BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Vegetarian What's Your Biggest Vegetarian Challenge?

There's more to this than i thought. No wonder my tofu was just tofu
Great tips
My son does all the vegan cooking at his home, some of you guys are great cooks. I raised him alone so he didn't learn from me.

I have a tip on the grilling thing.

Yes, grilling meat does smell wonderful - but if you get the wood chips (mesquite, maple, hickory) and grill your veggies using the chips in addition to charcoal, and you can still get that wonderful smell (and a grest taste) on your veggies, too.

You can also throw some herbs onto the fire to add an aromatic flavor to your vegetables.

It's not quite the same as meat, but just having that smoky flavor and smell can help satisfy.

Michelle, thanks for sharing

Thanks Michelle,

This is very true and there's nothing like that nice smokey flavor to get the appetite going.

Now for those of you who may not have a grill or are in an apartment that doesn't allow grilling on the patio and such you can get a similar flavoring from adding a little chipotle to your tofu, veggies, even some of your non-sweet fruits like zucchini and chayote squash.

It's a beautiful way to both ground and lift your meals. Almost sounds like a contradiction, but once you try it out you'll see what I mean.

And Rosie...

By the time we're finished with this challenge I would be surprised if you haven't developed a love for cooking.

Once you get your system down and the food comes out so mouthwatering good and you see just how simple it can be, I think it'll make a convert out of you.

But I'm only speculating.

I thought we'd take a poll to get a feel of some of your biggest vegetarian challenges.

Biggest Veggie Challenge Poll multiple choice
	Too Expensive
	Too Confusing
	Too Flavorless
	Too Restrictive
	Too Inconvenient
	Not Enough Protien
	None Above [explain]
Votes accepted starting: 09/04/08 08:02 AM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

I picked the first 2, but Jason gonna change that, and show me differently
Right Jason!

I picked none of the above. My biggest challenge is balancing vegetarian--protein and carb restriction--for a type 2 diabetic family member. And I should add that it is also about variety, so meals are more about what he can have and not always about what he can't have.

Right Rosie LOL

Hi Marilyn,

Thanks for sharing. We'll have to explore those avenues as well.

I just published a new article on shortcutting your cooking process. Let me know if you find it helpful.

There will be a follow up article to build upon this one.