http://wp.me/p25sgN-21 Mrs Pantry is campaigning for better more interesting vegetarian food in restaurants and pubs and a nutritionist friend of mine, Jillian Pitt, is contributing on the nutrition content of the blogsite.  If you are vegetarian or you like to eat a bit less meat then check it out, it is pretty new – the aim is to have reviews of eateries that serve veggies well.  There are also veggie recipes which sound pretty good.

As the wife of a vegetarian, I am all for their campaign.  We generally eat vegetarian at home and it is always a disappointment when the veggie dish on offer is something I could have done better myself or the veggie option doubles as the light option – not good when you have been paddling a river, doing a long bike ride or a mega hike and are faced with something that looks pretty but could have been served on a side plate.  Particularly in pubs that do food.  With salad of course!  But in the winter you want potatoes and veg like the meat mains are served with and not have to buy them as extras.  I have often had a grumpy, very hungry husband who gets a bit grumpier when the waiter proceeds to shove the steak that I have ordered under his nose because clearly a strapping bloke isn’t likely to be the veggie, is he?

Restaurants, pubs and cafes – please take note.  Vegetarian food can be exciting and filling.   Vegetable lasagnes, curries, pasta and risottos abound and sadly more of them are at the dull end of the scale.  More imagination please!  If a vegetarian wants to eat curry they probably know a good Indian restaurant, same with pasta/risotto/pizza – there are a lot of very good Italian resturants out there.  The UK has the highest number of vegetarians in Europe – there are a lot of them about. If you impress them they will bring their non-veggie friends because they know they can get a good meal.

There are a lot of people out there, whilst not vegetarian, who are trying reduce the amount of meat they eat for a variety of reasons so you can impress them too.  And veggie meals can also help you have some cheaper items on the menu and in these austere times giving people the option of a really fantastic meal for less, without compromising on quality, is another way of getting more people through the door.  Often a vegetarian dish can be on the menu with a supplement option e.g. grilled chicken or salmon as an optional extra with risotto.  Or is the basis for another menu item making it a more viable option.