A question for my vegetarian / vegan friends who are former carnivores
What is the most satisfying dish that you prepare as a former meat eater?
I've never found the "lentil loaf" and "veggie burger" route to be my cup of tea. Of course, that may simply be a result of my only sampling bad lentil loaves and veggie burgers.
I do eat a lot of non-meat dishes. When I prepare my home-made pasta sauce, I'd say I put meat in it 25% of the time. The rest of the time it's mushrooms or something else. I like spinach but you have to steam it, get the moisture out, and add it just long enough to heat it at the end of cooking time or you get watery sauce.
I'm not at the point of becoming either a vegan or vegetarian, but there are times when I do eat meat, and if I don't eat something that tricks my mind into thinking I just had something as good as (or better than) meat, I pretty much want meat.
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...it seems to be a matter of bulk for me. I love broccoli but if I eat it by itself I'm thinking "this would go really well with meat loaf or a steak."
...make a simple rice pilaf, and steam some broccoli. I don;t eat that way 7 days a week, but when I make that specific meal, it's always satisfying.
Also, falafel 
I don't make either, as I know several great places in town to get both kinds of cuisine
...mainly because pine nuts are so ridiculously expensive. Came out pretty good but you do have to remove the skins from the walnut halves. It's a little time-consuming but worth it.
I do enjoy tofu as well. I've made many a stir-fry with firm tofu.
And being Italian, polenta was always lurking on the horizon somewhere.
I only eat fish and occasionally chicken and those makeup about 10% of the food I now eat. Everything else is veg, legumes, potato, and grains, but I'm also beginning to try things I've not eaten much before like farro, chickpeas, quinoa, parsnips, etc. My daughter is a USDA farm inspector so she brings me new things to eat all the time.
- For ideas on how to bulk-up your meals, you might want to try Bhavna's Kitchen.
And you might also like this one fish deal from my new favorite Aussie:
When I was in Colorado (just moved back to Nevada two weeks ago today), they had just opened a local Trader Joe's. A;ways intended to go there and grab some soy chorizo to try. I've read a couple of reviews that said it's not bad at all.
For me it's the consistency; dense or heavy similar to meat, and I am definitely not into the 'fake meat'. I eat portobello mushrooms, all kinds of beans, eggplant, cauliflower. Cauliflower can be sliced into slabs, dressed up and baked; so good! Roasted brussel sprouts are amazing. I eat a lot of nuts too - walnuts are a daily staple.
I'll never be able to be a vegan though; I love cheese and yogurt too much. And when I visit my parents I always eat a giant cheesesteak hoagie just so I can remember what meat tastes like. 
There's a long story behind this, especially the 4 AM part. But the Kroger's that was 2 miles away didn't carry it and the Albertson's 9 miles away did, so...
One thing I noticed about Texas...at least in Denton...is that Texans really seem to hate lighting their freeways. They also don't like to put those reflectors in the lanes that let you see where you're driving at 4 AM on a freeway that is poorly lit.
I can't speak for anyone, but that worked for me.
I admit to cheating from time to time and that's ok
