Butternut Pumpkin and Potato Soup

Today while I was looking for something different to eat for lunch, I remembered that I had a butternut pumpkin in the fridge - hmmmm, I thought, even though the weather is really hot out there, I felt like pumpkin soup. So I started to boil up the pumpkin when I then remembered that I had a potato and some shallots in there as well. so this is what I came up with this recipe for -
Butternut Pumpkin and Potato Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 large Butternut Pumpkin (Squash)
2 Large Potatoes
1 Bunch of Shallots (AKA eshallots or spring onions)
2 Beef Stock Cubes (Vegans use vegetable stock cubes)
Cold water (just enough to cover the pumpkin at first)
Salt & Pepper to season
Boiled water (to just cover potato after they've been added)

Directions:
1.Peel and chop Pumpkin into about 1" cubes.
2. Put into a large saucepan, just cover pumpkin with cold water.
3. Bring to boil over medium to high heat
4. While the pumpkin is coming to the boil, peel and chop potatoes to about the same size.
5. Add to pot with pumpkin.
6. Wash shallots and chop into small pieces, add to the pot along with stock cubes and add boiling water to just cover all ingredients.
7. When the potato is tender, drain, (set aside the stock) - return to veges to the pot.
8. With a hand blender, mash up veges until smooth, gradually adding the stock back in to desired consistency.
9. Serve with garlic bread or toast
Makes 4 large serves

My name is Urzay G - If you're interested in the "Becoming Vegetarian" get my eBook here at http://goinveggie.com

I also enjoy serving as many Fresh Roasted Coffee varieties as I can - and - drinking them myself. Taking photos is also something I'm interested in

Vegan - Ovo Or Lacto Vegetarians

Why would you want to choose the Vegetarian Way?

I'll tell you why, because it is the much healthier option. We were not made to eat meat. If you go back to the dawn of time you will find that man - ADAM - had fruit for food and an apple at that. I wouldn't be surprised if this is why we have that old saying "An Apple A Day, Keeps The Doctor Away". This in itself says a lot. Think about it for a minute - if we were meant to have meat it would have the first thing ADAM & EVE were to eat not fruit.

All in all going back to years of humans having nothing to eat but plant food such as berries and root vegetables we have some how reached a point that humanity believes that they must eat meat in order to survive. My mother for example tells me that we should eat meat - but when she defines meat she is talking red meat - Lamb - Beef - Veal. Chicken or fish just won't cut it for her. She says that she gets the shakes without the red meat.

I seriously believe that people get this way because of years upon years of living this diet, and their bodies become so used to it so when they do get this way because they've missed a day or two of red meat, of course their bodies are feeling it. It is the same as anything - it is what your body becomes accustomed to.

I decided on becoming a part time Vegetarian a few years back. At that point in my life I had not even heard of the word "Vegan". I had not idea what true vegetarianism was let alone what all the other types were. I thought you just don't eat meat and that was that. It took some time, but eventually my body became so used to this way of eating, that when I ate something on the rare occasion, such as meat, my body would do all sorts of horrible things. So it has come to reality that if continually followed this way of eating of the time my body thanked me and I felt a million bucks.



There is however, a lot more to it than that. There are several types of Vegetarians-
Lacto Vegetarians - no animal products except for milk - cheese - yogurt etc

Vegan - To me these guys are the real vegetarians - they eat nothing that is derived from animal what so ever - no cheese no eggs no milk not even honey as this comes from a living creature i guess that is the logic in it.

There is also -

Ovo-Vegetarian- eat nothing that comes from animal except for eggs - no dairy - that is milk, yogurt etc

Vegans vs. other vegetarians.

What ever the case you will find that in the long run the ones who eat less red meat or animal products will feel and look a lot better as they grow old as opposed to their carnivore counterparts.

I don't know about you, but I sure would like to grow old slowly as apposed to get old fast, that's for sure.

Jacquie M Talks about Vegetarianism and the characteristics of the following - Lacto Vegetarian -Ovo Vegetarian - OR The Real Vegetarian - "The Vegan".
Visit the website to get your "Goin All Veggies - A Guide To Becoming A Vegetarian" eBook.

Goin All Veggies - Nothing Like A Vegetarian Diet PART 2

Goin All Veggies - Nothing Like A Vegetarian Diet is now back to finish the story from PART 1

One of the best ways to take care of your nutritional needs is through a well-planned vegetarian diet. If you change to a Vegetarian Diet then it will consist of mostly fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, seeds and nuts. Since meat is not a part of a vegetarian diet hence, they will contain less of cholesterol and fat and will be high on fibers.

There are four main categories of vegetarians and they are:

i. Flexitarians: These people are also known as semi-vegetarians and they follow a plant-based diet normally and sometimes consume smaller quantities of poultry, meat, and fish.
ii. Vegans: Vegans are pure vegetarian who will consume only plant-based foods. They will not consume any animal-derived food like eggs, cheese, meat, milk, and fish.
iii. Lacto-Ovo vegetarians: This comprises of people who consume milk, eggs, and any milk products like yogurt and cheese apart from plant-based foods. Lacto-Ovo vegetarians don’t consume fish and red meat.
iv. Lacto-vegetarians: Lacto-vegetarians consume only milk and milk based products apart from plant-based foods. They don’t consume fish, eggs, meat, and other poultry products.

A healthy diet is generally restrictive in nature and most often than not it will require you to avoid meat, fish and poultry products, which are high in fat and low on nutrients. Hence, a healthy diet includes mostly fibrous food, which is in the form of fresh vegetables and fruits. Some of the important nutrients available through non-meat sources include:

i. Protein: The human body requires a lot of protein for maintain healthy bones, skin, muscles and other organs. Some of the food products that are high in proteins include legumes, soy products, lentils, seeds, nuts, and whole grains.
ii. Vitamin B-12: The human body requires vitamin B-12 for producing red blood cells and to prevent anemia. Vitamin B-12 is found in some of the enriched cereals, or fortified soy products.
iii. Calcium: Calcium is required mostly for strengthening the bones and to make the teeth stronger. You can find calcium in most of the green vegetables like turnip, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, and kale.
iv. Iron: Iron is a crucial nutrient that is required for red blood cells. You can consume iron by eating peas, dry beans, lentils, whole-grain products, fruits like bananas, dark leafy green vegetables, enriched cereals, and even dry fruit. You can also consume foods, which are rich in vitamin C like citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli and cabbage.
v. Zinc: This is an important nutrient that builds enzymes in the human body for enhancing the process of cell division and also helps in the formation of proteins. Some of the best food sources for zinc include soy products, whole grains, nuts and wheat germ.

If you consume these fibrous fruits then it will ensure a healthy life for you.

I hope you've enjoyed the post "Goin All Veggies - Nothing Like A Vegetarian Diet".