Hey all,

I'm trying to slowly convert to a mostly-vegetarian diet (will never be completely vegetarian because my family is so carnivorous) but I have no idea what to eat. My body craves protein hard during the day (especially at lunch, when I would usually have chicken)...I'm also going to be starting a weight-training regimen, so protein is important.

While I love chicken, I read recently that chickens were one of the most cruelly treated of animals used for human consumption, and there is a little bit of chicken sh*t in every package of supermarket chicken. (Er, gross.) Plus I'm a Buddhist and have been for eight years, so not eating animals would definitely be on my to-do list of long-term goals...it's just very difficult for me. And I adore just a plain chicken breast chucked in the microwave until done. Delish.

So does anyone have a vegetarian staple protein entree that is quick and easy? I'm a fan of peanut butter but the fat content, oi.

I have a bunch of beans, lentils, and whatnot in my pantry, I just have never really cooked them before...I like tofu but I need to figure out a variety of ways to prepare it.

I'm going to browse on Allrecipes.com for vegetarian fare, I just wanted to see if anyone had a quick and easy fallback they always munch on...

there's a thread or three here on tofu - so you might want to do an advanced search where title contains tofu...

tehre are a few different textures of tofu - from a very creamy smooth type good for smoothies and mixing into something like a hummus - to an extra firm, whcih you can marinate and grill or sautee.. Tofu is quite bland on its own and will take on the flavor of whatever you are cookng with it... I'm partial to highly flavored sauces - like curries with it.

I know i've got a few beans recipes ontis forum as well - I prefer the dried beans because of sodium - but canned will work -if you're going for the dried beans (especially black or cannelini bean, spending 30 bucks on a crockpot might be a worthwhile investment - youc an cook a batch of beans in a few hours with little interferance from you.

Lentils are a great meat substutute - look for recipes for lentil loaf or lentil patties -where you can make burgers out of lentils... with the addition of some veggies...

The best plant source of protein is legumes (including lentils, kidney beans, chick peas, split peas, lima beans, mung beans, baked beans etc.), and soy products such as tempeh, tofu, soya milk.

Nuts and seeds are very high in protein, but because they also contain quite high levels of fat, they should be eaten in moderation.

It depends how vego you plan on going. Free range eggs are a good source of protein too.

Well, legumes have been mentioned, so there is no need to repeat that. With keeping in mind that I am one of the laziest cooks in the world, I often use vegetarian brand names. There is Morning Star, Boca, and Amy's.

Morning Star is my first choice. Most of the meat replacement products in my freezer right now is Morning Star. I have figured out what I do and don't like from them. Most of their products are fairly low in the calories and fat. Not all of it is, so be sure to check your labels.

Boca is my veggie burger choice. Aside from tasting better, they have more lower calorie choices. I can't really comment on their non-burger items. Their food tastes more like meat than Morning Star, and as insane as it sounds, that kind of grosses me out.

Amy's isn't best for people who are dieting. Good good, but it has a lot of calories and fat. They also tend to do meals. I bring them up because they do have good food and its good to have from time to time.

There might be more vegetarian brand names that I don't know about. I'm just going by what's in my local stores.

One product I love is Greek Yogurt. It has a massive amount of protein in it, and if you shop around you can probably find a brand that doesn't have a lot of calories. The stuff I buy has 140 cals and 16 grams of protein per serving. Plain Greek Yogurt tastes almost identical to sour cream, and can be used for a lot of different things, like dips and such.

I also love SmartGround as ground beef substitute. Where I live it's a tad cheaper than some of the other brands and I like the texture the best. I use it in chili, pasta sauce and a large number of Mexican dishes.