The Stars and the Cookie Jar

So for various reasons (the environment, ethical concerns, hechsher v'tzedek, N likes tasty carbs) we're exploring the shift from omnivorism to vegetarianism, or at least mindful, extremely reduced meat consumption.

(I think it was Ghandi who said that if you give up something and don't really want to give it up, there's no point, because you'll be spending all your time hyperfocusing on what you gave up. He didn't say hyperfocusing, but. Insert salmon/chicken livers/filet here.)

I know how to cook for vegetarians. I know how to make tasty meatless fare. None of that is the problem, and you don't have to sell us on the benefits of a vegetarian diet.

It's that I seem to be designed for honking great amounts of animal protein -- I think it happened a hundred years ago when my Ashkenazi forebears only had enough scratch for one set of dishes -- and even the complete protein combos of rice-and-beans, tofu-and-noodles-and-peanut butter, don't seem to fill me up. Half an hour later, having consumed three-quarter pound of vegetable matter, I'm grazing again. It's like I never ate. Worse, I feel shaky and horrible and my mood drops and I want to kill people. Line them up and kill them so I can EAT THEM COS THEY'RE MADE OF MEAT.

Mycoprotein, seitan, tempeh -- the Mats o' Matter style of faux meat -- seems to do the trick for me, but it's pricey, completely negating the economic benefits, and requires specialized shopping trips to Whole Wallet, and besides I don't know the carbon footprint of Quorn. N's allergic to mycoprotein and indeed most UnMeats. In any case, she can live on breadrolls, pasta, rice pilaf and salads.

So. Any suggestions on how to be a wiser, healthier consumer without twelve ounces of beast per day?