Oakland Veg Week: Recipes So Good, You Won’t Even Miss the Meat!
Going vegetarian for a week? It’s really not as hard as it may sound. This year, a whole slew of Oaklanders are taking the dive and going vegetarian for Oakland Veg Week—a city wide, week-long celebration that challenges Oaklanders to pledge to be vegetarian for one week to improve their health, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. Oakland representatives from Council member Nancy Nadel, to Congresswoman Barbara Lee will also be joining in to take the weeklong pledge and show their support for this sustainable way of living.
In celebration of this local occasion, we decided to round up some of our favorite vegetarian and vegan recipes. A portion of the CEH staff is already vegetarian, and many like to eat vegetarian on a regular basis, so it wasn’t hard to gather up a list of amazing recipes. From vegetarian mole to eggplant sandwiches, these dishes are so delicious you won’t even miss the meat!
(Bonus: Most of the recipes can be made vegan by replacing dairy ingredients)
Borlotti Bean Mole with Roast Winter Squash (can be made vegan by replacing the butter with oil)
Sabich- Iraqi Jewish Eggplant Sandwich
Judy’s Lentil Sweet Potato Curry
Cauliflower Soup (substitute soy milk for the cream)
Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango
Vegan Coconut Chai Cake (can substitute the vegetable oil one-for-one for applesauce if desired)