Today's newspapers are full of the story that, for a healthy life-style, we should increase the '5 fruit and veg a day' to 7 - or even 10! But the Guardian reports on a Liverpool University study which suggests we should give up the fruit, and concentrate on vegetables, instead - identifying sugar as the real culprit!
As a vegan who isn't all that fond of fruit, this is right up my street - but a traditional omnivore might not find this so easy.
The problem with many people's perception of vegetables - which was certainly mine before I became a veggie - is that they are seen solely as an accompaniment to meat in a main course. The 'meat and two veg' syndrome, this could be called.
Now I've been veggie for 12 years and a vegan for 8, my views are diametrically opposite. So much so, that now, instead of thinking 'chicken curry', which was a staple of mine for many years, I'm now thinking, 'cabbage curry' - and making cabbage the centre of the dish. You all might think this is bonkers, but I absolutely relish the taste of a chunk of cabbage stalk (I'm talking of the 'rib' down the centre of a cabbage leaf) when I come across it in my veg curries - so why not?
I've just posted a chilli non carne - made with chick peas - recipe elsewhere on the blog, and I have to tell you folks, it ranks up there with any chilli or curry recipe I made in my pre vegan days. (For dinner tonight, I've just had a bowl of the leftovers…swoon!!!)
Veggies are seriously undervalued!
As a vegan who isn't all that fond of fruit, this is right up my street - but a traditional omnivore might not find this so easy.
The problem with many people's perception of vegetables - which was certainly mine before I became a veggie - is that they are seen solely as an accompaniment to meat in a main course. The 'meat and two veg' syndrome, this could be called.
Now I've been veggie for 12 years and a vegan for 8, my views are diametrically opposite. So much so, that now, instead of thinking 'chicken curry', which was a staple of mine for many years, I'm now thinking, 'cabbage curry' - and making cabbage the centre of the dish. You all might think this is bonkers, but I absolutely relish the taste of a chunk of cabbage stalk (I'm talking of the 'rib' down the centre of a cabbage leaf) when I come across it in my veg curries - so why not?
I've just posted a chilli non carne - made with chick peas - recipe elsewhere on the blog, and I have to tell you folks, it ranks up there with any chilli or curry recipe I made in my pre vegan days. (For dinner tonight, I've just had a bowl of the leftovers…swoon!!!)
Veggies are seriously undervalued!
Paul, I agree. I like veggies better than fruit, and I feel I'm rather limited in variety living here in the Northeastern United States. We're at the mercy of the grocery stores, and the health food shops are just too small to carry much more than the tiny staples they do. BUT! I still say that whatever can be made can be made vegan and gluten free. I think us vegan cooks have a wider pallet variety, and most carnivore food is just bland.
ReplyDeleteHi Frank
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by – and I sympathise with your veggie plight.
About being a vegan – I reckon I’m a far better, more inventive, versatile cook than I was before becoming a vegan. You have to learn how to think out of the box, right?
BTW, love your blog, and I’ve tried to follow you – but I can’t see how!
Let me know what to do and I’ll do it!
Cheers, Paul
(Look out for my cauliflower and broccoli bake, coming up soon! :) )