12/20/24 Vegan Magic on Christmas Table
Animal Friends Croatia offer plant-based festive season recipes
- Animal Friends Croatia call for compassion and love for all creatures
Christmas period is a time of joy, well-being, and peace. It is a time for families to gather around the opulent dining table with dishes that warm the body and soul. Animal Friends Croatia call for the festive dinner table to become a place of magic celebrating compassion, health, and creativity. Naturally, they are talking about vegan Christmas recipes that will tickle even the most rigorous palates.
Animal Friends Croatia state that animals too like living and having a life, not being killed over Christmas lunch often preceded by a prayer for peace and prosperity. “We invite all to live the true meaning of Christmas – spreading true love and compassion. For a long time now, vegan food has been synonymous of sustainability and love for life, and Christmas table is an opportunity to show that it can be incredibly rich, tasty, and diverse. Moreover, vegan dishes are often more economical,” stated Animal Friends Croatia.
They propose fifteen dishes, rich with taste, colour, and smell, suitable for everyone to enjoy. Instead of fish dishes, they propose fish paprikash without fish, mushrooms a la bourdetto, potato a la baccala and other dishes from the online Green Dishes for Blue Seas cookbook. The group mention the fact that fishing industry is the most destructive industry in numbers. In 2023, over 50,000 tonnes of fish and other sea organisms were fished in Croatia. At the global level, 90% of large fish populations have been exterminated over the past fifty years. Thus, Animal Friends Croatia state, it is a far better option to serve sea-tasting dishes but without cod or other fish on the plate.
“A bean broth with star pasta is an ideal warm appetizer for a winter holiday mood, followed by a stuffed seitan roast with potatoes or caramelised vegetable salad and mushroom sauce as side dishes, Russian salad combined with breaded soy medallions, sarma (cabbage rolls) with seitan or a chickpea meatloaf. After these appetizing courses, for desert one can serve the famous and beloved makovnjača and orehnjača, walnut kisses, čupavci, icy wind or coconut cake, recommended Animal Friends Croatia also supplying full recipes for all the dishes.
They point out that choosing plant-based food is an indicator of compassion towards humans while helping prevent food waste and world hunger: “The vast majority of crops are not grown for human but for animal consumption. By opting for plant-based food, we help rationally use other natural resources and preserve our planet.” In addition, they emphasise that animal food industry is a leading cause of climate change. During the festive season, when we talk about compassion and peace, we should also consider how to ensure a better future for all creatures on Earth.
The group add that enjoying plant-based food is now easier than ever before because the market offers everything anyone might need for rich meals full of taste that we are used to: “Shops offer various vegan cheeses, mayo, salami, burgers, plant-based milks, creams, cooking cream, yogurts, etc. We can genuinely enjoy all traditional tastes today knowing that we eat food which can provide us with peace, compassion, health, and survival.”
For more information on the growing offer of vegan products and dishes, a video recorded in Animal Friends Croatia’s kitchen, and various festive season recipes, click here.