Cooking Vegetarian Family Meals
By Lisa Paterson


Every family can benefit from increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables in their diet. Even if you are not vegetarians, consider cooking a couple of "meat free" meals each week. People who follow a vegetarian diet tend to have lower cholesterol, stronger immune systems and are more likely to maintain a healthy body weight.

Here are some tips to help you make the switch:


* Start with a "family favourite" recipe, such as lasagna or bolognese, and modify the recipe for a meat free version. Remember, you don´t have to make the meal solely from vegetables. Use one of the many soya-based meat equivalents.
* If you find the thought of cooking a vegetarian meal from scratch a little daunting, buy a couple of supermarket ready meals first. Most stores offer a great choice of dishes and it should be easy to find one that appeals to the family´s taste.
* Buy a cheap vegetarian cookbook or download recipe ideas from the internet. There is a wealth of information out there, so there are no excuses for serving limp salads!
* When eating out, try to switch to a vegetarian option. Even the fast food chains offer vegeburgers and bean burritos, so making the switch is easy. Just make sure that you go easy on the side orders. French Fries might be made of potato but they are still loaded with fat!
* If you find the taste of some vegetarian meals a little bland, use herbs, spices and seasoning to add taste and flavor.
* Think of all the recipes that your family enjoys and eats anyway. Chances are that there are quite a few vegetarian meals in the list! Tomato soup, bean salad, coleslaw, macaroni cheese..it should be easy to put together a vegetarian menu a couple of times a week.
* Go easy on the higher fat foods such as cheese. It is still possible to gain weight on a vegetarian diet if you eat the wrong foods in large portion sizes. Remember to check that any cheese you buy is vegetarian, as some cheeses are made from animal rennet. Increase your consumption of beans and pulses in tasty stews and casseroles. Legumes are a good source of protein.
*If you don´t think you can miss meat out of your recipes altogether, try giving up red meat instead. Switch to chicken or turkey mince in pasta sauces and burgers, as the fat content is considerable lower.
* Most cooking styles will have a wealth of vegetarian options available, meaning you can have an extensive and varied repertoire of family meals. Italian pasta sauces, stir fry recipes, mexican food, curries.. the choice is endless.
* Many vegetarian dishes can be easily cooked in your slow cooker. Vegetable stew, Winter Vegetable Casseroles, soups and curries. Save time, effort AND calories with these healthy choices.

Try making the switch and see if your family can tell the difference. The first time I made lasagna to the usual recipe, but with soya mince, no-one around the table even noticed. And if your family enjoys the meals so much that you decide to make a lifestyle change, remember that you will have to start checking the ingredients on every food item that you buy. Read the nutritional labels of every product carefully, as animal products do turn up in the strangest places!

You can even adapt your favourite crock pot recipes to be vegetarian. Lisa has with these vegetarian crock pot recipes

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Paterson

The Lentil Burger - A Great Low Calorie Vegetarian Recipe For Lovers Of Fast Food
By Molly Bickford

It was not long after I’d made the lifestyle change, when I found myself in the city one day in between appointments. I was hungry and had this idea of sitting somewhere quiet, having a nice meal and doing a bit of nothing before my next appointment.
I noticed a mild anxiety rising within me about where I would find such a place. I seriously did not expect to find a fast food outlet that served low-calorie vegetarian recipes. Then I believed that even if I did find one the prices would not be what I could afford.
I wanted low calorie vegetarian fast food on a budget vegetarian meals and whether it was going to cost me an arm and a leg. Vegetarian meals back then (about ten years ago) were noticeably more expensive then meat-based meals.
Anyway, as I walked along a tree-lined street that autumn day not terribly confident about my chances, I noticed a restaurant that I had passed many times previously. For some reason, I looked in and saw a large menu displayed on a stand by the door. I couldn’t help but peruse the menu not really expecting to find anything that would satisfy my needs, i.e. a low-calorie, low-cost, vegetarian lunch.
Well, blow me down! Was I in for a surprise! On the menu was a lentil burger for $6.99 and for an extra $2.00 you could have potato wedges served with sour cream. Naturally I passed on the wedges, but the burger screamed, “Eat me”.
A smiling waitress greeted me, offered me a selection of tables and proceeded to take my order.
To cut a long story short, it was a meal I thoroughly enjoyed, delighted at my find and especially delighted upon realizing that it was something I could easily make myself. And because good things are meant to be shared, here is the recipe! Enjoy!

Lentil Burger

Low-fat pan bread, toasted
Yellow/red lentils (pre-cooked with garlic, onion, ginger and some coconut milk)
Fresh spinach or lettuce
Tomato slices
Sesame seeds
Olive oil
Eggplant slices (optional) (Precooked in olive oil and some vinegar)
Salt and pepper to taste

Spread some olive oil over the bread. Layer with the greens, followed by the eggplant and tomato slices. Spread the cooked lentils over. (Use as much as you like as long as you can cover and hold your burger!). Sprinkle the sesame seeds over and add salt and pepper as required.
Discover all the other great low calorie and vegetarian recipes just waiting for you at my low calorie and vegetarian recipes website or at http://www.low-calorie-and-vegetarian-recipes.org/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Molly_Bickford

How to Prepare Delicious Vegetarian Recipes

You can learn to fix delicious vegetarian meals for even the most discriminative folks. Being a vegetarian can sometimes have it's drawbacks. Trying to find new recipes to fill the meals you eat everyday, with out fixing the same 'ole boring ones can sometimes become a challenge. People who are vegetarians need to make sure that they are getting the right amount of proteins to support their muscle mass as well as keeping a healthy bone density. So make sure and check with your physician to discuss both your vegetarian diet and your health.
Do you find yourself struggling to keep up with finding new recipes so that you don't get bored eating the same old thing day in and day out? When you want to try something new you will have to spend more of your time to find vegetarian recipes. There are some great vegetarian recipe cookbooks out there.
Say you are having a few of your vegetarian friends over and you want to surprise them with a great tasting meal. Then you can take the guess work of what to fix out of the equation. Just take a look through your vegetarian cookbook, get the ingredients to make the meal and follow the simple cooking instructions, it's that easy. You wont have to make the same meal twice unless you want to. You will have all the great variety that you want and have fun while you learn to make great tasting meals for you and your family.
Some times in today's world it's hard to find information for vegetarians but that's why we are here to help you along the way, and give you fun recipes to make your life easier for more info about vegetarian recipes http://www.sunnyjames.com/vegetarian.html
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