meat for lentils and black beans. It’s so good. My meat eating husband prefers it to ‘normal’ one. And in fact there’s a lot of dishes like it. When I went vegetarian I just switched chicken for tofu, ground beef for lentils and tbh that’s all the meat that I ate before.