Over five years of being a vegetarian have given me plenty of ideas for Christmas dinner. There are only so many nut roasts and quiches that one can eat before vegetarian food becomes plain and boring. However, Christmas provides a time for you to experiment with flavours, and share recipes with your family.
There are many perks to being a vegetarian at Christmas, but a big one is getting to try more of the seasonal vegetables. According to the US Department of Agriculture’s seasonal produce guide, many vegetables found in meat-alternative dishes will naturally grow during the winter, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips, leeks, and brussels sprouts. This means that there are less vegetables being imported, helping the environment in many ways when you create your vegetarian dish with one of these vegetables.
There are many perks to being a vegetarian at Christmas, but a big one is getting to try more of the seasonal vegetables.
Two Christmas dinner staples in my house are cheese and potato pie and cauliflower cheese. The seasonal vegetables, combined with dairy or vegan cheese, warm the heart, and I look forward to both each time I come home. My stepdad likes to experiment with seasoning in these two dishes, but the special ingredients in both are mustard and marmite; trust me, as a marmite hater, it enhances the dish for even the biggest marmite hater to enjoy. It has become a tradition to guess the seasonings added to the cheese and potato pie and cauliflower cheese, with more wacky ingredients being added as the years go on.
Food should be enjoyed by all, and experimenting with ingredients to make each dish special is a great way to have a healthy relationship with food.
