Going Veggie Cheat Sheet!
We started our vegetarian journey as a family in summer or 2017 and a few things have stuck (like my family's attitude to eating), a few things have fallen by the way side (mostly ingredients like kale, my family hate it but I love it!) and a few habits have developed.
Today I would like to share what habits we have developed in our vegetarian lifestyle.
1. Limit the chopping and buy ready chopped
The first habit was dealing with all that chopping. I started to hate chopping. I mean after the 10th ingredient for this one meal my hands started to rebel and so did my head. The thing is, freshly chopped items in the fridge section of the supermarket are really expensive when your feeding four kids. Four growing kids, 3 of whom are teenagers!!! But there is an alternative... Frozen chopped food. Yes I said it. Frozen!!!
Many supermarkets now stock something they call frozen micro veg. My life saver. No more chopping. Well not so much chopping. It is already chopped normal veg and because it's frozen as soon as possible it still has all the nutrients if not more in some cases as the fresh veg in the food aisle. And the best bit is that you can get a 600g-750g bag of micro veg for under £2. 1 600g-750g bag paired with rice, pasta or potatoes is enough to make a good dinner for a family with four growing kids. Remember people it is just veg. You don't have to microwave it like it says on the package. It can be prepared as part of whatever dish you are making. Roast it, Fry it, Boil it or Saute it and it will still taste good.
2. Add flavour whenever you can
As a former meat eater I would always flavour my meat with seasonings or herbs before cooking but would not do the same to the vegetables I cooked as part of the meal. I think that was because of the idea that the Meat was the main part of the meal so that had to taste good whereas anything that accompanied the meat could be mediocre and no-one would notice so as the cook I didn't have to care about the 'side dishes'. As a vegetarian, the vegetables are the main feature of the meal so why not apply the same idea to the vegetables and make sure they have flavour. So I now season my vegetables in the same way as I used to season my meat and bwoy what a difference a herb makes. 😊
3. Try different table sauces and dressings
Bbq sauce and Ketchup might be a favourite but they can really numb your palette and your kids palette over time. There are so many options available that make vegetarians dishes simply Pop. So one of the habits we have developed is putting different sauces on the table for everyone to try that would accompany the meal. For example when we are having a red onion and goats cheese quiche, caramelised red onion chutney will be on the table. Sweet potato fries will have aioli on the table for dipping. Pakora or Onion Bajis might have mango chutney or tamarind sauce for dipping. We have found that the sauce like the seasoning can tie a dish together
Hope you have enjoyed reading my cheating tips. Would love to hear yours. Please comment below.
Happy Veggie eating!!!
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| Stuffed Curried Pearl Barley and Chickpea
Butternut Squash with herb flavoured couscous |
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It can be a pain reading all the labels to see if food is safe for you. But if you have allergies you have little choice. Imagine all the strange looks when seen turning every single wine bottle around just to look for the safe symbol.
