what are all the substitutes in vegetarian diets?

Instead of butter, I use olive oil or coconut oil, or occasionally Spectrum Organic Shortening. It's natural and free of trans fats.

Instead of eggs, depending on what I'm making, I might use applesauce, mashed banana, flax gel (made by mixing flax meal with warm water,) or Ener-G Egg Replacer.

You can buy flax meal online here: http://www.bobsredmill.com/org.-brown-flaxseed-mea...

and egg replacer here: http://www.ener-g.com/egg-replacer.html

I use flax more often, for things like muffins and breads, and lots of other things. I don't make as many cupcakes these days, but for those you'd be better off with Egg Replacer.

In scrambles and some custardy things, like cheesecake, you can also use tofu.

I don't use a lot of so-called meat substitutes. It's not hard to eat a healthy vegetarian or vegan diet, even without those shortcuts! I eat fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds. You should be able to find many kinds of dried beans at your local Latin markets, or in the Goya aisle in the middle of the regular supermarket. Brown rice with beans, or curried veggies with potatoes, or quinoa with pumpkin seeds and roasted veggies, are all satisfying meals that are rich in protein, filling, and best of all - don't require special substitutions or fancy grocery stores!

As a vegetarian whose shopping resources seem kind of limited, you should make sure you get enough iron, calcium, and zinc. If you eat whole, natural foods, and eat a lot of different colored fruits and veg every day (especially the dark green ones) you should be fine. Just make sure you eat something dark green every day! Good examples include kale, broccoli, collards that haven't been cooked too too long, beet greens, chard, the list goes on. Whatever is available and fresh and good.

An easy way to get a head start is to begin your day with a green smoothie. Put a banana or two, an orange, and a few good handfuls of kale or baby spinach in your blender. Add enough almond milk, juice, or water to get it going, and blend until smooth. If you want it sweeter, you can add more fruit. If you need more substance, add some soaked cashews or a spoonful of almond butter.

P.S. I used to live in Texas! I was lucky to live in Austin, close to a Whole Foods market and a Sun Harvest. Whole Foods is actually based in Texas! I think there are something like 17 Whole Foods stores in Texas, so there may not be one close to you, but they do exist somewhere! Good luck to you!

Edited to add: By the way, this vegan macaroni and cheese sauce is awesome! http://www.vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?catId=...

It is easy to make - veggies, cashews, and spices you have in the cupboard. (You can totally skip the shallots if you can't find them.) I don't use margarine, I use olive oil, and a smaller amount. I often make the sauce without the pasta or bread crumbs - it is good on rice, in potatoes au gratin, on amaranth, or even thin it out a little and add spinach to make soup!

It is awesome as is, or you can make it even cheesier tasting with a little nutritional yeast.

I made it this evening and put it over amaranth. So good!

Vegetarians don't eat flesh-many still use dairy and eggs. I buy cruelty free eggs, don't drink milk, buy cheese made with vegetable rennet. For nutrients that are found in meat I suggest you do a web search to educate yourself so far as the foods you enjoy that can supply protein, iron and B12, because there is a wide variety to choose from. Some ideas for protein are beans, legumes, seeds, nuts, whole grains and many vegetables. I don't suggest frequent use of meat substitutes-a lot of them aren't that healthy and it keeps you thinking in the box that you have to have some sort of fleshlike product.

You can substitute margarine for butter if you prefer-there are so many made with vegetable oil it's no big deal. Eggs can be substituted with tofu, but like I say, vegetarians can eat dairy and eggs, it's personal preference.

Some people use eggplant...but you'll have to learn how to prepare it properly, I think you have to cook it in boiling salt water for a while before you can start putting it in dishes. You can also use cornmeal burger patties...although I've only come across one takeaway restaurant that had really nice vegeburgers...they were divine with mayo sauce & lettuce. It's hard to find good vegeburger patties in most stores. Hummus has a meaty taste if you buy the right brand. Spread it on toast. You might want to try the Linda McCartney vegetarian products. I recommend their meat-free sausages. Usually I eat these with tomato sauce. You can try tofu as well...but I hardly ever see it in most shops.

Meat substitutes: Quorn

Linda McCartney Foods

Beans

Nuts

Nut Roast

Cauldron

You can generally use oils in place of butter. Like Olive, Canola, Coconut. And some margarine is dairy free. I've seen a lot of recipes that use apple sauce in place of eggs for baking things like cookies. Obviously you can get Soy, Rice, Almond, and Hemp milk in place of regular milk. You can use vegetable broth in place of chicken and beef. And they make vegetable boullion cubes.

There are a lot of options!

for things like cakes that require eggs, u can use vinegar (yes really!) or banana, there are lots of butters that dont actually contain dairy which are pure sunflower or olive oil spreads, even margarine is usually vegan. take a look and you'll be amazed, you can find them in your everyday supermarket. btw, vegetarians can eat dairy and eggs, it's vegans who don't.

There are things like Quorn, Couldron, Linda Mccartney. You have basically just got to look for it! I can find the Meat free range all the time when I go to the supermarket.

Check out a vegetarian/vegan or health food section in a grocery store around you. You'll find substitutes for things like butter (e.g., "Earth Balance"), milk (soymilk, rice milke, almond milk, etc, depending on your needs), egg (veg "egg mix"), cheese (e.g., "veggies slices"), chicken nuggets ("chick'n nuggets"), hamburger ("veggie burger") and so on