| What's on your shelf? |
| The essential vegetarian
kitchen cupboard guide |
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Snacks
Food can be much more than meals. Eating is about more than just
subsistence - it can also be about fun, pleasure, relaxation and
sharing.
Rightly, (even if it's embarrasing to admit), many vegos or prospective
vegos (especially if they wish to go vegan) worry about what they're
gonna snack on.
Don't worry! Vego snacks are not difficult to find. We vegos do
not live a snack-deprived life. Like everything else in your vego
diet, it's a matter of ditching the old familiar items in your head
(and your cupboard) and filling your head (and your cupboard) with
great vegetarian tastes.
Quick vego meals
Many of the "convenience" foods on our supermarket shelves
are not very friendly to vegos. However, once you get your head
around it, being vego doesn't mean there aren't many ways to grab
a quick meal when circumstances demand one on the run.
Our favourite super-quick vego meal is beans on toast. And there's
no need to buy the beans marked "baked", (which often
have all kinds of additives in them). Any kind of tinned beans will
do, or even beans you've cooked yourself if you have the time and
inspiration (see our page on legumes).
Speaking of legumes... boiled
lentils with onion, olive oil & soy sauce are one of the
easiest, tastiest quick meals we know of!
The sensible bit...
Just for balance, we thought we should throw it in. Nutritionally,
the best foods are whole foods - grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and
fresh fruit and vegetables, unprocessed and unpackaged. These types
of foods have numerous advantages which make them the perfect basis
of a healthy, humane, ethical and ecologically sustainable way of
life:
- whole foods are nutritious and wholesome. (Foods lose
nutritional value, like fibre, vitamins, and antioxidants, through
processing. The less processing, the better the nutrition.)
- whole foods are environmentally friendly. Because
- they generally don't need packaging (reducing manufacturing
of packaging, and reducing waste); cereals, grains, nuts and
seeds can be sold in bulk while fresh fruits and vegetables
generally come with their own organic "packaging"
(skin) or don't need any;
- mostly they don't need refrigeration; and
- processing of foods in itself is an industrial process using
energy and resources like water, and producing waste.
- whole foods are generally cheap compared to processed
foods, due to the costs of processing and the costs of packaging.
However, having said all that, we know that vegos like everyone
else are busy people, often with families and multiple commitments.
While we still recommend you try to organise your vego
store cupboard to equip you to base your diet on whole foods,
we recognise that - like us - you will at times need to grab a snack
or a quick meal. Well, there are plenty of vego options to choose
from!
Don't forget to contact
us if you'd like to share your favourite quick vego meal or
snack!
One of the childhood treats we at Vegetarian Action are quite happy
to keep on enjoying.
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What is it?
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Popping corn is just the dried whole kernels of corn cobs.
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Where to buy it
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Available at the supermarket, also at bulk
food stores
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Preparation
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In a large frying pan or saucepan (must have a lid),
add enough oil to cover the bottom and preheat until
hot.
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Add the corn kernels and cover securely with lid.
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As you hear the "popping" noises begin, shake
the pot or pan every few seconds in a circular motion
to loosen the kernels from the bottom.
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Keep on the heat until the popping noises stop or slow
down a lot. Only then is it safe to take of the lid!
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How do you eat it?
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Best eaten with a little salt and with bare fingers while
hot! (Butter not required! If cooked in olive oil, or even
just vegetable oil, as per above instructions, popcorn is
delicious without anything added.)
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No, you are not condemned - on account of being vego - to a life
without garlic bread!
Vegetarian Action suggests preparing garlic bread with either a
vego margarine (eg Nuttelex - available from most supermarkets and
the only 100% vego margarine we know), or with olive oil.
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VA's all-star recipe:
Ultra Simple Vegan Garlic Bread
We use a spoon to dribble olive oil on one side only of our
bread. Then we simply toast it lightly (under the griller
- not in the toaster of course!), and after toasting rub a
whole (peeled) clove of garlic against the toasted side, so
that the garlic rubs off on the bread. Delicious and fuss-free!
Rub the garlic clove harder or softer, more or less to adjust
the strength of the garlic.
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Homous, babaganoush & other dips
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One of the staples we keep in the Vegetarian Action fridge is a
tub of delicious vego dip.
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What is it?
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Homous is mainly made of chickpeas, garlic and lemon juice,
but do be careful to read the label when buying it - there
are often ingredients added to make it "creamy".
Tahini is fine (it's made from sesame seeds), but some homous
contains cream cheese or other milk-based products - check
the label carefully.
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Where to buy it
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Fridge section at the supermarket (the dips are normally
next to the yoghurt), continental stores or bulk
food stores
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Preparation
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Ready to eat. Yum! (Keep refrigerated.)
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How do you eat it?
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Great in sandwiches - by itself, or add extras like
parsley, sundried tomatoes, lettuce, olives
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Great as a dip - you can find vego corn chips and also
biccies like Ryvitas or the long crunchy Italian breadsticks
'grissini' (but read the labels carefully - many chips
contain dairy ingredients - see our Additives
and Ingredients page)
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Don't forget the old favourites - carrot sticks, celery
sticks and capsicum sticks are wonderful with homous.
A vego allstar snack!
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Other dips: Homous is not the only completely vego dip available
- just read the labels. Those to avoid include caviar (made of fish
eggs), tzatziki (made of yoghurt). We often find really fabulous
and totally vego eggplant dips or "babaganous"
(= eggplant dip).
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avocado sandwich
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Avocado, the "vegetable butter", is a vegetarian staple,
packed with protein, minerals and vitamins and the right kind
of fats. Spread your bread with a little olive oil, followed
by a generous layer of avocado, thinly sliced spanish onion
and pitted olives for a true gourmet delight.
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| 'caprese' (tofu) sandwich |
An adaptation of the classic Italian "3 colours" (representing
the Italian flag), traditionally made with bocconcini cheese,
this sandwich is made with sliced tofu, sliced fresh tomato
and fresh basil leaves, all dressed with olive oil and oregano,
a bit of fresh black pepper also blends in well.
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| chili tofu sandwich with fried onions |
A bit of a naughty treat, this one - a snack you can really
get your teeth into on a Winter's afternoon! Slice the tofu
about 1/2 cm thick and place two slices on each sandwich.
Spread the bread on one side with a smear of 'harissa' (North
African hot chili & tomato paste) or else with a smear
of tomato paste and a smear of chili paste (it works out the
same!). Slice brown onions into rings and fry, scoop onto
the sandwiches. Put the "lids" on (usually no oil/spread
needed on the other side of the bread, as the onions are oily)
& enjoy!
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| felafel sandwich |
Felafel, a spicy mix made from lentil flour and originating
from the Middle East, is one of those favourites people often
forget is vegetarian. Mix the flour with water and fry your
own small "nuggets", or buy them ready made. Fabulous in a
sandwich with any combination of: lettuce, sprouts, homous,
tomato, spring onion, grated carrot, etc.
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| homous sandwich |
Homous - that delicious middle-eastern
spread, like its cousin babaganoush, is delicious in sandwiches,
especially with very fresh crusty bread (eg rye or light rye).
Add any or all of: lettuce or sprouts, thinly sliced salad
onion, pitted olives, and as always dress your bread with
a drizzle of delicious olive oil!
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What is it?
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Felafel is a middle-eastern food consisting of spicy felafel
flour (made from chickpeas, garlic, onion and spices) fried
in balls.
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Where to buy it
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Can be bought pre-cooked, but it's easy to prepare your own.
Felafel flour can be found in packets in many supermarkets
(with the imported foods), as well as in some continental
grocers and bulk
food stores.
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Preparation
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Felafel is easy to prepare!
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Mix the flour with water - add the water little by
little, just enough to make a sticky paste (it needs
to be firm enough to keep its shape when rolled into
balls, but not dry).
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Roll into small balls - normally about 2 - 4 cm in
diameter (depending on how you want to eat them, and
also smaller balls will cook faster).
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Place into about 1 cm hot oil and gently fry until
golden brown. Don't cook too quickly - the balls need
time to cook in the middle.
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How do you eat it?
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Delicious by itself as a "finger food" -
a snack or as part of a platter or selection of party
foods. Best when combined with dips - try dipping felafel
balls into homous, babaganoush, sweet chili sauce, or
even plain tomato sauce.
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Great in sandwiches - especially in delicious turkish
bread, wraps, or burgers. Squash into the sandwich and
add homous or babaganous, lettuce, salad onion, etc.
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Good hot or cold.
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What is it?
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Stuffed vine leaves - a Greek or Turkish food consisting
of young grape-vine leaves stuffed with rice, olive oil, lemon
juice and herbs, forming rolls about the size of fat fingers.
(NOTE: 'Dolmades' also refers to vine leaves stuffed
with meat - we are not referring to those, and
please don't buy them by mistake - please check the ingredients
before you make your selection!)
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Where to buy it
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Dolmades are available in tins or jars, or alternatively
can be bought fresh (not packaged) from a deli counter, in
the supermarket or from continental grocers. If you're really
keen, you can also make them (recipes are readily available
on the internet - just type 'dolmades' into a search engine).
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Preparation
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Ready to eat. Just dig in!
After opening (or if purchased fresh) keep refrigerated.
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How do you eat it?
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Just hoe in! Delicious straight from the tin or jar, as a
vego snack. Also great on platters of finger food.
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What is it?
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Vegetarian burgers (patties) - an alternative to meat-based
burgers or rissoles - are now readily available. They can
be based on legumes like lentils or chickpeas, on vegetables
(less filling), or even 'mock meat' (often made from a base
of gluten or soy). As a processed food, they are usually sold
refrigerated or frozen.
Tofu can also be used to make 'vegie burgers' - plain tofu
may be a bit dull without fancy preparation, but the pre-marinated
varieties of tofu are delicious popped into any kind of bread
with other burger ingredients like dips, lettuce, onion, avocado.
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Where to buy it
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Look in the fridge section in your supermarket or bulk
food store.
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Preparation
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Read the packet. Most vegie burgers are ready to eat, but
are designed to be gently heated. They can be heated in the
microwave or oven. (Just place on a plate in a moderate oven
for 5 to 10 mins.)
Keep refrigerated. Most vegie burgers (exception: tofu) are
also suitable for freezing, making them a perfect vego convenience
food to keep on hand 'just in case'.
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How do you eat it?
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Vegie burgers are great served in any kind of bread - normal
bread, turkish bread, foccacia, flat 'pitta' or 'lavash' bread.
Add homous or babaganoush, thinly sliced
salad (white or red) onion, lettuce or sprouts, fresh tomato,
grated carrot, sundried tomato, avocado, sweet chili sauce
- anything you can think of!
Vegie burgers can also be eaten on their own with salad or
vegies, however they can tend to be a bit dry (especially
if heated in a conventional oven) and benefit from a dip (eg
homous) or sauce (eg sweet chili sauce).
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A little note:
This list is not exhausive! (and it's not intended
to be).
The items listed on this page are just examples. On each
shelf in your vego kitchen there are a wide variety of
foods which could be included - and we encourage you to
explore them!
We have chosen a range of foods which we find easy to
prepare, easily available, and which together we think
will amply equip you with a great basis to work from -
a well stocked vegetarian storecupboard which will provide
you with a delicious, varied vegetarian diet.
From that starting point, you can build in as much interest
and extra variety as you like. |
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Whichever way you look, the future
is vegetarian...
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