Don’t have time? Use store bought ready-made pasta sauce.
Have a bit of time? Use the ingredients and steps below to make excellent sauce from scratch!

Ingredients

To make the sauce
· 1 tsp olive oil
· ? cup onion, chopped
· 1 clove garlic, minced
· 1 14-ounce can tomatoes, chopped
· 2 tbsp tomato paste
· ½ tsp dried basil, crushed
· ¼ tsp sugar
· Pinch of salt
· Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

To make the pasta rolls
· 8 dried lasagne noodles
· 2 tsp snipped fresh basil, crushed
· ¾ cup fat-free ricotta cheese
· ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
· 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, finely shredded
· 1 egg white, slightly beaten
· 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
· Parsley, to garnish

1. Heat oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. Once oil is hot add chopped onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until slightly browned and tender. Gradually pour in chopped tomato while stirring. Add in tomato paste, basil, sugar, sugar, salt and pepper; Stir until well combined. Bring heat up to medium-high and allow mixture to come to a boil; once boiling bring heat back down. Allow sauce to simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While sauce is simmering prepare pasta following package directions. Once noodles are tender transfer into a colander; drain well. Set aside.
3. Combine chopped basil, ricotta, mozzarella and ricotta cheese together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour in egg white and spinach; mix together until well combined.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lay noodles down side by side onto a clean flat surface. Using a spoon, evenly spread ¼ cup of the cheese and spinach mixture onto each noodle and starting at one end, roll each noodle into a cylinder. Place rolls, seam side down into a non-stick ovenproof pan and place into the oven and bake for around 25 minutes.
5. Once noodle rolls have heated through divide onto separate serving plates and top with sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 4

An odd tip, but it works: To add some extra flavour, cut the surface of a garlic clove and rub it onto the surface of the toasted rolls.

Ingredients

· 6 tbsp margarine
· 1 pound firm tofu, crumbled into large chunks
· 1 red onion, chopped
· 1 red bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed and
chopped in to short strips
· 4 rolls
· ½ tbsp dried oregano
· ½ tbsp dried basil
· ½ tbsp dried thyme
· ½ tbsp dried rosemary
· Pinch of dried dill
· Pinch of dried sage
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a heavy-based skillet over medium heat, melt the margarine. Add crumbled tofu, onion and bell pepper into the pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While vegetables and tofu are sautéing, slice the rolls in half and toast. Once toasted, place rolls onto a serving plate.
3. Sprinkle in oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, dill and sage in with tofu mixture and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Spoon the tofu mixture onto the toast and serve at once.

Serves 4

This type of pizza is really easy to make, not to mention fun and great tasting
Ingredients

· ¼ tsp olive oil
· ½ small onion, peeled and chopped in small dice
· 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
· ¼ tsp dried oregano
· ¼ tsp dried basil
· ¼ tsp crushed red-pepper flakes
· 1 bay leaf
· ½ cup canned whole peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped
· ½ cup tomato paste
· 2 whole-wheat pita breads (each 7½ inches)
· ½ yellow bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed, cut into
thin strips
· ⅛ cup baby spinach leaves, chopped into fine pieces
· ½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated
· Fresh basil, thinly sliced for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Over medium heat, heat oil in a non-stick skillet. Once heated, add in onion and garlic, stirring occasionally so onion and garlic don’t burn. Cook for about 4 minutes, until both ingredients turn a brown colour.
2. Sprinkle in oregano, basil, red-pepper flakes and bay leaf. Mix spices together. Stir in peeled tomatoes and tomato paste; increase to high heat. Once boiling, bring heat down to medium-low and allow mixture to simmer until sauce is thick and liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.
3. Arrange pizzas on 2 baking sheets. Divide sauce onto both pitas evenly, leaving a border for the crust. Place on yellow pepper strips and scatter on chopped spinach leaves. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
4. Place baking sheets into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove pans from oven and put pizzas on a cutting board. Sprinkle pizzas with slices of fresh basil and cut each pita pizza into 12 slices. Serve immediately.

Makes 24 wedges

Eliminate seafood

It’s actually pretty easy to eliminate red meat and poultry from our diets. When you give any thought whatsoever, the reasons are so compelling to stop eating them. Your reasons may be physical, because you need to lower your cholesterol or blood pressure. You may want to reduce your risk of cancers that may run in your family, and eliminating red meat from your diet is an important way to do this. You may also find that the way we mass-produce meat and poultry for consumption in this country is repugnant to you. If we really thought about the way meat and poultry is raised, we’d never eat the stuff again. We’re consuming flesh that’s been produced from enormous pain and suffering. Even the smallest life has value on this earth; mass producing these animals to slaughter and eat them degrades their lives and degrades our own in the process of eating them.

It might feel like it’s carrying things to far to eliminate something as elemental as a shrimp or a scallop. But think about what we dump into the ocean where this food comes from. All our waste and trash gets hauled into the ocean, if it doesn’t go into a landfill. Think of the millions of gallons of oil that have been dumped from oil tanker accidents. Think of the impact that the erosion of the ozone layer in the atmosphere has had on every living thing on the planet. There are toxic levels of mercury in fish and seafood, so much so that if you’re a woman contemplating getting pregnant, you most definitely shouldn’t eat fish. Your risk of producing a baby with birth defects is extremely high if you do.

It can be hard to let go of fish and seafood, because this has a similar texture to red meat and poultry. It’s flesh after all, even though it’s marine flesh. It might take longer to eliminate fish and seafood from your diet, but keep at the effort. If you’ve been realizing the benefits of eating more vegetarian, then it’s really a small step to take to eliminate this last piece of animal flesh from your diet. Imagine how good you’ll feel about yourself and what you’re doing for the planet when make that last step and eliminate all meat and animal products from your diet.

If you haven’t been eating a vegetarian diet for years, and want to make the shift, it’s best to do so gradually, in stages. A good way to start is to eliminate red meat and substitute fish or poultry for the red meat you’ve been eating. While it’s not eating more vegetarian, you’re at least eliminating the biggest offender in disease-enhancing foods, red meat.

After you’ve successfully eliminated red meat, then start reducing the amount of poultry you eat. While it’s not as bad for you as red meat, because it’s not as high in fat, it’s still meat that’s been raised on a farm in terrible, cramped and inhumane conditions. Poultry is so laden with growth hormones and antibiotics that’s it’s nothing like a chicken or turkey that we might have hunted for food centuries ago. Chickens are raised in horrible conditions, overfed and then slaughtered. In the grand scheme of things, it’s just as detrimental to our physical and spiritual health as eating red meat. It’s also fairly easy to eliminate poultry from our diets because let’s face it – it’s like eating wood pulp, it’s so tasteless. All the antibiotics and abnormal living conditions have processed any natural flavor that poultry ever had in the first place.

Add more fish and seafood, if you’re not quite ready to replace poultry with grains and vegetables and legumes yet. While there is risk in eating fish and seafood, because of the high levels of mercury they contain, it’s a better alternative to poultry and red meat. This may be as far as you ever get in moving towards vegetarianism, or at least eliminating meat from your diet. Give yourself time to get used to this. You won’t miss poultry for a minute. We usually eat chicken and chicken breasts because it’s lower in fat and calories, but it’s also lower in any kind of nutritional value. When we’re not getting essential proteins and vitamins, we’re still starving our bodies, regardless of how healthy we think we’re being. Eliminating poultry is one of the most positive steps you can take towards a healthy diet and a healthy planet.

If you’re thinking of changing to a vegetarian diet, how do you start? Do you just start shopping in the produce aisle of the grocery store? You might have some anxiety attached to this change as well, and this is understandable.

Try to think of this as adding to your dietary habits, rather than a drastic change. If your diet has consistently included red meat, perhaps you can start substituting other foods for the red meat. Or eliminate the most processed and high-fat meats first, such as bacon and hamburgers. Certainly try to eliminate fast food burgers, which have such a high fat and sodium content. If you think you’ll miss the taste of bacon in the morning, try substituting a turkey or vegetable-based bacon substitute. It won’t be the same, but you won’t be giving up the foods you’re used to all at once.

If you’ve had a health scare and feel the need to change everything at once, make sure you include a lot of variety in the foods you buy as you begin to discover new flavors and textures that you’ll like to replace the ones you’re used to eating. If you don’t need to make a dramatic change all at once, you’ll have a much greater chance of long-term success if you take it slow. Reduce the amount of red meat that you eat on a weekly basis, even if it means substituting pasta with marinara sauce for meat just one night a week. Increase the amounts of fruits and vegetables you eat. Start with raw vegetables at night before dinner so you’re not so hungry when you get to the main meal. Start reversing the proportions of meat and vegetables and make meat a side dish, with vegetables and grains your main course.

We’re creatures of habit and resistant to change. This is why so many diets fail, because we make drastic changes to facilitate dramatic results, quickly. This is a decision and a change you want to make for a lifetime. Make it a natural and gradual change and you can look forward to many more years of healthy living.

We’ve all been there. We’ve just come in from a long day at work and the last thing on our minds taking the time to prepare a healthy, nutritionally sound vegetarian meal. But choosing a refined or enriched carbohydrate over the beneficial carbohydrates that a solid, well-balanced vegetarian diet offers defeats the purpose of your decision to live a vegetarian lifestyle, and that’s for optimal health. Consuming refined carbohydrates presents different hazards to your health.

The over-consumption of refined carbohydrates and sugars can result in excess insulin in the bloodstream. In the presence of excess insulin, glucose, the blood sugar, is converted to triglycerides and stored in the fat cells of the body.

According to one study, consuming refined grains may also increase your risk of getting stomach cancer. The research found that a high intake of refined grains could increase a patient’s risk of stomach cancer.

In addition, refined sugars and carbohydrates have been implicated as a contributing factor in increased gallbladder disease, according to a recent study. It showed a direct link between the amount of sugars eaten and the incidence of gallbladder disease.

Another study looked at the role carbohydrates play in the incidence of heart disease. The researchers noted that as carbohydrate consumption increased, so did the level of triglycerides in the blood of the participants. Diets low in fat and high in carbohydrates not only dramatically raised triglyceride levels but significantly reduced levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol.

And lastly, refined white sugars increase the rate at which your body excretes calcium, which is directly connected to your skeletal health. Simply put, as your sugary and refined carbohydrate intake increases, your bone density decreases.

So don’t be lazy! Do your body right and take the time to prepare a nutrient-dense and delicious vegetarian meal. Your body, and your conscience, will thank you for it in the long run.

            

Stored in the fridge in an airtight container it will keep for 2-3 days.
 
Ingredients
 
·        ½ cup small pasta shells
·        ½ tbsp light olive oil
·        ½ small onion, minced
·        1 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
·        1 medium celery stalk, diced
·        3 cups prepared vegetable broth
·        ½ small zucchini, finely diced
·        1 plum tomato, finely diced
·        ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
·        1 really good handful of spinach leaves,
     stemmed and shredded      
·        ½ tbsp minced fresh dill or ½ tsp dried
·        Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
 
1.     Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Cook until soft then drain them.
2.     While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil over medium heat in a soup pot. Add the onion, carrots and celery and sauté until the turn a golden colour.
3.     Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, and peas; cover pot. Allow soup to gently simmer until the vegetables are just done which should take about 10 minutes.
4.     Add the spinach and fresh or dry dill and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat when the greens have started to wilt. Add the pasta shells and add salt and pepper to taste.
5.     Remove the lid to the pot and allow the soup to stand for 30 minutes or so, off of the heat. Serve warm.
 
Serves 2-4

Nuts add great flavour and texture, include protein, useful fats and vitamins. Needless to say, they can be a very important part of vegetarian cooking. 

 
Ingredients
 
 
·        1½ cups white cabbage, shredded thinly
·        1½ cups red cabbage, shredded thinly
·        4 tbsp peanut oil
·        1 tbsp walnut oil
·        2 garlic cloves, crushed
·        8 scallions, trimmed
·        1 cup firm tofu, cubed
·        2 tbsp lemon juice
·        1 cup walnut halves
·        2 tsp Dijon mustard
·        Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
·        2 tsp sesame seeds
 
1.     Mix white and red cabbage together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
2.     In a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, pour in peanut oil and walnut oil. Once oils are heated add in crushed garlic, white and red cabbage, scallions and cubed tofu. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.     Pour in lemon juice, walnut halves and Dijon mustard. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and cook until cabbage is tender, which shouldn’t take longer than 6 minutes.
4.     Sprinkle in sesame seeds and mix in well. Divide into individual bowls and serve immediately.
 
Serves 4

These little snacks have an incredible amount of taste, and I just know you’ll be snacking on them till their all gone.
 
Ingredients
 
454 g package extra firm tofu
½ cup carrot, finely shredded
½ cup bok choy, finely chopped
¼ cup bamboo shoots, finely chopped
¼ cup garlic chives, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp salt
â…“ cup Dipping sauce (recipe below)
One lb (500 g) package of dumpling wrappers
2 tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup water

Place tofu onto a paper towel lined plate and place a sheet or two on top of the tofu as well. Using the palms of your hands, gently press down to properly drain excess water from the tofu. Slice the tofu into cubes, then using a fork, mash the tofu cubes until crumbled. Transfer into a large mixing bowl
Once you have prepared all the vegetables, add shredded carrot, chopped bok choy, bamboo shoots, garlic chives and minced cloves, soy sauce, sesame oil and salt into the bowl with the crumbled tofu. Toss mixture together until well combined; set aside. Prepare the dipping sauce.
Carefully separate dumpling wrappers and set onto a flat surface. Place a heaping tsp of the tofu mixture into the centre of each wrapper. Moisten the wrapper edges with a small amount of water and fold sheet in half, enclosing the filling; pinch the edges to seal. Repeat until all dumpling wrappers are filled and sealed.
Pour vegetable oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil and skillet are hot, place in the dumplings and fry, without turning dumplings over, until they turn a golden-brown colour, which shouldn’t take longer than 1 minute. Once dumplings are done frying, pour in ½ cup of water and cover pan. Allow dumplings to cook for 1 minute longer, then uncover pan and allow dumplings to simmer until most of the water has been absorbed.
Place dumplings onto a platter or individual plates with burnt sides facing up and serve immediately with dipping sauce.
 
Makes approximately 48 dumplings