Rabbit food. That’s what my dad calls vegetarian cooking and cuisine. Salads and vegetables – can’t be anything more to it, can there? Oh, but there is. Vegetarian cooking is at least as varied as ‘regular’ cooking – and in some cases, far more imaginative.
Nearly thirty years ago, Diet for a Small Planet, and the follow-up cookbook, Recipes for a Small Planet hit the bookstore shelves with a resounding thud that still echoes. While many of the theories of protein complementarily that Frances Moore Lappe presented have been proven to be na
Filed under Food And Drink by on Jun 17th, 2010. 
So, you’re having a dinner party and cooking will soon be underway. You’ve invited friends and family, set the date and planned an unofficial bill of fare, yet, there’s a bump or two in your dinner party path. A few of your friends have selective eating habits, as they live vegetarian lifestyles.
At this point, you’ve been ready to prepare a standard meal, but now you’ve been positioned to prepare food in an unfamiliar cooking scenario and you’re probably a bit intimidated, at least slightly unsure of what to do. Endless culinary complications and dead ends are running through your noggin. You’re thinking “What can I make that will satisfy my vegetarian guests and not scare my meat-eating guests away…what can I do to solve this problem?” This ‘problem’ is really more so a challenge. Cooking a la vegetarian isn’t a nuisance either, nor is it difficult to resolve.
There are simple ways to assure your dinner party is a success and goes over well with all your guests. Consider some of the following basic suggestions:
Consult A Vegetarian Recipe:
There is an abundant amount of recipe resources available in printed book and Internet format you can consult before starting to cook for your party. Recipes will range from levels easy to involved. It would be best to try out a beginner’s or intermediate’s recipe, as it would assure you less hassle and basic vegetarian preparation.
Be sure to use a strictly vegetarian specific recipe instead of altering a normal recipe to make it vegetarian. Do this simply to avoid cooking with ingredients that are otherwise vegetarian unfriendly. Many ingredients included in non-vegetarian recipes can include animal additives and to vegetarians, these are what they try to avoid.
Even while reading a vegetarian recipe, be cognizant of all ingredients that will be used. Research each one, making certain none include animal byproducts or add-ons.
Don’t Stress About Shopping For Provisions:
Vegetarian friendly grocers are almost everywhere. As it stands, every grocer has a produce section, some more varied than others, but still, vegetables and fruits are plenty and not difficult to attain. And if the usual grocer does not have what you’re looking for specialty stores can be visited. Farmer’s markets and organic grocers can provide you with a great produce selection of the freshest quality.
If you’re interested in meat substitutions, a vegetarian section in any grocer is your best bet. Any type of meat has some sort of vegetarian alternative. Vegetarian forms of lunch meats, chicken, pork and so on are all available in frozen packages which can be prepared to your liking or culinary specifications.
Separate Meat Dishes From Vegetarian Dishes:
When all your party food is cooked and ready for serving, make sure the meat dishes and vegetarian dishes are served on separate platters. Even consider visibly marking which dishes include meat and those that do not by tagging them with folded note cards.
This might be a bit silly, but also be aware to keep serving utensils separate. Assign each dish it’s own serving fork and/or spoon. Do this to avoid meat dishes mingling with vegetarian dishes by utensil sharing. Even if a utensil used for serving a meat dish touches the wrong platter, especially the vegetarian one, the vegetarian guests could easily be swayed to not eat that dish.
So, that dinner party is finally here and guests are about to arrive. You went ahead to mull through some vegetarian recipes, shop for the best vegetarian food and produce, and you even meat-proofed your plating and serving methods. When it comes time to let your guests into your party, be confident. Do so because you’ve taken considerable steps to be a polite and accommodating host. This will show, as your guests will be comfortable, whether vegetarian or not. Enjoy your party and company knowing all is well.
By: E.S. Cromwell
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Filed under Food And Drink by on Jun 17th, 2010.
Don’t be fooled by the misconception that all vegetarian food is made from a low calorie vegetarian recipe. It may be the case if the dish is based solely around vegetables but often the addition of oils, dairy products, nuts and seeds significantly raise the calorie content.
If you think that there is no such thing as an overweight vegetarian then think again! Perhaps that is how you found yourself at this site. If you are a looking for a low calorie vegetarian recipe that tastes like it is NOT a low calorie vegetarian recipe then congratulations because you are in the right place!
I have found the most popular low calorie vegetarian recipe to be Spinach Quiche with Oat Crust. It tastes so good that most people would not even realize that it is vegetarian or low in calories!
This recipe is low in calories because the core ingredient is spinach (a vegetarian’s best friend). After using this recipe and my other low calorie vegetarian recipe (Vegetable Cottage Pie), I found that the few extra pounds I had gained over my holidays had vanished! All without any real effort on my part!
By using a vegetarian low calorie recipe you are taking the first essential step to fighting obesity, ensuring good health and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases!
Counting calories in your vegetarian diet is essential to living life as abundantly as a vegetarian can! The ultimate key to vegetarian weight loss is not only to use a low calorie vegetarian recipe when preparing meals, but to also combine the change in diet with a change in your lifestyle.
You may be thinking ‘here we go again, another diet that I will fail at’ or ‘low calorie food never tastes good’. Perhaps that is the reason you are losing the obesity battle. Change your attitude! If you are serious about weight loss, make a low calorie vegetarian recipe tonight!
Hide all your regular vegetarian recipes and replace them with a low calorie vegetarian recipe. It’s as easy as that. If it is not there, then you can’t use it.
Using a low calorie vegetarian recipe is the ultimate key to vegetarian weight loss!
By: Melissa Lastelle
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Filed under Food And Drink by on Jun 17th, 2010.
I’m about to abandon my adult children in North Carolina and relocate to California. Sometimes a maudlin sentimentality overtakes me, as if I am about to die and will never see them again, in this world. I feel compelled to leave behind something that will enrich their lives and make them feel as if I am still with them, even if I’ve only “passed over” to the other side of the continent. And so, to my daughters, and to you, dear reader, I bequeath my Vegetarian Soup Recipes.
I’m leaving at least two dozen vegetarian cookbooks. My daughters could easily use those or lend them to my son. They could certainly do an Internet search and find oodles of options for vegetable soups. But I rarely use published recipes. I invent my own soups, from whatever is available.
Some few key ingredients should be on hand in every vegetarian kitchen. For sauteeing vegetables, have extra virgin olive oil, and for seasoning, a bit of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, and some unsalted Spike seasoning, or an assortment of seasonings. I have found that a dash of Bragg Aminos and a tablespoon of Spike, thrown into a few cups of boiling water, makes an extra-delicious vegetable broth.
For a hasty, tasty soup, throw away the seasoning packets from Ramen soup. Use the Bragg/Spike combination in water. For nutritional value toss into the soup a variety of fresh or frozen vegetables– whatever you have on hand. Broccoli is wonderful, and maybe a button or two of carrot, celery, a handful of frozen peas and corn, or maybe some string beans or asparagus. Spinach and mushrooms, sliced leeks or scallions (thoroughly soaked and washed) are all tasty additions to this 3-minute meal.
Stock up on dried beans, lentils and grains– such as brown rice and whole-grain pastas, and barley, some cans of tomatoes. By adding any vegetables (celery, carrots, onion, mushrooms, broccoli, or other favorites), many vegetarian soup recipes can be created.
Yesterday I created mushroom, barley, lentil soup. I sauteed mushroom slices until they were barely tender, and then I dumped in many cups of water, some whole-grain barley and some lentils. I ******** in Bragg Aminos and dumped in Spike until the broth tasted delicious. I added lentils, equal to the amount of barley. I continued to boil the soup for 55 minutes. Knowing the soup might be improved by a bit of potato and carrot, I cut one of each into 1/ inch dice and threw them into the pot near the end of the cooking time.
For a bean soup, soak assorted beans overnight and boil them in the Bragg-and-Spike-seasoned water, until tender. Add desired vegetables.
For a vegetable soup, begin with cans of diced tomato. Add water, Bragg, Spike, ground pepper, brown rice or pasta, and assorted veggies. Experiment with seasonings. Add sauteed onion or garlic sometimes. A dash of tobasco make it zippy!
And while your soup is cooking, why not telephone your mother?
By: Wendy Pan
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Filed under Food And Drink by on Jun 17th, 2010.