Vegetarian Information

Salsas, bean dips, guacamole and other dipping favorites don’t need to be scooped up with unhealthful chips. Use strips of red pepper, cauliflower or broccoli florets or that old faithful, celery. For a new veggie dipper twist, peel a raw sweet potato and slice it into thin “chips”, and dig in!

Tri-Color Chunky Dip
1 16-ounce can small red beans
1 10-ounce can shoepeg corn
2-4 tablespoons hot red pepper relish, or to taste
1 bunch green onions, white part only, sliced thin
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

Mix all ingredients together and chill.

Yield: About 3 cups

Spicy Peanut Dip
Note: You can make this as zippy or mild as you like, depending on the heat of your favorite salsa. Add Tabasco sauce to your taste if you want to turn up the heat.

1 cup crunchy style peanut butter
1 cup medium-hot salsa (bottled or home-made)
2 tablespoons brown sugar or the sweetener of your choice, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, using a fork to mash up any chunks of salsa. Serve with raw veggies.

Yield: about 2 cups

Spinach-Artichoke Dip or Dressing
1 10-ounce bag baby spinach leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can white beans, drained
1 bunch green onions, sliced (white part)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
pinch cayenne, to taste
juice of one lemon
2 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped fine

Place all ingredients except the artichokes in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Put the puree in a serving bowl and stir in the chopped artichoke hearts. Serve it with your favorite vegetable dippers or use it to dress a tossed salad.

Yield: About 3 cups

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Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

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Recipe: Warming Autumn Soup

1/2 pumpkin, cubed

1 carrot, sliced

2 sticks celery (celeriac), sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 potato, chopped

4 cloves garlic (minced)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp fresh coriander or chives, chopped

1 litre vegetable stock (1.8 pints, 4.2 cups)

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the pumpkin, carrot, celery, onion and potato
for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the
stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables
are tender. Season to taste. Transer to a blender or food processor and process
until smooth. Serve with freshly chopped coriander or chives.

Serving Tip: Serve the soup on Halloween - 31st October. The vegetables can
be altered depending on the ingredients available. This soup is an ideal way of using
up left over vegetables. For example, the celery could be replaced by one leek.

Pumpkin and Butternut Squash - The pumpkin is a variety of squash and is
cooked in the same way as butternut squash. To prepare; cut in half, scoop
out the seeds, peel or scoop out the flesh. Cut into cubes and boil, braise or
roast in the oven with a little olive oil sprinkled on top. If the butternut
squash is not too big, simply cut it in half and place in a preheated oven,
450F, skin side up and bake for 1 hour.

Pumpkins are often associated with Halloween. The are hollowed out and cut to
resemble faces. A candle is placed inside to light them up and they are then
used as decorations or for trick or treating.

Rona Hamilton is the writer and creator of Vegetarian Recipes Collection. To view
more warming soup recipes and vegetarian recipe ideas please visit
http://www.vegetarian-recipes-collection.com/index.html

Tags: food, home recipes, pumpkin, recipe, soup, vegetables, vegetarianfood, home recipes, pumpkin, recipe, soup, vegetables, vegetarian

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Being a vegetarian is still something of a conversation killer even in today’s health conscious society. “What do you eat then?” is muttered quietly whilst images of the gourmet meat pies are tossed aside for green salads at the next dinner party.

Vegetarianism has actually shown a slight decline over the last decade although statistics have shown that many people have been a vegetarian at one period in their life. But overall, the vegetarian lifestyle is still as popular as ever as shown by the ever increasing range of vegetarian products and meat substitutes entering the market.

Whilst the vegetarian terms may seem confusing at first - the concept behind the terms are actually quiet easy to follow.

Lacto-Ovo - Most people when they hear the term vegetarian would think of a lacto-ovo. The term refers to people who do not eat any fish or meat but who do eat dairy products and eggs.

Ovo - This term refers to vegetarians who will eat eggs but will not eat any dairy products in their diet.

Lacto - Refers to a person who will not eat any meat or eggs in their diet but who will eat dairy products.

Vegan - Vegans are the strictest form of vegetarians as they do not eat any form of animal product or by-product.

Semi - The term semi-vegetarian has become increasingly popular with the rise of the so called “fad diet”. This category is set aside for people who want to try the vegetarian lifestyle but who still enjoy the occasional hamburger.

Many vegetarians choose this lifestyle not only for the health benefits associated with it but also for their belief against animal cruelty and associations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) now champion animal rights.

Before the advantages of the vegetarian lifestyle were well documented we assumed that vegetarians were insipid, thin, pale creatures but with the number of famous celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, Paul McCartney and Alicia Silverstone touting the benefits, the attitude has been given a more positive makeover.

Vegetarians can run the risk of suffering from a lack of iron, protein, Vitamin B and calcium if they do not balance their diets. But a little bit of education and knowledge of vegetarian sources should ensure that this does not occur. Protein can easily be found by eating nuts, seeds, tofu, veggie burgers and grains. Vitamin B2 can be found by eating leafy green vegetables, almonds and mushrooms and many vegetarian products are now fortified with Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D as an aid against any deficiency which may occur. Calcium can be found in tofu, leafy green vegetables, dried fruit, watercress and many of the soy milks found on the markets are calcium fortified.

Dining out can also pose a problem as many restaurants still have few vegetarian options and some vegetarian products may be more expensive than their meat counterparts.

The upside about being a vegetarian is that you do not have to worry about raising cholesterol levels by eating too much red meat. Research has also shown that many vegetarians suffer less from obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, diet related cancers, constipation and gall stones.

Even if you don’t embrace the vegetarian lifestyle wholeheartedly, trying a veggie meal once in a while certainly can’t do you any harm.

Recommended Vegetarian Recipe Websites:

http://www.sanitarium.com.au/recipe/recipes.do?cat-id=312
http://www.vnv.org.au/Recipes.htm
http://www.vegsoc.org.au/recipes.asp
http://www.annabella.net/vegetarian.html

Michelle Sweeney is a self confessed vegetarian of over 12 years. She is also the owner of the online gift store - http://www.tonicgifts.com.au. Tonic Gifts registered as a business in October 2004 with an aim to provide quality and affordable gifts to online shoppers both in Australia and overseas and to make the whole experience as simple and enjoyable as possible.

Tags: cooking, fad, food, health, kitchen, lifestyle, ovo lacto, recipe, vegan, vege, vegetarian, vegetarianismcooking, fad, food, health, kitchen, lifestyle, ovo lacto, recipe, vegan, vege, vegetarian, vegetarianism

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