Monday, March 23, 2009

Simple Dinner Menus With Meatless Options

By Meshel Nosak

Creating complete family meals with some meatless substitutions for the veggie eater can be very easy. With some great resources and a little knowledge on what the vegetarian will eat, your meal planning for the family will be a breeze.

I can take my favorite family recipes and create a meatless version that still has great texture and taste without using meat. Companies have finally filling the grocery stores with many delicious meat free products.

If I'm going to cook burgers for dinner, I include a package veggie burgers to the shopping list. I have learned to include basic meatless food items each time I visit the grocery store.

I can easily adjust my dinner menus to include a meatless version each and every night. Another great idea for getting the family to try new vegetables is to serve them a meat free main dish and include meat on the side if desired. Becoming a healthy family will benefit everyone.

Here is a basic list of simple veggie food options you can use to create with a meat free version of your favorite dinner dish:

Sandwiches with BBQ - this is a quick family meal idea I love to make all the time

*Veggie eater - use fried tofu

*Meat options - shredded chicken or beef

Homemade Pizza - I just love meal idea without meat but I'll include my families favorite toppings

*Veggie eater - mushrooms, green pepper, onions, olives and the list goes on and on

*Traditional Version - all the yummy veggies and ham, pepperoni and sausage

Family Spaghetti - a quick dinner idea for any household

*Veggie eater - loads of vegetables, your favorite sauce and lots of yummy cheese

*Traditional Version - your family favorite meatball recipe, cheese, sauce and loads of fresh vegetables

Burgers - The best all American Meal

*Meatless options - veggie burger made using lentils or a store bought veggie burger

*Traditional version - ground turkey or ground beef cooked the way you like it - me, well done!

Pasta - You choose the sauce, Alfredo is my favorite

*Meat free version - choose your favorite noodle and sauce and load on the cheese

*Meat options - add some sausage and red sauce or chicken and white sauce to the noodle of your choice

These are just a few of the ideas you can use when creating one meal for 2 types of eaters. Don't be afraid to experiment with those family favorite meals, you never know it just might become the next great meals.

Use the resources available to you. The internet offers great veggie food substitutions and a walk through your local health food store will give you more meal ideas that you could have ever imagined. Use those cookbooks and get creative, it will be fun.

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