VEG-ISM PART ONE: How to Sleep With Your Eyes Open

The most common misconceptions about diets which exclude meat and/or dairy products are:
- It will be too hard to make the transition
- I wont be getting the nutrients I need
- It can't possibly taste good
- I will just miss them too much

These are the concerns that I aim to eradicate for you over the next week, while also providing you with some basic recipes to get you started.

If undertaken correctly, a vegetarian or vegan diet can be more beneficial for your health than a diet based around animal products (which are staples in New Zealand). This is why it can be a bit of a shock to suddenly stop (particularly dairy); the first thing you will notice is that you probably have more of these products in your diet than you realise. One way to take the shock out of it is to ease into a meat/dairy free diet slowly, although if you're game to do it straight away, then good on you! But expect to possibly have a bit of an upset tummy for a week or so as your body adjusts and detoxifies.

My first tip is to do with iron. The iron content in red meat is often compared to the same in spinach (which, of course, always falls short). This is like comparing the protein in chicken to the protein in an apple. Green vegetables are relatively high in iron, and a lesser known source is broccolli and potato. This is just an example, but one baked potato with the skin on and one serving of broccolli will provide you with the same amount of iron as a piece of steak (between 38-43% of your RDI). Broccolli goes well lightly steamed with a drizzle of the juice of 1 lemon, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. (you mix this in a bowl and then pour it over, yum yum!)

The recipe for today is a simple and delicious salad. It is very high in protein (another area you need to concentrate on in a meat/dairy free diet) and it's also vegan:

Chick Pea and Walnut Salad
(serves four as a main or eight as a starter)
- 2 cans of chickpeas (drained)
- 3/4 cup of walnuts
- 6 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 tsp sea salt
- LOTS of lettuce leaves (iceberg, whole)
1) Drain the beans. Mash them until they are the consistency of course crumbs.
2) Chop the walnuts finely and combine them with the mashed beans.
3) Combine the lemon juice, oil, garlic and salt and mix this dressing with the walnuts and beans.
4)Serve at room temperature, spooned into the centre of a shallow dish. Surround with the lettuce leaves to use as scoopers.

I thought a salad would be a nice start seeing as summer is on its way. Tomorrow I will post a list of vegan "snack" foods available at the supermarket (to save you a few hours of reading every single label) and a couple of sweets recipes (you can still have cake!).

If there is anything you are curious about or would like to request recipes or alternatives for (and there is an alternative for EVERYTHING), I welcome your comments.

Love,
M Tehrase xx