Vegetarian Cooking – Part 1 - Health Plus Digest

People chose to live a vegetarian lifestyle for a variety of reasons. There are strict religious, financial, health and cruelty to animal issues that motivate us to move to a vegetarian diet. Vegetarian cooking is less difficult and complicated than cooking the Standard Western diet, full of fats, sugars and processed foods.

There are some basic techniques to cooking a vegetarian meal. First you have to determine which vegetarian lifestyle you’ll be following. Ovo-Lacto-Vegetarians don’t eat red meat, fowl, or fish but do eat dairy products and eggs; Lacto-Vegetarians eat dairy products such as milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream; and Vegan vegetarians are the strictest and eat only fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Wherever on the continuum you fall, you want your food to be nutritious and delicious. If you are preparing a meal that originally required meat you should NOT substitute textured protein vegetables for the meat. You’ll ruin the taste of the dish and it never tastes quite right. The textured vegetables are expensive and not much better than organic meat. So you can either eat organic meat or make something else.

One key to good vegetarian cooking is a good flavorful oil. Your brain requires fat for metabolism. But, not fat that is high in animal oils but plant based oils that will feed your brain so you aren’t foggy. Fats also enhance the quality and flavor of foods. Only use oils that are liquid at room temperature like olive oil, grape seed and sesame oils.

References:

AllRecipes: Vegetarian Recipes

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/vegetarian/

VegKitchen: Vegan Chocolate Brownie Cake

http://www.vegkitchen.com/

Cooking Light: 25 Best Vegetarian Recipes

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/top-rated-recipes/best-vegetarian-recipes-00412000076926/

RealSimple: 41 Easy Vegetarian Recipes

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/healthy-meals/easy-vegetarian-recipes-00000000037312/

Eating Well: Secrets for Cooking Vegetarian Food

http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/quick_healthy_cooking/5_secrets_for_cooking_vegetarian_food

Vegetarian Resource Group: Teen FAQs