Vegetarian Know-How

April 17, 2012/ Dinner, Lifestyle, Lunch, Vegan/ 0 comments

It occurred to me as I was putting together dinner that less than a year ago even I would not have known how to approach vegetarian/vegan eating. It feels effortless to me now but that’s what three+ square meals a day will do for you after a while.

Truth be told, I did not intentionally switch to a purely plant based diet (more on my eating habits here). I was reading through blogs for the first time last summer and found the vegan cooking tips to be the most interesting because they were so new to me. And I have always really sucked at cooking meat so it doesn’t surprise me that main meals without the dreaded rubbery chicken would jump out the most.

There was a very definite learning curve. But unlike my continuous failures with chicken and steak, most new items I tried turned out fine the first time around and from there on it was just about learning the best way to cook them.

I saw a comment on another blog today from a reader asking to see more daily meals that would give an example of what vegetarians eat on a daily basis. While this comment wasn’t directed to me, it inspired me to show some of what what I eat every day because I can remember a time not too long ago when I too had no idea what kind of food to fill an entire day with.

 

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A big piece of advice I have for someone considering a vegan or vegetarian diet is that you shouldn’t be afraid of that foods you don’t recognize or have never tried. When I was first playing around with the idea of becoming a vegan, I went to the grocery store (a more health food oriented one, not the regular one down the street) and bought a bunch of foods I had seen on blogs but had never actually eaten. I didn’t have recipes in mind, I just want to see them and try different things out. Off the top of my head, I believe I bought:

  • Flaxseed
  • Chia Seeds
  • Buckwheat groats
  • Agave nectar
  • Almond Milk

I don’t think any of the first recipes I tried were things I still make today. But they helped learn the properties of the food and slowly I started getting creative with them. The more I played around and tried new ideas, the better I got at learning what went into a balanced vegan diet and what I actually wanted to eat.

Quinoa was a big discovery but not one I would have found without the wonders of the internet. The biggest thing for me is that it’s a complete protein and it’s very versatile. On it’s own, it’s kind of bland but mixed with other things, it really comes alive with a wonderful texture to bring to the dish.

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During that phase of learning and experimentation, I really liked reading dinner suggestions from bloggers that weren’t gourmet, recipe-worthy ideas but simple throw-it-all-in-one-bowl ideas. Let’s face it – those are the ones that get eaten the most anyways.

I try to do different things with my food each night but the basic recipes are still my favorites and I plan to share quite a few in the upcoming weeks.

Tonight was my veggie-loaded quinoa bowl, which is exactly what its name suggests. Quina with any and all the veggies I want.

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The quinoa was cooked plain with just a dash of salt. 1 Cup water to 1/2 cup uncooked grain and cooked the way you would cook rice (or most other grains). On top, I added:

  • Cucumbers
  • Tomatoes
  • Avocado
  • Sautéed carrots and mushrooms

One of my tricks for quinoa that makes it more flavorful is to stir in sauces. My personal favorite combo is hummus and salsa, so I placed a generous spoonful of each on top.

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This dish is so easy to make because the veggies get chopped (and sautéed) while the quinoa cooks (about 10 minutes). Since I was already chopping veggies, I grabbed a couple more and killed two birds with one stone and made lunch for tomorrow at the same time.

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A big salad, made of the same veggies I used to top the quinoa, and a hummus and avocado sandwich on the side. All included, I probably spent 20 minutes max (and that includes clean up) and I made a healthy dinner and lunch for tomorrow!

I’d love to know if anyone has specific vegetarian/vegan questions. Otherwise I’ll just keep on showing what I think is interesting/important but I’m always down for feedback, questions and suggestions!

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