Top 7 Healthy Vegetarian Recipes For Weight Loss

The internet can be an overwhelming place for anyone who’s trying to deal with obesity. Especially for people who follow vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, or vegan diets. With new fads cropping up everyday that promise to help you lose inches while you sleep, it’s important to get back to basics and understand the WHY’s of your weight loss journey.

Firstly, why do you need to maintain an ideal body weight?

You can improve your overall fitness and reduce your susceptibility to numerous ailments by maintaining a healthy ideal body weight. Obesity increases the chance of significant health problems, such as diabetes and heart conditions. Your bones and organs are also put under stress by excess body fat. It intensifies inflammatory processes in the body and brings about alterations in hormones and metabolism. Obesity has been related to a number of health issues, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and other disorders. 

So, how do you deal with something this serious? 

Regular exercise, a healthy diet, and adequate sleep are the first stages towards achieving this. Anything that encourages stress reduction and a healthy lifestyle is always a positive step.

One thing that everyone always debates is-what exactly is a balanced diet?

You should consider including the following 7 elements in your diet to maintain healthy weight and functional health- Carbohydrates,Protein,Fats,Fibre,Vitamins,Minerals & Water.

Having a protein and fibre rich diet is considered a difficult task for people who don’t eat meat. But that is a misinformed piece of information at best. Vegetarians can thrive on a healthy diet consisting of food items like- 

• Non-starchy vegetables: Broccoli, Bell pepper, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Mushrooms,Eggplant, Carrots, Celery, and Cucumber
• Fruits
• Whole grains: Quinoa, Brown rice, Farro, Millet, Barley, and Bulgur wheat
• Beans and legumes
• Nuts and seeds
• Lean proteins: Beans, Legumes, Nuts, Seeds, Nut butters, Eggs, Greek Yogurt, Milk, and Soy products like Tofu, Tempeh, and Edamame
• Healthy fats: Avocado, Olive oil, Coconut, Nuts, Seeds, Nut butters, and cheese

Read ahead to find 5 yummy and wholesome vegetarian recipes that you’ll look forward to enjoying in your weight loss journey:

1. Morning Jumpstart Juice-Apple, Lemon and Ginger Juice 

Juicing is by far the simplest way of adding more fruits and veggies to your diet. Moreover, cold pressed juices retain 60% more nutrients and is a heatless way of preparing yummier, healthier juices. This recipe includes the big three detoxifying ingredients-apples, lemon, and ginger. This is a great first juice of the day, since it gets the detox process going and the heat from the cayenne jump starts your metabolism.

Yield: One serving

Ingredients:

Red Apple – 2 1/4 medium apples

Lemon – 1/2 medium lemon

Ginger –1 half inch piece of ginger root

Cayenne (ground) – 1 pinch

Directions:

1. Wash the produce.
2. Peel the lemon.
3. Juice the ingredients together in a cold press juicer.
4. Add a large pinch of cayenne pepper to top it off.

2. Mile High Sandwich

If you’re on the lookout for a hearty but healthy vegetarian recipe for lunch,you’ve come to the right place. Hummus is a great source of plant-based protein and the veggies in this sandwich make it extremely fibre rich. Especially if you’re a fan of vegetarian avocado recipes.

Time: 20 mins for preparation and cooking

Serving: For 1

Ingredients :

• 2 slices whole-grain bread
• 3 tablespoons hummus
• ¼ avocado, mashed
• ½ cup mixed salad greens
• ¼ medium red bell pepper, sliced
• ¼ cup sliced cucumber
• ¼ cup shredded carrot

Directions:

1. For the hummus- Use a strong blender to blend up some cooked chickpeas, salt, a pinch of baking powder, lemon juice and chopped garlic.
2. Spread one slice of bread with hummus and the other one with avocado. Fill the sandwich with greens, bell pepper, cucumber and carrot.

3. Dosa to die for

This is an amazing alternative to traditional white rice dosa since the quinoa and brown rice are both fibre-rich and great sources of ‘clean carbs’. It’s easy to prepare and the batter stays fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days. Best enjoyed with a cup of vegetable sambar or other vegetarian gravy recipes.

Ingredients:

To soak together-

Quinoa, 1 cup

Brown rice, 1 cup

Whole Black gram 1/4 cup

Whole green gram 1/4 cup

Toor dal/Pigeon peas 1/4 cup

Split Chickpeas/ Chana dal 1/4 cup

Other ingredients:

Red Chillies, as per your taste

Ginger, about 1 inch long

Fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon

Asafoetida, a pinch

Salt and oil as required

Directions:

1. Soak the ingredients listed under 'soak together' for at least 3 hours.
2. In the mixer blender, add the soaked ingredients and then add the red chillies and chopped ginger and grind until they are mashed well. Then add the rest of the ingredients and grind to make a smooth batter adding required water. In the end, add the asafoetida, turmeric powder and salt and run the grinder till they are evenly mixed.
3. Transfer the batter into the container and keep it aside.
4. Heat the griddle, pour a ladle of batter and spread it in a circular motion. Drizzle some oil and cook for a minute or two, turn it to the other side, cook for another minute. Then remove from the griddle and serve.

4. Bloomin' (cauli) flowers: 

Nothing could make vegetables taste as good as a big plate of wings, until these Buffalo Cauliflower Bites started popping up.Follow the steps for your vegetarian bowl of goodness.

Ingredients-

1 cauliflower

Small bowl of flour

Paprika, salt, ginger powder and pepper, as per your taste

Buffalo sauce

Directions:

1. Add flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, water, and buffalo sauce in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the cauliflower florets to this batter.
3. Toss to coat and make sure to coat all the cauliflower florets evenly.
4. Spread cauliflower onto the basket of an air fryer.
5. Air fry at 375°F for 15 minutes and cook until they just start to brown.
6. Serve hot with blue cheese dressing, celery, and carrots if desired.

Pro tips for the best wings:

• Drain the batter before adding the cauliflower into the basket. This will help make the florets extra crispy.
• Don’t put too many florets and overcrowd the air fryer basket.
• Cook right before serving as they’ll become soft after cooling down.
• Enjoy it with vegetarian oyster sauce!

5. Berry Blast 

Frosty and full of protein, what else do you need? This smoothie will give you that boost of energy with the freshness of whatever berries you choose to mix in. 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup frozen strawberries
• ½ cup frozen blueberries
• 1 small ripe banana (frozen, if desired)
• ¾ cup chilled unsweetened cashew milk, plus more if needed
• 1 tablespoon cashew butter
• 1 tablespoon hemp seeds

Directions:

Combine strawberries, blueberries, banana, cashew milk, cashew butter and hemp seeds together in a blender. Process it until smooth, adding more cashew milk, if needed for consistency. Serve immediately.

Pro tip:

Freeze the fruits ahead of time for an extra frosty texture once blended.

6. Taco Everyday 

Another vegetarian air fryer recipes that lets you enjoy typically deep-fried food without all the saturated fats are these vegetarian wrap style air fried tacos! The kidney bean filling in these make it packed with protein.

Ingredients-

1 large avocado or 2 small ones

Salt & pepper to taste

1 can vegan refried beans

1 tbsp taco seasoning*

8 corn tortillas

Olive oil

Hot sauce

Shredded lettuce, cilantro, salsa, vegan cilantro ranch-Optional toppings 

Directions-

• Add salt and pepper and scoop the avocado into a bowl. Apply a fork to the mixture and mash.
• In a bowl, combine the refried beans with the taco seasoning. Taco spice can be adjusted based on taste.
• In order to keep your tortillas warm, heat them over an open flame (or in the microwave).
• Tacos should be placed seam side down in the air fryer. 10 minutes of cooking at 380 degrees, with half-turning.
• Toppings of your choice should be served with rolled tacos.

7. Pureed Bean Soup 

Creamy, filling and full of proteins and vitamins, this soup has it all.You can have it as the main meal or as an appetiser or even as a side dish. Made with beans, veggies, coconut milk, and homemade croutons, it is hard to resist this vegetarian diet recipe.

Ingredients-

Vegetables. Onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.

Beans- Kidney or black beans

Veggie Broth. Use homemade or store-bought veggie broth.

Herbs- Fresh dill, parsley and mint go really well with this soup

Coconut Milk. This ingredient is optional. It gives a bit of creaminess to the soup and also makes a great garnish.

Croutons- Optional, again but the combination of homemade crunch croutons with creamy soup is heavenly.

Directions: 

-In a pot, cook the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil over medium heat until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown (about 10 minutes).

-Include the broth, salt, pepper, and beans (sometimes the broth is salty enough, so add as needed). It should boil for a few minutes before being cooked for 30 minutes at medium-low heat.

-While waiting, place the bread in the skillet, brush some oil over it, season it with salt, and toast it until it is properly browned and crunchy.

-Stir in the parsley and dill before taking the soup off the heat. Use a power blender to purée the food until smooth.