Re-imagining the World One Mouthful at a Time . . . . .

Vegetarian Week starts today!

23 May 2011

Wheatfree noodles with smoked tofu, chilli, coriander and broccolli

Wheatfree noodles with smoked tofu, chilli, coriander and broccolli

Who's had beetroot hummus for lunch? I like beetroot and I LOVE hummus. A perfect match!

Who's had beetroot hummus for lunch? I like beetroot and I LOVE hummus. A perfect match!

Who said a vegetarian lunch would be boring!? Look at these awesome PURPLE colours. Thanks Mr @PJTaste

Who said a vegetarian lunch would be boring!? Look at these awesome PURPLE colours. Thanks Mr @PJTaste

 

This week’s going to be like Christmas for veggies! Tofu, mushrooms, hummous, beetroot, butternut squash, pumpkin & spinach curry? ALL Yum stuff!

ACCORDING to the Vegetarian Society, the word vegetarian has nothing to do with vegetables. It apparently comes from the Latin word vegetus which means lively, fresh and vigorous.

To be honest, I’m not a massive meat-eater, most days I can go without it and I’ve found the numbers of vegetarians and semi-vegetarians are increasingly all the time. If you run a restaurant then it is very sensible to offer a few vegetarian options. This not only keeps vegetarians happy but helps your restaurant’s image in several other ways as well.

Then there are people who have cut down on meat for health reasons – my mum being one of these. Mum suffered a health scare a few years ago and now hardly touches any red meat (she doesn’t eat Beef, it’s a Chinese Buddhist thing) and just cooks with chicken in small doses. In general, the Eastern (Chinese) diet is rather healthy to be honest, forget sweet and sour and all that curry stuff! :), meat consumption isn’t as high as European countries, perhaps it’s because historically China hasn’t developed a “meat industry” as the European countries did. The land was terribly wide and provided in vegetables in sufficient high quantities for the population – no wonder Mum always makes sure I eat those greens!

Vegetarian meal choices also look beautifully healthy (just look at my lunch photos pictured above). They may not actually be lower in fat than the meat options but people see ‘suitable for vegetarians’ on the menu and think ‘healthy’ even if they don’t order it. This is good for your cafe/restaurant’s image…I always look out for a good veggie option on the menu and I personally think your restaurant won’t lose out by having several good vegetarian options on the menu.

Vegetarian options are also good for people with allergies and especially for those avoiding certain types of meat for religious reasons (here’s where Missie’s mum pops in again). Veggie meals are also usually cheaper to prepare than ones based on meat or fish and I tend to find most of these are good enough and noticeably cheaper than the meat options.

The Vegetarian Society is hoping to encourage more people to take up the vegetarian diet this week, 23 – 29th May 2011. Go on give vegetarianism a go!! (afterall Green is definitely this summers most loved colour!). For more information about National Veggie Week visit: www.nationalvegetarianweek.org

 

Missie Cindz

posted under: Food and Drink