Vegetarian Cooking

Welcome to the new era of vegetarian cooking and eating! With those stodgy days of the lentil pie and nut roast firmly behind us, the Western world is waking up to the gorgeous possibilities of modern vegetarian food, a secret that ancient world cuisines have known since time immemorial.

Every day, more and more people are either deciding to eat less meat, choosing meat-free days, or are giving up meat altogether. If you’re not vegetarian yourself, chances are you might have a vegetarian family member or friend to cook for.

Cooking vegetarian sometimes requires a little more creativity than cooking with meat or fish, but that doesn’t mean it has to be complicated. In fact, using your imagination with today’s colourful myriad of vegetarian ingredients can be inspiring and thrilling for the cook and the diner. It’s food for a dynamic life through a healthy diet, and food for the sheer enjoyment of it. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or a complete novice, why not take the challenge? Put back those veggie sausages and open your mind to a few basic vegetarian cooking principles, using flavour and texture to create magic on the plate and palate.

The Secret of Vegetarian Cooking
It’s simple really--vegetarian cooking and eating is not about substituting meat, but rather about shifting the focus. Instead of the conventional meal of meat and two veg, meals without meat should be a varied composition of texture, colour and flavour. Imagine a plate of Mediterranean mezze…creamy hummus singing with garlic, olives twinkling like jewels, smoky grilled vegetables and grains dressed in fresh lemon juice, herbs and peppery olive oil, and a warm, soft pocket of flatbread to scoop it all up with. Do you miss the meat?

Health Matters

A vegetarian diet is a model diet. The fact is, healthy food makes you feel good—it boosts energy levels, strength, beauty and vitality. On a day to day basis, everyone benefits from a healthy diet. Roughly, that means low fat, lots of complex carbohydrate (like whole grains), fibre, a little protein, and plenty of fresh fruit and veg. Healthy does not have to mean boring! The occasional naughty nibble is also essential for health and happiness.

Research has proven that a vegetarian diet improves health, which is a great reason to eat vegetarian food occasionally or always. Vegetarians need to replace the nutrients that meat contains, in particular protein, iron, B vitamins and selenium. Sources of these nutrients are abundant in an ideal vegetarian diet, which consists of a variety of foods including wholegrains, beans, pulses, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and small amount of fat. 
                                                              
Protein

Without meat or fish, the obvious missing link is protein. Nutritionists recommend that 15% of the daily diet is made up of protein, so that slot should be filled with the star vegetarian protein sources: beans and pulses, grains, tofu, nuts and seeds, eggs and dairy products. So, by cutting out meat, you’re not in danger of being deprived of protein, unless you plan to live on leaves alone! Protein should make up only 15% of the diet (source: UK Dept. of Health), so provided your diet is varied, you will get enough of it. Try not to rely exclusively on cheese and eggs for protein—they’re high in saturated fat which is linked to heart disease, and so should be eaten in moderation.
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Proteins are made up of amino acids, of which there are 22 in all. The body manufactures most of these, but eight of them have to be acquired in the diet. Meat, fish, eggs and dairy products contain all eight of these essential amino acids (they are “complete proteins”), but soy beans are the only non-animal complete protein source, which is one reason why tofu is such a prized vegetarian food. Rice, grains, beans, pulses and nuts do not contain all eight, but by mixing  these foods in the daily diet, for example, rice + beans, or peanut butter + bread, we make up complete proteins. According to the Vegetarian Society UK, recent research shows that these complementary proteins do not have to be eaten together, as the body stores the amino acids short-term.

Good sources of protein:
Nuts and seeds, especially peanuts, cashews, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds
Beans and pulses, especially chick peas and lentils
Whole grains and cereals, especially bread, pasta and muesli
Milk, cheese and yoghurt
Soya products of all kinds
Eggs
 
What a vegetarian should eat every day: (as recommended by The Vegetarian Society UK)
3 or 4 servings of cereals/grains or potatoes
4 or 5 servings of fruit and vegetables (though most nutritionists would recommend 5-6 servings)
2 or 3 servings of pulses, nuts & seeds
2 servings of milk, cheese, eggs or soya products
A small amount of vegetable oil and margarine or butter
Some yeast extract such as Marmite, fortified with vitamin B12

About Celia Brooks Brown 

A Passionate cook and food writer, she is committed to inspiring others in the kitchen, through her books, demonstrations and tv appearances. She is driven by an acute culinary intuition, an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and a love of the theatre of cooking.

Celia Brooks Brown provides 3 recipes from her book "Entertaining Vegetarians" - available to purchase click here to buy.  It is also now available in in paperback under the new title "Vegetarian Party Food".

Contact www.celiabrooksbrown.com tel (+44) 7956 152899

© Celia Brooks Brown