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‘Veggie food’ Category

  1. How Do Vegetarians Get Their Protein?

    August 3, 2012 by Chrissie

    If you are a vegetarian or thinking of becoming one you may worry about sources of protein as the most obvious source of protein is meat, red meat in particular. However there are plenty of sources of protein that can be consumed by vegetarians to maintain healthy levels of protein and this article will illustrate some of the best and easiest sources.
    Whole grains are without doubt one of the best vegetarian options for protein, however one does rise above as being the best of the best. Quinoa, this contains all the essential amino acids making it a “complete protein”. Just one cup of cooked Quinoa will provide you with 18 milligrams of protein! However whole grains such as whole grain bread, brown rice and barley are all adequate alternatives.


    Another fantastic source of proteins for vegetarians is beans, lentils and peas. Black beans, kidney beans, Indian dhal, vegetarian chilli, split pea soup and chickpea hummus – with a wide variety of potential flavour/meal combinations they are all really easy and efficient ways of upping your protein intake! Whilst soy is a bean to, it’s such a popular source it merits its very own paragraph down below.

    Soy has such variety that it can keep you interested indefinitely exploring it’s potential. You might have tried tofu and soy milk before but what about soy ice cream, soy yoghurt, soy nuts, soy cheese? Tempeh and TVP are also very soy rich vegetarian options. Most soy options come with an added bonus as recently it has started to be fortified with many other nutrients that are useful for vegetarians, such as calcium, iron and vitamin B12.

    Nuts all contain protein as do seeds. However most of them are high in fat so they don’t make a good primary source of protein as the benefits of the protein are outweighed by the negative impacts of fat. They are a snack with a lot of protein though so are perfect for when you don’t have time to prepare something.


    Check the labels of the meat substitutes you buy, if you do buy them, as you will find they are usually fairly good sources of protein, most will contain soy or wheat protein. Alongside meat substitutes you may consider supplements aswell. These are obviously amazing for protein but it is worth shelling out for quality as some of the cheaper brands will use fillers in their products.

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  2. Vegetarian Wonton Dumplings

    March 26, 2012 by Chrissie


    I absolutely adore dumplings, I almost think there is nothing better and there is a chance that I could eat a world record’s worth of them. I really love the simple old school dough ball dumplings. On a cold night with a large dollop of veggie stew, they are such a comfort food.

    When you read about veggie dumplings, likelihood is they’re referring to something that is a bit different to the dough balls your granny made you, unless your granny is of Asian descent!! Vegetable dumplings are much lighter, they are little wonton pockets of vegetables. They are absolutely delicious and walk that fine line between a healthy bite and a stodgy comfort food.

    Here is a recipe for making your own vegetable dumplings. Veggie dumplings do have a lot of ingredients but if you use ready made wonton wrappers, it will make the prep much easier. This recipe is a variation of one I found on the food network. They take about 50 minutes to prep and 10 – 15 minutes to cook.

    Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

    Ingredients:

    • 1/2 pound firm tofu
    • 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
    • 2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions
    • 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
    • 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
    • 1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
    • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
    • 1 egg, lightly beaten
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    • Bowl of water, plus additional water for steamer

    • 35 to 40 small wonton wrappers

    • Non-stick vegetable spray, for the steamer

    Instructions:


    Cut the tofu in half horizontally and lay between layers of paper towels. Put on a plate and then place a weight on top and let stand for about 20 minutes.

    Cut the tofu into 1/4-inch cubes

    Add the cabbage, red pepper, carrots, ginger, sesame oil, scallions, soy sauce, hoisin, egg, salt, and pepper. Lightly stir to combine.

    Follow instructions on your wonton wrappers, putting 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture in the center of each one. Keep damp until all your mixture is gone – using damp paper towel will help.

    Place in steamer of choice, cover and steam for 10 to 12 minutes making sure the wontons are not touching each other. You will probably cook 6 – 10 at a time. Keep in over until all the dumplings are cooked.

    Enjoy!


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  3. 2 Great Vegetarian Recipes For The Slow Cooker

    January 4, 2012 by Chrissie


    If you didn’t get one for Christmas, get one in the sales, because slow cookers are THE way to cook your veggies and make delicious vegetarian dishes.

    It is actually quite surprising what you can cook in a slow cooker and because of the cooking time, everything tastes extra delicious. Slow simmering achieves a richer more complex flavour which is why for pasta sauces and curries you’re going to get a taste explosion you don’t usually get with the stove.

    First things first, if you are just getting started, the best vegetarian slow cooker recipes are soups and chillies – we’ll give you a terrific recipe further down. But something you might want to try is simple roast veggies. I love to do roast veggies but quite often if I have just got in from work, I won’t bother because they take a little too long in the oven. By using a slow cooker, I can quite literally leave everything to cook whilst I’m at work. This recipe takes about 8 – 9 hours to cook.

    All you need to do is throw carrots and potatoes in your slow cooker, add a chopped tomato, 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 tbsp water, 3 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, stir it all up and leave on a low heat for 8 hours or until veg is tender. Remember to experiment with other veg too, I love throwing in parsnips.

     

    For a great slow cooker chilli, follow this recipe found on allrecipes.com:

    • 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
    • 2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • 2 (15 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
    • 4 onions, chopped
    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • 4 (15.5 ounce) cans black beans, drained
    • 1 (14 ounce) package firm tofu, drained and cubed
    • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
    • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
    • 6 tablespoons chilli powder
    • 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
    • 2 teaspoons salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1 tablespoon liquid hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco™

    Directions – So Simple!!

    1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions; cook and stir until they start to become soft. Add the green peppers, red peppers, garlic and tofu; cook and stir until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, the whole process should take about 10 minutes.
    2. Pour the black beans into the slow cooker and set to Low. Stir in the vegetables and tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, chilli powder, oregano, vinegar and hot pepper sauce. Stir gently and cover. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.

    Once you have simple soups and chilli down, you can build up a pretty good slow cooker recipe list. I love to make sauces in my slow cooker. The beauty of the slow cooker is that the flavours are enhanced and maintained so food is tastier than ever before, plus you can throw it all in and walk away – bonus!

    Here’s an easy slow cooker tomato sauce for pasta, try and tell me you don’t love it as much as I do! You can use canned tomatoes if you don’t have fresh or don’t have a blender.

        • 10 ripe tomatoes or 3 cans of tomatoes (put tomatoes in boiling water for one minute to loosen skins, then put on ice until they are cool, this makes them easy to peel and seed. Blend in blender.)
        • 1 onion, chopped
        • 4 cloves garlic, minced -
        • 2 tablespoons butter
        • 2 tablespoons olive oil
        • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
        • 2 stalks celery
        • 2 carrots, chopped
        • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
        • 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
        • 1 bay leaf
        • 1/4 cup Burgundy wine
        • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

    Directions:

    1. Cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften.
    2. Pour all ingredients in slow cooker, cook on low 7 – 9 hours.

    Category Veggie food | Tags: | 1 Comment

  4. A Veggie Boxing Day Special

    December 20, 2011 by Chrissie


    For some, Boxing Day is as big a feasting day as Christmas. It’s a great chance to incorporate leftovers, enjoy some more family and friend time and finish off those Quality Street!

    Of course the traditional Christmas leftovers mean turkey casserole, turkey sandwiches and turkey turkey but for us veggies leftovers have a whole different meaning. Cold nut roast is of course delicious but might not be that appealing for you or your friends and family!

    If you have Christmas dinner leftovers a great and easy meal idea is to make up a soup, adding all leftover potatoes and vegetables and adding lentils and a good vegetable stock. Served with homemade bread and scones, this is a nice light lunch or a late dinner that can be kept in the fridge until finished.

    If you did cook up a nut roast for dinner and honestly, most vegetarians do (time to get creative!) then try something new for Boxing Day. Our favourite Boxing Day recipe and one which we’ve used for Christmas dinner too is a veggie pie. If you do have leftover vegetables from the ‘big day’, these can be incorporated, just roast up more peppers and garlic and add cheese (we use mozzarella) before baking in a homemade pastry shell (or store bought if you know a good brand and can’t make pastry!) If you are roasting up more veggies, use aubergine and courgettes, they roast to perfection!

    If you know your way around a kitchen and have the time and energy, try something daring for Boxing Day. A cheese roulade, cheese tart, baked squash filled with couscous, bruschetta or mushroom wellington will get all your guests salivating, vegetarian or not.

    If you are participating in a Boxing Day buffet or pot luck where everyone is required to bring a dish, we recommend simple drop scones with goats cheese and herbs (rosemary is lovely). Throw in some chopped olive and tomatoes and prepare to dazzle your fellow party goers. Drop scones require self raising flour, milk, eggs and sunflower oil (drop scones are fried not baked).

    Category Christmas, Veggie food | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Ideas for the Best Veggie Christmas Dinner Ever!

    December 13, 2011 by Chrissie


    Now we may have mentioned nut roast a tad too often over the last few Christmas dinner posts! We must all remember cooking our first vegetarian Christmas dinner and I bet for most of us, it was nut roast. It’s easily the most common turkey substitute on the big day and as delicious as it might be, now we’re older, wiser and sick of being ribbed of producing the same old ‘hippie stuff’, it might be time to step it up a notch.

    So what is the best veggie Christmas dinner?

    Let’s quickly talk trimmings. Brussels are a must if only to torture the kids and your picky brother.  If you can get your hands on it, brussels with truffle oil are without a doubt the best veggie on the table. Brussels also go well with some gruyere cheese, walnuts, lemon, breadcrumbs, chestnuts or slivered almonds. Roast parsnips, roast potatoes, carrots and swede mash – all veggies you expect to see on the Christmas dinner table and for good reason! They are just so delicious and keep everyone happy and well fed.

    Other great vegetable options for Christmas dinner include soft sweet potato biscuits – heavenly, spinach and cranberry salad.  Some people think salad is weird at Christmas, we think it’s great and any leftovers work will go down a treat for your Boxing Day buffet. Throw in some feta cheese and walnuts and this salad makes a great small starter.

    For mains, the best vegetarian Christmas dinner has to be…. a nut roast. Just kidding! Wow, it’s hard to choose just one. Okay, our top five dinners are in no particular order:

    1. Vegetarian Wellington, we made this a few years ago after seeing the recipe in The Guardian. It’s actually a vegan recipe full of chickpea goodness, puff pastry, peanut butter (strange but true!) delicious herbs and oat bran.

    2. Chestnut Pie, again a recipe found in a newspaper, this one has a half bottle of red in it… gotta love booze in food!

    3. Risotto stuffed veggies. Use squash or courgettes and top with a carrot ‘gravy’ basically carrots roasted in butter and blended!

    4. Pie or tart. Go veggie, go fruity, go both but always add blue cheese.

    5. Nut roast, sorry, we just can’t help it! We love it for nostalgia as much as anything else, but get it just right (nice and moist) and a nut roast can be delicious.

    Our favourite part of Christmas dinner? Well that will be the mushroom and walnut stuffing! Here’s a quick recipe:

    Ingredients:
    1 large onion, diced
    1/4lb. unsalted butter
    1 cup chopped chanterelle mushrooms
    1/2 cup sliced shitake mushrooms
    4 stalks of celery, diced
    2 large carrots, shredded
    1 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
    1/2 red pepper, diced
    2 loaves multigrain bread (diced and dried for at least one hour)
    2 tbsp.chopped fresh thyme, sage and parsley (each)
    3 eggs
    3 cups warm vegetable or mushroom stock

    Directions:
    Over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions, all mushrooms, celery and red pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender. In a large mixing bowl, combine diced dry bread, shredded carrots, walnuts and herbs. Whisk eggs and pour over top of bread mixture. Add half of the stock and vegetable mixture. By hand, turn and mix all ingredients.

    If the mixture is very dry add more stock. Put in a casserole dish, cover and put in a 375 oven for 40 minutes. Serve with a mushroom or veggie stock gravy.

    You can’t go wrong with this recipe, your meat lover friends will be begging you for your secrets we promise you!

    Category Christmas, Veggie food | Tags: | No Comments

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