Yes that’s right! I am a 100% vegetarian living in Germany, the land of sausages. I am posed with one question time and again by people genuinely puzzled; “What do you eat then?”

I get asked this question at least once a week. So let me break this down – Simply put, it is a diet which consists no meat, no fish, no eggs. Oh yes, fish and eggs are excluded in vegetarian food! Well then comes the next question: “So, you eat only vegetables?”. At this I wonder to myself in amusement. There are so many varieties of things one could find out there in the world which would be categorized as vegetarian. I have consumed a plethora of excellent choices of food in my lifetime. Only thinking of some of them brings water to my mouth.  Getting back to the question of whether there are only vegetables that I can eat.  “I can eat various concoctions of vegetables of every kind. A large variety of salads, soups, boiled, grilled or sautéed vegetable dishes, curried vegetable dishes, vegetable cutlets or nuggets and the list goes on! Ofcourse there are also lentils and grains. There is a huge mix of spices apart from just salt and pepper which are used to add different flavour to these dishes.  I can also eat most kinds of breads, pastas and noodles. And how can one forget the bountiful fresh fruits, nuts and seeds.”

Here comes usually the next question: “Well that sounds good but what about the necessary nutrients and vitamins. How do you get the protein that you need?”. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain some, and often more, protein. Lentils, in particular contain as much protein as meat or eggs. As an example, there is 13g of protein in 100g portion of egg and there is 21-28g of protein in 100g portion of lentil (depending on the type).  I have pasted some links and pictures below to get more information about plant based protein.

Have any of you experienced something similar?

Through this blog I would like to share the variety of things one can do with vegetarian foods. I encourage people to try a vegetarian lifestyle. It is not very difficult to find or cook vegetarian food everywhere these days. Despite living in Germany  I always find a couple of vegetarian options when I go out to restaurants. Recently, I was travelling to South Korea and was pleasantly surprised to also find at least 2 vegetarian options at every restaurant I went to! I do have a couple of German friends who are vegetarian by choice and tell me how much they love it. They feel light and good from inside. So, go ahead try it out for a month and tell me how you feel!

I have been sharing pictures with my friends and family of the various experiments I have done with the food in my lab i.e. my beautiful little kitchen. I would like to share a bit more about my experiments, the recipes, the methods, my experience while making it and ofcourse the reaction of my husband after eating it ;). I hope you all try it out and enjoy it!

Cheers,

VeggieLab Amateur Chef

http://www.nomeatathlete.com/where-vegetarians-get-protein/