Making a Meal Out of Sides

   Today I found myself eating in a chain restaurant with friends where the food is generally reheated rather than served fresh. My first glance at the menu led me to believe there was quite a selection for vegetarians. On closer inspection, however, it turned out that three of the vegetarian meals were the same cauliflower cheese dish that had been included under different course options. The only main I could find that included no animal protein was a jacket potato with baked beans. Tinned beans aren't ideal, I know, but sometimes you have to cheat a bit. With all the will in the world, a jacket potato with beans is never going to be an exciting meal. So, I decided to add a side of flat mushrooms to make it a bit more interesting.
   Making a meal out of starters and sides is a skill that I picked up whilst living in Greece. Whereas Greek main meals generally revolve around meat, the starters (or mese dishes) are usually vegetarian, and a lot are plant-based.
   If you are finding it hard to make a plant-based choice when eating out, why not order a combination of starters and sides instead? It gives you much more variety and your dining companions will no doubt be jealous of your personal buffet!

Thirsty for Knowledge?

Are you fed up of being one of the millions of ignorant people who don’t know where their food comes from? Do you want to know more? One of the biggest habits I’ve picked up since starting the freerangecarrots blog is to check out the websites on food packaging. Pretty much every food brand and producer has their own website these days, and they’re all packed full of information. Whilst I would recommend taking the information that company websites give you with a pinch of salt (their main mission, of course, is to promote their products), they’re a great place to start. If you do suspect they are being economical with the truth just to sell to you, my top tip is to google whatever it is you are reading about. Unlike other mass communication outlets, the internet is somewhere where you will get a completely broad view of a variety of opinions!