BVR: The Lingering Myths of Vegetarianism (Info)

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The Lingering Myths of Vegetarianism (Info)

 

Recipe By : Martha Rose Shulman, The Best Vegetarian Recipes

Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : 0 Info and Techniques

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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-- Myths of Vegetarianism --

 

Even though vegetarian eating has become much more mainstream over the

years, and many people who are not vegetarians appreciate the joys and

benefits of a vegetarian diet, it still remains mysterious to some

people. Their concerns are not much different than they were twenty-five

years ago: they wonder about getting enough protein, not getting too

many carbohydrates, and time requirements.

 

• Protein • Getting enough protein is really not a problem for

vegetarians if your diet is a varied one that includes beans, whole

grains, dairy and/or soy products. Proteins are made up of amino acids,

eight of which can only be obtained from food. These are the “essential

amino acids.” High-protein foods like meat, fish, eggs, soy and dairy

products have high amounts of all eight amino acids, and are known as

“complete proteins”. Plant foods like grains and legumes are good

sources of some of the essential amino acids but lack others. We obtain

the absent amino acids from bacteria in our own digestive tract, and

also by combining foods whose amino acids complement each other. This

can be done in the course of a day, or at a given meal. Nature has been

very accommodating with the distribution of these proteins; foods that

naturally pair together for gastronomic reasons (beans and grains, tofu

and rice, grains or pasta and dairy products) also complement each other

in the protein department. Examples of dishes in this book that provide

complete plant protein are rice pilaf with chick peas, couscous with

chick peas, greens and fennel , polenta with tomato sauce and beans, and

all of those containing tofu. Eggs and dairy products provide a valuable

source of high quality protein as well, and you’ll find plenty of those

dishes here.

 

• Carbohydrates • Some of the most popular and successful diets that

have come along in the past decade have been low-carb diets. I believe

that overall calorie consumption is the most important aspect of weight

control. And since one of the easiest ways to keep calories down is to

keep fat consumption low, a moderately low-fat vegetarian diet is a

sensible way to go.

If you have found, however, that you have had success with weight

control by eating a low-carbohydrate diet you can still enjoy a

vegetarian diet. In place of pasta, concentrate on the egg and dairy

recipes, the salads and vegetable soups, the vegetable and the tofu

recipes. Choose whole grains like bulgur, millet and barley over white

rice, couscous and potatoes. When you do eat rice, choose basmati, which

is the least starchy of the rices, and avoid risottos.

 

• Time Requirements • Feeding yourself and your family well requires a

certain amount of time, but so does shopping for prepared food.

Certainly it’s not an unreasonable amount, and vegetarian cooking

doesn’t have to be any more time consuming than other cooking. Many

dishes in this book are quickly made; some of the pasta sauces, for

example, can be assembled in the time it takes for water to come to a

boil. Canned beans can often replace dried; quick-cooking grains such as

bulgur, couscous and quinoa require very little effort; tofu marinades

require no cooking at all; and omelets take just minutes to prepare.

As in all cooking, the more organized you are, and the more

experience you gain in the kitchen, the more efficient you will be.

Having a well-stocked pantry is essential to eating well and doing so

easily, for vegetarians as well as meat-eaters. With basic ingredients

on hand and the recipes that follow, you may only need to market once a

week, but you will eat well every day.

 

Source: Martha Rose Shulman, The Best Vegetarian Recipes, 2001

Typed and MC Formatted by Eruna Schultheiss

 

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