Veggies, so hot right now.

Vegetables are very VOGUE these days. Why? Because October is Vegetarian Awareness month, of course! It's time to celebrate all of those hippy, animal-loving, liberal, leaf eaters! Was that offensive? Sorry, we were all thinking it.

I understand that for some of you the thought of trading in your juicy steak for a bowl of spinach is terrifying. Trust me, I get it. But I am here to tell you that eating vegetarian isn't just about chowing down on raw, uncooked, rabbit food. Meatless dishes can, and do, excite those tastebuds and the best part of all is that cooking these tasty meals is easy! 

Believe it or not, despite my many feminine character traits, cooking is not one of my strong points. I am a living example that NO, not all women are good at cooking, so take that gender stereotypes! The point I am getting at here is: If I can cook delicious meat free meals, you can too. 

I really encourage you to challenge yourself this month and cut the meat from your diet, or at least cut back, and join the veggie filled world for a few days! Although we are about a week into things already, I have plenty of time left to share my thoughts on vegetarianism this month. With that being said, I won't bore you with my opinions just yet. Check back soon to learn about WHY a meatless meal may actually be right for you. In the mean time I will leave you with a quick and easy recipe to help you kick off the month!

Grilled Vegetables over Barley with Feta and Basil:

Ingredients:
Round up all of your favourite vegetables. I had left over veggies from my dinner this weekend, so I included: asparagus, mushrooms, red peppers, yellow peppers, zucchini, and grape tomatoes. It truly does not matter what vegetables you choose! This part all comes down to preference. The additional ingredients you will need are as follows:

• 1 cup of uncooked barley
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of honey
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon of chilli powder
• 1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup of crumbled feta

Instructions:

1. Cook barley as directed, drain.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, honey, garlic, salt, black pepper and chili powder. Whisk in the oil; reserve 1/3 of the dressing for the barley.

3. Toss your vegetables in the remaining dressing.

4. Preheat your burner/grill on medium-high and grill vegetables for 5-7 minutes.

5. Toss barley with 1 tablespoon of the basil and the reserved dressing. 

6. Spoon onto serving plates and top with vegetables. 

7. Sprinkle with remaining basil and the feta.

This dish is awesome! Between the basil and honey, the flavours are very unique and refreshing. I will definitely be making this quick, easy and light dish again! Thank-you to Fitness Magazine for posting the original recipe.  

Try it yourself, let me know what you think, or post your favourite meatless recipe in the comment box below! I would love to hear from you. 

Until next time,

L.