Finding Vegetarian Recipes

Whenever new acquaintances find out that I am a vegan, many inevitable ask: "So, what do you eat?"
The implication, of course, is that without animal products there is nothing left.

However, whenever these same people come over to my apartment (formerly house) and spy a copy of my Vegetarian Times, they finally seem to get it. Finding healthy vegetarian recipes that are also delicious IS not hard.

While cookbooks can be great, my favorite source for new recipes is Vegetarian Times magazine. It meets three important requirements: it has great pictures of the final product, most of the recipes are easy to make AND they use common ingredients that are easy to find.

A few years ago, VT underwent an awesome overhaul. I used to prefer one of their competitors because many of the VT's recipes used dairy products. However, now most of the recipes are vegan or can be easily converted. Their articles also go beyond food getting to health topics and environmental issues that many vegetarians find important.

My two favorite monthly features are "Vegan Gourmet," which offers three delicious themed recipes, and "30 Minutes," which offers several easy-to-make dishes.

Among about 50 recipes in this issue, here are some I'm looking forward to trying: roasted tomatillo and black bean tacos, Greek lentil salad, lemonberry muffins and banana cocoa smoothies.

My biggest problem is that I never bother to cut out my favorite recipes, figuring I can find it later. However, now my stack of magazines is so big, it's almost impossible. However, I always know I can find something great!