I have been a vegetarian for many years now. My choice in becoming vegetarian was for several reasons – I wanted to be proactive in helping end cruelty to animals, I didn’t want to eat meats that were filled with chemicals/for health reasons and my partner was a vegetarian. The choice wasn’t really difficult as I didn’t eat meat too often – this was hard to believe for many as I was Portuguese and apparantely, the Portuguese are known for their carnivoreous apetitites. What in the world was I going to eat???? I wasn’t really fond of tofu (so I thought), and I kept hearing so many ‘non-vegetarians’ say things like “you are only going to be eating vegetables”, “you are not going to get enough iron if you become vegetarian”, “you are going to be so limited in what you eat – there is nothing out there for vegetarians” – I thought I would do the research myself as ‘meat eaters’ certainley were not experts on vegetarian cuisine – am I not right? It is like asking a bus driver to drive a plane.
In my research – I found so many different types of foods that would give me all the nutrients I needed and that were very delicious too. I can’t believe how many great vegetarian products are on the market today – so many vegetarian friendly companies such as; Becel, Yves, Tofurkey, President’s Choice, Schneiders – yes Schneiders, Sol, etc…I now use vegan margarine, mayonaisse, cheese, milk, luncheon deli-styled ‘faux meat’ slices, substitute chicken breast, faux chicken burgers, faux meat burgers and so on…..I have never looked and am on the cusp of becoming vegan (a vegan does not eat any animal products).
So – have I piqued your curiousity? Would you like to take a look at some of my delicious creations? Look no further:
Rob’s Vegetarian Jambalaya
Rob’s Veggie ‘Breakfast’ Jambalaya
Tofurkey Roast and Roasted Veggies (going into the oven)
Tofurkey Roast and Roasted Vegetables (after cooking)
Meatless Chicken Breast with Roasted Vegetables and Broccoli
Vegan Naan Pizza with Tofurkey Italian ‘Meatless’ Sausage
Vegan Veggie Pizza
Just posting these pictures has made me hungry!!! There are great vegetaraian and vegan cookbooks if you want to know more about how to cook vegetarian and on the benefits of a vegetarian diet. There is still so many vegetarian dishes and foods I have to try and experiment with. Living in Whitby, Canada – there really are not many vegetarian outlets but I have noticed that this is slowly changing. Toronto has so many vegetarian and vegetarian/vegan friendly restaurants – Fresh being my favourite so far.
I hope that I have inspired some of you to go out and try some of the great vegetarian food that is available to you….if you would like to know how I made some of these dishes, please email me at coalitionofpositiveenergy@gmail.com
Thanks for you love and support. Together, we can make the world a more positive one!
COALITION OF POSITIVE ENERGY 