School is improving veggie options.. assistance please!

[thecounterspark]

Not sure if this should go under the "food" section or this one.. hope I chose the right one. Some of my threads have been merged and I'm trying really hard to save Korn the trouble. anyway.. on to my post:

This past week our main cafeteria got rearranged, and I couldn't find the vegetarian entree spot anywhere. I asked someone on the staff (most of them are incompetent and rude btw) and they seemed to have no idea what I was talking about. The vegetarian entree usually is usually not much, either. but without it, it was limiting my options here even more. So, I sent an email to food services and look at what they sent me back today:

Molly,
To answer your question, the vegetarian option at the entree station has been removed temporarily. We are in the process of writing a new cycle menu, and we are looking to improve upon our vegetarian selections. We still do offer vegetarian options on a daily basis i.e.: potato bar, pizza, & salad bar. I would like to take this opportunity to invite down to Bevin to discuss some of the options that you would like to see on the menu. Feel free to contact me at your convenience. Thank you.

So, this is where I need help from anyone here. What should I suggest?! For reference, their vegetarian entree is usually a dish with cheese, but maybe once a week they will have a tofu/vegetable stir fries, stuffed peppers, ratatouille.. things like that. (I usually end up making my meals out of veggie and bean and fruit side dishes anyway.)

I am just beaming with stuff in my mind that I can't sort anything out. I am also not a cook at all, so I wouldn't even know where to begin as far as what's manageable for them or what would be reasonable, etc. does that make sense? So- what kind of suggestions should I make as far as dishes, ideas, cookbooks, ingredients, etc?

Thanks if any of you can offer up some good ideas.

[DianeVegan]

That's so great that they have asked for your ideas!

Chili, Asian stir fry with tofu, Veggie Burgers, Pasta with legumes and veggies, different ethnic stews with tofu or legumes or lentils.

I am sure you will get many more replies.

Perhaps you can point out that all vegan options are vegetarian but not the other way around. Ask for dairy as an option on most of the vegetarian foods rather than an integral part. You might explain that a large portion of adults (especially of non-Scandinavian descent) are lactose intolerant and may not be able to afford LactAid tablets just to eat in the cafeteria. I would also ask that the veggie burgers and any other meat analogues be vegan as to be acceptable to all.

Good luck!

[lolamako]

Oh vegan burger bar sounds good. Those Vegan bocas are great.

Nacho bar? you could leave off the cheese.

Quinoa, or other "different" grains.

vegan soups, tomato rice, miso, cream of butternut/other squash, split pea (if you buy a really good smoked tofu and add that it gives it that "ham" flavor) roasted carrot(roast in the oven with onion, garlic,and other spices then blend with veggie broth and soy milk)and orzo or white beans,Quinoa and mushroom soup, minestrone(spelling?) and big crusty rolls.


Thats kinda a hard one now that I think about it....If I think of more I will post them.

[Princess_Ava]

Some things you could ask for based on options they have in my college cafeteria:
Cheeseless pizza
Cold tofu on the salad bar
always 1 vegan soup option
juice boxes of soymilk

Some other ideas just off the top of my head:
tofu sour cream and/or vegan cheese at the potato bar
burrito bar - tofu sour cream or vegan cheese could be offered there as well but if thats too expensive for the school, you could just have yours with rice, beans, guacamole, salsa...
middle eastern type options would be good - hummus,lentil salad, tabbouli...

Considering that the o-l vegetarians can have the pizza, potatoes w/ cheese, etc. it would seem like a good idea that the vegetarian 'entree' always be vegan.