Hanover, Germany - Paul McCartney has been a vegetarian for years. The same applies to French actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot.

Go back in history and the list of famous vegetarians grows even longer and includes St Francis of Assisi and Roman author Lucius Annaeus Seneca.

A recent survey in Germany found that 6 million people in the country do not eat meat. People who decide to join their ranks quickly find a large variety of items as alternatives to animal-based products.

"Vegetarian cuisine is no more complicated than other cuisines that combine a mixture of foods," said Thomas Schoenberger, chairman of Germany's vegetarian association based in Hanover. However, it's important that adequate foods are on a vegetarian's menu.

"One-third of it should be fresh food," he said. And the selection should be diverse, including foods that are red, green and yellow and vegetables and fruits that grow in the ground and above the ground, according to his own personal credo.

Schoenberger does not consider a switch to vegetarianism a renunciation of meat. He sees it more as a gain: "Your health benefits and you get to know many new tastes," he said.

An example is eggplant roasted to a crisp, said Christoph Michels, who runs a vegetarian and vegan diner in Marktheidenfeld, a small town in south-eastern Germany. He recommends vegetarians always have a few basic staples on hand such as lentils, bulgar and couscous along with risotto rice and all kinds of pasta. Fresh herbs and fine spices are indispensable.

Bernd Brunkhardt of a German association of chefs based in Frankfurt said a certain philosophy goes along with being vegetarian and it starts in the supermarket. He recommends buying unprocessed flour and organic foods. This makes cooking a colourful variety of vegetarian dishes simple even for non-vegetarians who might consider a meal without meat incomplete.

Vegetarian dishes are especially prominent in Mediterranean cuisine and in Asian cuisine. Japanese seaweed is suitable as a side dish or main ingredient in soup. Apart from that, it is a good source of iodine.

"But you have to like it," said Schoenberger, noting its fishy taste. It's also worth having a look at how Asian cuisine incorporates soybean-based tofu.

Brunkhardt is, however, sceptical of products that attempt to imitate meat in appearance and taste.

"A Bolognese sauce can be made without soy crumbs - put in small slices of carrots, onions, fennel, leeks, garlic and tomatoes and let them saute, then season the sauce," he said. He advises cooking vegetarian dishes that stand on their own and do not try to imitate meat dishes. (dpa)