National Vegetarian Week 2014

19 May 2014

Can I have fries with that? It’s National Vegetarian Week!

The Vegetarian Society is challenging the nation to go meat-free for a week, Monday 19 – Sunday 25 May. The week is going to be like Christmas for veggies! With marinated tofu, tasty falafel, hummus, crunchy beetroot, and butternut squash, pumpkin & spinach curry? ALL sounds like yum stuff to me. Marking the start of National Vegetarian Week (@vegsoc), the UK’s annual awareness-raising campaign promoting inspirational vegetarian food and the benefits of a meat-free lifestyle.

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. There’s a lot of stigma of vegetarian dishes being bland or boring, but I’d disagree. Vegetables are so accessible these days, great value for money and filling too! National Vegetarian Week is also about challenging yourself to try new things – so how about going out to find the most interesting looking vegetable at the market and try experimenting in the kitchen? – I’ll be giving it a go this week and will let you know how I get on.

Vegetarian recipes and ideas to fill a healthy appetite!

There are lots of events and restaurants participating in making sure that Vegetarian food is fun, tasty and seriously varied, and you can find out what’s happening meat-free in your local area here.

Want to go veggie for National Vegetarian Week? The Showroom Café Bar in Sheffield have devised a special menu for the occasion, and here are some London’s best meat-free eateries suggested by TNT Magazine: Go Veggie with these Top Restaurant Swaps and the Londonist suggests a few eateries here too. Or if you fancy cooking at home, I’m currently hooked on broccoli stir-fries or why not, skip the chips aisle! It’s easy to make your own healthy veggie chips using sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips & more! There’s also plenty of colourful meat-free recipes and meal ideas found on Great British Chefs, cookveg.co.uk and the British Larder websites.

For more information about National Vegetarian Week visit: www.nationalvegetarianweek.org

Finally, what’s your favourite vegetable dish, ever!?
Happy forking this week! :) – Cindy/Missie Cindz

{Photos by Cindy Cheung}

Missie Cindz