Vegan Basics for Non-Vegans

All of us at one time or another will try something just to see what it would be like.  It might not become a lifelong change, but it often does impact us in some manner.  One of those for me was my attempt at vegetarianism for 3 months while I was in college.  While in no way did I continue following a vegetarian diet after then, it did do a lot to open my eyes to new tastes, ways of eating and nutrition.  New tastes revolved around new cuisines that I had never tried before that were more vegetarian based such as Arabic, Indian, Japanese, Thai and Israeli. 

Today these cuisines are common place, but growing up in Iowa our diet was all about meat and potatoes.  Exotic cuisines for us was Italian and Chinese.  :)  That brings me to the area of ways of eating.  It really was a big change to think that a meal did not have to a meat or a starch.  Even my non-meat based meals up until then still had meat such as Chili and Pasta dishes. 

The other ah-ha was learning how much of the nutrition I thought I could only get from meat was possible to attain through other sources.  With this in mind, I thought it may be helpful to share with you some of the basics of vegetarianism if only to expand your possibilities when cooking or in case you have a friend coming over who is a vegetarian or glucose intolerant or lactose intolerant.

Some easy recipes to work with that are within any kitchen are:  Pasta, Pizza, Tacos or Tortilla Wraps, Beans, Soups and Salads.

Begin to explore new ways of preparing vegetables

• Grilling
• Buy and cook the baby versions
• Bake in the oven with oil and spices as the oil helps to bind the spices and bring out new flavors
• Explore new dips to use with your vegetables
• Try them with different types of cheese, creams and sauces
• Steam Vegetables for 30 to 60 seconds and then drop in cold water or stir fry.  This helps keep away that strong and sometimes bitter flavor that can come with cooking vegetables.
• Make foil packets to throw on the grill
• Try them with new spices and see what you like
• Explore cuisines that have lots of vegetarian bases for eating and enjoy!