I am a vegetarian. Easy to say, but surprisingly hard to live up to. Tempted by gourmet dishes on all sides, quizzed by confused relatives and friends, flummoxed by Western cooking traditiions that rely on slaughter - it can be hard to stick to a vegetarian diet.

But I’m not writing to persuade anyone to convert to a vegetarian diet. There’s plenty of convincing writing about that out there already. I’m interested in helping you get started once you’ve made the decision - or once you’ve ‘made the right move’, if I may be allowed a little evangelism.

There are two important steps to take once you’ve decided to become a vegetarian:

1. Stick to it for a month. Psychologists agree that it takes most people a month to form a non-addictive habit. So, adopt a vegetarian diet for a month and you’re home and dry.

2. Get support. This is trickier. Without wishing to point fingers, the chances are that support from your immediate family and friends is a bit thin. But you need to learn what to eat. And how to cook it.

In short, you need a vegetarian cooking school.

Even if you’re not a vegetarian, signing yourself up for a short and sweet vegetarian cooking course will inspire your cooking and expand your repetoire. You’ll learn how to prepare a wide variety of healthy, appetizing dishes. Without meat. And if you are vegetarian, you’ll find out how to make sure your diet is rich in all the protein, vitamins and minerals you need to live a long and healthy life. Without meat.

There are vegetarian cooking schools all over the country. And there are more vegetarian cooking traditions than you might realise - traditions that support healthy, long-living people. And learning about them and how to cook their food is easy and a lot of fun.

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Source: gourmet food

There are many, many vegetarian recipes that are easy to prepare and delicious to eat. You might be surprised at what you can find when you take the time to look for vegetarian recipes that are easy to fix. In a busy society such as the one we live in, easy to make recipes are almost essential for the weekday vegetarian cook. Here are a couple that can get you started:

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
* 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (10 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1/4 cup salsa
* 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
* 2 tablespoons butter, divided
* 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in beans and corn, then add sugar, salsa, and pepper flakes; mix well. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.
2. Melt 2 teaspoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the skillet, sprinkle evenly with cheese, then top with some of the bean mixture. Place another tortilla on top, cook until golden, then flip and cook on the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

California Grilled Veggie Sandwich

INGREDIENTS
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1/8 cup olive oil
* 1 cup sliced red bell peppers
* 1 small zucchini, sliced
* 1 red onion, sliced
* 1 small yellow squash, sliced
* 2 (4-x6-inch) focaccia bread pieces, split horizontally
* 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the grill for high heat.
3. Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, and set aside.
4. Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with feta cheese. Place on the grill cheese side up, and cover with lid for 2 to 3 minutes. This will warm the bread, and slightly melt the cheese. Watch carefully so the bottoms don’t burn. Remove from grill, and layer with the vegetables. Enjoy as open faced grilled sandwiches.

Pesto with Arugula

INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups baby arugula leaves
* 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
* 2/3 cup pine nuts
* 8 cloves garlic
* 1 (6 ounce) can black olives, drained
* 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
* 1/2 lime, juiced
* 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Place the arugula, basil, pine nuts, garlic, and olives in a food processor, and chop to a coarse paste. Mix in olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Process until well blended and smooth.

These are only a few recipes to get you started, but take a good look around at various resources, and you will find many, many easy vegetarian recipes that are quick to make and delicious as well!

Eating a vegetarian diet is a great choice for the right person, and you will want to study vegetarian cookery as much as possible so that you will have many different choices in your meals and food choices. Vegetarian cookery is simply learning to cook foods without using meat and sometimes even cheeses and milk.

Depending on where you live, there are vegetarian cookery schools that conduct classes on how to cook in a vegetarian lifestyle. These cookery schools offer many different choices and classes like cooking breakfasts, main dishes, desserts, and appetizers. You can become an expert vegetarian cook with some creativity and imagination and even impress those around you who aren’t vegetarians.

Great vegetarian cookery involves using a lot of different spices and cooking methods to create innovative dishes that taste great and are good for you. Vegetarian eating involves more than just vegetables. It means implementing grains and meat substitutes like tofu and then making them taste great by the way you prepare it and how you enhance it with other ingredients.

You really have a lot of choices in vegetarian cookery when you use your imagination. For example, you can use the versatile eggplant to make a vegetarian lasagna or an eggplant parmesan that tastes great – all without meat. Use black beans to make a “faux” hamburger. Just mash them up into a soft consistency, patty them out and grill them until they are thoroughly cooked. They taste great and are a good meatless alternative to a red meat burger.

Another great option in vegetarian cookery is to implement a lot of Mexican food into your meal planning. Mexican food traditionally uses beans and cheese in their meals along with a lot of vegetables, so it’s easy to prepare Mexican meals that don’t contain meat. Of course, if you are eschewing dairy products, you will have to find an alternative to cheese, but there are options – and a lot of them!

Vegetarian cookery doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t have to be completely different from meat filled meals. It can be unpretentious and even just like your regular meals only filled with vegetables and things that good for your body and your soul too. If you use a lot of imagination in your vegetarian cookery, you will soon find that it’s not only easy to cook meatless meals, but it is fun and satisfying as well.

What exactly is a vegetarian diet? Well, it depends on what kind of vegetarian you are interested in becoming. A basic vegetarian diet includes a lot of vegetables, and sometimes fish and chicken. People who are vegan eschew all animal products including cheese and milk as well as meat of all types including seafood. The real vegetarians say that they don’t want to eat anything with a face.

A vegetarian diet is a healthy way to eat – one that will keep you energetic, vibrant, and even help with weight loss. People who don’t agree with vegetarian diets say that it is an unhealthy way to eat because you won’t be getting essential nutrients that your body needs like iron and protein. But the truth is that a well-planned out vegetarian diet can help you meet all of your body’s nutritional needs and then some.

Plants can provide all sorts of nutrients even protein and iron if you choose the right vegetables and foods for your vegetarian diet. Vegetarians can get all the protein they need through nuts and grains like rice, lentils, and beans. A vegetarian diet generally contains less fat and cholesterol, and typically includes more fiber.

To keep your vegetarian diet on track, you may find using a vegetarian food pyramid helpful. This pyramid outlines various food groups and food choices that, if eaten in the right quantities, form the foundation of a healthy vegetarian diet.

Meatless products, such as tofu dogs, soy burgers, nut loaves or texturized vegetable protein, add variety to your vegetarian diet. These products, found in many grocery stores and health food markets, simulate the taste and texture of meat and usually have less fat and fewer calories. Many of the meatless products, such as tofu or tempeh, are made from soybeans.

If you follow a vegan diet, you may need to find alternatives for eggs and dairy products. Try these suggestions when meal planning or cooking:

• Milk. Drink fortified soymilk, rice milk or almond milk in place of cow’s milk.
• Butter. When sautéing, use olive oil, water, vegetable broth, wine or nonfat cooking spray instead of butter. In baked goods, use canola oil.
• Cheese. Use soy cheese or nutritional yeast flakes, which are available in health food stores.
• Eggs. In baked goods, try commercial egg replacers — a dry product made mostly of potato starch. Or you can use the following to replace one egg: 1/4 cup whipped tofu or 1 tablespoon milled flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water. For an egg-free omelet try using tofu instead of eggs.

Choosing to eat a vegetarian diet can be a great way to eat for the right person, but it does take commitment and a whole lot of creativity!

Perhaps you have chosen to switch over to a vegetarian lifestyle because you want to lose weight and need to find some low calorie vegetarian recipes to help you in your weight loss goals. The good news is that just be switching over to meatless eating, you will be eating low calorie already. The secret to cooking low calorie vegetarian recipes is to cut out the extras that make meals fattening in the first place.

To begin with, when you are cooking low calorie vegetarian recipes, you will want to shy away from using too much oil. You can, however use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for flavoring and salads. EVOO (as Rachel Ray calls it) is low in calories and provides some of the “good fats” that our bodies need.

Stay away from fried foods when you are cooking low calorie vegetarian recipes. Even if you do use the extra virgin olive oil to fry in, fried foods are classically higher in calories, so you should avoid these as much as possible.

Steam your vegetables instead of boiling them. Boiling them will cause a lot of the important nutrients to be lost. Grill vegetables for a great change. Use a no calorie or low calorie cooking spray to give them a little moisture or even spray on a little diluted lemon juice.

If your diet allows you to eat seafood, broil fish instead of frying it and, again, grilling is a great way to add flavor and uniqueness to your foods. Spices can make the difference toward a full-flavored low calorie vegetarian recipe that is satisfying and delicious.

Many low calorie vegetarian recipes can be found on the Internet. You can also buy vegetarian cookbooks with low calorie recipes in them. Another great option for low calorie vegetarian recipes is to simply modify regular recipes by using low calorie substitutions like low-fat cheeses or substituting plain yogurt for sour cream.

If you are creative, you will be surprised to find that you can find low calorie vegetarian recipes are plentiful and able to be implemented into your diet that will complement your weight loss goals. All you need is a little education into where you can make substitutions that will make high calorie foods into low calorie foods with a little alteration and a lot of imagination. Implement low calorie vegetarian recipes into your diet and realize that you can have delicious foods while supporting your meatless lifestyle.

If you are a vegetarian or thinking about becoming a vegetarian, you might be worried about how you are going to be able to eat in a restaurant with your meatless lifestyle. It can be intimidating to think about eating in a restaurant when you are a vegetarian, but the reality is that you actually do have many, many options available to you on menus in restaurants that can support your vegetarian eating habits.

To begin with, you can always order a healthy salad that contains no meat. Many vegetarians take this option when eating in a restaurant. Salads are made of a variety of vegetables and if you want to get some protein, ask for a bit of garbanzo beans or seafood if your vegetarian diet allows you to eat seafood. Add a nice balsamic vinegar and oil dressing and you have a delicious vegetarian meal.

You can also scan the menu for any meatless meals that are available. If you are going to be choosing the restaurant you are eating in, a good choice for vegetarians would be either an Italian or Mexican restaurant. These two types of food styles don’t rely on meat for their entrees, so there are almost always a huge variety of meatless meals on the menu.

Another option for the vegetarian when eating in a restaurant is to ask the cook to prepare your meal without the items that aren’t in your diet. At most sit-down restaurants, they will be happy to adapt their recipes to adhere to your vegetarian eating habits. It is usually easy to cut out the meat from a simple pasta sauce or take the chicken out of the grilled chicken salad.

What do you do, though, when you are a vegetarian eating in a fast-food restaurant? While most fast food restaurants are starting to offer more salads on their menus in an effort to adhere to new governmental health standards, your choices are much more limited when eating at a fast food restaurant as a vegetarian. Really, the only thing you can do is order one of their salads, or opt for the fish option if you eat fish.

Don’t make a big deal about your vegetarian eating habits when in a restaurant. You’re likely to be met with some disdain, so order what you want that will meet with your lifestyle and then go about the business of enjoying your meal as well as the company!

Cooking food in the vegetarian lifestyle can be an exciting process and a great way to learn more about the nutrient content in the foods that you are consuming.  Vegetarian cooking might not seem like an exciting prospect to many people, but we’re willing to bet that once you explore the possibilities that are available for preparing vegetarian food, you will begin to realize that there really are no limits to how you can cook when you are a vegetarian.

Vegetables are versatile foods.  They can be prepared in a variety of ways.  For example, consider taking a nice plump eggplant and slicing it up into inch thick slabs.  You can then layer them with some nice ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses for vegetarian lasagna.

Take that same eggplant, dredge it in some bread crumbs and fry it up in some olive oil.  Pair your friend eggplant with a nice green salad and you have a great and delicious meal.  The eggplant can also be put on the grill, brushed with teriyaki marinade and cooked to perfection complete with grill marks.  Consider putting your eggplant on a bun for an eggplant burger.

When you are cooking in the vegetarian lifestyle, use a variety of spice to make your vegetables taste amazing.  Steamed asparagus can be sprinkled with some thyme along with a little butter spray and it tastes amazing.  Spritz steamed broccoli with some diluted lemon juice for a tangy twist.

The key to vegetarian cooking is to think outside of the box and use your imagination.  You can find new and exciting ways to spice up ordinary vegetables and make them delicious when you experiment around enough.

Don’t look at a tomato as just a round vegetable (or fruit, depending on your stand regarding that controversy)!  A tomato can be a main course when you puree it up, add a few spices and spread it over a nice whole wheat spaghetti.  It can be drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with some parsley for a nice hors d’ouevre.  If your vegetarian choice includes cheese as one of the foods you can eat, top that tomato with a nice slice of mozzarella cheese as well.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to vegetarian cooking.  Like we said, just use your imagination, experiment with various cooking methods as well as spices.  Once you get the hang of it, you won’t even miss the meat anymore as you realize that you can enjoy delicious vegetarian meals that are fun and easy to make as well!

If you are thinking about becoming a vegetarian but are afraid that your food choices will be limited without having meat in your diet – think again. Actually, vegetarians have quite a few choices for menu options. You might be surprised at how vegetables can be prepared so that you don’t even realize that you are eating meatless meals.

Of course, depending on what type of vegetarian you choose to be, the food choices available to you are amazing. Not only are vegetables on the menu, you can also often eat fish and cheese. Just think about the variety of vegetables we have today: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, squash, zucchini, beans, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, the list can go on forever.

Of course, the way your vegetarian food is prepared is what makes it the most satisfying. The good news is you can choose many different ways to make a vegetarian meal. You can bake, fry, sauté, and even grill vegetables. Then add a basting or marinade sauce along with other vegetarian friendly ingredients, and the vegetarian food you are eating will be just as good as a meal with meat.

When you are shopping for vegetarian food, you may want to look for organically grown foods. You have chosen to live a meatless lifestyle, so you will also want to live as healthy as you possibly can. Commercially grown produce utilizes pesticides to keep the produce from getting destroyed by bugs and insects. Organic farmers use all natural pesticides, so you won’t be contaminating your body when you buy organic food.

You may also want to consider growing your own vegetables so that you know you are getting healthy, pesticide free vegetarian food. Having a garden is also a very cathartic experience as people can get great relaxation benefits from working in their gardens knowing that they are growing healthy food for their family. Plus, there’s very little more satisfying than picking your own produce from a piece of land that you brought to life with your own two hands.

If you are thinking of becoming a vegetarian but are concerned that you won’t have a big choice of foods available for you to eat, think again. The options and possibilities are endless as long as you get creative. Check out different ways to prepare the foods that your vegetarian lifestyle will let you eat and then enjoy a great vegetarian meal filled with food that is filling as well as delicious.