Hi...any reccs on a good Vegan/vegetarian cookbook for beginners? [View all]

I am an omnivore, but really don't eat that much meat. Rarely drink milk, love cheese & eggs. I live in Seattle, have a subscription to Vegetarian Times, and am a member of Vegetarians of Washington.

But I'm overweight. Otherwise healthy. I know that the amount of meat/meat products I eat is very very small compared to average american diet, but still want to cut it out as much as possible, if not completely.

I love vegetables, can whip up a channa masala or dal like no one's business. Like I said, I don't eat a lot of meat, and b/c of Trader Joe's, etc, already have a freezer full of meat substitutes (veg burger, meatless meatballs, fake bacon, etc) mostly.

But I guess when it comes to a complete meal....main dish, side dish, I just get stuck. I don't want to eat nothing but salads, or nothing but burrito-type rollups, which seems to be where I get stuck.

I'm also a major carb junkie, and that contributes more to my weight than I think the meat products do because I eat more potatoes and rice than I do chicken or beef.

So I don't want to get caught up where everything is cous-cous and ___, or potatoes and ____, or rice and ____ because that's pretty much how I eat now anways. Or wrap up veggies and hummous in a burrito. Or put it with Pasta, etc.

So I'm looking for cookbooks to expand my palate so I'm not eating Rice and ____ or cous-cous and ____ every day...expand the palate so I don't get burned out. Iit never fails that I can go completely meatless for like 2 or 3 weeks then I just get burnt out on rice and ____, ____ in a burrito rolled up with hummous, etc.

Any advice?

Oh sorry for bad spelling...I spilt something on the laptop apparently....

added on edit: I read through the first page and didn't see anything related to books or what-not, but read through several of the posts and find you all to be a welcoming group full of really useful information and "real-life" situations...and I hope you don't mind if I subscribe to your group and keep on reading