You need to try a lot “plant-based meat” products. Many of them are meh and taste like meat flavored cardboard, but I’ve personally found some that taste waaaay better than meat.

Tofu is pretty versatile as a meat replacement or even just a general texture thing. I like to fry small tofu cubes and use them in place of the cheese in palak paneer, or instead of chicken in something like General Tso’s. It takes a bit more work since you have to press the tofu and find a good way to cook it so it doesn’t turn out soggy (and it’s usually more expensive), but I’m a meat eater and it’s satisfying to me.

Beyond/Impossible Meat is also pretty good imo. I actually tend to like it better than real beef, but that’s definitely not a majority opinion. If you like the taste, you can crumble the patties for ground beef texture or break them into chunks for more of a meatball vibe. I’ve even done a sort of faux bulgogi with chunks and gochujang sauce that works surprisingly well.

One more thing I think can help is to not try to replicate meat for everything. There are ways to make vegetarian/vegan food that let it stand on its own and still be satisfying (beans and chickpeas can help a ton), without it feeling like it’s trying too hard to be meat. Things like cauliflower stir fried or batter fried and coated in some sort of sauce can be good just as cauliflower in sauce.

Finally, mushrooms, if you like them. Soaking dried mushrooms will get you stock that can replace chicken or beef stock for most things, and frying even the cheap baby bella mushrooms that come pre washed and sliced can give you a meaty texture in something that needs it.

As a fellow omnivore trying to eat more vegan/vegetarian recipes, I think rainbow plant life on YouTube has the best recipes that I’ve tried. If you’ve read Salt Fat Acid Heat, most/all of her recipes are based on that technique/ideology. Her red lentil curry is really good and I make a double batch about once every other month to keep in the freezer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHRyfEbhFFU

I live with people that don’t like coconut milk so I just use a mixture of heavy cream and milk. I also sub half of the red lentils for brown lentils for extra fiber.

Sloppy joe made with lentils is an easy dinner for a night and kids love a sloppy joe

Try out Indian cuisine, we got a ton of great vegetarian food here but depending on where you are, getting all the good spices needed could be quite difficult and pricey.

Honestly. I’m looking for vegan and vegetarian recipes and while it usually tastes “fine”, it’s mostly just “meh”.

If it’s about eating ethically, I highly suggest trying to eat locally instead. It’s much better for the environment, and you can usually get a better nutritional balance.

I mean, if eating “meh” makes you feel good, go for it. Just please make sure to study all the supplements you need and keep researching because there are regularly discoveries that might change the supplement intake you require.

Sticky tofu is hands down my favorite. Something like this: https://veganonboard.com/sticky-lemon-tofu/

Soy Curls is honestly my favorite ‘meat replacement’ (though, I’m not too hot on ‘replacing meat’). They work for doing things like mongolian beef, or just lightly frying after marinading for ‘chicken strips’ to top salads or sandwiches. https://thevietvegan.com/vegan-mongolian-beef/

Soups are of course, pretty easy. I like Lentil Chilli, heavy on the seasonings and beans aside from lentils. Minestrone or lemon orzo are both also great. Thai curry or pho are both more work imo, but amazing (though, both broth bases can often have chicken or shrimp in them).

Burgers, and while impossible meat et. al. are fine I guess, they’re a bit pricey. I honestly prefer a good chipotle black bean burger over them 9/10 times. They’re pretty cheap to buy, but also not very hard to make, with most of the ingredients being cheap.

I personally like seitan, but I know quite a few other vegetarians don’t, so it might be divisive. BUT, in terms of cheap protein, its damn near rock bottom in price. It is some work to make stuff out of it from scratch, but ‘indian mock duck’ is usually seitan, and can be bought from indian stores if you just want to try it. But seitan works to replace burgers, chicken tenders, steaks, sausage, etc. Tons of recipes out there.

Sorry, trying? Don’t let someone else tell you what to eat. You should not feel bad for eating meat as it is livestock raised to be consumed.

Ok, this is going to be long!

I would advice, apart from tying out new recipes, try to look at how you cook rice, make a green salad and tomato based sauce again. Often there are a few basic things one can improve that elevate all other dishes as well. This doesn’t have to be expensive, you save a lot of money by not buying the meat, after all.

(A few of these things you will probably know, but perhaps you learn something new.)

For rice try the following:

• most children prefer basmati rice and rice with tumeric
• cumin also tastes good in rice but not all kids like it
• most types of rice have to be rinsed a few times, a good job for kids lol
• when you let the rice soak in water (~30 min) after rinsing it, you get more predictable results
• when you want to fry the rice, use rice you cooked the day before
• try different rice varieties from different brands because they all tend to need a different amount of water for best results
• when your family really becomes rice fans invest in a good rice cooker because it saves time and older kids can make their own
• after cooking, let it steam for a few minutes on the turned-off stove

For a good tomato sauce try the following:

• diced or crushed tomatoes in cans often have low quality, when using cans use whole peeled tomatoes and cut them when still in the can
• do not crush garlic, instead chop it very fine
• use a really good oil, it has to taste so good, you would eat it with bread with nothing else
• oil is a whole beast, try different types and be careful which of those can be heated to which temperature
• some finely chopped celery often tastes good in tomato sauce
• heat very slowly and don’t make it boil, don’t cook too long
• add sugar to taste, baking soda if it is too acidic
• add herbs only when the sauce is finished, perhaps add oil again
• some people think tomato sauce tastes better the next day

Some tips to make your salad better:

• the oil hint from above
• for vinegar all the hints for oils apply
• mix something crunchy into your salad, many kids love sunflower seeds or peanuts, which are less expensive than walnuts and similar
• when you want roasted sunflower seeds, buy them raw and roast them shortly without oil in the pan until you can smell them
• wheat grains roasted taste great, they smell amazing as well
• top your salad with something hot, for example caramelized pear slices or seasoned tofu cubes, marinated fried champignons, etc.
• get a salad spinner if you don’t have one already
• some children like vegetables raw they do not eat cooked, for example fine broccoli florets and zucchini slices
• good mustard or lemon juice on the side

General tips for vegan and vegetarian recipes:

• a good rule when it has to go fast is: combine grain + green + bean
• experiment a lot with combinations of textures
• grating vegetables adds lots of moisture, can be good or bad…
• roast whole spices without oil until their smells hit you before you cut them and put them into your dishes
• make your own vegetable broth by freezing clean vegetable scraps (skins and ends) and simmer them when you have a bag full
• maple syrup + non-dairy milk mixed make a crust on baked goods
• infuse oil yourself with herbs, chilli, garlic
• learn to sauté a base of spices, garlic and onions before adding your ingredient
• learn how to make natto, get used to the taste and then addicted to it
• now that you are a pro with herbs, make your own fresh tea and experience a new world of taste

Ingredients which you perhaps never used before but are very useful:

• nutritional yeast !!
• soak and blend cashews for a versatile cream base
• Kala Namak
• liquid smoke
• miso
• tamari
• seaweed
• the water from chickpea cans is aquafaba