I’m not a vegetarian and don’t foresee a day when I will become one. But swayed by the advice of food writer Michael Pollan (he of “Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants” fame), the Government of Canada’s new food guide, and all sorts of other food experts, I’m trying to move our eating toward less flesh.

The goal: beef, pork, fowl, fish or shellfish at only one meal per day and proteins from grains, pulses, nuts, vegetables, eggs and dairy at the other two meals.

Breakfast has always been an easy meat-free: whole-grain bagel with peanut butter and banana; homemade granola (my favourite recipe is this Maple Apricot Granola from Bon Appetit) with milk or yoghurt; frozen fruit and yoghurt smoothie; or eggs, whole grain toast, and a side of fruit. In the summer when tomatoes are abundant and delicious, whole-grain toast with cheese and tomato slices goes into the rotation.

When I decided a couple months ago to cook less meat for us, I realized why our meat consumption had crept up. I cook dinners for the two of us as if there were four at table and pack up two servings for the next day’s take-to-work lunch. When there’s roast chicken at night, there’s roast chicken for next day’s lunch. That night’s stir-fried beef and broccoli becomes the following day’s mid-day meal. And on it goes. That’s terrific for saving money on buying lunches in restaurants. It doesn’t help us reduce the amount of meat in our diet.

The only way to break that cycle is to introduce vegetarian main dishes as the evening meal every second night, which will then generate vegetarian lunches to take to work the next day.

For many years, I’ve had a handful of vegetarian-friendly and vegan-friendly meals in my hosting repertoire. Vegetarians must tire of being served “noodles with vegetables” (aka “Pasta Primavera”) by non-vegetarians hosts, so many years ago I found a few good go-tos via Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks when I had vegetarians (or vegans) coming to the table: Another Shepherd’s Pie, with kasha substituting for meaty texture and gravy made from mushrooms; a vegetable strudel where sautéed veggies accented by grated cheese are wrapped in phyllo pastry; Ukrainian bean-beet stew, hearty and colourful dish for winter meals. I even discovered a delicious lime cheesecake using silken tofu, perfect for vegan pals, from my chef guru Anna Olson Back to Baking cookbook, although the recipe does not appear to be posted online.

I like these dishes, and others in my hosting collection: they are also relatively complex, and take time to prepare, which is fine for a weekend dinner party but less practical for weekday cooking.

As I embarked on finding ways to introduce more vegetarian options into our diet, I received an alumni newsletter from the University of Waterloo, one of my alma maters, and read an article by Heather Keller  kinesiology professor and Schlegel Research Chair in Nutrition and Aging. She states that “animal products, such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and milk products, provide all essential amino acids [you need] in the right amounts, but not all plants do (an exception is soy). So, if you avoid animal products, this means eating a variety of plant sources every day to get the right mix of essential amino acids. This takes education, planning, and often cooking your own food.”

Healthy amounts of protein are something my partner, who is committed to weight-lifting workouts, wants. I also find I feel sharper and better prepared for life with some protein in the tummy.

So: how to do more veg with a) limited weekday prep time and b) still wanting some amount of protein involved?

It is early days, for sure. Bean-based chilis, or chilis made with soy-based TVP (texturized vegetable protein) are easy winter dishes. A hearty minestrone soup with pinto beans warms the innards and makes a complete meal.

Cauliflower and mushrooms (not necessarily together) are my new best friends, in terms of creating the bulk and texture for a satisfying main meal. I’ve found some recipes that have worked well, are relatively quick to put together, and that we’ll make again. Many others are in the “tried it once, OK, won’t make again”, category (I’m looking at you, Jamie Oliver’s BBQ Baked Beans with sweet potato.)

Here are a few winners from my recent explorations. What are your favourite veg-based-yet-protein-too mains?

• Jamie Oliver’s Keralan Veggie Curry.
• New York Times’ Cashew, Pea and Coconut Curry (now behind a paywall for me, even though we have a paid subscription: apparently multiple recipe seeks goes into “gold level” territory.)
• Red Rice and Leek Casserole with White Wine and Lemon by Canadian nutritionist Leslie Beck. Protein boost comes from red lentils.
• Blackeyed Peas and Corn Patties with Cilantro from Vegetarian Times (a Google search special).

Main photo: Chris Moorehead