Healthy Vegan Cooking

.      You can find most of the ingredients in these recipes readily available, such as chickpeas, all kinds of beans, vegetables and fruits of all varieties. There are frozen foods that make food preparation much easier and faster. Yet, nothing tastes better than fresh vegetables and fruits; whole grains and legumes, that the recipes in this book call for. It is up to you, your taste and health as far as salt and sugar are concerned. Salt is used sparingly in these recipes or to taste.

      Many of the dishes in this book can be made easier. Cooking is mostly common sense and practice. Some people are rushed and have to prepare meals in a hurry so they can use canned or frozen products, if they choose. The stuffed vegetables can be made by layering, whether it is the stuffed Swiss chard, zucchini, eggplant, etc. You just put the stuffing in between the layers. Yet if you have the time, it tastes better prepared the original way that I inherited from my ancestors. Just try it every now and then in small quantities. All these recipes can either be doubled or cut in half.

     In many cases, I have substituted fructose for granulated sugar, in syrups and sweets. Fructose is a healthy substitute because it is made from the natural juice of fruits. Also, brown rice, brown rice flour, whole wheat and oat can be used in recipes requiring flour as indicated. Instead of the old method of frying that our ancestors used a great deal, I simply brush the prepared food with oil and bake in the oven as it absorbs less fat if any at all.