Archive for May, 2009

Vegetarian recipes for meat eaters – 2 Simple Recipes For A Green Meal

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

For people who have been eating meat and have very recently switched over to being vegetarian would certainly find it difficult to getting used to eating only greens. For these meat eaters who have converted to vegetarianism, there are many vegetarian cooking recipes that will make them want to continue being a vegetarian. Here are a couple of vegetarian recipes that meat eaters would like to try out.

Meat eaters would certainly like to try out this tasty recipe called Vegetarian Chili. In this recipe there is no meat products used and that’s why it is called vegetarian chili.

Vegetarian Chili

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable or olive oil preferably in a pan to which you can add 2 to 3 coarsely chopped medium onions and 2 teaspoons of garlic which has been finely chopped and stir fry well till they are cooked. Add 2 cups of frozen whole sweet corn and sauté well. Also add a bagful of a mixture of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, a can of red kidney beans that have been washed and drained, a can of chick peas, and 2 whole cans of tomatoes which have been diced along with green chilies. To this add a can of tomato sauce and 2 teaspoons of chili powder,3 spoons cumin powder, salt to taste and also a dash of ground red pepper. Leave the mixture to boil for at least 20 minutes over medium flame making sure that you stir the ingredients once in a while. Cook till you find the vegetables to be crispy and yet tender and the chili hot.

Vegetable Lasagna

Vegetables Needed

Olive oil cooking spray

2 medium bell peppers, which have been cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium onion, slit into 8 wedges, and separated into pieces

2 medium sliced zucchini,

1 package fresh whole mushrooms, which have been sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Tomato Sauce

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 can (28 oz) Progresso® tomato puree

3 tablespoons freshly chopped or 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves

3 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Lasagna

12 uncooked lasagna noodles

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Start by having your oven pre heated to 450 degrees F. Use the cooking spray to oil a 15×10x1 inch pan and inside the pan place the bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini evenly in a single layer. Also spray on the lined vegetables and sprinkle using salt and pepper.

Have this baked for 20-25 minutes making sure to have the vegetables turned at least once and cook till tender.

Take a 2 quart saucepan and have it sprayed with oil, add the onions and garlic and cook over medium flame for at least 2 minutes making sure to stir occasionally. Add in all the remaining ingredients for making sauce and leave to boil and then reduced the flame. Allow to simmer for at least 15 to 20 minutes till it thickens considerably.

Take the packet of noodles and have them cooked according to the instructions on it. Drain the excess water and keep aside. In a separate bowl mix the cheeses well and keep aside.

Reduce the temperature of the oven to 400 degrees F. In a glass baking dish spray some oil and a quarter of the sauce spread at the bottom. Over this spread the 3 different noodles. Again pour the remaining sauce and spread evenly till the noodles are fully covered. Over this ad the cooked vegetables and over this mixture spread the cheese mixture. Have this baked without any cover for at least 25 minutes or till done. Allow to cool before you serve.


Vegetarian Recipes: Why Vegans Don’t Eat Eggs

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

As a prospective vegan, you may be wondering exactly why vegans make the dietary choices they make. And you may also be hesitant to adopt these choices until you yourself understand and accept them.

In this article, I will explain the two major vegetarian positions on eating eggs to help you make your decision.

The sub-category of vegetarian I will cover, ovo-vegetarians, accept the normal consumption of eggs because they do not believe that doing so conflicts with an ethical vegetarian diet. They do not see eggs as living things and subsequently do not make the connection between consuming eggs and causing animal suffering or death.

In addition to this, many ovo-vegetarians see complete veganism as limiting their options unnecessarily, especially when eggs are an excellent source of complete protein and a viable nutritional alternative to meat.

Many vegetarians who do consume eggs opt for “free range” eggs over normal–or “battery”–eggs. This is usually out of ethical concern for the treatment of egg-laying hens.

Vegans, by contrast, do not consume eggs normally and generally oppose the institution altogether. They argue that purchasing “battery hen” eggs supports an institution that cages up to nine birds together, debeaks them, and forces them to continually lay eggs until they are calcium-depleted and on the verge of death–at which point, they are slaughtered.

In addition, vegans also go further to disapprove of “free range” eggs, which do not require a hen to be caged. They argue that most free range hens are actually packed into houses, where they have minimal access to the outside.

They also note that even producing “free range” eggs requires having fertile eggs–half of which will hatch into male chicks, which will then be slaughtered after birth or fed to a certain weight only to be culled.

In addition to these two positions, there are also vegetarians who don’t consume eggs for other reasons. Some of these vegetarians don’t eat eggs because they are high in cholesterol; and others do not consume them because they believe that the animal farming institution contributes to environmental degradation.

Take some time to determine where you stand- ethically and nutritionally-and then make your decision from there.


Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Healthy vegetarian recipes are considered to be economical and humane. A balanced healthy vegetarian diet provides essential nutrients, and it keeps the weight down naturally. Take note: vegetarians have very few illnesses linked to fat consumption.

Consider this: until the most recent times, grains were the staple diet, while meat was a luxury reserved for the wealthy few. However, today, in our affluent society, we use grain to fatten the cattle stock! Many critics say this is a wasteful uses of resources, as it takes less grain to feed a person directly than it takes to fatten animals to feed that person. More and more of our population has become vegetarian not only for the reason mentioned above, the reason being that vegetarians are less likely to be obese or have heart or kidney disease and/or diabetes. it is a known fact that vegetarians have lower blood pressure, and much fewer incidents of digestive tract diseases. As well, vegetarians healthy recipes are a more economical use of the earth’s resources.

Consider this: on the whole Americans consume about twice the amount of protein required, and medical experts warn that we are paying for our high meat consumption, and animal fats as well, through record rates of strokes, heart disease and certain cancers and other disorders. Of course, there are many non-believers.

Healthy Vegetarian recipes must combine grains, seeds and legumes in order to get the amount of protein they need with all the essential amino acids. There are numerous amounts of healthy vegetarian recipes. Some examples of these are;

rice and beans, bean-vegetable chili served with tortillas, baked beans and corn bread, hummus, cheese rolled in chopped nuts, bread sticks with sesame seeds, macaroni and cheese, and split pea soup. These are complimentary proteins. A healthy vegetarian diet must contain enough iron as the iron from plant sources serves only 1/4 as much as meat does. Every healthy vegetarian recipe should include a high amount of Vitamin C as the Vitamin C helps the to promote iron absorption. Good food high in Vitamin C are citrus fruits, potatoes, cruciferous vegetables, peppers melons and strawberries. Vitamin D is needed for calcium absorption and is contained in the foods egg yolks, fortified milk and fatty fish. Also, exposure to sunlight enables the body to manufacture Vitamin D.

Healthy vegan or have a much more difficult time in consuming enough calories without supplements. Vegan and fruitarians must consume large amounts of nut butters, dried fruits and breads just to maintain their weight.

The facts remain – eating healthy vegetarian recipes has many health benefits, one of which being the avoidance of OBESITY – the reason being their healthy vegetarian recipes are bulky, filling, high in fiber, low in fat and therefore, low in calories. Studies have shown that a cholesterol free plant based diet is also low in saturated fats and can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, heart disease and stroke. Healthy vegetarian recipes also have proved to show less osteoporosis, kidney stones, gallstones, and adult-onset diabetes.

Having read the above information, which would you choose? Healthy Vegetarian Recipes?


Vegetarian Recipes That Will Make your Taste Buds Desire More With Each Bite

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

The art of cooking encompasses many different types of foods from a variety of countries. Each of these countries that you will find recipes for has an interesting way of cooking these foods. The numerous ways that you can cook vegetables will also be documented in the various vegetarian recipes that you can find.

These recipes will show you the different ingredients that you will need to make starters, appetizers, main course dishes, side dishes, salads, vegetarian pastas and lasagnas. You can also find many interesting desserts and drinks which are ideal for use in everyday living as well as for those of you who are on a diet.

When you look at these many vegetarian recipes you will see there are various vegetables that you can use. For the most part these items will not be too difficult or expensive to find. The kitchen implements can be ones that you already have. Here you may have to do some improvising to get the results that the vegetarian recipes indicate.

A few of the vegetarian recipes that you will find will help you to cut down on cholesterol producing meats by showing you vegetable alternates. These alternates will be used in some of the vegetarian recipes which are available.

You will also find great tasting vegetarian recipes which will show you some interesting various on the main dish of any meal. These will be ones that you have at some point heard of. You should see about trying ones of these just to see how the flavor explodes on your taste buds.

The internet will be a great source of vegetarian recipes that you can easily try out. The added advantage is that you will be able to look for these various recipes from a number of different countries. Your cook books and specialty vegetarian recipe cook books are another source that you can use to look for the different vegetarian recipes that you are planning on making.

To provide you with an idea of the different foods that you can find with regards to a vegetarian way of life here are a few recipe names. Bharta which is a smoked eggplant dish which originates in Punjab, India. Cabbage rolls are another interesting variation that you will find being translated into the vegetarian side of cooking.

Here the cabbages are stuffed with tasty vegetables of your choice rather than meat. Some of the vegetarian recipes that you will find will deal with providing you with ways of making lasagnas, pastas, pizzas and even mock meat dishes like vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie.

As you look through the many pages of cook books you will see that going vegetarian does not mean that you are sacrificing tasty foods. On the contrary you will find that most of the vegetarian recipes are a source of filling foods that will make your taste buds desire more with each bite.