Ask Sara - Very Veggie Family Cookbook

Sara Ask is a paediatric dietitian, food writer, lecturer and recipe creator. Lisa Bjrbo is a journalist, blogger and author.

Why are you reading this book? If we were to take a guess, wed say: your daughter has announced that shes become a vegetarian? You need to learn to cook some new dishes? You feel sorry for the animals? Youre just fed up with meat? You think its ecologically sound to eat more vegetarian food? You have health reasons? Ethical reasons? Economic reasons? Perhaps you see vegetarian food as the new black? Or you just thought the cover was nice? If you already have your reasons, thats fine but, actually, it doesnt matter if you dont. Theres a list overleaf of reasons why you might consider switching to a vegetarian diet, and more and more people agree with some or all of these suggestions, especially those with young families. But what if we focus purely on practical issues? Then we probably end up in the supermarket, on a completely normal, grey weekday afternoon, perhaps by the meat counter, next to someone who has started glancing towards the vegetable section and whos asking themselves: do we really need to eat meat today (again)? Isnt there something we could do instead? For many, it ends with that glance, because its difficult enough to figure out meals to cook, buy everything you need, combine the ingredients into a dish thats on the table at a decent time, that no one around the table is intolerant to and that everyone would at least consider trying. You dont need another factor. Because what on earth do you cook if you also have to make sure the food is vegetarian? Will everyone be full up? Will they get all the nutrients they need? Does everything have to be in shades of brown, and every meal consist of a wholesome pile of lentils? Relax.

We have filled this book with food that we love to cook and eat with our families: tasty vegetarian dishes that will appeal to the three-year-old, the teenager, the parent and the sceptical elderly relative, all at the same time. Some can be whipped up on a weekday in 15 minutes, with grumpy toddlers hanging around your feet. Others call for more time, but will be more luxurious and worth that extra effort. So just try it we hope youll find dishes here that can become your favourites too. Sara Ask & Lisa Bjrbo ITS GOOD FOR THE CLIMATE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Meat production is responsible for almost one-fifth of the worlds total emission of greenhouse gases, and livestock farming is extremely demanding on our resources. Eating less meat and more vegetables is a good way to lower your negative impact on the climate and make a real difference.

ITS EASIER TO VARY YOUR MEALS
If you expand your repertoire of food-that-I-cook to contain more vegetarian dishes, its a lot easier to vary what you serve at the dinner table. YOU DONT HAVE TO SUPPORT THE ANIMAL INDUSTRY
Even if the conditions in which animals are reared are good in some countries, thats not the case in all there are many examples of factories where animals are suffering. If you choose vegetarian food, you lower the risk that your dinner has contributed to this. ITS TASTY
There are vegetarian dishes that are so scrumptious that you almost have to cry out with happiness when youre eating them. It would be sad if you missed out on these. ITS GOOD FOR YOUR BODY
Whats good for your health is, of course, relative and individual, but if you eat completely vegetarian, you lower the chances of contracting, for example, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some types of cancer.

ANIMALS ARE SO CUTE
Go to Google images and search for things such as lamb with bottle or calf on wobbly legs, and youll see. Very cute. Very alive. Sometimes it might just feel easier to devour an onion instead. YOU CAN EAT MORE CHEAPLY
Unless you insist on buying lots of meat-replacement products that cost a fortune, or on feeding yourself solely on luxurious cheeses, theres a good chance that your vegetarian meal will end up being surprisingly inexpensive. YOU WONT GET FOOD POISONING
As often, at least especially if you go for eating vegan because most cases of food poisoning are due to bacterial growth in animal products.

VEGETABLES ARE COLOURFUL
Compare the meat counter with the area for fruit and veg and youll see. And the important thing about colours is that they arent just beautiful, theyre healthy too. The different colours contribute different protective compounds to your diet, so the more (natural) colours you manage to fit onto your plate, the better. Its easier if you eat vegetarian.

The word vegetarian actually means plant-based food. In conversation, however, we usually mean lacto-ovo-vegetarian milk, eggs and vegetables when we talk about vegetarian food, and this is also our starting point in this book.

It means that the recipes dont contain meat, fish or fowl, but that they sometimes contain dairy products and eggs. There are also vegan recipes which are completely free from animal products as well as recipes that are easy to adapt to suit vegans. These weve marked as vegan friendly. There are no meat-replacement products like Quorn or soya mince in any of the recipes.

It would be stupid of us to promise that every member of every family will like all the recipes in this book, because thats obviously not true. People like different things, and children are the most challenging of all to satisfy at the dinner table, especially when it comes to new dishes that they dont recognize.

We tried to keep the whole family in mind when we developed these recipes. Some of the dishes are clearly aimed more towards children, some more towards adults. We think thats okay when cooking for a family. Sometimes those who like pancakes will be the happiest, sometimes those who like chilli. And regardless of this, its always fun if everyone tries a bit.

One of the most common questions that pops up if you mention the word children in the same sentence as vegetarian food is whether vegetarian food actually contains enough nutrients to keep children healthy.

Or, in slightly less refined words, Wont the child starve to death?. You can dismiss any worries you might have. Vegetarian food is excellent for feeding children and even babies. If you want to feed your family exclusively on vegetarian or vegan food it can be a good idea to do some research, so that you learn how to get enough variation in your diet, and which foods are particularly nutritious and therefore warrant regular inclusion. Actually, that piece of advice goes for everyone, omnivores included.

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