Vegetarian Meals: How to Make Vegetarian Food from Scratch

One of the most useful ingredients for making homemade vegetarian recipes is textured vegetable protein (TVP). This is available in health food stores in the bulk aisle and in pre-packaged containers. By far I find that the bulk aisle offers the best prices on TVP. Spike is a vegan seasoning. I found it at Whole Foods. Kitchen Bouquet is also vegan. If you can’t find it at the store, you can buy it online using the link provided with this article. Important: this recipe is not for people with an allergy to gluten. This article covers how to make vegetarian chili, vegetarian “meatloaf” and vegetarian burgers, both with and without TVP.

There are many excellent easy vegetarian chili recipes available. My favorite vegetarian chili recipes use textured vegetable protein (TVP).

Easy Vegetarian Chili Recipe

3/4 c hot water
1 c TVP granules
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 T chili powder
1 c frozen mixed vegetables
1 can black beans
1 can red beans
1 can pinto beans
1 T canola oil

To begin this easy vegetarian recipe, place the water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Allow the TVP granules to reconstitute for about ten minutes. Drain the cans of beans. Add all the rest of the ingredients.

Bring to a boil, then allow the chili to simmer over low heat for at least half an hour. This is a super easy vegetarian recipe which you can make with very little time or effort.

Here’s another vegetarian chili recipe which is more interesting and a little more involved, but still relatively easy.

Spicy Three Bean Vegetarian Chili Recipe

1 T canola oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/4 t cayenne pepper
2 T chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 c frozen green beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can white beans
1 cup frozen corn
Chopped fresh cilantro
Shredded cheddar cheese
Nonfat yogurt

Place oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for several minutes. Add the sweet peppers, garlic, chili powder and cumin and toss around for another minute.

Place the tomatoes, beans and vegetables in the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on low for 30 to 45 minutes. Serve this vegetarian chili recipe topped with shredded cheddar cheese and nonfat yogurt.

In order to make easy vegetarian recipes, you will need textured vegetable protein (TVP). This is available in bulk and in pre-packaged containers at your local health food store. I buy mine from Whole Foods. I find that the textured vegetable protein from the bulk aisle is much cheaper. There are many excellent easy vegetarian “meatloaf” recipes, but this is one of the best.

Easy Vegetarian “Meatloaf” Recipe

3/4 c plus 2T water
1 c dry TVP granules
Tomato sauce, made from 1 12 ounce can tomato paste, reconstituted with one can water
2 to 3 t soy sauce
1 c cooked mashed potatoes
1 c rolled oats
1 t onion powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning or oregano
1 t prepared mustard
1/4 t garlic powder
1 t salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To begin this easy vegetarian recipe, heat the water in the microwave. Pour this over the TVP granules in a bowl. Cook a medium potato in the microwave, then cut it up with a knife and fork. Mash and add water to make skins-on mashed potatoes (this is essential to keeping the nutrient content.) When the TVP has fully reconstituted, add the half the tomato sauce, plus all the rest of the vegetarian meatloaf recipe ingredients. Once this is finished, load the recipe in a lightly oiled nonstick loaf pan. Pour some of the tomato sauce over the top. This helps to keep your vegetarian recipe from drying out and adds some extra flavor.

Bake the recipe for 30 minutes, or until well set. Use a spatula to cut the serve. Warm the remainder of the tomato sauce to spoon over the individual servings.

If you don’t like textured vegetable protein, try this alternate vegetarian “meatloaf” recipe.

Easy Vegetarian Lentil “Meatloaf” Recipe

1 3/4 c cooked brown lentils
1 c cooked brown rice
1/2 c rolled oats
2 slices whole wheat bread, crumbled
2 eggs
1 onion, chopped and sauted in advance
1 t dried thyme
1/2 c diced Italian tomatoes
2 t hot sauce
2 t tomato sauce
1 T soy sauce
1/3 c shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Mash the lentils. Add the rolled oats, bread, brown rice, thyme, sauted onion, eggs, tomatoes, tomato sauce, soy sauce and cheese. Assemble this vegetarian recipe in a lightly oiled nonstick loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for one hour. Serve this vegetarian lentil recipe in the same manner as the above vegetarian recipe.

Basic TVP Vegetarian Burger Recipe

1 c water
1 vegetarian vegetable bouillon cube
1 t Spike seasoning
1 t Kitchen Bouquet
1 c dry TVP granules
1 t onion powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t chili powder
1/8 t black pepper
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t oregano
1/4 c whole wheat flour
3 T to 1/4 c vital wheat gluten
1 T olive or canola oil

In order to start the vegetarian burger recipe, you must reconstitute the TVP granules with water. Using a glass measuring cup, heat three quarters of a cup of water to boiling in the microwave. Add the vegetarian vegetable bullion cube, Spike seasoning mix, spices and Kitchen Bouquet to the water, and stir. Pour the mixture on one cup of TVP granules.

Give this mixture a little time to combine. After about ten to thirty minutes, you can add the other ingredients. Mix this together thoroughly, and let it sit a few more minutes.

If you don’t have the spices called for in this vegetarian recipe, you can substitute others. However, the flour and vital wheat gluten are extremely important to the texture of the finished vegetarian burger recipe. If you have a gluten allergy and are not a vegan, you can substitute eggs for the flour and gluten. Kitchen Bouquet may also contain small amounts of gluten. You can try substituting oat flour, mashed beans or mashed potatoes for the flour and gluten in this vegetarian recipe. You can also add a tablespoon of cornstarch to the mixture.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour the oil in the skillet. Using a spoon, scoop the mixture into a half or quarter cup measure, and place them in the pan. Press down on top of them gently with the bottom of the measuring cup, or the spatula. Don’t press too much, or they’ll fall apart. Give these plenty of time to brown. It will take three to five minutes per side. Watch the patties carefully to see that they don’t burn.

When your vegetarian burgers are finished, serve them hot on whole wheat buns with lettuce and tomato. You can also top them with cheese (soy cheese if you’re vegan) and vegetarian bacon for a more interesting flavor combination. Try some different ways of serving up these burgers. Saute some sliced mushrooms and top the burger with a thin slice of swiss cheese.

If you don’t plan to eat the burgers right away, they freeze well. Slide each patty into a plastic bag and close. I recommend the non-ziploc type bags which close with a twist tie. They’re much cheaper than the self-closing bags.

For a change of pace, try this spicy vegetarian black bean burger recipe.

2 cans rinsed and drained black beans
1 onion, chopped
4 slices whole wheat bread, crumbled
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Olive or canola oil

Using a fork or potato masher, mash three quarters of the black beans. Leave the rest whole. Mix in the onion, bread crumbles, garlic and onion powder, salsa and hot sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Shape into burgers which are three or four inches in diameter. Saute the patties in the oil over medium heat. This recipe makes four patties.

Experimentation is essential when cooking vegetarian recipes. Try some different variations and see how they turn out.

You can also use this mixture to make burger crumbles. Add one diced onion to the mixture, and simply saute it loosely in the pan. Save the crumbles in the freezer, and use them as you would cooked ground beef or turkey in vegetarian recipes.

Reference:

• www.drhot.net/kitchenbouquet.html