Many people think of a vegetarian diet as restrictive - but in my experience it is quite the opposite. Trying new foods is a sneaky side-effect of becoming vegetarian.
I was grocery shopping today in the frozen food isle – not somewhere I spend most of my time, but useful when stocking the freezer for those “just can’t cook” days. Among many of the new whole-grain, gourmet topping, specialty pizzas are many vegetarian varieties – but one in particular caught my eye.
“Mushroom and Onion Pizza” it was called, but by the picture on the box it should be “Mushroom Pizza, with a bit of cheese and onions for good measure”. I’ve never seen so many fungi covering the surface of a pizza pie. Though I still scowled slightly at the sight (I’ve never been one for mushrooms), it dawned on me how many new foods I have actually tried since becoming vegetarian. Unfortunately, mushrooms are one of them – though not one I still make a habit of eating.
When I first opted for a meat-free lifestyle, new vegetarian choices were invented seemingly daily – vegetarian pepperoni, bacon, and sausage were novel items I remember purchasing. But as is the case today, many other people, including restaurant owners, are still not savvy in the ways of vegetarian cuisine.
Eggplant and zucchini are two of the foods I find most associated with vegetarianism, and, as I’m sure many of you will agree, not the best advocates for flavour.
Eggplant parmesan is the prime example of how this unique nightshade vegetable is transformed from its healthy, natural state, to a deep-fried, cheese-smothered treat.
Zucchini is generally not even eaten in its naked vegetable form, though recently there seems to be an increase in its inclusion in pasta primavera and as a grilled side dish. As with most, however, your first experience with zucchini was probably zucchini bread. As is its cousin the Pumpkin, zucchini is tolerated best when mixed with copious amounts of cream, sugar, fat, and flour.
Despite a lack of faithful followers, zucchini and eggplant seem to pop up all too frequently, and sometimes in random places. One of the only vegetarian (and the only vegan) offerings at a local café I frequent is a grilled vegetable flatbread, consisting of those ever-exciting grilled vegetables wrapped in a large, rectangular bread.
In my meat-eating days I would have never touched such a lunch, but now there are times where sacrifice is required in order to be able to accept social invitations, and get something good to eat with a cup of coffee.
I ate that flatbread and pretended to enjoy it to appease my parents’ scrutiny. Strangely, the more often I did so, the more agreeable such foods became to my palate. Though still not my favourite veggies, zucchini and eggplant (I have learned) can be transformed into healthy, delicious dishes with a little bit of kitchen magic – and a lot of herbs and spices.
Many people think of a vegetarian diet as restrictive, but in my experience it has been the opposite. In agreement with other vegetarians with whom I’ve spoken, becoming vegetarian has not limited our food choices, but rather expanded them. After more than six years vegetarian, I have not even begun to experience the myriad of animal-free foods available.
Attempting to do so might prove the most delicious challenge – and one I most certainly look forward to.
