HOW TO MAKE A VEGETARIAN DIET EASY – PLANNING AHEAD & CONVENIENCE FOODS
These days convenience foods are a way of life for most people. What about vegetarians? This chapter outlines time-saving techniques for integrating vegetarian meals into a crowded lifestyle, and advice on making and purchasing vegetarian convenience foods.
1) Plan ahead. Put the rice or beans on to cook for tomorrow’s dinner while you’re cooking tonight’s; 5 to 10 minutes of prep time, and then it’s pretty well effortless. While you’re eating and cleaning up after today’s meal, the basis of tomorrow’s dinner is cooking itself. Be sure the rice or beans have thoroughly cooled before you cover them and store them in the fridge.
One good way to reheat rice: place it in the basket of a steamer (the flat bamboo style holds more and heats more evenly) and steam for several minutes, until heated throughout. Alternatively, place the rice in an ovenproof casserole, sprinkle with a few drops of water, cover, and heat in the oven.
Cooked beans should be returned to the boil for 3 minutes, then simmered, stirring, until heated throughout.
2) Plan your meals to take advantage of these precooked staples. If you’re serving stirfried vegetables over rice, cook enough to have 2 cups of cooked rice left over for tomorrow’s Andalusian Cream of Tomato Soup . Or if you cook a pot of chickpeas, cook more than you need: freeze the extra peas in their cooking liquid, in small portions in plastic containers. Pull out and thaw; you’ve got the base for hummus or minestrone soup, or to toss into a salad, or to dress up in Mexican Greens with Potatoes and Garbanzos .
Always cook enough beans of any variety to yield an extra few cups of cooked beans. Extra cooked beans can be added to soups and stews to give body and protein. Some recipes where cooked beans would prove handy: Texas Taco Salad, Vegetable Chowder, Nachos, or Stew à la Tarragon. Beans will keep for several days in the fridge. But they can go bad after that, so if you don’t plan to use them within 3 days of cooking, freeze beans in their cooking liquid after cooling. They’ll last for several weeks in the freezer.
3) Check your basement to see if you still have a “crockpot”. If you don’t, consider investing in one of these slowcookers, which will cook dried beans overnight or while you’re at work. They’re also superb for keeping apple cider or chili steaming hot when you have a crowd over for hockey or Girl Guides or those endless political meetings.
4) Buy canned beans if you really feel that you just don’t have the time or energy to cook your own. Do look for brands that don’t contain meat byproducts, or chemical additives, and do be aware of the salt content of canned foods before adding extra salt to the recipe.
5) Explore the grains that don’t take so long to cook. Bulghar and couscous are both swiftly prepared. Quinoa and millet take only 20 to 25 minutes to cook, which is hardly longer than white rice. All of these go well with stirfries and stews or as an accompaniment to vegetable dishes. Cornmeal simmers in about 25 minutes into a thick porridge called polenta, frequently served in Italy and Eastern Europe.
CONVENIENCE FOODS
An endless variety of products in the mainstream market are designed to save you time: instant mixes in pouches, pre-made sauces in jars, whole frozen dinners that can be heated in minutes. Unfortunately, these products come laden with artificial flavours, colouring agents, and preservatives. And they are often meant to be used on or with meat. If you’re in the habit of using convenience foods, but you’d like to eat vegetarian meals, you have three options. First, realize that a well-stocked spice cabinet and a little experience with seasonings will quickly make the prepackaged mixes redundant. Second, natural foods stores now carry a growing selection of convenience foods for vegetarians, some of them high-quality with healthier ingredients. Third, and best: you can learn to make vegetarian convenience foods at home.
Visit your local natural foods store to see what’s available. In the freezer case, you’ll find enticing entrées, tortillas, prepared vegetable casseroles, and desserts, including nondairy substitutes for ice cream. On the shelves you’ll discover boxed mixes for pilafs, whole grain pancake mixes, just-add-water falafel mix, quick-cooking cereals. There are bottled salad dressings and sauces and canned soups. These products are usually made without as much salt or added sugar as their mainstream equivalents, and are often available with organic ingredients (But again: read labels!). Vegetarian convenience foods may not taste exactly like the products you grew up with. But remember that often what tastes familiar is the taste of salt, sugar, and MSG. When you make the move to a vegetarian diet, you take your tastebuds with you, and part of the challenge is educating your taste buds to appreciate less adulterated ingredients. Again, sometimes the prices will be higher than for the less healthy equivalents. You’ll have to choose, whether the higher quality of the food justifies paying for convenience.
Among your other convenience food options are the meat substitutes. These non-meat entrées include tofu hot dogs (sometimes referred to as not dogs), tempeh and tofu burgers, and bacon and sausage substitutes. Different brands taste differently, so experiment to find out which ones appeal the most to you. Do remember that these products are not made from meat, and will not taste the same as a hot dog or burger, even if that’s what they resemble. But they may prove useful as you make the transition to meatless meals, or if your vegetarian kids want to be included in cooking over a campfire.
Freezing your own home-cooked foods can be an easy, inexpensive way to stock “instant” meals. Many of the recipes in this book freeze well. Cool food quickly to room temperature before sealing in airtight plastic containers; place in the freezer. (You’re making your own life easier if you freeze food in portions suitable to the size of your family.) Label and date each container with masking or freezer tape. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or in a bath of warm water for a few minutes. Soups, stews, and casseroles are excellent examples of foods that lend well to freezing. It’s not much more work to increase or double a recipe, cook more than you need at the moment, and freeze the extra for future use on those nights when you won’t have the time to cook.