People who are not vegetarians almost certainly ask themselves how a vegetarian cook can keep vegetarian meals stimulating with only vegetables at his disposal. This same thought may be preventing or at least deterring some meat-eaters from giving up meat and trying vegetarianism. The fact is, that vegetarian meals are not merely ‘meat and two veg’ without the meat, although forty years ago there were many vegetarians who started like that.
However, a routine of ‘meat and two veg’ without the meat is not sustainable. A person who eats meals such as these will soon fall sick, particularly if there is no fish, dairy or eggs in the diets either. Many vegetarians opt to eat a small amount to dairy, fish or eggs to help supply much needed protein, which can be difficult to replace in a met-free diet.
Vegetarians have to plan their meals far more than meat-eaters in order to get everything that a body needs to grow, repair itself and defend itself from disease. It will obviously take some time for the newcomer to vegetarianism to learn new recipes and how to cook them so in the beginning, lots of vegetarians do indeed cook meals which are of the ‘meat and two veg’ without the meat type.
This is all right if you know what to exchange for the meat. There are a number of things in the shops, but one of the most helpful is soya in all its various forms. Tempeh is a soya bean meat substitute and so is tofu. Both these can be used to supplant meat for a dose of protein.
The good thing about these substances is that they can be made to taste of anything you like – they take on flavours fairly readily. They can also be treated to resemble the texture of meat.
Seitan (wheat gluten) is a similarly adaptable and helpful product, but you have to be sure that you are not allergic to gluten first, because this allergy appears to be spreading. Soya bean products and seitan can be easily bought at health food shops and Oriental shops.
As you become more capable at cooking vegetarian meals, you will almost certainly rely less heavily on these things. Beans and nuts are also useful substitutes, but you will probably have to learn how to use them first. Take a look at chickpeas, lentils yet kidney beans.
Soya by-products like soya milk and soya yoghurt and even soya margarine can be used to take the place of regular dairy products. You can also create a type of healthy milk from rice water or / and blended nuts. Besides making milk and casseroles from nuts, some nuts are fantastic in salads. Have a go with walnuts, cashews and almonds and try seeds too like sesame and poppy. Sunflower seeds and others are great for snacks.
Bread and sandwiches are tasty vegetarian fast foods. Experiment with different kinds of flour. Get yourself a bread-making machine and bake your own bread. Preparation time is minutes but you can set the timer to cook the bread for when you like. Seven in the morning beats any alarm clock.
If you would like to read more about Welsh food, food in general or cooking eggs in particular, please visit Traditional Welsh Recipes