Tips for a Vibrant
Vegetarian Holiday filled with variety
Planning a beautiful yet nutrient-dense, delicious holiday meal for both your meat eating and vegetarian guests can be a little daunting at first, but it can also bring out your creativity! Many side dishes you make can be easily made vegetarian, with little difference in taste.
The first step in planning
accordingly would be to find out which of your guests are
vegetarian, and what kind of vegetarian they are. Do they
eat eggs or cheese? If so, you'll have a few more
possibilities. If they don't, that's okay, you'll still have
plenty of options to work with.
If you're new to the
vegetarian lifestyle and aren't quite sure where to start,
ask for some input or help from your vegetarian guests. They
may have some great recipe ideas, shortcuts, or simple
tricks of the trade they can share with you to make your
holiday meal preparation go smoothly.
For instance, you can substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth, or simply leave the meat or meat drippings out of vegetables and soups. This will also cut down on the fat content. It's also very simple to divide some of the dishes, making one portion meatless, using the same vegetarian ingredients just mentioned.
Most importantly, keep in
mind that the holidays are about peace, love, and
understanding. With this in mind, please try not to be
judgmental of what people you love choose to eat if you are
not vegetarian yourself. Support your family member or
friend's choice to eat vegetarian.
Seize the opportunity to
learn from them. Incorporate ideas from a vegetarian
lifestyle into your own to ensure your family is eating a
variety nutrient-dense, delicious fruits, vegetables,
grains, seeds, and nuts at every meal.
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