Hello my friends. Lent is right around the corner and for Catholic Christians, this means increased fasting, prayer and almsgiving. It's a time for lightening up our diets with vegetarian and meatless options. For seven weeks, the church calls us to eat vegetarian and vegan meals. Veganism is a lifestyle choice to eat no meat, dairy, nor animal products. A vegan diet has other benefits in weight loss and improved health. It also ties in well for Catholic observing a Lenten fast. But before people were choosing this diet, and around the world now, many are forced to follow it, by poverty, famine and war. They don't eat this way to lose weight, but to live. Having said that, eating this way was part of how I lost 100 pounds.
In the US and UK, depression and war time rationing meant going without or eating very little meat, eggs, cheese, milk, sugar and other foods. They got creative, making up "mock" recipes for favorite meat and dairy dishes. Now they're called vegan haute cuisine and served in posh gastro-pubs. Sadly the things that were abundant and not rationed are now so expensive THEY are the posh people foods. Turnips that you couldn't give away are now $2.79 a pound. So some of the vegan food swaps might actually be more expensive than the foods they replace. Just like fish that Catholic eat for Lent is now more expensive, thanks to over-fishing, than the chicken, pork and even beef, it subs for. But I'll share cheaper food swaps for the food swaps, lol!
One popular dish in wartime rationing Britain was Murkey or mock turkey. Another was mock goose. Served at Christmas, this dish reimagined a game bird made from lentils and vegetables. Another mock turkey recipe shaped the bird from the stuffing normally used to fill the turkey. Here's the complete recipe for Thanksgiving Murkey (mock turkey). (I love the little parsnip drumsticks!) Her recipe calls for sausage which of course would not be used during Lent or by vegetarians. I'd mold the game bird from cooked chilled lentils or other mashed beans. You can even use refried beans with dried bread added. Or sub bread for nuts for a gluten-free version. Cook beans with diced onion, celery and bell pepper Season with sage, rosemary, bay leaf, pepper and celery salt. Mash and add any nuts you like. Mine is made from mixed nuts I let go stale accidentally. If you're feeling adventurous, add cranberries and apples. Substitute carrots for parsnips as parsnips which were considered desperation food are now over two bucks a pound.
Vegan war cake. See my blog post here for my grandmother's dairy-free, milk-less, eggless, sugar-less, war cake recipe. This is perfect for Lent. I've updated it with oil food swaps.
Veggie burgers. Check out my recipes for vegan, gluten-free, diet food swap veggie burgers.
For vegan and diet hot dog recipes, see my post on Phoney Coney Island hot dogs
Eating vegan and diet food swap recipes like this was part of how I lost 100 pounds without diet drugs or weight loss surgery.
