Boots Recall: Simply Delicious Vegetarian Cheese and Tomato Salad - Contains Chicken

Boots have recalled their Simply Delicious Vegetarian Cheese and Tomato Salad after some pots were found to contain chicken - so do beware if you go into Boots stores

Read the full story here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397920/Boots-pulls-vegetarian-pasta-pots-shelves-customer-finds-contains-CHICKEN.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Mozzarella, Pesto & Sundried Tomato Open Ciabatta

This Meat-Free Monday, I am bringing you a quick meal idea, perfect for lunch, or a late-night snack.

We are lucky to have a local supermarket near us, which reduces all of it's bakery items towards the end of the evening. This week, I popped in by chance for a loaf of bread, and ended up getting some delicious ciabatta rolls for just 7p each, and a crusty ciabatta loaf for just 40 pence - what a bargain!  It's worth popping in to your local supermarket at closing time to see what's on offer.

Typically, these reduced items need to be used straight away, and so Hubby and I had Mozzarella, Pesto & Sundried Tomato Open Ciabatta as a light tea. We really enjoyed our Ciabatta slices. The balsamic vinegar really combined well with the mozzarella and bought the flavour out of the sun dried tomatoes.

This was a really quick, easy, meal to prepare, and so it's great if you are also a bit short of time. All you do is place all of the ingredients on top of the bread and you are away. The recipe can be found below - enjoy!

Mozzarella, Pesto &  Sundried Tomato Open Ciabatta Print this Recipe Serves Two Ingredients Two Ciabatta Slices 125g Mozzarella, cut into small pieces Sun Dried Tomatoes, drained and chopped Half a jar of vegetarian Pesto  Balsamic Vinegar Directions Warm the underside of the ciabatta bread under the grill to your desired crispness. Remove from the grill, and spread the pesto over the top of the slices of bread.  Place the drained sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella pieces over the pesto.  Pour some balsamic vinegar over the top Hear under the grill, until the mozzarella has melted.  Serve Immediately.

Featured Post: Five tips for Hosting a BBQ with Vegetarian Guests.

With all of this lovely weather we have been enjoying, the BBQ season is in full swing. If you haven't yet got a BBQ for the upcoming Bank Holiday, then fear not, it's not too late. BBQ stockists such as Littlewood Gas BBQ designs are great for purchasing your BBQ to celebrate the end of the summer. Often, the news that a Vegetarian will be attending the BBQ can fill the host with dread. Sometimes the "Chief Cook" may be great at cooking traditional burgers and sausages, but baulk at the idea of putting any vegetarian food on the BBQ. 

It can also be easy to pop the vegetarian food on the BBQ, alongside the meat, without taking into consideration cross contamination - especially if you are cooking for a lot of people. Or, it can be hard to think of Vegetarian options to cook on the BBQ. 

Therefore today, panic not! 

Here are some top tips for cooking on the BBQ for Vegetarians alongside cooking for the meat-eaters.

• Although much better now, some vegetarian burgers and sausages lack the strength to stand up to an outside flame. Therefore, ensure that you buy Vegetarian Burgers and Sausages which won't break up on the BBQ, and which will actually cook on the BBQ. 

• Vegetarians don't want their food covered in meat-juices, so make sure that you use a separate area of the BBQ, or a frying pan on the top of the BBQ to cook the Vegetarian products. You could also use a disposable BBQ alongside the main one.

• Use different tongs to handle the Vegetarian food than you are using for the Meat options. Vegetarians do not want their food to taste of meat. Also make sure you use separate plates - don't put all of the burgers and veggie burgers together.

• Don't just stick to Burgers and Sausages, there are lots of delicious Vegetarian alternatives - vegetable kebabs, Large, flat mushrooms drizzled in lemon juice, Mushrooms stuffed with hot cheese, wrapped in foil, Hallloumi Cheese, Corn on the cob, Jacket Potatoes, Peppers all cook well on the BBQ. Vegetarians will also eat many of the sides which accompany a BBQ - Coleslaw,salad, cucumbers, tomato, couscous, dips.

• If all else fails, and you are not sure what to buy or cook, then ask the Vegetarian what they would like to eat - some will eat meat-substitutes, some won't. Many vegetarians will always offer to bring their own food to save you panicking in the supermarket aisles. 

I hope you found those tips useful. What is your top tip for a BBQ  for Vegetarians?

Disclosure: I received payment for this post, Please click here for my disclosure policy. 

Is a Vegetarian Diet for Kids Tantamount to Child Abuse?

I was recently told by someone I know that bringing your child up as a Vegetarian is selfish, abnormal and akin to child abuse... They suggested that making a child adhere to your own nutritional ideologies limits their growth and may make them a social outcast.

So what do you think of this statement? Is forcing another person to adhere to your own ideologies abuse?

Would it be the same if we "forced" a grown-up or an older person to only eat a vegetarian diet? Would we complain if we were forced to eat a carnivore diet?

By being vegetarian, you are choosing to go against the norm, and when you go against the norm, you are sometimes likely to be subject to negative opinions from others.

As parents, we all make the choices which we think are the best possible for our children - and this may include feeding them a purely vegetarian diet, or it might include feeding them a mainly vegetarian diet, with meat thrown in when they choose. You have to ensure that your child is receiving the right amount of all food groups in their diet. Vegetarians will typically replace the meat and fish proteins with other proteins - so I don't think that Vegetarian children are necessarily more unhealthy than other kids - if anything, I think they are healthier.

I must admit that my personal opinion is that we should let our children choose whether they want to be a vegetarian or not. I am trying to bring my kids up to have a healthy relationship with food - including fruit, vegetables, dairy, grains and pulses, but also including meat and fish when they choose. They eat more vegetarian food than their carnivorous counterparts, as I cook vegetarian at home, but I don't begrudge them the odd hamburger or roast dinner when we are out at a restaurant or visiting family.

My one concern is that if you force your kids to be Vegetarian, then a few years down the line, once they are old enough to make their own choices, they may be running off and scoffing hamburgers on the way to school as a method to rebel against their parents. However, many kids exist happily on a vegetarian diet and turn out to be well-balanced individuals. I think that perhaps those who eat an exclusively vegetarian diet fall into two camps - those who eat a vegetarian diet including foods which emulate their meat and fish versions, and those who will only eat non-processed food, such as more lentils, grains, fruit and vegetables. I think we are very lucky that there are meat-free substitutes for everything these days, and so kids are not necessarily going to be social outcasts for eating vegetarian food - they can tuck into veggie sausages and veggie nuggets along with their friends, and eat gelatine-free sweets instead of Haribo. However, if a child only ate grains and lentils, and other foods which are weird to kids, then this is perhaps when they may receive negativity from other children.

I think that if you explain the reasons why you choose to be a Vegetarian or Vegan to your kids, and educate them about how a vegetarian diet differs to a carnivore diet, and why, then hopefully, they will be able to make their own good choices. My eldest will often come home and tell me she chose the vegetarian option for school dinners so that she didn't have to eat an animal, but the choice is there if she wants it. Right now, at their age, I would rather this, than them resenting me for not being able to eat what their peers eat.

But what do you think? Is forcing your child to be vegetarian child abuse? I would love to hear what those of you with completely vegetarian children think.

Featured Post: Schwartz Lasagne

Sometimes, as cooks, we have all the time in the world to prepare a delicious home-cooked meal from scratch. However, sometimes, when time is of the essence, we may need a little help. Although I have often been wary of reaching for a pre-made packet over fresh ingredients, I recently discovered the great range of Schwartz products, such as this delicious lasagne recipe from Schwartz, which can help give dinner a kick start.



This year I have started working an evening job, and so on the evenings that I am working, dinner is always a fraught rush in our house - trying to feed two small mouths before they are too tired and before I need to rush out of the house. As much as I would love to cook everything from scratch, sometimes, I need a little helping hand to speed things up a little and to get dinner on the table before I need to leave for work.

As a parent, I am still conscious of what the family is eating, and so I want to provide them with the best meals possible with the time that I have.

Schwartz's range is great for this. Although some of the range is targeted at cooking with meat-products, there are still loads of great vegetarian dishes which you can make if you substitute the meat for a meat-free alternative, or use vegetables instead. There are endless possibilities of recipes and food combination you could try, and lots of great meals to be made.

Schwartz also have a great range for vegetables and side dishes to try. Additionally, there are some really interesting recipes on their website - using combinations you might never have thought of such as Watermelon with Dill Ice Cubes or Microwave Pineapple Pudding.

Do give their lasagne recipe a try - just substitute the mince for veggie mince and away you go!

Disclosure: I received payment for this post in association with Schwartz. Please see my featured post disclaimer for info.