World Vegetarian Day was first introduced in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society and has been celebrated on the 1st October ever since. World Vegetarian Day is the beginning to Vegetarian Awareness Month, a month in which people can cut out meat and support vegetarianism. Going meat free can help the environment and the planet as well as your health. Vegetarianism is growing with more and more people choosing to cut out meat completely out of their diet and others not eating as much meat as they used to. There are meat free campaigns across the world with Meat Free Mondays in the UK and Meatless Mondays in America. These campaigns are to try and get people to cut out meat for just one day of the week to help their health and the planet.
Smart Restaurants support the meat free Monday campaigns with the team going meat free for the day. Smart Restaurants will also take part in Vegetarian Awareness Month, with team members already agreeing to go meat free for the month.
Vegetarianism is a choice in which some people wish to make for many different reasons. This can be due to their health in that they need to cut out red meat, it could be due to personal beliefs and it can also be due to religion on which certain types of meat are forbidden to eat, and some religions will not eat any meat at all. Meat has its benefits in that it contains protein and essential vitamins. However we can get those from elsewhere, meat free.
Looking at the flavour of meat, we often create those flavours by adding different sauces, herbs and spices. We can add the same sauces, herbs and spices to meat free meals and can create the same tastes. Has anyone ever wondered why chicken crisps taste so much like chicken, but are suitable for vegetarians? It is because we are tasting the flavourings that would be similar to those used to flavour a chicken. Meat free meals can be full of flavour and taste better than meat. For those who still want the meaty substance then most supermarkets will sell a “meat free” range which includes meatless burgers and chicken breasts made up of soya. There is also the Quorn brand which offers an extensive range of meat free meals.
For vegetarian meal inspiration take a look back at our blog where we have given many different meal ideas so that you can be a successful vegetarian whether it is for just a day, a month or forever. The choice is yours.
