Going meatless has become a major part of modern society. For multiple reasons, people are embracing vegetables more. But it can be hard to know where to start with this new lifestyle change. As a flexitarian, I’m here to tell you, you can do this at your own pace. Listen to your body. So here are some tips to get you started.
Replace Meat with Chunky Vegetables
There are no direct substitutes for the delicate flavors of meats like lamb, beef, and pork. Yet you can replace some meats with vegetables that are similar in size and texture. These are vegetables that work well against sauces, such as curries. This buffalo cauliflower recipe is a perfect example of substituting meat for a vegetable. If you are apprehensive, try mixing in some vegetables and reducing the meat content to get a feel for the texture and taste of a dish.
Start off Small
You probably won’t enjoy it immediately if you remove all meat from your diet. And you will miss your meat. A good tip is to do it gradually by starting off small. Pick one meat to remove from your diet entirely. And gradually remove other meats. Once you have stopped eating meat, try removing fish from your diet as well. If you are having trouble, then try having a couple of vegetarian dishes per week or only have meat as part of your main dinner meals.
Going Meatless Means Getting to Know Produce
If you have been a meat eater all your life, then it is challenging to create recipes without it. This is simply because you rely on meat to make up the main part of your dish and then use other ingredients that go with it. But this becomes much harder when there is no meat. So it forces you to get to know other vegetables to use. A good tip expert chefs use is to remember “what grows together, goes together”. Nigel Slater is a big believer in this and has many great recipes.
Make a Plan for Your Meals
When relying on meat, you can get away with putting most things with it. However, this changes when you use only vegetables. First, vegetables are perishable, and you don’t get the best out of them if you freeze. Additionally, to get the absolute best out of vegetables, you should eat seasonally. So you need to plan your meals according to how long they last and when they are in season. For instance, use up vegetables in the order they will expire to get the most flavor.
Get the Most from Your Ingredients
Every kitchen needs good knives and cutting boards, but when you need to chop a lot of vegetables, you need the right tools for the job. And there are lots of ways to take care of your food. It won’t hurt to have extra jars to store pulses, grains, and other vegetables. And a good blender is great for making soups and dips. To make presentation part of the fun, a spiralizer can be a fun tool to play with for modern vegetarian cooking that is healthy and takes little work.
Going meatless isn’t as easy as you think, but you can help yourself by replacing meat with similar vegetables, learning about produce, and getting the most out of your vegetables.
