I’m not a fully-fledged veggie, vegan or even pescatarian (though I do opt for fish over meat most of the time). However, I do firmly believe the future has to be more plant-based. Eating meat every day isn’t good for us (especially red meat and processed meats) but more importantly is that is isn’t sustainable either (watch Cowspiracy people!). Of course, this message wasn’t the easiest to deliver to my meat-eating husband, but with a few carefully planned veggie meals he’s agreed to eating a few more of these each week. Woohoo! So, what were these magical plant-based options? Read on to find out…
HECK Bollywood Bites
I’ve just discovered these in Waitrose and they’re delicious! I’d say they’re like curry-spiced stuffing balls, only no meat. Served with brown rice and stir-fried veggies, a cucumber raita dip – this went down a treat!
Sweet potato coconut curry
There’s something about the combination of sweet potato and coconut that really works. They internet is full of recipes, I like this one. Or I’m partial to just combining a little Blue Dragon Red Thai Curry Paste with half fat coconut milk and some almond butter for a quick tasty sauce. Pack the curry with lots of other veggies like mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and you’ve got lots of lovely texture with each mouthful.
Frittata
Okay, so being egg- based this isn’t the most sustainable dish, but baby steps, it’s an exercise in getting meat eaters to realize veggie meals can be very nice and filling. Plus, all the egg means it’s high I protein, so it’s good for gym goers. You can pop almost anything in your Frittata, I like mushrooms, Pappadew peppers, spinach, onion, broccoli and sometimes a little cheese. Herbs and spices and even curry powder are good additions here too – experiment until you get your perfectly flavoured Frittata! Or, there are some really great ready-made ones available on the super market shelves, I LOVE the ones by Higgidy.
Pulled Jackfruit Burger
Jackfruit is from the tropical areas of Southeast Asia, Brazil and Africa. It is technically a fruit, but it has a consistency similar to that of chicken or pork. It has a fairly neutral taste, so it takes on the flavor of the sauce or seasoning you cook it with. It really is surprisingly meaty! When you pull it all apart and cook it in a barbeque style sauce it’s very similar to pulled pork. A bit of effort was required to get the consistency and flavor right, I followed this recipe from Ocado which worked pretty well. The effort was worthwhile though as the resulting burgers we’re really good!
What are your meat-free miracle dishes?
Those are four dishes currently going down well in my household…I’d love to hear more suggestions of yummy meat-free options that will please and satisfy meat-eaters!
