Casseroles are hard, because of the vegan. You can't use any normal binders and thickeners: no eggs, no cheese, no cream, etc. But you might consider something like polenta with roasted veggies. That would meet everyone's requirements, and the meat eaters are likely to enjoy it as well. To fancy it up, pour the polenta into a buttered baking dish, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Let it cool in the fridge. Then use a large cookie cutter to make disks, which you can use as the base for the dish. They can be served that way, or gently pan-fried to heat them through and crisp up the surfaces. No need to keep them round, either. Some of your specialized cookie cutters could make the presentation that much more interesting.

I am not diabetic but I do have insulin resistance as part of another medical (gynocological) condition called PCOS. I have been on Metformin (usually prescribed to diabetics) for a few years now. My dad is diabetic and I am at some risk of developing diabetes, too. I used to be thin-normal weight but began gaining weight when I developed PCOS and insulin resistance. The Metformin has helped control my weight a bit, but I am still overweight because I have relied too much on this drug and continued eating whatever I want. I don't smoke or drink or do drugs, so food has always been my vice. Especially when I am stressed or down, I go to "comfort foods" which are high in carbs. (High-carb foods such as white potatoes are comforting because they actually help increase the level of serotinin in your brain, which is how antidepressants such as Prozac work.) Anyways, a year ago I decided to stop eating meat as part of a health kick to eat lighter, healthier and lose weight. I had been stuffing myself daily and eating lots of chicken. At first I was always hungry, because I was used to eating a lot and the truth is, nothing is quite as filling as meat. I ate all the whole grain bread and veggies and fruit I wanted, but I was always hungry again soon. Then my body adjusted and it became much easier. If you eat whole grain bread, pasta, rice, et cetera, you should feel fuller than if you eat refined carbs. The fibre content in whole grains slows down the rate at which your body converts the carbs into blood sugar, which prevents your blood sugar and insulin levels from spiking up and crashing. When choosing carbs, think of eating high fibre. High fibre is the key to helping to control insulin levels. Refined carbs have little to no fibre left in them. Anyways, I lost weight and then fell off the wagon when Christmas rolled around, as there were delicious cookies and candies and chocolates everywhere! Also, it was hard to eat whole grain carbs all the time, because most restaurants and cafeterias use refined, white flour bread, pasta and rice; they also usually serve white potatoes, not sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes are much better for you). I only managed to lose weight at first as a vegetarian because I packed homemade snacks and meals with whole grain bread from the grocery store, and carried my food around with me all day while I was out and about. Normally I am not so good; normally I buy lunch everyday at work. It's not that hard anymore to eat out and eat vegetarian, but it IS still hard to eat out and eat whole grain carbs instead of refined, white flour carbs. You may see my problem here: I like to eat out a lot but I don't like eating meat or eating refined, white-flour carbs. That REALLY limits my choices when I go out. If I want to eat the way I know I should, I basically can't eat out. Also, there is a misconception that the biggest enemy of insulin resistance/diabetes is sugar and carbs, but the real enemy is saturated fat. It's just that most fattening foods are also loaded with sugar. You need the sugar to make the lard palapable. About 30% of the weight of chocolate, for example, is due soley to its lard content. Saturated fat is the real enemy, but when you eat out at a cafeteria or restaurant, you don't know what kind or how much cooking oil they use. You don't really know the ingredients. This also makes eating out hard if you are concerned with diabetes/insulin resistance, or just weight control in general. I heard that the Canadia Liberal government is planning to get rid of trans fat from school cafeterias, and there is some organization trying to get rid of trans fat cooking oils from all restaurants altogether. I think the next step may be to demand better quality carbs. Diabetes is an epidemic now, afterall! Anyways, I have decided to ween myself off the Metformin because of its side effects. This will mean that in order to avoid becoming obese, I will have to get strict again about what I eat, prepare homemade snacks and meals to take out, and exercise more (strenuous exercise increases insulin sensitivity). When I first told my family doctor I had gone vegetarian, she wasn't very happy. My blood tests had shown that I had very low vitamin B12. Because vitamin B12 is derived primarily from animal meat (it is absent from plant food), my doctor assumed my low B12 levels was due to my dietary changes. I started taking vitamins from the drug store. I'm not sure, but I think that helped a bit. Vitamin B12, like iron, is essential for a lot of things, including hair health. For a couple years now I have been concerned that my hair falls out too much. Well, I recently read that 10-30% of patients on Metformin long-term experience vitamin B12 deficiency (and can subsequently lose hair) because Metformin can actually interfere with the body's ability to absorb vitamin B12! It's all becoming so complicated. For a while I considered just going back to eating meat so that I could stop filling up on refined carbs everyday and then relying on Metformin to help with the resulting insulin spikes, but I have decided no, meat is gross, so I am instead going to just carry around homemade whole grain food with me all day as I go about my business, eat out less, exercise more and get off the Metformin. I know I can lose weight without meat because I did it once before, a year ago. It just takes discipline. Hopefully, my hair will also thicken up again after being off the Metformin for a while. One more thing: a good alternative to rice is quinoa. It is a good grain with lower carb content. It also cooks much faster than rice. It tastes lovely and fluffy. It works well as a side dish in place of rice.

VEGETARIAN CHOPPED LIVER Ingredients: 3 medium hard-boiled eggs vegetable oil for frying 3 small onions, sliced 2 ½ cups fresh green beans 1/4 cup chopped walnuts pinch of salt & pepper 1. Cool and peel hard boiled eggs. Set aside in fridge to cool for 1 hour. 2. Cover bottom of frying pan with oil. Heat oil and saute onions until tender. 3. Steam or boil green beans until soft. Set aside to cool to room temperature. 4. Blend all ingredients in either a grinder or a food processor. Mash together in a mixing bowl with a fork. Add salt and pepper. Yield: 2 cups I haven't had a chance to try this yet, but supposedly it passes for the real thing! Blessings on your kitchen! Jillis!

from New Vegetarian Cuisine 3/4 c medium pearled barley 1 can (16 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained 2 c frozen corn kernals, thawed 1 c frozen peas, thawed 3 T balsamic vinegar 2 T minced fresh basil 2 T low-sodium vegetable stock 1 T canola oil Cook the barley in 2 1/2 cups of water in a 2-qt saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer for 30-35 minutes, or until tender. Drain any remaining water. Transfer barley to large bowl. Add beans, corn, peas to the barley. Whisk together the remaining ingredients, pour over the salad; toss to mix well. May be served warm or chilled. Serve with slices of red bell pepper, fresh tomatoes, crumbled feta, and a bit of Parmesan grated over the top. We just had this last night warm and will eat the remainder cold for dinner in a few days. In the winter, we just use a bottled salad dressing since fresh basil is scarce and expensive. Last night's dressing was Drew's Thai Sesame Lime and it was quite tasty. I've taken this to potlucks at work and everyone loved it.