Quick and Easy Meals for Vegetarians

There are some really delicious recipes available for vegetarian food. If, like me, you want quick, filling, healthy everyday food you may not want to follow a fancy recipe every time.

It is important to build up a repertoire of dishes you can make quickly and easily when you need them, using ingredients which are readily to hand.

Your store cupboard is really important. A stock of canned pulses, herbs, spices and curry pastes, canned tomatoes and coconut milk will mean that you always have the makings of a fast, healthy meal. Keeping pasta and rice in stock mean you always have a carbohydrate base for your meal to provide energy.

In your fridge the essentials are onions, carrots and celery in the veg drawer and some eggs and cheese. Then use whatever fresh vegetables you have to hand and create a meal.

From these humble beginnings you could soon be eating butternut squash (or any other vegetable you have) and chickpea curry (use Thai green paste and coconut milk with the addition of some onions and sliced peppers) or pasta with tomato and butter bean sauce (chopped onions, tinned tomatoes, tinned butter beans and basil or oregano). Red lentils cooked with tinned tomatoes and either curry spices or Italian herbs give you a curry to serve with rice or a pasta sauce. Hard-boiled eggs go well with the curry version and some grated cheese with the pasta version. Once you've begun you can experiment with different pulses and herbs and spices to create your own favourites and you'll never again have to wonder what to have for tea.