What to cook for your vegetarian guest
Are you used to preparing the same dishes your family likes for dinner, such as meatloaf, chicken, or hamburgers? He has entertained himself many times before and is probably a great cook. But now a vegetarian is coming to dinner. Some people do not prepare anything special for vegetarians and allow them to eat whatever they can find to eat, such as side dishes. But you want to be a good host and make a main dish that your vegetarian guest will enjoy.
Some people may get nervous asking their dinner guests what they like or don’t like to eat. If you don’t know what vegetarians eat, ask your guests in advance what they eat. First of all, it helps to know what kind of vegetarians they are: they eat eggs or dairy products. People who eat fish and no other meat are called pescatarians and are not vegetarians. Many people have been misinformed that fish is a vegetarian food, but it is not. You don’t want to be one of the people who makes this mistake. Finding out what type of vegetarian your guest is is a big step in knowing what to do for them.
Ask your guests what dishes they like. This is good advice for non-vegetarian guests as well because it will ensure that the guest will like the dish you prepare. Vegetarians are used to people asking them what they eat, so they often have dishes to suggest.
If your guest doesn’t have suggestions, the Internet is a great place to search for recipes. You can also find a vegetarian cookbook section at your local library or bookstore. Some vegetarian recipes call for hard-to-find ingredients that are not sold in the average supermarket and that may be strange to you. If you are not used to cooking vegetarian food, follow some of the easier recipes with common ingredients.
Don’t be intimidated by preparing vegetarian recipes. Vegetarians eat many of the same dishes that meat eaters enjoy, minus meat. Vegetarians like spaghetti, macaroni, rice, beans, hamburgers (veggie burgers), sandwiches, pizza and many other dishes that you already prepare and enjoy. You can prepare these same listed dishes, but just don’t add the meat. It’s that easy? Well almost. If you use any mix, dip, spread, soup, or anything you haven’t made from scratch, read the ingredients. Some cornbread muffin mixes and soups contain meat, and some sauces and spreads may contain dairy or eggs even though they don’t taste the same.
With these tips, you are ready to invite a vegetarian for dinner. You are probably already a great cook, so it won’t be difficult to use these skills to prepare a vegetarian meal. Your vegetarian guest will probably be more than happy to help provide suggestions for great vegetarian dishes. But if you want to plan a meal yourself, you’re now ready to search online for easy recipes or just make one of your favorite meatless dishes. Start preparing for the next party or get together.