More than 10 years ago, my husband and I embraced a vegetarian diet as part of a lifestyle change to get healthier. It was during that transition time that I discovered, firsthand, how emotional we can get around food. Some, certainly not all, of our family and friends acted as if we had insulted them personally by deciding not to eat meat.
For example, at a family birthday where pizza and wings were the sole items on the menu, I didn’t line up at the buffet. The host handed me a raw potato and declared for all to hear, “Well, no one can say I didn’t try to feed you!”
Dinner invitations dried up as hosts and hostesses threw up their hands in resigned disgust: “I just don’t know what to feed them!”
Or, as we are sitting down to dinner, the cook explains that it’s "Just chicken, not real meat."
One of the most embarrassing moments was at a large wedding in a well-known banquet hall. While the “normal” guests were enjoying a sumptuous beef dinner, we were served a plain veggie patty… no bun, condiments or sauces. At another wedding, catered in a vineyard, the vegetarian option was just forgotten, so we were served some boiled potatoes and extra salad.
Which brings us to the title of this article. Here comes Thanksgiving. Are you hosting? Are any of your guests embracing this new plant-based eating craze? Are you vegetarian and would like something other than potatoes and salad to eat?
This recipe for Barley Crust Vegetable Lasagna is hig- fibre, full-flavor, and provides a wonderful complement to the traditional Thanksgiving menu. There are no noodles but instead layers of eggplant, tomato and whole grain barley. And of course, cheese.
Get the fully illustrated recipe here.
Let me know how it turns out by sharing on my facebook page or emailing [email protected].
