For any of the many reasons people choose to eat vegetarian food - religion, politics, finances, or health - one thing in common is that everyone prefers food that tastes delicious and provides good nutrition. There are some basic techniques to vegetarian cooking which will accomplish that.

1. For any of the many reasons people choose to eat vegetarian food - religion, politics, finances, or health - one thing in common is that everyone
prefers food that tastes delicious and provides good nutrition. There are some basic techniques to vegetarian cooking which will accomplish
that.
There is a range of vegetarianism. From the vegan to the person who eats meat on rare occasions. Some people
consider themselves basically vegetarian if they never eat red meat, but do eat fish and chicken once in a while. Other vegetarians eat animal
products like eggs and dairy, but never the animal itself. A vegan is at the far end of the continuum, rejecting animal products entirely. Vegans
won't eat mayonnaise because it's made using eggs, for example.
Wherever you are on the continuum of vegetarianism, you want your food to taste good, be satisfying, and provide good nutrition. Here are
some methods for cooking vegetarian to meet those basic requirements.
To begin, if you are making some dish that is actually a meat-based recipe, such as chili con carne, stop substituting textured vegetable protein
for the meat and leaving the rest of the recipe unaltered. The result never tastes quite right, and you've been robbed of the pleasure of good
food: it's neither meat nor properly vegetarian. Furthermore, you haven't gained in terms of health or economy. Soy is the primary ingredient of
textured vegetable protein, tofu, and tempeh. These are usually high in fat, high in processing, and fairly high in cost. Not much better than
organically raised meat, if at all. So if chili con carne is what you want, buy organic meat and enjoy it! Otherwise, cook a delicious soup using red
beans that doesn't pretend it's chili con carne.
The key to good vegetarian soup is to use oil. Even if you prefer low fat, your body does require fats for healthy metabolism. And it definitely
enhances the quality and flavor of any vegetarian soup when some of the vegetables
(onions in particular) are saut~ed. Use an oil that's liquid at room temperature, such as olive, vegetable, or grape seed.
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