As my regular readers will know, I have been a vegetarian since I was 10 years old. If you are not trying to lose weight there are so many options available to you. Usually, it is only eating out which can prove difficult with often few choices.
Here I thought I would share with you some of my favourite choices for Christmas if you are vegetarian or maybe you are cooking for a vegetarian.
The above is my vegetarian pretend Christmas dinner I had the other day when I was cooking turkey and the trimmings for Ben and Stuart for a review! I made myself a Curry Loaf with vegetables. Probably not the most Christmassy food out there but I love it.
Wellington or Nut Roast?
The guys over at Cauldron (you may have heard of them for Tofu and other vegetarian and vegan yummy foods) have done a survey of the most popular Christmas foods for us veggies and vegans.
I was surprised to discover that 25% said Veggie Wellington, I love a good wellington but have never made one. I must try though as they are so good! Does anyone have a good recipe?
Nut roast is a close second at 23% and one I think many people resort to buying if they have a veggie or vegan visitor. They are generally quite easy to make too.
I would usually make a mixture quite similar to my curry loaf above but with nuts and cranberries in and rosemary etc rather than curry powder.
In general, I tend to make up recipes like that as I go along. This year I am tempted to try this Vegan Nut Roast which uses Tofu on the Cauldron website as I hadn’t thought of making it that way before but can imagine it would be yummy.
A Veggie or Vegan Visitor…
Soup can often be popular too when trying to please vegan or vegetarian guests but to be honest I prefer to predominantly fit in with what others have with only a few tweaks.
No one wants to feel like they are the odd one out do they? If you can avoid something like a vegetarian lasagne as this just makes us feel not really part of the meal!
If you are unsure do ask we don’t bite! Here are a few tips which may help in the Cauldron Christmas guide.
A few things to remember
Here are a few things to remember when cooking for a vegan or vegetarian guest.
- Check what oil or fat you cook potatoes in.
- Some pastry items are made using animal fats.
- Gelatine is often in desserts such as cheesecakes.
- Unless we say otherwise please don’t cook our food touching your meat or the juices from it.
- Some vegetarians or vegans are stricter than others if you are not sure check what you need to avoid. For example, some wines are not vegetarian due to the way they are made.
Making Christmas Healthy
Apparently, most people gain weight over Christmas and New Year, who knew? I cant understand how with all those chocolates, wines, nuts and liqueur coffees!
It isn’t compulsory to gain weight though. I have had years where I have maintained my weight or even lost over Christmas. It doesn’t have to spoil the fun either, here are a few tips!
- Only cook in oil if you really have to, use water, stock or spray oil where you can.
- Don’t have chocolate tubs lying around the house. Get them out and then put them away to save constantly picking.
- Eat when you are hungry not just because there are leftovers!
- Chose a day to draw the line and give unopened treats to the local food bank.
Hope you all have a truly wonderful Christmas and New Year!
More Christmas recipes and ideas you might like
If you are looking for more inspiring Christmas recipes and ideas then check out the following articles I think you might like!
5 Christmas dinner ideas for vegetarians
A red lentil soup as a great starter for Christmas
Beef Bourguignon makes a good meat alternative for Christmas dinner or for Boxing day when you don’t want to cook!
Raspberry and chocolate indulgence make a great Christmas dessert.
If you have bought cranberries for Christmas you can use them to make a cranberry smoothie, cranberry tea, cranberry and honey drink or perhaps a cranberry and apple cider vinegar drink.
Christmas as a vegetarian trying to be healthy
