Since 1992, National Vegetarian Week has been encouraging more people to try and eat less meat. Eating vegetarian can be tasty, nutritious as well as very filling. However, those first few steps to switching from a meat-based diet can be daunting. In this blog, we’ll look at why it’s important we all start to reduce the amount of meat and fish in our diet, some tips on how to get started, and vegetarian options when eating out in Coventry.
National Vegetarian Week is the perfect reason to start your vegetarian journey. Whether you decide to switch over completely or for just for one meal – you can still make a real difference.
Vegetarian food has a much lower carbon footprint, so by choosing more meat-free meals, you’re making real savings towards carbon! The National Vegetarian Week recipes are all carbon-calculated. This allows you to see the positive environmental difference you can make by simply swapping to a veggie meal.
Why Going Vegetarian is Good for the Environment
Unbeknownst to many, but the global food production is accountable for a significant amount of emissions- between 21-37% [1]. More specifically, livestock as well as feed, is responsible for 57% of all food production emissions [2]. By eating vegetarian food for a year, you could save the same amount of emissions as taking a small car off the road for 6 months [3]. Additionally, a vegetarian diet requires two-and-a-half times less amount of land needed to grow food, compared to a meat-based diet [3].
Not only are we faced with issues on land but also within our oceans. Almost 30% of fish stocks commercially fished are over-fished [4] with the last 40 years recording a decrease in marine species of 39% [5]. The increase in trawler vessels, the practise of bycatch (discarding unwanted fish) and pollution have all added to the reduction in marine life.
There is a clear trend that animal based foods are associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions.
Source : United Nations Climate Action
Top Tips For Going Veggie
Mock Meats
Keep it familiar by using beef-style veggie mince, chicken-style pieces and nuggets, burgers, veggie meatballs. Supermarkets have fully embraced the meat free revolution and it’s now easy to pick up exact replicas of your favourite meats. High in and protein and low in fat, these can be an excellent way to meet your daily protein requirements.
Go Vegetarian in Phases
A sudden shift towards vegetarian eating can be difficult, so instead try cutting one thing at a time, like eliminating red meat at first – this has the worst environmental impact. Then, try and cut out poultry and fish. As you eliminate foods, make sure you are adding in protein sources.
Eating out
Nearly all high street restaurants offer vegetarian and vegan options. Whether you want a quick bite in Greggs, craving that burger in McDonalds or something a bit fancier in Pizza Express – there are plenty of vegetarian options around and if you fancy going the extra mile then try their vegan offering.
Vegetarian Options on Campus and in Coventry
There’s plenty of vegetarian options on our campus and within the city of Coventry. Here’s a selection of our favourites.
Hummus House
Located in Hertford Street Food Quarter, Hummus House provides freshly cooked falafel with hummus and salad on a large warmed pitta. A great choice for a healthy on-the-go lunch.
The Hub
In the Hub Food Court, “Planted” offers a range of fresh vegetarian options including salads, wraps, sandwiches plus sweet treats.
Check “Planted” out when you’re next on campus.
Pod Café
We went to the Pod Café on Far Gosfard street for a spot of lunch and tried the “smoky chipotle chilli with British beans & mushrooms, dipping tortillas, allotment broad bean guacamole and cashew cream sauce”. Pod is 100% plant-based and uses as many local ingredients as possible. Open Tuesday to Thursday from 12-3, this café has a welcoming community atmosphere and is ideal for a hearty lunch. This meal only cost £5, with the option for a dessert and a drink for £9.
Crispy Chilli Tofu Recipe
"Bosh's Crispy Chilli Tofu" from the National Vegetarian Week Recipe Booklet
We had a go at making the crispy chilli tofu recipe and in turned out rather well (even if we so say so ourselves!). This recipe is great for giving tofu that flavour boost it needs, and shows how versatile a food it is. First of all, drain and press the tofu to get as much liquid out as possible. Then cut the block into bitesize blocks. Coat the tofu generously in the cornflour. Add this to a pan of preheated oil and cook for 5 minutes, or until crispy. Remove the tofu from the pan and drain the excess oil. Start cooking your noodles or rice. Then add the lemon juice, orange juice, sriracha sauce, sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce and Chinese 5 spice to the pan. Let this simmer for a couple of minutes then add the tofu back into the pan coating the pieces with the mix. Begin chopping your vegetables. We went with spring onions and red chillies for an extra kick. Drain your noodles/rice and place into a bowl and add your tofu. Garnish with your vegetables and sprinkle on sesame seeds for some crunch (we couldn’t find any the shops!). For the full recipe and ingredients list for this delicious dish, click the image.