Could dried coconut (unsweetened) be substituted? Or should I seek out frozen?
I use an Pyrex or Corningware dish for my frittatas. I bake them all.
Ratatouille- sauté diced onions and garlic in an instant pot on sauté mode. cut up zucchini yellow squash and eggplant and place in the instant pot with a can of organic diced tomato, salt pepper bay leaf and rosemary and pressure cook for 3 minutes. Eat with a carb of your choice (brown rice, quinoa, couscous, pasta).
Beans and rice - So many varieties that come out delicious. I cook the beans in the rice by soaking and boiling the dry beans in lightly salted water until tender. Then mix in the strained beans with rice and water in the instant pot on rice mode. Add some olive oil for flavor. The most common rice I use is jasmine as it’s fragrant. The beans that work beautifully are:
- black eyed peas
- Yellow fava beans with lots of sautéed onions and garlic
- Brown or green lentils with lots of sautéed onions and raisins and a bit of cinnamon
- Lima beans and dill
A fried or poached egg on top goes well with any of these. The possibilities abound.
Baked sweet potatoes- wash, wrap in foil, bake at 375 for an hour until tender. Split lengthwise add salt and black pepper and police oil. This is a delicious meal for me by itself. Same is true for many squashes. This meal is so earthy sweet and satisfying that I always ask myself why I don’t eat it weekly.
Brown rice, salmon, and veggies bowl- instant pot brown rice in a bowl, small portion (4 oz is enough for me) of salmon sautéed lightly on the stove with salt, side of sautéed veggies of any kind next to the salmon (I like bok choy, Shanghai tips, green beans with garlic, sliced cabbage, but any veggies you have in the fridge will work beautifully). Add some sesame seeds, a few drops of soy sauce if you like.
Getting hungry typing this up!
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Frozen grated coconut gives the best results but I use dried grated coconut to cook with most of the time. It’s difficult to get hold of the fresh frozen kind where I live.
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Ooh, thanks! Good ideas.
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Here are some other recipes I’ve gathered that hopefully hit the mark:
https://www.randomhousebooks.com/campaign/pizza-salad-weekday-vegetarians/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/cabbage-fennel-white-bean-soup/
https://thewoksoflife.com/tilapia-and-mixed-vegetable-stir-fry/ via @Amandarama
https://food52.com/recipes/88882-coconut-roasted-cod-salsa-macha also from @Amandarama
Venetian Minstrone Soup via @Barca
Subbing ground chicken for pork: https://thebrookcook.wordpress.com/2021/12/16/greek-meatballs-in-tomato-sauce/
https://www.thekitchn.com/harissa-orange-chicken-broccoli-recipe-23701222
Subbing brown rice noodles: https://food52.com/recipes/89482-vermicelli-tofu-salad-with-peanut-sauce-from-lara-lee
Subbing egg whites or yogurt for most of the mayo: https://www.realsimple.com/coconut-chicken-cutlets-with-mango-slaw-recipe-7107926
A family favorite (need to reduce sugar): https://www.delishknowledge.com/peanut-tofu-buddha-bowl/#tasty-recipes-21123-jump-target
Subbing ground turkey:
With beans cooked from dried:
https://kitchen.nine.com.au/latest/julia-turshen-cookbook-how-to-cook-cacio-e-pepe-potato-dish/1775bab4-b18c-4813-9b79-dc3f7ffa2e36 via @truman
https://www.thekitchn.com/cacio-e-pepe-sauteed-cabbage-recipe-23680754
Subbing ground chicken:
Subbing either cauliflower or sweet potatoes: https://coolfooddude.com/2021/04/10/greek-chicken-and-potato-traybake/
Subbing b/s thighs and cauliflower/sweet potatoes/white beans: https://leitesculinaria.com/497844/recipes-lemon-garlic-sheet-pan-chicken-thighs.html#wprm-recipe-container-497847
Subbing sorghum or farro for couscous:
Reducing cheese and subbing cooked brown rice:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/stir-fried-spiced-pumpkin/ via @truman (?)
Without the bread: https://www.allthingsmamma.com/italian-chicken-sandwich/#wprm-recipe-container-27184
Subbing a whole grain: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/moroccan-chicken-and-couscous-soup
https://www.sunset.com/recipe/andrea-nguyen-grilled-lemongrass-pork-chop via @Saregama
October - December 2024 COTM + COOKING FROM thread: NEW YORK TIMES COOKING (website & cookbooks) - #6 by Saregama via @Saregama
Subbing something for the potatoes: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017359-sheet-pan-chicken-with-potatoes-arugula-and-garlic-yogurt
ETA:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025675-pesto-beans
A favorite: https://www.kitchenkonfidence.com/2011/08/roasted-butternut-squash-with-sweet-spices-chile-and-lime
Planning to explore here, too:
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Cacio e pepe potatoes were definitely from me, stir-fried pumpkin was definitely not 
I was mulling this over in between (and in) meetings today - two more ideas:
SK’s butternut squash and farro salad - vegetarian with cheese on top, whole grain. Also works with wild rice instead of farro (I believe either @saregama or @caitlinm suggested that).
Melissa Clark’s harissa chicken with potatoes and leeks -leave the potatoes out and make baked potatoes on the side for those who want them.
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The Ratatoullie with Farro from Skinnytaste is tasty and easy. I’m not a huge fan of eggplant so I usually use less than called for but use more squash. https://www.skinnytaste.com/ratatouille-with-farro/
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Yes! And some tempeh or something could be added. https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/10/butternut-squash-salad-with-farro-and-pepitas/
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These two also look good:
I need to explore her site more. Maybe I just need to batch cook some chicken and tofu to incorporate into these complicated veggie dishes…
I would eat that, but I don’t think anyone else here would 
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Smitten Kitchen is COTM (COTQ) right now! So far it looks a bit dessert-heavy, but the earlier posts included some lists of favorites. I also like:
garlic lime steak and noodle salad (build your own bowl, so noodles can be optional)
From Keepers - she has a black bean chili that starts with roasting and pureeing peppers/onion/tomatoes as for salsa, then using that as the chili base. I’ve modified it quite a bit but it’s super quick for a weeknight if you roast the veggies ahead of time (like on a weekend while you’re doing something else). I can email details if you want.
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Sounds great, thanks! Sure on the PM. 
I can vouch for the cabbage salad! She also has a great tahini carrot salad with crisped chickpeas! As far as tofu, the sofritas recipe from Pinch of Yum is very good! She has a lot of veg forward recipes, also!
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Perfect, thank you! I have saved. https://smittenkitchen.com/2014/05/carrot-salad-with-tahini-and-crisped-chickpeas/
Avoiding/limiting red meat and making it an infrequent ingredient not at the center of the plate/bowl.
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Found it online and decided to post the original and my version on the COTM thread, here. Happy cooking!
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Chili with beans or its cousin, Cassoulet.
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If winter squash is in your eating plan, I have two dishes to recommend. In either case, you can go with the convenience option of pre-cubed squash.
Hate the cutesy name, but really enjoy this dish with the following modifications, which also fit with your requests: radically increase the amount of Brussels sprouts; skip the pita, and instead throw cooked (canned and drained, in my case) chickpeas coated in olive oil with S&P on top of the roasted vegetables toward the end of roasting time. The sumac-heavy dressing really makes the dish.
Also, Diana Henry’s Moroccan roasted vegetables, but note the following: The original recipe calls for any type of winter squash (I do cubes rather than wedges), 2 seeded and minced Fresno chiles rather than Aleppo pepper, 2-2.5 lb cauliflower, slightly more ginger, and the addition of preserved lemon, along with serving with labneh, which it gives instructions for making by salting and draining Greek yogurt. In the headnote, she suggests mixing minced preserved lemon into Greek yogurt as an alternative. which I have done. I don’t serve this over couscous, and obviously you can skip the potatoes, or serve them or couscous on the side.
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Loving this thread because I’m aspiring to eat this way again to reset.
My go-tos when I do this are low effort / high flavor using a few helpers for the protein or the veg or both – marinades, sauces, curry pastes, etc. Or simple & comforting things that don’t need much help.
Eg:
– Roasted salmon with steamed or roasted vegetables. Helpers could be mustard, zhoug, harissa, thai curry paste on the salmon.
– Roast chicken (pieces) ditto. I love roast chicken in its simplest form, but might also marinate it in yogurt with Indian spices or harissa or zhoug.
– Eggs! Steamed, omeletted, souffled, scrambled, boiled and then curried, and so on.
– Dal / lentil soup – I often add vegetables to the dal when pressure cooking it, and mash them in so they are indistinguishable. Enhances the flavor significantly. Eat as a side, or with rice or quinoa, or as part of a larger meal. Vegetables that mash in well include any kind of squash, cauliflower (especially stem stubs), carrots, and in the non-mash category, spinach.
– Kebabs, koftas, meatballs, and the like – with ground turkey.
– Turkey meatloaf with grated and sauteed zucchini mixed in (also minced carrots and mushrooms, especially black)
– Potsticker “patties” – ie the inside of a dumpling cooked as a burger, served with lettuce cups or any vegetable slaw or side. Korean wanja-jeon are similar idea, but the meat is cut with tofu and egg. Or Japanese tsukune / chicken meatballs.
– Big Salad – in the winter, it often has a warm component like roasted squash, or beets to bulk it up, or shaved fennel just because I love it. Adding a few crushed pita chips or fresh croutons makes it fattoush or panzanella light. Taco salad is also delicious, though I don’t make it as much (black beans, corn, chicken, taco seasoning, scallions, lettuce or cabbage, a few crushed corn chips for crunch), as is Asian chicken salad (cabbage, carrots, chicken, sesame or carrot ginger or buttermilk dressing, scallions, almond slivers).
I mix quinoa with rice to up the protein and satiation level.
I have also added broccoli slaw to all kinds of unrelated things (hello thai green curry with broccoli slaw! hey there tortilla-not-espanola with broccoli slaw instead of potatoes!)
On the veg front, I run into the prep issue too. I like to stock 2-3 frozen and refrigerated veg (broccoli or cauliflower florets, broccoli slaw) I can microwave or quick-saute while the protein is cooking, or to batch cook something like frozen spinach (sauteed in bulk with onion, garlic, chilli flakes) or any vegetables that roast well (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, onions, squashes, fennel, etc) so I have something ready to eat when I don’t feel like it.
I shared some favorite bean-based dishes elsewhere:
And this collects some older threads that might be of interest:
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