Vegetarianism During the Holidays and the Rest of the Year, Too!

[Guest guest]

For our newly vegetarian friends, don't be daunted by what to cook for the holidays. Vegan holiday fare is simply the best food you will ever enjoy. And, don't worry if you are new to cooking either.Personally, I taught myself to cook as a teenager out of necessity and when I was very poor. At first I made a lot of mistakes (don't ask), but I learned quickly that if one starts with good ingredients, one does not have to spend a lot of money to eat well. Many tasty dishes are easy to make and require only a few simple ingredients. When I converted to vegetarianism about 15 years ago, although I was committed to never eating another animal, I initially puzzled ... "Now what do I eat and how do I prepare it?"Switching from the standard American animal-based diet to

vegetarianism really only requires a commitment and adjusting one's state of mind.

Once that perceptual "click" took place in my brain, vegan

cooking became easy and eating was a healthy, delicious and varied experience. My advice is to make vegetarianism/veganism easy to stick with by keeping staples on hand and by developing a few tried and true meals that you can fix in a hurry, such as:Black Bean with Stuff on ThemBlack Beans (read the can to be sure no animal fat is in it). Drain and heat, mixing in a little garlic powder and picante sauceServe hot, topped with chopped tomatoes and onions, with a side of tortilla chips. Total Cost: Under $3.00Optional toppings: vegan sour creme, avocado, cilantro (available at Krogers, Wal-mart, but believe it or not, Whole Foods vegan sour creme is as cheap as Wal-mart). Fast and Yummy SmoothieSmall bananaFrozen fruit (do not thaw)- 4 or 5 strawberries or peach slices or mango slices or raspberriesSoy MIlk (very cold) - use enough to just cover the fruitPuree in a blender and enjoyTotal Cost: $1.50 (depending on fruit choice)Optional ingredient: Ground flax seedsThere are a host of vegan cookbooks and vegan cuisine websites that feature easy and quick vegan recipes. In keeping Vegetarian Network of Dallas philosophy of supporting

inexpensive and simple cooking, here are a few websites that you might check out. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: For delicious recipes and expert advice on nutrition, go to: http://www.pcrm.org/health/recipes/index.htmlVegCooking (PETA vegan recipe site where you will find some wonderful holiday recipes):http://www.vegcooking.com/Fat Free Vegan: Although I personally like a little olive in my food, this is an excellent vegan blog. Subscribe and receive a new recipe weekly, plus refer to archives for recipes

such as "Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole."http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/11/best-vegan-green-bean-casserole.htmlFinally, be sure to take your delicious compassionate holiday dish to your families dinner or better yet, invite them to your house and prepare an entire vegan meal to show them how good cruelty free cuisine is. I invite those who have a favorite holiday dish to post it with Vegetarian Network of Dallas. Just email it to: I hope to see all our Vegetarian Network of Dallas members who live in D/FW to come to our Fourth Sunday of the Month Lunch at Veggie Garden on 12/28/08.I wish everyone a

safe and peaceful holiday season. Most of all, I wish that humans will

have mercy for all animals during and after the holidays.

Do unto others - human and non-human animals - as you would have done unto yourself.

Happy Holidays! Cross Post Okay.

Margaret MorinVegetarian Network of Dallas