About five years ago, I became a vegetarian. It wasn’t for health reasons or some awful experience I had with meat — it was just a philosophical decision that I made. Before that, I hadn’t eaten beef or pork in over 20 years.
People ask me if I miss eating meat, seafood or poultry, and I always say no without hesitation. I could tell a difference in the way my body felt within two weeks of becoming a vegetarian. The only issue that I had during my transition was finding and learning how to cook new recipes.
Initially, I was making the same dishes over and over again. What really helped me get out of my food rut was to make an effort to constantly incorporate different vegetables into meals that I made before I transitioned. One of my favorite dishes is a vegetarian-take on pasta with a spicy arrabiata sauce. Instead of using pasta and turkey meat, I use squash, zucchini and eggplant.
I cut the veggies on the diagonal then drizzle them with olive oil and season them with pink Himalayan sea salt, black pepper, granulated garlic and crushed red pepper. I roast them in a 405 degree oven for about 20 minutes. The sauce is also very simple. I saute chopped garlic, black olives, mushrooms and yellow onion in olive and add the same seasonings I drizzled on the veggies. Just add a ¼ of a cup of good red wine, and the sauce is complete. The dish is not only beautiful to look at, but it’s also a very delicious way to enjoy a variation on a classic dish.
Another great tip to avoiding a food rut is to try cooking cuisines that rely heavily on vegetables. Indian, Middle Eastern and Asian cuisines have a plethora of tasty dishes for vegetarians. I love dishes with several layers of spices, so Indian cuisine is one of my favorite cuisines to make.
Now, I know that a lot of Indian recipes have a ton of ingredients in terms of spices. So, I take the easy route. I like to buy a prepackaged spice kit and add my own tomato sauce, mined garlic and vegetables. This particular Tikka Masala dish tastes shockingly close to restaurant quality. It took me several tries before I found the right spice packet that I thought tasted best.
As a busy woman, I have days that I just don’t feel like cooking anything. Fortunately, there are a lot of frozen vegetarian products in the marketplace. I tend to buy Amy’s Organics products for those days when I don’t feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, but I don’t want to sacrifice flavor. I have tried numerous dishes, and they taste like they were made in your mother’s kitchen.
I am by no means an expert on vegetarian cooking. I am just a woman who loves to experience food for what it should be: beautiful, tasty and good for the soul.