It’s National Vegetarian Week! So if you’ve been thinking about transitioning towards a more veggie-centred lifestyle, how about challenging yourself to go veggie this week?
And if you’re already on board, why not invite your partner, friends, work colleagues, parents or siblings to join you?
If you’re not sure where to start, there are lots of brilliant resources available online. The Vegetarian Society has even created a 7-day meal plan, with recipes and shopping list! On the menu this week are meals including Aubergine Lasagne, Bombay Dosa with Chickpea Sauce and Thai-style Stir Fry. They all sound totally scrumptious! ♥
If you’re intrigued to try more recipes from The Vegetarian Society, they’ve just launched this awesome mobile app. It’s FREE to download and compatible with both Apple and Android phones.
This is the first time I’ve ever downloaded an app onto my phone and it was so much easier than I expected! I did have to reset my Google Play password (as I’d totally forgotten what it was!) but, after that, it was simply a case of clicking ‘install’. The VegSoc symbol then magically appeared in my apps folder 😀
The app currently has 733 recipes, of which around 365 are 100% plant-based (i.e. vegan). You can filter the recipes a number of ways…
– Meal type – Starter, Main, Dessert, Soup, Side Dish, Snack, Drink, Cake, Sauce, Party Food, Breakfast, Packed Lunch
– Diet – Vegan, Egg Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Nut Free, Low Fat
– Preparation type – Simple, Moderate, Gourmet, Caterers
– Occasions – Christmas, Easter, BBQ, Picnic, Halloween, Burns Night, Valentines Day, Celebrations, Pancake Day
– Cuisines – African, American, Chinese, Caribbean, French, Greek, Indian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Thai, British, Turkish
Once you’ve selected your filters, you’ll see a summary of your results. When a recipe catches your eye, you simply tap on it to find out more. There are three tabs – Overview, Ingredients and Method. If you like the sound of the recipe, you press ‘Save’ to store it in your own binder. (Overseas friends… just to let you know this is a UK app, so the recipe ingredients are measured in grams).
I love the fact that many of the recipes give a preparation and cooking time on the Overview tab. This is so useful, as it helps me to decide which recipes are suitable for busy weekday nights, and those which are better saved for the weekend.
A lot of the recipes are accompanied by a photo but, since I’m one of those people that tends to make their food selections on photo rather than text, I’d personally love to see a photo for each recipe. There could be some great ones I’m missing just because there’s no photo!
Overall, I’m really impressed with this app and how easy it is to use. Clearly a lot of work has gone into it!
There are many recipes that I’m looking forward to trying, including this Vegetable and Chickpea Korma with Spicy Rice
and this Avocado and Lime Salad
Doesn’t it look refreshing? ♥
If you haven’t got a smart phone, or prefer to view your recipes on a larger screen, you can also access the recipe database via this link.
The Vegetarian Society has stacks of resources available online if you’d like to find out more about plant-based eating. There are guides that you can download in PDF format for free, including….
– Going veggie…
– Going veggie…for the taste
– Going veggie…for the animals
– Going veggie…for the environment
– Going veggie…for health and wellbeing
– Healthy eating for vegetarians
– Why it’s green to go vegetarian
– Meat-free made easy
– Young veggie guide
– Veggie Kids’ Kitchen
– Veggie guide for teens and parents
You can also order individual guides and packs of resources to be sent to you in hard copy, free of charge.
So who fancies taking up the challenge? I’m definitely on board 😉
If you try any new veggie recipes this week, I’d love to hear what you think of them. If you have any recommendations, please do share the recipe links in the comment section below.
Have a great week everyone! xx