"Making a difference"!
This is a worldwide controversial topic. There are so many ways of making a difference.
We can help the homeless or refugees, we can donate our old clothes, we can raise money for a good cause and a do million other things.
In our school we did a project on the intricate topic "making a difference". So the two of us started eating vegetarian for two weeks. None of us had eaten vegetarian before and we wanted to find out whether it is hard or easy to change something in our everyday life, which is why we chose this topic for our project.
Another important reason was the knowledge that it is not really good to eat so much meat, especially if it isn´t from good farming, like the cruel factory farming, which unfortunately is widely used.
So we wanted to emphasize the bad treatment of animals as well.
For our project we wanted to find out which alternatives existed to eating meat and in which situations it was excessively hard for us to go without meat.
We will answer all of these aspects in the following point "experiences", and we will give some advice regarding vegetarian meals.
Our experiences
Sometimes it wasn´t easy for us to eat vegetarian, especially when our parents wanted to prepare our favorite meal with meat and we sadly had to say that we weren´t allowed to eat it.
Another problem was that our parents were a little bit annoyed by us because they had to buy alternative food for us. It is also difficult when you are the only person in your family who eats vegetarian because you have to prepare your own food.
But on the other hand it was exciting to look for new recipes, to prepare and to cook them. We could create our own really pretty and nice looking meals.
It was also easy for us to not eat meat because we had so many other options.
We tried soy ground meat for a bolognese which tasted fantastic and we didn´t notice that there was no ground meat inside. You can also use tofu as an alternative to meat.
During the two weeks we ate a lot of vegetables and fruits.
We felt healthier and better and we gained some new experiences for ourselves. It also felt good that we weren´t supporting factory farming.
After our project weeks we stopped eating as much meat and when we buy meat now we look for good farming or organic meat.
We would recommend to start eating less meat and to buy higher quality meat to everybody who wants to live healthier and who wants to help the bad treatment of animals. We would also do it again and maybe we will go vegetarian forever or at least for a longer time.
Down below we have two recipes for you :)
We hope you enjoyed reading our post, thanks!
Recipes
1. Soy bolognese
This is the recipe that we used for our soy bolognese. As we said it tasted fantastic, delicious and is very simple. It is a great alternative, you should try it!
Ingredients:
1-2 talbespoons of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 Zucchini, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons capers, optional
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-3 tablespoons soy Sauce
1/2 soy meat package
1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste
1 pack of spaghetti
Directions:
1. Use about 1/2 smallish package of soya meat. Put in sufficient boiling water to moisten completely.
2. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add the chopped onions, the diced tomatoes, carrots, zucchinis and saute them for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
4. Add a pinch of salt and pepper flecks to taste. Don´t add too much!
5. Then add dry red pepper and capers, if wished.
6. Add minced garlic stir until fragrant.
7. Then add the soy sauce and the soy meat.
8. Let simmer for a Minute or two.
9. Next add your can of tomato paste, mix well and cook for a minute or two before adding the large can of crushed tomatoes.
10. Reduce heat to low, and simmer while you cook your pasta.
11. Cook a whole pack of pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water for 7-9 minutes, or until all done.
12. Drain pasta and place in large serving bowl.
13. Top with bolognese sauce, chopped fresh basil or parsley and serve.
2. Red spicy lentil sweet potato dip
The second recipe is our favorite one because it taste incredible. It is perfect for cold cozy days at home and it is also a good dip for a picnic on summer days.
It has a nice balance and is really good for you because of its wholesome proteins and carbs.
We often made it because it was perfect meal for school and it was really easy to do.
You will love it! Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup of red lentils (dry)
1 medium sweet potatoes
1 Cup of water
1 medium onion, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 Cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 tablespoon coriander
1/4 tablespoon red chili pepper flakes
Juice of 1/2 lemon
salt, as needed
Directions:
1. Peel and cut the potato into cubes.
2. Boil the red lentils and sweet potato together in one cup of water. Add a little water as needed. When they are soft and boiled, you want just a little water to remain, without the need for draining. Set aside.
3. Put the olive oil in a frying pain and add the cumin seeds. Cook, over medium heat for one minute.
4. Add the onion (not the green onion yet), cook until translucent.
5. Add the tomato paste, stir and cook for another minute.
6. Add the red lentil and sweet potato mixture.
7. Add the rest of the spices, add and adjust the salt.
8. Cook until the water evaporates, mashing the sweet potatoes while stirring, about 5 minutes.
9. Set aside to cool.
10. Add the green onions, parsley and the lemon juice.
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